A Conspiracy of Princes
“My choice of Edling is…,” Axel began, then hesitated just a moment longer. The tension in the room was palpable. Nova let out a sigh.
“My sister,” Axel announced. “Lady Koel.”
Axel’s arm was extended toward his sister. Nova’s gaze moved, with horror, to the dais, where Lady Koel had risen to her feet and was smiling graciously. Whereas Queen Elin now seemed stripped of power, Lady Koel seemed equally transformed: her eyes, her hair, her clothes, all seemed brighter—as if she had darted out, without them noticing, and returned transformed to the dais in readiness for the announcement.
Nova sought out Lady Koel’s eyes, wondering if she might find guilt there at her complete betrayal. But when, at last, Lady Koel deigned to look upon her, there was no trace of guilt. She simply nodded, with utter poise and grace. No one, Nova now realized, had been more ready to claim power than Axel’s clever, ambitious, duplicitous younger sister. It was simply how the Wheel of Fortune worked: taking one person down as it raised another aloft.
Suddenly, the doors to the chamber opened again and members of Axel’s guard strode inside, accompanied by Adam Marangon, Nova’s own deputy.
“Prince Axel!” How easily the words tripped off the guard’s tongue, Nova thought. “We apologize for the interruption to your meeting, but we have grim news to share.”
Nova looked toward Axel. To his credit, he did not seem fazed by the words of the messenger. “Go on.”
The guard nodded. “Our borders have been broached in three locations by advancing troops from Paddenburg.”
“No!” Elias exclaimed, looking as if he had taken a body blow.
“How bad is it?” Axel inquired of the messenger.
The man cleared his throat. “The invaders have taken over several of the settlements and are advancing fast on the other two southern fronts.”
“All hope is lost,” Vera cried.
“Pull yourself together, woman!” Jonas snapped. “We aren’t defeated yet.”
“Which settlements?” Axel asked.
“Inderwick has fallen, and our troops to the south of Grenofen have been surrounded,” the messenger replied. “There has been significant loss of life. Paddenburg’s army has also breached our border with Tanaka in the west. Lindas and Vollerim have been razed. The barbarians are systematically moving from one settlement to the next and destroying everything in their wake.”
“Asta!” Nova cried. “What news from Galvaire?”
The messenger shook his head decisively. “Galvaire has also fallen into enemy hands.”
Nova felt giddy. She glanced across the table toward Elias but he had his head in his hands. She bit down on her lip, sending a prayer for Asta’s safety.
“Has the enemy reached Mellerad?” Axel demanded.
“No,” the messenger replied. “They have spread northward to Galvaire and south of Vollerim, creating a wide front line in the west. I expect that they won’t waste time before advancing eastward.”
“We must move fast!” Axel announced. “I will lead troops to Mellerad. It’s a former fort and our only western stronghold. The ancient stone walls and battlements will slow the advancing army but it cannot survive for long without reinforcements. Mellerad cannot be allowed to fall. If it does, there’s little hope of stopping our enemy from swarming across the central plains to the gates of this very palace.”
There was surprise around the table at his words, and it was Vera who summoned the words that were surely waiting on others’ lips too: “Have you forgotten how we rule this Princedom?” she asked. “In times of crisis, especially, it is the Twelve who make decisions together.” She rose to her feet, standing before Axel and folding her arms.
But Axel seemed unflustered. “Be assured, Vera, I know better than anyone the inner workings of Archenfield. Key decisions cannot always be picked over and ratified by this group—there is a time to sit around a table and debate one course of action over another, but this is not such a time. We need to defend our people and our Princedom. Now.”
Vera remained standing, as solid and unyielding as the tree from which the Prince’s Table had once been hewn. “I’m sure that I speak for all the Twelve when I say that we want the same thing, Axel. I just want to be part of those discussions.”
“As you wish,” Axel said. “If I make a tactical decision that you disagree with, speak up. I guarantee you that your objection will be noted.”
