Page 41 of Sword of Desire
“Then what is it?”
Instead of revealing his plan, which included not only one but two backup plans, he told her what he needed her to do. Somehow that made it easier to deal with. As he explained it to her, she didn’t interrupt or stop him once to ask questions. When he finally finished, her silence made him uncomfortable. He expected her to argue or at least tell him he was crazy.
“I hope she’s worth it,” Gytha finally said before rolling over and facing away from him.
“I hope so, too.” He didn’t even understand his own reaction to Harley or why he wanted her so badly. It made no sense. “So, you’ll do it?”
“You’re my prince, and you’re in charge of this mission. I take orders from you.”
That was not what he wanted to hear. If her heart wasn’t in it, she’d never survive. “Gytha…”
“Don’t. You gave me an order, and I will follow it.”
“I want to explain.” Not really. He just wanted her to understand or agree with him.
“I can’t be here and listen to you speak of another woman. You’ve made your stance clear. We’re in the army together. You are my prince. I follow your orders.”
It was like a knife to his heart. While he didn’t love Gytha in a romantic way, he certainly cared for her like a sister. He wanted her to be happy, and he didn’t want something to stand in the way of their friendship. He valued and respected her too much. She was the fiercest warrior he knew.
But he didn’t love her. Not the way she wanted him to.
Harley
Harley sat in bed reading the book on plants and leaves. She sighed, wishing she was reading a romance novel instead of this dry drivel. Half-way through, she had yet to find any reference to making something resembling any sort of poison. Maybe this book was only about plants, leaves, and trees and their uses. How droll.
Turning the page, she forced herself to keep reading. She had to stay up until midnight to meet Rikter anyway. He needed to know what she’d seen in Lyle’s room so he could pass the information on. Her eyelids became heavy, and she started to nod off when she read the wordnumb.She sat upright. Finally, a section that interested her. Fully awake, she read the paragraph again. It talked about a leaf that when soaked in water, could be ground up with a pestle making a gooey substance. When the root of a cattail was mixed with it, the substance became dangerous, causing numbness for a couple of hours if it came into contact with a person’s skin.
That had to be what Ledger put on the horse’s reins. She still remembered touching it and the extreme pain followed by losing all feeling in her hands and arms. She shivered. Below the paragraph, a picture of the leaf in question had been drawn. Scrambling off the bed, she knelt on the floor, peeled the rug back, and pushed on the end of the wooden floorboard. It opened, revealing Ledger’s hidden items. Pulling out the sack, she untied it and examined the leaves. They appeared to be the same as the one drawn in the book.
Her heart pounded. She had the ingredients necessary to make the poison. This could work to her advantage. Putting the items away, she jumped back on the bed and read the book some more, trying to see how long the poison remained effective in that form. Ten hours. Once she made it, she’d only have ten hours to use it. Otherwise, it would be nothing more than a gooey gel. Tomorrow, she would acquire the bowl and utensil necessary to make it. She’d store the items under the floorboard; that way, when she needed them, she’d have them.
She scanned through the rest of the book, not finding anything useful. When it was finally midnight, she blew out her candle and neared the door, listening for sounds. A low male voice could be heard. Tying her robe around her waist, she opened her door and entered the antechamber. Outside in the hallway, she heard Lyle speaking to someone. She only caught a few words, and it sounded as if two men were talking about horses. She rolled her eyes. They could be at it for quite some time.
Harley went back into her bedchamber, considering her options. She could wait for Lyle to finish his conversation and retire for the night. However, it might be another thirty minutes before he fell asleep. Not wanting to wait and risk rousing him, she decided to go to bed. She’d have to meet with Rikter tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning, Harley dressed and combed her hair. Once presentable, she exited her room and went to Oriana’s bedchamber. While she didn’t expect to find Rikter there, she hoped she’d find some clue. Standing in the middle of Oriana’s room, she searched for anything out of place. One of the pillows appeared off-center.
She went over to the bed and lifted the pillow. The corner of a piece of paper stuck out from under the blanket. Pulling it out, she read the note. It was from Rikter. Since meeting at night was becoming too dangerous, he told her to leave all communication for Owen in the third guest bedchamber in the north wing. He would check the room daily.
Once she located the guest suite in question, she sat and penned a letter to Owen. When she finished, she left it there for Rikter to find. Standing in the empty corridor, she glanced both ways, ensuring no one was around before pulling out the key she’d taken from the dungeon. She slid it in the lock. It easily turned, locking the door. Her heart pounded. Turning the key the other way, it unlocked it. Excitement coursed through her. She went to the next room and tried using the key. Again, it locked and unlocked the door with ease.
She slid the key into the neckline of her dress and hurried down to the first level of the castle, eager to see if the key worked on other, more important doors. She made her way to the wing where the offices were located, wanting access to them. Unfortunately, this wing bustled with activity. She’d have to try those doors later.
Pretending to meander through the hallways, she slowly made her way to the corridor containing the library. She inserted the key into a random door. It worked. Thrilled, she went to the kitchen and the great room. No matter what lock she slid the key into, it both locked and unlocked the door. Somehow knowing she had poison and a universal key made her feel infinitely more cunning.
* * *
The following days, Harley noticed that Lyle’s routine shifted. He began going outside earlier and training with his soldiers for much of the day. From her bedchamber window, she watched him run drills with his men. It reminded her of what he did most days back in Penlar.
Once Harley was certain of Lyle’s schedule, she began searching the offices closest to his, assuming the highest-ranking officers would be in those rooms. Most were locked; however, her key opened every single one of them. At first, she didn’t touch anything and just looked at the notes and papers scattered on desks and tables. However, when that didn’t wield anything useful, she began going through the drawers. With painstaking detail, she’d open one, look through its contents, and then close it, making sure everything was just as she’d found it.
After a week, she’d learned that Penlar was the only major city to avoid destruction, and it didn’t appear to be an accident. Several letters stated that no one was to enter Penlar. A few villages, like the one she’d recently visited, were intact. However, the vast majority had been destroyed, and the inhabitants killed. From the letters she’d read, it appeared that Russek took all men and boys south. Kerdan had said that Russek needed soldiers to invade Emperion. Kerdan had also said that when his father died, he called all Russek soldiers home. He assumed the Melenia people had returned home as well. Only they had no home to go back to. Harley had no idea where all the people who’d survived had gone.
Each morning, she made her way to the guest suite to check for correspondence from Rikter. On the seventh day, she found a note stating that Owen wanted her to look at Lyle’s ledgers. Owen thought that if she could follow the money, she could find out where the soldiers who’d traveled with him had gone and what had happened to their loved ones. Chewing on her bottom lip, Harley knew Lyle’s ledgers would be in his office. She’d been avoiding going in there because it would be the trickiest one to navigate through. Surely, he’d have traps set throughout—similar to what he had in his bedchamber—to determine if someone stepped foot in there.
As she headed to the first level of the castle, she realized putting it off would only delay discovering information. She rolled her shoulders back. Owen wanted her to look in the ledgers, and she would do it for him. Otherwise, she had no business being in the castle. Ackley had sent her there to spy and kill Lyle. So far, she hadn’t accomplished either of those tasks. It was time to see this through.
