23. Summoned #2
“South,” Etiana said softly. “Now that my mother is with us, we can risk entering the Southern Felds. But Rerdas and I will have to follow you two to Sol Serene. We’ve been called to the palace first.”
Hammond frowned. “A great many people have been called to the capital, Lady Etiana. Mostly feld nobility. People keep complaining about odd country nobles pouring into Kirinoll, with all manner of their own habits and demands.”
“It may be a good sign that the queen is testing the loyalty of so many. She’s less likely to be fully focused on either of you,” Uralta said, glancing at Rerdas and Etiana. But her hands twisted together, and the deep furrows in her brow did not ease.
“Hopefully it’ll be a quick interview. We’ll be along right after you.
” Etiana smiled, but it was too broad to be real, and Rerdas could feel her bracing for what came next.
His stomach tightened, and he fought an instinct to shake out his limbs, trying to release the wave of terrified energy at the thought of sending his aunt away.
“Are we meant to leave now?” Hammond asked quietly. His tone suggested that he already knew the answer.
Etiana gave a jerky nod, her eyes glassy. “My mother is still gathering her strength. Take care of her.”
“Of course.” Hammond took Uralta’s arm and guided her out into the daylight. He and Rerdas lifted her up onto Hastings. The butler took the reins, walking beside Hastings’s head and turning the horse toward the open road. Rerdas and Etiana trailed after them.
From her place on the horse, Uralta leaned down to clutch Etiana’s arm. She reached out with her free hand and touched Rerdas’s cheek. “My daring girl. And my beautiful, brave boy. Take care of each other. Protect each other.”
Rerdas’s throat closed entirely. All he could do was press his fingertips to his aunt’s hand in a silent promise.
“Always, Mother,” Etiana said.
Uralta released them. She tugged her cloak over her head and hid her face in shadow. Hammond nodded at them once and clucked Hastings gently forward.
Rerdas watched them grow smaller and smaller, the distance larger and larger, until the road curved and they disappeared behind a rocky rise.
His heart squeezed with panic. It was a long way to the Southern Felds.
So much could happen, and he didn’t think he could endure losing one more person he loved.
Etiana turned to him, a smile strung tight across her face. “Well.” She got no further before tears leaked down her cheeks.
He reached for her blindly, yanked her into an embrace that kept him standing. They held each other until their breathing steadied. “Alright?” he asked.
“Yes.” Etiana let out a noisy breath. “Now. Let us go to the queen.”
“Damn her to Drida,” Rerdas added. He linked his arm with his cousin’s, and they marched back toward the village in search of horses.
***
Kirinoll was as crowded as Hammond had warned, and the palace grounds were the worst of it.
He and Etiana were ushered into the warren of parlors that formed the outer shell of the palace, where courtiers milled about the lavish rooms. Fluttering smiles and smatterings of laughter did not disguise the cloud of unease hovering over everyone.
But this was what the court was always like.
The discomfort was only magnified by the fact that no one seemed sure of why they had been summoned.
Umber would have information, and he was likely somewhere nearby, posed in the midst of his latest glittering coterie. Rerdas caught Etiana’s elbow before she could lead them into the nearest group.
“I’m going to find the duke. See if you can locate Dantin,” Rerdas said in her ear.
She gave him a tiny nod, her smile already flashing into place as she advanced toward the courtiers.
He peeled away into the next parlor. Umber would not be lingering among the lesser nobles. Eternals willing, he was here somewhere and willing to help them.
He wished had taken the time to reply to more of the man’s letters. Umber had written often while they were still in Drida, but Rerdas had sent only a few half-hearted responses. Stupid move. He should have just made things up about what he wanted to do in bed.
That was an unfortunate line of thought.
Now he was considering the things one could do in bed, especially when one was falling hopelessly in love with one’s companion.
And when said companion was a painfully gorgeous swordsman with a heart of stone and glass.
Before he knew what he was doing, he was blindly turning down a palace hallway in an attempt to outrun any sign of people.
He found a mostly empty courtyard and plummeted down onto a bench under a wisteria bower. A mossy fountain warbled nearby, but the sound wasn’t quite enough to disguise the noise he was making as he tried to swallow back tears.
Etiana needed him to keep from splintering. She’d already had to care for him once when he’d last felt this way, stumbling through the world as if he couldn’t quite reach any of it. That couldn’t happen again, especially not now.