The Stillness of the Sky (24 page)

I returned to the castle to discover I had dinner plans and attire already set for me. A gown of spring green silk awaited me, which I was promptly bustled into as though I were one of Prudence’s dolls. As tight as the maid laced the corset, it was a wonder I could breathe at all, but it would provide a good excuse not to sing that evening.

Roasted meats and decadent sweets filled the evening to overflowing. Kela regaled us with a fine story from the wildlands, and Jī-Shae and Sudam sang and played together after the meal. It was all so wonderful, I nearly forgot the myriad of concerns facing me come dawn.

At last the entertainment came to a close, and we all drifted our separate ways. My mother left me with a look of caution when I parted from her on my way to my room, but said nothing when she caught sight of Willem waiting not far down the hall. He smiled as I approached, a warm feeling blooming in my stomach when I met his gaze. Ten steps from him, I opened my mouth to make a joke, but a sudden shift in his expression stopped me.

A hand closed over my arm.

“Lady Bard, your presence is requested elsewhere,” a guard said as he turned me around.

“What? Where?”

He pulled me forward, heading in the direction I’d come from. “King Ivor seeks an audience with you in his private study. This way, please.”

A spike of fear shot through me, and I glanced back to Will’s stunned and angry face for any sign of what I should do. By the color he was turning, he looked ready to do something he’d severely regret. Thinking fast, I composed myself and shook my arm free of the guard. “If it’s not too much trouble, could I fetch my lute? I’d hate to meet His Majesty empty-handed.”

The guard’s smile chilled me. “I’m sure he finds your other talents equally entertaining. There’s no need for your lute tonight.”

With that, his hand on my back left no more room for questions or argument. Whether I liked it or not, King Ivor demanded my attention. Not to be brushed aside so easily, Will followed at a distance, far enough away that only I saw him hidden in the shadows before I was marched into the royal chambers.

The door closed behind me with a click of finality. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the crackle of the fireplace, the light from the flames lending a reddish glow to the shining leather and wood of the king’s private study. At last, a figure stirred from one of the chairs before the hearth, and King Ivor stood. His regal robes and jewels were gone, with nothing more than his exquisitely tailored tunic and breeches remaining to speak to his wealth. With the fire behind him, he was an inky silhouette against the light, and none too comforting a specter in my circumstances.

“Make yourself at home, dear lady,” he said, beckoning me closer. “I only wish for quiet conversation this evening. To relax after a long day.”

If he thought I believed that for a moment, he certainly was a fool, although his words did spark the beginning of an idea.

“Your Majesty must be quite exhausted,” I said as I stepped forward, cautious. “I imagine tending to the entirety of a kingdom is dreadfully tiring work.”

He stepped around his chair and gave a flourishing wave. “Yes, it does wear on one.” He held out a hand to me. “Though I’m not so tired I wouldn’t enjoy the company of a gifted young woman such as yourself.”

When I reached him, I took his fingers lightly and dipped a curtsy. “You’re too kind, Your Highness, but I hardly think I’m the most interesting company you’ve ever met with.” As I rose, he lifted my hand to his lips, his stiff mustache harsh against my skin. It was a monumental effort on my part not to shudder. “To what do I owe the honor of this audience?”

The king didn’t release my hand, instead holding it close to his chest. My revulsion threatened to get the better of me, but I kept my expression as unreadable as I could.

“You are a most enchanting young woman,” he said. His breath smelled of onions and wine, doing nothing to ease my curdling stomach. “I see why the people are so taken with you.”

“Are they?” I squeaked, clearing my throat immediately. “Are they? I don’t think I’m so special as that.”

My mind raced, searching for some way out of the situation that didn’t end in a forgotten cell in the dungeon.

“You move with unparalleled grace and purpose,” he said, inching closer to me, “and your songs hold a beautiful magic I’d be hard-pressed to find in equal anywhere.”

If only I had my lute…

I stopped, realizing my folly. I didn’t need a lute to have defenses. The beginning of my idea bloomed into a fully-formed plan in an instant.

