Chapter 8
After a much-needed bath and meal, Kathryn felt almost alive again, despite the heaviness that she couldn’t quite push away. She joined Trista and Ren on the small terrace that served as a fresh air dining area and told the girl the whole story of what had happened over these awful past couple days.
Trista was Kathryn’s oldest friend, despite the fact that they had little in common. While Kathryn was poised and known for her strategic mind, Trista was a bit flighty, impulsive, and almost too cheerful. When Kathryn finished her story, however, the girl sat back with a white face, disbelieving. “Illian didn’t even help you?” she asked in shock.
Trista had always had a bit of a crush on Illian, as Kathryn knew well. She certainly wasn’t the only one. The prince was popular among ladies of the court.
So Kathryn chose her words carefully as she said, “I don’t know if he could. But that’s not important right now. I have to get home. We don’t have time to waste, and if we stay here, Navinor may attack you as well.”
Trista protested, “But Ren is injured! Surely you’d rather stay for a bit longer. I’ll protect you. They can’t just invade my castle.”
“Wouldn’t put it past ‘em,” Ren muttered.
“Trista, you need to trust me on this. You don’t want to get involved,” Kathryn told her. “It is enough to know I have someone who is loyal and willing to help. But my father must know about this immediately.”
“Right. Will there…will there be another war?” Trista asked hesitantly. Her brothers had all died in the two wars with Navinor.
Ren patted her on the head, undeterred by her scathing glare. “Don’t worry, lady Trista,” he reassured her. “There’s not gonna be a war. Right, princess?”
Kathryn didn’t know what to say to them. She had no idea how far Gregory might go to stir things up. And something else bothered her. There was something about the whole situation that still didn’t make sense, no matter how hard she tried to put her finger on it. Specifically, how had they known she didn’t drink wine? Was there a traitor among the nobility who had been keeping an eye on her for some time? Illian’s face floated before her imagination. Who else would want to hurt her to this degree?
But she put aside the ridiculous thought and responded, “I’m going to do whatever I can to prevent one, Trista.”
Soon after, Kathryn and Ren were ready to go once again. Trista gave Kathryn a tearful hug. “You can always come back if you need a place to go,” she promised.
Then she turned to Ren and handed him a small package. “What’s this?” Ren asked curiously.
“Fever medicine. And some salve for your wound,” Trista told him. “Take the medicine every three hours and use the salve each morning and night.”
Ren grinned. “Thanks!
Trista put a hand on his arm. “Take good care of her, will you? And of yourself, of course.”
“Sure will! Don’t you worry, Lady Trista. I’ve never gotten myself killed yet.”
Trista turned to Kathryn and handed her a small pouch. “Here’s what you asked for. But are you sure? I thought you never used magic,” she began.
Kathry put a finger to her lips, glancing over at Ren, but he appeared to be chatting with his horse and hadn’t noticed the exchange. She took the pouch. “It’s only for emergencies,” she said quietly.
She didn’t want him to know that she had no intention of letting him get wounded again while trying to protect her. The verdant opals in the bag would allow her to at least put up a fight on her own, and perhaps even protect him. That idea would have horrified him.
Ren and Kathryn mounted their horses and waved briefly before galloping away. Ren called to her, “We’re nearly home, Kat! We can make it.”
She said nothing, but her heart lifted a little. As long as he was well and with her, there was nothing they couldn’t overcome. Not even a false accusation of murder.
At the same time, Gregory sat in his tent, glaring at a map. “We missed them.” His tone was brittle, like he was about to snap. Frost spread out from his fingers, covering Iridalys on the map.
Xian stood by him, as impassive as ever, with the Protector captain at his side. Gregory snapped, “How is it that we’ve missed them? How?!” He flung the map onto the floor, and the captain winced. “New plan, Xian. Take the fastest horse we have and go on to the palace alone. Do not engage anyone except General Ren, and when you find him, kill him. We will follow behind as fast as we can to deal with the princess and anyone else who gets in our way. Understood?”
A suspicion of a smile crossed Xian’s scarred face. “Yes,” he said simply.
“Good. Oh, and kill him as painfully as possible for wasting our time,” Gregory said venomously.
Xian nodded. “As you order, my lord.”
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Ren and Kathryn were both exhausted. The princess could barely sit upright after multiple nights of poor sleep. Ren’s fever was gone and his shoulder had improved thanks to the salve, but he too could hardly keep his eyes open. As they neared home, the weary travelers kept their heads down, trusting the animals to find their steps in the darkness.
We’re only about a mile from the capitol now, Kathryn thought. They were nearly home. Surely the Protectors wouldn’t follow them this far.
It was that carelessness that almost got them killed. Perhaps they’d both dozed off slightly; at any rate, they didn’t hear the pounding hoofbeats until they were right on top of them.
Twisting in the saddle, Kathryn saw something that made her eyes widen and a scream escape her lips. “Ren, it’s Xian!”
He drew his sword and threw it up just in time to block a devastating overhead slash from General Xian.
