CHAPTER 35 #2
“Knight Captain, is this correct?” Owyn demanded.
“In part.” Jehan looked directly at Bellen, judging him to be the biggest threat.
“Since when does the City Guard oversee compliance with trade permit laws? Is that matter not under the purview of the Treasury?”
Jehan said nothing.
“Answer the question!” Bellen thundered.
“I invited the lady—”
“Do you have a warrant?” Owyn demanded. “Who signed it?”
“We were simply conversing.” Jehan glanced at me.
I actually felt sorry for him. “The Knight Captain extended his invitation to me, and I voluntarily accepted. I was not arrested, although he did neglect to provide a carriage.”
Bellen somehow got even larger. “Did she walk, or did she have to pay for her own carriage to be interrogated?”
Jehan took a step back, almost out of his own office. “Lord . . .”
“Be silent!” Bellen stepped over to me and offered his arm. “My lady, would you do me the honor of allowing me to accompany you out of this place?”
The entire point of coming here had been to figure out who had arranged this mess. That ship had sailed. All I could do was let Bellen complete his rescue in a blaze of glory.
“I would be delighted, my lord.”
“Splendid.” Bellen gave me a brilliant smile.
I put my hand on his arm and stood up.
“We are leaving,” Bellen announced.
As he led me out of the office, Bellen pointed at the Knight Captain. Before the door swung closed behind us, I saw the other two knights close on Jehan like two hounds cornering a raccoon.
Outside, sunshine flooded the streets. Lord Bellen gave me another brilliant smile. The man looked overjoyed.
“Lord Bellen, that was amazing. Thank you for my rescue.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He was leading to the right, where a massive white horse waited.
“My carriage . . .” Where the hell was the Shears’ carriage?
“Won’t be necessary,” he assured me. “With your permission.”
He didn’t wait for my permission. He picked me up and lifted me onto the horse. Oh crap. The saddle was neither Western nor Eastern. It had a weird-padded bar. It was probably a war saddle, designed to keep you on the horse no matter what.
What was I supposed to do with my dress?
Screw it. I swung my leg over and sat in the saddle properly. Clover stepped forward and tugged my dress into place with a perfectly neutral expression and subtly nodded. Oh phew. I had done the right thing and dodged a social bullet.
Bellen took the horse’s reins.
“My lord, is this your warhorse?”
“Indeed.”
He started down the street. A couple of guards turned the corner, heading toward the Guard station, saw us, and gaped.
“I cannot possibly ride your warhorse.”
Rellasian knight warhorses were highly trained and prized, and they tended to be loyal only to their rider. Touching a knight’s horse without permission was taking your life in your hands.
“Of course you can. You are doing it right now. You’re so light, he barely noticed.”
“I can walk.”
“Please, my lady, I couldn’t possibly tolerate you overexerting yourself in my presence.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. “My lord . . .”
Bellen gave me another grin. “Lady Maggie, this is a proper rescue. Having bested a corrupt Knight Captain, we must now make our exit in style.”
What? “What if we made a quiet getaway instead?”
“Impossible. The Holy Order of the Defender must maintain its reputation. You have done us a great service by warning us about the danger to Dame Eliarde. It is only fair that we demonstrate to everyone that you are under our protection. Anything else would displease Lord Arvel.”
I glanced at Clover. She made big eyes at me.
Right. No help there either. I just had to sit here on top of this colossal horse and try to maintain some dignity.
The last time I went riding was two years ago and it was on the beach, in Galveston.
My mount had been an old mare, and I rode her at a gentle walk.
The Shears’ carriage was supposed to wait for me. Instead, it was nowhere to be found. In Solentine’s absence, Avaria was in charge, and I had a feeling she did not care for me.
We reached an intersection. We should’ve turned right, north, toward our house. Instead, we turned left, south.
“My lord, I think we’re going the wrong way.”
He frowned. “No, I’m quite certain this is the shortest route.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the Citadel, of course.”
Of course. What was I thinking?
“Why are we going there?”
“To celebrate your glorious rescue.”
“My people will be very anxious about my safety.”
