Without thinking, I reached out to touch one, and Ridley flinched and pulled back from me.
"I"m sorry. I didn"t mean to hurt you."
He turned his back to me and shook his head. "It didn"t hurt. When the healer fixed my neck, she healed those up too."
"What are they? What happened?"
"I just don"t want to talk about it."
"Ridley." I moved closer to him. I lifted my hand, meaning to put it on his back, but I was afraid he"d flinch again, so I let it fall to my side. "Please stop shutting me out. What happened in Doldastam after I left?"
He looked at me over his shoulder. "Can you pretend like nothing happened in Doldastam? Can we just forget about it? At least for tonight?"
"If that"s what you want."
"I do."
Ridley turned to face me, and held out his hand to me. I hesitated for a moment, but then I took it and let him pull me into his arms. For a moment, when I lay my head against his bare chest, with his arms strong and sure around me, I closed my eyes and tried to pretend that it was the way things were before.
But there was a stiffness in his muscles, a resistance that hadn"t been there before.
"Even though you"re right here, in my arms, you still feel so far away," I murmured, and saying it aloud hurt so much I could barely speak. "I can"t do this."
"What?" Ridley asked, sounding startled as I pulled away from him and stepped back.
"I can"t do this. I want to be with you, but only if you"re actually here with me. I don"t know what"s going on with you or with us." I swallowed hard. "I can"t keep doing this if you won"t let me in."
He lowered his eyes and didn"t say anything. I waited, hoping that he would finally say something real to me. But he didn"t, so I turned and started walking away.
"Mina captured me as soon as I came back in the gates," Ridley said when I reached the door, his voice strong but flat. "The guards hauled me off in front of everyone with my arms in shackles."
I faced him, with my hand still on the door. His mouth twisted up as he spoke, and he kept his eyes locked on the floor.
"She tied me to a rack," he said thickly. "That"s a medieval torture device. They tie you up by each one of your limbs, and then they pull. Slowly. Agonizingly slow." He motioned to his arms. "But that wasn"t enough. Mina burned meholding hot pokers to my flesh."
That explained the ridges on his arms, the ones I"d touched earlier.
"The worst part about it all," he said, shaking his head, "she never asked me anything. I wouldn"t have told her, but she didn"t even ask. She wasn"t torturing me to find anything outshe was doing it because she could."
"Ridley," I breathed. I went over to him and reached out to touch his face. He leaned into my palm and closed his eyes. "I"m so sorry."
"No, Bryn, don"t be sorry." He put his hand over mine. "Don"t ever be sorry. Not about this."
"I don"t know what else to say."
"You don"t need to say anything." He lowered his hand, then stepped back, away from me, so I let my arm drop to my side. "It"s late, and we have a long day tomorrow. You should probably head back to your room and get some sleep."
Startled by the abruptness, I didn"t say anything at first. Then I nodded slowly and turned to leave Ridley standing alone in his room, wondering if I had failed him so much that we would never be able to reconcile again.
FORTY-SEVEN.
offense "That"s not good enough!" Tilda barked, standing over a sweaty Skojare guard.
I"d been sparring with a different guard, but I stopped what I was doing to look over at her. For training today, she"d done her best to look every bit the part of a captain. Her hair was pulled back in a smooth ponytail, and she"d even gotten her hands on a frosty blue Skojare uniform. It fit her well, except that the jacket had to be left open to compensate for her growing belly.
Baltsar had set us up in the ballroom of the palace, since it had the most s.p.a.ce. It was an opulent round room with white marble floors. Above us, the ceiling was domed gla.s.s, making this one of the few places I"d seen in the Storvatten palace that let in natural light.
The wallpaper had this magical quality, with a pale bluish sheen and a silver design etched into it, but when you looked at it, it seemed to move, like waves on the water. It was unlike anything I"d ever seen before. Every twenty feet or so, the wallpaper was broken up with a marble half pillar.
Baltsar and Ridley had organized the training today, separating the guards into groups based on their experience. Since taking his position a few weeks ago, Baltsar had already begun to rework the guard and hired thirty new recruits. On top of that, with the threat of war, many commoners and even a few of the royals had volunteered to join the makeshift army being built.
Tilda had been tasked with commanding the group of new recruits and volunteers, and she was running them through their paces like a drill sergeant. When they"d first been a.s.signed to her, I"d heard the recruits snickering about how easy they"d gotten it because she was pregnant and a girl. None of them were snickering now.
