Page 36 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin (Heirs of Fate #1)
The hard sound of Bryn’s boots clipped through the barren halls of the Palace of Wind and Embers as she made her way to the war room. She passed her soldiers, who were stationed every ten feet, inspecting their uniforms and postures.
As she got closer to the war room, Bryn could hear her father screaming at whatever poor soul had crossed him that morning. She could practically see the flames grow in his eyes, and she hadn’t even entered the room yet.
She pushed through the heavy granite door and entered the war room just as the King picked up a chair and threw it at the wall, where his steward had been standing a few seconds before he ducked to avoid the missile.
King Helvig was an imposing man, standing well over six feet tall with muscle that had been honed over decades of training.
On his brow lay the golden Flame Crown, the spires twisting up like flames licking the air, and rubies the size of her thumbnail crusted the bottom edge.
His honey-tinted hair had been cut to the nape of his neck, where a small knot lay.
Freckles dotted over the bridge of his nose and gave him a disarming, boyish look that the nobles bought into when he flashed his smile and talked them into whatever scheme he was planning.
She halted, bending low at the waist in front of the King, and then pivoted to her spot against the wall.
From here, she was able to see the entire map of Ahland that doubled as the table, as well as each person in the room.
She nodded to the General who was sitting at the head of the table, a gilded goblet of wine already in hand during this late morning meeting.
The General of the Kingdom of Flame’s armies and brother to the King was a thin man in comparison to his brother's bulky form. He had long, rusty hair that resembled the bricks of the buildings in the city hanging loose behind him, pin-straight and dirty. His lanky form draped over a chair as if he didn’t have any care in the world.
He was a cruel man who had delighted in torturing those he believed stepped out of line. Any vitki that were found and arrested were brought to him to see where they had “stolen” their galder from and were never seen again.
Bryn shut down any opinion that might show across her face as the King addressed her.
“Lieutenant General, we thank you for gracing us with your presence.”
She bit her tongue. Bryn had learned over the years that she was better off taking the verbal abuse before it escalated. She only looked over her father’s angry state and knew that whatever news he had received had to be about Maude.
Her sister's name echoed through her, accompanied by the brief flash of pain and anger in her chest that always followed any thoughts of her.
Bryn did not usually allow herself to think of her sister too long, knowing that the spiral she would land in would keep her in bed for days before she could bring herself to move again.
She pushed her emotions from her mind for the moment and listened in on the news the King was so angry about.
“She escaped the soldiers you sent after her again ,” King Helvig screamed at his brother.
“She was traveling with a larger group, and they crossed into the Lamenting Woods. We could not follow them,” the General responded, lazily tipping his goblet to his mouth. “She will show her treacherous face again soon.”
Bryn stiffened but did not allow her face to betray any more reactions.
“She has crossed into the Kingdom of Rivers, I know it. We kept her cornered in Logi for all these years, let her play at being a street rat for a time, but kept her close so we could pick her up when we needed her, and you let her slip away.”
King Helvig shouted the last word at her uncle, and she winced at the booming volume his voice carried through the stone room.
“We don’t know that she has gone to the enemy kingdom, only that she disappeared into the woods . She cannot hide there forever; we only need to wait her out.”
“You’d better be right, brother. She was headed for the Kingdom of Light; she must have heard rumors about the dalkr Hela and intends to find it.”
“She could not possibly be so naive as to think she would ever get close enough to you, Your Majesty, to ever be able to use it, even if she did find it,” the General admonished from his spot opposite the King.
“You are a fool if you think she would not be tenacious enough to try,” the King growled. “If you cannot deal with this, I will have the Lieutenant General take over your position before you can utter another asinine comment.”
“My position passes to her only in the event of my death or my resignation, and I don’t plan on resigning.”
The King said nothing, letting the threat hang in the room. Before the General could say another damning word, King Helvig turned to Bryn, who was trying to blend in with the wall behind her until this meeting was over .
