The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (44 page)

“Are you okay, Roberto?” he called out, keeping his eyes on Elisa. The man behind her sat on the ground, holding the spot where his ear had been. He nodded his head once. “I’m impressed,” he said, to her now.

“What is going on here?” Logan demanded, angrily.

“A simple test,” Markus replied, nonchalantly. “I wanted to make sure she was who I thought she was.”

“You could have just asked!” Logan spat back. “Look what you’ve done to Wolf.”

“He’ll be fine,” he waved off. “If I had just asked, she could have lied, so I had to make sure for myself. From the damage to my two men, I’d say my assumptions were correct.”

“I wouldn’t have lied,” Elisa spoke for the first time.

He shrugged again, walking closer to her. “Now I know for sure. So, Elisa, to what do we owe this pleasure?” They were standing very close to each other now. She felt trapped by his gaze, and realized she was holding her breath.

“I-I came for them,” she stuttered.

“To take them home?”

“Yes.”

“Surely you weren’t planning on taking them and leaving without a visit to the palace first?”

She lowered her eyes to the ground. Court protocol obligated her to go, which she knew was not in her schedule. To say she wasn’t going to see him would be an insult to him and the city. Now was the time to be diplomatic, but she couldn’t find her usual confidence. When she looked up, she met his blue gaze again. He waited patiently for her reply.

“I’m on a tight schedule,” was all she said. Elisa suspected he would be angry, but instead his face broke out into a smile. This smile was not like the one before, amused at the expense of other people’s troubles. This smile was genuine.

“Well, at least you didn’t lie.” She found herself smiling back, unwillingly. A cough interrupted their exchange. They both looked back to see Wolf staring at them, holding the back of his head.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but there are three people here that need some medical assistance,” he said, his voice betraying his anger.

“Of course,” Markus smiled. “Shall we?”

They all proceeded to the palace. Markus held out his arm for Elisa, which she took thankfully, walking beside him the rest of the way, ahead of the others.

Markus kept up a steady stream of conversation as they walked through the city. He pointed out different buildings and the statues hidden amongst them. The art here was very different from what she was used to, but nevertheless she was greatly intrigued. It didn’t take them long before he announced that they had arrived. The palace was simply – breathtaking. Elisa stopped as it came into view, admiring its beauty silently.

“Welcome to Nysa,” Markus said, his voice filled with pride. They stood in an open courtyard in center of the city. A large fountain stood in the middle, much grander than the one she had seen before. There were shops lining the square, most just opening for the morning. Only a few Men and women walked arm in arm from booth to booth, everyone dressed in light clothes as their tanned skin shone in the heat of the day.

Opposite to them stood the palace. It was huge, the walls a dazzling white with small balconies lining the front, each with flowers decorating the railings. It added just the right amount of colour to the facade. Tall trees stood on either side of the doors, which were twice a man’s height and painted black, with massive gold handles on them. Two towers stood in the back, with roofs made of copper that shone in the sun. It was almost as if the palace was glowing. Men stood along the top where the roof was flat, not dressed in armour like back home, but in elegant black suits with an emblem of the sun stitched on the front in gold thread.

“What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” Elisa breathed. Markus smiled as he watched her. “It’s so – open,” she said.

Markus laughed. “Yes, it is. I never understood what it was about you people in the Capital, surrounding yourselves with big, oppressing walls. What is the point of making something beautiful if you hide it? No one can appreciate it,” he said, looking over at his home. Elisa peered at him thoughtfully. It was true. Everything about this city was more open and welcoming than her home. They didn’t hide anything behind walls, or intimidating guards. It was as if anyone could just come and go as they pleased, and no one would stop them. “Shall we?” he motioned with his hand towards the doors. Nodding her head, she followed him towards the entrance, not bothering to look behind her.

When they got inside, the men who were injured were sent to see the palace doctor. Markus then turned to tell a passing servant to bring Elisa up to the room that was prepared for her. This quickly brought her attention back to more serious matters.

“Oh, we can’t stay,” she said quickly.

“Nonsense. Of course you can. We are having a ball tonight and you will be my honoured guests.”

