Page 23 of Sword of Desire
“Did I hear correctly that the two of you sent a letter to Empress Rema?” Vesha asked as she poured five cups of tea.
“Yes,” Ackley replied. “I have soldiers camped just inside Landania’s border. Their lives are in danger, and I need the empress’s permission for them to remain there until further notice.”
Vesha handed Ackley a cup of tea.
He took it, automatically smelling for poisons. Not finding any, he took a sip. “How long until we hear back from the empress?” he inquired.
“We should hear back shortly,” Brodek answered.
Ackley raised a single eyebrow.Shortlywas not an adequate measurement of time.
“Tomorrow or the day after,” Brodek clarified.
Instead of waiting to be offered a cup of tea, Gytha grabbed one, slurping it down.
Ackley glared at her.
“Sorry, I’m starving,” she muttered. “I’ve been traveling with the lot of you and haven’t had something warm to drink in days.”
Now he questioned bringing the warrior woman along to meet the empress. Choosing to ignore her lack of manners, he asked, “How do you two know the empress?”
“We knew Rema before she became the empress,” Vesha answered. She handed Audek and Brodek each a cup of tea before taking one for herself.
“We met back on Greenwood Island,” Audek added.
“Greenwood Island?” Ackley asked. He’d never heard of it before.
“It’s an island southwest of the mainland,” Vesha said.
“We all became fast friends. We helped Rema overthrow the illegitimate king, putting her on the throne.” Audek leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
Ackley wondered about the empress’s husband and what sort of man he was to be married to someone so powerful.
“Anyway,” Audek mused, tapping his free hand on his knee. “It feels like only yesterday. Yet so much has happened and changed since then.”
Brodek finished his tea, setting his cup back on the tray. “I’m going to check on my men. I’ll remain outside with them for the night.” He stood and left the house.
“We have two extra rooms,” Vesha said. “I’ll go and get them ready for you.”
“Is there a place I can wash up?” Gytha asked. “Since I’ve been traveling with men, I haven’t had the chance to bathe in over a week.”
Vesha smiled. “Yes, of course. Right this way.” The two women exited the sitting room.
Now that Ackley was alone with Audek, he was certain he could get the information he wanted out of the man. “Are you a member of this prestigious group of men?” He wouldn’t classify Audek as a fighter, but he asked the question nonetheless to get the conversation going. He stretched his arms across the back of the sofa, relaxing for the first time in days.
“Me?” Audek said. “No. My wife hates fighting. We’ve seen enough to last a lifetime and avoid getting involved. It’s one of the reasons we live all the way out here.”
Audek hadn’t denied these men belonged to a prestigious group. Ackley needed to push a little harder. “Back where I’m from, even though I’m a prince, I’m also a Knight.”
“And what do Knights do?”
“Protect the kingdom, go on secret missions, that sort of thing.”
“The Brotherhood is the same.”
And he had a name for the group. Brotherhood. He rather liked that. The men he’d been traveling with…Brodek, Ridek, Olek, Tarnek, Herek, Erek, and Rettek…the first letter of their names spelled brother.Clever. “Is the Brotherhood independent of the army?”
“Yup.”
