Whispers of a Throne Page 20

  I clutched the chair and scooted behind it. Perhaps my plans were better than his. Perhaps I should listen. I quieted my mind with the chair as my guard. "What?"

  He reached behind him and then threw a pair of boy's pants and a shirt at me. They were similar to what I’d worn in London. "Here, put these on for tonight."

  I caught the garments. This did make me less conspicuous. I swallowed as I stared into his open expression. "What is your plan?"

  "I will take out the two guards." He patted the hilt of his sword. "We make a run for the forest."

  I rolled my eyes. Away from Thor? That was not how this worked. I couldn't tell him my plan. He might tell Rex. "That will make it obvious."

  He let go of his sword and sat down in a chair near the table in the center of the main room. I carried my chair from the bedroom area and toward the canvas. I closed the room behind me so no one would see the bed or where I was sticking my head out as he asked, "What would you suggest?"

  I crossed my arms and stared at him. I'd not tell him. Instead I sighed and explained in a nicer tone than the coldness I felt for him. "I don't know if I trust you."

  I sounded like he might sway me. He stood and swallowed. I had the feeling I hurt him as he said, "I swore on my honor to protect you. I will get you away."

  He had let me return to Avalon, though he likely knew Rex was here the whole time. My mind swirled with questions as I asked, "What if I can find a way into Avalon? Would you help me then?"

  His eyes squinted as his shoulders tightened. "The gates are closed my lady. The castle is tightly sealed off."

  Perhaps I had to take a chance, though I'd never trust him entirely. I pressed my lips together and choose my words. "If I found a way inside, will you help me?"

  He nodded. "Yes."

  I rubbed my forehead. The kidnapping might be his or might be Morgana's choice. It didn't matter, but I'd not stay here with Rex. Right now I wasn't sure, but I had to get out of here. "I'll need your solemn vow and you stick to my side."

  He pressed his hand against his heart. "I'll be at your side, always."

  I shook my head. I didn't trust him, but he had to believe I did if I was to slip away from him. "Not the same thing. I don't want you going back to tell Rex."

  His mouth fell open. "You wound me."

  He’d lead me to Rex. Outside at night, I'd be like my father when he hunted. I could slip away. Whatever Delott had said about honor or himself in the forest were all lies. My jaw stiffened. "You're why we're here."

  Again his mouth opened wider. He didn't seem capable of closing it. "No--"

  I walked toward the table and chairs that were set up for us. I settled into the stuffing of the chair opposite him and tried to get comfortable. "No more talking. Get some sleep, over there on that side of the tent. It will be nightfall soon."

  I pointed to the exact opposite side from the bedroom. There was nothing but pillows in that corner, but he could make himself a bed. Finally he was quiet, and walked away with one of the chairs. "Good night, Gwen."

  I squared my shoulders and went back to the room with a small bed.

  Something swooped past me outside and woke me up. Owls hooted in the sky so it must be night. I yawned and had no idea how I’d even fallen asleep. I stuck my head between the canvas to the main room and saw Delott.

  My nose wrinkled. Delott's snores across the room told me his state. I picked up the clothes he'd brought me and threw them on the bed. There was a bowl of water and I splashed my face to get the sleep from my eyes. Awake, ice ran in my veins as I dressed in silence and crouched onto the ground. As I crawled my way back into the other room, I peeked outside toward the camp.

  The booted feet were still out there, but fewer pairs. I stood, realizing I hadn't heard any snores. My skin prickled. Delott might be up. Awareness grew in me. Then I heard a loud snore. Good. He slept. It was for the best I hadn't told him my plan. If I could get out without him, then my chances were better.

  I dropped to my hands and knees, returned to the wall and snuck outside.

  My limbs shook as I slipped out and crawled my way toward a tree. In the dark no one noticed me as I propped myself up with the bark and glanced around. The night air was still warm, though I could hardly breathe. I stepped away from the tree and kept my head down.

  I wished I had a hat, but my hair was tucked in my shirt. If I stayed away from people and didn't make eye contact, hopefully no one noticed.

