Keeper of the Wolves (14 page)

“
Your heart is
racing.”

Koya’s gentle voice brought me back to the
present with a jolt. I turned my head and stared at her. I felt her
hand on my side above my pounding heart. I wanted to tell her I
would kill the man for her so she wouldn’t be afraid anymore, but I
didn’t know if that was something that would bring her comfort or
more pain. I took a calming breath and willed my heart to slow.

“
I guess I’m not the only
one with nightmares,” she said with a smile that made slowing my
heart that much harder. She moved a bit closer so that her shoulder
brushed mine and closed her eyes again. Her arm moved up to my neck
and the warmth of it spread across my shoulders. I closed my eyes,
but it was a long time before I fell asleep again.

Chapter 9

“
I’d rather worry about the
Viel than the Gathering Ball, Joven,” Koya said, her brows knit
together in exasperation as they picked at their morning
meal.

“
Rasmus has the Viel
situation under control. He has soldiers marching the walls and
streets, and we’re waiting for word from the Valley Guardians about
the breech.” His gaze softened. “And don’t worry about the ball. If
Mother has anything under control, that’s it. You know
that.”

She nodded, her eyes on the blueberry muffin
in her hand. “I have a hundred dresses to choose from, and every
accessory besides. If Mother could focus her energy on finances and
care for the castle instead of spending every cent we scrape
together, imagine where we’d be.” A hint of bitterness touched her
words, but it was tempered by the slight curve of her smile when
she spoke of her mother. Then she laughed, surprising us. “I guess
I’ve nothing to do but dress in petticoats and prance about while
the duchy is defended by our able militia.”

Joven chuckled. “I’ve never seen you
prance.”

“
I’m very good at it, I
assure you.”

I watched this exchange from my place near
the window. Sunlight fell across the carpet and warmed my shoulders
as my focus shifted from the valley spread out below the castle to
the small sitting room where the siblings chose to take their
breakfast.

Servants came in and out as quiet as
snowshoe hares. They brought breakfast items and beverages while
clearing platters with an efficiency that told of years of service.
The servants glanced at me occasionally, but I kept still so as to
not alarm them and they eventually accepted me as part of the
scenery, a part that might jump up and bite them if they ventured
too close.

I focused my attention back in time to hear
Joven say, “I’ll bet he’d clean up well. I don’t want you to be
without one of us at your side.”

“
But at the ball? You don’t
think that many lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses would be too
overwhelming? It’s a lot for us, let alone for one who hasn’t grown
up in society.”

Joven scoffed. “He fought a Viel, Koya. I
think he can handle it.”

I turned my head to find them both watching
me. Koya’s eyes lit up when I looked at her and the faint blush I
was becoming fond of spread across her cheeks. Joven studied me
calculatingly as if I was a problem he was determined to solve. I
had seen that look too many times, though the usual edge of malice
was replaced by Joven’s pure curiosity. I met his stare blandly and
he laughed. “Sorry. I forget sometimes that there’s a man beneath
the wolf.”

I felt like it was the other way around, but
lacked the ability to state so. Joven continued, unaware of my
thoughts, “If you’re going to be my sister’s mighty protector,
you’ll have to learn how to waltz.”

“
Oh Joven, that’s really not
necessary,” Koya stated.

“
How else do you think he’ll
fit in?” Joven replied.

“
The servants don’t waltz,”
Koya said. Her expression pinched when she realized what she had
said. She sputtered, “W-what I mean is, if he doesn’t want to
dance, he can dress like a servant and won’t be out of
place.”

Joven shook his head. “I won’t have my
sister followed around by a servant. It would be too obvious.”

“
And you don’t think he
would deter suitors by dancing with me?” she asked in a tone I
swore sounded hopeful.

Joven paused, then frowned. “You know, you
might be right.” His lips pursed as he thought, “He could pose as
our cousin.”

“
Everyone knows there’s no
such person,” Koya replied. “Our lineage and lack of additional
heirs has no doubt been well-versed through the lower duchies. If
one appeared out of thin air, it would create an uproar and usurp
the tentative hold we have on our crown.”

