'How could you, Illien?' the queen demanded. 'You, of all people, should know I'm faithful!'
'I am only following orders, Queen Myrella. Lord Steadfast thinks — '
'That I've been working treason against Rolencia? As if I would!'
'We have proof, madam queen. Written in your own hand,' old Lord Steadfast announced, stepping forwards. He glanced to Cobalt, who reached into his vest and handed something over.
There was a rustle of something being unrolled.
Steadfast cleared his throat. 'This is a description of the steps King Rolen has taken to ensure the safety of his kingdom. I intercepted it being smuggled out of the castle.'
Lence's honour guards murmured disgustedly.
'Let me see that,' the queen demanded. As she studied the paper Piro caught sight of the wax seal her mother had used on her message to the ambassador only this morning. 'A clever forgery. Nothing more. Rolen knows I would never — '
'The king is not here and Lord Cobalt has been appointed Protector of the Castle,' Steadfast said. 'When I intercepted this, I took it straight to him and insisted he act upon it. In good conscience I could not let a traitor wander loose in Rolenhold.'
'I am sorry, Queen Myrella,' Cobalt said, sounding genuine.
But Piro knew what he was capable of. His spies had intercepted her mother's message and he'd used it to forge this message, then arranged for Steadfast to discover it, knowing that the old man would insist he arrest the queen. Her mother had neat, elegant script. One corner of Piro's mouth lifted. It would be much harder to forge her own handwriting which, despite her mother's best efforts, was barely legible.
Cobalt bowed to her mother. 'The honour guard will escort you to the mourning tower, Queen Myrella. You may take anything you need.'
There was a moment's silence, then the queen spoke. 'Very well. Come, Seela. No… we will not need anything. King Rolen will set me free the moment he hears of this!'
There was some shuffling and then the sound of boots marching from the room. Piro leant against the wall, feeling weak-kneed.
The hide of him! Rage surged through her. How dare Cobalt frame her mother!
'Now, we must find the kingsdaughter,' Cobalt said. 'The message was discovered in her drawing satchel.'
Piro peered through the gap. The four young honour guards stared at Piro's satchel, which contained the sketches she had planned to turn into paintings. How had that got into Cobalt's hands?
'Piro Kingsdaughter?' one of the guards whispered. 'But she's Rolencian-born.'
'You doubt me?' Cobalt countered, rolling up his sleeve to reveal something Piro couldn't see because the men were in the way. 'This is where she scratched me when I tried to question her. She's as wild as a wyvern and as cunning, for all that she looks so sweet. Don't listen to a word she says.'
'They say the apple never falls far from the tree,' the first voice marvelled. 'Who woulda thought it of little — '
'Exactly. Find her. Bring her to me.'
'Not to her mother? I thought you'd want her in the Tower with the queen.'
'What, and give them time to concoct their lies?' Cobalt demanded. 'No. I want to find out who she was meeting and if there are other spies within Rolenhold.'
'Very good, my lord. Come on, lads.'
They marched off.
Piro sank to her knees, dizzy with dismay. She had underestimated Cobalt badly. But even so, how could Lord Steadfast and the others believe this ridiculous concoction?
They say the apple never falls far from the tree, the guard's words returned to her, triggering another memory. The old seer had been right. Cobalt was the bad apple and he was turning the others against them.
She had to get to her father before Cobalt did. Heart thudding in her ears, she scrambled to her feet and backed up until she came to the top of the landing. But she must have made some small noise because Cobalt flung the tapestry open. He stood a mere body length from her.
His eyes widened, then narrowed. 'You heard?'
She nodded.
His lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl as he lunged.
Piro fled down the stairs with him not far behind. She could not outrun a grown man. What should she do? Already she could hear him gaining on her.
Rounding a bend, she came to the top of the next flight of stairs. No side passages. He'd catch her for sure. Only one thing to do.
