Chapter Twenty-Two #2
And Gunnald, bless him, turned a little, giving Finnvid an excuse to move with him so his face wasn’t visible to his mother when Gunnald said, “It’s Theos, sir. He’s in rough shape, but still alive. At least for now.”
Theos. Of course it was Theos: the most aggressive, the strongest. Finnvid kept his body upright and made himself nod as if this was just another interesting bit of news.
He wouldn’t let himself even glance in the direction of the man on the floor, not with his mother watching him.
He bit the inside of his cheek, drove his nails into his palms, and fought to remain in control.
When he had his expression schooled into something approaching calm, he turned to his mother.
“I’d like to speak to you and Alrik, as soon as possible. ”
“We have rather a lot to deal with currently.”
He shouldn’t be surprised by her dismissal.
He’d always been the lesser son, the baby, and for most of his life he’d been glad of the freedom he gained from their lack of interest. His mother and brother were a team, running the valley after the old king’s death; Finnvid had been left to his studies.
He’d known he didn’t have their respect.
It would be so easy to quit. To retreat to his rooms, banish the servants, and sob his gratitude and shock and sorrow to the skies.
But Theos wasn’t safe yet. Theos needed him to be strong.
“I appreciate that you’re busy. However, Alrik sent me to Windthorn because he wanted me to become more involved in affairs of state, and I worked hard during my time with the Torians to gather intelligence. I have important information to share.”
There was a little sound, just a rustle of fabric, and his eyes instinctively tracked it to its source.
He tried not to gasp at Theos’s bloodied face, or the way his eye was swollen shut, and made himself meet the furious stare from the Sacrati’s one good eye.
Theos didn’t speak Elkati. He wouldn’t have known exactly what Finnvid had said.
But he’d have heard the tone, and seen Finnvid standing there unharmed and wearing fine clothes.
Theos angrily jerked his arm, and it was only then Finnvid realized the man was chained to the wall.
Finnvid did what he had to. He sneered down at Theos and said in Torian, “Yes, I know, I’m a dirty Elkati spy.
You hate me. I know, Torian. I just don’t care.
” He turned away from the rage on Theos’s face and shrugged at his mother, shifting back to Elkati to say, “They’re great warriors, but not a sophisticated people.
It wasn’t hard to learn about their politics, and the tensions in their society.
I think there are ways for us to take advantage of these weaknesses.
” And then the important part. “Alive, this man is a possible tool for our use. If he dies, we lose that potential.”
His mother examined him, and he kept his gaze level. He’d been lying for his whole life, deceiving his family and everyone around him, and he was good at it. His skill might have hurt Theos in Windthorn, but in Elkat it might save him, as long as Finnvid could keep his cool.
“He could be useful,” his mother admitted. “Possibly.”
“Easy enough to kill him later. Very difficult to bring him back to life.”
She narrowed her eyes at that, and Finnvid realized he’d gone too far. Usually his flippancy would be no surprise, but it had been less than an hour since she’d seen him raving and screaming as he was dragged to his quarters; the change had been too drastic.
So he made his smile a bit more tremulous.
“I really should explain what I learned. But maybe you’re right; maybe it could wait.
I’m exhausted.” He tried to look ashamed and apologetic.
“This wasn’t the homecoming I wanted, but I’m glad to be here anyway.
Maybe I should sleep, and we can talk in the morning?
I just wanted to be sure the Torian wasn’t wasted.
I think we need to keep him alive for now, and then we can decide what to do with him later. ”
She nodded slowly, still cautious, but believing him. He hoped.
“Yes, go and rest. You’re right, this isn’t the celebration we should have had. Soon, we will feast.”
So Finnvid turned to go and saw Gunnald watching him closely. He had a feeling the older man had seen through his charade; it was lucky that Gunnald had recently been rebuked for speaking his mind, so he likely wouldn’t share his suspicions.
Finnvid left the room without even looking at Theos.
If they’d been alone, he’d have thrown himself on the cold flagstones, torn at his clothes to make bandages for Theos’s wounds; he would have licked the man clean if there’d been no water to wash him.
And he’d almost certainly have cried, and begged forgiveness, and if Theos granted it, Finnvid would have stayed with him for as long as he could. He’d have stayed with him forever.
But they weren’t alone. So he walked calmly out of the room, then down through the kitchen and up the back stairs so he could avoid seeing his brother.
He wondered where the other Torians were.
They’d been his companions on the journey as well, and he’d invited them into the castle to eat and rest. But the only room large enough for all of them was the Great Hall, and it was being used as a field hospital.
He was tired, but he forced himself to turn around to find someone who would know more.