The King, inspecting her uniform before he spoke, said, “Tell me: what report do you have about the dead captain that was found by the city square.”
Always a demand, never a question.
“We found that the man had drowned, Your Majesty.”
“Drowned,” he deadpanned. “In the desert.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is this some kind of joke to you, girl?” He growled, the gleam of malice in his eyes sparkling as he surely dreamt of punishments for her.
“We believe a water vitki slew him , but our healers are still analyzing the body.”
“No ordinary vitki could’ve done that,” the General scoffed.
“One of the soldiers that escaped reported that the captain had recognized him as the Heir to the Kingdom of Rivers, Hakon Kolbeck, Your Highness,” Bryn continued.
She hadn’t believed him when she had interrogated him after the discovery of the captain's body in the streets but had included it in her report, knowing her father would ask for all the details.
“Impossible. Where is this soldier? I would speak with him,” King Helvig ordered as he sat in his velvet-lined chair that had been studded with rubies.
Such disgusting displays of wealth were littered throughout this palace. The decorations in each room were gaudy, dripping with overindulgence. Her rooms had used to be trimmed in gold paint on every surface to accent the red and orange fabrics that adorned every soft cushion and her bed.
She had burned through all her belongings except for some precious memories she hid beneath the stone floor when her mother had died, refusing to look upon any color that resembled her deep red hair. Now, her room was painted gray as her soul, with simple bedding and minimal decor.
“Unfortunately, Your Majesty, the General had the soldier executed shortly after I spoke with him on the grounds of desertion,” Bryn finished, knowing her father was one comment short of his head blowing steam out of his ears.
She allowed herself a small smirk that she shot in her uncle's direction.
“Is this true, Ulf?” King Helvig asked between his teeth.
“The soldier was a coward and was punished as one,” General Ulf waved a lazy hand as he raised the cup to his lips once more, seemingly unaware of the King's shortening temper.
Before he could tip the wine back into his gullet, he choked, spilling the wine on the floor as the goblet crashed to the ground.
Her uncle was clawing at his throat, face turning purple when Bryn realized that her father had not acknowledged the General’s comment, but had decided to rip the air from his lungs instead.
In a flat voice, the King said, “Do not think that I would not end your miserable existence on a whim, General .” His words carried through the still room as her uncle turned a startling shade of blue.
“I am the authority in this kingdom. I decide who lives and dies. Forget your place again, and you will find yourself buried next to our kin.”
The King released his fisted hand and allowed the air to swell back into General Ulf’s lungs just as he passed out. He looked over to Bryn once more.
“Once the General wakes, tell him I want him to send his best soldiers to make the journey to the Lamenting Woods with orders to capture the Heir when she shows her face again. When he fails, I want you to do what you do best, Lieutenant General, and find me that girl. ”
Bryn, with her mask securely in place, gave the King a wicked smile. “With pleasure, Your Majesty.”
The King nodded once before turning his attention back to the room.
“This meeting is over. Return to your duties.”
King Helvig flicked his fingers toward the roaring fire in the fireplace, picking it up and floating it to his open palm.
He then slammed the doors open to the hallway on a phantom wind and blew the flame in his palm out, splitting the flame into twelve smaller flames that lit the torches in the empty hallway.
Bryn bowed again with the rest of the room and waited for her father to leave first, flanked by the six guards he always had surrounding him.
She waited until the entire room had emptied and two stewards had hauled her uncle’s unconscious form to his chambers before she slumped against the wall and leaned her head back.
The tight braids that ran on either side of her head blended into her heavy, copper-colored curls that she had wrapped into a tight knot on top of her head for this meeting fell loose as she ripped the tie from it.
With the pressure relieved from her scalp, Bryn was able to think about what she had heard about Maude and her orders to track her down.
She had been keeping track of her sister these last six years since she had taken up the Lieutenant General position in preparation for her promotion to General.
The resentment and feelings that filled Bryn’s heart when she thought of her sister hadn’t been enough to stop her from still trying to protect Maude.