Page 58 of Through Battle and Blades (The Wolf Queen 2)

“My apologies, brother,” she replied, before crossing the room to take her seat at the head of the table. But it wasn’t all the nobles clustered around the massive table that caught her eye, it was Nordred.

Somewhere, some Darcy blinked at the sight of him. The same upright frame, those same blue eyes, but the skin around them was unlined here, his skin possessing the tautness of youth. Her fingers went to her swollen lips for a just a second before she tore her eyes away.

“As I was saying,” the Reaver lord said, “these interlopers are becoming a problem. We sent troops down to the bay to drive them off, but they’ve proven remarkably obstinate.”

“They’ll lose that resolve when they face down a phalanx of Her Majesty’s best men,” a man blustered. “Idiots. What the hell did they think they would do against the two-souled? They are weak, Majesty. We’ll gut the bastards and toss their bodies onto those blasted ships of theirs, then let the tide take them back to where they belong.”

“But why are they here in the first place?” she asked, her eyes sliding around the table, looking for answers. “Callum, what have you found out?”

“Not a lot, sister. The men that we captured don’t seem to speak the common tongue of our land,” the Reaver lord said. “They are entirely uncivilised.”

“Execute those prisoners we have, then send the rest packing,” another man advised, a round of appreciative grunts from the table’s occupants making clear that they agreed.

“We just… kill them for the temerity of coming to our land?” the queen said. “Surely we must ascertain their purpose. One does not summarily execute an offender without first investigating where fault lies.”

Silence fell over the room, dense and forbidding, but the young queen straightened up and looked to Nordred.

“What’re your thoughts, Nordred?”

When I heard him speak, when I heard his voice, clearer and truer than the rasp he used now, I found myself hanging on his every word. Just as the queen did.

“Attempts must be made to establish what these interlopers want. I can go to the bay and try to reason with them. My command of a variety of languages outstrips that of the average soldier.”

“No…” she breathed, right as her brother spoke.

“That sounds like a splendid idea,” Callum said. Prince Callum, I was willing to bet. “We can mobilise the troops, get our standing army ready and prepare our lads in the towns and on manor lands for what might come. It’s been a long time since we’ve fought off an invader.” His eyes took in every man there. “We’ve grown soft and lax with such a protracted peace time, but that ends now. Equip your men, drill them hard, because they may need to be deployed in defence of Strelae. Do not be the one found wanting if a fight comes.”

The men around the table nodded and muttered their agreement, getting to their feet, obviously having been dismissed. But the queen paid little attention to that, her eyes on Nordred.

“You can’t go,” she insisted. “I forbid it. You are my closest advisor—”

“And a hurdle any pack wishing to compete for the queen’s hand must jump over,” Callum said bluntly, now it was just the three of them in the room. “Sister, you need to find your mates, and soon, if we are facing an external threat.”

But she had. Somehow, I knew that. The way her lips thinned down and her fingers worried at the fine embroidery on her dress. Her brother seemed to ignore the signs in favour of what he wanted to see: a true queen, a brave one with a pack at her back. But instead, Eleanor seemed to stare pleadingly at Nordred in a way that was all too familiar to me, because I’d done the same.

I knew that same feeling of comfort that came from having his steady gaze land on me, though I didn’t crave it in the same way as she did. For me, he was the father figure I’d never really had, but for her…? Her heart was full of him, but somehow a woman as powerful as her was unable to reach out and take him as hers.

“I will put forward some more potential candidates,” Nordred said coolly, then got to his feet. “Her Majesty can peruse them as I travel to the coast.”

He was being diplomatic, trying to embrace what was apparently a political reality, but the queen seemed to ignore the opportunity gifted to her. When he turned to leave, she went with him, asking him question after question in a hushed voice as they left. But Prince Callum didn’t watch them go for longer than a second, the irritation on his face smoothing away as he turned to face me.

My breath sucked in and caught there, swelling my lungs, but I couldn’t exhale. I heard that rustle again, that caw, right before a raven flew in through the window, coming to land on his shoulder. Blue eyes and golden ones stared into mine, right before he raised a hand.

“Seeking to collect some intelligence on me, little queen?” he said in a mocking voice. “You won’t find me, not until I’m ready.”

And with that he made a dismissive little gesture and I was thrust back into the room abruptly.

Our breaths came in noisy whoops, as we sucked air in and then expelled it vigorously.

“The old queen’s brother…” Weyland croaked out. “He’s who’s leading the Reavers?”

“Prince Callum?” Aeve said, her eyebrows shooting up. “And Nordred…”

“It appears we’re all involved in a game that’s been in play for some time,” Gael said in a dark voice. “Except we’re all just pawns in their power plays.” I shuffled around until I was facing him and he stared at me intently. “Nordred spent all this time training you, honing you into the finest weapon he could produce.”

“I’m just the latest one,” I added, my voice failing as I said the words. “He said he’d done the same for other girls. Others like me.”

“The latest and the best,” Axe assured me, taking my hand and squeezing it. “Whatever the two of them were fighting over, you’ll still be the queen. One who doesn’t have to follow either path the two of them have set down for you.”

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