Xian followed up with a flurry of blows as Ren tried desperately to block. Kathryn could only watch in horror. And inevitably, Xian knocked the exhausted young warrior off of his horse and onto the rocky forest floor.
Kathryn snapped out of her panic and dismounted, holding the pouch Trista had given her. She shook some of the opals inside into her trembling hand.
As she struggled to draw out their power, Ren’s horse reared, and a hoof narrowly missed his face as he tried to regain his footing, bleeding from a cut on his forehead.
Xian dismounted and strode towards Ren. He thrust, and Ren barely knocked the sword aside. “Princess, run!” Ren yelled.
She probably should have run. But Kathryn had no intention of letting him get killed while fighting for her.
Glimmering orange magic radiated from her body, looking like fireflies and sending a dim glow over the trees and bushes around them.
Those trees and bushes burst into flame, as did the grass under Xian’s feet. He lept back in surprise. A wall of flame spread in front of him, briefly blocking Ren from his sight.
Then, his body tensed and Kathryn realized with horror that he was about to leap through the flames and attack the young warrior once again. Even the fire that licked his clothing seemed to hold no fear for the Navinorian general.
His sword rose again, and Kathryn instinctively knew that Ren was about to die and that nothing she could do would be in time to stop it.
She couldn’t breathe or feel or hear. Every sense disappeared except the sense of sight. Ren was still struggling to his feet and could barely stand. There was no way he could block this time.
No!
As a cry of desperation escaped her lips, something happened that she could hardly comprehend. Illian charged out from the darkness on a white horse like a prince out of some storybook with his sword drawn.
He slammed his horse’s shoulder into General Xian, sending him sprawling.
Kathryn lowered her hands, panting as the glow in her eyes faded and she fell to her knees, drained of the last drop of her energy. What had happened? What had she just seen? Illian’s eyes flashed and his face had transformed to an expression of pure determination.
Illian saved us? She couldn’t wrap her head around this strange eventuality.
Ren struggled to his feet, panting. “Illian!” The fires around him had died down to barely a flicker, one that cast an ominous glow over Illian’s cold, grim face.
Then Illian’s voice rang out through the darkness. “General Xian! Stand down!”
General Xian struggled to his feet, his face distorted into a singular expression of rage. “Prince Illian! These two are responsible for the death of Navinor’s second prince!” he shouted.
“Stand down, General.” Illian lowered his voice and spoke quite calmly. “General Ren, and my sister, the Princess of Iridalys, are under arrest and will be under investigation for the murder of your prince.”
The words hit Kathryn like a falling tree. Ren stood stock-still, staring at Illian in disbelief.
Two dozen knights of Iridalys emerged from the trees and surrounded them with their swords drawn. “Stand down, General Ren,” said General Valen.
The shock of it all dizzied Kathryn so she could hardly stand. She glanced over at Ren and saw that, although his legs trembled with fatigue, he only gripped his sword hilt tighter. “Blast it, Illian,” he said between clenched teeth. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Stand down, Ren. I don’t wish for you to be harmed,” Illian said quietly.
Kathryn said, “Illian, stop.”
This has to stop. None of this makes sense!
He turned to look over his shoulder at her, and strangely, his eyes were very sad. So sad, she felt like she was watching his heart crumble into pieces. “Kathryn, order the General to stand down if you want to see him taken alive,” he said softly.
Kathryn shook violently and her stomach revolted. After hoping so desperately for refuge and safety, she found nothing but more enemies on every side.
Breathe. One, two, three.
She forced herself to think clearly. Ren’s face was nearly purple with rage. Any second, he was going to explode and there would be bloodshed. She had to stop him before that happened.
Valen said, “Stand down, General Ren!”
“Enough,” Kathryn said quietly. “Ren, stand down.” He didn’t even seem to hear the words. His body readied to spring. The blood that dripped down his face from the cut made him all the more terrifying. “Ren!”
This time, he started and glanced at her. “My…my lady…”he said brokenly.
He was devastated and had no idea what to do. His strength was nearly at its limit. And while he refused to admit he might lose in a one-on-one fight with any man, he knew he couldn’t fight Valen, Illian, Xian, and the other guards, especially not with his shoulder still throbbing from his first encounter with Xian.
Suddenly, the vines around his feet tore free of the vegetation, wrapping around his arms and legs and pulling him to his knees as he cried out in surprise and pain.
Dorian stepped out of the shadows behind Illian, his green eyes glowing.
Kathryn jumped between Ren and his brother, exclaiming, “Dorian, stop! Don’t hurt him. We both surrender.”
Ren struggled briefly, but he was too weak to release himself.
Kathryn managed to smile at him. “It’s all right,” she said. “We’ll be fine.”
She dropped the opal pouch and knelt in front of him, touching his face. “I promise,” she whispered. “It will be all right.”
He lowered his head, slumping in defeat. She turned to look up at Dorian. “Release him,” she said.
Dorian glanced at Illian, who nodded. The vines retreated, and Ren fell into her arms. Kathryn smoothed his hair, whispering in his ear, “You did well. It’s all right. You did well.”
