Page 6 of Blood Tribute

“My dear, we both know you have run out of unmarried knights to court you. Who else is there, and how could you manage to secure him in two days?”

She couldn’t. But in that amount of time, she could poison and excardiate a Hesperine.

“You cannot build a palace in two days, either,” Sir Virtus scoffed. “What is all the scaffolding in the corridors?”

“Some of the repairs cannot wait any longer. We’ve already had to put them off for too long, with skilled builders and materials in such short supply. Every noble house in Tenebra is scrambling to rebuild after the last round of feud sieges.”

“What did I tell you about your improper preoccupation with architecture? The journals of your ancestors who built the fortress are entirely inappropriate reading material for a lady. If you devoted as much effort to weaving as you do to studying the fortifications, you would have found a husband by now.”

She knew her obsession with the fortress was one of her weaknesses. But at least it was a useful one that kept Castra Gloria from falling down around their ears. She made certain not to babble about it to her suitors. Not that it had mattered.

Sir Virtus sighed. “You must understand the Order’s stipulation. Castra Gloria was granted to your distant forefather in recognition of his deeds, but his heirs were entitled to hold it only as long as they continued to supply knights or wives to the Order.”

She bit her tongue and waited out his lecture.

“If only I were your uncle by blood, so we could keep the fortress in the family. But your father was my brother-in-arms. In his absence, it is my sacred duty to guide you. I have done my best, but you are already twenty-four, and we all know you lackthe forbearance and modesty to be a holy knight’s lady. It is time to accept that you will never marry.”

How dare he? He was not her father. And she was not a fool. She knew who stood to gain the most if Castra Gloria reverted to the Order’s possession.

Sir Virtus lived and breathed for the Order—and for his position in it. Her family’s relics and strategic keep would bring power and prestige to the holy knights and thus, to Sir Virtus.

Nora had always suspected he envied her father’s accomplishments. The way he had been circling like a vulture since her parents’ deaths only confirmed it. He already acted like he lived here, arriving whenever he pleased, ordering her servants about as if he was their master.

Without invitation, he knelt in the place where her father had always prayed. “The other knights will arrive on Autumn Equinox to rededicate the fortress to the Order. But do not fear for your future, my dear. You know I will always watch over you. You can come to live in my stronghold, under my guidance.”

For once, Nora didn’t have to fight to hold in an unwise outburst. Her throat closed. The air left her lungs. She huddled in her shawl, the phantom pains slashing over her skin.

This was the future he envisioned for her. Her family legacy would end with an embarrassment the Order preferred to forget. She would lose her good name, her home, and any shred of power she had over her own fate. She would exist under his watchful eye for the rest of her life.

Sir Virtus had saved her from the Hesperine who had murdered her parents. She might owe him her life, but not her obedience. Her home. Her legacy.

She would have to carry out the rest of her plan under his nose. She knew what a desperate idea it was. There had only been a handful of dames in the history of the Order. But despiteher shortcomings, she would make her parents proud. Even if they were not here to see it.

She would hold her castle.

q

Nora crept alongthe corridor, keeping to the shadows between the torches. Her scaffolding lay in piles of dismantled timbers. How quickly Lord Virtus had ordered it taken down. How willingly the servants who had known her all her life had hastened to obey him.

At the open doorway to the shrine, she pressed against the wall, staying clear of the light that spilled out. Paper rustled. Sir Virtus was still awake, helping himself to her family’s books? She had thought he would be abed by now.

She crossed to the far side of the corridor where the glow didn’t quite reach, but the shadows were not deep enough. Her heart pounding, she ducked behind the remains of the scaffolds. One stride. Two. Three.

She was past the open doorway. She straightened, slipping into the gloom, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then a hand closed over her shoulder.

She swallowed a shriek, halting in her tracks. The hand spun her around. She looked up into the shadowed face of Sir Virtus.

“Honora.” His low, quiet rebuke sent a chill down her spine. “What is a holy knight’s daughter doing out of her chambers at this unholy hour?”

Nora knew she wore her guilt and anger on her face for him to see. Hiding her reactions was not a skill she possessed. Her only hope was to construct a lie that matched her expression.

“I came to check on the repairs. I knew you would disapprove, so I waited until after dark. How could you take down the scaffolding, Uncle Virtus?”

He made a derisive sound. “Get your head out of your diagrams, girl. Imagine what people will think if you wander the halls at night, as if out for a tryst!”

“Of course, Uncle Virtus. I’ll go straight back to bed.” She ducked out of his hold and turned back the way she had come.

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