The King of Anavrea (Book Two of the Theodoric Saga) (13 page)

“You probably thought we didn’t care about what
happened to her.”

Nodding slowly, Ireic watched the young man’s
face. “Yes. That did come to mind when she first recounted her
dream to me. I knew your oldest brother still lived, but didn’t
know about you or your other brother. Finding out more didn’t
become a top priority until recently.”

“My father is an expert at deception,” Aarint
said. “My brothers and I were immediately packed off on extensive
diplomatic tours. Father told us that she was rescued immediately
and lived peacefully where we grew up. We didn’t believe him, but
the declaration of war between Sardmara and Ratharia superseded any
desire to seek her ourselves. Correspondence reached us
intermittently, including letters supposedly from her. In them, she
reassured us she was safe and worried for our wellbeing.

“Something about the wording bothered me. I
wondered if she truly returned to Clorian. Despite my doubts, I
couldn’t do anything to investigate. Even after the conflict with
Ratharia was resolved, Father kept the three of us apart, spread
out in posts across the kingdoms defending Sardmara’s interests in
one way or another. All the while he fed us stories about how Lirth
thrived. It was only when the news of the treaty followed by the
uproar over your attack on Baron Tor’s stronghold reached us, we
had proof of the truth.”

Ireic frowned at the reflection of Aarint in the
mirror. He adjusted the collar of his clothing for the fifth time
but it still rubbed in all the wrong places. The clock on the
mantle announced it was time to meet Lirth.

“Does your father know you are here?”

“No,” Aarint admitted. “Father believes I am on
route to Braulyn on one of his missions. Only Joman and Lloyden
know I am here, checking out our little sister’s new husband.”

“So, what are you going to tell them?”

Aarint smiled. “She is healthy, well cared for,
and…” His eyes met Ireic’s as if checking once more before coming
to a conclusion. “I might venture to say valued.”

“I am trying.” Ireic strode toward the door. “I
am trying to be the best husband I can be for your sister.”

