Deborah Hale (26 page)

Rath exchanged a glance with Maura. “Do you mind?”

She tugged at the spare robe Rath had lent her to cover herself more modestly. It would be clear to anyone with eyes what they had been up to. If that came as any shock to Idrygon, too bad about him!

“Let him enter.” She flashed Rath a mocking grin. “He has shown uncommon restraint waiting this long to barge in on us.”

Rath chuckled and the tightness around his eyes eased. For
an instant he looked like the same impudent outlaw she had lugged back to Langbard’s cottage last spring.

“Let Lord Idrygon come,” he called back to the guard.

The words had scarcely left his lips when Idrygon strode in. He looked just as forceful as Maura remembered him from Margyle—though perhaps more in his natural element armed for battle. If he guessed what she and Rath had been doing only a short while ago, and if he disapproved, he did not show it.

“Highness.” He snapped a crisp bow first to Rath, then to Maura. “I have been informed of the vital news you and my brother have brought.”

“So have I.” Rath motioned Idrygon to sit with them around the low table from which Maura had been eating. “A shame the coasts of Norest and Southmark do not have warding waters like the Islands.”

“Aye, Highness.” Idrygon looked grim. “I had hoped by the time the Imperium got wind of the rebellion, our forces would be in control of the kingdom and ready to repel any invaders.”

“So had I.” Rath picked up a thick slab of oatloaf and smeared it with fresh white butter. “I don’t fancy being caught between two Hanish armies.”

“There is only one thing to do,” muttered Idrygon. “Make for this Aldwood place with all speed. The forest will provide our army with cover while Her Highness locates the staff.”

Rath nodded as he chewed on the oatloaf. “Only one problem with that.”

Idrygon raised one brow in an unspoken question.

“Vang Spear of Heaven.” Rath’s tongue lingered over the name with a kind of grudging fondness. “His band of outlaws hold the castle. He won’t be fussy about handing it over to us.”

Idrygon drummed his fingers on the tabletop, his frown deepening. “In that case, we will have to take it from him.”

“Do you reckon he means it?” Maura asked later that night as she snuggled beside Rath on his bedroll. “About taking Aldwood from Vang?”

“He wasn’t in jest.” Rath yawned, anticipating his first truly restful night’s sleep since leaving Margyle…and even before. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Lord Idrygon, it’s that the man hasn’t a scrap of humor in him.”

Maura’s body vibrated with a silent chuckle. “It must run in the family.”

“What? Are you saying Delyon has learning but no wit? I thought he was the living image of Langbard.”

Hard as Rath tried to prevent it, an edge of his old foolish jealousy sharpened his tone. What had passed between Maura and Delyon during their dangerous quest? Had she ever turned to the handsome scholar for protection or comfort? Could that be the lingering wisp of shadow he’d glimpsed in her eyes?

Maura punctured his suspicions with a hoot of laughter. “Rath Talward! Don’t tell me you fancied a rival in poor Delyon? Well, put your mind at ease. He’s improved a good deal from when we started out, but I’d have given anything to have you as my traveling companion, instead. The trouble he got us into!”

As she told him how Delyon got them arrested by tearing down the Hanish sign, Rath longed to thrash the young fool for his heedlessness. Yet he could not stifle a contrary inkling of satisfaction that Maura had found Delyon more bothersome than attractive.

“You must have felt the same way about me when we were traveling together,” said Maura, “and I kept landing us in trouble trying to help people all the time.”

“Now and then.” Rath ruffled her hair with his cheek. “Tricking the Han into giving you a ride to Venard—that was daring. I’m not sure I’d have had the nerve to risk it.”

Even safe in the knowledge that it had all turned out well, the thought of her taking such a chance alarmed him. But that
alarm was tempered with admiration for her quick thinking and courage.

“It’s exactly the sort of thing you would have done! That is what gave me the idea. Anytime we found ourselves in a tight spot, I’d think,
What would Rath do if he were here?
”

“Soil my breeches, likely, if I’d been stuck under a table surrounded by Hanish officers and Echtroi!”

“You would not. Just think what you’ve accomplished since you landed at Duskport. Your name is on the lips of every Umbrian, and the Han are at their wits’ end how to stop it. You’ve given people hope for the first time since the Conquest.”

