Page 35 of While Angels Slept (de Lohr Dynasty #1)

I t was nearing noon on a day that was showing the promise of warmer weather.

A cloudless sky glistened overhead and Tevin found himself gazing from the lancet window, looking up to the sky and wondering how Cantia was faring.

The solar of Rochester had a west-facing window and he leaned against the sill, watching the birds flock over the river, hearing the distant bells of the boats.

It was lovely and serene, but it meant absolutely nothing to him without Cantia by his side.

He hadn’t been away from her for more than twelve hours but, as he had predicted, he missed her more with each breath he took.

It was a physical pain, manifesting itself in his chest until he could scarcely breathe.

He turned away from the window, his thoughts moving from Cantia to Geoff and thankful for the fact that his cousin had drank himself into a stupor the night before and was still sleeping off the excess.

The man hadn’t given the effort of thought to the missing Lady Penden or to Val, and Tevin was grateful.

The delay had given him time to think up a plausible reason for the missing. He was prepared.

So he went back to his map table, studying the area north of the Dartford crossing where two of Geoff’s men, who had been in the area only yesterday, had come to Rochester with tales of an armed buildup.

An army was gathering and Tevin was preparing to send more of his trusted men into the area as spies to see what more information they could gather.

He immediately thought of Simon and John for the duty, those two disobedient knights who had shrugged the escort duty to Dagan and Gavril.

He hadn’t seen the men since yesterday but he knew they were around, more than likely attempting to wait out their liege’s displeasure.

He smirked when he thought of sending the pair on a scout mission into dangerous territory.

Perhaps running into an ambush or having arrows shot at their head would make them sorry they had disobeyed their liege on the relatively easy escort mission.

As he settled down to figure out a covert route for his men to take where they could make a quick escape, Myles appeared in the doorway.

“Tevin,” his voice was low, swift. “You must come immediately.”

Tevin didn’t give thought to the fact that the man did not address him formally. He was more concerned with the tone of his voice.

“What is the matter?” he asked.

Myles’ expression tightened. “No questions,” he hissed. “You must come. Now .”

He ducked out of the doorway, heading for the keep entry.

Tevin follow, more curious than concerned, as they made their way out of the keep and headed towards the knight’s quarters.

Myles was walking quickly, stiffly, all coiled up like a spring ready to pop as they crossed the ward and approached the thick stone building that housed the knights.

Built against the perimeter wall of Rochester, it was a squat, imposing structure.

It was moderately dark inside due to the fact that the building had no windows except for big ventilation holes up by the roof line.

The floor plan consisted of a large common room and six smaller sleeping chambers.

It was dusty and dark at any given time.

There were a few senior men-at-arms crowded into the common room, eyeing Tevin with some concern as he entered.

Tevin didn’t particularly notice the expressions, as he was more focused on Myles as the man led him into a tiny corridor and indicated the first room to the right.

Tevin stuck his head into the chamber, his gaze first envisioning a darkened room and nothing more.

Then, he saw a big yellow dog lying next to the small bed and it took him a moment to realize it was George.

George lifted his head when he saw Tevin, big sad doggy eyes gazing up at him as the tail thumped wearily against the floor.

The last Tevin had seen of the dog, he had left with Cantia and the rest of the group.

Startled to realize the dog had returned, his gaze moved to the bed.

Val lay upon the mattress, bruised and beaten.

Lying on her right side, she had a massive compress of some kind against her head and neck.

Tevin must have made some kind of noise because her eyes opened and she turned stiffly to look at him as he collapsed to his knees beside the bed. Tevin’s face was white with terror.

“Val,” he hissed. “What are you doing here?”

Val’s eyes filled with tears and she grasped her brother’s hand. Her lovely face was scraped from where she had fallen on it and the lump on the back of her head was causing her horrific pain. She clutched at Tevin.

“Oh, Tevin,” she wept. “We… we were ambushed. They killed Dagan and Gavril, and took Cantia and the children.”

