“Is something wrong?” her mother asked, looking mildly alarmed at her impetuous entrance.
Kam looked at Caleb. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
He gave her a blank look. “About what?”
“The accusations by the king’s advisors.”
“I don’t know anything about them.” He got up and walked toward her. “What happened? What accusations?”
“Apparently I single-handedly started this war. Well, with Seth’s help. Brunic ordered me to stay away from the palace.”
A frown etched his forehead. “Brunic accused you of this?”
“Not exactly. He said it was the council, but he still ordered me to leave.” She narrowed her eyes at Caleb. “You must have heard something. You always do.”
“Not this time. I’ve been busy, but I’ll find out.” He put a hand on Kam’s arm. “If Brunic told you to stay here, I think you should listen.” He lowered his voice. “If there’s trouble, it could affect Bria too. She may need you.”
Kam glanced over his shoulder where Bria sat, looking rather wide-eyed. Of course, he was right. The hair, the eyes…they made Bria an identifiable target. Kam nodded and met Caleb’s gaze. “We’ll be here.”
She stood at the door and watched Caleb’s long stride eat up the distance across the suspended walkway. Kam frowned, hating the hollow feeling in her chest. Brunic’s revelations had left her more angry than alarmed—but Caleb’s response made her nervous. He might not have known what was being said at the palace, but he almost acted as if he expected it. And he hadn’t said not to worry.
For the remainder of the afternoon, Kam tried not to obsess about the palace gossip and did her best to concentrate on Bria and Esty’s feminine chatter. The shadows outside grew long, and the women sat down to dinner. Caleb still hadn’t returned—nor had Kam’s father. After the meal, her mother sat with them in the main room doing her needlework and glancing at the door every few minutes.
Too impatient to sit, Kam crossed the room and opened the door to catch the cool, evening breeze. It carried the sweet smell of newly mown grass and hay from fields just beyond the circle of oaks. Night was falling, and pinpricks of light sprang to life around Brierwood. She looked toward the palace. The sky seemed unusually well lit. Was something going on at the square tonight?
When she heard Trystan’s name mentioned behind her, she rejoined Esty and Bria. Her sister had been asking questions about Cyrilia for the last forty-five minutes.
“You talk about Trystan a lot. Was he your lover?” Esty asked candidly.
“Oh, no, but our families hoped for it.”
While Bria explained her lifelong friendship with Trystan, Kam’s thoughts drifted again. Seth was going to be furious when he found out what was being said at the palace. Maybe she should go to New Orleans and warn him. It would be easier coming from her than Brunic. The captain’s gruff ways were hardly reassuring. He was a die-hard cynic and blunt as they came.
“What do you think, Kam?”
“Um, about what?”
“Trystan. Is he cute?” Esty asked.
She tilted her head in thought. “Yes, he is. Tall, handsome. Rather arrogant, but I suppose that’s expected. With his father so ill, he is Cyrilia’s ruler.”
Bria uttered a squeak of distress and clamped a hand over her mouth. “I’d almost forgotten his mother just died. Maybe that’s why he’s acting so awful.”
Kam bit back a response. Grief wasn’t an acceptable excuse for murder, but she’d kept the night watchman’s death a secret so far and wasn’t going to reveal it now. Bria had enough adjusting to do without taking away the last good memories of her childhood companion.
The brisk sound of footsteps came from the walkway. “I bet that’s Caleb.” Esty bounded toward the door, but before she got there, Sawyer Ryndel strode in with Caleb right behind him. The harsh look on their father’s face halted Esty and brought Kam to her feet.
“Something’s happened.”
“You girls get your things,” her father ordered. “You’re all going to New Orleans for a few days.” He singled out Kam and gave her a warning look. “Don’t argue or ask me to explain right now. There isn’t time.”
Kam’s heart thundered, but she hustled the other two women toward the back of the house. She hung back a moment. “What about you and Mother?”
“We’ll be fine.”
Her eyes flashed to Caleb for reassurance, and he nodded.
