After briefly touching his arm, Bethany and Revca hurried off to track down Sapphire, Emerald, and the Enchanter: Lachlan. They would learn what had transpired since Sapphire and Emerald had arrived with the devil dagger and if Lachlan knew anything about it. Kari fell in close behind Trent as he and Ruby continued carrying Ivy through the monastery.

  The distant sound of metal clanging on metal told Trent that several of the blacksmiths who had recently joined Princess Victoria’s court-in-exile were hard at work making new weapons and armor for their growing army of soldiers. Victoria had continued to steadily amass loyal soldiers as the weeks progressed. They were still far from having a force large enough to seize Whitebridge, but they could easily secure a small town.

  Trent would leave the strategy Princess Victoria’s forces would use to secure a path back to Dalry’s capital city to Captain Crane, Sapphire, and others who had extensive experience with military matters involving moving about large groups of soldiers. He would stick with what he knew: hunting, scouting, and tracking.

  As well as dispatching the occasional devil mage or two.

  As they crossed the large courtyard toward the building he was fortunate enough to have set aside for him and his wives, Trent was once again amazed by the flurry of activity in the courtyard, around the buildings, and beyond. Victoria’s court-in-exile continued to grow apace.

  Between their travel by sea and their trek across Clarion, they had been gone almost a month. Trent saw three full platoons of soldiers in reasonably well-matched armor drilling in the fields nearby, and the wheat fields in the distance had a full crop almost ready to be harvested. They had farmers now, too.

  He glanced at Kari and pointed at the fields. “Bring back any good memories?”

  She smiled. “Never grew wheat on our farm. But I’m glad to see good people doing good work. We’ll need more than soldiers to take back that throne.”

  Trent nodded. Swords and armor alone wouldn’t win back Victoria’s throne. They needed to eat, too, and they needed people to knit new socks. Hopefully someone was on that right now. Wet socks on a long march were the worst.

  The monastery’s population was growing by leaps and bounds. He was starting to wonder just how many people they could host in Lachlan’s monastery before they had to be more selective. At least no one had tried to assassinate Princess Victoria... recently.

  They got a number of curious glances as they carried Ivy on her stretcher toward the building in which his tribe lived. When they arrived at their building, Trent was unsurprised to see that there were guards posted outside, despite him not having been back here for almost a month. He smiled when he identified them both.

  His old friend Pip from Eight Company was standing at attention outside the entrance to Trent’s home, as was Aron Roe, the young soldier who Trent had bluffed his way past the day he and Ruby escaped Tallun’s dungeons in Castle Guileford. Both saluted sharply as Ruby and Trent approached with Ivy, though Pip’s face fell when he spotted the woman on the stretcher.

  “She’ll be fine,” Trent reassured them both without being asked as Ruby walked between them. “She’s simply sleeping for now.”

  Aron nodded calmly. “Welcome back, Sir Marston.”

  Trent followed Ruby as she once more took the lead on the difficult trip down the stairs. “Thank you.” They kept moving, but at a casual pace.

  Pip still looked concerned about Ivy, but his features brightened as he looked up at Trent while he passed. “Was your mission a success?”

  “It was.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief! But what happened to Princess Ivy?”

  Trent worked on balancing Ivy as he headed down the stairs. “I’ll tell you both more about it at supper later tonight. How much longer are you both on shift?”

  Aron answered before Pip could. “Another four hours, sir.”

  “Good. Swing by for supper tonight if you’re free.”

  Two eager voices of assent followed him down the stairs. He doubted his wives would mind having company on their first supper together after their long journey to Clarion, and it would be nice to see Gertrude—the young serving girl secretly spying on Tallun and others in Whitebridge when she wasn’t here—again. She and Pip were good for each other.

  Once they were back on level ground, the job grew easier. As they entered the large living room Trent and his wives had set up, he looked around to find it undisturbed. The round table and chairs they’d appropriated were right where they had left them, along with a meditation mat and a few wooden chairs. It wasn’t much, but it was home... at least for now.