“No worries,” he assured me. “Once we reach the Citadel, I will send your maid to inform them of your whereabouts in a carriage. Clover, is it?”
“Yes, my lord,” Clover answered.
“Have no fear. Your lady will be perfectly safe. I’m reasonably certain the Defender Knights can withstand an assault from the City Guard.”
Bellen winked at me.
I sighed. “When I was younger, my mother said, ‘If a man is charming and smooth-tongued, you must ask yourself how he got that way.’”
“Your mother sounds like a very wise woman,” Bellen said.
“My lord, I think you are the man my mother warned me about.”
He laughed.
I shut up and concentrated on staying in the saddle. At least I had gotten out of the Guard station without revealing my identity. Hreban was still in the dark. Even Bellen only knew my first name, and I needed to keep it that way.
Twenty minutes later we rode into the Citadel’s courtyard. Bellen lifted me off the horse. A female squire came running out and took the reins.
“Get a carriage for Tress Clover,” Bellen ordered.
Clover gave me a look. I nodded. He seemed very intent on separating me from my maid. Might as well find out why.
“This way.” Bellen offered me his arm again.
I put my hand on his forearm, and we ascended the massive staircase, going up to the keep.
Midway up, Bellen stopped and frowned. I looked in the direction of his stare.
The entire city lay below us, miles of roofs and walls, interrupted by the flat ribbons of the rivers, and in the distance the thin spire of the Mage Tower thrust to the sky.
Above it a huge fireball churned, a sphere of brilliant red flames, spinning and turning.
Dear god, it had to be bigger than a city block.
“What in the void is he doing now?” Bellen growled.
Another knight descended a staircase, a lean, dark-haired man. Bellen pointed toward the Mage Tower.
“Apparently, we are expecting a rock from the heavens,” the other knight said.
“Again?”
“It’s a larger one than last year’s. He sent the dispatch to the Eagle Roost this morning. At least he warned us this time.”
“Thank the Aspects for small favors,” Bellen said.
The fireball blazed with pure white. A laser beam of light shot out of it toward the sky, sucking the fire into itself. A sonic boom pulsed through the city and smashed into my ears. The Citadel shuddered.
Bellen wrapped his arm around me. It was like being steadied by a mountain.
A wind gust fanned us and died.
“My apologies.” Bellen let go of me.
The space above the Mage Tower was perfectly clear.
A shower of sparks lit up the sky above the city. They flared and melted into the blue.
Holy fuck. Damaes had just blasted a meteor out of the sky. Probably before it even hit the atmosphere.
This was a man I was picking a fight with.
Damaes was a power unto himself. He recognized Sauven’s authority, because Sauven was the king, but not anyone else’s.
If he decided to take issue with what I was doing, nobody could stop him.
There would be no discussion, no negotiations.
He would just do whatever he did and then our house would turn into a smoking crater.
Maybe I should rethink the whole Isadau thing.
No, I was committed now. I had no choice. Besides, now that I knew I could read Sareso, leaving Isadau where she was wasn’t an option. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I swear, one day that man will destroy the city.” Bellen pointed toward the entrance to the keep. “This way, my lady.”
He led me into the keep. I had expected a dungeon-like fortress, but it was a bright, beautiful space with soaring ceilings and tall arches. We crossed the floor to a patio, where two squires were setting up a table.
“A light lunch?” Bellen asked.
To decline would be rude.
“I would love to.”
He held the chair out for me. I took my seat. The view from the patio was stunning. I looked at the array of finger foods in front of me.
“You have rescued me and fed me, Lord Bellen. I’m afraid I have no way to repay you.”
“The pleasure of your company would more than suffice.”
He looked so pleased with himself, it was hard not to smile back.
“Wine?”
“I would prefer tea.”
“As you wish.”
One of the squires reached for the teapot. Bellen waved him off and poured the tea for me. The squires withdrew.
“This is too much, really. I can pour my own tea.”
“You are so easy to overwhelm, Lady Maggie. You must endeavor to be more demanding.”
I sipped the tea. Delicious. “How did you know I was at the Guard station?”
