Page 36 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

Chapter

Thirty-One

ELANNA

A s if Hux were born for mischief, he’d not only ascertained Dashiell’s schedule but learned much of the chancellor’s schedule, as well.

“That man is difficult to keep up with. He’s flooded with enough duties and meetings for three people.” Hux shook his head. “I know not that the sovereign realizes how much he demands of Griffith.”

Hux had also mastered the duties of the Warins and when they changed shifts.

Most were familiar to him now, though information about the new ones was slower to gain.

One might begin to wonder how Hux gained this skillful art of deception.

And as if shadowing the Warins wasn’t enough at which to marvel, he, too, had learned the schedule of four of the eight sovereign’s councilors.

He’d even begun to pick up on the sovereign’s schedule—though that schedule diverted the most, he complained.

More helpful still, Hux had befriended several courtiers and high-ranking servants, including the housekeeper, the head stable boy, a knight in the queensguard, two chambermaids, and a few others that Hux chuckled about .

“So many delicious secrets in this place. I cannot wait to employ another one against some unsuspecting fool.”

Ah, that is how Hux got us through the main gates of the castle the day of the festival.

Joss couldn’t muster a single berating word. She simply gazed to the heavens.

“Oh, Joss, lighten up.” Hux clapped her on the shoulder. “Come. Let us ‘bump’ into the chancellor.” He winked and strode off.

They followed, and presently, Hux halted. “Ah, aye. We cannot all of us go. One may slink and sleuth. Mayhap even two. But four? Nay. I shall take Elanna. You two meet us back in her rooms.”

“I shall not leave Lady Elanna,” Joss protested, stepping up to Hux. “Especially after you’ve disappeared for days!”

“I’ve only just explained how I’ve used my time for everyone’s benefit.”

“We haven’t time to argue, Dame Joss,” Elanna said. “Hux is right.”

“As you wish, m’lady.” Joss appeared exhausted.

“Instead,” Hux said, stopping them down the corridor. “Why do not you two stand guard outside the Delara. Might be useful to Lady Elanna for others to think her dutifully at prayer?”

If Joss opposed the idea, she did not voice it.

They left Joss and Barrett and eventually rounded a corner to find themselves in a corridor with which Elanna was unfamiliar.

Not that such a thing would surprise her, but this corridor felt different.

Untrafficked. Unused. The other corridors in Castle Sidra that had no window boasted lantern light every few feet, whereas this corridor bore only a single lantern.

Its weak light gave the sensation of night.

“Where are we?” she whispered, surveying the walls, which were covered in burgundy velvet. They appeared to have a faded pattern, but through age and lack of light, she couldn’t decipher what. The effect of the velvet muted their footsteps and made it difficult to hear anyone else approach .

Hux held his finger to his lips, brows knitted together as he scanned down the corridor.

After standing there a few moments, feeling wrong, Hux drew her into the shadows of a doorway.

A dusty curtain hung from the door frame, covering half the door.

Hux held his hands at her forearms, silently instructing her to be still.

While she might feel odd about standing snugly against Hux, the disturbed dust in the air threatened to make her sneeze and distracted her.

Was that a footstep against the muffled carpet?

“Tell me you found evidence this time. This is becoming irksome.” King Rian’s voice. Hux sucked in a breath. Was hearing the sovereign’s voice a surprise to him?

“I apologize, Your Majesty. And my men were ready this morn. He dodged them again.” The chancellor’s voice this time. Hux had been right about “bumping” into Chancellor Griffith, though she ne’er would have imagined this is what he meant.

“He has errand somewhere. My son never took early morning strolls until the betrothal.”

“Aye. ’Tis troubling. I hope he does not plan something ill.”

“What do you mean by that? Speak plain, Griffith. But speak carefully.”

“Aye, Your Majesty. Simply that this is only one manner in which His Highness has been behaving most peculiar. His studies have been lacking, and I hear from the sword master that Dashiell is still unready to advance his swordplay.”

