Leogane turned and gave Erlig a look. The wordless communication spurred his advisor to return to the men who followed them some distance behind.

  She heard Erlig telling the men to cease their prattle, making her smile, glad that she was not the only one who was told to terminate her words. She glanced at the king who watched her with a mixture of fascination and concern. Then he looked back at his men when Erlig kicked his horse and rejoined them, just slightly behind Mirabella’s horse, probably to ensure she was protected in the event she didn’t hear anyone ahead, and they were attacked anyway.

  Their horses’ hooves clip-clopped on the stone floor of the canyon, almost deafening as it echoed off the canyon walls.

  Every time they drew close to an outcropping of rocks, they paused and waited for her to tell them if the area was clear. It should have made her proud she could accomplish something no one else could, something worthy of praise. But the men seemed uneasy of her ability which confirmed the healer imposter’s words that Mirabella would be better off with her own kind.

  By the time they exited the long narrow pass, it stretched so high it was taller than the castle towers at Castle Mayden, blocking out the sun in places. The golden sphere dipped behind the mountains and a sparkling blue lake beckoned to her. Instantly, she remembered how years ago she had picnicked with several maids near a lake such as this. Immediately she drew her horse closer.

  “Lake Orcy,” Leogane informed her. “‘Tis said a giant from beyond the mountains of the Five Sisters of Kintail stomped his foot in anger, attempting to squash an annoying bird and left the crater. He broke his ankle and cried for half a year, filling the hole with his tears.”

  “‘Tis salty then?” she asked.

  “Nay. The rains over the centuries have diluted it until it became a freshwater lake.” He smiled.

  Did he think her foolish for believing the tale?

  She jumped down from her horse, crouched at the water’s edge, and stuck her hand in. The water felt warm and silky against her skin. “‘Tis warm.”

  “Aye, they say underwater vents heat the water.”

  “Can I bathe?”

  “Nay.”

  She frowned at him, feeling filthy from the dirt kicked up by their horses. She imagined her face was covered in dust, and her hair was no longer blond but brown. “But no more of Vladek’s men are in the area.”

  The king raised his dark brows. “But my men are.”

  “They can turn their backs.”

  Leogane turned to his advisor. “Have the men prepare camp.”

  “Aye, my lord.” Erlig moved in the direction of the men and gave the orders.

  Turning to face her, Leogane said, “If we had a tent, you could bathe, my lady, with my blessing, but not out in the open.”

  She grabbed a pack off her horse. “You are insufferable. You know that?” The water was too inviting to ignore.

  “I was thinking the same of you. It would be nice if for once when I told you to do something, or that you should not do something, you would obey me without argument.”

  “Would Erlig’s daughter be so complacent?”

  “I think the term is agreeable. And aye, that she would. The perfect wife.”

  “Good then. You can leave me here for Vladek and continue home to the one you love.” But she didn’t mean it. She wanted to go with Rina and find another way to oust her uncle from her father’s throne.

  Leogane scowled at her, shook his head, and stalked off, giving one last order to Erlig. “Watch her.” He glanced at Artur and Rina.

  They both inclined their heads and joined the princess and Erlig.

  “You would think he doesn’t trust me,” she said to Erlig while she removed the satin ribbons from her hair.

  “What makes you think that, my lady?”

  “He always has you guard me.”

  “He wants no one to seize you and take you away.”

  She unwound her braids, more of the hair undone than braided. “What about you? Surely you would love to ensure your daughter and not I would wed the king.”

  “I wish what is best for His Grace. If he decides he wishes you instead of my daughter to be his bride—”

  “I want him not,” Mirabella snapped back. The king was too loyal to her uncle. No way could she convince him that he had murdered her father.

  Folding his arms, Erlig’s gray eyes studied her. “Aye, but ‘tis not your decision. What do you know of Vladek?”

  “Nothing. I’ve never met him.”

  “And you want to marry him because?”

  “That is an idiotic question. He wants me. Your lord doesn’t. Simple as that. And…I don’t want him anyway. I want my uncle to pay for his crimes.”

  “Vladek won’t be happy you’re warning us about his men.”

  She sat down on the grass and pulled off her leather shoes and hose, mulling over that notion. “I won’t allow him to kill all of you when he has no business doing so.”

  To Mirabella’s surprise, Rina took hold of Justina’s arm and forced her to join the princess. “You are the princess’s maid. Earn your keep.”

  Seeing Rina’s scowl, the princess turned to Justina and said, “I know you had just arrived at Mayden Castle, and you only know me based on what others have said, but I would like to…have good relations between us.”

  The maid looked haughtily at her, like the princess was beneath her. Mirabella didn’t understand why the woman would treat her like that now that they were no longer at Mayden Castle. If Mirabella did wed Leogane, it would be up to her as to who would be on her staff. So it would behoove Justina to treat her nicely for now!

  Rina looked at Justina with an expression that said she’d better change her attitude or else.

  Still looking mulish, Justina began to comb out the princess’s hair. Rina appeared poised to take the maid to task if she pulled at Mirabella’s hair in the least bit harshly.

