Page 19 of The Lionheart’s Bond (Bonds of Dusk and Dawn #1)

ISIDORE

P rince Brin, Prince Nel, Prince Hina, he knew them all now. Ponar and Arte were there too, their eyes on him, filled with pity. It helped dispel the cold in his chest.

Prince Neisha stood behind him, as if concerned he might escape. Where did the crown prince think he would go, Isidore couldn’t tell. Queen Nahel stood by the table, spreading the map open, waiting for him to point the way under the vigilant gaze of Captain Helge.

Only one person was missing, the only person he had cared to see.

‘Where is that Lodge you speak of, boy?’ Prince Neisha asked, nudging him towards the table.

Isidore stumbled a step before leaning over the map. He couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. He had never read a map before. How to make sense of direction?

‘Ah,’ he mumbled to himself, when he found the arrow pointing North. That was a start. The fortress was East of the kingdom. If he could find Asteah to start with… There it was. As he found more landmarks, the locations started to make sense. There was the road, and here the bridge they crossed.

‘This village here is abandoned now,’ he pointed at a few houses drawn on the parchment, north of Taris bridge.

He followed the road East. There would be a turn, and a long curve. It didn’t look that long on the map. At last, he found it. There was nothing on the map to mark it, but there was a fortress there. A lot of markings for villages, towns and castles were missing, other than Asteah and a couple of places close by. The forests, roads and mountain ranges seamed accurate, at least the part he was familiar with.

He pointed at where The Quarry must be. It had been a real quarry once, but the name was all that was left of it. The king found the fortress more useful as a prison.

‘Lord Torell will not be there, though. He’ll want to spend the winter at the lodge. It’s over here, North of The Quarry. Him, his men… and the prisoners.’

‘Why?’ Prince Nel asked.

Isidore swallowed, afraid of the reaction his words would trigger, but there was nothing for it. If it had happened, it was better if they were prepared.

‘He wouldn’t go through the trouble of bringing them to the fortress only to come here after, since it’s shorter to take this road…’ He studied the map, searching, trying to judge the distance. ‘There is a turn here that goes Northeast, much shorter than going all the way to The Quarry first. The other reason…’ Isidore’s eyes wandered. Should he really say? He sighed, closing his eyes. He would want to know if he was in their place. ‘The duke likes to throw the prisoners in the enclosure with the animals and watch them try to defend themselves.’

A murmur ran through the royal family, but he didn’t dare to take his eyes off the map, not even to check their expressions. It wasn’t his fault, yet he felt guilty, as if there was anything he could have done.

‘The lodge should be somewhere around here.’ He pointed, trying to move on ‘This road curves father West, and then you turn off somewhere here.’

The real place was marked by a large stone that vaguely looked like a standing bear. Lord Torell loved that thing. The way he spoke about it, anybody would think he had carved it himself.

‘Are you sure they’ll still be there?’

Isidore shrugged. Nothing was certain.

‘What about defences?’ Neisha asked.

‘The fortress will be harder to breach, surely. This lodge wouldn’t have the same defences as a stone building. It will work to our benefit,’ Queen Nahel said, her eyes studying the map. ‘More tree cover for us, too. Are you confident in the layout of the surrounding areas?’ She looked up at him now, fierce eyes through dark eyelashes.

He nodded. She was not wrong about the lodge, it was surrounded by thick woods, stables extending at the back of the large house. As for The Quarry, Lord Torell’s fortress was surrounded by dusty, dead plains. The rocky floor didn’t allow for much growth, providing one of the fortress’s greatest advantages. Approaching it secretly was impossible The guard’s field of vision was too wide and unobstructed.

Isidore did his best to describe the terrain, watching as the faces around him grew in concern and severity.

‘We’re lucky, then, if they are still at this lodge.’ Neisha crossed his arms over his chest. ‘The fortress would be too tough to break into.’

‘In situations like this one, setting siege has worked well in the past,’ Hina suggested.

‘We don’t have the coin to fund such a campaign,’ the queen replied patiently.

‘That’ll take a long time,’ Isidore added, even though he hadn’t been asked. ‘Lord Torell is a powerful pra—witch. He’ll be able to feed his people inside the castle, even if his power is insufficient to beat the armies at his doors.’

