“You don’t need to see him.”
“Alrik. Where is the Sacrati?”
Another indecisive moment before Alrik jerked his chin in the direction of the back hallway, the one that led to the kitchen and storage rooms. Finnvid didn’t listen to whatever words of warning Alrik tried to give him; he couldn’t hear past the blood rushing through his veins.
Finnvid strode forward and didn’t stop or even slow down, not while his stomach clenched, not while this strange mix of cold and heat washed over him. He reached the half-open door of a storage room and possibly he staggered a little from the sudden dizziness when he heard a mumbled, guttural curse in a voice that sounded like— No, he wouldn’t hide behind a dream. He had toknow.
But then he heard his mother’s light voice and made himself freeze. He needed to ensure that he didn’t make things worse. He wasn’t a child, he was a man, so he needed to be strong, and responsible. And until he convinced his family of his mental fitness, he needed to be very, very careful. So he calmed himself and pretended he had no particular interest in the man lying in the storage room. Whoever he was, he was just a fellow traveler.
Gunnald’s voice was low and close, as if he’d come over toward the doorway. “It’s a miracle he survived.”
“Not exactly.” His mother spoke a little louder than Gunnald, as if she didn’t care who heard her. “He’s the one who made it up the gallery stairs. At close range, the archers didn’t have the advantage. The bastard killed half a flight of our best men before enough guards got in to stop him. It’s good you’re back, Gunnald, because clearly our forces need your strong hand in training; this was supposed to be a precision attack, and instead the savages almost survived! They were close to winning the battle, and then what would have happened, with a band of enraged Sacrati loose in our castle?”
“They’re great warriors.” Gunnald didn’t seem grudging in his praise. But he was more reluctant when he added, “And there are a couple hundred more of them in Windthorn. The conditions in that valley . . . I wish you’d waited to consult, your grace. I don’t agree that the Torians will just believe the story you send back, and I’m not sure it would matter regardless. If we’ve killed Sacrati, we’ve proved ourselves dangerous. And Torians are not the sort to let a dangerous neighbor sit peacefully and get stronger.”
“You forget your place,” the queen mother said sharply. “You’ve been away for too long. You need to trust your king, and his advisors. We know things about the Torian situation that you do not, and we have made our decisions based on our superior knowledge and understanding.”
Finnvid knew he should listen more and work out a plan, but he couldn’t wait any longer to know. So he pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning on and eased the door open. His eyes glanced over his mother, then he addressed himself to Gunnald. “A Sacrati survivor?” He was proud of how level his voice sounded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Who?” Finnvid asked, trying to act as though the world didn’t depend on Gunnald’s answer.
And Gunnald, bless him, turned a little, giving Finnvid an excuse to move with him so his face wasn’t visible to his mother when Gunnald said, “It’s Theos, sir. He’s in rough shape, but still alive. At least for now.”
Theos. Of course it was Theos: the most aggressive, the strongest. Finnvid kept his body upright and made himself nod as if this was just another interesting bit of news. He wouldn’t let himself even glance in the direction of the man on the floor, not with his mother watching him. He bit the inside of his cheek, drove his nails into his palms, and fought to remain in control. When he had his expression schooled into something approaching calm, he turned to his mother. “I’d like to speak to you and Alrik, as soon as possible.”
“We have rather a lot to deal with currently.”
He shouldn’t be surprised by her dismissal. He’d always been the lesser son, the baby, and for most of his life he’d been glad of the freedom he gained from their lack of interest. His mother and brother were a team, running the valley after the old king’s death; Finnvid had been left to his studies. He’d known he didn’t have their respect.
It would be so easy to quit. To retreat to his rooms, banish the servants, and sob his gratitude and shock and sorrow to the skies. But Theos wasn’t safe yet. Theos needed him to be strong. “I appreciate that you’re busy. However, Alrik sent me to Windthorn because he wanted me to become more involved in affairs of state, and I worked hard during my time with the Torians to gather intelligence. I have important information to share.”
There was a little sound, just a rustle of fabric, and his eyes instinctively tracked it to its source. He tried not to gasp at Theos’s bloodied face, or the way his eye was swollen shut, and made himself meet the furious stare from the Sacrati’s one good eye. Theos didn’t speak Elkati. He wouldn’t have known exactly what Finnvid had said. But he’d have heard the tone, and seen Finnvid standing there unharmed and wearing fine clothes. Theos angrily jerked his arm, and it was only then Finnvid realized the man was chained to the wall.
Finnvid did what he had to. He sneered down at Theos and said in Torian, “Yes, I know, I’m a dirty Elkati spy. You hate me. Iknow, Torian. I just don’tcare.” He turned away from the rage on Theos’s face and shrugged at his mother, shifting back to Elkati to say, “They’re great warriors, but not a sophisticated people. It wasn’t hard to learn about their politics, and the tensions in their society. I think there are ways for us to take advantage of these weaknesses.” And then the important part. “Alive, this man is a possible tool for our use. If he dies, we lose that potential.”
His mother examined him, and he kept his gaze level. He’d been lying for his whole life, deceiving his family and everyone around him, and he was good at it. His skill might have hurt Theos in Windthorn, but in Elkat it might save him, as long as Finnvid could keep his cool.
“He could be useful,” his mother admitted. “Possibly.”
“Easy enough to kill him later. Very difficult to bring him back to life.”
She narrowed her eyes at that, and Finnvid realized he’d gone too far. Usually his flippancy would be no surprise, but it had been less than an hour since she’d seen him raving and screaming as he was dragged to his quarters; the change had been too drastic.
So he made his smile abit more tremulous. “I really should explain what I learned. But maybe you’re right; maybe it could wait. I’m exhausted.” He tried to look ashamed and apologetic. “This wasn’t the homecoming I wanted, but I’m glad to be here anyway. Maybe I should sleep, and we can talk in the morning? I just wanted to be sure the Torian wasn’t wasted. I think we need to keep him alive for now, and then we can decide what to do with him later.”
She nodded slowly, still cautious, but believing him. He hoped.
“Yes, go and rest. You’re right, this isn’t the celebration we should have had. Soon, we will feast.”
So Finnvid turned to go and saw Gunnald watching him closely. He had a feeling the older man had seen through his charade; it was lucky that Gunnald had recently been rebuked for speaking his mind, so he likely wouldn’t share his suspicions.
Finnvid left the room without even looking at Theos. If they’d been alone, he’d have thrown himself on the cold flagstones, torn at his clothes to make bandages for Theos’s wounds; he would have licked the man clean if there’d been no water to wash him. And he’d almost certainly have cried, and begged forgiveness, and if Theos granted it, Finnvid would have stayed with him for as long as he could. He’d have stayed with him forever.
But they weren’t alone. So he walked calmly out of the room, then down through the kitchen and up the back stairs so he could avoid seeing his brother. He wondered where the other Torians were. They’d been his companions on the journey as well, and he’d invited them into the castle to eat and rest. But the only room large enough for all of them was the Great Hall, and it was being used as a field hospital. He was tired, but he forced himself to turn around to find someone who would know more.
He was startled to see that Gunnald had been following him. “I wanted to be sure you were safe,” the older man said quickly. Then he stepped closer. “And I wanted to know what I should do.”
