Chapter 43 Watch for the Season
~ DONAVYN ~
The next morning dawned to my eyes open and stinging from lack of sleep.
The first hours alone had been a torment of feeling my sense of Bren fade, from bright and torturous awareness of her grief and fear, to a formless shape of her presence, until finally, at some point in the small hours of the morning, it sucked to nothing but a warmth in my chest. I couldn’t sense anything of her, though I found my eyes turning south whenever I thought of her.
Was that the bond tugging me, or only my awareness of the likely direction they’d flown? I’d never know.
I’d spent sweaty, agitated hours tossing and turning, mentally tracking how far Bren and Akhane would have flown in the passing hours, and fighting away images of Akhane set upon by Carnage, or Bren attacked on landing in Vosgaarde.
But as the sun rose, the truth settled behind my ribs.
They were gone, and I had a job to do. I could only help them by doing what I was here to do. And today, that had to start with Benji.
We’d left him at the Inn in the City to intercept any messages sent to or received by Ruin.
But I had to have him at the stable by breakfast, to connect with Hanson—who would already be suspicious of Bren’s absence.
But I knew how to work with men like Hanson who were, at their core, pragmatic.
And very unused to not getting what they wanted.
I knew precisely how to play the man to keep him moving in the direction we needed, at least until later in the day.
I bathed, dressed in flying leathers, and had just strapped on my blades when a knock came at the door.
I was immediately wary, and pulled the blade free to keep it in my fist and behind the door when I opened it to see who’d come for me.
To my surprise, it was a Kingsman standing in the hallway. He saluted the moment I cracked the door and didn’t even wait for me to ask.
“General Arsen, sir. I bear a message addressed to you, and our Majesty bids me deliver it to you forthwith. It arrived moments ago from your king, the Most High, Alexi an’ Del Rei of Vosgaarde.
” He proffered the parchment, which did indeed bear Alexi’s wax seal and my name in my king’s handwriting.
Alexi had sent something to me?
It wasn’t suspicious that it came through the castle messengers.
I hadn’t hidden my presence in this kingdom, and the royal networks were swift and efficient.
It was how Alexi and I had agreed to communicate anything that didn’t carry a need for subterfuge.
But I didn’t expect anything from him. I’d sent my report the day Ruin appeared, assuring the king that I’d discovered his presence in Fyrehold and would investigate.
That was two weeks ago. I hadn’t expected to hear anything from him until I reported again.
Rather, this was the day I anticipated Ruin receiving his confirmation of orders—or something.
I took the paper and thanked the man, assuring him I would send for him if a reply was required, then waited with the door cracked to ensure he left the corridor, before closing the door again and staring at the paper with burning eyes.
That square was far heavier than its thick parchment warranted. My heart thumped in my chest, but there was no point delaying. Curious, and heavy with dread, I slipped my blade under the wax seal and opened the folded paper, reading the message inside with stunned eyes.
General,
Your report of our mutual friend was received with warmth.
I’m sure you have enjoyed the reunion with equal fervor, so it is with grief I ask you to sacrifice for the greater good. Watch for the season’s change, then offer your harvest.
While the Creator sends His rain on both the righteous, and the unrighteous, it is my honor to gather the crops.
I pray abundant blessings, and the Creator’s wind under your wings.
The missive was coded for Shadowfang, and straightforward.
Any reference to heat was a warning of the king’s anger or wrath.
The greater good was the king himself.
To harvest any individual was to remove them from where they’d planted themselves, but watching for the season’s change was a reference to allowing the current events to play out first.
Yet, it was the last full paragraph that gave me chills.
While the Creator sends His rain on both the righteous, and the unrighteous, it is my honor to gather the crops.
The king was telling me it was his right to judge Ruin.
Had I read that message on any other mission, I would have had no question. The king was angry. He wanted me to wait until the public event—in this case, the festival—was complete, then quietly but firmly send Ruin home. At which point, the king would judge him.
I would have seen a warning, and impending discipline, or even censure. That is what the message meant.
But after so many days and hours analyzing code and the manipulation of words, one thing stuck out at me: The king hadn’t actually said he’d judge Ruin badly. He hadn’t stated that Ruin would be punished, or harmed.
He’d only said it was his right to make judgment.
Yet, knowing what I knew now, without changing a word this message took on an entirely different frame.
The king commanded me to wait until the following day—the day after the festival ended. The day Ruin had warned Hanson there would be no going back. I was instructed to confront Ruin as his Commanding Officer, and send him home, where he would be judged.
But, having seen the other messages and learned the undercurrents, that sequence of events added up to a very different picture.
This was a trap.
Alexi was the one who’d wanted me—and my dragon—out of the country. I could see how it would have played out if I hadn’t learned what I’d learned, if I still saw Ruin as an ally…
No doubt Ruin and Hanson planned to leave the Crown District after the festival. But Hanson would have informed others of their intended destination.
The next morning, I would discreetly—for the sake of Furyknight honor, and out of respect for the service of a man in my command—seek out Ruin. Ultimately, I would have been pointed to Hanson’s estate, and I would have flown Kgosi out there.
And when I found Ruin, I would also have found my death.
Probably a knife in the back when I least expected it.
Kgosi, weakened by the loss of me, would be set upon by Carnage.
Then Ruin would, indeed, return home for the king’s judgment… which would have been for Ruin’s applause. For his promotion. For his ascension.
If I hadn’t met Bren, known her, learned her history, and ultimately Ruin’s as well, I would have entered this kingdom and this plot with the na?veté of a lamb to slaughter.
For a moment I trembled. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as it seemed I felt the wind of the passing of the guillotine’s blade within mere inches. There was no further question that we’d interpreted this correctly. Alexi had plotted and planned my downfall.
Dear God…
Help me see through any traps I don’t yet know.
I turned from that moment, numb. Resheathing my blade, I walked out of my chamber like a man with a purpose.
Because I was.
I would not stand by, bleating like the proverbial lamb, waiting for my sacrifice.
No.
I would take the weapons I’d been given over decades of training and war. I would take my wits, and God-given intelligence. I would take my dragon, arguably the most powerful who existed…
And I would beat this fucker at his own vile game.