She pressed her back to the wall, judged how close he was and, at the last moment, stuck her leg out. The impact jarred her whole body, but he was worse off. His stride broken, he missed the top step and fell heavily, thudding into the wall, bouncing off and rolling down the steps.
Piro grinned fiercely. With any luck he would break his neck!
Then she was off, running back upstairs to the solarium. She had only a few moments before Cobalt recovered and came after her. Where should she hide until King Rolen came back? And how could she prove her mother's innocence, when the seeds of doubt had already been sewn? She glanced to her mother's writing desk. If only her mother hadn't written to the ambassador. But Cobalt would have thought of some other way to implicate her in treason. If only she had proof of Cobalt's machinations.
Perhaps she did!
Valens' case of tools and creams. Maybe there was something in it to implicate Cobalt. She dragged it out from under the desk but there was no time to look through it now. Her first priority was to get to her father before Steadfast or Cobalt could. Where could she hide Valens' case?
The last place they'd look.
Piro marched down the stairs into the servants' quarters. Spotting a scullery maid, who was no taller than her with long dark hair bound in a plait, Piro beckoned the girl. 'My mother needs this. Please take it to her.'
The maid did not ask where the queen was, so the news must have travelled all over the castle. Someone was sure to get to her father if she didn't meet him at the stables. Piro hurried through the connecting courtyard. And she was only just in time for she heard the clatter of returning horses.
'Father?' She ran out into the stable yard.
There he was, riding in with Captain Temor and several of his old honour guard.
'The town has outgrown its walls these last thirty years,' Temor was saying, as he swung down from the saddle and handed his reins to a stable boy. 'But, even if it hadn't, the people are better off coming up here to take shelter. Rolenhold will never fall.'
'And if the townspeople are safe within these walls, they cannot be used as hostages to force us to open the gates,' King Rolen agreed, also dismounting. He grimaced when his boots landed on the cobbles, jarring his body.
'Father?' Piro darted through the stable boys, who led the horses away, past the old honour guard. She caught the king's arm. 'Something terrible has happened. Cobalt locked mother in the mourning tower. He says she's a traitor but it's a forgery!'
'Hold on, Piro.' King Rolen patted her arm. 'What are you talking about?'
'Cobalt has framed mother for treason,' she cried.
Her father froze, his gaze going to Captain Temor, who looked stunned.
'Cobalt did warn us that only time would show the queen's true colours,' Lord Steadfast stated, as he crossed the stable yard to join them, with Cobalt at his side. 'Looks like they're Merofynian azure.'
Piro's heart sank. Cobalt looked none the worse for his fall down the steps. Perhaps he was part cat. Snake, more like. She squeezed her father's arm. 'Don't you believe him. The letter's a forgery!'
'Naturally, the queen would say that,' Cobalt agreed. 'And it pains me to have to arrest her.'
Piro searched her father's face. Surely he would not be taken in?
Cobalt bowed to the king. 'You left me in charge of the castle's safety, Uncle. I have only been following your orders.'
'Take a look for yourself, Rolen,' Lord Steadfast nodded to Cobalt, who offered the message which her father accepted and unrolled. Captain Temor and others peered over his shoulders.
'Looks like the queen's writing,' Temor agreed reluctantly.
'It is a forgery made to look like mother's writing,' Piro insisted. 'He's trying to turn everyone against her!'
Cobalt shook his head sadly. 'Uncle, I fear you are in for a double heartbreak because it was your very own daughter who had hidden this treacherous message — '
'That's a lie!' Piro could have wept with frustration.
Cobalt shrugged. 'Say what you like, kingsdaughter. I bear the marks you left on my body, when I tried to question you.' He rolled up his sleeve to reveal two long scratches that had beaded with blood. 'You know what a wyvern whelp she is, when her temper is roused.'
Piro gasped. Everyone looked at her as if she'd sprouted horns.
Her hands curled into fists. She wanted to claw out Cobalt's sorrowful lying eyes. Then she realised something.