General Xian protested, “They should be under our authority until the investigation is complete.”
“No,” Illian responded. “We will take them. Rejoin your men, Xian, or face the consequences.”
Xian bit his lip. He bowed, limped to his horse, and rode away into the darkness.
Illian watched in silence for a long moment. Then he said, “General Valen. The Princess is confined to her quarters until further orders. Captain Laird, put General Ren under arrest. He is suspended from his title until the investigation is complete. He is to be held under guard in the tower.”
He dismounted and walked over to Kathryn. “Shall we go, sister?”
Kathryn looked up at him. Pain, betrayal, and disdain overwhelmed her. “I will never forgive you for this,” she said.
He smiled sadly. “Such is the price we pay for doing our duty, sister.”
The guards treated Kathryn with surprising respect, keeping their distance and waiting outside her room to avoid invading her privacy. Carina, her nurse, met her at the door and threw her arms around her, weeping openly. General Valen looked away, embarrassed at the sight of the normally stiff, cold woman expressing her emotions in such a fashion.
Carina wept, “My child, my dear child! My angel, thank God you are safe!”
Kathryn clung to her. Now that she was home, her emotions became utterly overwhelming. Tears spilled down her face, but she only said, “What will happen to Ren, Carina?”
“He’ll be alright, darling. I promise you, we’ll find a way through all of this.”
“Why? Why is Illian doing this?” Kathryn could barely get the words out between sobs as Valen left the room, merely posting two guards at the door.
“My child, I don’t think he wants to hurt you. This is the only way he could keep from handing you over after your father’s order.”
“My…father’s order?” Kathryn said numbly.
“Did they not tell you, child? The king gave the arrest order himself.”
It was as though an invisible hand reached into Kathryn’s chest to stop her heart. “What? What….my father…”
And at long last, she allowed herself to fall to exhaustion and pain and sank into Carina’s arms, unconscious.
General Valen, who was deeply perturbed by the whole matter, asked to see Illian. The young prince accepted, and they sat in the small conference room in silence for a moment. At length Valen said, “Your highness, I understand that this is the king’s order, but was it really necessary to place General Ren in the tower?”
He felt a little responsible for the boy, since he’d taken over training him after General Brenin’s departure.
“It was a mercy, actually. He should have been placed in the lower dungeons,” Illian replied matter-of-factly. He drummed his fingers on the table. “Did you have anything else to say, General?”
“Sir, Ren is…very popular among the guards. This will not go over well with any of them.”
“Fortunately, I don’t need to be popular.” Illian smiled grimly. “General, if I didn’t know you better, I would think you are worryingly sympathetic with the accused.”
“I don’t understand you, sir. Of course I’m sympathetic. We know that they were falsely implicated, don’t we?”
“Do we?” Illian put down his papers. “I think it’s safe to assume so. But unfortunately, our Navinorian friends will not allow us to simply end the matter by saying they are innocent. Someone’s head has to roll. Would you prefer it to be that of General Ren or of the princess?”
Valen was stunned. He didn’t know what to say. Then it occurred to him that Prince Illian must feel even worse. These were his friend and his sister, after all, he realized with a sudden rush of sympathy for his old friend and commander. “My lord…tell me what to do, and I will do it,” he said resolutely.
“Arrange for me to see Father tomorrow. I wish to discuss this matter with him and determine the best course of action,” Illian told him. “For now, please send Dorian Patrick to me.”
Dorian’s face was completely emotionless as he stood before Illian’s desk. He waited until Valen left to speak. “My lord,” he said. “It seems your plan has worked all too well. The king has already sent word that he wishes to see Ren tomorrow.”
Illian frowned. “That’s not what I hoped to hear,” he muttered. It would have been better if the king had ordered him to handle the situation.
“I wouldn’t be concerned, your highness. He will order Ren to take responsibility for what happened. But the princess’s reputation will be permanently tarnished. What more could you ask for?” Dorian said wryly.
“You tell me, Dorian. Is there any possibility your dear brother might be able to convince the king that the fault belongs to someone else?” Illian cocked his head. “If he does, are you going to take the blame?”
Dorian shrugged. “It will be unnecessary, your highness. The king won’t listen to General Ren. You will see tomorrow.”
“Very well. I will trust your judgment. Now, you should get some rest. After using your power like that, you must be exhausted. I’m surprised you acted so recklessly. Verdant opals are in short supply, after all, and we could have stopped him without magic.”
“But then I would not have had an opportunity to aid in my brother’s capture,” Dorian said smoothly. He turned to go, but he paused in the doorway. “Your highness, it was my understanding that Princess Kathryn had no capabilities as a mage.”
“What made you think that, Dorian?” Illian smiled at him grimly. “While my sister and I do not flaunt ourselves like Lenore, we are capable of far more than most people realize. You would do well to remember that.”
“I think I see now why you considered her a threat, your highness.”
Illian murmured, “Hopefully, after tomorrow, she will be so no longer.”
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