Much as he craved her approval, Rath could not claim the honor. “That was all Idrygon’s doing. I’m just an overgrown puppet who puts on a show for the crowd and does what he’s told whether he agrees with it or not.”

“Like what,
aira
?”

He did not want to burden her with all his worries on their first night back together, but the open-armed warmth of her sympathy and support seduced him, just as her touch had seduced him earlier. Before he knew it, he was pouring out all his misgivings—about the butchery he’d witnessed in the Hitherland, and his continued pose as superhuman legend come to life.

“Now this business about seizing Aldwood from Vang. I am no great friend of his, but I hate the thought of using my army against our own countrymen. There must be some other way.”

“To think I would hear you looking to solve a problem by means other than force.” Maura’s hair whispered against his shoulder as she shook her head. “Like it or not, you
are
more king than outlaw, now,
aira.
Idrygon may have given you the kernel of your fighting force to begin this rebellion, but the mainland folk who have since joined were drawn by you. Not by the trappings of the Waiting King legend, but by what it stands for. Something of King Elzaban lives on in you, and you must be true to it, Idrygon or no Idrygon.”

Rath tightened his arms around her, silently vowing he would never push her away again. “It all makes so much more sense when I hear you say it than when all these daft thoughts are spinning around in my head. And Idrygon is so cursed persuasive. With your guidance, I will be able to make decisions I can live with and stick to them.”

“Now that we are together again, we can support one another.” Maura sounded weary but resolute. “Even against Lord Idrygon, if need be.”

“Agreed.” Rath pressed a kiss to her brow.

Though the Han were poised to sweep down from the mountains and in from the coast to crush his ragtag army, he had not felt so settled in his mind for a very long while.

Morning came far too early and with far too much noise. The beat of drums and the deep blast of horns roused the rebel army. Soon a rumble of voices filled the morning air along with the whinnies of horses. Maura clenched her eyes tight shut and burrowed deeper into Rath’s embrace, wishing she could shut her ears, too.

Being back in Rath’s arms gave her a deceptive sense of safety. But she knew it was only an illusion. The Han would soon be closing in from both sides and it would take the fight of their lives to liberate the kingdom.

Rath continued to snore softly. He seemed unaware of either the noise or the gathering danger. Maura wished she could let him sleep. But if she didn’t wake him, someone else would.

“Time to get up,
aira.
” She let her lips whisper over his cheek and ear as she called softly to him. “We have a busy day ahead of us.”

“I’m afraid to open my eyes.” Beneath the blanket, his hands roved over her body. “In case it turns out you’re not really here, and last night was all a dream.”

“Oh, I am here.” Her lips sought his. “See if
this
convinces you.”

She kissed him long and deeply, until her heart raced, her breath trembled and her head spun. Rath rewarded her effort by opening his eyes. He pretended astonishment to find her presence in his arms more than a dream.

He cast a resentful glance toward the entrance flap of his tent. “As sure as a cold winter, if I try to have my way with you now, Idrygon will show up demanding to see me.”

No sooner had he muttered those words than the guard on duty called, “My Lord Idrygon wishes to speak with you, Highness.”

“What did I tell you?” Rath whispered to Maura.

She choked back a bubble of laughter. “You weren’t trying to have your way with me, though.”

“No, but I wanted to.” Rath flashed her a wry grin then raised his voice. “Let him enter.”

Idrygon strode in, and started at the sight of Rath and Maura still lying together on the bedroll. “Your pardon, Highness. I thought you must be up and dressed by now.”

He looked so flustered, Maura had to hide her face in Rath’s shoulder to smother a fit of giggles.

“We were just about to rise for the day,” Rath lied. “Now, what is so urgent that you needed to call on us at this hour?”

“Everything is urgent, Highness, as you must realize. It is imperative we make all haste to Aldwood. I reckon it will take us three days at a good hard march. With luck that will be time enough to—”

Before Idrygon could finish, sounds of a disturbance erupted outside the tent. Maura thought she recognized Delyon’s voice.

“But my brother is in there and I must speak with him now!”

“I have my orders.”

