Page 12 of Seven Ways to Kill a King
“Tell me again where we’re going.” Miri’s words were mild, but a vague playfulness fluttered in her gut. She was bored. Surely, that was all it was. But sparring with Cass had felt good. Banter and social company were something she’d rarely had since she was a girl, and it kept her mind occupied with something other than their impending death.
Cass’s chest swelled in a sigh, but he played along. “A stately manor on the outskirts of Pirn.”
“Will it be lovely?” she asked. “Rich and glorious, ostentatious in a way that I have never seen?”
Cass gave her a sidelong glance, as they both well knew the palaces and cities the princess had visited. The manor would be nothing of the sort. “My lady, you will be struck speechless at its very presence.”
His tone saidwith any luck, and Miri swallowed a snort. She nudged her horse faster. “I cannot wait. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been dumbstruck. I hope this manor is up to the challenge.”
Cass’s fingers resituated on his reins, and she wondered briefly if he was thinking of her reaction when she’d walked in on his bath. Frowning, she realized she’d certainly left him an opening there. She was out of practice.
“I’d like a sword,” she announced abruptly.
That earned her a full glance.
She nodded. “I’m falling out of practice, here on the trail, and it will feel good to get some exercise after the long rides.”
“My lady—”
“A trader should know how to properly use a blade.”
Miri could tell he wanted to argue that he’d given her a proper blade, but he only nodded. “We’ll find one in the market at Pirn.”
It would be an unidentifiable one that she could drop and would not be tracked back should they need to run. Miri’s eyes fell to her hands and the worn leather of the reins against her pale, dirt-smudged skin. She drew a deep breath and took in the forest, which was made of tall, narrow trees that were well into the season. They were far from the nearest town and several days from Pirn. The wait was going to kill her if the actual plan did not.
“And throwing blades,” Miri said. “At the market. It’s been so long since I’ve tried my hand at that.”
Cass gave her a look. She ignored it. Nan had hidden Miri’s throwing knives after an unfortunate incident involving a bag of grain and two chickens.
“It’s probably a skill you don’t forget.”
Miri’s words were more for herself than anyone else, but Cass slowed his horse.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He sighed again. “Seems like you’re ready to take a break. Why don’t we stop for lunch?”
The words were not really phrased as a question, but Cass drew up short before he’d slipped a leg over his mount. His head snapped toward the horizon, and he scanned the trees.
Smoke—Miri smelled it too.
Cass turned his horse, urging Miri to follow, but before he could kick up a run, she said, “Wait!”
His answering expression was grave.
“It’s not a campfire,” Miri said. It was something else—something rancid and smelling faintly of old, damp straw. “We should help. It may be someone’s barn.”
Cass didn’t speak but let his gaze warn her instead.
“They’re burning people out,” Miri whispered. She stared at him for several moments, the idea of it making her sick. She should not go—Cass was right—but she couldn’t let the kingsmen keep hurting people in her mother’s name.
It was foolish. The smart thing was to run the other way. If she wanted to save her sister, she should stay as far away from the kingsmen and their trouble as possible.
She knew what happened when citizens rose against them. She knew how the kings would make everyone pay.
Miri kicked her heels hard into Wolf’s flanks and jerked the reins out of Cass’s reach as she sped past him. She was done, tired of allowing good people to be murdered.
As Miri rode into the clearing at full speed, ducking under limbs and brush, the pillar of smoke rose through the trees like a beacon.