Vera sat down, her arms still folded tightly across her chest.
“What do you want me to do?” Elliot asked.
“You, Emelie and Lucas will ride to Grenofen,” Axel replied. “There are troops stationed at Dalhoen. Should Grenofen fall, then your priority is to defend the valley settlement of Pencador. It is the only route that Paddenburg’s army can take north from Grenofen. With Inderwick in enemy hands, it is most likely that Tonsberg will be the next settlement in their sights. It’s across the fjord from Woodlark and, if it falls, Paddenburg’s army will have a clear run north. Jonas and Morgan, you will ride south to defend Tonsberg and the east. Elias will ride with you as far south as Kirana, where the central field hospital is stationed.”
“Koel,” Axel said, turning now to his sister. “You will stay at the palace. As Edling, you are to make decisions in my stead. If our greatest fears are realized, and Mellerad, Tonsberg and Pencador are defeated, then you must decide if and when surrender becomes our only remaining option.”
Koel nodded, seeming at ease with such responsibility.
“Simeon and Vera,” Axel said. “You will also stay at the palace.”
“What good can I do here?” Father Simeon cried. “Our people are dying, Axel. They need a bearer of faith beside them before their final breath escapes them.”
“If our circumstances are as dire as you suggest, Father—and I pray that they are not—then your services are best utilized elsewhere.” Axel said. “I need you both here to support Koel. We cannot dispatch the entire leadership of Archenfield to the battle lines.”
“And what about me?” Nova inquired. “Do I even still have a role to play here?”
Axel turned toward her. “I mean no disrespect, Nova, but you have not recovered enough to join the fight. You too must stay. As soon as you are able, send a falcon to the east. If my cousin has had any success there, we’ll need as many troops as he is able to muster.”
“I understand,” she answered, unable to fault the logic behind Axel’s decision. Every one of them had a job to do now. Innocent people to the south and west were being slaughtered by a seemingly unstoppable enemy. She shuddered to think that Asta might have met such a fate. Nova glanced through the mullioned window toward the mountains of Woodlark. She prayed that Prince Jared had succeeded in his mission, and that he be granted a swift return. Archenfield was at war. And without help from the other river territories, the lives they had built here would be torn to shreds by the merciless talons of the invaders from Paddenburg.
THIRTY-SIX
The Canyon Palace, Rednow
KAI AND BRAM WERE NERVOUSLY PACING ABOUT Prince Rohan’s council chamber when Prince Rohan strode down the stairs, followed closely by Jared and Hal. Immediately, Kai and Bram turned to greet their comrades.
Jared swiftly embraced Bram’s gangling form, then turned to Kai. “It’s so good to see you,” he exclaimed. He felt the reassuring solidity of Jagger’s body against his own as they hugged. Stepping backward, he grinned sheepishly at both his fellows. “I’m sorry! We have ridden solidly from Larsson. I must reek to the heavens!”
Kai looked somber, but shook his head. “No, Your Majesty.”
“I shall have hot oil baths drawn for us all,” Prince Rohan announced. “And massages to swiftly soothe our aching limbs.”
“So,” Jared inquired brightly, “what news from Baltiska? How did you fare with Nina?”
Kai’s expression gave Jared his answer, even before he spoke. “I’m sorry,” Kai told him. “I did warn you that there was little possibility
of even gaining an audience with my cousin, let alone of concluding an alliance with him.” He bowed his head. “It gives me no satisfaction to confirm that this was indeed the case.”
Feeling the weariness of defeat, still Jared placed his hand on the Huntsman’s shoulder. “I’m very grateful for your efforts.”
“Do not be too downcast,” Rohan said, coming to Jared’s side. “You have succeeded in putting together an unprecedented alliance of four river territories—Archenfield, Woodlark, Rednow and Larsson. Trust me, Ciprian would only ever have proved a thorn in our sides.”
