AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Go with your gut,” said Roth.
Oriel certainly wasn’t marching in there alone.
Asara’s remaining boats were rounded up farther out and surrounded on all sides. The enemy gave up their weapons as a show of good faith. Of course, they had their magic, but Oriel had a feeling any coming trouble wouldn’t be from them.
The rest of the army headed for land, and some of the citizens ran from the docks. Some had to have guessed something when part of Asara’s army returned, and they must have been terrified that an enormous group of armed soldiers was ready to wreak havoc on them.
Oriel didn’t care to harm the innocent citizens. The streets had partially emptied, and braver ones that were out stayed away as the army went through. Aspen had agreed to come for this too with his crossbow, and one ship with horses had been saved.
The way to the Castle was clear. A flock of diggy doo birds close to the road ran away on their chubby legs as their multicolored feathers flashed different colors in the sun. They certainly weren’t about to fight for Asara.
Asara’s Castle wasn’t even manned. The gate was wide open, and not a single guard stood by to keep out riff-raff from wandering in. A chuckle chickie clung to the bars of the gate and wiggled its yellow tail feathers.
“Teehee,” it giggled.
It almost seemed to be mocking them as if it knew something was up. Asara had to know that they were coming. She was either quite eager to die with dignity and no heroic last-ditch efforts to save herself, she had fled, or she had something up her silken sleeve.
“I have a bad feeling,” Kalani said from farther back.
Oriel ordered the Castle to be surrounded, the wall to be manned, and anyway in or out guarded. The back garden had to be searched, and archers aimed their bows at the windows. Others were ready with magic.
The Castle looked quiet. The stable had been abandoned except for the horses who snorted at the newcomers. It had been checked, and Oriel walked through. He remembered Asara mentioned her new, beautiful grey horse in passing, and sure enough, a fine, grey mount fit for a Queen was in a stall.
“We’ll check inside,” said Oriel.
“And if she’s not there, we’ll start looking elsewhere,” said Kalen.
The Isles had plenty of places to hide, and one only needed a small boat to get around on days like this when the weather was chilly but still fine. Oriel felt warm enough in his clothes and armor.
A large group approached the front. Three soldiers went ahead to open the doors while two others with flaming arrows were ready. Nothing came from inside, so they moved in.
One gave a quick whistle as he looked in Hall, and the rest of Oriel’s chosen group entered.
In the Hall, Asara sat at the High Table. Oriel entered first with his sword drawn and a shield, but she didn’t try to attack him. She merely sat like a Queen. Not a hair was out of place, and her deep blue dress was immaculate as she trained her purple eyes on her cousin.
Standing by the side of the High Table to her right was a fairy dressed in plain trousers and a loose linen shirt. His silver hair needed a good combing, and his expression said he wasn’t there of his own will.
“You’ve lost,” said Oriel.
“I know,” she said.
Oriel’s eyes scanned the Hall. “Are you going to threaten a commoner to make me back down? Are you willing to go that low? Was it really worth betraying your own blood?”
Asara’s eyes darkened. “I saw an opportunity to better things for myself and my people.”
He stared at her, too lost for words for a moment. “Gold was more important than a living, breathing fairy?”
“I worked with King Taven and knew what he planned to do,” she said. “The original plan was to marry him.”
Oriel raised his eyebrows. “You were going to marry that bastard?”
Asara sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “I didn’t have much choice. We would have joined our Kingdoms and ourselves. His wife was sickly, and he…perhaps he planned to help her along toward her death. Either way, there were notes before he betrayed your Father. If I said no and refused to marry him later, he would have come after the Windswept Isles once everything was settled and he’d had time to ‘mourn’ his wife. You know my army did not match his, and while we are experienced with the sea, I wouldn’t have won. He only viewed me as a way to get more land after taking West Bay.”
“And you just didn’t mention that?” asked Oriel. “Did you forget that when I first got here?”
“It’s all true, and I decided to take it all,” said Asara. “With him dead,Icould have West Bay and Meadow to myself. I’m not the first King or Queen to take more. You are family, but we’re not that close. Honestly, besides what your Father told me about his children, I barely knew you. If your Father had escaped and stood before me, then yes, I think would have fully aided him with no betrayal.”
The words cut like a knife even though she was right. They weren’t close, but he thought he would have mattered enough. They were still family, but she’d been able to distance herself from him in that manner and view him as a bump on the road to the throne.
