AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Premila gasped and shrank away from Katrina as soon as she and Sebald reached them. “I…I don’t….” She glanced desperately to Sebald.
“Katrina and Ox are fierce, but they won’t hurt you,” Sebald assured her. He turned slightly to Katrina. “I was hoping that they might be able to keep an eye on you today, while the rest of us are at the meetings. In case Barthold comes looking for you.”
I caught my breath slightly. Without saying much at all, Sebald was telling all of us what had happened. Barthold was his old lover, the man he’d been so eager to go looking for when he’d set off after the coronation. Now, here he was with a battered woman and an injured baby. Clearly, Barthold wasn’t the man Sebald had once thought he was.
“I heard that the Wolf River Kingdom was actively seeking to recruit women and children to live within its boundaries,” Jorgen said carefully as we all moved to resume our seats.
There were about a dozen different questions in his statement.
Magnus nodded, still watching Premila as he sat. “What you heard is correct,” he said, taking both Peter’s and Neil’s hands once they were all seated. “A kingdom of only men will age and die. Any kingdom that wants to outlast those who founded it needs women and children.” Magnus paused, then his mouth twitched into a grin. “It is a clever man who finds himself some of each.”
So there was the answer to that. Whatever Sebald had in mind for Premila’s future, now that Magnus had met her and her son, he would probably bend over backwards to make certain they ended up in the Wolf River Kingdom. Sebald hadn’t just found himself a pup, he’d stumbled into an entire family by accident as well.
I peeked at Jace as I knelt again beside his chair, wondering if he’d picked up on the monumental change that had just happened to Sebald. Jace wore a frown, though, and when he spoke, I could see Premila’s appearance had barely distracted him from his earlier thoughts.
“Are you truly the king in the north,” he asked Jorgen, “or does Duke Laasko still think he’s in charge?”
The question was such a blunt return to where the conversation had been before Premila and her baby arrived that it shifted the mood in the garden again. Jorgen stared angrily at Jace for a moment, as if he thought it was audacious of Jace to ask such a question in the face of Premila’s abuse. Then his gaze fell on me, kneeling placidly by Jace’s side, and Jorgen’s expression changed.
“I am the king in all but name,” he answered the question openly, which came as a bit of a surprise. “Duke Laasko is holding onto what power he can, but he knows a more powerful leader when he sees one. He has seen the strength of the wolves, and he knows that Inverhaus will not survive without us, not now that the kingdom has crumbled and the cities are on their knees. He cares for his people more than most city leaders, and he will do what is best for them, even if that comes at his own expense.”
He glanced to me again, smirking.
“The duke always was a good man,” Katrina said, though most of her attention was on Premila. “My father approved of him.”
I’d forgotten that Katrina was from Inverhaus. Her support for the duke was encouraging.
“Laasko is far more aware of activity on the frontier than King Sai is,” Hati picked up where Jorgen left off. “For example, he is aware that Gerald and Avraam have joined your Wolf River Kingdom, and that the north could be cut off from trade with Good Port by that particular alliance.”
Hati met Magnus’s eyes for a moment before glancing to Olympus.
Olympus had watched the entire conversation as if he were attending the final seminar of a school year and had an exam about what he was hearing the next day. He was the least experienced of the leaders at the meeting—and it was a meeting, in spite of us pups on our knees, Premila shivering on the chair she’d been offered between Ox and Katrina, and her baby fussing painfully. It was clear Olympus was trying his best, though.
He sat forward a bit and cleared his throat. “Good Port is only concerned with trade,” he said. The way Magnus, Jorgen, and Hati stared at him, taking him seriously—and the way Lefric gazed proudly at him—seemed to give him more confidence as he went on. “I will be honest with you and tell you that is our city’s only concern. The leaders of Good Port, the council, the primary families, and the wealthiest merchants, don’t care about political alliances or who has the moral high ground. They don’t care about cities versus wolves, who fucks who, or who is still friendly toward the Old Realm. They will trade with whoever offers them the best deal. Prominence in Good Port is determined by which family has the most money, not the most friends.”
“But if it came down to it,” Jorgen asked, “if the Old Realm were to make a bid to reclaim the frontier, would Good Port side with King Julius or would they join with the rest of the frontier to expel any incursions?”
My brow shot up. That was the most direct question I’d yet heard, not only about what the major powers of the frontier were willing to do to work together, but what lengths they would go to in order to fight for their existence. The answer would bring us as close as we’d yet come to a definitive statement of solidarity and purpose.
The air in the garden seemed to crackle before Olympus shrugged slightly and said, “I wasn’t given time to consult with the council in Good Port to learn what they think, but I know my father’s mind. I believe he would choose to stand with his brothers and sisters of the frontier, even if that meant he had to stand against a king whose throne is so far away from us that it might as well be on the moon.” He paused, frowned, then said, “I’m less certain whether the handful of other men vying for power in Good Port would feel the same way.”
Magnus smiled at the answer. That smile grew when Jorgen glanced to him and raised one eyebrow.
“In spite of the differences we’ve had through the years and the varying beliefs of the wolves,” Magnus said, meeting Jorgen’s eyes, “the Wolf River Kingdom will fight for the continued, peaceful existence of our frontier kingdoms against whomever would attack us.”
Only Magnus could use the words “fight” and “peaceful” in the same sentence. He’d made our position clear, though. He would join forces with Jorgen and the north, and Good Port, and probably even the Kostya Kingdom, if they weren’t already a useless, impotent ally, if it meant we could all work for a peaceful future.
“I think that just about decides things, then,” Jorgen said with a smile. He planted his hands on the arms of his chair and stood. “Shall we proceed to our day’s entertainment in the palace?”
“I think that sounds like an excellent idea,” Magnus said, laughing as he stood.
Everyone else got up too. I smiled in spite of the edgy feeling in the air. I was certain there was much more to be discussed, but the beginnings of a new alliance had just been forged. And if Sai didn’t watch his step, the cities would end up on the outside of the new frontier.
Magnus, Peter, and Neil stepped forward to Jorgen and Hati. Olympus and Lefric rose as well. When Jace stood, I reached for his hand. He thought I was asking for a hand up, and it was useful as I stood, but then I didn’t let go.
“Would you mind if I stayed here today with the other pups?” I asked, glancing to Kliment and Nikandr as they moved to greet Avenel.
Several emotions flitted across Jace’s face. “I’ll miss you if you do, you know,” he said, then sighed. “But I understand.”