“Let him come!” cried Rath. To Maura he muttered, “We will end up with the whole camp in here, by and by.”

Delyon stormed in, nearly bumping into his brother. He, too, started at the sight of Rath and Maura.

“Can this not wait?” snapped Idrygon. “I have important matters to discuss with the king!”

“More important than a life?” Delyon grabbed his brother by the arm. “How could you order her execution? Without Songrid, Maura and I might still be prisoners of the Han—dead even. And you would know nothing of the danger bearing down on you!”

“Songrid?” Maura sat up and reached for one of Rath’s robes to cover herself.

“The Hanish woman is clearly a spy.” Idrygon shook off his brother’s grasp. “She used you to infiltrate our forces.”

“Rubbish!” cried Delyon.

Maura had never heard him talk back to his brother that way. Had he forgotten how bitterly he’d mistrusted Songrid at first?

A glare from Idrygon cowed him a bit, for he continued in a less hostile tone. “The woman had no way of knowing who we were, I tell you. She helped us escape from that guard post and brought us through the mountains. Maura and I owe her our lives.”

“Why would she turn her back on her own people,” growled Idrygon, “to aid their enemies?”

While the brothers were too busy arguing to pay any heed, Rath and Maura slipped into robes. Then she surged to her feet and joined the fray on Songrid’s behalf.

“Umbrians are not the only ones who have tasted Hanish oppression.” She stood beside Delyon, facing his brother. “Besides, we promised to vouch for her and insure her safety. Put Songrid under guard if you feel she poses a threat, but do not kill her on account of your suspicions!”

Idrygon looked from his brother to Maura. The flesh above his lip trembled, as if he was struggling not to sneer at them both. Then he turned to Rath. “What do you say, Highness? Remember the slaughter we found at that mine? The Han showed those men no mercy. Why should we show any to one of them?”

What slaughter at what mine? Maura wondered as she watched Rath’s expression turn grim.

“Please,” she begged him. “I gave my word. Not all Han are bad any more than all Umbrians are good!”

Idrygon hammered his hand with his fist. “The woman is a threat, I tell you!”

“Enough!” Rath jammed his hands over his ears and glared at all three of them.

When they fell into shocked silence, he muttered, “That’s better. Now, will someone explain to me what you are arguing about. Some Hanish woman, I gather.”

When Idrygon opened his mouth, Rath pointed at Maura. “Let my wife speak first.”

Fearing what might happen to Songrid while they argued over her fate, Maura explained the situation as quickly as she could. She wished she could be certain of Rath’s decision. Only last night they had promised to support one another. But his frown deepened as she told him about the Hanish woman, and in his eyes she glimpsed a flicker of fear.

How could he believe they had anything to fear from one poor woman who was likely frightened out of her wits by now?

“If you could see what I saw in Venard,” said Maura, “you would not doubt her. The most privileged women of the Han are as much oppressed in their way as any Umbrian except those who toil in the mines and the pleasure houses. They are little more than brood sows, and treated no better! If I had been in Songrid’s place, I hope I would have had the courage to do what she did.”

When Rath did not look properly sympathetic, Delyon added, “We should reward the woman, not kill her!”

“Idrygon,” said Rath at last, “you believe this Hanish woman poses a threat?”

“Is it not evident, sire? No Han would act as this woman has, unless it was a plot of some kind. She probably means to reckon our numbers and eavesdrop on our plans, then sneak back to her own people with the information.”

“Just as I did in Venard,” said Maura.

That took Idrygon aback for a moment, then he nodded. “And if the Han had caught you, you would have counted yourself blessed to suffer a quick execution.”

Maura could not dispute that. But neither could she betray the woman who had risked so much for her and Delyon.

“We are not Han.” Rath’s brow furrowed, as though he rued the decision he had felt compelled to reach. “You said that, Maura, remember, at Blen and Tesha’s farm?”

She nodded. Having just mended the earlier breach between them, what would she do if Rath now made a decision
she
could not live with?

“We are not Han,” he repeated, more to himself than to the others. “And we must not become Han.”

“Of course not, Highness.” Idrygon looked confident of winning his way, as usual. “We will drive those wicked unbelievers from our shores and wipe every foul trace of them from our land!”