A War Of Traitors( ARTK, Book 2)

Chapter 77

Juhna 15th, 3329 A.G

  Andre took a deep breath, staring at his sleeping wife. The babe made her quite tired, and he'd tried to be the best husband possible- but there was only so much that could be done in the middle of a siege.  Now, they were waiting for him and he didn't want to leave her.

  This was another thing she wouldn't agree with, that he'd certainly hear about later- but that was only one of the things he loved about her. She didn't hesitate to tell him when he fucked up, or to continue loving him afterwards. He was far from perfect- but that was her thing.

  He eased off the bed so he wouldn't disturb her, leaving the covers where they were. She'd always slept warm- pressing herself against him while she slept even on Libera and Bracari.

  He snuck one last look as he stood at the door and smiled. This was one of the rare occasions one could not read what she'd been through on her face, and te beauty made him sad in a way. She smiled and laughed often, but there was a pain behind her eyes than never seemed to go away- and likely never would.

  Somehow, he made himself leave. The few soldiers who knew of the plan looked at him as he passed, slightly bowing their heads as a sign of respect. There were so many ways it could go wrong, and he was throwing himself right in the middle of everything.

He found Nara, Maude, and a few soldiers outside like they'd agreed on, still within the safety of walls.

  "You're late." Nara said.

  "I like looking at my wife-" Andre shrugged, glancing beside her for a moment. "I'm sure the king can relate. Shall we?"

  Nara wanted to punch him for a moment, though she  quickly got over it and mounted her horse.

  "Should this go wrong-" Maude started.

  "You will not be held responsible." Nara said, gesturing for the gate to be let up. "I promise you that."

  Maude sighed. "And Cam-"

  "Will not be harmed unless he gives me a reason to harm him." She interrupted. "We've been through this. I can be forgiving in a room alone, but if he disrespects me in front of people...... whatever happens next is his own fault."

  Maude gulped. Cam was smarter than that- at least she thought so.

  Her and Nara split from Andre and the soldiers about halfway to house Alymere, while he continued to the main gate. He went no closer than they had the last time Nara and Lord Emerson spoke, while Nara and Maude went around through the woods.

  He yelled loud enough for the guards to hear. "I wish to speak with the man who raised me!"

  "He will not want to see a traitor-" The guard began.

"I believe your lord can decide that for himself." Andre interrupted. "You will tell him I'm here."

  His look was threatening enough that the guard gulped, turning away from the walls for a moment. Andre waited there for almost a thousand moments,  dangerously close to the archers- until a change finally happened.

  More guards appeared on top of the walls near the main gate- and it opened for only a moment before closing again with Lord Emerson and a few soldiers on the other side. He and Andre spent nearly thirty moments just staring at each other- before the lord  stepped forward first.

  "Andre." He said coldly. "I hope you are here to beg for forgiveness. The gods know you'll be doing just that when I'm done with you-"

  "You know what I think?" Andre stepped forward, a pit forming in his stomach at the things he were about to say. "I think you're a coward like your father. I think that you know, deep down- the honorable thing to do when you know you cannot win is kneel.... but you're afraid. The Alymere's have held control of Narene as long as the Ashhand's have held Kroba, and you don't want to be the one that breaks that. It is understandable, but you're weaker than you believe. You were always going to be the one who ended your family's legacy."

  Andre knew every word he said was a lie, but it was the distraction that was important.

  Lord Alymere gave a small, fake smile. "Do you want to know what I think? I think you're just as afraid. You know that no matter what you do now, you will always have powerful enemies- and with a babe on the way that is a terrifying thought. A less honorable man might threaten that child or the wife carrying it now. An afraid man would kill you while he could, but I am not that man and you know this. A man even more honorable than I would allow you to repledge yourself to me now, but I am not that man- so I hope your happy with the family you've got. You  are no son of mine."

  Andre closed his eyes for a brief moment. The words stung, but they were ones he'd expected. "And Avelina?"

  "What?"

  "Is she still a daughter of yours?" Andre raised an eyebrow. "You and I both know she would have betrayed you to protect her brother. That... no matter how long she yelled at me for being stupid, she would have eventually joined whatever side I was on."

  If Avelina was still here he wouldn't be so set on revenge- but that was beside the point, and lord Emerson knew it.

  "Avelina will always be a daughter of mine...." Lord Emerson gulped. "What happened to her was not.... fair. But the man who did it payed with his life, and your anger towards his lady commander is unjustified."

  Lord Emerson's words went in one ear and out the other. His opinion remained the same: If he hadn't been a spy for Tiffan Raynerus, Lennix Drabek  never would have crossed paths with Avelina.

  "That's where your wrong-" Andre said. "My anger will always be justified."

  Meanwhile, Maude and Nara peered through the treeline at the wall with a weak spot. Only one guard was on it- as most men were then at the main gate, protecting their lord. She'd already told her about the secret passage through Cam's wardrobe, but it was this one that would need pointing out. Nara wiped the blood of a scout off her sword and onto her leg, trying to be silent. They would not be able to talk once against the wall, but Nara could read gestures better than anyone- so it wouldn't be an issue.

  They watched him for so long that Maude's arm tried to go numb- thinking they'd somehow gotten unlucky with the one guard who took his job seriously....but he eventually yawned like any human would.

  Maude took that opportunity to immediately pull Nara along. They flattened themselves against the wall just in time, and Maude made a hand gesture to go right. Their movements were small, again taking so long that their necks began to cramp up- but they dealt.

"He won't be able to see us here." Maude's voice was barely audible, even to Nara. "We're almost directly below him- and so is this."

Maude reached a little more to her right, pushing aside a patch of jasmine vines that'd begun to bloom in the warm period. Beneath- there was a hole and crumbled stone all over the ground around it.

"No telling how long it's been like that." Maude whispered again. "Even during the last repairs... they would've missed it."

Nara smiled. And oh how happy she was that they did, as it made the plan forming in her head so much easier.

"For us this a good thing." Nara replied. "For them... not so much."