At the back of the room, Baltsar was commanding his troop. While Tilda focused on more basic endurance and strength training, just trying to get them into proper physical condition, Baltsar was working on sword skills, while Ridley focused on hand-to-hand fighting.
For the most part, Konstantin and I just floated around, sparring with people and helping to show them proper form as needed. Right now Konstantin was standing with Ridley, discussing what to work on next, while Ridley"s group ran laps around the ballroom.
Ridley had asked for Konstantin"s opinion on several things today in regard to training, and that made sense since Konstantin had a lot of experience as a tracker, a guard, and practical application in real life. Since Forening, the two had seemed to get along well, and Ridley appeared to trust Konstantin"s judgment.
I"d had no input on what was happening today. Konstantin, Ridley, and Tilda actually all outranked me (discounting the fact that Konstantin and I had been exiled, of course). But that meant that while Ridley, Tilda, and Baltsar had to dress in uniforms like commanding officers, and the four of them had to worry and decide what everyone needed to focus on, I just got to get down and dirty.
I was in my tank top and yoga pants, sweating and fighting with whomever I could. And honestly, it felt amazing. In the chaos of everything around me, training in the gym was the one area I could always count on. This was the first time in a long time I"d had a chance to really work off all the aggression I had about feeling so powerless against Mina and Viktor Dlig.
So today, as I punched another one of Tilda"s recruits in the jaw, I couldn"t help but smile. It felt great to be back.
"Bryn!" Tilda shouted. "You"re not supposed to be making contact, remember? This is just training. You don"t want to break all the soldiers before they go to battle."
"Right. Sorry. I got a little overzealous." I waved at her, but by the look in her eyes, I knew that wasn"t good enough.
She walked over to me, the trainees parting around her. "That"s the fourth time I"ve called you out on it. We"ve been going at this all day. Why don"t you take five?"
"No, I"m good. I don"t need it."
"Bryn." She looked at me severely, and I realized it wasn"t a suggestion. "Take a break."
"Fine," I said because there was no point in arguing with her.
I apologized to the guy I"d hit, then I turned and walked away. I tried not to storm off, despite my irritation. But both Konstantin and Ridley turned to look back at me, their eyes questioning. I just forced a smile and hurried on my way.
At the end of the ballroom were two large doors, and I pushed them both with my hands as hard as I could, blowing off a bit of steam. They flew open, and I heard a deep voice rumble in pain.
As the doors swung closed, I looked over to see that I had hit someone with the door. He straightened up, looking down at me with dazzling blue eyes, the thin gills under his jawline flaring when he exhaled. The chandelier directly above us was out, and his broad shoulders cast an ominous shadow over me from the light at the end of the hall.
It was the newly reappointed King, Mikko Biaelse. This was the first time I"d seen him since I"d been implicated in his younger brother"s death, and he did not look happy to see me.
FORTY-EIGHT.
confrontation "Bryn Aven," Mikko said in a voice that rumbled like thunder. Linnea had once told me that Mikko was painfully shy, and I found that so strange. With his striking good looks, rather imposing size, and a voice like Odin, I"d never met anybody else who had a presence like his. He looked like he"d been created to be King.
I swallowed hard before replying with, "Your Highness," and bowing.
"There"s no need for that." He looked uncomfortable for a moment, then folded his arms over his chest. "I heard that I have you to thank for my freedom."
"I ... I, uh, that was more Marksinna Lisbet," I stammered in surprise. His words sounded kind, but he looked like he wouldn"t mind snacking on my bones for breakfast.
"She said that you swayed Baltsar into action," he said. "While I was incarcerated, Linnea told me that you never stopped believing in me and fighting for my innocence. She insisted that you were our greatest ally."
"I..." I didn"t know how to reply to that. It was an exaggeration, but there was some truth to it, so I said simply, "I just did what I thought was right, sire."
"It"s unfortunate how rare it is to find someone who will do what"s right."
He turned his attention toward the ballroom doors. A sliver of bright light spilled through the thin gap between the doors into the darkness of the hall, making a line across Mikko"s face as he peered inside. Even out in the hall, Tilda could easily be heard, shouting her commands.
The King had apparently come to watch his new army training, and with his attention back on that and off me, now would be a perfect time for me to slip away. I could go down the hall, get a drink of water, and cool off.
But I hesitated, and it caused him to look back at me. "Is there something I can do for you, Bryn?"
