The Song of Eloh Saga (65 page)

“Lianne cannot carry all of the dirty laundry herself. I want you to help her gather it and carry it down to the laundress. Then, as punishment for being late, I expect you to stay there and help until the laundry is washed and dried.”

I stifled a laugh. There weren’t many worse places in the castle than the laundry room. Perpetual fires burned under tubs of boiling water, keeping them warm, allowing the washerwomen to do laundry all day long. There was much to keep up with, especially since only one of the princes knew how to use a latrine.

The damp air of the laundry room mixed with the smell of harsh soap created a bouquet offensive to even the most insensitive nose. In fact, when we dropped off Mags' laundry baskets every morning, we often wore scarves tied around our faces to cover our noses and mouths. For Albree to be sentenced there for the day was pure torture. She had to have done something to anger Mags. Lying about why she was late this morning wasn’t enough.

“Yes, milady,” Albree replied. I didn’t sense any anger in her tone. No, her voice was controlled, calculating, as if she’d expected this punishment.

Albree stood still, avoiding my gaze. I looked to Mags, but she busied herself with Trevin again. When anyone else was in the chambers, she didn’t treat me differently. But still, I was stunned and eager for some signal from her. I was dying to know what Albree did.

Albree and I gathered up the dirty nappies from the corner bucket and the soiled clothes and burp rags. Trevin spit up more than all of his brothers combined and frequently ran through more than ten cloths a day. Mags kept him clean, constantly wiping his little chin and changing his clothes. I assumed the washerwomen liked him the least of all the little princes.

After carrying the heavy baskets to the laundry room and leaving Albree there, without even a whisper of anger passing her lips, I hurried back to Mags’ chambers, eager to find out what Albree had done to deserve the punishment.

As I drew closer to her chamber, angry voices permeated the thick wooden door. King Rotlar. His visits lately were infrequent. He hated the smell of babies, which was astounding since he was so skilled at getting her pregnant, and he refused to visit Mags any more than necessary. A visit so soon after giving birth shocked me. She wasn’t physically ready to have sex again and he wasn’t interested, what with Trevin hanging on her breast. It didn’t matter if she was mentally ready for him either. As queen it was her duty to produce heirs. Other than that, Mags had about as much use for Rotlar as he had for her.

“You’re going to dismiss that girl today.” If Rotlar been any louder, the studs holding the door together might have popped apart. “I will not have her kind hovering around my sons any longer.”

“No,” Mags answered. I could barely hear her quiet voice through the walls.

“What do you mean, no? You will do as I say. You may hold the title of queen, but you were chosen for your looks and the width of your hips. You are here to breed heirs for this kingdom, nothing more. Do not presume you hold any sway like the queens of old did. There is a reason we no longer marry girls of noble families. They grew up with entitlement. You grew up with nothing and you remain nothing.”

I gasped. While it was true, no one spoke of it aloud. The kingdom treated finding queens as a fun competition, a way for peasant girls to elevate themselves to a better life. All girls grew up dreaming of being chosen by the king, none dreamed of hearing those words hurled at them.

“I will not dismiss Lianne,” Mags said. “She has been my loyal lady-in-waiting for the last three years. She’s never stepped out of line. Never spoken against you or the kingdom. She has done nothing to deserve dismissal.”

Me? He wanted me gone? What did I do to him? My stomach plunged.

“She is one of them,” he spat. “Their kind never should have been brought here and never so close to the heirs of the throne. She could kill them in one swoop. Those poor defenseless sons of yours, dead because of the unstable mind of the Dalagans. You cannot trust those people. Even now, they attempt uprisings. We caught those three sneaking across the border yesterday. They refused to speak, but I executed them anyway. They are her people and I will not have her near my sons! You will dismiss her.”

Uprisings? How could that be possible? My people had never done anything. They were in complete accordance with the laws set forth after the war. At least that was what I’d been told. I didn’t know why those three men came here, but three men couldn’t take down an entire kingdom on their own.

“No.” Mags repeated.

“Then I will take care of her myself,” the king roared. “I’ll have my men watch her and if she makes one false move, just one, I will have her killed.”

