good,” Kane said. “The drill. Was the way you’re dressed your idea?” All six young Brothers had been in head to toe black. Not unlike what Brenna had been wearing the first time he’d met her.
“Well, it is practical.” Brenna grinned up at him. “Black breeches and shirts are useful, especially for the boys. Even Carolie seems to like it. Now take your uniform.” Brenna gestured towards him. “With so many buttons to polish I’m surprised you have time to show up at all.”
Kane dipped his head in acknowledgement. He hadn’t spent much time at his uncle’s, though he knew he should. He needed her to trust him, to trust the Brotherhood. Staying away didn’t help him there.
“I might have more time if I didn’t have so many security reports to listen to,” Kane said. She shrugged at his comment but it was true. He’d insisted his men report her every move to him, and they did. Pages and pages each night she was out. “I’ve been told the subject is being very careful.”
“I can’t believe you still haven’t told your Uncle.” Brenna met his gaze, her eyes serious. “I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“You forget who I am, Brenna.” Kane kept his voice gentle. “As Captain of the Kingsguard I sit on the king’s council. I’m also in charge of security for the Brotherhood. That makes your safety my responsibility, not my uncle’s.” He hoped he never had to choose between his two roles. His first loyalty was to Brenna and the Brotherhood. “Besides,” Kane continued. “I did suggest you tell him.”
“So you did,” Brenna said. “I just didn’t expect you to keep a secret like this from him.”
“It’s not a secret unless it’s kept,” he said quietly. Maybe, just maybe, she would trust him a little now. “And speaking of secrets, I’m sure Dasid would love to discuss the house with you. He might be able to show you a few more exits.” Brenna laughed and he felt her relax a little. Good, tonight was too important for her to be too nervous. “Not that I think you need more ways out of the house.”
“Do you really think he knows more of them than I do?” Brenna asked.
Kane pretended to think about it. “He’s had access to the house for twenty years and you’ve had access to it for what, less than two months? No, I doubt he knows more of them than you. But he would like to record them all.”
Up in her room, Brenna could hear the sounds of people arriving - hearty greetings, booted feet in the hallway, laughter. But underneath it there was a heavy hum of old steel. A lot of old steel. She’d successfully blocked it out until now but with so much below her, her head ached. At one point, in an effort to find out just how many weapons there were, she’d reached for it and had almost been overwhelmed. Since then she’d stayed in her room rather than face the old steel and the Brothers who carried it. In hopes of some relief, she dabbed her neck with cool water. She leaned over the wash basin and studied her reflection in the mirror.
Over the past weeks her hair had grown and now it was tied back with some twine. Her mother had called her hair chestnut but Brenna had always thought of it as muddy brown, despite the shine it had. Tonight her face was pale, which she thought added to her plainness. The dusting of freckles she’d accumulated while training outside stood out. Her nose was a little too large and her mouth a little wide to be considered beautiful. She certainly had none of the physical charm of Carolie, who was well on her way to becoming a great beauty. Her only unusual feature was her mismatched eyes and as far as she was concerned, that was not a virtue. She sighed and sat on the bed. Not much to inspire the Brotherhood.
Idly she picked up her knife and toyed with it, first lighting the blade and then letting it go dark. Kane and Feiren believed she could manipulate old steel because she was heir to the prophecy. She thought it was something she’d inherited from her mother, along with the charm of concealment and her ability to see well in the dark.
The trouble was, as Kane had reminded her tonight, this wasn’t a game. She was about to try to convince hundreds of people that she was the one prophesied long ago, the one they felt should be on the throne. There was no way she could ever believe that, nor did she want what they offered. She had her own plans, her own life and they didn’t include being the figurehead for the Brotherhood.
But she needed to know what game Thorold was playing so she had to keep up appearances with Kane and his uncle. Unfortunately the longer she stayed in the Rowse home, the harder it would be to see Kane’s reaction to her deception. She admired him. He was a man of honor, a man to be trusted. He would stand by her if she asked, likely to the death – and that shook her. No-one other than her mother had ever had that depth of loyalty to her. And she didn’t deserve it. She wasn’t what he thought she was. Kane had been correct earlier when he said she’d forgotten who he was. She, a thief, had no right to expect anything from the Captain of the Kingsguard.