“OK, but I hope one of you is going with us far enough to explain this.”
“Caleb’s coming with you,” her father said. “Now hurry.”
Kam threw her things together, grabbed clean clothes from the extras she kept there, and helped Esty and Bria collect what they needed. When they returned to the living room, her mother and father quickly hugged everyone. Her mother cried. And less than a minute later, they were out the door. Caleb led them across the swinging walkway toward the town hall where they could take the portal to the Ryndel Guild. Suddenly he stopped, turned around, and pushed them back the way they’d come.
“We’re going a different route.” He grabbed Bria’s hand and ran back across the walkway, taking a turn in the direction of The Bookstore. Kam glanced over her shoulder and spotted a group of people with torches moving their way. She heard the sound of angry voices.
“Who is that?” Kam slowed and glanced back again. Horror bubbled up inside her. Was that a mob? Were they coming after her? Not here. Not in Elvenrude.
“We have to go.” Caleb came back and pulled her after him.
“I’m coming.”
They raced over the swinging path. When they were close to The Bookstore, Caleb pulled on the ropes that lowered the path to ground level. They bounded down and took off through the trees. By the time they reached the Ryndel Guild, they were out of breath, but Caleb urged them on. They raced through the guild, entered the portal, and were whisked away to New Orleans.
Kam rounded on Caleb the moment they materialized. “Now explain what’s happened. Who was on the walkway? Has the king ordered our arrest?”
“No, it hasn’t gone that far yet. But the story of the fight was leaked to the public with significant changes. They’re saying you and Seth killed an unarmed man, and the Cyrilians are coming after Elvenrude for revenge. I haven’t seen terror and rage like this before, not in Elvenrude. Your father thought you’d be safer out of the way until sanity returns.”
“I’d think you were exaggerating, except I saw the people with torches. Are you sure Mother and Father are safe?”
“He was withdrawing the access ropes when we left. They’ll be fine. We probably made it easier for them, since the mob saw us leave.”
“How did you know they’d be coming?”
“A crowd had been gathering outside the palace for the last hour. Your father and I had to leave by the rear entrance.”
“You were gone for hours. I want to hear everything, every word that was said. And who said it.”
Caleb held up his hands. “That’ll take a while. Let’s find a place to stay and get in touch with Seth. He’ll want to know everything too, and I’d prefer to tell it only once.”
* * *
Seth arrived ten minutes later. He walked into the guild master’s office, barely able to contain his anger. It had been a bad day, pacing and waiting to hear from Brunic, wondering what was going on in Elvenrude. Now this. His sense of betrayal threatened to erupt into a display of temper that no one present deserved.
He drew a deep, settling breath. “Rhyden will join us shortly. He’s arranging for housing and taking care of last-minute business issues.” He turned to Kam, drew her into his arms, and his voice softened. “Are you OK?”
She nodded. “Except I’m mad as hell.”
“So am I, but we’d be better off using our energy to fix it.” He stepped back and included the others. “There have been developments on this end too.”
“What? Has anyone been hurt?” she asked.
/> “No, nothing like that. I—” He turned as Rhyden entered the room. “I’ll explain later.”
“Sorry I’m late, but I’ve found two adjoining suites for us,” Rhyden said. “And I set up a personal portal, so we don’t have to risk going out on the streets.”
“That sounds great.” Kam grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
Caleb picked up Esty’s and Bria’s bags, and the group followed Rhyden to the guild’s portal. Before they stepped inside, the Ryndel guild master, Thom Barrott, called to them and hurried down the stairs. “Should I expect trouble?”
“From Elvenrude?” Kam shook her head. “I don’t think so, but call me if anything develops.”
Barrott nodded. “I will if I can’t handle it.”
Seth noted the response wasn’t exactly what Kam had instructed. Barrott was a long-time employee, twice her age, and his attitude was sometimes more like an uncle than a guild master. It usually amused Seth that Kam allowed Barrott to get away with it. Tonight, he just wished she’d hurry up.