  There was a thin coating of dust on everything. It seemed Lachlan’s automatons—the animated brass and copper mannequins that kept the place clean—hadn’t been in here. It seemed almost wasteful to keep this building empty for a month while they were away and the rest of the monastery was filling up with people, but it still felt good to have a home.

  Trent motioned to Ruby with his head. “Let’s take her to the guest bedroom.”

  Ruby glanced back at him as she adjusted her course. “Why not the big bedroom, Master? We can all keep an eye on her there.”

  “We don’t know if she’s ready to join us in bed, even if her spirit isn’t here right now. The guest bedroom will do for now. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her in her own quarters, especially given how gloomy they are, but I also don’t know if she’d be comfortable being on our big bed when we can’t ask her if that’s all right.”

  Ruby nodded and looked thoughtfully ahead. “We will be having an awful lot of sex.”

  Trent grinned as they headed for the guest bedroom. “Hence my concern.”

  Kari laughed softly as she hurried ahead to open the door for them. “Suppose I’ll start sleeping in here as well, with my patient.”

  Trent nodded again. “I’d appreciate that. You keeping an eye on her, I mean.”

  “Psh. She’s one of us. Part of our tribe. If I can’t keep her body safe while her soul’s away, there’s not much point in me bein’ here.”

  As he and Ruby settled the stretcher on the bed, Trent looked down at Ivy’s still body and felt a swell of affection for her. “She will always be part of our tribe, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Ruby, gently lift her body so I can pull this stretcher out from under her. We’ll get her settled in and then wait for the others.”

  Ruby hopped up onto the bed, then knelt and slid her arms beneath Ivy’s back and legs. She lifted the other woman with an ease that continued to impress him. As Ruby held Ivy, with the princess’s dark hair flowing across the bed, Trent slid the stretcher from beneath her.

  As he stared down at Ivy’s pale, beautiful, and still-breathing body, he considered how he felt about both her omission regarding Xorumon’s prophecy and her heroism. This brave woman had thrown herself—or her shadow servant body—in front of an assassin to save him. But she had also refused to tell him ahead of time that a devil assassin was going to kill one or both of them.

  He was going to find her soul and return it to her body. Any discussion about how they would handle prophecies in the future could wait until she was safe. For now, he would wait for the others and do some cleaning. The others would appreciate a tidy living room.

  He glanced at Kari. “Watch our patient. I’ll handle the cleaning.”

  She frowned. “What cleaning?”

  “Dusting, mainly. Though the place could use some straightening up. I want the others to come home to a clean house.”

  She grinned affectionately. “God, every time I think I know all the reasons I love you, you come up with a new one.”

  “Why is that impressive?”

  “’Cause I’d bet half the men in Harandale have never cleaned their own house. They got maids and wives for that.”

  Trent raised an eyebrow as he scooted off the bed. “That seems strange to me. In Kallowhorn, everyone does whatever is necessary for our families.”

  “Sure would like to live there someday.” Kari waved a hand. “Go on, now. I’ll make do here, though I wish I had a book to pass the time.”

  Ruby perked up. “I can get one for you, Mistress! Or several. Are they in the embassy?”

  “In my bedroom. Should be a few layin’ around. No doubt Missus Carpenter is still hard at work on the academy’s business, but you just let her know I sent ya.”

  “Is there any book you’d like specifically?”

  “Nope, just grab ’em all.”

  Trent leaned over to give Ruby a quick kiss. “Hopefully I’ll have everything cleaned up by the time you get back.”

  Ruby possessively pulled him into a much longer kiss, then, blushing and smiling, rushed off to retrieve Kari’s books. Trent brushed Ivy’s hair back from her face, smiled at Kari once more, and then headed out to make his home suitable for his wives and company.

