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“If you can keep up, you have until we reach the stables.”
His mouth tightens at the corners, but he follows me into the Great Hall. “I’d like to meet the woman,” he says and I almost scoff aloud.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I said no.” Even if I could fathom a reason for such a meeting, I still wouldn’t allow him anywhere near her.
“The First Deve expects you to marry the woman. Crossing him should not be done lightly.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever would I do without your counsel, Uncle?”
He doesn’t appreciate the mockery, and for a moment, there’s only the sound of our boots on the stone floor as we cross to the main doors, which are propped open as they always are during the day.
“He may cut off trade if you don’t go through with the union, or worse, he may –”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
Squinting against the brightness of the overcast sky, I hop down the steps. My uncle, whose knee doesn’t do well with stairs, remains on the landing to yell, “What are you going to do, then?”
If only I knew.
The courtyard is busy. Winter is coming and though the crops have all been harvested and stored, there is still much to do if we’re going to make it through the long, dark months ahead.
A team of horses arrives, pulling a cart of freshly cut trees from the forest and a few warriors emerge from the barracks above the stables to begin the process of chopping it into firewood. One of my first changes as deve was to mandate year-round work for the men. All men. In the past, everyone pitched in during the harvest, but otherwise if the warriors weren’t training or out on patrol, they were loafing about and drinking ale. Now, every day, every man puts in a few hours of communal work. There’ve been objections aplenty, especially from the older warriors, and it hasn’t completely stopped the drunkenness, but I’ve been adamant. Teo has warned me that I’m straining their loyalty, but I tell him the same thing I tell everyone: you don’t like it, challenge me for leadership. It’s that simple.
Entering the quiet of the stables, I let the soothing smell of horses replace the worry that during the dead of winter the men will have nothing but time to talk over their ale. And bytalk,I mean complain and bitch not only about my leadership, but also about the First Deve’s ever-increasing taxes.
Down the long row of stalls, Nightshade lifts his head. “Hello, boy,” I whisper, ducking under the rope of his paddock. He tries to sniff out my hands, so I show him they’re empty. “Sorry, my friend. I’ve got nothing for you this time. It’s been a shit morning.”
My giant war horse snorts, unhappy with me. “Yeah, I know, a poor excuse. But if you met her, you’d be more understanding.” I run my hands over his whole body, sweeping away any dust or debris, watching for any flinching or discomfort. A warrior’s horse is his greatest asset, and honestly, besides my mother and cousin, there’s no one who I’m closer to than Nightshade.
As I saddle him, his ears swivel in the direction of the entrance and once again tension gathers at the base of my skull. A few stalls down, Jackanapes snickers as Noé arrives. “Ahh, you sweet bastard,” Noé coos to his horse. “Has Luka invited you along?”
“He has not,” I say and Noé nods. Most know that I like to ride alone to clear my head.
“Anything you need me to do while you’re gone?”
My thoughts drift to the route I’ll take on my coming ride as I tell him absently, “Not that I can think of.”
“You sure? I could pry the answers we need from her faithless lips.”
I grit my teeth. “Stay away from her, Noé.”
“At least let me shackle her to the bed. She’s going to take our threats for empty.”
Lifting my attention from the girth buckle, I size up my Warrior Commander over Nightshade’s back. “What is your obsession with chains? I still don’t understand why you felt it necessary to use them on her in the first place. I doubt she weighs more than seven stone.”
“She killed a man,” he deadpans.
“And you believe Cayson when he says she tempted his twin into the woods with false promises of sexual favors?”
He shrugs. “All I know is that it sounds exactly like something a woman from D’heilar would do.”
“That is true,” I concede half-heartedly, unsure if I believe it. “Tell me, where do you have her belongings stored?”
“What?”
