As if sensing her embarrassment, the prince glanced towards the floor. Seeing the candle she had dropped when he had startled her, he bent down and picked it up. Looking back at her and the single lit torch in the stairwell, he seemed to assess the situation quickly.
A moment later, he was standing on the step next to her, reaching over her head to easily remove the lit candle from its torch on the wall. She held her breath until he moved away to light the remaining five torches.
Not wanting to face him again, she dropped to her knees and resumed scrubbing the final step. When he had lit the last torch at the top, she heard his footsteps coming back down towards her. But even when his leather boots stopped within her eyesight, she did not raise her head.
He touched her shoulder lightly. “And you are?” His voice was quiet, gentle.
She stood and dipped into a curtsy, keeping her face pointed at the ground. “I’m sorry, my Lord. I have instructions not to talk to the royal family.” She dipped a curtsy again and dropped to her knees, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.
She continued scrubbing the same spot repeatedly, though it was now quite void of any dirt. After a few moments, his shoes disappeared and she heard the sound of the upper door closing softly.
Chapter 4
Onric slipped through the door and strode past his older brother, who was leaning against the wall.
“Waiting for me?” Onric muttered, expecting a teasing jab.
“Well, yes,” Ian responded, matching his stride. “Shall we continue our conversation?”
“Ah... right.” Onric brought his mind back to their previous conversation.
“I know you feel the weight of this responsibility keenly—”
“As should you,” Onric said, cutting his brother off.
“I do—you know that. But I’m also not going to risk expulsion from our only source of protection by blatantly disrespecting their laws.”
Onric stopped, spinning around to face his older brother. “Then why did you come yesterday?”
Ian reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Because I’m also not above escaping the castle to spend some time with my favorite brother.” He glanced quickly around the hallway. “Don’t tell the others.” He winked.
Onric took a calming breath. His emotions were still swirling. He had not necessarily planned on seeing the young woman from last night again, but suddenly she was scrubbing his stairs. “They have had eons of time to figure this out. Wearetheir first defense.”
“They are detailing their findings at this session. We’ll know what the plan is as soon as Mum and Dad get back.”
“Unless they do the same as they did last session.”
“They won’t. We will be prepared. We are a kingdom of warriors; our knights are better trained than they ever have been. We’ve always been the first line of defense, and we won’t fail now.”
Ian was the second-in-command of all the troops in Iseldis, which was regarded as the military might of the five kingdoms. Of course he was satisfied with their preparation. “You... have something to do.” Onric deflated. As the second son, he was the captain of the castle guard, though it was mostly an honorary title. Their real leader was an old knight who had served under his grandfather.
“If it makes you feel any better, there is one thing I’m failing at.” Ian lost his smile.
“Mum’s not here to berate you about that, so why do it to yourself?” Onric resumed his walk down the hall.
“It’s not as though I want to take over the kingdom by myself.”
“You’re only six and twenty, you’ve got plenty of time.”
“Unless Mum and Dad get killed in the Return.”
Onric elbowed his brother. “Don’t joke about things that could be true.”
“It’s not true, and it won’t be true. How about you? You could woo that lovely servant girl you can’t keep your eyes off of and divert Mum’s attention from me for a while...”
Onric refused to give that comment the dignity of a response. He had not even realized how much he had appreciated the simple, direct conversation with the maid in question until he had seen the same woman react to his status. His chest tightened at the memory of her reserved face and averted gaze in the stairwell.
He entered his room, Ian still right behind him. Their younger brother, Aden, was lying on Onric’s bed while scratching the ears of a very excited young puppy.
