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When Lowri had finished her story, she bid the knights remove their armor and rest, and they did so as she laid out blankets on the floor for them to sleep near the fire. But Calain couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know what to do with the information her mother had given her, so she caved to her impulses and left the cottage, taking water for the horses. Outside, as crickets chirruped and a cool fog rolled in from the marsh, she watered the horses and unsaddled them and groomed them, all the while trying to process everything that had been said. Her father was a liar and cheater – now she knew where she got it from, she realized – and now her father’s advice that she should slay Zelda’s lover made sense: Arthur had been willing to slay his own wife for straying!
And Calain had two sisters, half-sisters she had never met. The older one was a woman named Brigid. She was a sorceress of the Order of Vira’Toss, but because she was much older than Calain, she had graduated from the tower years ago and was off on her own adventures, working to uncover the secrets of the dragons. Brigid’s work was apparently confidential, and so, she hadn’t told Lowri much beyond the fact that it involved dragons, which seemed to make Lowri proud enough.
As for the woman named Lyne – the younger one—Lowri happily announced that she was an assassin for the Order of the Emerald! Calain wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, of course, but Lowri was beaming with pride when she disclosed the information. Then she went on and on in ecstasy about how her daughters were powerful, strong women living lives of romance and adventure and submitting to no man’s whims. Calain thought Lowri sounded a little envious. As her mother was gushing, she couldn't help looking at Zelda’s still body and thinking that adventure wasn’t fun or romantic. It was terrifying.
Calain was standing on the porch with her hands in the pockets of her trousers when she heard the door open and shut behind her. She recognized Gweneth’s light step without having to turn. The shorter knight drew near and stood beside Calain, her eyes on the swamp. They stood in silence for a moment, and then Gweneth said,
“Your mother hath news of the happenings in Erhyrst.”
“Shall I like this news?” asked Calain apprehensively.
Gweneth smiled. “Well, you know how Lythara accused Zelda of working with Hidden Dragon? Apparently, she had reason to think the elven uprising was on the move. The queen of Honione has been assassinated.”
Calain lifted her brows. “Truly?”
Gweneth nodded. “Aye. Three nights ago. Was stabbed in her bed – and shot.” She gave a low whistle. “Those elves sure hated her something fierce.”
“I wonder if we shall take the blame,” said Calain dully. “Once people know we fled to Honione . . .”
“But we’re safe here, that’s the thing,” laughed Gweneth. “Almost as soon as the queen was slain, an army of elves just started bloodying the streets. I mean, they didn’t even march inside the city! They just appeared – poof – out of nowhere and started killing people.”
“By the gods . . .”
“Magick. Had to be. And they’ve already sat an elven queen’s arse on the throne as well – in three days, while the cushion was still warm from Queen Ffion’s farts. Can you believe it?”
“Aye. It’s a strategic position,” said Calain thoughtfully. “If humans wished to retaliate, they would have to come by sea or go through the Aelwith Wilds to reach the castle . . . gods help them.”
“And the elves are guarding the portals now. Just going around and setting up posts at every one, trying to stop human armies advancing.”
“I suppose with the elves guarding the portals and ruling Honione, the Rose Guard shant come here.”
Gweneth grinned. “That’s the thing, that’s what I’m working up to – Queen Cilia is terrified she’s next!”
Calain laughed. “I suppose she should be.”
“She’s locked herself away in the Gold Keep and has every Rose Guard in the army guarding it. She won’t be sending any of them after us, looks like. News is traveling fast because the sorceress network is panicking.”
“Oh?” said Calain, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and indifferent to it all.
Gweneth gave Calain an irritated side glance. “Calain, I can’t tell if you’ve got troll dung in your ears or if you just don’t care! There is going to be a full-on war! The Order of Vira is going to be summoned to fight! It’s almost convenient that we’re out here in the wilderness, away from it all. I wonder if Cassandra did know all along and brought us here for that very reason.”
“So who is the new queen?” Calain asked. It was true that she didn’t feel very enthusiastic about any of it. She just wanted Zelda to be well. But she had to admit, she was curious to know who was now ruling Honione.
“Her name is Nuala,” Gweneth answered thoughtfully. “They say she’s of the royal bloodline, of the elves who used to rule Vallinwir. The last living descendant. The elves want to raise her as the queen of Vallinwir and make all the realms bow to her.”
Calain stared at the trees and couldn’t say that she cared so long as she and Zelda were safe.
“Don’t you get it?” said Gweneth impatiently. “This means we’re free! The elves are in charge now, and they aren’t going to arrest us for killing Ellanara! Hell, they’re probably glad we did it.”
They are, thought Calain as Imodel’s sweet face surfaced in her mind.
“We didn’t do it,” Calain corrected Gweneth unhappily. “I did it with my foolishness and recklessness. That we have our lives back is a happy accident. My actions would have doomed us all to constant fleeing. How is fair Zelda? Hath she stirred as of yet?”
“She slumbers still,” said Gweneth heavily. “But the wound is healed. She hath stopped bleeding and breathes more fully.” She absently touched her heart, and Calain knew she was listening to Zelda’s heartbeat: Zelda had bound Gweneth and Cassandra to her before leaving Wolf Fortress. Now all four knights were Bound, which meant any future group sex was going to be very intense for all of them.
“Your mother hath said we should live here,” went on Gweneth.
Calain raised her brows. “Did she?”
“Aye. And is it really a bad idea? Who would be mad enough to wade through all the ogre shit in the Aelwith Wilds just to find us? No one will chase us out here. And the city is nearby. We could go there for supplies and be back here in days. Zelda would be safe. We all would.”
“I suppose we could expand the cottage,” Calain said thoughtfully. “As it is right now, it is far too small for the six of us.” Her eyes brightened with inspiration. “We could build Zelda a tower with her own bedchamber and rooms for all of us and my mother.”
“And a training yard in the front,” said Gweneth, sounding as excited as Calain felt. “And a stable for the horses.”
“And maybe get some chickens from town, so we can have eggs to break our fast.”
“And a cow, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble. . . No, on second thought, a cow would just attract goblins and ogres. We’d never get it through the wilds.”
“Maybe Zelda could with magick,” Calain suggested.
“And wine. We’d need a larder for wine,” added Gweneth. She glanced at Calain. “But let’s not get too attached to the idea. Perhaps Zelda wouldn’t want to live here. Look what did happen to her today.”
Calain smiled. “Zelda will love it. We shall build a fortress around her, and when she wakes, she will be overjoyed.”
Gweneth shook her head. “Calain, you dunderhead,” she said. “We couldn’t possibly build a home for Zelda that fast!”
“I know,” said Calain, “but you are forgetting my sister is a sorceress.”