Page 10 of The King’s Man (The Kingdom of the Krow #3)

~ JANN ~

Just before I saw the Fetch tents the next morning, Diadre muttered to me, “Keep your mouth shut and trust me.”

Strangely, I did.

The Fetch camp blended with the forest so seamlessly, I didn’t realize we were within it until my horse was stepping between tents made from a strange fabric that, on close inspection, had merely been dyed in a variety of colors.

But at a distance it disappeared against the trees and undergrowth.

I didn’t know how I’d missed it, but it explained why Diadre had suddenly drawn me off the trail.

I suspected she’d caught a subtle signal left by the Fetch that we Neph didn’t know. But if that was the case, she wasn’t sharing it.

Fair enough. I wouldn’t have done so if the roles were reversed, either.

The way they materialized from nowhere made my skin crawl, but Diadre smiled as she dismounted and handed her reins to one of them. “Tell my brother I’m here, and if Gall or Istral have found you, please bring them to speak with me right away.”

The Fetch at the top of the circle closing around us frowned. “It’s only those of us who left Theynor after you. We’ve seen no sign of Lady Istral. Is she—”

I felt Diadre tense. “Please. I need to speak with Jhonas.”

The Fetch nodded once then disappeared into the trees in a breath.

Diadre took off her gloves and untied the bag and bedroll from the back of her saddle as she asked brisk questions of the other men who’d materialized, all of whom answered her respectfully, as they should to any high ranking officer.

Then, she spoke quietly to two Lieutenants while I stood, my bag and bedroll at my feet beside a smoldering campfire, chewing on a piece of jerky and enjoying a cup of Kafk that I’d been reluctantly offered by a cook, surrounded by wary-eyed Fetch soldiers.

Those closest to me simply hovered, faces blank and eyes on me, leaving no question why they were there.

I intentionally kept my shoulders loose and my hands away from my weapons. But every hair on the back of my neck stood up, and silently I noted numbers, positions… and the utter futility of trying to fight my way out of this camp.

There were too many of them. Even these little fuckers would overwhelm me if a dozen came at me at once.

And if our planning back at the Palace had been carried out, there were close to a thousand of them spread among these woods, though damned if I could see the signs of them anywhere beyond the immediate clearing.

When I turned my head to glare at one of them who stepped too close to my horse, Diadre caught my eye and gave me a pointed look.

Keep your mouth shut and trust me.

It grated, but I gave her a single, short nod, and did as she’d asked, turning to examine the camp, ignoring the men around me. None of them were tall enough to obscure my view, and this camp was fascinating—as shrouded and easy to miss as the Fetch themselves.

I’d have to ask Yilan about how they made that fabric they used for their tents. It would be incredibly useful for our scouts and trackers.

Then there was a shout and the crowds parted to the east. A moment later, the tall, strong form of Jhonas, Diadre’s brother and another Captain, rushed in to gather his sister up and hold her to his chest, her feet dangling off the ground.

“Jhonas! Stop!” she hissed, slapping his shoulder. But he only smiled and squeezed her tighter before placing her back on her feet where she tugged at her clothes and tried not to look flustered.

“Now, what’s happened?” Jhonas growled, glancing at me over her shoulder, his smile fading. “Why are you here alone with a Neph?”

She gave him a warning glare and I smiled.

“I need to speak with you privately,” she said pointedly.

Jhonas’ jaw tightened, and he shot me a warning look, but he nodded, then turned, beckoning her to follow him. I grabbed both our bags and followed her.

I was pleasantly surprised by the clear order of the camp and these troops.

They couldn’t have been here more than a day, but alongside the tents and cookfires, there were small, temporary shelters constructed of branches and fallen trees to camouflage them in the forest. And even though from a distance the forest seemed empty, every step we took revealed more of those tents, and more Fetch soldiers.

These fuckers were sneaky.

Jhonas led us to one of those temporary shelters—open on one side, and a table made from the flat, sawed side of a tree-trunk propped on hastily constructed supports.

If only these little shits were a foot taller so it didn’t feel like walking into a child’s fort, I would have been impressed.

Jhonas quietly urged the men who were leaning on the table examining maps and discussing something, to leave the space.

I wasn’t stupid enough to think these people wouldn’t use their invisibility magik and listen to our words, but Jhonas and Diadre seemed unconcerned. That is, until he turned and saw me at Diadre’s back.

His face went tight.

“I didn’t want to speak in front of the men, but I am… uneasy about you being alone with the Neph, sister,” he muttered, staring at me.

I smiled and Diadre looked back, shooting me a glare when she caught the grin.

“He’s no threat,” she said quietly, with more conviction than I would have expected.

But Jhonas turned to me then. “If that’s true, then you won’t mind letting me speak to my sister alone.”

I almost corrected him. Almost challenged him. But Diadre looked at me and I remembered her words. Keep your mouth shut and trust me.

