Chapter 30
When Eryk and Branden had reached the castle after their mad dash through the city, Branden had run up to Aislynn’s room to check on her, while Eryk had gone to the barracks looking for Byron. On his way there, he had run across Jackob, who was also going to find Byron, having just left Aislynn’s room himself. Eryk was thrilled to learn that Aislynn and Davin were both fine, and he had the guard mobilized to hunt Durham down, determined to deal with him once and for all. It was a busy afternoon, and by the time the Madelian emissaries were back in custody, and Durham’s body had been dealt with appropriately, it was approaching sundown.
Later that evening, when the excitement had settled, everyone gathered in Aislynn’s room to discuss the events of the day. They picked this location as a courtesy to Aislynn, who was exhausted by Durham’s attack and was spending her evening relaxing on the couch to try to regain some of her lost strength.
“Well, with Durham gone, that will likely be the end of the assassination attempts,” said Jackob. “Considering the number of guild members they lost trying to kill you Eryk, there is no way they will continue the contract without him, and it’s possible they would not have even if he had survived.”
“That will be a relief,” Eryk said earnestly. He’d be thankful for a little less worry and a little more time to train. Aislynn nodded in agreement, grateful for some time to recover herself.
“If he was a member of the royal family somehow, we need to trace that back. What about Cora? Will she cause a problem too?” Branden asked.
“I don’t think so,” said Aislynn. “She seemed more controlled by her brother than an independent thinker. Someone could potentially use her as a figurehead, I suppose, but I’m not sure who would want to. She’s gone anyway. The rooms she shared with Durham are empty.”
“Don’t forget about Madelia. They are involved with all of this mess too, obviously. I have those two ‘gentlemen’ in chains for now, but what if they had the sanction of their queen?” Byron was pacing, seeming to have nervous energy to work off.
“I have a message here from Queen Vivien,” Eryk said, holding up the missive he had received from the Madelian courier earlier. “She says that she does not condone or support her emissaries, and gives us her permission to execute them, which I will do at dawn. She feels that they must have had something to do with the attack on Aislynn, since all of their guards were involved. I don’t think she is directly involved in this though.”
“So it sounds like everything is taken care of then, except for tracing Durham’s lineage. I’ll pass a message along to the secretary and see what he can come up with tonight.” Branden stretched, feeling content and happy to be a part of the group again, even if his role was now a minor one.
“Well you won’t need to worry about your heir,” Jackob stated confidently. “We will take good care of him in Evendell, and I’m sure he’ll be too busy to miss anyone.” He looked over at the boy, who was curled up asleep on the floor, using Cheta as a pillow.
With the excitement of the day now coming to a close, the group started to break up. First Branden left, off to give the message to the secretary, who would likely have a very long night ahead of him. Byron, who was planning to check on the Madelians and double their guard, just in case, followed him soon after. Jackob was next to leave, picking Davin up tenderly and carrying him away. With his family now grown and essentially gone, the king of Evendell had officially extended his protection to the boy, which was only proper considering he would be in charge of the boy’s fostering. That left Eryk and Aislynn alone.
Eryk helped Aislynn up from the couch, and he offered his support while she walked slowly into the next room. I’m lucky that I’m right-handed, she thought to herself, or I would have opened the wound in my shoulder again. Regardless, she was tired and sore.
Once she was sitting on the edge of her bed, Eryk sat down in the nearby chair for a few moments.
“We have a busy day tomorrow,” he said. “The council will be more than a little anxious about the fact that I’ve named a woman to the position of chief advisor, and they’ll be even more nervous about the fact that I’m going to the funeral without a fiancée.”
“Well, you know as well as I do that I don’t particularly care what your council thinks,” Aislynn said with a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll whip them into shape.”
Eryk smiled back, certain that she was right. She had such a forceful personality that he was positive that she could make anyone do what she wanted, given enough time. He leaned toward her, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Get some rest. I’ll have breakfast sent up, and then I’ll come and get you for the council meeting. Now that you’re mobile, even if you do move at a snail’s pace, you might as well take back your duties from your father.”
Eryk left Aislynn in the care of Marja and Cheta, and retired for the night, very curious to see what the next day would bring.