The Sword and the Sylph (Elemental Series) (14 page)

“Who is this comely girl?” Lord Muir pushed O
laf aside and stepped up so close that the tips of his boots were hitting her pallet.

“That is my betrothed,” said Olaf
anxiously. “I made a deal with the countess and she gave her to me in exchange for our aid.”

Lord Muir grabbed O
laf by the front of his tunic and threw him against the wall. Then he walked over and choked the man with one hand and punched him with the other.

“Like hell she did! I am leader of the Klarens and you would make no deal in my absence.”

“I’m sorry, my lord,” said the man all but groveling at his feet.

“And you, wench,” he said to the
countess, “would wait until I am here before you take it upon yourself to make agreements with my army.”

The countess bit her lip and Portia could tell she was refraining herself from speaking. But if she was bold enough to bring Klarens to her door than she would have to learn to deal with the circumstances.

Then the man redirected his attention, staring down at her.

“Sit up!” he ordered.

Portia had half a mind to deny him, but still felt as though her powers were not replenished. She would wait until they were out in the open air and then she’d show him who was really in charge atop this mountain.

She sat up slowly
, her hair falling across her face to hide it.

He hunkered down next to her and with the tip of his sword, pushed the hair from her eyes.

“So you are the one who is going to heal my wounded men with just a kiss?”

“I would do naught of the sort,” she spat.

He replaced his sword in his sheath, standing as he did so. The sound of the scraping metal echoed throughout the quiet room.

“She’s a fae, isn’t she?” he asked.

“Aye,” answered the countess.

“
Interesting,” he said with a satisfied smile and a slight nod of his head. “I’ve never had a fae before. If you want our services to raid Banesmoor than you would give me the girl.”

“Nay, she’s my betrothed,” protested Olaf, only to get knocked back into the wall by the sole of Lord Muir’s boot.

“Say that again and I’ll run my sword through you before you can finish. Now Countess, do you agree to my terms or not?”

“I do, but only if you’ll not ravish her until after we’ve taken Banesmoor. If she is to heal your wounded, then she’ll need to concentrate. I can’t have her distracted by coupling or her power to heal would not work.”

“I’ll do my best to try,” was all he said. Then he reached down and lifted her chin in his hand. Portia looked down at his arm instead of into his eyes, not wanting to give her soul to this devil. And when she did she couldn’t help but gasp. Burned into the underside of his forearm was the blackened outline of two snakes intertwined – the Klarens’ crest, and they were wrapped around none other than a crescent moon. Her heart almost stopped, as she now knew this man was none other than Braden’s father. The man who had raped his mother and beat him as a child.

“You act as if you recognize the mark upon my arm that signifies me as the ruler of the Klarens.”

She still didn’t look at him, just closed her eyes and shook her head, trying not to tremble in the man’s presence.

“Open your eyes, witch!” He grabbed h
er chin harder and raised it upward. “I want you to look at me and never forget who I am.”

She didn’t h
ave to look at him to do that. After Braden’s sad story, how could she ever forget? She opened her eyes and looked into his and there she saw Braden’s past in just a glance. Ice settled deep in the man’s black orbs as well as the fires of hell at the same time.

She felt his evil presence through every fiber of her being. ’Twas something she’d never felt while around Braden and it was
hard to fathom that he was sown from this man’s very seed. She knew Braden would try to not only rescue her, but kill every last Klaren as well as soon as he discovered they were here. She had no idea where he was right now, but she prayed to the element of the air that he wouldn’t try to come after her. Because if he did . . . there was a good chance he would lose his life to this man in the process.

Chapter 15

Braden rode into Banesmoor late that evening, with Sir Samuel at his side. He didn’t know what to tell Lord Solomon, and he was sure the man’s captain of the guard was going to expose him and he’d be in stocks or perhaps the dungeon or even one of Lord Solomon’s hanging cages by the time the sun rose.

“Gentlemen,” called Lord Solomon waving an arm toward them across the courtyard. “Join me by the fire and we’ll discuss matters.”

Braden got off his horse and handed the reins to the groom. He was in a foul mood, and rightly so. But he had to try to make amends with his liege lord if he ever wanted to see Portia again. Things were in a shambles and he knew now he should have stayed back at Manterra with Lord Wolfe in the first place and he wouldn’t be in this predicament.

“So did you find the spy girl?” asked the lord, settling himself a
t the dais.

“
My lord,” interrupted Sir Samuel, “we have larger problems at hand.”

“And what would that be
?” he asked, taking a tankard of ale from a servant, and motioning for the rest of them to join him.

Sir Samuel took a tankard and put it down on the trestle table in front of him. Braden waved the servant away. He didn’t want to drink at a time like this. Aye, he needed it more than anything, but he also needed to keep his head clear and think up a plan that would be beneficial to everyone in the long run.

“Klarens.” Sir Samuel sat down and leaned forward, anxiously supplying the information. “The countess has at least a hundred of them joining her own troops at Calila at this very moment.”

“So she’s planning on attacking, and I’m guessing we are the target.”

“Aye, it looks that way. And I believe they mean to do it soon.”

Lord Solomon took a quaff of ale and then slowly put the tankard on the table. Nothing seemed to shake this man and Braden truly admired the fact he could stay so level-headed
and calm in such a time of danger.

“Sir
Braden, my daughter has been crying in her solar all day. It seems to me she has fallen in love with this stablemaster. The traitor. What do you suggest I do with the man?”

“That is not for me to say, my lord.”