Joven started nodding halfway through Koya’s
words. “You’re right. That would be foolhardy.” He fell silent for
another minute before his face lit up. “He could be an ambassador
from across the seas.”

“
From Penchard?” Koya asked,
her expression uncertain.

“
From Penchard, Guedst,
Danth, I don’t care.” Joven became more excited at the prospect.
“But if an ambassador is visiting Vielkeep, it would make sense
that he would attend the ball as our guest and we wouldn’t leave
him alone.” He grinned at me. “It would also explain your silence
if you didn’t understand the language.”

“
He wouldn’t have to dance.”
Koya warmed to the idea grudgingly and it made me wonder if she had
actually looked forward to the prospect. “And it would explain his
unfamiliarity with our customs.” She nodded. “I think you’ve got
it.”

Joven jumped up and hurried to the door.

“
Where are you going?” Koya
asked in surprise.

“
I’ve got a diplomat to
create,” Joven said with a wicked gleam of excitement in his eyes.
“These matters aren’t to be taken lightly. Perhaps I should let
Mother in on the ruse.”

“
If you do, she’ll take it
way too far, trust me,” Koya replied. “Plus, the less she knows the
less gossip will spread at the ball. You’d do best to introduce her
to the ambassador at dinner with the rest of them.”

Joven gave a formal bow of agreement before
he turned on his heels and disappeared through the door. Koya let
out a sigh of exasperation. “I swear that boy likes mischief a
little too much.”

***

I paced near the horses as we traveled down
the cobblestone road. Joven’s tall black animal shied at my
presence and kicked whenever I ran near him, but Koya’s sleek brown
mare merely flared her nostrils and shook her mane warningly at my
appearance, then accepted my company when I refused to go away.
Rasmus and two other soldiers led the way while six others rode
around us for protection. Soldiers worked to clear the trees and
brush back further so that those on the wall would have a better
view of the surrounding land in case more Viel appeared. The sun
had barely crested the trees, but the sounds of a bustling town
already filled the air. Anvils rang, animals muttered in a
cacophony of baas, hoots, snorts, and whinnies, merchants hawked
their wares, and the rich thwack of an ax on wood echoed against
the castle wall.

Every scent was new to me and the wolf part
of my brain categorized them as soon as they were identified, the
smell of an egg and ham pie cooling on a window sill, the feral
scent of cats lingering around the alley behind the butcher shop, a
clove and onion odor that made me sneeze near an apothecary, the
sharp tang of oil and iron, the stench of tallow melted down for
candles; the aromas warred in my nose as I stepped alongside the
horses. Townspeople threw me curious glances but didn’t ask
questions in the presence of the royal siblings.

We passed through a wide square where
merchant shops competed for business. Barterers and tradesmen
doubled their efforts when they spotted our party. Joven and Koya
shared knowing smiles at the uplifted voices and wares raised for
their inspection. They politely declined and the townspeople didn’t
appear at all put out by the rejection as we crossed the square and
turned down a smaller road.

The buildings leaned toward each other as
though trying to form a tunnel. I fell back behind Koya and Joven’s
horses while Rasmus led the way. They stopped at a long wooden
building and dismounted. Two boys ran out and led the horses away
as if they had been expecting our group.

Rasmus opened the two wide doors to the
building to reveal a low, long room set with tables and wooden
benches. “You might want to wait out here,” Koya said quietly. “I
don’t know how Cook Tamus would feel about a wolf in her
kitchen.”

I sat in a corner and watched the
proceedings with great interest. Servants dressed in castle livery
appeared at the same door a short while later. Each hurried about
the room as though following accustomed tasks. They gave me a wide
berth but as I continued to watch them with the still calm of a
wolf, they eventually forgot my presence and rushed about much the
way squirrels and rabbits did in the wild.