Tevin felt as if he had been hit in the gut. He couldn’t breathe and he could feel his face flushing hot, then cold again. He began to shake uncontrollably, holding on to Val’s hand with a death grip.

“What happened?” he struggled with everything he possessed to remain calm. “Did you see who it was? Did they bear colors or anything else of note?”

Val was weeping in pain and sorrow. “Nay,” she breathed.

“I was knocked unconscious and when I woke up, Dagan and Gavril were dead and Cantia missing. I… my head… it was difficult to move so I do not know how long I lay in the grass before rising to my feet. It was nighttime when the attack happened and at least dawn when I awoke. I started to walk back to Rochester and found Dagan’s charger a little way up the road.

I was able to ride him back here so I could tell you what happened. ”

Tevin could see how badly she was injured. He stroked her head, gently, though his hand was trembling. “I can only imagine how much pain you are in,” he murmured. “You were very brave, Val.”

Val’s eyes spilled over. “I am so sorry, Tevin,” she whispered. “I never saw what hit me. I had no chance to defend Arabel or Cantia. ”

He shook his head, soothing her. “It is not your fault,” he said, but his voice was tremulous. He tried to keep his head, asking questions that might help them make sense of it all. “You heard or saw nothing before you lost consciousness?”

“Nothing. All was peaceful.”

Tevin could feel men next to him and behind him, listening to Val’s story.

He could feel their concern, their rage, waiting orders from Viscount Winterton on how to proceed.

From the corner of his eye, Tevin caught sight of heavy, dirty boots.

He knew those boots and fury surged through him as he turned in the direction of Simon.

John was standing slightly behind him, both knights distressed with what they were hearing.

But their distress wasn’t nearly what Tevin’s was. Veins stood out on his forehead as he faced his insubordinate knights and struggled not to explode in all directions.

“ You were supposed to escort them,” he jabbed a big finger at the men. “By what right did you disobey my order and give the duty to Sutton and de Reigate?”

John took a step back from his furious liege but Simon stood his ground.

“We reasoned that, as new knights, they were in need of earning your trust and escorting the ladies was an opportunity to do that,” he said steadily.

“Moreover, de Gael was expecting to gather a force against Matilda and we would serve you better in battle than as an escort.”

Tevin was quickly veering out of control, looking for something, or someone, to focus his grief on. His body tensed as he took a menacing step in their direction.

“I will decide how you will better serve me,” he snarled. “You were expected to ride escort and now see what has happened? Dagan and Gavril have been killed and Lady Cantia and my daughter are missing.”

Tevin was as furious as anyone had ever seen him, Simon and John included. They had both served Tevin long enough to know that the only thing they could do was beg forgiveness. Otherwise, the situation would get violent. Du Reims was known to have a vicious temper when roused.

“Forgive, my lord,” Simon dropped his head submissively. “Certainly we would have done all in our power to have prevented such a thing. We beg your forgiveness.”

Tevin wasn’t satisfied. If anything, the submissive gesture only infuriated him more and as he lifted a hand to grab Simon by the hair, Myles intervened.

“Nay, Tevin,” he said calmly, turning the coiled man back towards his sister. “It was not their fault. Had they been there, they would more than likely have been killed as well. At the moment, we have more important things to deal with.”

Tevin allowed Myles to refocus him on Val, mostly because he knew, at some level, the man was correct.

Simon and John, disobedient as they had been, were not responsible.

So he returned his attention to his sister, feeling the cracks in his composure grow deeper and more pronounced.

He was shattering and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Somehow, he ended up back on his knees beside Val with Myles kneeling beside him.

“Val,” Myles put his big hand on Val’s head, tenderly. “How long were you riding before this happened?”

Val thought a moment. “About… about an hour. Not long.”

Myles looked at Tevin. “That cannot be too far away,” he said. “I will assemble a strike force immediately.”

Tevin could only nod. He wasn’t sure he was capable of much more, fighting against emotions on a level he had never before experienced.

All he knew was that he wanted to collapse in sorrow, yet in the same breath, he wanted to kill like he’d never wanted to kill in his life. It was an odd combination.