"I wanted to say that I"m sorry about your brother," I said finally.
He sighed heavily. "So am I." His normally hard expression softened, disillusionment and sadness wearing down on his features. "And I"m sorry that you got pulled into that mess. Linnea filled me in on what happened, and I appreciate you acting as honorably as you did."
"Thank you," I said, stunned to hear Mikko actually thanking me for my involvement in his brother"s death.
"I do wish that Kennet had been able to come to me with his concerns instead of taking matters to into his own hands." He turned his eyes to the ceiling, and his exasperation gave way to anger. "But that"s my father"s doing. He always said that a real man would take what he wanted. Kennet was kinder than that, or at least he would"ve been without Father"s influence."
From what I understood, Mikko and Kennet"s father, the late King Rune, was not a good man. My mom had bordered on calling him a s.a.d.i.s.t. He had h.o.a.rded sapphires and let the palace and the kingdom fall into disrepair. He"d been more focused on maintaining his wealth than the welfare of anyone, including his own children.
Even after his father"s death, Mikko had seemed afraid to undo his proclamations. The continuing policies of Rune had led to an inept guard and rifts in the kingdom. It was also one of the motivations for Kennet"s attempt at overthrowing Mikko.
"Despite everything Kennet did, I do believe that he loved you," I said.
Mikko lowered his eyes. "I know he did. That"s what makes it harder."
"I"m sorry. I didn"t mean to upset you."
"No. In an awful way, this has all been good for me." He looked up at me, making eye contact for one of the first times since I"d met him. "I"ve realized that I need to step out of my father"s shadow and lead in my own right."
"Queen Linnea has talked about the greatness she sees in you," I said. "They need a strong leader, and I think you"re the one to do it."
"The Skojare are good people, and they deserve a strong King." Mikko stood up straighter. "I must become that King for them."
I smiled. "I"m looking forward to seeing you in action."
"You can stay for as long as you want," he said. "I know things with your kingdom have become a terrible mess, but I want you to know that you are always welcome here. As far as I"m concerned, you have a home here in Storvatten."
A footman came running around the corner, going so fast he skidded on the floor. He caught himself, then raced toward us. As soon as he saw the King, he started yelling, "Sire! Sire!"
"What?" Mikko turned back to face him. "What"s the matter?"
The footman reached us, gasping for breath. "The ... they sent me to get you." He paused, gulping down air. "There"s an army waiting at the door for you."
FORTY-NINE.
unannounced Mikko was about to go to the door by himself, but I ran back into the ballroom and grabbed Baltsar and Ridley. I wasn"t about to let the King get himself killed when the Skojare had just gotten him back.
Konstantin and Tilda stayed back with the troops, preparing to command them if they needed to. The hope was that since the army had come to the door, they wanted to have some kind of sit-down with Mikko. Maybe he"d even be able to sway them away from battle and come to some sort of compromise.
That seemed unlikely, but at this point it appeared to be our only hope to avoid ma.s.sive bloodshed.
Before I left, following Ridley and Baltsar behind the King, Konstantin grabbed my arm.
"Do not leave the King alone with her," he warned in a low voice, referring to Mina. "She"ll kill him the second she has the chance."
"I won"t." I started to turn away, but Konstantin still hung on to my arm, so I looked back at him.
"Be careful," he said and finally released me.
I ran out after the King. He, Ridley, and Baltsar were walking quickly and purposefully toward the front door. Baltsar was talking to Mikko, telling him everything that he should do and say, and what response he advised based on what the leader of the army might say to him.
"What should we do?" I asked Ridley in a hushed voice as I fell in step beside him.
"Try not to let the King get killed, and try not to get killed ourselves." He glanced down at me. "That"s the best I"ve got."
We reached the front hall, and I was doing my best to slow the racing of my heart. Seven guardsveteran ones who had been working around the palace and not trainingstood at attention around the hall. Their hands were on their swords, ready to act if they needed to.
If Mina and Viktor had sent their full army, it didn"t matter if the entire Skojare force were in the hall. They weren"t ready, and they"d be slaughtered.
Ridley and I flanked the King on either side, while Baltsar went to open the large front door. Mikko stood tall with his head high, and it was definitely a good choice to release him from the dungeon. He was far more intimidating than Marksinna Lisbet.
Baltsar looked back at us, making sure we were ready, and the King nodded. So Baltsar opened the door.