Page 10 of Fall of Ruin and Wrath

Hymel’s eyes narrowed, but then he turned from me. He stiffened. I followed his stare. A tall man dressed in finery walked out of the crowd. I recognized him.

Ellis Ramsey approached the dais, heading for the Baron. The shipping magnate from the neighboring town of Newmarsh stopped to bow deeply before the Baron. “Good evening, Baron Huntington.”

Claude nodded in acknowledgment as he extended his arm toward one of the empty chairs to his other side. “Would you care for some wine?”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I don’t want to take up too much of your time tonight.” Ramsey gave a tight smile that did nothing to ease the harshness of his grizzled features as he took the seat. “I have news.”

“Of?” Claude murmured, glancing at me. It was quick, but I saw.

“The Westlands,” he said. “There’s been a . . . development.”

“And what would that be?” Claude asked.

Ramsey leaned toward the Baron. “There are rumors that the Westlands’ Court is at odds with the King.”

My little old ears perked right up as I lowered my chalice and opened my senses. In a room of so many people, I had to be careful not to be overwhelmed. I focused only on Ramsey, creating this imaginary string in my mind— a cord that connected me directly with him. Thoughts could be hard to make sense of— sometimes I heard more of a collection of words that either matched what one spoke or were something completely different. Either way, it always took me a moment to gain my bearings, to decipher what I was hearing out loud and what wasn’t being spoken.

“I have little interest in rumors,” Claude replied.

“I think you will in this one.” Ramsey’s voice lowered as I heardI doubt you have interest in anything that doesn’t spread its legs and isn’t wet.I rolled my eyes. “Two chancellors were sent to Visalia on behalf of the King,” Ramsey reported, speaking of the lowborn messengers who acted as go-betweens for the King and the five Courts. “There appeared to be a problem with their visit, as they were sent back to His Majesty . . .” The magnate allowed a dramatic pause. “In pieces.”

I was barely able to smother my gasp. I would consider being sent anywhere in pieces to be more than a problem.

“Well, that’s concerning.” Claude took a deep drink of his wine.

“There’s more.”

Claude’s grip tightened on his glass. “Can’t wait to hear.”

“The Princess of Visalia has been amassing a substantial presence along the border between the Westlands and Midlands,” Ramsey shared, his thoughts reflecting what he spoke. “More rumors, but ones also believed to be true.”

“And this substantial presence?” Claude looked out over the crowd below him. “Are we speaking of her battalion?”

“Hers and the Iron Knights is what I’m hearing.” Ramsey shifted, dropping a large hand to his knee.

Surprise flickered through me as I set the chalice on the tray. The Iron Knights, a group of rebellious lowborn who were more like raiders than actual knights, had been causing problems throughout the border towns in the Midlands and Lowlands for the last year. From what I knew, they wanted to see the Hyhborn king replaced with a lowborn one, and even though I didn’t pay much mind to politics unless I had to, I knew they were gaining support throughout Caelum. It was kind of hard not to when I knew people who believed that Vayne Beylen— the Commander of the Iron Knights— could change the realm for the better, but I didn’t see how that would be possible if they were joining forces with the Westlands’ Hyhborn.

Claude drew his thumb over his chin. “And have they crossed into the Midlands?”

“Not that I have heard.”

“What about Beylen?” Claude asked. “Has he been spotted?”

“That is another thing I cannot answer,” Ramsey said, while thinking,If that bastard is spotted, he’ll be a dead one.Something about that thought was disquieting, because it was almost as if Beylen’s death would be upsetting. The Iron Knights were gaining traction among lowborn, but usually the wealthy ones didn’t want to see the Iron Knight succeed. Doing so jeopardized the status quo. “But Archwood is quite the distance from the border. There will be at least a warning if the Iron Knights do move into our lands, but if they travel past the border towns? This would no longer be a rebellion.”

“No,” Claude murmured. “It would be an act of war.”

My chest felt far too tight as I severed the connection I’d forged with the magnate. I glanced at Grady, then to the crowd. There had been no wars, not since the Great War that took place four centuries ago and left nearly nothing of the realm behind.

“I do not think it will come to that,” Ramsey said.

“Nor do I.” Claude nodded slowly. “Thank you for the information.” He leaned back in his chair. “I would keep this quiet until we know more for sure, lest we have a panic on our hands.”

“Agreed.”

The Baron was silent as Ramsey rose and descended the dais. The shipping magnate was no longer visible in the crowd when Claude turned his attention toward me. “What do you know?”

And here was the crux of our arrangement. How I benefited him. Sometimes it was learning of another’s future or listening in on the thoughts of another baron, if they were up to something or if they came to Archwood in good faith. There were times when it required a more . . . hands-on approach for me to know.