“That is all I can ask.” Aarint followed Ireic
out into the wide corridor.

~~~~~~

Lirth knew she would forget something. She
tightened her hold on Dorn’s bony shoulder and tried to concentrate
on something, anything other than the ceremony before her.

“Dorn, do you have a wife?”

His uncomfortable rasp of forced laughter
answered her well enough, but she waited for his denial anyway.

“Well, I will just have to find you one. You are
all skin and bones,” she replied.

“I eat plenty, Your Majesty,” he assured her.
“My father is the same. We have reached the top of the main
staircase.”

“How many steps?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Your Majesty, I have never
counted them.” She felt the tensing in the muscles of his
shoulder.

“That is fine,” she assured him. “Just inform me
when to stop stepping down.”

“Very well.”

He stepped forward and down, giving her an idea
where the first step was. Following his lead, she descended. She
concentrated on the steps beneath her feet and gradually grew aware
that others descended around them. The murmur of conversations and
the hushed, shuffling sound of people walking across the deep
carpets reached her ears. Occasionally, there was the sharp
clicking of heels on the stone floor as someone crossed an
uncarpeted section of the room.

Then Dorn whispered, “Three more steps. The king
and ambassador are approaching now.” Turning to the left, he bowed.
His shoulder dropped beyond her reach. “Your Majesty.”

Lirth let her hand fall to her side.

“Thank you, Dorn, for escorting the queen.”
Ireic’s voice gave her a point of reference in the large room. She
could tell the size by the way the sound echoed. “I will escort her
from here.”

Responding to the hint, Lirth lifted her hand
before her. Right on cue, Ireic caught it in his own. “You look
lovely, Lirth,” he whispered as he bowed over her hand. The warmth
of his touch permeated the thin silk of her glove. He placed her
hand on his left forearm and covered it with his larger one.
Lirth’s heart gave a little jump unrelated to the nerves twisting
her stomach.

“Don’t worry.” Ireic’s breath caressed her
cheek. “You will dazzle them. Just smile and trust me to take care
of the rest.”

She nodded.

“We are going to turn to the right and take ten
steps forward.”

She lifted her head in surprise. Before she
could ask how he knew the exact number, he guided her forward. She
wondered if he had counted out the distances beforehand.

“Now pause as the guards open the doors.” As he
spoke, she could hear the groan of the heavy main doors opening. A
breeze rustled her skirts. Without his prompting, she looked
forward and forced a smile to her dry lips. They felt like they
would crack with the strain.

“The open carriage waits straight ahead at the
bottom of the stairs. When we appear there will be a response from
the crowd. We will pause and smile. There are twenty stairs, five
steps from our current position. The carriage should be about four
steps beyond that. I will lead you down the stairs and Liam will
assist you into the carriage. After that, I will join you from the
opposite side. I have to walk around the carriage and horses so it
will take me a moment to join you. Just sit in the seat on your
right.” Cool air washed over her face and sunlight warmed the top
of her head as they stepped forward as one.

The next few moments passed in a whirl of sound
and motion. From the roar of cheering that greeted them as they
stepped to the head of the stairs, to the instant she sank into the
carriage seat, Lirth could not think. Somehow she managed to smile.
When it was over, she remained certain she did not misstep. But she
had no recollection of counting the steps or Liam handing her into
the vehicle. Her throat tightened.

Ireic’s strong hand enclosed hers. “They love
you,” he said above the noise. “Don’t forget to smile.”

She forced the corners of her mouth up as the
carriage moved. The next hour passed at an agonizingly slow pace.
The noises changed as the vehicle progressed sluggishly through the
crowds. The clamor and voices made Lirth’s head hurt, but she
continued to smile as Ireic asked. Though at times, she feared
appearing as though she was simply showing everyone her teeth.

“We are almost done.” Ireic’s voice inches from
her ear startled her into sitting straighter. “I can see the gates,
but we have to stop for a moment. They are having some trouble
clearing the street.” She could hear exhaustion in his voice.
Nodding so he could know that she understood, she leaned forward
slightly. Something whistled past her ear followed by a muffled
thump.

Ireic shouted and shoved her roughly to the
floorboards. A heavy weight landed on top of her and pressed her
body and face against the floor. Her nose filled with the scent of
polish and aged wood. Overhead, voices rose as the tone of the
crowd changed. Among the clamor, Isack cursed at the horses.
Screams tore at her ears. Shrieks from the crowd set the horses
into a panic that jostled the carriage. The vehicle rolled
backwards and someone yelled above the mayhem, “The king is
dead!”

“Ireic!” she gasped.

“I am fine,” Ireic’s clipped voice assured her,
inches from her ear. He was the weight on top of her. Something wet
dripped onto her forehead. Horror tightened her chest as her nose
identified the smell.

“You are bleeding.” She pushed at the floor to
try to get him off of her.

“Yes.” He groaned in pain as she succeeded in
rolling him to one side. “It is only a scratch. It isn’t safe for
you to get up.”

She ignored him and reached toward his voice.
“Where is it?” She couldn’t lose him.

“Get down, Lirth! The archer is still out there
and you are giving him a perfect shot.” Ireic grabbed her wrist and