“Interesting, that. A child brought a note to the Citadel. It said that you had been arrested and were held at the Southern Guard Station.”
Another note. Who the hell was sending these?
“Was it from one of your people, perhaps?” Bellen asked.
“No. I gave them strict instructions to do nothing and wait for me. Did you question the child?”
“He said a priest paid him a quarter to deliver it.”
Interesting. “Did he say which Aspect?”
Bellen shook his head. “No. The child was too young and didn’t pay attention.”
“I’m at a loss then. I do not have close ties to any of the temples.”
Bellen studied me. “Why leave the safety of your house?”
“Because city guards do not usually come to the door of law-abiding citizens and invite them to meet with a Knight Captain. Especially not over something so trivial as a trade permit. I wanted to know who was behind Jehan.”
Bellen nodded. The charm and humor were gone now. The man sitting across from me was sharp and focused. “A sound strategy. Might as well flush the culprit out into the open. You must’ve been quite frustrated when I pulled you out of that office.”
“Never.” I smiled at him. “You were so gallant it was worth it.”
One of the squires returned with a note and withdrew. Bellen glanced at it.
“Ah. Just in time. Owyn’s chat with the Knight Captain was most productive. Is there a reason Ulmar Hreban might want to intimidate you?”
That’s what I thought. Jehan had mentioned the soap.
Silveren wouldn’t have paid attention to that, but Hreban was a businessman.
If he somehow figured out that I had sold soap to the Garden and he wanted to know my identity, he would check for a trade permit.
Since one wasn’t filed, he’d used its absence as a pretext to get my name.
I wished I could tell how much to freak out over this.
“I can’t imagine what that would be,” I lied. “We’ve never been introduced. Our families have no conflicts or mutual trade interests. It is puzzling.”
Bellen frowned. “Hreban is a difficult enemy with many resources at his disposal.”
The question was, what was Hreban really after?
I doubted the Butcher had shared the fact that he had gotten his ass kicked with his employer.
Hreban had the warehouse watched, and his people saw my rescue.
For all he knew, I was a random woman the Butcher had grabbed off the street for fun, and my family had found and saved me.
That would be far preferrable to him knowing the truth.
“Do you have family in the city?” Bellen asked.
“Yes, but my cousin is away at the moment.”
“Do you wish to prolong your visit to the Citadel, my lady? We could arrange a short stay. As you can see, we have plenty of room.” He leaned forward slightly, his blue eyes warm and inviting. “I personally would find a chance to share time with you most agreeable.”
Bellen had just hit on me. What the hell?
“Wouldn’t that put you in conflict with Hreban?”
“He sought to harm you. He is already my enemy.”
What?
He reached over and covered my hand with his.
“Won’t you stay, my lady? I would be truly delighted.”
If Everard knew that a handsome Defender knight had rescued me, brought me to his castle, fed me snacks, and was now trying to persuade me to temporarily move in, he would lose his mind.
So far Bellen had been perfectly courteous, but he’d basically kidnapped me. He didn’t seem in a hurry to let me go either. Quite the opposite. I needed to lay some boundaries and fast.
“It wouldn’t be proper, my lord. Besides, the Lord Commander will likely take a dim view of some random woman staying in his Citadel.”
“I’m sure I can smooth things over,” he said.
“I can’t. My family would not approve.”
“Then perhaps you’ll give me a chance to change their mind.”
“If I didn’t know better, my lord, I’d think you’re trying sweep me off my feet.”
“I am,” he said. “Is it working?”
Good question. If Hreban and Silveren weren’t an imminent threat and if I were free of the tangled ball of feelings Everard evoked, it would absolutely work.
Bellen was stunning, and funny, and he treated me with flawless courtesy, but I sensed a core of steel underneath all of that.
There was more to Lord Bellen than he was willing to show.
I was on thin ice, and I had to tread carefully.
“I’m flattered, my lord. Any woman in my place would be overjoyed.”
“But you’re not just any woman.” He said it as if he meant something deeper by it.
“I’m not. Also, we barely know each other.”
He smiled at me. “Well, that’s something we will have to remedy, isn’t it?”