'Look!' She opened both hands, holding them out for all to see her finger tips. 'My nails are bitten down to the quick!' These last few weeks she had fallen back into her childhood habit of chewing her nails.
Her father's eyes widened as he took in her ragged nails, which were clearly incapable of scratching anyone.
'They weren't like that when she scratched me,' Cobalt insisted.
The king's mouth settled into a grim, sad line. 'I'm going to see Myrella.'
When he strode off, the others followed. Piro hurried to stay by his side. Captain Temor fell into place on his other side.
'Rolen, if there is any doubt we can't risk freeing the queen,' Temor whispered. 'Only betrayal from within could cause Rolenhold to fall.'
'I know.' Her father sounded bleak.
'Mother is not a traitor,' Piro protested, having to take an extra skipping step to keep up with the men.
'Can you prove that?' Cobalt asked, from just behind them.
She spun to face him. 'Can you prove she is?'
He pointed to the forgery in her father's hands.
'One of you is lying,' King Rolen said. 'Once, I would have said nothing could make me doubt Myrella. But she was the one who encouraged me to betroth Lence to Isolt, and King Merofyn has used this to lull us into a false sense of security.'
Piro's heart sank. Nearly thirty years of peace and twenty-one years of marriage to Myrella were not enough to erase the ancestral mistrust of Merofynia.
They had to mount the stairs of the mourning tower in pairs. The tower had been built one hundred and thirty years ago by Queen Pirola the Fierce to celebrate her wedding but, when her betrothed was murdered, she locked the murderer, her own sister, in its topmost room. Her sister leapt from the top rather than face trial. It had been used ever since to contain royal prisoners.
A guard stood at the door.
'Unbar the door.' King Rolen waited while the door swung open.
Piro watched her mother come to her feet, small, regal and very angry.
Queen Myrella's black eyes flashed as she took in the crowd on the tower landing. 'So, you have come with a court, King Rolen?'
'I have come to find the truth,' he said, growing stiff and formal but, underneath, Piro heard defeat. He had already given up on the queen. This man was a pale shadow of her father.
Piro glanced to Cobalt, who was watching their faces. She remembered how he had turned everything to his advantage when Byren confronted him, and she had a bad feeling.
'Only one person is lying here and it is not me, Rolen,' the queen's voice quavered ever so slightly. 'You've known me since I was a child of eight summers. Have I ever lied to you?'
Piro froze. Her mother had lied by omission since the day she discovered she had Affinity. Thank the goddess Cobalt did not know that!
'We are at war with your homeland, Myrella.' He sighed. 'I would be a fool not to protect my castle and my people.'
'You don't believe me.' The queen blanched and turned away from him, going to the window. After a moment she recovered and faced her accusers. 'There is a traitor in our midst and it is not me. Someone forged that letter. I think…'
She stiffened, head tilting back. Piro smelt the tang of Affinity on the air. Piro glanced to Seela to see if she realised what was happening but no one else could read the signs. If her mother's Affinity came out now her father would be forced to execute her.
Her mother's eyes rolled back in her head. One hand lifted. Piro glanced to Seela. For once the old nurse was stunned into immobility.
A voice that was not hers came from the queen's lips. 'Rolen Byren Kingson, heed this warning. Listen to false counsel and your castle will fall. A man who is half snake, half wyvern is coming. He will tear out your heart, he will — '
'No!' Piro screamed and ran across the room, shoving her mother off her feet so that she staggered, hitting her head on the stone lintel of the window.
Nimble despite her age and girth, Seela darted forwards to catch the queen as she crumpled to the floor.
Inspired by what Valens had done to her father, Piro spun to face the men. 'You must send for the mystics. Mother's been under the influence of a Merofynian renegade Power-worker. Only a mystic can counter the renegade's influence and save her!'
The men all nodded wisely. The bigger the lie, they more they believed it. Fools. No wonder Cobalt could play them like fish on a line.
'Perhaps one of the ambassador's servants was a renegade Power-worker in disguise. It's happened before,' Captain Temor muttered.