As if sensing his impatience, she turned and stepped into the waiting portal. An instant later, they emerged in the foyer of a large hotel suite.
“I thought the women could stay on this side. The other suite is identical in reverse.” Rhyden pointed to a closed door on the right. “Men’s quarters. It’ll be safer if we all stay in one place.”
“Nice digs.” It was a big step up from a cot at the guild. Seth rather liked the idea of staying next door to Kam, and Rhyden seemed pleased to be close to Esty. Where Caleb fit was a different matter, but they could always use another hand in a fight. Caleb wasn’t a member of the Guards—neither special service like Seth and Rhyden nor career like Kam—but he’d gone through the Academy with Seth and Rhyden and graduated just behind them at number three in the class.
They pushed into the suite’s main room—kitchen to the right, sitting area with sliding doors to a balcony beyond that. To the left was an arched doorway to the bedrooms and baths.
Kam dumped her bag next to the arch and turned with her hands on her hips. “I’m done waiting, Caleb. What exactly happened at the palace?”
Caleb actually snickered at her. “I knew you wouldn’t last long. OK, let’s get it over with. I still have to return to Elvenrude and pick up my own things.”
They spread out around the room, finding a seat on the couch, a chair, or the floor. For Seth and Rhyden’s benefit, Caleb started with Brunic’s unexpected orders to Kam, which had sent Caleb to the palace.
“When I arrived it was chaotic. Brunic was shouting at one of the king’s advisors. I’d never seen him lose it like that before. They were all talking at once, and it was hard to sort out who was saying what. Sawyer was there, so was Seth’s father. Then Harad stormed in, thumping his cane. The king threw up his hands about that time and ducked out ten minutes later.” He looked around the room. “It was a new low for Elvenrude politics.”
“But why?” Kam asked. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why are they blaming us? What started this?”
“The false rumors. The wild accusations tossed around. It’s fed by fear…and frustration. Elvenrude’s people are afraid of a war that seems thrust upon them. They want it to go away, and they don’t care how. Word of the Cyrilian’s death and then the murder polarized the sides.” He looked at Seth. “But when Henre reported Trystan’s demands, the split turned into a chasm.”
“What murder?” Esty asked.
“What demands?” Kam stared at Seth. “When did you talk with Trystan?”
Bria’s eyes grew big. “Who was murdered?”
“A human gangster,” Seth said. “Shot with a Cyrilian arrow.”
Caleb nodded. “That news seemed to confirm the Cyrilians are ruthless killers.”
“Are you sure it was a Cyrilian arrow?” Bria asked.
“We saw it.” Seth eyed her sympathetically. “But Trystan denied any knowledge of the murder.” He related the rest of his meeting with the Cyrilian prince. “He’s demanding Andolf’s return…and Bria’s…within forty-eight hours. In other words, an ultimatum.”
“Oh no,” Bria said.
“Exactly,” Caleb agreed. “The council couldn’t cope with all the bad news. They looked for a scapegoat and guess what? Kam and Seth were right in the middle of the action.”
“What about the Cyrilians?” Kam demanded. “Do they get a pass?”
“Our people just want them to go away and be forgotten for another thousand years. They’ll sacrifice anything or anyone for that to happen.” He shrugged. “In some ways it isn’t surprising it erupted into a mob scene. All that festering rage had to go somewhere.”
“Mob scene?” Seth straightened, stunned by the news. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s the reason we left Elvenrude,” Kam said, laying a hand on his arm. “But we’re fine.”
“A mob actually formed?” Seth voice was cold as he looked over her head at Caleb.
“I’m afraid so.” Caleb briefly described their flight from Elvenrude. “We thought everyone would be safer in New Orleans.”
“By the gods.” Seth swore under his breath, his gaze resting on Kam. “If they had hurt you.”
“But they didn’t,” she said. “We easily got away. I doubt we were in real danger.”
Seth settled a protective arm around her and kept his doubts to himself. Anything else would only be his fear talking.
