Aurelia (14 page)

Chapter Thirteen

THE DUEL

THE DISCUSSION BEHIND THE CHAMBER DOOR ceased. robert turned to see who had usurped so much time, and warning tingled up his arms as edward of Anthone swept out into the waiting room. sharp eyes met robert's, a thin line of recognition creasing edward's lips. Without a word, the Anthonian king brushed by in departure.

robert watched, baffled. strange that edward would notice him, much less recognize him.

"robert Vantauge?" Aurelia's father stood in the chamber doorway. dark crescents lined the bottoms of his eyes, and tension filled his face. "Waiting to ask permission for another pleasure jaunt?" His weak smile did little to lighten the tone.

"your majesty, I can explain."

"I should hope so. Actions in court rarely end on the day they are presented, young man. The repercussions can cause great damage."

"but I don't have time now." robert braced himself for the king's reaction. "I need you to come with me, your majesty, to the royal arena. The sooner we depart, the better. I promised Aurelia I would be there before the assassin arrives."

"Aurelia knows about the assassin?" a familiar voice echoed from outside the hallway, and Chris entered, sans the extra practice sword.

Thanks, cousin, your timing is uncanny today.

robert sighed as the blood of anger rushed into the king's face, and gray eyebrows spiked in slicing accusation. "you would place my daughter in harm's way?"

"your majesty," said robert, "your daughter is in harm's way every moment of every day until the instigator is caught." He met the king's gaze. "she understands that. do you?"

Chris shifted uncomfortably. "you've set a trap?"

"I believe the assassin will arrive at the arena within the half hour," robert answered. "prior to his arrival, I would like your majesty hidden behind the curtains of the royal box."

silence replaced accusation. The clicking of the clock filled the void, and robert could feel time slipping away. perhaps Aurelia had been correct. perhaps he should never have come here. but how could he convince this man to arrest the culprit without evidence? And there was no evidence stronger than the power of one's own sight. "your majesty, please come with me."

measuring eyes traveled up and down robert's body. "I want guards stationed around the arena to ensure her safety," said the king.

"There is no time or way to hide men in those seats," robert replied. "please come now."

Hesitation, then a brief nod. "Lead the way."

robert adjusted his sword belt on his way out of the waiting room. The light casing hugged his waist, and the pommel felt smooth under the tight clench of his right hand. His cousin's quick footsteps attached themselves to robert's heels. "Chris, you can't come. I'll see you this afternoon."

"you have lost your mind if you think I'm going to let you walk into this snake pit without me. If there's room behind those box curtains for His majesty, there's room for me." Chris placed a palm on the hilt of his sword. "besides, I was always better with one of these than you."

No point in arguing. They hurried down the stairs and out around the stables toward the arena. The early-morning fog had risen, taking with it the drizzling mist, but clouds hovered in a thick mass, holding down the morning chill. boots left footprints in the damp soil.

The gate was shut. Odd. It had been open when robert had inspected the site. For now he skirted the main entryway, heading instead to the private entrance on the opposite end of the arena.

A locked padlock sealed the door. The king reached below his collar and pulled out a large metal key on a chain.
The key of Tyralt,
robert thought,
the only master key on the palace grounds.
passed from leader to leader on the deathbed of the reigning monarch, it was a symbol of succession as well as of Tyralian security.
Click.

The king led the way into a narrow tunnel under rows of raised seats. Light filtered through cracks, and water dripped halfheartedly from support beams. Wooden stairs creaked as three pairs of shoes climbed the boards. stepping into the private box, robert reached for the curtains.

A scream shattered the calm as the fabric separated. Halfway across the arena, two horses flew side by side, less than a length apart. The golden colt chased Horizon, the stallion's scream still reverberating off the stone wall. robert didn't have to see the riders' faces to know who they belonged to: marcus gregory and Aurelia.

Already here.
Horror slid in sheets up robert's insides, clamping down on his throat. He was late, and there was no time for thought or reason or anything else because gregory had leaped forward and was trying to bring Aurelia down, down under the swirling hooves.

robert forgot about his plan, about the king beside him and the cousin behind him. using a hand for leverage, he leaped over the high barrier separating the box from the racecourse. down, down he dropped, a six-foot fall. His bent knees absorbed the impact, and he held his footing.

raising his head, he found Horizon. No time. He just ran, with all the speed he could manage toward his horse, toward Aurelia.

but the course was designed for racehorses, not human beings. The distance stretched in threatening agony. He hurtled over the short barrier that divided the dirt ring from the inner field and began the marathon across the grass. His legs pumped over the level surface, unable to appreciate the smoothness. The distance taunted him like a mountain with a false top.
And what can you do when you get there? An exhausted man on foot?

He glanced up, and shock seared his spine. Horizon had turned around. The horse stood with front hooves upraised, still screaming. Then came down, heavily. desperate to see, robert ran on, closer and closer. The stallion reared again and came back down, pounding and pounding the object below.

A shattered body in the dirt. Then another body, slipping off Horizon's back and tumbling to the ground.
Aurelia.

robert came over the barrier, crashing on his knees beside her. Her brown hair splayed down; her body bent forward, chest over her knees, hands on her head. Her torso heaved. Air rushed in gasps, of fear, or relief.
Alive.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her back, he crushed her head to his chest. They didn't speak.

For minutes. Then her dark eyes lifted, gazing at him through strands of tangled hair. "Where were you?" she managed, her voice trembling with emotion.

His eyes closed in the face of that look. "I received your message to wait until eight o'clock. I didn't think you would be here yet."

she pulled back, holding his upper arms for support, then cut him like a dagger with her words. "What message?"

realization dawned through a haze. she had sent no message. There had been no delay. gregory had arrived at seven o'clock. The message had been a sham, designed to do exactly what it had done, keep robert from the arena.

