I kept a polite expression and nodded. Anxiety made his mouth run like a river.
“And what about your captain?” I said as I reached the top step. “He could certainly play the violin well.”
Brandt tugged on the iron handle of the heavy wooden door so we could slip through. “Oh, Captain is good at the violin. Best I’ve ever heard.”
The violin was a logical choice for a noble son, but how did a noble son end up in the Bloodstone army? He should have graduated from Heaston Academy for Young Gentlemen unless he was kicked out and sent to the military academy.
The memory of Riyan’s smooth voice entered my mind. “Serafina, nice boys don’t get sent to the military academy.”
If the captain was not a nice boy, maybe polite conversation was not the way to win him over.
Surviving after stepping off the edge of a cliff certainly made the idea of enchanting the mysterious noble son less frightening.
Brandt led me into the foyer and the warm smell of the keep entered my nose, reminding me of Hilda’s loving embrace the first time I entered the fortress. I swallowed my sadness and grounded myself in my task. If I ensured Captain Mydina’s loyalty, by whatever means, I was one step closer to freeing Hilda’s grandson from the Queen of the Giants.
We entered the dining hall. A group of maids stood in front of the long dining table, the captain of the Bloodstone army facing them on the other side.
“I don’t care what you do, just get her to calm down!” the captain huffed. “We just finished burying her parents and I amnotdigging another grave—”
Brandt cleared his throat. “Captain, we have an issue.”
The line of maids parted as they turned toward us, revealing Captain Mydina’s face. Before, I had been too distracted by the long scar that cut between his yellow eyes to figure out who he was, but I had finally put a face to the name I had suspected.
I had heard rumors about him—he was just a few years ahead of Erik in school when he had been thrown out of the House of Mydina and disinherited. What adelightfulsurprise to find him.
I could use his sordid past to my advantage.
My white flame flickered to life. Daigen had said to follow my heart’s desire to get what I wanted, and my heart’s desire was to keep my head.
Captain Mydina’s eyes fell to the golden House pins on my chest, then they raised to Erik and Endre on my shoulders.
“Leave us,” Captain Mydina clipped. “All of you.”
The maids quickly shuffled away to the nearest staircase in the corner of the room, but Brandt lingered behind. “But Captain, she is a…a…”
“Sorceress,” I finished with a cool voice and a smile. “And your new Baron. We have much to discuss.”
Captain Mydina’s eyes narrowed before they cut to Brandt. “Shut the gate. Make sure no one goes in or out until I get a handle on this.”
Brandt saluted and left us alone in the dining hall.
My whisper skated over my lips as I turned my head slightly to Erik. “Remember him?”
A low croak of assent escaped Erik’s throat. Captain Mydina spread his hands on top of the table and glared with suspicion at Erik.
“Can I trust him?” I whispered.
To my surprise, Erik gently preened a strand of hair in front of my ear.
I pressed my lips into a firm line. Erik likely meant “yes,” but he was more rigid about morality than any man I had ever known. What did Erik sense in the captain that made him overlook his past?
Captain Mydina’s gaze moved from Erik to Endre. “You must have caused quite a disturbance bringingthoseinto my fortress.”
My white flame flared around my heart.Hisfortress?
“My…companions from the mountain bring no harm.” I took calm breaths so my indignation did not smolder into an inferno. “And did I hear you refer to this place asyourfortress?”
The corner of Captain Mydina’s mouth flicked up. “Nikkolas had me running most of the fortress’s operations for him. He wanted someone to take charge in case his heir was…unable.” He shrugged slightly. “And look where we are now.”
