Page 4 of Sword of Desire
He nodded, thankful he’d managed to warn Idina and Owen before they were ambushed.
“What about Harley and Ledger?” Gytha leaned forward, visually inspecting Ackley’s sword.
His right hand made a gesture, giving his permission for her to pick the weapon up.
She shook her head and leaned back.
Ackley plucked the sword and sheathed it before tucking it under the bedroll. “No one went after them, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I guess Harley isn’t important enough to kill.” She snorted.
“The opposite, actually.” He rubbed a hand over his face, not wanting to have this conversation right now. However, it was better to just get it over with rather than prolonging it. “Her husband, Lyle, is the false king. Ledger took her to him.”
Gytha’s eyes widened.
“The answer to your next question is no,” Ackley continued. “She had no knowledge of him being alive or on the throne.” He stretched out on his bedroll, extending his legs. It felt good to be off the horse.
Brows drawing together, Gytha slowly nodded. “Of course, she didn’t.”
Surprise washed through Ackley. He expected Gytha would accuse Harley of being involved since the warrior woman didn’t care for Harley.
“I may not like her,” Gytha explained, “but I know she’d never be involved in the assassination of her family.”
He nodded, thankful Gytha wasn’t asking more intimate questions. Ones he had no intention of thinking about, let alone answering. “I’m going to get some sleep.” It had been days since he’d had a decent night’s rest.
Gytha stood. “When did you figure out Lyle is the one on the throne?”
“I’ve suspected for some time.”
“And youletLedger take Harley to the royal castle?” she asked carefully.
“I did.” He closed his eyes, knowing her questions were leading somewhere he didn’t want to go.
Her feet shuffled over the dirt. “Sometimes I can’t figure you out.”
He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to meet her assessing gaze. Not when he hadn’t come to terms with what he’d done yet.
“I couldn’t figure out why you liked someone who couldn’t wield a sword. You tried telling me she was strong in other ways. I just didn’t see it.” Another shuffling noise. “What do you think she’s going to do for you? Spy on her husband?”
“Among other things,” he mumbled, not wanting to think about what Harley could be doing right now. The image of her sharing a bed with her husband was more than he could stomach. He rubbed his throbbing temples.
“Do you truly care for her? Or are you only using her to do your bidding?”
At that Ackley opened his eyes and glared at Gytha.
She raised her hands in surrender. “Sorry I asked.” She ducked out of the tent.
His heart pounded. He hoped Harley wasn’t wondering the same thing. Reaching over, he snuffed out the candle, sending the tent into darkness.
When he’d first considered training Harley to be a Knight, he’d done so because she was intelligent and genuinely seemed interested in becoming one, though he hadn’t pointedly asked her. Now that he’d sent her to the royal castle, he had a sick feeling in his stomach that he’d made a mistake. He should have trained her more, taught her how to kill, practiced with her. At the very least, told her what he was doing instead of training her without her knowledge.
His fingers curled inward, and he made two fists. He needed to stop second-guessing himself and trust Harley could handle the situation. She was smart, intuitive, and stealthy. And she may be the best bet they had at preventing a bloody war where hundreds of lives would be lost. Maybe if he hadn’t fallen for her, or spent the night with her, he wouldn’t have this queasy feeling in his stomach. Regardless, he needed to pull himself together. By tomorrow morning, every Marsden soldier would know he was there. Which meant he’d have to address and lead his men. Be the prince they expected and needed, not a love-sick man pining over a married woman.
* * *
Traveling with seven hundred men on foot wasn’t nearly as slow and tedious as Ackley feared. Gytha had organized the men into smaller groups of fifty, each one setting out in fifteen-minute intervals, which resulted in less wasted time. The food was cooked, and the tents were set up and taken down while a portion of the army was traveling. Being structured this way allowed them to cover almost twice as much ground as they had when under Owen’s command.
As the sun set, Ackley and his group neared the Landania border. In the distance he could see a row of heads on spikes indicating where Melenia ended. Based on the topography, it appeared they were on track to avoid all major towns. He headed down the hill, toward the spikes, leading his horse. There was no point in being the only mounted soldier in his group.