yanked it out from under her. Her chin struck the floor with a
painful crack. “Liam!”

Someone replied, but his words were lost among
the other shouts.

“Get us out of here,” Ireic ordered.

The carriage groaned and dipped as someone
jumped aboard. A whip cracked and the horses lunged forward. The
movement sent Lirth falling against Ireic. He grunted as she
landed, but a strong arm came around her and pinned her there.
“Don’t move,” he ordered fiercely. Obediently Lirth lay still, but
she could not stop the pounding in her breast.

“Don’t die,” she whispered.

The arm around her tightened.

Please Kurios,
she begged,
don’t take
him yet.

Overhead, the man driving the carriage yelled
for the gates to open. The grinding of wood on wood filled her
ears. The carriage jerked violently, throwing Ireic and her against
the seats then back to the floor. Ireic cried out in pain. Then
suddenly the carriage jarred to a stop.

“Ireic?”

The arm that had been holding her was limp.

“Ireic!”

Franticly, she felt for his pulse. It took her a
moment of fumbling before she found it under his jaw. Running her
hands gently up his face, her thumbs brushed his closed eyes. She
swept her palms down his body, fingers seeking. The torn sleeve
over his left arm felt wet. Her hands came away sticky with
blood.

“Healer,” a male voice cried from above. “We
need a healer immediately.” The carriage door opened violently as
though someone sought to rip it off the side panel. Someone climbed
in beside her. “Your Majesty,” he said hesitantly.

“He is alive.” Her voice shook, but she didn’t
care.

“I know.” Distantly, she heard the footfalls of
others approaching. “You need to come out now so a healer can get
in here. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Here, I will help you.” He touched her elbow.
Reluctantly, she withdrew her hand from Ireic’s sleeve. The man
helped her to climb down.

“Healer coming through!”

Lirth was shoved aside, but the stranger caught
her.

“Who should I bring you to?” he asked.

“Aarint,” she whispered as she shivered against
the fear.
Please, Kurios, please,
her heart screamed.

“Ambassador Parnan?”

She nodded. Tears were flowing freely now and
she couldn’t speak. The man’s arm went around her shoulders as he
led her away from the chaos near the carriage.

“Lirth!” Aarint ran to her.

Sobs took control of her body. Her mind kept
pleading with Kurios to let Ireic live. Aarint’s embrace enclosed
her.

“Go back to him,” Aarint told the young man.
“Bring us news as soon as you can.”

Despite her conscience prodding her to show some
reserve, Lirth couldn’t stop the tears. She clung to Aarint and
wept. Finally she ran out of tears. Aarint delivered Lirth to
Larissa and the relative safety of the queen’s chambers. The
process of cleaning the blood off Lirth’s hands and face brought
back the tears. Larissa coaxed Lirth into bed, but she couldn’t
sleep.

Kurios, please, let me have him longer. Let
him find Your gift before you take him. Please Father. He has been
so kind to me. Please. I love him.

__________

Ireic squeezed his eyes closed against the
light.

“Your Majesty?”

A voice he dimly identified as the Royal
Healer’s came from somewhere above him.

“If you hear me, please respond.”

“I hear you, Ipore.” Ireic’s voice scraped his
throat, his left upper arm burned, and his head throbbed with his
pulse. “What happened?”

“What is the last thing you remember?” Ipore
proceeded in his usual way, ignoring Ireic’s questions until all of
his own were answered.

“I was lying on the floor of the carriage.
Someone shot at Lirth and grazed my arm instead. I got her down,
but she tried to rise. I yelled to Liam to get us out of there. I
remember hitting my head but not much after that. Now that I have
satisfied your curiosity, Ipore, please remember who is king here
and answer my questions.”

Ireic swallowed the lump in his throat and tried
to open his eyes. The light was painful, but he knew that was only
because he had closed his eyes for so long. “Where is my wife? Is
she hurt? What happened and where am I?”

Ipore checked Ireic’s pulse. “Lirth is safe and
whole. She suffers more from fear for you than anything else. Liam
got both of you back within the safety of the gates, but in the
process you struck your head on something and lost consciousness.
You have been out for about twenty minutes. I am ordering you to
lie still.”

“I want to see Lirth.” Ireic blinked. His eyes
slowly adjusted to the light. “Ipore, I want to see for myself that
she is well.”

“Calm yourself.” Ipore placed a hand on Ireic’s
shoulder above the bandage. “I will have her brought here
immediately, but there are more pressing concerns.”

“Sire.” Liam bowed deeply as he approached the
bed. “There is a mob at the gates. They will overwhelm the guards
within an hour.”

“What do they want?” Ireic sat up and
immediately regretted it. The throbbing took on the force of a fist
repeatedly striking the side of his head.

“They want Lirth.” The young man paused as if
reluctant to finish the message. “The former councilors have
stirred up a small portion of the people with lies about the
queen.”

“And the back gates?”

“The same; they have us surrounded.”

“Then we have to go below. This palace is not
built to withstand an assault.” Ireic asked Liam, “How many members
of my personal guard made it inside the gates?”

“Myself and three others,” he replied. “All
those who were working along the parade route are now trying to
control the mob from outside. I am the only one of your personal
force within the building. The other two are working with the
servants on blockading the gates outside. Isack did not make it
through with us.”