I took a deep breath. “Be my guest,” I muttered. “I’ll stand far enough back that I can’t hear you.”

Jhonas’ lips tightened. “You think you have to keep your eyes on her among her own people? With me? She’s my sister.”

“And she’s my safety through the Shadows. I won’t have you remove her to thwart me .”

“If you are an ally, I have no need to thwart you.”

“Precisely my point.”

Jhonas frowned, but Diadre put her hand on his arm. “Stop. Just… let him watch. We can keep our voices down. I’ll be filling him in after, anyway.”

Jhonas didn’t like hearing that at all. I smiled again and walked off a short distance until I found another campfire with a few Fetch huddled around. They all went silent when I approached.

“Good morning,” I said, refilling the tiny mug I’d been given from their pot and trying not to smile too broadly when they bristled.

But the indifference and grinning were an act. From the corner of my eye, I watched Jhonas loom over his sister, lean in, clearly agitated.

She folded her arms, but her face was pale. She gestured with one hand as she explained why we were there.

He kept glancing at me like he thought I’d rush over.

And I wanted to, especially when he pointed back at me and leaned down to get in her face.

I wanted to smack some sense into him, but clenched my teeth and made myself breathe. Still, my skin was too tight, and I guess my anger showed in my eyes, because one of the Fetch soldiers hurriedly made excuses to leave.

To my surprise, one of the men tried to strike up a conversation. And though he wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t challenging, either.

“Are the King and Queen well? Why have they sent you and the Captain here?”

“The King and Queen are well, and taking what belongs to them. Important messages are sent through trusted allies,” I muttered.

I couldn’t hear what the siblings were saying to each other, but Jhonas never stopped glancing at me over her shoulder. And Diadre was growing stiffer and more resistant by the minute.

What was the fucker saying to her?

I blinked when she raised her chin and poked her brother in the chest, then turned on her heel and stormed towards me, fire in her eyes.

“Diadre— Captain!” Jhonas barked, then hurried after her, hissing as they drew closer. “Diadre, fucking stop! You can’t do this . I outrank you!”

Just steps from me, Diadre halted abruptly, her eyes wide and her jaw flexing.

I grinned and nodded at her.

Jhonas was about to get the sharp side of that tongue of hers.

She whirled on her brother and drew herself up to her full height—which, admittedly, was little more than a child’s—and spat at him. “I am under instructions from the King. You can not change my orders!”

“Only because I wasn’t there to begin with—in the field—”

“She’s speaking the truth,” I growled.

“I don’t give a fuck what you think—”

“I am the General of the King’s army. And she is the Queen’s advisor. We have been charged with this mission. I outrank both of you. It’s my call.”

Jhonas sneered. “Of course you want her with you—you could overpower her easily.”

Diadre made a strangled noise, but I smiled. “I could overpower you too, if I had to. But I don’t. Because I outrank you.”

Jhonas’s eyes narrowed. “Your rank has no bearing on ours—you’re not part of the Shadekin military. I have no responsibility to you.”

Diadre turned on him, opening her mouth to correct him, but I stepped past her, putting myself at his toes and giving him a taste of the looming he was so ready to give his sister.

“I just fought to bring your King and Queen safely through the civil war of my people. I believe they are also your King and Queen. You do not listen to instructions from them?”

“Of course I do,” Jhonas muttered. “But in the field—”

“Excellent. Then know that we were sent to tell you to stand your ground and await further news. But if you see hide or hair of Gall or Istral, you send a runner to the Queen immediately.”

Something brushed my arm, and Diadre quietly cleared her throat.

Keep your mouth shut and trust me.

Shit.

I took a deep breath and stepped back, giving the man room. But unrelenting warning in my eyes.

Jhonas blinked and looked around, obviously remembering that we had an audience. He raised his chin and nodded, tugging down on his uniform jacket. “Of course. Thank you for the message. No one wants Lady Istral safe more than me,” he muttered.

I huffed, but kept my mouth closed after that, turning to Diadre instead. “If they aren’t here, we should keep going. Are you ready?”

She looked sad, but nodded and took the bags I handed to her, slinging them over her shoulders so they fell across her chest. But her brother balked.

“You should both stay for the night. Rest. Eat. Leave tomorrow.”

“No,” I snarled at the same moment Diadre shook her head at her brother.

“You take our horses. We’re flying from here. We’ll be at the Palace tonight—or tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Jhonas’s eyes narrowed. “Flying? What do you—”

“I’m ready,” Diadre whispered, stepping up to stand between my toes with her back to me.

Grimly, I wrapped both arms around her and under the bags, manifested my wings, launching straight up and into the mists as the Fetch men shouted alarm.

I could feel her quivering as I pushed up and over the tree-canopy, but I couldn’t resist a wicked grin down at Jhonas as he leaped forward to grab for her far too late.