  A group of knights with metal boots were gathered near the well. No one said anything as I passed as far from them as I could. My shoulders stayed tight, but the knights must think I'm another boy. I squared my shoulders and tried to walk with my legs parted so I didn't sway my hips.

  Tucked in my waist was my father's book, so hopefully it helped my posture stay straight. Near a fire, I kept my head down and edged close to the boys who had made makeshifts beds for themselves.

  My stomach was hard as a rock.

  I kept my pace toward the wall. I stayed in the shadows as much as possible. On my way to the wall a knight still in battle gear stepped in front of me. I bit back a scream, though my heart raced. I avoided eye contact, but he came closer. For a second, I was dizzy and my heart had pains, but then I risked a glance upward and recognized the gray eyes behind his helmet.

  Merlin, Thor's captain and friend, was here. He placed his finger to his mouth and pointed to the wall where I had planned on going. My shoulders were tense, but I followed him.

  Perhaps Thor sent him to save me. My heart pounded in my chest. I made it to Merlin's side as we ambled toward a stone rectangle I assumed was the secret door.

  Delott called out, "There you are." He joined me by the bushes and I covered my mouth to keep from shouting.

  Merlin slipped away into the dark.

  What would he tell Thor? I turned to face Delott. "Shh."

  Delott nodded and pointed toward the forest. "We have to go."

  The blackness behind Delott had Merlin's gray eyes. I blinked and stepped closer to my savior. Delott turned toward me and Merlin, but Merlin knocked him over the head. Delott crumbled to the ground and I raced for the wall as instructed earlier.

  Merlin had a frown on his face, but he laughed as a soldier neared us, gesturing toward the prone figure of Delott. "My friend drinks too much."

  The soldiers walked past and rolled their eyes.

  I pressed my elbows to my side and returned to stand next to him. Merlin then spoke between gritted teeth, "Pick up his feet."

  Warmness rushed through me. I had help. "Will we take him with us?"

  He took something out of his belt and didn't look at me. "Of course. He's a traitor and will be thrown into the dungeon. We have to get him to the wall."

  Morgana had told them I ran away with Delott. I winced as I stared at Merlin. His gray eyes didn't reveal anything. Thor or Merlin might believe I went willingly. I picked up Delott's feet.

  We slowly walked the massive man toward the secret door. Merlin dropped whatever he had in his hand, and caused black smoke to rise. I coughed, but then he pushed against the wall and knocked. My eyes watered.

  A moment later, the door swung open and we raced inside.

  We made it.

  I'd tell Thor that I wanted to marry him and that I never left.

  I wondered if he'd believe me.

  Chapter 25

  The second the door closed, Merlin and five other men barred it. I stayed against the wall as Delott was laid unconscious on the ground. A metal gate was shoved toward the door so if anyone made it all the way through the bars, they'd be engorged on a metal pike. I shivered as I imagined that line of defense.

  Merlin nodded at the other men and then me. "This way."

  I stepped right over Delott's unconscious body. "What about him?"

  Merlin sheath his sword and waved me on. "He'll be taken care of. You should worry about yourself."

  He must believe Morgana's lies. My muscles twitched as I marched behind
him, hurrying to catch up. "Why should I worry? I'm happy to be back."

  Merlin's gray eyes widened as he stared at me in the corridor that led toward the main dining hall that made up the center of Avalon. Merlin turned his profile away from me. "You ran away. Your only saving grace is how you told people to stay loyal to Thor."

  My stomach rolled with every step. He had a thing for Morgana. With luck Thor might believe me, even though she was his sister. I glanced at all the exits, not that I had anywhere to go if I was to run away.

  We walked into the dining hall and toward the stairs I had never gone up. My hands fell to my sides. "Wait. No. I didn't run-"

  People stood in the dining hall as we entered. I bit my lips. I'd never betray them. He scanned the crowd and cut me off. "Save your words for Thor. Convince him, not me."

  I swallowed. "But-"

  Again Merlin held up his hand and cut off what I intended to say. Then he used his fingers and directed me to follow him up the stairs as Thor wasn't here. He walked next to me. "You disappeared with that knight from London and now you return with the same guy."