  Chapter Ten

  A mundane and simple task like cleaning had always helped calm Trent’s mind, and this time was no different. They had their own cleaning supplies in a small space off the living room, so he got those out and made the place ready for habitation again.

  He had wiped down the table, fluffed the pillows on the chairs, and was halfway through sweeping the floor when the sound of boots on the stairs alongside clanking armor caught his attention. The loud sound of armored plates suggested either several Dalry soldiers were headed down to speak to him, or one Sapphire was.

  Trent set aside his broom as the latter turned out to be true. Sapphire, once again clad in the full suit of armor in which she was most comfortable, entered the living room and then frowned.

  She carried her helmet in the crook of one arm, which suggested she’d taken it off before entering his home. That meant she remained comfortable in his presence, or at least comfortable enough to remove her helmet. She was no longer worried he’d ogle her.

  Sapphire was also alone, which suggested the others had gathered somewhere else and now wanted him to join them. He wasn’t surprised that Lachlan hadn’t come to him to present any information he might have gathered. The mage would want Trent to come to him, instead.

  Her dark eyes widened as noticed the broom he held. “You cleaned?”

  “We’ve been gone for weeks.”

  “Yes, but... I didn’t know you cleaned.”

  He felt a grin he couldn’t quite hide. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Figured you’d leave that to your wives, given you got so many of ’em.”

  Trent couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re the second woman to comment on that today. I suppose the Kallowhorn really are a different breed.” He set the broom against the wall, then turned to face Sapphire. “Do you have any news about the dagger?”

  Sapphire nodded grimly. “The Enchanter says it isn’t enchanted. Just a normal dagger.”

  Trent’s moment of mirth faded. “That’s impossible.”

  “That’s what Emmie said. They were still debating it when I left to come get you. Gonna be honest, it’s kind of refreshing to see someone challenging the old man to his face.”

  Trent walked over to her. “Is that unusual?”

  “Used to be. Ruby would never question him, and I never cared enough to argue. He’d never listen. Emmie, though... she never stopped asking questions. I can’t tell if the old man is annoyed or relieved to have her back, but either way, he’s asked you to come meet him in his study.”

  “Let’s go, then.” He raised his voice and called to Kari in the back room. “We’re off to talk to the Enchanter! Just send Ruby to get us if anything changes!”

  Kari called back. “We’re good here, hon! Good luck!”

  As Sapphire turned and led the way to the stairs, Trent strode after her. As they walked, he hoped he wouldn’t need luck. But he also wouldn’t turn down some right now.

  As he and Sapphire headed up the stairs, Trent nodded once more to Aron and Pip, who remained on guard. Even though he and Sapphire weren’t married, both men knew her well enough to know to let her enter his home... not that either of them could stop her.

  As Trent followed Sapphire across the open fields, he found himself considering her grim news. How could the dagger which that devil assassin had used to stab Ivy’s shadow servant not be enchanted? It had torn Ivy’s soul from her body through her servant.

  Was Ivy’s missing soul instead some aspect of death spell forms no one understood? Perhaps he would end up needing to send Kari off to the Primal Academy to get more information about that, though that would leave no one present to monitor Ivy’s condition. He’d defer that decision until he knew more about what Lachlan had discovered.

  They were only halfway to the central building of the monastery when someone Trent had not expected to hear again called his name. He froze, then turned and gawked in disbelief.

  He wasn’t asleep. This wasn’t a dream. It was actually happening.

  “Trent! Hey, Trent!”

  As he stared in disbelief, the tall, wide, grinning form of his father—Pace Marston in the flesh—rushed toward him from the area of the monastery set aside for crafters and smiths. His father wore a well-made gray tunic, loose pants, and good boots. His father was here.

  Trent had barely managed to get his jaw closed again when his father reached him and, in one firm movement, swept Trent into his arms. A moment later Trent was hugging his father, and trying to figure out how this could be real.