Both Elanna and Hux stiffened.

“The prince has also inquired again as to the whereabouts of Sir Karro.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“Same as before. That he’s journeyed home to visit an ailing relative.”

“Mayhap the decision regarding Karro was too hasty. They’d been together since boyhood.”

“The council shared your worries, Your Majesty. You were right to have them. ’Tis best that Prince Dashiell’s man be replaced. If it pleases you, we can still explore the possibility of stationing one of the new Warins as his man-at-arms.”

Silence followed.

“I shall consider it. ’Tis of the utmost importance the prince does not disgrace me at the betrothal ceremony. Especially after the latest reports.”

“Agreed, Your Majesty. We will tighten his security in preparation for Lady Wenonah’s arrival. Especially after the prince’s words about his betrothal.”

“Do not remind me. A shame to the House of Sidra.”

“I’m aware there have been more. And this time, there were more witnesses, Your Majesty.”

“What words?”

“I would not dare repeat them to Your Majesty.”

“You had better if you expect to escape my wrath. This whole business is becoming more than tiresome. You were the person in whose charge I placed the prince. Is this to be another failure?”

Elanna leaned closer to the curtain as they waited for Chancellor Griffith to break the silence. The curtain ruffled slightly, sending more dust into the air. How her nose itched.

“Be still,” Hux whispered in her ear.

“I say, did you see that?” the sovereign asked.

Elanna held her breath.

“Your Majesty?”

“That door. That curtain. It appeared as though it?—”

“Your Majesty,” the other voice said.

Elanna shuddered. The curtain shifted again, but as the voices continued, it appeared everyone’s attention had been drawn away from the doorway. Elanna let out a soft breath.

“The StarSeer and her guard were observed earlier at the ravenmaster’s tower. ’Twas close to the same time guards followed Dashiell from that very courtyard. Could it be a coincidence or is it possible they connect?”

A pause followed.

“Have your eyes and ears alerted you that the StarSeer takes early morning strolls as well?” The sovereign’s voice was tight and impatient.

“Not usually, nay, Your Majesty. She keeps late hours, naturally.”

Elanna’s heart quickened. She hadn’t realized her schedule, too, was watched.

“Hmm. The ravenmaster, eh? Fetch him to me, Sir Kaff. Send him to my solar.”

“Aye, Your Majesty,” the Warin said. The sound of muted footsteps followed.

“You wish to meet with the ravenmaster yourself, Your Majesty? Surely, I may question him for you. You have so many other important matters to attend to.”

“Naught is more important than discovering what is inspiring the prince to behave so. And when I wish for your opinion, Griffith, I shall ask for it. By the way, still no word from Lord Tolvar about the fray in Anscom?”

“None, Your Majesty.”

“Strange. Now, find the whereabouts of the StarSeer and send her to me in one hour’s time. I know she’s inquired about being granted an audience. Mayhap she can shed light on my son’s moves.”

“Do you think that wise, Your Majesty? I thought we wished to involve her as little as possible.”

“ We? Watch your tongue, Griffith. I grow impatient of your insolence. Mayhap the decision to keep her out of matters was made too hastily. Find her.”

“Aye, Your Majesty. And my humblest and deepest apologies. I have only Your Majesty’s interests in mind.”

The soft sound of movements, followed by silence, told them that both had left the corridor. Elanna and Hux came out from their hiding place.

“You see?” Hux whispered. “You never know what you may hear in a darkened corner.”

He strode to where the chancellor had disappeared, but as quick as they’d hidden, Elanna yanked him back into the doorway. Hux kept quiet.

They waited.

A few moments later, silent footsteps approached. Two pairs of footsteps? Elanna couldn’t be certain. When she was sure they were at the far end of the corridor, she peeked from the curtain.

’Twas two Warins. The yellow band on both their arms stood out in the dim light. She couldn’t discern who the second was, but as for the first, even though she’d only seen him twice here, it was undoubtedly Daved.

