Page 165 of Winds of Ruin
The guards’ breath carried through the air in a plume of steam.
I straightened and stepped from the wall.
El’s warmth crowded behind me. “What do you mean it’s hard to tell?”
“He’s pretty beaten, Lady Lamoreaux. If you’d rather go inside than see, we can escort you safely.”
Elsedora solemnly answered, “I promise you, I’ve seen worse.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Else didn’t talk about her past often, but it’d sounded as though her early years in the Sahlms had been far from easy.
“I’ll be right there,” I said, and the three guards hurried back toward the front of the sprawling grounds. If the Prince of the West Corridor was here, I needed to confer with my advisor. With our morning of lovemaking interrupted, now I needed her guidance.What do I do?
Else worried at her lower lip. Then a flare of recognition lit her eyes. “Haag. When I rode off to the West before the celebrations, he and I had alittlerun-in. He looked strange—haunted. The maids were gossiping about him, saying he was talking to himself more frequently. They suspected Regon was poisoning him. I wonder if he is to blame if the Prince is beaten. Could have gotten spooked by Regon’s rising approval with his lords and other rulers.”
A low growl built in my throat, but I snuffed it out. “Whywere you inside the castle at Algarnd?”
“Down, puppy. I wasn’t visible, but Haag nearly ran into me. And then called on his guards to chase me. I’m fine. I’m here. Unscathed.”
I ground my teeth before I asked, “Were you alone?”
“No. I brought Mayra. She got me out of there.”
That bird was getting a barrel of the freshest fish I could find when we returned.
“Else,” I pleaded.
“Emmerick,” she parried back with a determined expression.
“I adore your drive for adventure, truly. I only wish you would ask me to go with you, to be by your side so you don’t face danger alone.”
Her demeanor softened, and breath released from her lungs. “You wouldn’t try to stop me?”
“Of course not. Now, come on. We have a visitor in need,” I said and waved for her to follow me. She offered me a weak smile.
She’d weathered far too many storms alone; so had I.
That changed today.
Chapter 62
Elsedora
“They rose from the crypts!” Prince Regon spat blood into the snow at the guards’ boots—not insultingly, but of necessity. “I swear it!”
He was pleading with the men, and I wondered what we’d missed.
Terrible gashes ran along the right side of his face; he’d been cut to ribbons. It looked as though the Lynx had mauled him. Though by all accounts, he’d shown up that way.
Said vicious creatures growled low at the intruder, but Emmerick raised a hand and said, “Shoo!” The giant felines obediently slinked away, chattering.
When Regon’s gaze landed on us, his knees hit the blood-marred slush. “King Mattock, please.”
He fought collapse—too much blood had been lost.
“They were monsters from our worst nightmares. My father is dead. Algarnd lies in rubble. Our people fled to the countryside, but it’s futile. Please. I beg you. Send help.”
Making an armed move into the West Corridor could spell war if what he said wasn’t true. Regon had never played Haag’s games before, but I had to be certain.