Becoming part of the surroundings was
something I wouldn’t have guessed would be useful in the human
world, but as the servants grew used to my presence, they began to
skirt around me with ease. Simple place settings were laid at the
tables and pitchers of water occupied the center. Before long, the
scent of rolls and roasting meat filled the room.

“
We’re ready, Steward Weis,”
Koya called out from the room in the back.

A man dressed in Vielkeep’s red and black
opened a different set of doors. The noise of a large crowd of
people rushed in and then quieted. The steward stepped back and
townspeople filed past, men, women, and children whose clothes and
appearance were more ragged than those we had passed on the
streets. They sat at tables in groups as though they had done so
many times. As soon as half of the room was seated, the door to the
back opened and Koya and Joven came out laden with trays of food;
servants followed behind bearing additional platters.

Plates filled with generous helpings of
roasted beef, boiled carrots and potatoes seasoned with cinnamon,
sliced apples, and warm rolls were set in front of each person.
Children dove into the food as soon as it was served while the
adults waited until each individual at their table had a plate
before they began to eat.

It was obvious by the silence and the
attention paid to the food that those who ate hadn’t done so for a
few days, at least not well. They expressed their gratitude humbly
to the servers and several looked embarrassed at the needed help,
but they each ate the food on their plates as if it was the best
thing they had eaten in quite a while.

Children finished before the adults and were
soon running around the room. The servers dodged them with
practiced ease and laughed when their game of chase soon involved
several members of the staff including Joven.

I turned from watching the proceedings to
find two small children a few feet away. They watched me with
serious dark eyes and tangled brown hair; their cheeks were hollow
despite the meal they had eaten. The boy took a step forward, but
motioned for his sister to stay back. She stuck her tongue out at
him and tried to hurry past. He grabbed her arm, then tripped on
her bare foot and they both sprawled against me.

The children froze, two tiny forms afraid
they had made the worst mistake of their young lives. I sniffed the
girl’s hair. It smelled of berries and wind, fresh dirt and green
meadows. They might not eat well, but they lived a life of freedom.
She turned her head at the brush of my breath and I licked her
cheek. She giggled and buried her head against my neck. Her brother
grinned and patted my nose. I licked his fingers and he wiped them
off on his sister’s worn but well-mended shirt. She squealed and
soon they were both wrestling against me much like the wolf pups
had when they were little.

I heard a laugh and looked up to see Koya
standing next to a table with two plates that looked as though they
had been licked clean. The little girl sat on my back with her foot
on my head and the boy was using my tail like a sword. It was an
undignified position, but one I was reluctant to give up despite
the laughter in Koya’s eyes. The woman next to Koya turned and her
face went pale.

“
Sovik, Saya, come away from
that animal,” the mother said, rising partway from her
chair.

“
It’s alright; the wolf came
with me,” Koya reassured her. “He’s great with children.” Her
raised eyebrows said that she was surprised to learn as much
herself.

The mother watched us warily, but when it
appeared her children weren’t in any danger despite feet digging
uncomfortably into my abdomen and a finger in my eye, she
eventually relaxed and smiled at Koya. “He looks dangerous.”

She nodded. “He can be when the moment calls
for it, but inside he’s a big softie.”

I snorted and she grinned before turning
back to her work of clearing tables. The townspeople helped and
soon the plates were cleared and cleaned in the back kitchen as
efficiently as they had been served. More children found me and
soon I was involved in a game of attack where I hid beneath a table
and they all tried to find me. Those who did hid with me until
there were children spilling out laughing on the floor.

“
About ready to go?” Joven
asked. He stood beside our last table with his arms folded and a
skeptical expression on his face. “Or have you been turned from a
fierce protector to keeper of children?”

I bared my teeth, then rolled my eyes when
he laughed. I rose, dumping children into ungraceful heaps on the
ground. They giggled and ran after me, a parade of short legs and
chubby fingers reaching for my fur. Their parents called them back
and they left reluctantly until only the two dark-haired children
from earlier remained. They followed me to the door and I watched
Koya give their mother a basket of food to take home. She thanked
Koya with tears in her eyes.