'So that is why she has been acting strangely,' King Rolen muttered. Piro wanted to kick him.
He crossed the room and knelt, lifting his wife's small body in his arms. Gently he placed her on the bed, brushing the dark curls from her forehead. 'My poor Myrella.'
The old honour guard muttered sympathetically under their breath. Only one person, other than Seela, knew what was going on. Piro allowed her gaze to meet Cobalt's. He gave her a look that could cut glass and she was glad they were not alone.
'Eh, Piro, come here,' King Rolen said.
She approached him and he took her hand in his large callused one. 'I'm sorry I doubted you, lass. You were only obeying your mother when you carried the note.'
Tears stung Piro's eyes. She wanted to howl like a baby. Even now, her father believed Cobalt rather than her.
'Here, don't cry.' He patted her back, pressing her to his shoulder. He smelt of horse sweat and leather and she just wanted to be six years old again, when he was the strongest, most powerful thing in her world and he could protect them all.
The king pulled away from Piro, so he could look into her face. 'I'll send for both mystics and they'll cast the renegade out of your mother. Never fear.' He glanced to the bed where the queen lay so still. 'But, until then, I must keep her locked up for her own good. You understand, Piro?'
'Yes, father.'
And she had to be content with that. Her mother was innocent in the king's eyes so she was salvageable. But the real traitor was Cobalt and, next to Temor, he was her father's most trusted advisor.
Then her stomach gave a sickening lurch for, when the mystics arrived, they would discover her mother had Affinity. Why hadn't she thought before she acted?
King Rolen straightened, an angry gleam in his deep-set eyes. 'Send for Autumnwind and Springdawn. This has been going on under their noses and they didn't warn me!'
Piro cast a swift glance to Seela. The old nurse went to speak but Cobalt was too quick.
'Springdawn is dead. She took a lover and when it was discovered, killed herself and the lover.'
King Rolen blinked then frowned. 'I always thought she had too much to say for herself. Who was he?'
'Your manservant, Valens.'
The king sagged as if he'd been struck. Piro couldn't bear to see her father suffer. She helped him sit on the bed. His hands trembled as they had done this morning before Valens worked on him.
She sprang between him and the others. 'Get out. Go on. Father's had a shock. He needs time to think.'
When the king did not object they backed out, all but Cobalt.
'I would be failing in my duty as Protector of the Castle if I left before the warder arrived,' he said.
'Then you can leave now, in good conscience,' Autumnwind said, entering the room. He bowed to Piro's father. 'I came as soon as I heard, my king.'
King Rolen nodded distractedly.
Cobalt bowed. 'Call me if you need me, Uncle.'
He backed out and Piro heard him telling one of the honour guard to remain at the door. She turned back to her father, covering both of his large hands with her small ones and pressing down on them to prevent the tremor.
'We'll call the healers, father,' she said. 'We have Valens' case. We'll find out what he was using on you. They'll be able to help — '
'What's wrong?' Autumnwind asked.
Piro glanced to Seela. How much should they reveal? Autumnwind had relished sending Cobalt away, but where did his loyalty lie?
'What's wrong, King Rolen?' the warder repeated.
Rolen's glazed eyes cleared and fixed on him with growing anger. 'The queen's been under the influence of a renegade Power-worker all this time and my castle warders did nothing. You've failed Rolencia, failed me!'
Autumnwind paled then licked his lips. 'Springdawn served the queen's mystical needs. If there is any failure it is hers.'
'Since she's dead that does me no good,' King Rolen snapped. 'I want you to watch over the queen. If she shows signs of possession, ward her.'
'It is my duty and an honour,' Autumnwind said with a formal bow.
But Piro knew her father was the one who needed Autumnwind's help. 'Sit by the fire, father. We'll send for the healers and they can look at you too.'
