Page 20 of The Queen's Crown
“I understand people of royal breeding have certain duties,” Markis said, “but I can’t imagine being in your situation.”
“It is a bit daunting to be on my way to marry a man I haven’t even met.” All she’d been told about King Rainer was that his father had recently died so he’d inherited the throne at the young age of twenty-four. The king had three siblings, twin brothers who were twenty-two and a younger sister who was twenty. She’d also been told that for Rainer to maintain the throne, he had to marry and produce an heir—which was one of the reasons he needed to wed quickly. “What about you?” she asked. “Are you married?”
“I am. I’ve been married for three years. We have…”
“You have?” she prompted.
He glanced at her. “One daughter. We lost our son.” He didn’t extrapolate.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not knowing what else to say. She shouldn’t have pried. Perhaps he’d chosen to be a soldier to get away from his house where the memories were. Losing a loved one was never easy. That was why she dove headfirst into taking Alina’s place. Focusing on training and preparing for this journey made it easier to deal with her sister’s death. Markis could be doing the very same thing.
“One of the reasons I asked Prince Rolf if I could accompany you on this trip is because I know what you’re going through.”
Surprise filled her. She’d had no idea he’d volunteered for this.
“Losing someone is never easy,” he continued. “Sometimes it makes us do rash things.” He looked pointedly at her.
Her face heated up at his implication. Taking her sister’s place wasn’t rash—it was heroic. She was saving her kingdom. But that little voice in the back of her mind also reminded her she was doing this for a very selfish reason. She wanted to find her sister’s killer. Instead of admitting that, she asked, “Did you behave rashly after the death of your son?”
He focused on the road straight ahead. “I lashed out at those trying to help and console me. Watching my wife suffer was unbearable, so I took on dangerous missions just to feel alive and not be consumed by the pain.”
That was something Sabine understood. She’d thrown herself into training with her mother and Rolf to avoid the pain.
“That’s the wall up ahead. Let’s stop and make camp just off the road.”
“Wall?” Sabine said as she steered her horse after Markis.
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “It’s just over twenty feet tall and made entirely from stone.”
Sabine squinted, trying to see it from where she was. “Does it go from one end of the kingdom to the other?” She had no idea how the Lynk people could have made something so large.
“It does. It even goes into the mountains.” He led them to the cover of a nearby patch of trees.
“Interesting,” she mused. “So, in theory, no one from another kingdom should be able to sneak in?” Which meant her sister’s killer had to be from Lynk.
“Not necessarily. Someone could take a boat and get around the wall that way, entering Lynk from the ocean. I also believe there isn’t a wall separating Lynk from Avoni, but that hasn’t been confirmed.”
“I wonder why they didn’t build a wall around their entire kingdom.” If they went through so much trouble to close themselves off from Carlon and Nisk, it seemed they should have extended the same to Avoni.
“There’s a large river which separates Lynk from Avoni which is why I believe there isn’t a wall there. Also, all their trade is done via ships since it’s the easiest way to get supplies in and out. And, if they needed to, they could get their army on the coastline of any kingdom on the continent. If they attacked by land and sea, they could almost surround another kingdom, ensuring total victory.”
“Couldn’t another kingdom attack them from the ocean?”
Markis smiled. “No. It would be suicide.”
Sabine was beginning to think this entire mission was suicide. She should never have offered to take her sister’s place.
ChapterSix
Sabine and Markis awoke early. They set out, only having a mile or so to go until they reached the border. Now that they were back on the main road, she could easily see the large, imposing wall directly ahead. It had to have taken an enormous amount of effort and resources to build something of that magnitude.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Markis said.
Sabine nodded.
“With an army as large as theirs, I’m surprised they bothered with the wall.” Markis shrugged. “At the very least, it keeps unwanted intruders out.”
She’d learned that the previous Lynk kings had prided themselves on having a large army. However, a thought occurred to her. “Are we sure their army is as strong as they claim it to be?” Perhaps the wall was meant to mask an illusion.