This corridor seemed awfully busy considering it seemed to be a covert area of sorts. But the Warins were the sovereign’s personal guard.

“Odd.” Hux peered after them as well. “Those two are off their schedule.” He gazed off in thought, then asked, “How did you know they approached?”

Elanna only gave a close-mouthed smile.

“Of course. You know, your gift could be most handy for some less than virtuous situations.”

Despite herself, Elanna smirked.

“Now what do we do? We did not exactly bump into the chancellor as planned?”

“Didn’t we?” He winked. Elanna forced her fluttering heart to quiet. “And, fear not, Lady. You heard King Rian say you’re to have an audience with him. Even better. Let us make for the Delara where you are currently praying.”

The ravenmaster had shown his loyalty. Every detail of Elanna’s visit to the message tower was retold to her as soon as she’d presented herself to the sovereign. Chancellor Griffith stood to the side of the room, evidently keeping notes for King Rian.

“If you had newfound fears about my son, why in stars’ name did you not share that with me?”

“Concerns, not fears, Your Majesty,” Elanna said, keeping her eyes on his soft leather shoes.

Besides the internal battle she fought to not mention the initial fears she’d stated upon arriving in Asalle, she wrestled with whether or not to inform King Rian of the distress that Dashiell had longed to confess to her in the Delara.

But the prince petitioned for your confidence. She set her jaw.

“And have you any Sight to share that might assist with what the ravenmaster has informed me? The prince has been sending daily messages to a town in Anscom. Have you Seen anything?”

“Would that I could say I have Seen something new, Your Majesty, but the stars have remained veiled on the matter. I shall continue my endeavor, however.”

“Would you like to send for the prince, Your Majesty, so that you might question him?” Chancellor Griffith asked. “The prince would not dare stay silent to you.”

King Rian descended the steps of the dais and focused out the window.

Elanna and Chancellor Griffith made uncomfortable glances at each other.

“Your Majesty?”

“I say this only because you are my trusted advisor, and Elanna is StarSeer to the realm. Something deeply troubles my son, and ’tis driving a wedge between us.

Dragging him in here, yet again, shall only deepen that.

The prince has claimed I trust him not. ’Tis becoming clear that his trust in me wanes.

Aye, we could conduct him here to question.

I am his sovereign, true. Yet I am also his father, and he is my son. ”

“And has the bold-headedness of youth, Your Majesty. Prince Dashiell is not gifted with the same strong qualities of Your Majesty.”

Elanna’s eyes widened. King Rian chuckled and kept his attention outside. “There is that tongue of yours again, Griffith.”

The chancellor paled. “Your Majesty, I’m only striving to?—”

“And yet I do hear your words. But ’tis his destiny to rule. Is that not correct, Lady Elanna?” King Rian faced them. His tight-lipped smile did not reach his eyes.

Elanna inclined her head. “And I am here to see that destiny fulfilled. If it pleases Your Majesty, mayhap I may serve you in another way. Allow me to try to discover what ails the prince.” She considered asking outright if she could sit next to Dashiell at this evening’s banquet and dance with him, but she didn’t want to hint that she was familiar with the banquets as she’d attended only one of them.

“Mayhap I may gently guide your son to speak with his father.”

King Rian and Chancellor Griffith eyed each other. The chancellor, still blanching, seemed determined not to offer a suggestion first this time.

“If news is spread that the prince is engaged privately with a StarSeer, the people will fear something is amiss with his fortune. And blast it, as if rumors are not already circling his betrothal. I cannot suffer more.”

Was that why Dashiell had been hidden from her? Is that why she’d been kept from court?

“I understand, Your Majesty,” Elanna said. “Mayhap a public venue.”

“Mayhap at the banquet, Your Majesty?” The chancellor’s voice croaked. “There are many eyes already observing, so ’twould not be such a spectacle. A mere hospitable formality. Lady Wenonah is to arrive in three days hence. ’Twould be helpful if we could turn his attention to his bride.”