“If His Majesty is so fond of my dancing,” I said and forced a smile, “perhaps you’d do me the pleasure of sharing one with me now?”

I shifted my stance, tentatively setting a hand on his shoulder. Without any hesitation on his part, King Ivor held my waist, pulling me to him with an eagerness that said much about his intentions for me. Revealing none of my inner terror, I found my voice, humming a tune very few would know, but which would serve me well that night. I set my mother’s lullaby in time with a waltz, taking the first step to encourage him. I started softly, gradually growing louder, increasing the intensity of my singular desire for him.

Sleep.

When his eyelids grew heavy, I poured on the focus, keeping my gaze locked on him and serene smile nailed in place. His feet shuffled along, barely moving by the time we made it around to his chair by the fire. Only then did I dare the words, lending full force to my intent.

Still thy worries, restless child,

Let your heart sink into peace.

Shadows are not things to fear,

But faces of friends unseen.

Feel not but love as sleep descends.

I’m with you all the night.

Still thy worries, restless child,

The morrow brings sunshine again.

When his eyes closed and his knees gave out, I was barely able to guide him to the seat. So much dead weight was generally more than I could handle, but I managed to prop him comfortably. Three times through the lullaby, and I headed for the door, humming again. I trailed off as I slipped outside, quite proud of how I’d handled the lecherous advances of King Ivor of Litania.

Someone’s hand closed over my mouth from behind, dragging me off into the shadows. I struggled, biting down on bare fingers with a startled cry.

“Shh! Jack, it’s me,” Willem whispered crossly in my ear.

I stilled instantly.

“Can you keep quiet?” he said.

I nodded.

Without another word, he took my hand and pulled me around the corner, ducking into the first room we came across. Not stopping, he gripped the frame of a giant painting, swinging it open as a door on a hinge. Too stunned to ask, I followed him through dark passages, turning every direction he led. Finally, we stepped through another door, this one behind a false wall of stone draped with a tapestry. He released my hand and hurried across the bedroom, locking the door there before running through the bathing room to do the same.

“There,” he said when he returned. “We should be safe now.”

Looking around, it was not my chambers he’d brought me to, though it was similar. “Safe from what? Where are we?”

“From my father, mostly,” he explained. “And this is my room. No one will bother you here.”

After what I’d dealt with not long before, I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“What’s so funny?”

I giggled again. “It’s just… It’s a bit out of the frying pan, into the fire, isn’t it?”

“What?”

A knowing look was all the explanation I gave.

“That’s not…” he stammered, then marched up in front of me, defensive. “I was about to barge in and steal you from his clutches, I’ll have you know.”

I bit back a smile. “Oh, were you now?”

“I was.”

“Good thing for us that I have my own tricks then, or we might both have spent the night in a damp cell.”

He leaned up against the bedpost, studying me. “How did you get away?”

I shook my head and laughed. “Watch your step with me or you might find out firsthand.”

His smile was soft, eyes glittering in the moonlight filtering in from the balcony. “And here I thought I’d learned all your secrets.”

Grateful that he’d been willing to risk so much for my safety, I approached him and touched his face. “Even I don’t know all of my secrets, Highness. How could you?”

Willem set his hand against mine, his expression shifting into concern. “You’re certain you’re unharmed?”

I nodded.

“Then that’s all I need know.” Grasping my fingers, he brushed a kiss against my palm. “You can stay here tonight and leave before first light. I brought your things, so if they go looking for you, they’ll think you’ve already gone.”

“That’s incredibly forward of you.”

With a gentle touch, he pushed a stray hair behind my ear. “You’re safe here, Jack. I swear I’ll be nothing but a gentleman where you’re concerned.”

Sighing, I stepped up to him, needing the security of his arms around me. My head rested against his chest as his warmth enveloped me without question.

“I think it’ll be a few long, lonely days ahead of me,” I said. “The company might be nice tonight.”

He bent his head to mine, whispering into my hair. “As you wish.”

Movement beneath me stirred me awake. I yawned, rubbing at an eye. “Did I fall asleep?”

