The Devastation: Unexpected Circumstances Book 7 (2 page)

One of the men riding with Rylan and Parnell walked up and offered me the reins to his horse.  I nodded and was about to call for Michael when I realized he could no longer aid me.  I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed through my nose.

“Your crown, my king,” I heard the man who gave me his horse say.  I looked over to him, my vision still blurred, and finally had enough sense to reach out, take the circlet of gold from his fingers, and place it back on my head.

“Alexandra’s crown,” I mumbled under my breath and gestured toward the ground.  The man seemed to understand what I meant and went off looking around on the ground.  I knew it was somewhere in the road where I had dropped it, but I could not go and retrieve it myself.  If I did, I was quite sure I would not be able to keep myself together.

I tried to push these thoughts from my head as I mounted the horse given to me.  Alexandra’s crown was handed to me, and I held it as it dangled from my fingertips for a moment before looping it around the horn of the horse’s saddle.  I tried not to look upon it as I turned the horse around and looked down the road to the south.  Parnell decided to come with me and send Rylan north immediately to bring the horses from Sawyer to Silverhelm.  We moved quickly, and I forced myself to keep company with Parnell when the road split, and we headed west toward Castle Silverhelm.

As soon as we returned to the castle and my wounds were tended to, the court was assembled, and we headed immediately to the grand hall and throne room where I found I was completely unable to speak of what had happened.  I slowly lowered myself into the throne at the front of the court where nobles and advisors had already gathered, prostrating themselves before me.  I tried to keep my focus on them and ignore the empty seat beside my own.

Parnell obviously noticed my distress though the others did not.  He stepped up and placed himself between me and the court as he told them what had happened.  Sunniva and Ida held and comforted each other as the royal court expressed its shock and disbelief that Edgar would be so bold.

“The other royal families will side with us now.”  Abraham, who had been the captain of my father’s army when my grandfather was on the throne, nodded his white, wrinkled head.

“That will take time,” Peter said.  “We should send messengers immediately.  Within a day or two, we should have answers from Cresthall, and—”

“We cannot wait that long,” I said.  “We must march on Hadebrand immediately.”

“Is that wise, King Branford?” Parnell asked.  “I understand your sense of urgency, but we are not prepared—”

“I will not have her in his hands!” I yelled back.

“Sire, we cannot just up and go to war!” Peter suddenly shouted.  “Our troops have not magically grown in number and strength!  Have you forgotten how devastated we were the last—”

“
He has my wife
!” I screamed as I stood and drew my sword.  Without thinking, I moved the few steps between the throne and my advisor, grabbing the man by his neck.  “I will stop at nothing,
nothing
to bring her home!  War is just the first and most logical step!  If I thought delivering your head to Edgar would return her to me, I would not hesitate!  Are we
absolutely
clear on this matter, Peter?  Or would you like to join Kimberly at the gate?”

I watched his throat bob up and down as he swallowed before he tried to speak again.

“We are clear, my king,” he finally said.

I turned my back to the man and stared at Sir Rylan.

“Do I have Seacrest’s support in this?” I asked as I endeavored to sound calm and firm.  Inside, I was nothing of the sort.  I needed Rylan’s men.  We would not survive this otherwise.

Alexandra would not survive.

Our child...my son…

“Rylan?” I said.  My voice was earnest as I tried to keep the images of her being harmed out of my brain.

“King Branford,” he said with a slight shake of his head.  The large man reached a hand up to the back of his neck and scratched.  “You know I support you myself, but I cannot speak for all of Seacrest.  I will need to return home or send a messenger—”

“There is no time!”  I tried to keep my voice in check—tried not to start screaming and ranting and raving at the man whose help I so desperately needed.  “I have to strike now.  Alexandra…they…they have her.”

Rylan scowled off to the side and appeared particularly interested in a spot on the floor.  He stared at it for several minutes, his body still and his expression one of intense thought.  His wide shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath before he turned back to me.

“I will fight by your side,” Rylan said quietly, “but I cannot send my troops into your war without receiving my king’s blessing.  They will stay here and guard Silverhelm, though, so you may spare more of your own men to move against Hadebrand.”

“It is all you can offer?” I replied with my jaw tense.  I knew it was all he could do in his position, but I also knew it was not enough.  Without his numbers behind me, we would fall at the walls of Hadebrand with Alexandra still inside.

He nodded.

“I will send a messenger immediately,” Sir Rylan said.  “I should have an answer within three days.”

“She could be dead by then,” I said.  My stomach tightened up on me again, and I was about to ask him what he would do if it were his own wife when Peter spoke up.

“She could be dead
now
”—Peter snorted through his nose—“and you will risk all of Silverhelm—”

His breath caught in his throat, and his eyes widened as they looked into mine.  I did not drop my gaze from his as I pulled my blade out of his gut and watched him drop to his knees before me.  His mouth opened and closed several times without a sound before he slowly toppled to one side.

“Edgar has my wife,” I said softly.  I gripped the hilt of my sword and did not bother to sheath it though blood dripped steadily to the floor.  I turned toward the rest of the court, my gaze scanning each of their faces as I silently dared them to argue with me.  No one spoke a word or even managed to look me straight in the face.

“We march on Hadebrand now,” I said.

I felt soft fingers against my arm.

“Sunniva.”  Her name left my tongue in a soft breath.

“Edgar’s numbers are greater,” she said quietly.

“There is nothing more I can do,” I replied with a quick glance to Rylan.  He did not return my look.

“If you wait—” she started to say.

