Page 62 of Degradation

“Forgive me. If I hadn’t—” Footfalls silenced me.

I looked toward the door through which the servant had disappeared, and an older, exceptionally attired man appeared. His fear and guilt felt different from Eadric’s. Sadness and regret blanketed him instead of desperation.

“Your majesties,” he said, bowing deeply to Garron and Eadric. “Your brother awaits you in the drawing room.” He motioned toward the door, and Garron led the way. I found it odd that Eadric and I followed with the man trailing behind.

When we entered an extravagantly decorated drawing room, I saw Liam pacing before an unlit hearth. He stopped short at the sight of us and flushed. Like his brothers, he was flooded with worry and fear. His knowing gaze took in Eadric’s state, but he didn’t say anything until the well-dressed man closed the doors behind us.

“What happened?” Liam asked.

“The guard took Edmund for his pretty face,” Eadric said.

Liam swore under his breath and faced his brothers. “Brandle went to meet a new acquaintance and never arrived.”

“Where are Daemon and Darian?” I asked.

“They went to the woodcutters,” Garron said.

“We need to warn them not to return home,” I said.

“Why?” Liam asked.

“What happened this morning?—“

A knock interrupted me, and I paused to look back at the door as it opened.

“Forgive the intrusion,” the well-dressed man said. “I thought you would like to wash.”

He waved servants in with several washbasins and cloths. They retreated just as quickly.

“Thank you, Philip,” Liam said. “We will require your assistance again in a moment.”

“I will wait in the hall for your summons.”

The man withdrew once more, and Eadric went to the washbasins.

“What about this morning?” he asked as he wiped away the sheep dung from his brow.

“Pogwid said that when I lost control, it was like I lit a signal fire for the queen,” I said, struggling to keep what I felt within my well.

“We cannot return home,” Garron said. “Kellen saw that guards have already arrived.”

“Can you see if they’ve taken Daemon and Darian?” Liam asked.

“There are too many people in one place for me to differentiate between…” Yet, as I spoke and looked, I saw that wasn’t true. Patrols now waited in the empty homes along our road. Two people stood just inside the cobbler’s home, and one waited in the backroom. Likely the cobbler himself. In the woodcutter’s home, two people waited just inside the door. No others.

Rather than presume the worst, I hoped for the best.

“Where do woodcutters go to work?” I asked.

“Daemon and Darian convinced him to go to the edge of the Dark Forest yesterday. They may have returned there today.”

I stretched my sense further afield and found three people at the edge of the forest. Two had a vibration that resonated with the energy within my well. My relief was profound.

“They are away from Adele, near the edge of the forest,” I said.

“I will go warn them,” Eadric said.

“No. I will go,” Garron said. “The woodcutter will want to return to his home, and it’s better if he doesn’t remember the men he briefly employed.”

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