With a deep sigh, Brenna stood. Time to face the Brotherhood. She opened the door and nodded at the Brother positioned outside her room. She recognized him as the Kingsguard on duty when she was in jail. Kane had said his name was Andel and that he was her escort but to her he was still her jailer. Would he let her leave if she tried to walk out of the house? She doubted it.
“Let’s go,” she said. Instead of taking the stairs she pushed the lever that opened a passageway. As she descended to the caverns, she gritted her teeth and tried to block out the old steel that surrounded her.
Brenna peered around the rocky opening and squinted in the smoky light of the cavern. Empty, the cavern had looked big, but now, filled with almost six hundred Brothers, it felt small. The noise of the crowd reminded her of the Seven River when spring melted the mountain snows. And underlying it was the thrum of old steel. It battered her senses even as she tried to block it out.
For the most part men filled the cavern but Brenna could see a number of women scattered throughout the crowd. Their brightly colored dresses stood out from the somber blacks and browns of the men’s garb. The dark blue uniforms of the Kingsguard punctuated the edges of the room and a Guard nearby looked her way. Andel gave him a sign and the Guard nodded and continued to scan the gathering.
She’d been part of a crowd this size before, but only on the streets of Kingsreach. The larger the crowd the more profitable they were for a thief, but she hadn’t realized that so many bodies in an enclosed space would generate such heat. Brenna thanked Ush that she was dressed in a simple shirt and breeches. The heavy formal attire worn by the nobles and tradesmen and the uniforms worn by the Kingsguard must be stifling.
Up at the front, on the dais, Kane was impressive in his uniform. When he bent his head to speak to his uncle his dark hair shone in the flickering torchlight and Brenna remembered the way the deep blue of the uniform had highlighted his eyes. She quickly looked away from him to study the cavern.
The wooden dais stretched across the front of the cavern and was darkened by age and the smoke of hundreds of years of torches. On the left, three steps led up from the cavern floor. Most of the council of the Brotherhood, including Dasid Addems, sat at the long table that was centered on the dais. Feiren Rowse stood close to the front of the dais, still in conversation with Kane and the rest of the council members solemnly looked out over the crowd.
Brenna’s six drill mates huddled just in front of her, at the very back of the crowd. With a nod to Andel, she drifted off and joined them. Andel made his way through the crowd and up the stairs. He said something to Kane and after a quick glance her way Kane tapped Feiren on the shoulder.
“Brotherhood,” Feiren shouted over the din. “Brotherhood.” The noise of the crowd rose and then grew quiet. “On this historic occasion a special ceremony will be performed by some of our youngest members. Please begin.” Feiren waved Brenna’s group forward.
The seven of them quickly got into positions - shortest to tallest. Martyn was first, then Jemma, Carolie, Brenna, Colm, Owen and finally Gram. Brenna did her best to ignore the deep drone of old steel and concentrate on Carolie as she followed he
r through the crowd. They stopped in front of Feiren and the council and saluted them. Then they all turned and drew their weapons. When Brenna’s hand touched her knife, the hum of old steel increased in volume. Her arm trembled as she drew her knife up, pointed to the cavern ceiling with the flat of the blade resting against her nose. The muscles in her arm ached until she clamped down hard with her mind and blocked the old steel out. She took a deep breath. Now she could function.
Brenna remained stationary as the others swung out from either side of her until they formed two lines that faced each other. Knives and swords met overhead and she walked beneath them. As she passed each pair of old steel weapons she reached out and let them flare briefly. It was a struggle to control the responses of these few weapons in the presence of so much old steel and by the time she’d walked the short distance her head ached and sweat dotted her forehead. The rest of her drill team formed a circle and Brenna began to weave in and out between them. As she passed them, one by one she let each weapon glow for a second. The crowd murmured and she felt a vague sense of unease from the old steel that surrounded her.
She wove past Martyn and the circle broke. Once again they