CHAPTER 19
Clear the portico! Everyone!” Eris ordered. Hollis had ridden only a minute ahead of the others, with news of Bristol’s impending arrival and a warning to empty the area of everyone except guards and knights.
“Now!” Hollis shouted, sending servants and gentry scurrying for shelter in the darkest and farthest reaches of the palace, afraid of another attack. Archers poured onto the grounds, taking positions.
Seconds later, Bristol and the other recruits materialized in the sky.
As soon as they landed near the front steps where carriages would normally drop off passengers, commotion descended, officers rushing to see who they had brought back.
Seeing that the grounds were clear, the recruits began untying the many knots securing the mysterious “prisoner” to August’s back like he was a lumpy sack of potatoes.
That’s what many of the guards and archers were already murmuring, a prisoner.
Quin, Cully, Eris, and Dalagorn demanded answers.
“What’s this—”
“Who—”
“Where—”
“Is he dead?”
“Very much alive,” Bristol answered, still focused on the ropes, which had become frustratingly more secure.
Cael was slung belly down over August’s back, his long hair covering his face, his hands filthy, his clothes in rags, quite unrecognizable from the portrait hanging in the main hall.
She and Hollis had tied him to the saddle in order to give August free rein and ride at a higher speed.
Cael may have had a burst of energy when he pulled the knife on her, but he still wobbled when they attempted to resume their journey.
Tying him to August’s back was the only way to get him home without the trip taking days, and Bristol, in a few hours, had already had more than enough of Cael.
His riding position might have caused a cracked rib or two, but oh well, she thought.
She’d leave the ribs for Esmee and Olivia to deal with.
The knots were tedious, pulled tighter by Cael’s jostling weight.
“Step back,” Avery said. “I’ll take care of it.”
She circled August, her hands sweeping the air as she spoke to the fibers in the rope, her kinship with plants making the ropes wiggle and come to life. They followed her commands, unraveling swiftly before falling to the ground.
Cael moaned and rubbed his wrists.
“Get ready to catch him,” Bristol said to the knights who were facing his backside. “His Majesty is weak.”
“His w-what?” Eris rasped, choking on his words.
Bristol gave Cael’s shoulders a firm shove, and he slipped off August, tumbling back into Quin’s and Cully’s arms, his legs noodles below him, bending and twisting until he got his footing.
“Let me go!” he ordered, still swaying.
“Your Majesty?” Eris said, his eyes wide with horror. He looked back at Bristol. “What—How—”
“I made a bargain with my mother.”
“See! It’s a trick! She’s the monster’s daughter! Kill the bitch!” Cael’s hand shot up, pointing first at Bristol, then circling to the other recruits, his finger poking the air like he was hitting each one of them in the chest. “Seize them! All of them! Kill them! Do something!”
“But, Your Majesty,” Eris said, “it appears they just rescued you. Are you certain—”
“They threatened to kill me! Regicide! They pushed a sword into my back. Execute them! Especially that one,” he said, pointing at Bristol.
“Kill her! Why aren’t any of you following my orders?
Get this damn collar off me!” he shouted, pulling at the ward around his neck. “I’ll take care of them myself!”
And then he fainted.
Dalagorn caught the king, scooping him into his arms. Eris turned back to Bristol for answers.
She blinked slowly. “In the last two days, I’ve had a knife held to my throat twice—both times by the Trénallis brothers.
I am done for the day. Done. He’s all yours.
Keep him under wraps. Kormick doesn’t know we have him, and he’s not likely to find out. It’s best to leave it that way.”
Bristol turned, and Sashka looped an arm through hers as they walked away. The other recruits followed, leaving Eris and the knights to deal with their returned king.
“What bargain did you make?” Eris called after her.
A bad one, Bristol thought, but she only shook her head in answer.