“The man is a spy,” he said. “You said so yourself. And I don’t take kindly to those who betray me.”

“Of course not, my lord.”

“You fail to bring me the girl yet once again,” he said. “And the stablemaster tells me he’s seen you kiss her, and that she is the fae daughter of the Lord of Calila. Is this true?”

Braden knew he couldn’t lie. He’d already been called out, and besides, Sir Samuel was standing right beside him and would vo
uch to the lovemaking he’d heard in the hills. He wasn’t ashamed of what he’d done with Portia, but he was sorry now he’d ever agreed to marry the man’s daughter in the first place.

“Her name is Portia-Maer, my lord. ’Tis true she is the
earl’s daughter and that she is a fae.”

“And did you kiss her, Sir Braden?
Is what the stablemaster tells me the truth?”

He looked over to Sir Samuel who was staring at him. He could not read him and had no idea if he’d say something or not.
Still, he couldn’t take the chance, nor did he want to lie about how he really felt toward Portia.

“I did
kiss her, my lord. At the time it was not more than a distraction so she would not reveal my identity to the countess.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” he said with a smile.

“But there is more, my lord.”

Lord Solomon raised a brow and nodded. “Continue.”

“I do you a great dishonor by having to tell you that I cannot accept your offer of your daughter’s hand in marriage, nor any of the dowry – the title or the lands.”

“We had a deal, Sir
Braden. Are you not keeping your word?”

“I am in love with the sylph,” he said before he lost his nerve.

“The what?” Lord Solomon made a face and raised his eyebrows at Braden.

“The sylph,
” he repeated. “Portia-Maer is an elemental. She can control the air as well as the weather.”

“Did you bed the wench?” he asked. “Did you have her while you were betrothed to my daughter?”

Braden thought about lying, but knew Portia meant the world to him and that he would never be embarrassed about the love they’d shared. This answer would seal his fate and he knew it, but he couldn’t go on living this way.

“I did, my lord. And though I am not proud for dishonoring our agreement, I am also not shamed by what I’ve done.”

“I trusted you, Sir Braden. I chose you over all the rest of the suitors that had much to offer and were much worthier than yourself, and this is how you repay me?”

“I never meant to hurt you or Lady Christabel,” he answered. “But as you can see, your daughter has eyes for another man
anyway.”

Lord Solomon didn’t say a word at first. Then he slowly pushed up from his chair and looked to Sir Samuel.
No emotion showed on his face and now Braden knew where his daughter had inherited that ability.

“Take him to the dungeon,” he i
nstructed. Then he looked to Braden and shook his head. “I am sorry to have to do this, but you’ve given me no choice. I cannot be belittled and humiliated in front of those I lead. At first light you would be taken to the crossroads and hanged from the gallows inside the metal cage. And don’t worry about being lonely, because the stablemaster would be right there beside you.”

* * *

Portia couldn’t wait for the Klarens and the countess to leave the room. As soon as the door closed, she jumped up and ran to her father. He lay on the bed, still not moving and she wasn’t sure that he hadn’t died while she was atop the mountain with Braden.

“He is close to death,” said Juturna stepping from the shadows.

“Juturna, I am so relieved you are here. Did you hear everything that just happened?”

“I did,” she said. “And I thought I’d seen the last of the Klarens when I’d witnessed their destruction of your friend Brynn’s castle and the death of her parents.”

“The Klarens killed her parents?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her head dizzied and her body swayed and she knew she needed to get out in the air soon.

“Did Sir Braden find you
, child? I sent him after you, I hope you don’t mind.”

“He found me, Juturna. And since you are a seer I am sure you know what happened.”

“You are a fae,” she told her. “And because of this, the wind carried your cries of passion all the way down the mountain, Portia. The entire castle knows what happened. I didn’t need my gazing crystal for that one.”

“I love him, Juturna. And I am afraid I am going to lose him now that the Klarens are here and about to attack Banesmoor.”

“Then do something about it,” she answered. “You are an elemental, now use your powers and don’t fall victim to circumstances.”

“You are right,” she said. “And the first thing I’m going to do is to sneak out of here and go warn Braden.”

“Do not tarry,” Juturna instructed, “for I fear your presence is needed here more to protect your father and his people. Lord Solomon’s army is strong. They would be able to fend for themselves.”

“I need to see him again before this war starts, Juturna.
This may be the last time I ever see him alive.”

“Then go,” she said with a nod
of her hand. “But just remember where your loyalty lies. I fear your father does not have long for this earth, child. Your kiss healed his wound but I see a battle going on inside his own body that brings a fever to his brow and keeps him from waking. I have tried all in my power but I fear his illness is too far along to reverse.”

Portia placed a kiss on her father’s cheek, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. “I won’t abandon him in his hour of despair,” she said. “I promise you, I will return soon, and I would bring Sir Braden with me.”

Chapter 16

Portia had a hard time sneaking out of the castle, even in her invisible form. She had just made it to the door when she heard Lord Muir mention her name from the great hall.

“I want to see that fae girl again,” he said. “Page, bring her to me anon.”

“What do you want with her?” asked the countess, irritation showing in her voice.

“If she is going to be healing our wounded, then I think we need her here for the plans as well.”

“I don’t see that she’ll be of any help to us right now,” complained the countess.

“All the same, I’d like her at my side right now. And if you want our help in conquering your enemy then I suggest you comply with my wishes.”

“Fine,” said the countess, “then let’s get on with the plans already.” She called to a page from across the room. “Page, bring Lady Portia to us anon.”