CHAPTER 76
That didn’t take long, Tyghan thought.
A crowd drew Kormick like a moth to a candle. “Remember,” Tyghan whispered to his officers. “We’re not amused by the nobles’ presence. We’re annoyed.”
Tyghan turned.
Twelve Fomorians approached on enormous gray steeds with silky black manes.
Tyghan had to admit, their horses were magnificent.
If Fomorians knew how to do anything right, it was breeding the beautiful beasts.
And Kormick cut quite a regal picture atop one.
But his warriors were a scarred, monstrous lot, their muscular shoulders barely contained by uniforms. And they looked thirsty, but not for drink.
They eyed the crowd like they were already bludgeoning heads.
“Trénallis,” Kormick said, shaking his head. “It seems all the other kingdoms understood the agreement. Twenty only. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Tyghan remained silent, defiant, like a ruler who was cornered but unbowed.
“Beating your pathetic chest by flaunting the rules? It’s what we all agreed to.”
Is that him? An excited whisper from the crowd of nobles behind Tyghan. The chatterbox.
I think so. He looks like a king. The know-it-all.
Ohhh, I’d love to meet him. The ingenue.
“Quiet!” Tyghan growled at them. He turned back to Kormick. “They insisted on attending. Nobles and council members. I warned them not to come. They tagged along anyway.”
Kormick raised a quizzical brow. “You can’t even control your own subjects?” He scoffed with contempt and swung his leg over his horse to dismount.
We should have listened to the king and stayed home. The rule follower.
But I didn’t want to miss this! It’s the event of the century! The adventurer.
He’s more handsome than I expected. The flirt.
Kormick stood eye to eye with Tyghan. His warriors dismounted too.
“Go ahead,” Tyghan said, his gaze steely as he met Kormick’s. “Get rid of them. You’d be doing me a favor.”
Kormick remained planted in place, like he was searching for a lie in Tyghan’s face.
“My scouts tell me you have no troops behind you. As long as it remains that way, you won’t have to be watching the skies for dark clouds.
See how reasonable I can be, Trénallis? And unlike you, I can control my subjects.
” He pushed past Tyghan. “Now to meet your rule breakers, to see if they stay or perish.”
The crowd received him and his warriors, offering up a believable amount of fear at first, with a chaser of curious adulation. Officer Perry crowed convincingly about how much he had heard about the king of Fomoria, and Sage Jarvis made sure there was a continuous hum of excited chatter.
Time ticked by as Kormick moved through the group, speaking with one noble after another.
Eris’s gaze met Tyghan’s. This is either going to go well, or very, very badly.
A smile on Kormick’s face was no indication of anything positive.
Melizan, Cosette, and Sloan discreetly circled around to be in position, if events turned violent.
Finally, Kormick stepped away to where Tyghan waited.
“They can remain. They only wish to be witnesses to history, and they will have that wish. It seems your subjects are looking forward to the transition.” He and his warriors got back on their horses.
He leaned forward and said quietly to Tyghan, “Remember, little king, if any blood is shed in this valley tomorrow, it will be by your hands.”
“The only blood I will shed is yours, if I don’t have my brother back by the end of the day tomorrow. I’ve met your demand and come without troops.”
“Of course,” Kormick replied. “I’ll be glad to be rid of him.”
After he rode away, Eris stepped up and said, “Nice touch. You exuded reckless bravado and frustration. He expected nothing less.”
Dahlia intercepted Eris as he walked to his tent to get his jacket. “What are you doing, Eris? You haven’t been a knight in thirty years. What is this all about?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m doing what I’ve always done, working to preserve a nation.”
“Not as a knight! A sword does not belong on your back!”
“My son asked me to take on this position.”
Dahlia’s next words stalled on her tongue. “Your son? You told him?”
“Yes, when my timing was right. And I hope you give him the grace to tell you on his own. Stay out of his personal business, Dahlia.”
Her face caved. “Please, can we go into your tent and talk? I only need five minutes.”
Eris looked over his shoulder. Tyghan was waiting for him. “As you can see, now is not the time. But when we get back to the palace, I’m sure Ivy can find a place in my schedule for you.”
Dahlia watched him walk away. Was this what she had done?
