Riyan played with the tail of one of his braids. “Why Prince Haldar? There are no more giants to slay.”
Suddenly Alastar’s breath was on my neck again. I swallowed and shoved the thought of him away.
Alastar could take my eternity, but he would not take my last day of peace.
I sat in Riyan’s lap and kissed his cheek. “There are always giants. Most of them just live in our heads.”
When Riyan and I returned to the Bloodstone Fortress keep, Evereon and Rosaline were waiting for us.
Riyan opened his arms to Rosaline as soon as he saw her sitting in the cavernous dining hall. Despite Riyan still wearing only Daigen’s borrowed cloak around his hips, Rosaline ran across the room with no hesitation and crashed into a hug.
I smiled as the two friends reunited. At least Riyan would still have Rosaline when Derrick left the fortress with me.
Annalisa soon came over with a big lump of fur in her arms. With Hyton Palace erupting into chaos after we escaped, Rosaline and Evereon could not leave without Magnus the Bedwarmer.
The din of impatient soldiers filled the hall. The entire Bloodstone army was crammed along the sides of the hall, waiting for us to arrive.
Brietta parted through the soldiers to join us when Evereon stepped over with Erik at his side.
My brother gave me a look I instantly understood—he had told Evereon about my bargain.
Evereon gave Brietta a respectful nod. “Duchess.” He turned to me. “Baron.”
I looked him in the eyes and shook my head. I could not accept the title of Baron, not when the entire Bloodstone army would see me kneel before the Duke of Lycaster as soon as the next sunrise.
He would have to hold onto the House pins for a little longer.
Evereon’s eyes flared for only a moment before Annalisa’s voice cut through the tension. “Hello, it is I,nothing,with no title. Nice to meet you.”
She glared at him with Magnus still in her arms. Instead of apologizing for not addressing her, Evereon flashed her a vulpine smile. “Lovely to meet you too,nothing.”
Her glare sharpened but Evereon turned back to me. “You might be deathless, but the rest of us aren’t. We have to make a plan.”
I swallowed the bitter guilt that I had again failed the North as Riyan took my hand. We sat on the bench of the long dining table and listened as Evereon stood in the center of the room and addressed the army.
He started with the story of their escape. He and Rosaline had taken a ferry across Odeneye lake before the Lycaster army gathered at its shores, but they passed beneath a soldier hanging from the gatehouse as they ran from the palace. Evereon said his eyes had been gouged out before he had been executed.
My blood ran cold. I never thought Derrick would go that far.
Rosaline leaned over to Annalisa and reassured her that they left Merri in a safe location in the city. Annalisa let out a relieved breath and scratched Magnus’s ears.
Brietta sat next to me and listened intently, scribbling notes on parchment with a piece of charcoal.
We learned the caravan that I had sent to distribute food to the starving peasants of Ravenwood had returned, only myfather had not come back to the fortress with them. The soldiers reported that as soon as Father heard the Lycaster army was approaching, he abandoned their party and disappeared.
I never thought my father would be such a coward.
From what Evereon reported, Derrick had horses, foot soldiers, and support of the Barons—all to bring the Duchess of Lycaster back to the palace.
Endre leaned on his knee with a dueling sword resting at his hip. “So what do we have to fight back? Weapons? Supplies?”
Evereon folded his arms. “That all depends if the wall is fixed.”
“Give me and some men a few hours,” Riyan grumbled at my side. His muscles tensed. “I can move stone bricks faster than you can blink.”
“Then it becomes a waiting game,” Evereon said. He scanned the soldiers gathered in the hall. “Horses and arrows do nothing against stone walls and the Lycaster army has no siege weapons. They’ll block the gate for a few days and see if they can starve us out.”
Brietta wrote “negotiation” on her parchment and underlined it.