Jared nodded but found it hard, in his weary state, to put on a brave face. The unshakable truth of the matter was that Woodlark’s alliance was contingent upon his delivering Logan Wilde to Queen Francesca. The alliance with Larsson also waited upon this action. What if those in Archenfield would not allow this? Only the alliance Jared had concluded with Rohan had no such strings attached, but even this felt shaky. What if Rohan learned the truth and felt he had been lied to? Jared bitterly regretted not having been straight with Rohan from the start. He found himself looking into the bright eyes of a man who thought he had secured three strategic alliances when, in fact, he might not even have succeeded in concluding one of them.
Kai placed his hand on Jared’s shoulder in a way that told him bad news was about to follow. “I do not know if you have already been told, but there is more grim news from across the borders.” Kai’s voice was doleful.
“We have just ridden through the palace gates,” Rohan told him. “What news do you have?”
“Word from the Falconer was received this very day,” Kai said. “First, Paddenburg invaded Tanaka yesterday.”
“Tanaka?” Rohan said, his voice light. “Not Archenfield, Prince Jared. There is still time to—” His smile froze as Kai indicated he had more to say.
“My second piece of news is that Paddenburg’s army has now directly attacked Archenfield.”
Jared felt each of Kai’s brief bulletins stab him deep in his gut. It hardly mattered now whether he had secured the alliances or not. Events were moving at a dizzying speed. Paddenburg had not, after all, allowed them the full seven days of the ultimatum. Any sense of control he might have felt riding back toward Rednow all but ebbed away as Kai continued.
“They stormed our border in three places—in the south at Grenofen and Inderwick, as we correctly predicted they would, and in the west at Lindas. It was a highly coordinated attack.” Kai’s violet eyes met Jared’s. “The Princes of Paddenburg made good on their dark promise—only they attacked us a day ahead of the time specified within their ultimatum.”
Jared’s mind flashed back to the Council of Twelve’s meeting the day they had received the Paddenburg Ultimatum. Emelie Sharp had been quick to predict this very outcome. Even though Axel had been determined to send troops to protect the border, Jared, in his naïveté, had hoped that the Princes of Paddenburg might play by the rule book. But this wasn’t a game or a sport; it was war, and his lands were now host to an invading army.
Jared turned to Kai. “How far have they advanced?”
Kai’s eyes narrowed. “By the time the message was sent, the enemy had progressed northward along our western border as far as Galvaire. The settlement of Grenofen is surrounded and Inderwick has now been lost. Our troops held their own for several hours but were forced to draw back by the sheer number of Paddenburg’s force.”
“Things could have grown much worse since the message was written,” Hal pointed out.
“What loss of life has there been?” Jared asked.
“It is too early to say,” Kai answered. “The note from Nova simply indicated that the protocols of war had been employed.”
“Then we must act swiftly,” Jared told his comrades. “The Twelve will be moving to reinforce the front lines, which means that the palace and northern settlements will be left vulnerable in the event that Paddenburg’s army breaks through our defenses.”
Jared turned toward Rohan. He fully expected his voice to be tremulous when he spoke but, to his surprise, his words emerged surprisingly clear and resonant. “It seems that I must call upon you to make good on your promise of help.”
Rohan nodded. “You will have all the help you need,” he told Jared. “The bandits of Paddenburg will not steal your lands from under you.”
“You promised two thousand men and women,” Jared said, feeling that the only way to navigate through this crisis and the attendant maelstrom of emotions was to deal in hard facts. “How soon can you have them ready?”
Rohan squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “I will go and talk to my officers. I know that time is of the essence.”
Kai looked at Jared. “Two thousand troops is a significant offering,” he said. “But how did you fare in Larsson? What additional support can Prince Séverin bring to bear?”
Jared hesitated, waiting for Rohan to exit the room.
“Prince Séverin agreed to an alliance,” Jared answered at last. This time—damn it—he heard the lack of conviction in his voice.
“What kind of numbers are we talking?”