Panic began to grow in the pit of her stomach. “My father is expecting us back shortly. We cannot afford to stay another night.”

“I have already sent a message to your father and the High King, letting them know that you will be my guests for a short while. I’m sure there won’t be a problem,” he said with authority. He made it very difficult to argue with him. She doubted very many people did. Before another word escaped her lips, the small servant girl he had spoken to was directing her to follow as they walked to the upper floor.

The floors were made of marble, almost as white as the walls outside. They were so polished, they looked almost like water. There was a wide staircase that led to a floor above them, an elegant railing running along the whole landing. When they came to the second level, the floors were carpeted in a rich red fabric. The walls were paneled in cream and gold. Paintings hung at random intervals, and statues sat recessed in small alcoves. Elisa was brought to a bedroom, the walls a light purple, with a huge four-poster bed draped in sheer white curtains. Two cream sofas sat on either side of a dark table in front of a fireplace. There was a door on the right wall that led to what Elisa assumed was the bathroom. The best part of the room was the two glass doors on the opposite wall. She walked slowly across the cold marble floor and opened them in one fluid motion. The balcony was small, but it was situated at the front of the palace, so the whole square sat below her. She watched the people beneath her, soaking in the fresh air and clear skies.

“Does the room suit you miss?” the girl asked. Elisa turned to smile at her. She was very small and looked to be no older than thirteen or fourteen years. She had light brown hair pulled sharply back into a bun. Her face was very angular, almost harsh looking, and her eyes were small and a solid brown. She was very plain looking, but Elisa still found something oddly pretty about her.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. The girl smiled.

“We have a bath prepared for you if you would like to wash up,” she said in a small, accented voice. A bath was like music to Elisa’s ears. She thanked her generously, following her towards the small bathroom.

As she soaked in the warm water, Elisa couldn’t help but curse herself for the way things had turned out. Wolf was injured and Logan had almost been choked to death. Both were now somewhere in the palace, she had no idea where, and were probably angry with her for completely ignoring the fact that they had been hurt. Markus was insisting they stay, which meant she wouldn’t get back home as quickly as her father liked, and he hadn’t really explained how long he intended for them to stay, which made her very nervous.

Lastly, she was expected to attend some ball, which was possibly the worst part of the whole mess. There would be dancing and socializing, and proper etiquette that she did not understand in the least. She could shoot an arrow straighter than anyone else, to talk about events and politics? She was lost. Sighing, she submerged herself completely under the water, letting the warmth cover her from head to toe, washing away any insecurity she had before the day began.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Wolf followed Markus’ men down the hall. His head was pounding, but he ignored the pain. The fact that Markus now knew Elisa was in town was a bigger concern. Logan caught up to him, falling into step.

“How’s the head?” he asked, keeping his voice low so the other men in front of them wouldn’t hear.

Wolf shrugged. “I’ll live.”

“Thank the Gods for that,” he replied sarcastically. “So, we ignored the King’s summons huh?”

Wolf smiled lightly at his tone. “Don’t ask. I have no idea what the King was thinking with that one.”

“I’m assuming Elisa doesn’t know why we’re really here then?”

“I doubt it, otherwise the King wouldn’t have told that lie. I guess he wanted to keep up the façade that we’re only here for leisure.”

“Doesn’t really make sense,” Logan said, shaking his head. “I mean, she’s the Captain’s daughter. Surely they’d trust her with the truth.”

“The King told me before we left that to make sure we knew any summons to return was truly from him, he’d send someone personally. Obviously that person is Elisa. He also said the fewer people who knew our reasons for being in the south, the better. I doubt it has anything to do with trust.”

They were growing closer to the infirmary, and for once Wolf was thankful to be seeing a healer. The pounding in his head was getting worse with each step.

“Why is he calling us back now? We don’t have anything to report yet,” Logan whispered. “After all the months we’ve been down here, and all the people we’ve talked to, we still have no proof that Markus is working with the north.”