He was startled to see that Gunnald had been following him. “I wanted to be sure you were safe,” the older man said quickly. Then he stepped closer. “And I wanted to know what I should do.”
Finnvid frowned. For their entire adventure together, Gunnald had been happy to take charge whenever Finnvid didn’t insist on having a voice, and now he was feeling deferential?
Yes, of course he was. Now that they were back in Elkat, independent action could get him in trouble, but actions taken on the direction of a member of the royal family might win him favor.
Of course, Finnvid wasn’t the only member of the royal family Gunnald had recently been in contact with. He could very well have been sent by the queen mother to spy on her youngest son. “Are the other Torians cared for?” Finnvid asked. “I promised them food and beds.”
“We sent them to the traders’ inn. They’ll be fine there.”
Finnvid nodded. “And your men? They’re well?”
“Your brother’s men asked them a few questions and then sent them to the barracks. We’ll grant them leave to go visit their families once we’re sure they’re not needed here.”
“Then I think we’ve done everything we can.” Finnvid knew it was an unnecessary risk, but he couldn’t keep himself from adding, “You heard what I said about the Sacrati. About keeping him alive so he can be useful. Do you agree?”
Gunnald frowned. “It’s a bad situation. Is it better to kill him and keep things tidy?
We’ve already—” He stopped himself. “It’s complicated,” he said finally.
“I’m not sure how Windthorn will react. I’m not sure the other Torians will tell the story we want them to.
To be completely, coldly rational, it might be safer to kill them all, really.
But if no one comes back from this trip alive?
I can’t imagine the Torians reacting well to that. ”
“You didn’t know what the warlord’s letter said? You didn’t know this was going to happen?”
“I’m a soldier! Maybe not as skilled as the Torians, but I’m a man of honor. To live with them, train with them, travel with them, and then betray them?” Gunnald’s outrage seemed genuine. “No, Prince Finnvid. I did not know what the letter said.”
Finnvid believed him, and it was a relief. “But Zenain knew. He was ready for it when the Sacrati were attacked. He held his men back, kept them from joining the battle. If they’d fought, the Sacrati might have won. But he didn’t let it happen.”
“It would seem so.”
“And insisting that we be accompanied all the way home . . . that was his idea, too. Ekakios was ready to go home at the border, but he didn’t trust Zenain on his own.
He worried that Zenain might hurt me, so he put his men in danger to protect me.
Me. And I brought them to this.” Ekakios was dead, the other Sacrati were dead .
. . Finnvid thought of Andros again, stepping off the path as if to answer a call of nature.
He was out there somewhere, and he didn’t know that his comrades were dead, and Theos imprisoned.
He didn’t know how horribly wrong it had all gone.
Gunnald’s hand was warm and strong on his shoulder. “You were betrayed too, my prince. You didn’t know.”
“It’s a leader’s job to know. I’ve been prancing around, acting important because my father was king, but what have I ever done to earn anyone’s allegiance? Why should anyone trust me?”
Gunnald smiled grimly. “I had similar questions this summer when you were put in charge of the mission.” He watched Finnvid for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m starting to change my mind.”
Maybe that should have made Finnvid feel good, but instead it was just another weight on his already exhausted shoulders.
He forced a smile and tried to think like an Elkati prince.
“I appreciate that.” And though they were alone in the hallway, he leaned in a little to say, “Can you keep an eye on things for me? You know, with the injured Sacrati, and the other Torians. Your men too, if there’s any trouble there.
I think my family expects me to give up on all my responsibilities now that I’m home, and I can see why they’d expect that; it’s certainly consistent with how I’ve behaved in the past. But this was my mission, and I don’t feel like it’s over yet.
” That was good. No mention of his feelings for Theos, no overpowering guilt or anger.
Just a sense of responsibility. If Gunnald reported this conversation to the queen mother, there should be no repercussions, and if he didn’t, Finnvid might get some information from it.
Gunnald nodded, apparently pleased to have a mission. “I will. And if there’s a problem . . . I can come to you for help?”
“Come to me,” Finnvid agreed. He wasn’t sure what help it would be in his power to give, but he supposed that was his job; he needed to spend his time doing what was needed to ensure that he did have power, and could be useful.
And the first step in that was acting as his family expected him to. “I’m retiring for the night. Get some sleep yourself, Gunnald.”
The older man smiled, and Finnvid very much wanted to trust him. But he couldn’t be sure, and guessing wrong would be disastrous.
So they parted without further conversation, and Finnvid went to his rooms and felt guilty about the soft, clean sheets he crawled between, while so many others were fighting for their lives.
But there was nothing he could do about that, not right then, so he lay still and tried to clear his mind.
It took longer than he’d have liked, yet eventually his exhaustion claimed him, and he faded off to sleep.