“In the decree, Séverin has pledged the support of three thousand troops, but”—Jared paused again—“there are terms attached to Séverin’s decree.”
“What terms?”
It was a fair question but Jared found himself hating Kai for asking it.
“What terms?” He heard Kai inquire once more.
“Séverin’s offer of an alliance is contingent upon us having a full accord with Woodlark,” Jared informed the others.
“And the Woodlark alliance”—Hal stepped in—“is dependent upon us handing over Logan Wilde to them.”
“Which,” said Kai, looking meaningfully at Jared, “we simply may not be able to do. Especially now that the Paddenburg army is over the border and hacking its way to the palace.” He shook his head. “Surely one of the first things they will do is spring Wilde from the Dungeons.” He shook his head glumly. “I failed to bring you the alliance with Baltiska. Now it appears the rest of this house of cards is coming tumbling down.”
Jared felt a severe chill at Kai’s ominous words. “I have secured three alliances,” he maintained.
“Yes,” Kai said, his tone gentle, even if his words were not. “But only one of them holds any real value.” He paused. “And surely it is only a matter of time before Prince Rohan learns the true state of affairs.”
“Prince Rohan cannot find out about this,” Jared snapped. “He cannot know about Woodlark, or that Prince Séverin has added an impossible clause.”
“How do you propose to keep that from him?” Hal’s voice was tinged with uncharacteristic panic. “He’s going to find out sooner or later. And when he does, we risk losing his two thousand troops.”
“I shall tell him,” Jared said. For days, he had known this was what he would have to do. “Rohan is a good man. I’ll lay all my cards on the table. Then there will be no more to fear.”
Saying it somehow helped him to steady himself, and Jared could see that he had once more asserted some level of control and authority within the company.
But it was to prove only fleeting.
Kai spoke up again: “Prince Jared, I am afraid there is one last piece of news that I must share with you, though I hate to even give voice to these words.” He broke off, dropping his head.
“What is it?” Jared asked him. “Spit it out! After everything else you have told me, with our enemies ranked against us, what else can hurt us now?”
Kai lifted his head once more. His eyes were tinged with tears. “Axel called for a vote of no confidence in your absence,” he said, his voice soft but neutral. “The remaining members of the Twelve voted in his favor. I’m so sorry, Prince Jared, but your cousin is now officially Prince of All Archenfield. He has deposed you.”
Jared felt the bitter import of Kai’s words. Days earlier, possibly even hours earlier, they might have had the power to fell him. Now, after so many body
blows, he felt numb. His cousin’s betrayal was hardly a surprise—its timing almost made him want to laugh at Axel’s cheek. But he was no more able to laugh than he was to cry or scream. He stood there, feeling as if he were not made of mortal flesh but of stone, like the statues of dead princes they had passed on their way to Rohan’s council chamber.
He was aware of Kai reaching a hand toward his shoulder and he felt it come to rest there. Then, suddenly, the absence of sensation was replaced by a sudden surge of energy from deep within him. Jared shook off the Huntsman’s hand and turned to face Kai, Hal and Bram.
They were all watching him, each face etched with the same expression of sorrow and pity.
“What do you expect me to do now?” he asked them. “To slump down at your feet or throw myself from the battlements of the Canyon Palace?” His eyes flamed with passion. “After all that I have come through—after all that we have come through together—is that how little you think of me?” None of them spoke. “Answer me, damn it! Is that what you think of me?”
“No, Prince Jared.” Bram was the first of his fellows to find words.
“Thank you, Bram,” Jared said.
“There are limits, however,” Kai began, “to what one man can endure. You have endured much over these past few weeks—”
“Yes.” Prince Jared’s voice cut over Kai’s. “Yes, I have. Any one of the challenges we have faced might have broken me—I’ll be the first to admit that. But, to my surprise, I am not broken. There is still much to be done. We need to ride back to court. My own position is of little care to me now—what matters is saving Archenfield, keeping its people safe.”