His chuckle rumbled in his chest. “A few hours ago as I was talking. It was terribly rude of you.”

I snuggled deeper against him. “Sorry. I tried to stay awake.”

“It’s completely fine,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “I’m glad you got some rest.”

Reluctantly, I propped myself up, looking down at him. “What time is it?”

He released a long, slow breath. “Nearly time for me to let you go.”

The sadness in his eyes was reflected in my heart, but I tried to smile for him. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll see you again soon.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

I frowned. “You know I’d stay if I could. Please don’t—”

His kiss stopped me cold, and my words disappeared.

“I know. I’m sorry. I won’t upset you like that,” he said against my mouth. “I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it. I won’t cause you grief over things you can’t control.”

After my escape from the king’s clutches, we’d spent hours talking quietly. He told me stories about his childhood, gave me information about the army encampments on both sides, and did it all with enough light joking to keep my spirits up, rather than letting me concentrate on what was coming. I stared into his amazing green eyes, grateful to him for keeping me from driving myself crazy thinking about the things I had to do.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For what?”

“Plenty of things,” I said with a shrug, “but mostly this. It was nice being here with you, everything else aside. It’s good to know I have a friend like you.”

He laid a hand against my cheek, the sparkle in his eye fading some. “Is that what we are?”

“It’s what’s most important, I think.” Pressing my forehead to his, I closed my eyes. “It’s the one thing I can hold on to for certain. I could never promise anyone anything else, no matter how much I want to.”

“Jack…”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think you ever could?”

“Could what? Promise more? I’m a Bard. You know I—”

“I’d wait forever if you told me you loved me. You know that, don’t you?”

“That seems like a lot of pressure to put on a girl of sixteen. I’ll never say it if you tell me such things.”

“But—”

I sat up and fixed him with a deadly serious look. “I mean it. If you tell me that were I to say to you what you’ve said to me, that’d you’d reject every other woman who came along because of a promise you made to a girl you might not see more than once a year or longer, I will never say those words to you. You’re a prince. You have responsibilities to the people. I know how it works. There are things you need to do that I can’t help you with.”

“And you think I’d be happy that way?” He scowled at me.

“As happy as I am with it,” I snapped back. “Do you think I say this lightly? Do you think I don’t mourn for the things my nature refuses me?”

With a sigh of frustration, he pulled me back into his arms. “I’d remind you of your words, Jack. There is always a way.”

“But I won’t see you suffer over me,” I mumbled into his shoulder.

“Some people are worth suffering for.”

Resigned, I decided to let it go. Nothing I could say was going to convince him not to love me, and I needed to save my strength for things I could do something about. “You’re stubborn.”

“And so are you,” he said with a chuckle.

Already tired, I eased away from him. “It’s time. If we linger any longer…”

He slid off the bed and stood before me, pulling me to my feet. “Get your things. We’ll go through the tunnels again, and you’ll be outside the city before my father knows you’re gone.”

With a silent nod, I went for my pack. Removing Ro’s feather, I called to him, hoping he’d meet me where we parted and I wouldn’t have to wait a full two hours for his arrival. After replacing it in my pack and arranging my lute for travel, Will led me back into the walls again, this time winding our way further and further down. After at least twenty minutes of creeping through the darkness, I started to worry I might never see the sky again. I was about to say something to him, when we stopped.

“On the other side of this door, it’s about fifty feet to the walls of the city. You’ll have to hurry as patrols pass by every ten minutes. There’s a hidden door straight across from here, marked by a triangular stone set amongst squares. Push on that, and you’ll be free of Torell. The river doesn’t run on this side, but if you head to the left, you’ll find the main road in about two miles.”

A hard lump formed in my throat. It was my first goodbye since I was nine years old that I knew I’d cry for later. “Will…”

He set a finger to my lips. “It’s all right. You don’t have to say anything at all.”

Already missing him, I pulled him to me, pouring the things I couldn’t say into a last kiss, my desire for travel quieting for a brief moment. When the sound of soldiers’ armor rattling by caught my attention, I broke away.