Tales of Fire and Ruin

City of Wonders

Brittleton castle was only a taste of what was waiting for me at Wildewall, and it was already far too strong for me to stomach.

My morning started with me jolting upright in my bed at the sound of rustling fabric. The servant standing in my room stammered he'd only entered to wake me and help me get dressed, and almost literally crawled out with his nose pressed to the floor when I told him I didn't need help. The look on his face before he closed the door left me feeling like I'd insulted his ancestors and kicked his horse, too.

The servants at the Thundercoast had never behaved like this. It left me wondering if it was simply the result of the Seydal family running a tight ship, or if all servants of the richer families of the court were like this.

If I ever had people working for me again, I'd teach them to not crawl for me or buy me clothes that cost a fortune. The shirt and pants the man had left in my room were smooth but sturdy. They were the most comfortable garments I'd worn in a long time, but my skin crawled thinking of how they could probably pay for all the labourers needed to repair our mansion.

After getting dressed, I did my best to avoid people as I strode past the stained glass windows. Oleander would be proud of me, because I managed to sneak outside of Brittleton's castle unseen. Only the unblinking eyes of the portraits dotted across the corridor walls saw me leave.

I thought the horses would make for pleasant company in the early morning, and it seemed there was another person who shared my sentiments. When I walked into the stables, Endris was already with the horses. He often seemed to prefer being with animals whenever he wasn't out in the mountains guiding people to dragons. Perhaps I would feel the same way if I lived in Wildewall.

Spot came to the front of the fence with her ears perked, and I gave her neck a soft pat in the passing. She snorted, making Endris look up at me.

"Endris. You're up early," I greeted him.

Endris crossed his arms. "The servants are whispering about you."

"Oh no." I groaned, flicking my gaze upward to the wooden ceiling. "It wasn't about wanting to get dressed on my own, right? Because I swear—"

"They're saying you killed Ytel."

I shot Endris an incredulous look. "I didn't."

"You don't need to convince me," Endris said. "To be more specific, they think you gave the order."

I turned to the entrance of the stables with a sigh, placing my hands on my hips. "I'm not giving orders to anyone. I'm not even the head of house Montbow yet."

We'd had little time to solve murder mysteries before we were forced to depart or risk being late to the queen's ball. While on the road, however, I had pondered about this stabbing incident. By now I was pretty convinced it was Conrad and Ariane scheming again. They were awfully fast with pointing out how I could get my family out of this accusation by attending a hearing in the capital. It was dangerous to point fingers, however. If they found my brother guilty of Ytel's death, it would play out as my father had said: he'd hang in Wildewall. Ariane could probably get out of that morbid fate, but her name would be tarnished, too.

I turned back to Endris. "Who do you think did it?"

"I don't know," Endris replied with irritation lacing his voice. "I was too busy stealing the horn and making them retreat."

"Yes, but who do you think did it?"

Endris shrugged. "Does it matter? The kill will be attributed to the Montbow family, which means it'll be attributed to the most prominent member of that family, which is you."