My breath caught in my throat. I waited to hear Mags defend me again.

Nothing came.

I fled down the hall before anyone saw me.

Chapter Four

I ran to the armory, hoping to find Kellan among the military men. He practiced in the off hours, like me, but assisted Aric during military training. I peeked through the dirty window, scanning the groups of sparring men. Kellan would be easy to pick out, his height and coloring would be enough of a contrast to the shorter men sparring with knives in the room. But I didn’t see him, not in any of the groups working with the weapons or the sparring soldiers near the middle of the room.

“Looking for Kellan?” a voice asked behind me.

I spun around. Bryden, the third adoptee sat on the bench behind me. My heart sank. Bryden and I had a history, although one cooled by time and distance. Kellan and I didn’t hang out with him. He’d never fit in with us because he spent more time staring at the ground than anything else around him. We hadn’t interacted much since we were children. Even when he was around us, he didn’t speak. It was almost like he was observing us, and we didn’t know why.

“Actually, I am,” I said, pleased this was one of the times he chose to speak to me. “Do you know where he’s at?”

“Maybe.” He sharpened one of his quills with a knife, but didn’t seem too interested in me. Maybe that was good. I didn’t want to raise any red flags. The less he knew, or suspected, the better.

“Can you tell me?” I asked in my sweetest voice. I tried to channel Albree’s honey laden tone without coming off too fake. I hoped it was working.

“Why? What’s going on?” he asked. Now his eyes were on mine, staring so deeply I found myself taking a step back. The boy knew how to unnerve me with only the slightest movements.

“Um, nothing.”

Bryden continued to stare at me. I stared back. I couldn’t tell him what was happening. I didn’t really know myself and I didn’t know what he would do. Just because we were both adoptees it didn’t mean he felt any loyalty toward me. I didn’t know if he would turn me in. Right now, Kellan was the only person I trusted.

“Don’t lie, Lianne. I’m not stupid. I know you and Kellan think I am, but I’m not. I know as much as he does. Maybe more.”

Bryden cocked his head to the side, still studying my blue eyes — eyes just like him and Kellan. I refused to look away.

“But you don’t know yet, do you?”

I didn’t have time for his mysterious babbling. I needed to find Kellan.

“You should be waiting on the queen, but you’re not. You’re out here, looking for Kellan. Something happened and you’re seeking his help. Maybe I can help you Lianne. Did that ever occur to you?”

It hadn’t, but now wasn’t the time for guilt over not including Bryden.

“I’m sorry, Bryden, but I’m on an errand for the queen and I thought perhaps Kellan could help me. It involves some heavy lifting and, I hate to say this, but I really don’t think you’re equipped to lift the load.”

Bryden’s eyes drooped and my heart sank. I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings by bringing attention to his leg. He’d been injured in an accident as a small boy, almost killed by a horse and carriage. His parents died in the accident; so did our friendship. Afterward he refused to see me. We’d played together every day before that.

He looked up at me again and for a moment, I thought I saw my old friend again.

Guilt flooded my body. I hadn’t meant to hurt him and it was the first time I’d ever purposely said anything like that to him. When he turned away from me after the accident I had no one. I cried myself to sleep every night for a year because of Bryden.

“I don’t believe you, Lianne, but I do forgive your ignorance. You will need me. You and Kellan. Hopefully I’ll be in a mood to help you when the time comes.”

I breathed deeply, attempting to calm myself. As if I’d accept his help after he’d pushed me away all these years. Up until a few years ago, I would have forgiven him in a heartbeat. I’d tried to regain his friendship repeatedly, but he’d always put me off. Nothing I did was good enough for him and I was tired of trying to make him like me.

Bryden limped toward the castle and the fear resurfaced. The king was looking for me and I didn’t know what would happen if he found me.

“Lianne?” Kellan asked from behind me. I spun around and ran to him. He dropped the load of swords he carried in his arms as I jumped into his waiting embrace.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Tears burst from my eyes.

