‘Ah, William.’ King Ferriden extended his hand. ‘Please, come and join me.’
He had been called upon after a few hours of sitting in the war room. He had nearly fallen asleep when a guard tapped him on the shoulder, rousing him. Then he was led outside and around to the back of the King’s Hall to the adjoining buildings. He knew the back door led to the storerooms and the guard barracks, for he had been there before with King Ferriden on a few occasions. This particular visit was the strangest yet.
They were standing in a small room with two guards. William thought it to be an old storeroom that was abandoned for a larger one. The bloody body that he had discovered upon the roof was now lying at the centre of the room upon a table. Upon closer inspection, William saw that the man’s dark hair was frozen and his eyes wide with some unknown terror.
‘Do you know him?’ Ferriden asked, once he had dismissed the guards.
William shook his head. ‘I have never seen him before tonight.’
‘He looks to be Emperian.’ The King pointed to the sleeve of the dead man’s tunic. ‘You see there? It looks to be the crest of the Zhan Kingdom.’
William leaned in to get a better look. The King was right. The crest – a shield of red with a golden sword within – was plain to see.
‘What was an Emperian doing all the way up here?’ he asked.
The King shook his head. ‘It is unusual, especially an Emperian of such high standing.’
‘You think this man was important?’
‘His clothes suggest it.’ Ferriden held the man’s forearm up. ‘Why else would he bear this crest upon his sleeve? It is expensive attire. He was either a member of the court or involved with the military.’
‘The latter seems more likely,’ murmured William, seeing the scars upon the man’s face and hands.
‘Yes,’ agreed Ferriden, putting the man’s arm back on the table. ‘Zhan must be missing him by now.’ He sighed and rubbed his forehead. ‘This is a delicate situation. If we tell King Rogeir that this man was murdered within our borders, he may openly declare war or request some sort of compensation for the death. Yet if we do nothing and someone in Zhan has seen this man cross over into our borders, we are in trouble for not reporting it to the King.’
‘A double-edged sword, then,’ said William. He looked to the King. ‘Do you honestly think Rogeir will declare war over one man?’
‘If this man was just a simple servant he may want to declare war.’ Ferriden sighed once more. ‘Zhan’s current king has been trying to create a war between us for years now. He is nothing like his father. He is a trouble starter.’
‘Then what will you do?’ asked William.
Ferriden slowly shook his head. ‘I am unsure. We must bring this news to their attention, though. I just do not know how to go about it.’
‘We could lie,’ suggested William.
Ferriden gave his friend a grim smile. ‘Lie? Yes, you are quite good at spinning tales.’
William blinked in surprise, an odd expression covering his face. ‘I assumed whenever you said “we” you meant the Queen and yourself. Surely …?’
‘Now, now, Will … I do not wish to trouble my wife with such news,’ said Ferriden, a sly smile crossing his lips. ‘She is with child, after all, and to cause her to worry over something so small is bad for her health. No, when I speak of “we” I mean you and me! We shall tackle this problem on our own.’
‘You fail to notice that I am but a simple hunter and not part of the royal family,’ retorted William. ‘Surely you would only end up dead in a ditch if I put my two coppers in.’
Ferriden roared with laughter. ‘Honestly, you do not think yourself so low, do you? Your judgement is well appreciated, I can assure you. I listened to your father, even when he spoke nonsense, and found more wise words than any noble could produce.’
William snorted and crossed his arms. ‘What are you planning on doing with me, then?’
‘I shall send you to the Zhan Kingdom. You may tell King Rogeir that you have found an Emperian dead within our lands,’ said Ferriden.
William’s arms dropped. ‘You want me to go to Zhan? Not your envoy? Not someone who actually knows about politics?’
‘You don’t need to know anything about politics,’ said Ferriden. ‘You will go to the King of Zhan, tell him that an Emperian was killed by animals in the cold reaches of our land, and then return home again. It was your idea to lie, and now you will do so.’
William hung his head back in defeat. ‘Why does this feel like some sort of punishment?’
Ferriden smiled again. ‘It is not punishment. You have been hiding out in your hovel of a home for a very long time now. A trip to a neighbouring province will do you good.’
‘Or kill me,’ said William darkly. He glanced down at the bloody body. ‘You never did say what happened to this man.’
Ferriden’s face grew hard. ‘Be honest, William. You only want to know because of Sonia, and for that reason I must withhold the truth.’
‘So you won’t tell me?’
‘No.’
William tried to hold back his scowl but it escaped him anyway. ‘You said these days were dark. You cannot just pretend that I did not hear it.’
‘I can and I will. I am the King, after all.’ He gave a smirk and stepped over to the stairway. ‘Now my young envoy, will you follow your King’s orders and prepare to depart for Eldras?’
‘Do I have a choice?’ murmured William.
‘No.’
‘Then I will prepare at once, my lord,’ said William mockingly.
‘You are by far the worst subject I have ever had,’ commented Ferriden.
‘And you the worst king,’ said William.
Ferriden inclined his head to the stairwell. ‘Off you go, then, before I decide to kill you myself.’