Page 49 of Bearing Secrets
Kirell looked like he’d bitten into something rotten but he didn’t fight what she was saying. “I need to go talk to the guards. The Queen wants me to start the job now.” He looked around the room. “Are you going to be okay by yourself for a few hours? There’s a tv and everything. We have cable and the specialty channels.”
“I’m just gonna sleep,” she said, wandering over to the bed, wishing she felt comfortable enough to strip out of her dress immediately, instead of waiting until he’d left. “I’m pretty tired.”
“Okay. I’ll be back soon. We’ll talk about the ceremony tomorrow and what will be expected of you.”
“Sure.” She sat heavily on the edge of the bed, staring at the red and gold patterned carpet.
Kirell took a breath, sounding like he was about to protest, but whatever it was died on his exhale. “I’ll be back in a bit,” he said instead.
She waited until the door panel clicked closed on the wall, before ripping off the dress and pulling on the sweats that were now dry. Sleep wasn’t going to happen. Not now. There was too much for her to think about.
I shouldn’t hurt this much…
22
The word went out through the House. The Captain wanted to review his guards.
Hisguards. They were Kirell’s guards now, and by the end of tomorrow, that would be official on all levels. All at once the mantle of responsibility settled about his shoulders, weighing heavily on him.
This was no small task. Usually, when a Title Holder died or relinquished their position, the transition was smooth, with everything in order to help onboard the newcomer. The senior members in that section would shoulder a bit more workload while everyone adjusted, but in the end, there was very little in the way of disruption.
That’s not going to happen here.
Kirell was inheriting an office devastated by the rebellion. The guards were the best-trained warriors in the House, with the exception of the Queen’s Own. He liked to think they were all loyal to the House as well, but they weren’t. More of them than he’d like to think about had gone down in the internal fighting.
Now, a unit that should be upward of three dozen strong barely numbered fifteen. It didn’t take long for them to assemble in the training room on the second sub-basement. He watched them from his new office as they entered in ones and twos, milling around, talking to one another. The cameras were wired for audio but he wasn’t going to eavesdrop. Nobody would be saying anything interesting right now.
They’d be wondering what the meeting was about. They would be talking about him, too, all the typical gossip. None of them out there, if they were traitors, was going to offer themselves up in this environment. Accidents happened of course, but anyone who had been committed to the traitorous cause but remained unfound was very good at hiding their true feelings. It was how they were still alive today.
Kellas came in at a bit of jog, still dressed in his forestry uniform, having been out walking the grounds. He’d had the farthest to come, and now he was there, all fifteen guards were present and accounted for. It was time to go out there and talk to them.
So why are you still hiding in your office?
The mantle he’d been shouldered with shouldn’t have shackled him down, but he was having problems stepping out of the room. Once he did that, once he formally presented himself to the guards, then everything that had been verbal until now would become real. His nomination to the position of Captain, and his assuming that role; there would be no going back.
“You’re going to be fine,” he whispered, trying to boost his own confidence.
Natalia wasn’t the only one feeling like she wasn’t worthy. Ever since his Queen had said she needed him to assume this position, he’d dreaded actually doing so. What if he wasn’t good enough? The rest of the House, those loyal to Ursa, needed him to be the best Captain they’d had in a long time. There wasn’t time to spare.
They still had traitors amongst their midst, and if Kaelyn’s feelings were right, then before too long the House would have something else to deal with. Something bigger, that would require all of them. Kirell needed to play his part in helping reassemble the fractured House, but could he do so? He would step out in front of those men,hismen, bearing nothing but secrets.
That was his other problem with the entire situation. Kirell was out therelyingto the guards, by pretending like he had the right to be the Captain of High House Ursa. Everyone knew the rule; to be a Title Holder, you needed to be mated. He wasn’t mated. Therefore, he wasn’t eligible. It was a simple as that. Black and white, really.
Your Queen needs you.
That was the crux of the issue. Kirell was loyal to the throne, and to the woman who now sat upon it. She was his rightful ruler, having broken no laws by taking over when her mate was killed. So how could he deny the rightful ruler when she told him that the House needed him to be where he was, even if it meant breaking the rules?
It put him in an uncomfortable position, and Kirell wasn’t sure it was one he could continue on with. What if word got out about what he was doing? If Klebra found out, it would all be over of course, but the guards were a different issue.
To function as a unit, they needed to trust one another implicitly. All fifteen of them had to believe in Kirell as their Captain with everything they had, or else the system would break down. He did not wish to betray their loyalty and respect like that.
But what else can I do? The House needs a Captain, and you’re it until someone says otherwise.
On the screen, the door opened again. Kirell frowned, wondering who else was coming. Was the Queen here to review her remaining guards? He panicked and strode out of his office at the double before seeing anything but a vague figure on the screen.
“Captain on deck!” one of the senior guardsmen shouted, and all fifteen men slammed to attention.
Kirell barely noticed. “What are you doing here?” he growled in a low voice, coming to a halt in front of Natalia. “How did you find this place?”