“The king,” I whispered, though I knew deep down half of the tears were because of Bryden. I could never admit that to Kellan. “He’s coming for me. He told Mags if she didn’t dismiss me then he would deal with me himself. He thinks I’m too close to the princes, that I might kill them. He said she has to send me away.”

The words tumbled out of my mouth, my voice rising in pitch with each word. I sounded hysterical, but I didn’t care anymore. I needed someone to take care of me.

Kellan’s eyes darted, but no one was around. Peasants hated us and seeing one of us upset would only fuel their belief that we were privileged brats. We were brought into wealthy families and given positions they could never aspire to reach. It wasn’t fair to them, but it wasn’t our fault either. We were only babies when we were brought here. We had no say in our lives any more than they did.

“I can’t lose you,” Kellan said. “You’re too important for him to just do away with. Sending you away would ruin everything. You need to be here. You need to be with me.”

The caring words he’d used for the last month were there, but something wasn’t right in the tone of his voice. What was going on?

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Ruin what?”

Kellan sighed, shaking his head. His hair flopped across his forehead, sticking to the sweat that accumulated while he’d been at the forge. I reached up with the tips of my fingers to move it out of the way, but he pushed my hand away from his head.

I stumbled backward, out of his embrace.

“What’s going on Kellan? You have to tell me. I don’t understand.”

“It’s too soon,” he said, but I didn’t feel like he was talking to me. It was more like he was talking to himself.

“Too soon for what? Damn it, Kellan. Tell me!”

I balled up my fists and punched him in the chest. He’d never beaten me in a fight, despite the height and weight he had over me, and I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I only wanted his attention. His blue eyes lowered to mine and he stared at me.

“Tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow on your birthday you’ll understand everything. But I can’t be the one to tell you. It’s dangerous to find out too soon. Something could go wrong.”

“My birthday?” I asked. “That stupid surprise you keep teasing me about? What does that have to do with any of this?”

“It has everything to do with it.” Kellan put his hands on my shoulders, but I shrugged them off. I didn’t want him to touch me. I didn’t want my insides to melt into puddles or for my body to ache to be held in his arms. The last month, since he turned sixteen and decided he wanted me for a girlfriend as much as I’d wanted him for as long as I could remember, we’d spent more time kissing than sparring.

“Does this have anything to do with those three men from our homeland who were hung this morning? The king thinks they are planning something, trying to destroy the kingdom. This is why he doesn’t want me around his sons.”

“Are you sure?” Kellan whispered. “Is that the only reason he gave for wanting you dismissed? Because he doesn’t trust our people or did he say something else?”

“What am I? Your spy? I’ve been threatened and all you want is to get information out of me? I need your help, not be grilled by you.”

My stomach twisted, my heart dropped. Maybe I had come to the wrong person. Why hadn’t he lifted me into his arms and carried me to safety? My fantasies were obviously reaching far beyond reality.

Now he had expectations of me, secrets concerning me he’d been withholding. I hadn’t seen it before. I assumed he’d finally realized how much he’d loved me. Obviously there was more to it. More to us.

“I’m sorry, Lianne. I can’t tell you anything, but I can help you hide. Until tomorrow, until you know more, that’s all I can do.”

I stood my ground, legs firm. My fighting body took over when my heart broke. Maybe Kellan didn’t love me. Or maybe it was something else. Was he only trying to stay close to me for whatever would happen on my birthday?

But I did need a place to hide and I had no one else I trusted. I knew my mother would turn me over to the king if he so much as looked at me. She cared nothing for my well-being, my sister even less. The man who my mother had been married to died when I was two. I remember nothing of him, other than that his heroic service to the crown kept us in the castle for the remainder of my mother’s life. I had no one now that I questioned Mags’ loyalty. If it were a choice between her sons and me, I knew I didn’t stand a chance.

Kellan bent over and picked up the swords he’d dropped on the dirt path. His muscles rippled when he added each sword carefully to the bundle. I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, but I wanted him to want me there. For me, not for this mysterious thing that now stood between us.

“Please, Lianne. Please let me protect you. Tomorrow you can make whatever decision you want. But for today, please trust me.”