“We march on the morrow,” I said with conviction.  “I will not wait another moment.”

“You will lead us to slaughter,” Parnell said under his breath.

I took a step closer to him, my hand still holding my bloodied sword.

“I will die for my queen,” I said smoothly.  “Will you?”

Parnell’s eyes stared into mine for only a moment before he gave me a slight nod.

“Of course, my king,” he said.  “It would be my honor.”

His eyes refused to look to the weapon in my hand as he took a step closer to lean into me.

“Branford,” Parnell spoke softly as he placed his hand on my shoulder.  “We do not even know if she…if they still…”

From the toes in my boots all the way to the top of my head, my body tightened again.  The muscles throughout my limbs flexed and burned, and my teeth clenched.  There was burning behind my eyes, but I would not let that show.  I tried to remember Parnell was not only of my own family but also a captain in my army, and I could not afford to lose him.  However, I could not stop myself completely as I lashed out.  A moment later, Parnell was caught with my arm across his chest and his body pressed up against the wall.

“She is alive,” I snarled.  “Never, ever think otherwise.”

Parnell nodded, and I released him slowly.

We talked and planned and strategized for what felt like hours.  I wanted to move as quickly as possible, even during the night and despite what Sunniva believed.  Rylan talked me out of it when he told me to think of the men in my army and how much better they would be able to fight for my wife if they were well rested and fed first.  As the court moved out of the grand hall and headed toward their own sleeping areas, I found myself in the chapel, staring up at the altar and trying to clear my mind of the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm me.

Where was she right now?  What were they doing to her?

“I am coming for you, Alexandra,” I said into the air.  “Do not be afraid.  I will come for you.”

I closed my eyes briefly and imagined myself once again in the tight container of the hidden compartment under the carriage bench.  I heard the screams from outside.  Only this time, it was Alexandra’s voice, and she called for me, but I could not reach her.

“Please, please—keep her safe,” I whispered as I dropped to my knees.  Memories overwhelmed me again, and I felt Lord Sawyer’s arm around my shoulders as I was brought from the carriage.  I saw the bodies of my parents on the ground, covered in blankets.  At the point where I usually imagined what my mother’s body must have looked like under there, I now thought of my wife, and a choking sob emerged from my throat.

“God…no…please…”

What if they were hurting her right now as I knelt here and did nothing?

What if?

What if?

What if?

The words echoed in my mind as the palms of my hands tried to push the imagined sights from my eyes.  I screamed into my fists, trying to muffle the sounds as my mind conjured all the possible things that could be happening to her at this very moment.

“Branford!  Branford, no!”

I felt the delicate hands of my adoptive mother around my shoulders and inhaled the scent of her hair as she turned me and pulled me toward her and back to sanity.  I tried to turn away, but the weakness of my mind had affected my body, too.

“They could be hurting her…
killing her
!” I cried.  “Right now, they could be…”

“Hush,” Sunniva said as she attempted to pull me closer.  “This will not help you or Alexandra.”

“But she could be hurt!”

“I know,” Sunniva said quietly.  She placed her hand on the back of my head and attempted to pull me to her shoulder.  I resisted at first but then dropped my forehead against her.

“Think, my son,” she whispered quietly.  “I know you wish to find her now, and I know you fear for her, but your men need sleep, and you need additional time to perfect your strategy.  You will go to Alexandra in the morning.”

“I cannot wait,” I said, my voice strained.

“I know it feels that way,” she said, “but Alexandra is strong and brave.  You must not go into a slaughter, my son.  You can only save her if you are ready.”

“What am I supposed to do?” I pleaded with her.

“You will gather and lead your men,” Sunniva said softly.  “You will remain calm, and you will encourage your army, Branford.  It is the only way you can beat Hadebrand.”

“How will I, Mother?” I whispered into her hair as I finally relinquished whatever pride I was trying to maintain and just sank against her and sobbed.  “How can I go on without her beside me?  I cannot…I cannot even
think
!”

“You must,” she said quietly to me.  “Alexandra is out there, and she needs you.  You must keep your wits about you if you are to save her and my grandchild.”

My son.

I knew she was correct, but to be here, preparing to search for her instead of being out there, at least doing something more substantial than just…
waiting
was nothing less than agonizing.  I would have preferred in my heart to wander the woods turning over rocks as I searched for signs of her rather than prepare myself to journey forth on the morrow after a good night’s sleep.

As if my eyes would be able to close.

Knowing there was no other way and that my men would still need their sleep if they were to go into battle tomorrow, I nodded and slowly made my way back to my own rooms.

My own, empty rooms.

I tried not to look at the wardrobe full of her gowns, the chair she favored by the fire, or the intricately carved bowl on the table next to our bed.  It did not matter where my gaze fell.  Signs of her were everywhere.  Without bothering to remove my clothing, I lay down on the cold bed, hating the idea that I was even here without her.  I knew sleep would not come.

Instead of sleeping, I stared without really seeing anything through the curtains at the wall across from the bed.  My thoughts turned inward as visions of Alexandra lying next to me drifted through my head, her fingers reaching up to gently scratch the side of my face as she offered to shave me in the morning.

I likely dozed for no more than a few minutes, and my dreams—memories really—were all of her.

I lay on my side, sated from taking my wife and pleased with myself to see her face still flushed with her recent excitement.  As we both calmed, I could not help but run my hand over the small mound protruding from her stomach.  With the arm I had around her shoulders, I held her body tightly to me as I caressed the place where my child grew.

“What shall we name the child?” Alexandra asked quietly.  She positioned her hand over mine.