  No. This was all wrong. I shook my head as I didn't know what to do. "It wasn't-"

  "Again this is a discussion to have with Thor, not me."

  Merlin scanned the crowd behind us in the dining hall as we climbed to the top of the stairs. There was a huge door that squires opened for me. We went inside the empty room with a small simple wooden chair in the center. Thor wasn't there here. I sighed and fully intended to speak to Thor about all of this. My temper had to chill. "Where is he?"

  "We are looking for him."

  I cleared my throat. I needed Thor to believe me, but Merlin should have told me about my mother. Now didn't seem the time to discuss it, but he had no idea where Thor was. "Are we going to check every battle station?"

  Merlin stopped and stared at me. "Rex intends to attack us. This is serious. War. You probably know more about what's happening than we do."

  I nodded my head. "He has something planned for tomorrow morning."

  His stance straightened as his lips were pressed thin. "Yes, he does."

  The doors stayed closed as I stared at Merlin. The room had candles near the walls and was well lit. Thor could read in here if he chose.

  My heartbeat was so rapid now. Every cell in my body wanted to shout and then face the consequences of my actions head on. Hot-headedness was what my mother had always said about me. I opened my mouth to tell Merlin off and that he should have told me about my mother and my brother, but I clenched my hands to my sides and held my tongue.

  Now was not the time. Merlin was Thor's friend. He wasn't my enemy. "Thank you." I offered him a small smile. "For bringing me back here."

  He shook his head. "We cannot let Rex have any queen that people believed meant peace was at hand."

  Merlin had heard the stories of queens too. We all had. I lowered my gaze and asked, "What did you hear about my disappearance?"

  He crossed his arms and his hands clinked on his metal armor. "It's not my business, my lady."

  I risked a glance to his gray eyes that seemed more like the black burned cities at the moment. Nausea hit me hard. "There is more to the story. I hope you and Thor listen."

  Merlin's voice was etched with emotion, but I couldn't figure out what kind as he said, "Thor is always fair."

  I fixed my hair behind my ear. "I wish you told me who my mother was when I asked."

  He opened his mouth and shook his head. "I-"

  The doors flew open and Thor stormed into the room. Thor's long blond hair and strong shoulders took my breath away. He wiped soot from his chain metal and spoke to the boy who opened the doors. My body heated. "You're here."

  I shivered as the doors closed again. The three of us were now all alone. I hadn't noticed I'd been so cold, but now I felt the difference. My ears lost some of the frost on the tips as I walked closer to Thor.

  Merlin turned toward the door.

  Thor avoided my look and glanced at his friend. I held myself still though I folded my hands together as if praying while Thor sheathed Excalibur to his side. "Merlin, Sir Wain has sent a message. He'll be here in a few hours. If we can just hold them off until after dawn, we might have a chance."

  My heart lifted. Thor didn't care that he spoke strategy in front of me. My stomach churned with a fluttery sense that he'd believe me.

  Merlin stepped to his side and said, "Your Majesty. I have her here."

  So much for my ghost routine. I licked my lips and waited for him to say something, anything. All I did was stare into his blue eyes and inhaled the forest. With him I could be home.

  Thor studied me in silence. Goose bumps grew on my arm as the ice melted from my spine. Then I saw how his blue eyes had a storm of emotion in them and I held my breath. He didn't believe me.

  Thor's shoulders tightened and he looked away. "Take her to her room and lock the door."

  No. This couldn't end like this. My entire face heated as I yelled, "Wait! I have to talk to you."

  His chin jutted out and he measured every word. "I need to save my people. Right now it's either your room or the dungeon. Take your pick."

  There was no telling what he believed. I rocked on my feet, but then I tightened my own shoulders. With a nod, I said, "I want you to win. I can tell you what I saw. Did you know he was my half-brother?"

  His voice had a crack of thunder in it. "No."

  "I didn't either and it doesn't change anything."

  His cheeks grew a slight blush as he turned from me. His voice cracked he said, "We'll talk. Later."

