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“Last night and all of today.”
I rubbed a tired, sleep-crusted eye. “That long?”
“Yes. But don’t trouble yourself. We are safe here.”
“For now,” Henrike said, walking back into the room with a water-filled metal bowl in her hands.
“Conrad told us that the whole North is looking for you. Soldiers were at this very hut only two days ago. We should have a few days before they return for another search.”
“A whole country looking for me, to kill me, and my father is doing nothing about it? He sits idle in his golden castle while the North wants to kill his only child?” I couldn’t keep the outrage from my shaking voice.
“Quite the opposite,” Henrike said, putting the water bowl on the floor next to my bed. “Your father is sitting at the border with an army large enough to reduce what is left of this kingdom to ashes.”
“And the North doesn’t want to kill you,” Alrick added, “Algar does. The soldiers looking for you are doing so under the pretense of trying to help you. King Algar is many things, but dull-witted is not one of them. To openly kill you would be his death sentence and ours as well.”
I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Father had come to rescue me. Out of love? Or out of fear of losing his only heir?
“But how can my father trust King Algar so blindly to find me?”
“I doubt he trusts him,” Alrick explained, filling a dented cup of water from the bowl and handing it to me. I drank a few sips and then handed it back.“Marching his army to the border is a silent threat to King Algar. He knows that and must be extremely cautious. But until there is word of you, your father’s hands are tied. There is no proof of any wrongdoing on King Algar’s part. Even we can only guess that he was behind the attack at the inn. What real evidence do we have? Our word that we saw the mark of the black spider? Accusing a king, even one like Algar, is something not done lightly. Especially not since the engagement of his son to the house of Louis the Great.”
I bit my lip. “So if his black knights find us before we make it north...”
“King Algar will make certain we never speak a word of it.”
“Any word of anything, to be precise,” Henrike added.
“Why not ride south, then? To the safety of my father.”
“It would take too long,” Alrick said.
I stretched my legs and sat up straight in bed. “Then let’s not waste any more time. Let’s ride north. Now. You said we could make it within a day.”
Alrick handed me another plate with more meat and bread. “You need more rest.”
I placed the plate next to me on the bed. “I’m fine.” I tried to push up, but Alrick gently placed his hand on my shoulder.
“No. You need more rest.”
My gaze met his, his hand warm on my naked skin. The old me would have smacked his hand off me. But the old me was not in love with this man. The old me didn’t care what he thought of me. And more so, the old me said and did a lot of things out of pride and arrogance.
I pulled the blanket back up to my chest. It wasn’t cold in here, yet I had goosebumps.
“I only need a few more hours. Then we can ride again,” I said.
Henrike sat down on a pile of blankets on the floor next to the foot of the bed.
“We already came up with a better idea,” she said, pulling her cloak over her legs. “When it gets dark, Conrad and I will ride through the night to make it to your cousin’s. If we don’t get caught up in heavy rain, we should reach them by the morning. Then we send an escort down here to get you.”
“It’ll be too dangerous, Henrike,” I said. “Especially without Alrick. They might be looking for you too.”
“Alrick needs to stay here with you in case Algar’s soldiers search the hut again. He knows how to fight. Nobody will think Conrad and me of any interest. And I doubt there will be other travelers at night.”
I looked at Alrick, whose blue eyes were firmly settled on mine. Just the thought of him and I alone...
“You—you agree to this?” I asked in a soft, thin voice.
“I do.”
