Page 30 of Ties of Dust

So this was Prince Cassius’s home. It was quite something to behold.

She was starting to understand why Prince Cassius had such pride in his kingdom. From what she’d seen thus far,the capital at least was superior to those of the other kingdoms on the Peninsula.

Of course, the outside of a castle wasn’t the most important part. Her true impression of Carrack’s rulers would come from what she witnessed inside its walls. Life in a royal castle was not for the faint of heart. There was nowhere as vicious as a court inclined to be unfriendly.

She swallowed nervously. She knew nothing of King Aelius’s court. And she was about to be thrust into its heart whether she wished it or not.

Chapter

Eight

Cassius had been glad to be home when he’d sat atop his horse, surveying the city from the crest of the hill alongside Flora. Her obvious admiration had been satisfying.

Actually entering the castle was less satisfying. He could tell from the tightness of the servants’ eyes and the poorly concealed intrigue on the faces of passing courtiers that his father’s state of mind was no more settled than it had been on Cassius’s departure. And instead of returning with a clearly paved path to increase stable relations with their neighbors on the Peninsula, he was bringing back a crisis of his own.

Not that he intended for his father to ever learn the full extent of it. The tether would be his problem to manage and, ultimately, to solve. But the news of the attacks was bound to cause an uproar. He would have his work cut out for him to stop his father from doing something rash out of offense. The fact that he’d given Lord Armand reason to wish to keep his secret, and thus had found a way to enlist the nobleman’s help to defuse rather than escalate thesituation, would certainly help. But it was no guarantee that the king would be reasonable.

Most of the guards parted ways with the prince outside the castle. Only a pair of Cassius’s personal guards, the delegation’s head guard, and Lord Armand remained with him as he strode across the broad entranceway.

And, of course, his new bodyguard.

Flora trotted along behind the prince, her presence strangely potent in his consciousness even though she wasn’t in his range of vision. He shouldn’t be surprised, given her presence was in fact a tangible matter. At any given moment, if he stilled his senses enough to bring his awareness of magic into focus, he could sense the invisible tether, with her at the other end of it.

Cassius and his entourage moved quickly out of the public area of the castle. Both he and Flora wore visible bandages, and he didn’t wish to encourage more gossip than was unavoidable. News of the attack on Carrack’s crown prince would spread quickly enough as it was.

He planned to report to his father immediately and in private, before any exaggerated rumors could reach the king. When he inquired with the king’s steward, he was surprised to learn that his father was in the armory. Why would he be there?

Cassius pushed back the premonition of trouble as he addressed the steward again.

“This young woman has joined my personal protection team,” he said smoothly. “She is skilled in defensive magic and was sent with us as a sign of goodwill from Siqual. You will arrange for her belongings to be taken to the suite next to my own, to allow her to best fulfill her duties.”

“The…the suite next to yours, Your Highness?” the steward repeated, his eyes moving between Cassius and Flora as he struggled to hide his surprise. “Would she not be better accommodated in the guards’ wing?” He paused, perhaps realizing the impracticality of putting a female guard in a wing filled entirely with men, most of whom were required to share berths. “Or perhaps the servants’ quarters?”

“No, she would not,” said Cassius. “You will place her in the suite next to mine, as I said.”

“Very good, Your Highness.” The steward bowed and made himself scarce. He at least could be trusted not to gossip, but that wouldn’t stop rumors from spreading like wildfire, Cassius knew. It couldn’t be helped, though, so he wouldn’t dwell on it.

Resisting the urge to cast a withering look at Lord Armand, Cassius turned back the way he’d come. The guards preceded him, with Lord Armand in their wake. But Flora waited for him to pass, presumably so she could walk behind him. Cassius tried to send her a silent encouragement, but she didn’t meet his eye, her face as expressionless as any guard’s as she scanned the path ahead watchfully. If not for her clearly feminine shape, she would look like a real bodyguard.

But she wasn’t a real bodyguard. At least, she wasn’t his real bodyguard. Thanks to their unusually candid interactions, he knew she had plenty of thoughts behind those uncommunicative eyes. He wished he could exclude her from the coming encounter.

They headed toward the armory through a maze of passages that Cassius knew well, although he didn’t often traverse them. As a teenager, he’d loved sneaking into the section of the castle dedicated to the royal guard. One of the senior guards in particular had taken pity on his desire to escape the tedium of his growing duties, and hadencouraged him to spar with the younger trainees, even privately coaching him when his schedule allowed.

It had been a mutually beneficial arrangement. Cassius had learned to be a decent fighter, and the senior guard in question had in time won himself the role of heading up the crown prince’s personal guard. He hadn’t been part of the delegation to Siqual, however, so the joy of informing him that a young, slim, female bodyguard had been added to his command without consultation was yet before Cassius.

Not that Flora would be serving other duties in the squadron, or even training with the other guards. Not unless Cassius intended to stand around within twenty feet while she did so.

As they passed the training yard of the royal guard, Cassius glanced again at Flora. The thought danced through his mind that maybe he should do just that—it would be fascinating to watch her train. He suspected she would welcome the opportunity, given the interest with which she was studying the training area. But he didn’t like the idea of her pitted against the burly members of his personal guard squadron, however good her grasp of magic was.

Flora looked up suddenly, not quite meeting his eyes before her gaze flitted away, continuing to surveil their path. Cassius frowned. Why was she avoiding his eye? He watched her for a moment longer, noting that she was walking with an extra bounce to her step that didn’t match her somber expression at all. Suddenly he realized that the motion of her hair—the tight, brown tail swinging back and forth like a pendulum—was an intentional means of generating movement.

How useful.

He pulled his gaze away as the group entered the armory, his eyes searching the dim space for the king. Cassius heard his father before he saw him.

“Our military resources are unparalleled on the Peninsula, it’s true.” The king’s voice rang out clearly. “Torrens would be foolish to consider an open attack. But if we are to speak of the combined might of Torrens and Siqual…” His voice trailed off. “I will commission another shipment of weapons.”

Alarm raced over Cassius. Who was the king speaking to, and why was he bandying about casual suggestions of war on the Peninsula?

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