  Mirabella knew the warrior elf was only here to aid her, not be her friend, but she felt as though she was the only one here who truly had her best interests at heart.

  10

  After the princess cleaned up and her hair was once again tidy, Rina and Leogane’s party ate broth and bread. Erlig and several knights watched over the king and the princess while Artur and Rina provided guard duty further out with others.

  “What do you think about the princess?” Rina asked Artur.

  “She is beautiful.”

  Rina was thinking more in terms of personality. She ate some of her broth and shook her head.

  “She is.”

  “I agree. I was thinking about her willfulness.”

  “All right. She has determination, so I think she will try to make trouble for her uncle. If King Leogane doesn’t believe her story that her uncle had her father killed, she will make trouble for him as well.”

  Rina nodded. She’d thought the same thing.

  “She is stubborn. And that could be a hassle for my king. Truly willful.” Artur ate some more of his bread.

  “What of the king’s interest in his advisor’s daughter?” Rina would want her husband to love her, no other. She was but a warrior, not a royal pawn. Sometimes royalty married for love, sometimes for other reasons. Rina thought she would marry for love, but what if she found a powerful warrior who was even more well off than she was? Nah, she wanted to marry for love.

  Artur thought about it for a while, then he said, “Lady Callie was the king’s only choice before the princess’s uncle offered her as a bride choice. Leogane did not expect the news and so he was not really all that interested.”

  “In the princess? But not in Erlig’s daughter either?”

  Artur glanced around at the other knights who were guarding the camp, and she suspected she was about to hear some juicy court gossip. Normally, she really wasn’t into stuff like that. But if it meant the princess would be better off not staying with Leogane, she wanted to hear of it.

  She waited. Artur seemed reluctant to say anything. She could understand that. Just because he undoubtedly heard court gossip, it didn’t mean he would willingly pass it along to just anyone. Especially someone he didn’t know well at all. And maybe not even to his friends. She heard gossip all the time and she rarely shared it with anyone unless it had to do with someone being hurt or killed and then she had to learn if the gossip was true.

  “So the king is not all that interested in marrying either of the women,” Rina said, then ate another bite of her bread.

  “I did not say that.”

  “No, I just made the conjecture up off the top of my head, based on observations, of course.” Rina sat back against the trunk of a tree. “Maybe someone like me would be a good choice of bride for the king.”

  That got a laugh out of Artur.

  She smiled. She loved his laughter. “I’m serious.” She paused and thought about her attributes that the king might like. “I’m quiet.”

  Artur raised his brows, a hint of a smile on his lips.

  “When I need to be. I often am on my own when I’m on my missions and so unless I begin talking to myself, I’m very quiet.”

  “Do you talk to yourself very often?”

  “Sometimes. When I have no impending threat and I’m voicing something I’ve been mulling over out loud. Haven’t you?”

  He shook his head.

  “That you won’t admit to! I’m good with people and would be fair to servants.”

  Again, Artur’s brows rose.

  Recalling that she had forcibly made Justina help the princess with her hair at the lake, Rina let her breath out in exasperation. “The princess hasn’t ever been in charge of her staff. Her uncle was, from everything I’ve overheard her say. She wants to make friends with Justina because she has had no friends since she was locked in the tower. Maybe not even before that. Justina wouldn’t move a step in the princess’s direction to help her with her hair. I didn’t have the authority to command the girl to do her duty, but I wasn’t about to let her get away with doing naught at all. So I did what I would normally do in a situation like that. I took charge.”

  “Bodily.”

  “Aye.” Let Artur stew on that for a while. Rina wouldn’t have done anything differently. She didn’t care if he didn’t approve of her actions or not.

  “The princess should have dealt with her.” Artur picked up a stick and doodled on the ground.

  “Aye.”

  He drew a crescent moon. “You interceded and didn’t give her the opportunity to straighten Justina out herself.”

  “Did you notice that your king was watching the situation also? That he didn’t approve of Justina’s attitude? That he was waiting for someone else to take charge and force the maid to do her job? So don’t you see? Mayhap the king will believe I can take charge of the staff and get them to do their work when they balk at it.”

  Artur chuckled.

  “Given time, I work well with others. This is an extraordinary case. Most of the time, servants are happy to work for their masters, if they are paid well and treated with respect. In this situation, it’s like the princess’s uncle told his staff to be mean to the princess no matter what it took. So Justina is a product of that. She doesn’t have that older woman to tell her what to do either. Justina is not the usual servant on a royal staff.”

  “True.”

  “Lastly, I could protect the king even in his bedchamber at night.” Rina smiled at Artur.

  “Wouldn’t you tire of wearing frilly gowns, like the princess will wear? Wouldn’t you miss fighting battles, solving cases, defending the weak and innocent? I would think that attendance at fine balls and other necessary social functions would not appeal to you.”

  “Maybe they would, if I had the king to dance with.”

  Artur looked out at the woods, listening for any other sounds other than the breeze blowing the tree branches, the green leaves fluttering in the wind. “I think they have left us alone for the moment.”