  Was Pace really here? How was he here? And... his mother?

  His father slapped him hard on the arms, then leaned back and grinned proudly. “Good to see you looking hale and hearty, son. I knew that false king couldn’t keep you down.”

  Trent focused on what was important. “How are you even here?”

  Pace took a step back to put a comfortable distance between them. “It wasn’t all that hard to figure out where you’d run off to, especially with all the soldiers and farmers passing through and vanishing into the forest. They had to be going somewhere.”

  “But how did you even find this place?”

  “Your mother found it. She gathered the rumors of people passing through from other hunters, then eventually tracked them back to Hartford. From there, it was just a matter of staying in town long enough to track a group heading to the portal that led out here.”

  “And no one stopped you?”

  “Not once Marika spotted Mason leading the latest group of loyal soldiers.”

  It took Trent a moment to remember that Mason was Captain Crane’s first name. He still thought of the man by his last name, since that was how he’d known Captain—then Sergeant—Crane since the moment they met. And now, his father was on a first name basis with Crane?

  Pace grinned as he continued his tale. “I’d described Mason to her, and once she told me she’d seen him skulking about Hartford with some others, we both knew it was time to make ourselves known. Fortunately, he’s not the sort of man you tend to forget.”

  Trent nodded thoughtfully. Since Sapphire had gone off to Clarion with him, it made sense that Captain Crane had taken over gathering new allies at Hartford and bringing them to the monastery, once they were vetted. Still, he hadn’t expected the man to find his parents.

  Or rather, for his parents to find Captain Crane.

  The ease with which Pace and Marika had tracked him to this secret, magically hidden monastery worried him. If they could find it, Tallun’s spies might do so as well. It might be time to talk to Sapphire and Princess Victoria about changing their procedure for gathering new allies.

  Pace frowned at his expression. “Is everything all right?”

  “It rarely is, but I’m very glad to see you’re safe. And Mom.” Trent shook his head. “I’m actually on my way to meet with the master of this place... the Enchanter... to try and solve some thorny issues that came up while I was away on my last scouting mission.”

  “To Clarion, yeah. Princess Victoria told us.”

  “You’ve talked to the princess?”

  “Soon as Mason told everyone who we were, Princess Victoria invited us to supper. Can you imagine? Us, supping with the princess of Dalry. Never thought I’d see the day, but I suppose that’s what happens after your son risks his life to save royalty.”

  The pride in Pace’s voice—pride for his son—made Trent feel self-conscious, even though he knew he shouldn’t be. He also felt relief as he accepted that his parents were both here and safe. He hadn’t worried too much for them, but the possibility that Tallun’s forces could strike at them out of malice had never left the back of his mind.

  Tallun couldn’t touch his parents now. Not unless they wanted to fight their way through an entire monastery of soldiers loyal to Princess Victoria. His smile almost hurt his face as he hugged his father again. Pace thumped his back approvingly.

  “I won’t keep you. I know you’ve likely got a great deal going on. But tonight⁠—”

  “We’ll have supper.” Trent stepped back and nodded. “All of us. We have one of the buildings set aside for our tribe, so we’ll eat there tonight. Where are you staying?”

  “Mason offered to put us up in the Primal Academy’s embassy, but you know your mother and me. We’re fine sleeping on hard ground, and we have much better than that. We’re bunking with the other farmers and crafters near the forge.”

  “Well, that’s going to change.”

  “We don’t need any special treatment.”

  “But I do, and I want you to have a place of your own. You’re my parents, and I’m Victoria’s first knight. Beth is also her lady-in-waiting. Even if we didn’t want you somewhere you could stretch your legs, having you somewhere secure is better for everyone.”

  Pace frowned. “Anyone who came after your mother and me would regret it.”

  “I know, Dad. Still, I’ll sleep better knowing you’re both somewhere more secure. So indulge me in this, will you? I have enough to do without worrying about the two of you.”