‘Do all Kaletians use magic?’ Nel asked.

‘A lot still have the skill, but mostly within the nobility.’

‘It’s a shame you don’t have any,’ Nel lamented. ‘It would have been so useful.’

Isidore smiled sadly. Had he had any power channels to use, Lord Torell would never have treated him like a slave. Because he couldn’t believe himself a servant any longer. Servants were better treated than that. Prisoners in Ilystra were better treated than he had been. The duke could have used him, if he had been a practitioner. Unable to construct any Power Devices and manipulate the world around him, he had been relegated to the lowest of posts.

‘What sort of magic? What can he do?’ Prince Neisha asked.

Isidore tried to recall the times he had witnessed his power. Making beasts bloodthirsty seemed trivial here, but he mentioned it all the same.

‘I’m not sure there is much more. He must at least be able to use the most basic devices,’ he mused.

‘Devices?’ Hina asked.

Isidore frowned. What would the Ilish say? Even if both kingdoms used the old tongue, it was annoying that they used it so differently.

‘Curse?’ he tried.

‘A spell,’ Hina suggested.

‘Yes, a spell,’ Isidore nodded. ‘I’m not in a position to be by the duke’s side often. I’m only ever in his presence when the animals are involved, so I can’t be sure what other abilities he might have, but the most common spells involve moving objects from a distance, opening passageways, basic healing, that sort of thing.’

A silence settled over them. The queen stared at the map, as if an answer or a fully-fledged plan was going to draw itself on it.

‘Nel,’ the queen spoke at last, ‘take Isidore back to his cell.’

Prince Nel squared himself half-heartedly, almost as if he were joking, and came to stand by his side.

‘Let’s go,’ he spoke, his voice gentle.

Isidore nodded. Now that he had told them everything, he felt relieved and followed Nel as if in a daze.

‘You did well.’ The prince’s voice sounded so far away Isidore was not even sure who he was talking to. ‘You’re making feel bad.’

‘Bad?’

‘I feel like we’ve broken the sun. Don’t be so sad, it will all work out.’

Isidore smirked. Deflated was his new normal, but he appreciated Nel trying to give him some hope.

They continued their journey down the stairs and along the dim corridor in silence, but he could feel the prince’s eyes on him every step he took.

Nel opened the door for him, as if it was a courtesy. Isidore was looking forward the door closing, shutting the world out. He wanted to be alone.

Complying with his unspoken wish, the door was now locked, and he lied down on the bench, his eyes lost in the cracks that ran along the ceiling. His mind was full, and yet couldn’t focus on a single thought, all of them speeding past his consciousness.

‘I’m sorry you couldn’t speak to Judel,’ Nel said, making him jump. He thought the prince had left.

Isidore raised himself on his elbows. Nel was watching him through the bars.

‘I told him I thought you were telling the truth about your father.’

‘You believe I’m not Lord Torell’s son?’ Isidore sat up, surprised.

‘I’ve no evidence about that man’s relationship to you one way or another, but, as I said before, I do think you believe it’s not true.’

Isidore gritted his teeth. That wasn’t the same but… But it was better than thinking him a liar.

‘Things will get better,’ Nel said.

Isidore scoffed. ‘I’m not sure how.’

Nel nodded and began to make his way back.

‘Thank you,’ Isidore called before he left.

The prince nodded his acknowledgement just before disappearing out of view, his steps echoing on the damp floor.

Isidore lied back down, feeling infinitesimally less cold and lonely. Against all odds, one person believed him. Even this much made him feel better and he found himself closing his eyes, too tired to even overthink the situation.

It was the clang of the door that made him jump. He blinked furiously at the light. When his eyes finally adjusted, he recognized Prince Nel leaning over him, his sharp features in beautiful contrast with the shadows cast by the candle in his hands.

‘Remember how I said things would get better and you said you couldn’t imagine how?’

‘Yeah,’ he managed to mumble.

‘Well, you were right. The queen has decided you should come with us and help with the rescue mission.’

Isidore startled. Not sure if to cough or swallow, he almost choked on his own saliva. He had sworn to himself he would never return there; it had been the only certainty in an otherwise dark future, and yet now he had no choice. He was going back to Stonehollow.