Shoved him into one little compartment of her life that was safe and scheduled?
She rubbed her brow. She wanted to tell him she had let the past go.
That she only wanted to move forward and focus on their future.
She sighed. He never looked back as he walked away, but she wouldn’t give up.
When this was over, she would make an appointment with Ivy, if that was what it took, to tell him exactly what he deserved to hear.
The evening wore on as bonfires were lit, more game was roasted on spits, and casks were opened. Cully scoffed at all the food. “Do they think this is their last meal?”
“Could be,” Dalagorn said, unbothered by the plethora of food. “At least something worthwhile is coming out of all this wallowing.”
But the dancing was the last straw. When Bogshollow struck up their drums and fiddles, the Danu contingent headed back to their camp. This wasn’t a party, and even Fomoria wouldn’t buy that Danu was celebrating.
When they reached their encampment, Tyghan spotted Sashka, and then Hollis talking with Officer Perry, and finally his eyes landed on Julia. She was standing outside his tent, and he hurried over.
“Julia,” he said, breathless.
She smiled. “I suggest you retire for the night, Your Majesty. Tomorrow will be a long day. I will stand watch for you.”
He nodded and went in.
His tent was dark, only a tiny flame flickering in a lantern cast a thin light.
His gaze swept the shadowy corners. As she pushed her hood back, Bristol appeared, an ethereal apparition becoming flesh.
He ran to her and held her, his hands rubbing her back, his lips brushing hers, her mouth eagerly opening to his. “I missed you,” he finally said.
“What will we do if we’re ever apart for more than a day?”
“Die,” he answered. “How long have you been here?”
“Only a few minutes.” She told him she slipped inside as planned while the others gathered information outside. “You saw the birds?” she asked.
“All four. Like clockwork.”
She smiled. “Thank god.”
He assured her it all went according to plan, and Kormick suspected nothing. “It’s all going perfectly, Bri.”
She asked him a hundred questions about the parley and the other kingdoms and the city of tents. “It’s impressive,” he said. “I wish we were here for another reason. You’ll see it tomorrow.”
She told him more about what was going on at the garrison. “The regiments from Eideris and Greymarch arrived. Maddox is getting them positioned for tomorrow.” She bit the corner of her lip, her eyes suddenly dark. “And my mother. Have you seen her?”
“No,” he answered. “We didn’t see her, but we rarely do. He keeps her out of sight. But I’m certain she’ll be here and visible tomorrow. Kormick wants a spectacle.” He squeezed her hand. “I know it’s going to be hard for you to see her, especially beside him. You’ll be okay?”
“Of course,” she answered. “I have no other choice.”
Her lashes fluttered downward for a moment and when she looked back up, he recognized the mischief in her eyes. “Now that we have a few private minutes . . .” She slipped a finger in his belt and tugged him closer.
“So what kind of sex is this going to be?” he asked.
“Quiet sex. The walls are thin, and the tents are close. You don’t want your knights to think you’re having more fun than they are, do you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe?”
“Don’t you like a challenge?”
“I’m up for it. But it will be a challenge, especially with what I’m going to do to you.”
Julia, Avery, and Rose cleaned out their saddlebags, making room for new provisions. They startled at a sudden crash and crack of wood from the king’s tent. Rose and Avery jumped to their feet, drawing their daggers. “Slow down,” Julia said. “Bristol is in there with the king.”
Rose wasn’t convinced. “But the noise. Something might be wrong.”
Julia smiled. “I think the king’s cot was just a casualty of enthusiasm.”
They heard muffled laughter coming from within the tent, a pleasant sound at the end of a tense day.
Tyghan and Bristol lay sprawled across the floor of the tent, trying to suppress their laughter. “Shhh!” Bristol said, pressing a finger to his lips.
He still laughed against it and pulled her hand away. “At least the cot held up until the important parts were over.”
Bristol fell into more suppressed giggles.
It felt good to laugh with him. Necessary.
It had been too long, and who knew how long it would be before they could laugh again.
She remembered the first time they made love and he confessed to her that he loved her laugh.
She loved his too. It was a sound that made her feel like everything wasn’t madly wrong with the world, and for at least a little while, some things were exactly right.