  Merlin went to speak to Thor as one of the boys from the door led me back into the dining room. At least he hadn't asked huge men to toss me in the dungeon and trusted I'd follow a squire. My heart hinged on every hope that this meant he could trust me. Right now, I had no choice but to follow his orders.

  Thor had to believe me. I had to convince him.

  Without complaint, I descended the stairs. This time I saw the dining hall was full of people who were injured. Women wiped blood off their hands as they nursed children and men on the tables. No one said anything as I passed. In the entryway that led toward the stairs to my room a few more women stared at me, and covered their mouths. I held my chin as high as I could. No one here knew what had happened to me. It wasn't their fault.

  But then I saw Morgana by the entryway as I took the first step. She turned the corner with two women and held her hands out to stop them from coming closer to me. My fists clenched. "Traitor. You helped Rex in this madness."

  Her face went white. Then she lifted her gaze. "Unlike the legends of peace, it was you who betrayed my brother with another man."

  I turned to face her and ignored the guards. I pointed at her and didn't care about our audience. "Did you think you'd get away with what you did?"

  She then clenched her hands into fists. If she hit me, I'd hit her back harder. She'd never scare me again. Morgana pointed to her one brown eye. "Your brother did this to me."

  "Half-brother." I tilted my head. It was unique but not unheard of that she had two different eye colors. I tensed in case we came to blows. "What are you talking about?"

  She shook her head and yelled. "I used to have two blue eyes like my brother. I won't let him or his kind win."

  She wasn't the only person in the world with two different eye colors. This didn't excuse what she did to me. No matter what happened with Rex. It wasn't me. My hands went to my hips. "You drugged me. Had me kidnapped. I did nothing to you."

  The boys who were my guards didn't know how to stop either one of us. I held myself in place so I'd not be the aggressor.

  Cheeks red, she pointed to the door as one of the women next to her stood straighter. The other woman backed up. Her entire face scarlet, Morgana stepped closer to me and screamed, "You have brought this war to our doorstep!"

  I stared at her. Morgana could have convinced anyone with that conviction of hers, even Thor. I staye
d where I was. "That was you."

  The squire who guarded me pointed. "Let's go, my lady."

  For now. I'd deal with her after speaking to Thor. My teeth were clenched as I nodded to the boy then I glanced over my shoulder. "This isn't over."

  Morgana crossed her arms. "I run this castle while my brother defends us in battle. You don't matter."

  "I risked my neck to save you."

  She flinched, like I pierced through her armor.

  A guard hurried from the other room. "My lady Morgana, King Thor says to keep all the women inside and to ensure Gwen's safety during the upcoming siege. We expect Sir Wain's arrival in the morning."

  My hands folded back into prayer and I lowered my gaze. Rex did not have the numbers to defeat Avalon if more of Thor's army appeared. I didn't know what was planned for tomorrow, as I said, "Let's pray he gets here in time to demolish Rex's small force."

  I heard the other women's whispers. I didn't have time to look back as I followed the guard. I was brought into my room, then the door slammed in my face and I heard the sound of the lock being bolted. This was hardly better than a dungeon.

  I kicked off the ruined slippers I wore from last night's dinner. I glanced around and the room was still and untouched. Nel wasn't here. I hoped she was safe during all of this.

  I couldn't see the moon from my barred windows. Loneliness might steal my newfound power. I straightened my back and refused to let the isolation get to me.

  A queen wouldn't walk around like a boy. I went to the bathroom and washed myself.

  The lavender soap was still on my bathtub. The sweet smell created an atmosphere that was the opposite of what happened outside.

  The faint echoes of arrows and catapults never left my hearing. I scrubbed all traces of the forest and last night off me. I triple washed my lips so no trace of Delott remained.

  The moment Thor and Rex finished the war, someone would come for me. I had to look the part of a queen.

  Isolation made me feel separate. Small. As I finished in the bathroom, a loud boom followed by the sounds of men's cheers reverberated in the castle. I looked to my window but didn't know what happened. This could be the battle. Rex would know I left.