Page 11 of Sword of Desire
* * *
A cool breeze floated against Harley’s hair. When she rolled onto her back, the wind wafted against her face.
“Harley,” a soft voice crooned. “Wake up.”
Her eyes flew open. She found herself in darkness, the outline of a man hovering above her. Her heart pounded, and fear coursed through her. That smell—horse and steel—meant it was Lyle.
“Why is there a chair wedged against the door adjoining our rooms?” he asked, his voice low.
Harley blinked, wondering how he’d gotten in there. She swallowed, trying to keep her head on straight and not let fear override common sense. “I don’t know how many men you have on the castle grounds. Any one of them could sneak in here for a multitude of reasons. This is the queen’s room. There are valuable items in here someone might want to steal, or I could be kidnapped for ransom. I don’t know.” She prayed he bought the lie. It seemed plausible to her. “A queen usually has some form of a royal guard.” She swallowed again. Her body turned hot, sweat beading on her forehead. She could barely breathe.
Silence extended between them, making her skin crawl with dread.
“Your doors are to remain unguarded—by lock or chair. I have men stationed at the top of the staircases. No one is permitted on this level except for the two of us.”
No one would be able to hear her cry for help.
“Understood?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered. She wanted to ask him how he’d gotten in, but she kept her mouth shut. If he’d broken one of the doors, she would have heard it. He could have picked the lock to the one door. However, there was another possibility she had to consider. There could be another entrance she was unaware of. She thought she’d learned everything about this castle. However, this was the queen’s room, and she’d only been in here a handful of times. There had been no need for her to know the secrets of this room. As to how Lyle had discovered it, she didn’t know. But she would be sure to find out.
He stood, making no move to leave.
“Is there something else?” she asked. As soon as the question was out, she wished she hadn’t asked it.
“We need to talk.”
* * *
Exhaustion consumed Harley since she hadn’t slept much. By the time Lyle left her room, dawn was on the horizon. When he’d first started questioning her about Owen, she hadn’t understood why he did so in the middle of the night. Then she realized that the more tired her body became, concealing certain truths turned increasingly difficult.
He’d grilled her on what Owen told her, if she knew anything about Commander Beck’s death, what she’d been doing in Penlar, and if she’d seen the letters Ledger claimed she had. She didn’t think she slipped up at all. She tried to stay as close to the truth as possible. But it had been so late, and she’d been so tired.
After dressing, she went to get something to eat. She wanted to make friends with the servants who worked in the kitchen. The more people she knew, the better. Having eyes and ears on her side could only help.
Nearing the kitchen, she stopped, remembering the last time she was in there and had spoken to Kerdan. He’d given her the only key to the dungeon and told her to free her family and to get as far away from the castle as possible.
While she’d never been in the dungeon, she didn’t think it large enough to accommodate a significant number of people. If Lyle still had the soldiers’ loved ones hidden, it couldn’t be there. Her gut told her he had them holed up somewhere. Given the number of soldiers on the castle grounds, she doubted those men were there out of pure loyalty. They had to be there because Lyle still had their family members. Which meant she had a job to do. She needed to figure out where the soldiers’ loyalties lie.
As their soon-to-be queen, they had to listen to her. She snorted, the sound loud in the empty hallway. Perhaps she could be the one to command the army, not Lyle. She smiled and stepped into the kitchen, envisioning a woman leading an army of men.
Ackley
“We’re surrounded,” Ackley mumbled. Given the barren terrain, the area didn’t seem conducive for attacking someone. So far, the men hadn’t advanced or drawn their weapons. At least not yet. No one waved or shouted out in greeting, leading him to believe they weren’t friendly either.
“Who do you think they are?” Gytha asked. “Melenia soldiers?”
“No.” Lyle wouldn’t dare send soldiers to Landania and risk starting a war with Emperion until he secured his throne. And even then, that would be a stupid move. Ackley didn’t think these men were from Russek since they didn’t have the right build. “Let’s keep moving.”
The pair continued southeast.
Ackley’s dagger remained in hand, at the ready. “Keep your fingers away from your sword,” he whispered. “And don’t make any sudden movements. Try to act nonthreatening.” Maybe this was some sort of Landania unit who watched the border.
As they neared the man directly ahead of them, the others came in closer, forming a circle around Ackley and Gytha, effectively blocking an exit. Each man wore nondescript clothing—plain pants and tunics with no distinguishing marks. Nothing stood out about any of the seven men, which made Ackley even more uneasy. This was no regular guard, and they weren’t soldiers dressed as civilians. He stretched his neck, loosening it up, in case he needed to defend himself.
“Do you plan on just riding right up to the leader?” Gytha nodded her chin toward the man in front of them, now about thirty feet away.
“It’s easier to have a conversation if we’re close, don’t you think?” The man in front of them looked six feet, one hundred and eighty pounds. Based upon the way he held his horse’s reins, he was right-handed.
