Page 72 of Knightfall
Meeker stopped. He froze, torn between his anger and a bit of doubt. But anger won out. The old man pointed a finger at me. “Yaar hosting our enemy.”
“Enemy? There’s been one confirmed instance of aggression this past year, I believe,” I stared Meeker down, grateful for all the tutoring sessions with Declan.
“One confirmed, but you and I both know thaar’s been many more than that. Thaar an enemy.”
Connor and Quinn strode up behind me at that point. And Connor did what Connor does best. He read Meeker’s emotions and played the old man like a fiddle.
“You’re right, Meeker. We are bringing Abbas here. But they say to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. What an opportunity to get one of the princes, on his own, away from his brothers, ripe for … questioning,” Connor raised an eyebrow.
A slow, devious smile spread across Meeker’s face. “Ahh. Now I see.” He strolled toward us.
Connor clapped an arm across Meeker’s shoulders. “Come, have a drink with me, and we can discuss everything we aim to find out during this ‘visit.’”
Meeker rubbed his hands together like a play-actor portraying a villain onstage. He nearly forgot to bow to my mother on his way out.
“Apologies, Yaar Majesty,” Meeker’s hair flipped forward when he bowed.
I turned to my mother, who maintained pretense until Meeker was out of the room. But she collapsed onto her pillows as soon as he was gone.
“Are you alright?” I rushed to her, ignoring my fathers’ protests.
I grabbed her hand and held it, in a way I hadn’t since I was eight.
Mother coughed. Peter dabbed at her mouth with a handkerchief. He folded it over, but I could see it was speckled with blood.
She took a drink of water from a cup Gorg held out. And then she inclined her head to me. “You two offset each other well.”
I pinched my lips together. “He doesn’t think so.”
She shook her head. “You always have. You always will. It’s meant to be.”
“He thinks you spelled him to love me—”
Her hacking cough cut me off. Blood didn’t just drip from her lips that time. It sprayed out. I was forced backward. I reached for a handkerchief, but Gorg waved me off. “Go, little one. Let us take care of her.”
My heartstrings were already stretched tight from the confrontation with Connor earlier. Seeing how frail my mother was just reminded me the end was near. And my chest grew as taught as a violin. It felt as if one more thing, one more tiny minuscule thing, would be all it would take for me to snap and break.
Quinn took my arm and led me away. He could tell my mind was elsewhere, because soon, the woodland creatures popped out of the walls to play.
We passed several doors with woodpeckers chewing the wood and spraying bits onto the floor. And at the end of mother’s hall, a guard stood on duty. Another woodpecker hammered steadily at his helmet. That finally drew a smile.
I pulled Quinn around to face me and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.Thank you.
He smiled.Will you come with me to see Wyle? I need to pick up some things—
Oh! Perfect. I need to drop off the samples we got today. Oh, wait—I patted my wrists. I’d had a little coin pouch with the samples in it.
Shite! I must’ve lost it when I ran, I thought.
You need this?Quinn held up a pouch and smiled.We followed you. Connor figured you’d lose it. Apparently, it was a habit growing up?
My cheeks reddened.I always forgot my assignments. I’d set them down somewhere and forget. Connor always found and brought them for me.The memory took on a bitter tinge. Now that I wondered if the sweet gesture might not have been his at all.
When we reached Wyle’s room, our exchanges only took a few minutes. He said he’d have some test results back to me in a few days. And he handed Quinn a new set of Flight and Invisibility potions and a closed crate.
Stocking up for the prince’s visit,Quinn winked at me.
I followed Wyle to his work bench.
