CHAPTER XVI #2
Hirovale’s head bows in deep respect, black hair falling towards his shoulders.
“I promise. I’ll bring him back when all is complete.”
Keane nods and extends the pouch, passing our friend’s home to Hirovale as the Ancient secures him safely inside his tunic. The King leaves his hand outstretched, the two of them standing tall before they clasp arms.
“Thank you for being here,” he says quietly.
“Always,” Hirovale’s eyes flash a hard gold as he grips Keane’s hand tight, “this will set back Nolan’s arrival for a few days. I’m going to have my brother and sister remain in Woodlands to help with the fallout.”
“Thank you,” Keane nods as the Ancient’s gaze flicks to mine.
Keep practicing, Alex, he says as the air around us thickens. I’ll drop in as soon as I am able.
No one got any sleep this morning. There was too much to do.
Starc and Mal were escorted to a small room in the castle by Holis and Mana, the two passing their guard over to Nathaniel, Bryson and Sam before Keane requested the brothers wash up and ready themselves for the day.
The three soldiers nodded severely when I reminded them to keep an eye out for any argents that may fly by the small window from outside the castle.
I didn’t know if either of the men could summon like Esme, but I also didn’t want the chance to present itself, not when Starc’s smile turned wicked at the words.
Cal and Canon were prompted to wash up as well and made their way to their own rooms to get a small reprieve. We would all meet Sandam and his party in two turns of the early morning sun to assess the damage of Dankworth and work together on a way forward.
I forced Keane into a chair at the side of our room once everyone else was situated, working on his boots with slightly shaking hands.
The room itself was still in shambles, with the chairs strewn all over the place and the large table still cracked in two.
Even the entry stood open without a door, the wood thrown on the ground with heavy splinters in the middle.
We both stood up quickly when the sound of new boots made their way up the staircase, with Keane pushing me behind him before the Knowledge soldier Erich announced himself and his small crew.
“Canon sent us up to take the bodies down, Your Grace,” he nods to Keane from the doorway. “It will just be us three moving back and forth.”
“I appreciate it,” Keane lets out a heavy breath, hand releasing my waist.
I reach my own fingers for his tattered shirt and draw it out of his riding pants.
“Bath,” I order the King and push him to the far end of the room, not even caring that the three men hear my demand. “Now.”
Keane grabs my wrist, the hold making me wince as he pulls me with him into the small chamber and closes the door. I look down to my hand in his, noticing just now the thick red welts that line both of my wrists, the bruises compliments of Starc’s summoning that wrapped so tightly around my skin.
I reach for his shirt again, tugging it up his torso before Keane pulls it quickly over his head. My fingers dip to his waistband, drawing the dirtied and bloodied fabric down his muscular thighs and calves before he steps out and places his hands on my shoulders.
“Join me,” he asks, brown eyes heated as they rest on mine from above.
I shake my head slowly, hands running up the backs of his thighs and rear before I stand in front of his bare body. “Get in, Keane.”
The King would get his own small reprieve, of that I would make certain.
Keane stares at me for a long moment before nodding, stepping into the hot water that replenishes itself in the early morning and late evening of the day, just like Gaumond.
I take a small step back, watching his muscles flex in the heat before he sits down with a heavy sigh, his full body submerging in the water as his shoulders fall against the rim.
“I’m just going to step out and grab your soap,” I tell him softly.
I move out of the room to his packs, catching all three Knowledge men’s eyes on me before they look away.
“Storm?” Keane asks when I pull up a stool.
“Sleeping on the bedpost in the room,” I reply, reaching a hand for the water.
Keane stops the movement quickly, fingers grabbing mine as he narrows in on my wrist and draws it towards him. He leans forward in anger, grabbing my other palm as he flips both towards him and glares at the marks in fury.
“Tell me what happened.”
I sigh and push him gently back against the tub before leaning into the water to find the soap he made me drop. Keane follows my movements with storm-filled eyes, rage coursing through his body as I run the bar over his legs and begin to recount the events of the early morning.
“He grew?” he looks at me with wide eyes.
“Grew,” I nod with a small smile, “two heads taller than Holis and Mana, body larger than the door. The group had a battering ram that they used to tear it down. Once the door was out of its hinges they began to push through with the remaining men. They surrounded us just before Hirovale came.”