He untangled himself from Aurelia's arms, pulling back and rising to his feet. There must be many ways the deception could have been achieved, but only one presented itself now.
Chris lied.

As the thought blazed into consciousness, robert staggered, caught his balance, and turned to look at the men he had left behind. The king had made his way to the bottom of the public seats and collapsed. At his side stood Chris, a long arm wrapped around the older man's shoulders as if in comfort.

Comments and events flooded back into robert's mind: Aurelia's statement during the picnic that she and Chris had never been close, Chris's failure to deliver the message robert had tried to send, Chris's failure to ever bring back information on marcus gregory or edward of Anthone. Chris had been with Aurelia the night of Carnival. He had disappeared before the attack. He had seen her disguise.

No!
robert wanted to lay a gray veil over it all. bury the memories below the surface, where they could once again be treated as harmless anecdotes, the actions of his well-meaning, irresponsible cousin. His
cousin
. didn't that stand for something?

robert looked at the young woman crumpled on the ground beside him, then at the lifeless flesh and bone trampled into the dirt. Not in the face of this, he realized. There was no way to replace the veil after something like this.

He took a step forward, then turned back to Aurelia. she remained on the ground, her head once again buried under her arms, sobs now echoing from her body. she needed an explanation, he knew, but she had been through enough for now. And the danger was not yet past, not with a traitor standing across the stadium, an arm resting on her father's shoulder.

"Wait here for several minutes," robert said. "Then stand and leave through the gate as fast as you can. Find guards and send them here. do you understand?"

Tearstains lined the dirt on her cheeks as she looked up in bewilderment. How could she understand anything after the horror she had been through? He repeated the directions.

she nodded, looking as though she wanted to ask him something but had no words.

He could not answer her anyway. He needed to return to the king. Now. From this distance, the king and Chris couldn't see the bodies on the ground or tell that Aurelia still breathed. They would assume the crown princess was dead, especially if robert returned at a slow walk.

He traversed the field, the same painful thought repeating with each step.
My cousin. My cousin. My cousin.
Another step. Another. He neared the two figures at the base of the seating area.

The king waited in serious distress. Collapsed upon the lowest row of seats, he stared into nothingness, a sickening gray shade tinting his face. His right hand shook disjointedly without purpose.

Chris vaulted over the barrier and came forward, wrapping an arm around his cousin's right shoulder in a brief clasp. robert endured the embrace, then slid away, stepping toward the king as if to ease the older man's grief. Instead he positioned himself between the distraught man and Chris, then rotated rapidly on the ball of his foot.

"you need not grieve, your majesty." robert faced his cousin but spoke to the king. "your daughter is alive."

The sound of a loud sob broke, but robert had no time to direct his attention toward the king. For a split second, Chris's eyes flitted to the side before reining themselves in. "Thank Tyralt! robert, why didn't you tell us right away? And why didn't you return to us immediately? His majesty and I feared the worst."

"There was no message."

robert watched the words sink in, then continued: "An hour ago, you came to me with a message you claimed was from Aurelia, saying that marcus gregory had been delayed. If you had not shared this with me, the king and I would have been here in time to avoid gregory's attack. but gregory and Aurelia arrived at seven o'clock. And Aurelia never gave you a message."

"rob, what are you saying?" said Chris. "I gave you the message as I was given it."

"The message you were given from someone other than Aurelia, someone who wanted you to make sure I wasn't here on time. yes, I know because that is the only way you could have known about our meeting on the course today. I didn't tell you until after you gave me the message. Aurelia didn't tell you. Only the person planning to have Aurelia killed would have permitted her to set up a private race without any security. Aurelia planted the bait on purpose, you see."

"you know who hired the assassin?" Chris said, his voice strangled.

"yes," robert lied, "but I did not know until a few minutes ago that you were a traitor."

Chris drew his sword with the rapid reflex of an expert. The sharp tip of the blade gleamed in the light. This was no practice sword.

but neither was robert's. It also swished from its scabbard with startling ease.

The gamble of the lie paid off. Chris spoke: "melony said you would never suspect her."

Melony?
The name sliced through the arena. Not the queen. Not edward.
Melony.
Chris had not been spending all his time flirting with melony's lady's maids and friends from court. He had been spending it with the princess herself. "Why?" robert asked. "Why would you help her?"

"I would have thought you of all people would understand, rob," Chris said. "you've fallen just as hard for her sister."

beauty. beauty had always been Chris's weakness, and the blond princess was as beautiful as temptation. And as persuasive. "What did she promise you, Chris? A perfumed rejection letter if you helped murder her sister?"

Chris's sword leaped to life, aiming for the heart. but robert had planted the barb, and he was prepared. He turned sharply to avoid the path of the blade. His sword flung the other away.

With the change in position, he caught a glimpse of the king. The older man stood, the blank gaze and tremble gone. This was a man who could reason and understand what he heard.

Chris moved to a neutral position, then flashed out in a feint off to the right.

robert needled for information. "The night of Carnival, you were the one who told gregory how to find Aurelia?"

"Of course, but you were the one who obtained the invitation." A wicked smile flashed across Chris's face. "she would never have invited me without you."

"And the girl in the starling costume?"
Tedasa, a friend of Melony's.

"she was my ticket out of an unfortunate carriage accident."

Again the swords came forward and clashed, then slid apart, scraping steel against steel. The sound echoed in robert's skull.

How many times had he heard that sound while crossing practice swords with Chris? And how many times had they practiced together even before they had steel practice swords? Chris had always been the better swordsman, always quicker, always stronger.

The two broke away, circling to the right. As they rotated, robert caught sight of a movement over Chris's right shoulder.
Aurelia
. robert wondered whether she had understood his directions through her shock and if she would follow them if she had.