  “Don’t jinx us,” she said.

  Artur stared at her in surprise. “You are superstitious?”

  “Isn’t everybody?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve been thinking that Vladek, or someone who works for him, is a dark arts druid. I’ve killed one before. They’re not impossible to eliminate, but they—”

  Artur was gaping at her.

  She frowned at him. “You don’t believe I have.”

  “I’ve never heard of one. Come, we must speak with the king. He will want to know this.” Artur rose to his feet and offered his hand to her, but she jumped up on her own.

  She was not a princess who needed coddling.

  “You know, I would offer my hand in help to any knight friend to pull them up.” Artur sounded annoyed with her.

  “I would not.”

  “You’re a woman. You should not.”

  She glowered at him. Those were fighting words. He smiled at her as if he knew he’d riled her with his comment.

  When they reached the king, he was standing, getting ready to leave. He helped the princess to stand, which was the right thing to do in her case!

  “Rina needs to speak to you about her concern,” Artur said to the king.

  “Aye?” the king said, frowning.

  “The knights we’ve been fighting are just like the dark arts knights I’ve fought before in a different place. They were wearing different tunics with a different emblem, but as with these, they disintegrate into dust when dead. That’s how I knew to kill their kind. I’ve had to before.”

  “Tell him the rest,” Artur said, sounding like they all knew that part, but not the rest.

  “A dark arts druid was creating them from black magic. I had to kill him too. It was not easy.” She still didn’t want to reveal her ability to cloak herself to the king and his men. Some things were better left unsaid. But she knew he’d want to know how he and his men could defeat such a creature. She sighed. “All right. I can…hide myself with a unique ability I have. It was the only way I could get close enough to behead him. I don’t know if a blade to the heart would do the trick, but decapitation works. He was flesh and blood and did not turn to dust like the ones he had created. I believe that either Vladek is a dark arts druid, or he has one working for him. To end the reign of terror he’s bringing down on us, we have to kill the druid, whoever he is.”

  “What about his dark arts knights then? Do they perish along with him? Or will they still fight us?” Artur asked before the king could.

  “They will still fight us. They were given orders to do so and will until the last one is standing. But at least once the druid is dead, no more will be created.”

  “Was the druid working for someone else?” the king asked.

  “No. That time he wanted to overtake a princedom in the north. I wasn’t there because of him. I was there to find a missing girl. They had laid siege to the walled city and would kill anyone who might try to reach it. It just so happened the girl I was looking for was missing from the princedom when I ran into these dark arts knights. Because of my special abilities, I was able to slip past them, get into the city, learn that the prince and his people were unable to fight the scourge, and so I had to learn what I could do to get the upper hand in this. Once I left the walled city and finally learned how to kill the dark arts knights, I had to return to the castle to let the prince know how his warriors could deal with them. That’s when I saw the druid in the woods outside the walls right before my eyes. He didn’t see me as I blended in with one of the trees. I couldn’t believe a druid would be involved in this.”

  “Then you killed him,” Artur said, sounding amazed that she could do such a thing.

  “Not right away. I was too far away from him. My clothes and weapons blend in with the objects I want to hide next to. If I’d had a crossbow with me, I could have shot a bolt into his dark heart from a distance. But at the time, I wasn’t even sure that would work on one of his kind. So if I had tried and failed, he would have known I could lurk nearby like that and I would have been killed for certain. Instead, I knew I had to get close enough to him to lop off his head. I figured there would be no way that he could survive that. But I also assumed I would have only one chance at doing it so I had to make it count.”

  She realized then everyone was listening to her, still watching the woods for any threat, but eager to hear her story. She let out her breath. “The druid seemed to never sleep. I watched him for hours. I was tired at that point. I even fell asleep myself for a while, though when I jerked awake, it nearly gave me a heart attack. I didn’t know if I could fall sleep like that and still maintain my chameleon-like form. I’ve never had to do that before. The thing of it was the woods were filled with those creatures, so any one of them could have discovered me at any time. The creatures he conjured up didn’t eat. But the druid did. So while he was cooking a boar on a spit, I moved from tree to tree, getting closer to him. The knights were milling about, just awaiting his orders. I was tired, weary of waiting, hungry too. The smell of the boar made me want to snatch a piece and eat it.”

  Artur smiled.

  “The druid was leaning over, adding another piece of wood to the fire. There were no trees close to him. I did the only thing I could think of doing and it wasn’t a good plan at all. I laid on the ground, then inched my way toward him, watching to see that no knights were observing him or looking in my direction. If I stay close to something, like a wall, I can move along its whole length without being seen.”

  “You were in the great hall during the meal!” the princess exclaimed, looking awed.

  “I was. I wanted to know what King Leogane was like. I had to know if he was worthy of your hand in marriage, or if you were even agreeable to the notion.”

  Artur glanced at the king to see his response. Leogane was just raptly listening to Rina’s story, probably trying to recall if he had seen anything amiss in the great hall like Artur was trying to remember.