It was nearly an hour before the group ran out of new speculations and tired of rehashing the facts. They hadn’t made sense out of most of it.
Caleb stood and stretched. “I’m going to Elvenrude to collect clothes and my weapons. I’ll check on your parents, Kam, and try to talk with Brunic before I return. Maybe the situation has calmed already.”
Unlikely, Seth thought. The frenzy that spawned a mob might smolder for days.
* * *
After Caleb left, the rest of the subdued group scattered throughout the two suites and stored their belongings in the designated drawers and closets. Bria and Esty shared a room, but the only separation between them and Kam was a half wall with shutters that could be closed at the top for additional privacy. They’d left it open.
Kam finished putting the last of her jeans away and turned to check that her bag was empty. Bria was sitting on the end of Kam’s bed.
“This is all my fault. I should go back to Cyrilia.”
“No, you can’t.” Esty dropped her own packing in the adjoining room and hurried over to sit beside her. “You don’t want to go back, do you?”
“I want the fighting to stop.”
“This isn’t your fault.” Kam sat on the other side of Bria. “Rimee was attacked and I was kidnapped before you left home. The murder had nothing to do with you. Nor the fight in the French Quarter. We’d be in this same situation, even if you’d stayed in Cyrilia.”
“But Tryst has offered to stop if Andolf and I return.”
“I’m not sure he can guarantee a truce,” Kam said thoughtfully. “It’s possible Trystan isn’t aware of everything that’s happening.”
“Could that include the murder?” Bria’s face looked hopeful. “I hate to think he ordered that.”
“We really don’t know, but Seth said he seemed surprised.”
“Then it’s Dreysel. Who else could it be? No one else would defy Trystan.” Bria’s lips firmed. “That was Dreysel’s plan—to steal what they wanted from the humans.”
Kam didn’t have a response…because Bria might be right. A split among the Cyrilians would explain the contradictory behaviors in New Orleans: two leaders with very different plans for their world’s future.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
At five the following morning, Kam woke from a sound sleep when Seth shook her gently. “Didn’t Caleb say he was coming right back? I woke a few minutes ago, and he isn’t here yet.”
She sat up in her bed, instantly awake, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“That was the plan. I wonder if he ran into trouble.”
“Yeah, but where?” Seth asked. “Here or Elvenrude?”
Kam grabbed her phone from the bedside stand and followed Seth into the main room of their suite. She called the portal guards at the Ryndel Guild and asked if Caleb had returned from Elvenrude.
“Not since he went over about midnight.”
“Have you seen Captain Brunic?”
Another negative response. She thanked them and disconnected.
“At least the Cyrilians don’t have him.” She looked at Seth. “Why didn’t he come back? I just assumed he’d come in quietly and everything was OK. Now, I’m worried about my parents.”
“Why don’t you get dressed?” Seth eyed her skimpy nightshirt. “I think we need to make a quiet trip to Elvenrude.”
“While we’re there, we can check on Murielle instead of making a second trip. The citerin dust should be finished by now.”
Kam changed into her work clothes without waking Bria or Esty sleeping just beyond the shutters. She hung a backpack over one shoulder and tucked her crossbow out of sight. The Sig Sauer stayed behind. Not in Elvenrude. Not even now. She jotted a note for Esty to say she and Seth would be out for a few hours and not to worry. She deliberately didn’t say where they were going.
Seth met her at the suite’s mini portal, and they entered the coordinates for the Ryndel Guild. Due to the prior attacks, Brunic had been overseeing much of the defense of the Lormarc Guild, and neither of them wanted to run into him right now. Not when they were both about to disobey his orders.
When they materialized, Guild Master Barrott seemed startled. “Did you speak with Caleb? He came through right after you called.”
“No, we must have taken a different street on the way over.”
“Then you haven’t heard.”
“Depends,” Kam said dryly. “What are you referring to?”
Barrott turned his body to block the workers from sight and lowered his voice. “The King’s Summons. For both of you. That’s part of what delayed him.”