Page 54 of The Duke and the Disciple

“And your wife, wulf?” Aesylt gaped between the two. “Are you banishing her as well?”

Drazhan didn’t answer.

“Imryll, youknowthis isn’t right,” Aesylt pleaded. “You don’t have to leave your own home.”

“We’re already not in our own home, Aes.” Imryll sounded exhausted. “And I have to think of more than my wishes.”

“Wynters don’trun. We didn’t run when the king’s men came for us, and we will not run when one of our own is the trouble.”

Drazhan slammed his hands onto the table, shooting to his feet. “And look how that ended, Aesylt. Ota, Hraz,dead.Our friends’ allies, way too fucking many of them, bleeding in the streets, on pikes, discarded like trash. Is that what you want to see? Is that what staying means to you?”

Aesylt’s face darkened several shades. Her eyes narrowed, glossing in fury. “And what would you know about it, wulf? You weren’t even here.” Wood shrieked on stone as she shoved back from the table and stormed from the room.

Drazhan retreated to his chair slowly, breathing out as he lowered himself, clearly rattled by her words. “I hope I do not have to explain to the rest of you why this is necessary.”

Rahn was still watching the archway Aesylt had fled through. Her anger had incited his, but he had no choice but to temper it to stay and hear the rest of Drazhan’s proclamation. “If you feel it is, then it is. But she’ll need?—”

“Aesylt will have anything she needs. You can...” Drazhan flapped his hand. “Continue your research in Wulfsgate. I only care that she’s safe.”

Rahn turned toward Imryll, whose silence seemed intentional. “And you? Where will you go?”

“We discussed the options available,” she said quietly, “and Wulfsgate offers both the best protection for Aleksy and me.. and the best resources for an expecting mother. So I’ll be coming with you.”

“Imryll.” Rahn tried to smile, but it turned out half-formed from the weight of the revelations. “Blessings to you both.”

Imryll mouthed a halfhearted thank-you.

Drazhan’s lips twitched. “I’ll celebrate when she’s safe. When they all are.”

“Their son isalive.Awake. Why would they still be pushing for war?” Rahn asked.

“My husband likes his secrets, but I do not.” Imryll transferred Aleksy to her other shoulder. “They were on Draz’s father about a union long before the Nok Mora. They say Ezra Wynter promised Aesylt to Valerian, but there’s nothing in writing and no witness to any of it. But they believe they’re entitled to her, and the situation with Val seems to have accelerated their urgency.”

“Why do they want her so badly that they’re willing to risk war?”

“They want my seat,” Drazhan said, answering for Imryll. “They want Fanghelm. They think a union between the two oldest families will win support to their cause, and their effort is already gaining support.”

“And then how does it end? Not with Aesylt married.” Rahn scoffed.

One of Imryll’s eyes squinted. “Aesylt will wed no one she hasn’t chosen for herself.”

“She’ll never wed a Barynov,” Drazhan muttered. His eyes closed as he inhaled. “Even if she chooses one.” He rapped the table with his knuckles and whipped his gaze Rahn’s way, his eyes hard and narrow. “You want to know how this ends? They either renounce their false claim on my sister, both on her hand and their smear against her reputation, and turn Marek over for justice, or they see firsthand how much less merciful I am than the king. I don’t fear war, and neither do they. My sister is your charge now, Rahn. You do anything it takes to keep her from putting herself in danger.Whateverit takes. And when this is over—and itwillend—I’ll be indebted to you. Anything you want from me is yours. I couldn’t refuse.”

They departedWitchwood Cross at nightfall. Aesylt kept to her side of the plush carriage, opting for silence. She was practically swimming in the layered teal gown Imryll had given her for the journey, chosen for presentation to the lord of the Northerlands, who Rahn doubted would care at all about what they were wearing when they showed up in the middle of the night as refugees.

He’d been working up to the words all afternoon. Once said, they could not be taken back, and though he didn’t expect to regret them, thewayin which they were said—the precise nature of the message—mattered. What he said would set the tone for their entire partnership going forward. It would be the difference between sealing their bond and sundering it.

Rahn pulled the thin curtain back and peered into the night. There was nothing to see but dark, tall trees and snow. So much snow. The South Compass Road was serviceable, even in the winter seasons, but there were no other safe paths. It would take them several more hours to reach Wulfsgate than it would in springtide, when the hunter’s trails were clear.

Behind them was a carriage carrying Imryll and Aleksy, and beyond, a caravan of Drazhan’s men. A few would stay behind with them, the rest returning as soon as the group was settled. There were more than they needed on a good day, less than required on a bad one, and a road ambush had crossed Rahn’s mind more than once. But if their litter was too large, it would draw the very eyes they needed to avoid while traveling under night’s cover.

“I have something to say,” Rahn ventured aloud. His choice of words, the same ones she’d used to issue her apology, were intentional. He saw from the sharp slant of her curious eyes, subtly turned his way, that she knew it. “About our research.”

“They don’t have an observatory. Even the Wintergarden is... The village is too busy. Wulfsgate is not the best place to watch the stars. We’d need to travel up Torrin’s Pass, and there’s no chance of it being approved,” she said, turning her face back to the plush cushion.

“I wasn’t talking about astronomy.”

Aesylt sat up straight. Her chin tucked down in soft alarm.

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