'There's nothing they can do for me. I'm a cripple without Valens,' he muttered. 'Just when I need — '
'Nonsense, Rolen.' Seela pulled Valens' case out from under the bed. 'We have — '
The king pounced on the case. Flinging it open, he rummaged through the contents. Hands shaking, he withdrew a dark bottle with a glass stopper. 'At least I can still have my tonic.'
'Tonic?' Autumnwind repeated. He opened the bottle, sniffing their contents. 'I am not a healer, but I can recognised dreamless-sleep when I smell it, that and willweakener. No tonic I ever heard of combined those two ingredients.'
Piro and Seela exchanged looks as the king shook his head.
'No, Valens helped me,' he insisted. 'He's done wonders for me.'
Autumnwind glanced to Seela, who shook her head slightly.
'Why don't we get the healers to look at these bottles?' Autumnwind suggested.
'Good idea,' Seela agreed. 'Piro, have the guard fetch the healers.'
Even though she knew what they would find, Piro did this. Would it be enough to convince her father of Cobalt's treachery? Unless there was something that showed Valens was following his old master's order, Cobalt would not be implicated and she was convinced Cobalt was too clever to make that mistake.
Byren skated on, eyes bleary from the glare of sun on ice all day and the sting of the wind. His face felt tight with windburn. But the sun had set now and they were only around the bend from Narrowneck tradepost. He smiled to himself. He should have accepted Florin's offer to go with him, at least then he'd be sure she got this far safely.
The silver light of the stars illuminated the small beach and its cliff. The rope he'd used had been put away.
'Don't fancy trying to climb that cliff,' Orrade muttered.
'We'll have to go around,' Byren agreed. 'Any more headaches, Orrie?'
'No. No time for headaches. I'd skate all night if I had to.'
'Me too,' Garzik muttered, then yawned so widely his jaw cracked.
They laughed and he grinned. They'd skated for the better part of the previous night.
'Let's find a warm bed. Florin will have locked up but I'm sure we can get into the barn.' Byren led the way. As long as Orrade didn't suffer from headaches and blackouts they were free from pursuit. At least, that was what Byren hoped.
His body was tiring as they strode past the palisade and up the winding track between the tall trees.
Garzik gave a theatrical shiver. 'Last time we were here the manticores were stalking us and we were fleeing for our lives.'
'This time we're running towards danger to save lives,' Byren said. 'I wish I could go with you two tomorrow — '
'Don't worry, we'll get there in time to warn Elina and Lence,' Garzik assured him.
Orrade snorted. 'The hard part will be convincing father to come to Rolenhold. He won't want to leave the estate.'
'I can understand that,' Byren said. An idea occurred to him. 'Tell your father, King Rolen needs him.'
Orrade smiled. 'You know the Old Dove well!'
Byren came to a halt. The three-storey tradepost reared up before them, a dark silhouette against the froth of stars, no light burned and no smoke came from the chimney. 'Old Man Narrows won't mind if we sleep in his barn tonight.'
'I'm so tired I could sleep standing up,' Garzik confessed. 'Wonder if he took his animals with him?'
'Would have killed the chickens for travelling meat and walked the cows to the nearest farm,' Orrade hazarded a guess. 'Sylion's luck, I could have enjoyed a roast chicken!'
Byren smiled. Again he wished he could go with them to be sure Elina was safe, but duty took him elsewhere. To restore his father's faith in him he had to get word to the abbey. Elina would never believe he was innocent if his own father didn't.
Byren woke to a muffled noise. It was still dark and no birds called, so it was not yet dawn. He lifted his head to sniff the air. Something was wrong. He inhaled again. Smoke?
Orrade's face was a pale blur against his blanket and cloak. Byren nudged him with his boot. 'Wake up.'
'What is it, Byren?' Garzik asked.
'Shhh. Something — ' Then he heard it, the soft crackle of fire. The smell of smoke came through the chinks in the barn walls. Byren rolled to his feet, creeping towards the shuttered window. He prised it open a fraction. Fire, horses, armed men.
'Byren Kingson, we know you're in there,' a man yelled, striding forwards, lit by the flames.