Wolf let out a long, tired sigh. All he had wanted to do last night was go to bed early, and possibly sleep in. Now look where he was. Every night they spent their time prowling the taverns, listening in on conversations, watching for anything suspicious, but they hadn’t yet learned anything useful. After months of repeating this, he was tired. He had even enlisted Annabelle and her friends to help, on the women’s advice that the men in the south loved to talk while in bed. Not that they knew exactly what Wolf and Logan were looking for, but he trusted Annabelle enough to ask her to listen for anything she thought might be of interest to him. When they had first arrived, Wolf and Logan had come across Annabelle being roughed up by one of her clients. Wolf made sure that the man knew never to bother her again. He guessed she felt indebted to him, because it wasn’t long after that, that she had approached him. The women of the south were observant. It didn’t get past their notice that Wolf and Logan were paying special attention to the conversations around them. Wolf just hoped they were the only ones who noticed. Having their help sounded promising in the beginning, but so far no one had brought him any useful information. The most they learned was that the Chancellor, Antonio, was the closest to Markus. He seemed like their best bet, but getting close to the man was impossible.

“Gods, you even had to deal with Victoria for this mission, and it got us nowhere,” Logan said with a shudder, his thoughts in line with Wolf’s.

“Don’t remind me,” Wolf groaned. The look on Elisa’s face still burned in his memory. She must think the worst of him. First she thought he had slept with another man’s wife, after walking into the mess at their hotel. Then she believed he was also sleeping with prostitutes – if her expression at Annabelle’s told him anything. He probably disgusted her. There was nothing he could do. If she didn’t know why he was really in the south, he wasn’t going to betray his King’s confidence by setting her straight. Unfortunately, he was going to have to let her think what she wanted. Wolf came to a stop outside the infirmary.

“Look,” he said, motioning for Logan to step closer. “Right now our only concern is getting out of here before Markus starts asking too many questions. He was already suspicious when we first arrived months ago. Having Elisa here will only make it worse. He’s going to be on guard. We don’t need trouble, so let’s just get fixed up, find Elisa, and go home.”

“Right,” Logan agreed.

“There you are,” Markus called out behind them. They both turned together to see the leader of Nysa striding towards them. “Sorry about that, boys,” he smiled, stopping in front of them. “I didn’t mean for my men to rough you up so badly.”

“We’ve had worse,” Wolf replied shortly.

“Of course you have. Since you’re here, I thought it might do you some good to train with my men this afternoon. I’d like you to stay for the ball this evening, so it will give you something to do until then.” Wolf stood up straighter. He saw Logan glance at him out of his peripheral vision. “My men have been looking forward to working with you two ever since you showed up. They want to see what skills the King’s men have. Plus, it will be good for you,” he said smiling, while he leaned over and hit Logan in the stomach. A puff of air escaped Logan’s mouth, as he bent over with a soft groan. “I’m sure your Captain wouldn’t want you two getting soft from being down here.”

“That’s true,” Logan wheezed.

Wolf smiled, trying his best to keep it friendly. “Of course. We’d love to join your men for their training.”

“Perfect!” Markus exclaimed. “I’ll see you in an hour then.” He turned to leave, but stopped as Wolf spoke.

“Make sure to invite Elisa as well,” he said.

With raised eyebrows, Markus looked between the two of them, before stopping on Wolf again. “Elisa?”

“Oh yes,” Wolf smiled, secretly enjoying himself now. “She’ll be very upset if she’s not included in everything that we do.”

He nodded slowly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Of course, I’ll make sure she knows then. See you both shortly.” He turned and left them, his stride a little stiffer than it had been previously.

Wolf turned to look at the still hunched over Logan. “Honestly,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Did you have to groan like that? You made us look weak.” He turned to enter the infirmary, Logan close on his heels.

“Aw c’mon! He caught me off-guard!”

“Yeah, well, now it’s our turn to catch him.”

* * * * *

Elisa exited the palace on the south side. The rest of the Nysan army was already doing drills. Despite the early morning hour, the air was thick with heat. She could see the men’s perspiration through their thin shirts. Instead of the usual black, they all wore plain white shirts for training. She looked down with a scowl at the outfit Markus left her. The shirt was two sizes too big for her, and almost reached down to her knees. She was thankful for the pants, but the shirt was ridiculous. She looked like a child. No one here was going to take her seriously dressed like a little girl in her father’s shirt.