“How did Starc bind you?” he asks, eyes dipping back to my hands as I run water over his shoulders.
“Stormfall caught me off guard,” I shake my head at my own fault. “He had just turned a man to ash when the wood from the table was summoned towards me. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“But Hiro came shortly after?” he watches me quietly.
I nod my head, avoiding his gaze and the memory of being dragged by the wrists across the room.
“Under the water, Your Grace,” I push his shoulders down, eyeing the strong Shadow Oak jewel on his chest, “let me wash this grime out of your hair.”
Keane watches me for a few moments before dipping under. I scoot my stool closer and run my fingers through his hair, trying to keep my own rage from surfacing.
“What happens next?” I ask him quietly, eyeing his now clean body as he runs his own hands through his hair.
Keane’s eyes land directly on mine, holding my gaze steady before he slowly stands up from the tub.
“At this moment?” his warm and wet hands reach for my face to draw me up with him, “I’m going to bury myself inside you…”
Keane and I are newly dressed and prepared to meet the leaders of Dankworth. Both of us wear Gail’s thick and intricate emerald and black attire, the Shadow Oak leaves running down the sides of our shirts and melding into our riding pants.
I had to still my shaking hands when Keane asked me to crown him earlier. He hasn’t worn that strong black piece since his coronation, never had to. But if there was ever a unifying moment that needed to occur with the King at its head, today was it.
It’s a solemn morning when we meet with our small group, one that’s still overshadowed by the thick smoke that never ceases to rise into the sky.
Everyone from our traveling crew is present with the exception of the Warrior soldiers who still take shifts watching over Starc and Mal.
Even Ryke and the humans from their small council are present, each of them graced with heavy faces of anger and lack of sleep.
Lady Tove and Dame have a small breakfast prepared, assisting the maids from the kitchen to bring the hot food as the rest of us sit quietly around the table.
I catch Cal’s eyes at the table, grateful to my friend for running into the thick of the city with Keane.
Keane told me in the bath that Cal took to defending the human families in their homes, ending a few Discerni lives of his own with the green agate daggers that never seem to end.
My friend smiles back at me before his glance moves to Keane at my side.
The King moves his hand off my thigh before pushing his chair away from the table to stand up. Stormfall is perched on the chair above him, the Bird of Ash watching the morning meeting with gold-colored eyes.
“How many remain?”
Keane turns quietly to Sandam and the new Discerni man at his side, the one who will take over Merrick’s command of the army here, Sir Kearan.
“Of the Discerni not in the army, we’ve estimated a little more than half of them have chosen to remain in Dankworth and did not follow Merrick,” Sandam replies.
“Those that have young ones chose to remain inside to console them, but you’ve seen the others that take to the city now and assist the humans. ”
Keane’s grin is small as he nods in return. “And the remaining soldiers?”
“Roughly seven hundred remain,” Kearan replies.
I have to hide my grimace at the number. Etter’s own guard is now sitting at six hundred men, and even that isn’t enough to defend the small village, and this city is thrice its size.
“The barracks look like they can host well into two thousand,” Keane looks curiously to both men, “did Merrick never seek to grow the size?”
Sandam grimaces. “A full building is reserved for humans that only take up a few of the beds. We implored him to recruit more but relations were never right.”
Keane nods in understanding.
“I want to see the number reach eighteen hundred again by the end of next year. Humans and Discerni alike. And once everything is settled I’d like you both to visit me in Gaumond with the new leaders in your units. They need to move with the men in Warrior and see the acclimation that holds.”
Both men bow their heads while Lady Tove smiles next to me. I have no doubt she’ll be excited to visit the Black Capitol with her husband when the time comes.
“How many humans were lost?” Keane asks Sandam first, then Ryke and the small council. The Lord of Dankworth grimaces, eyes darting to Ryke to let the man answer.
“Too many, Your Grace,” he replies.
There’s no hint of malice or anger in his words, just sorrow. “The city continues to count its dead. We’ll have a full estimated number by sundown.”
The King’s nod is heavy, eyes looking over the five members quietly. “We’ll host Death’s Bonfire for them all. Let the city grieve their dead, but I expect us all to come together in six days to honor their lives.”
All five humans bow their heads solemnly.