'Rejulas!' Byren muttered.
'Warlord Rejulas from Cockatrice Spar? What's he doing here?' Garzik whispered.
'Hush!'
'You've got two choices,' Rejulas yelled. 'Come out and surrender, or stay and burn!'
Garzik wasted no time, scrambling over to where his brother slept on, oblivious. 'Orrie, what's wrong with you? Wake up!'
'According to Lence, Rejulas is loyal. I don't know what's going on here,' Byren muttered. His mouth went dry. Maybe Lence had Rejulas's loyalty, maybe he was going to prove it by delivering Byren, bound and gagged.
The warlord of Cockatrice Spar must have come down over his pass into Rolencia, creeping past all the villages and fortified farmhouses. Old Man Narrows had been mistaken. It wasn't Merofynians he'd seen but Cockatrice warriors on the warpath. In one way it was good news. Byren knew his father could deal with Cockatrice raiders.
Then a sick lurch of fear ripped through him. Dovecote lay between here and Cockatrice Spar. What if they had Elina?
'Byren,' Garzik tugged on his arm. 'Orrade's unconscious. We have to get him out of here.'
'We can't run carrying Orrie and we can't fight two dozen men,' Byren told Garzik.
By the starlight filtering in the small barn window the lad stared at him, horrified.
'Byren Kingson, surrender now,' Rejulas urged. 'One man cannot stand against thirty.'
They thought he was alone… Possibilities flashed through Byren's mind. 'I'll surrender.'
'No!'
Byren caught Garzik's shoulders. 'Think. If we fight we all die. By surrendering, I get captured then you and Orrade can save me.'
'What if they kill you?'
'They could have done that already. They want me alive for some reason and this way you two stay free.'
He felt the fight go out of Garzik.
Byren coughed. Smoke stung his eyes now. 'Look after Orrie.'
For a heartbeat, he wondered if this was a side-effect of the Affinity affecting Orrade, then he dismissed it. He had his own problems.
'Stay out of sight, Garza.' Byren thrust the shutter open and shouted, 'I'm coming out. Hold your archers.'
He brought his head back inside, turning to Garzik. 'Pull your vest up over your mouth, breathe through it.' Feeling around, he found his pack and he slung it over his shoulder. 'Hide. They won't be looking for you.'
'What about the fire?'
'Bluff. They'll put it out — '
'Byren Kingson?' Rejulas shouted.
'I hear you.' He squeezed Garzik's shoulder and, with a heavy heart, opened one barn door a fraction. They were raking the burning brands away from the entrance. Red coals winked on the frozen earth.
'Get his weapons,' Rejulas ordered. 'And put out the fires. We don't want to set off a warning beacon now!'
His men laughed, hastening to obey.
Byren didn't resist as Rejulas's warriors divested him of his weapons, both his knives, his sword, his bow and his arrows. He'd armed himself properly for once and it had done no good.
'Right,' Rejulas said. 'Restrain him.'
They moved efficiently in the pale predawn. His hands were tied behind his back and a pole slid under his arms along his back, and he was lowered by pulley to the beach.
After herding him into the centre of the group, they slung a rope around his neck and handed it to a grizzled campaigner. Then they set off in the chill predawn.
'Where are we going?' Byren asked.
'Dovecote,' a youth near him muttered.
The old campaigner cuffed him, then cuffed Byren for good measure, jerking on the rope.
Head still buzzing, Byren managed to keep skating.
One piece of the puzzle didn't fit. Only Captain Temor and those who had joined him at the war table knew Byren planned to sleep here last night. He knew Cobalt was sitting at the war table advising his father, privy to his secrets. But that didn't explain how Cobalt could get word to Rejulas so fast.
Before long they had moved off Sapphire Lake. Tall, snow-capped pines flashed past him, dark against the gradually lightening sky.
They'd be at Dovecote by late tonight and then his questions would be answered. Byren dreaded what those answers would reveal.