Ring of Gold Revisited

Chapter Eight

Far to the west, a ship bearing navy sails docked on the shore of Sieris. Standing at the bow was a man draped in a white cloak with a silver fur interior, large and warm enough to block out the chill that was blowing in off the sea. A small girl came up by his side, one hand on the hilt of her sword, and said, "The king is waiting for you, General."

He nodded once and turned, making his way along the ship until he reached the ladder. With the grace of an assassin, he scaled his way down the side of the haul until his heavily booted feet connected with the wooden dock below. Immediately, he was greeted by a gathering of ten soldiers, all weathering silver leathers and navy cloaks. Escorts, he realized.

The General rolled his jaw. The king wasn't thrilled, it seemed.

He nodded curtly to the man heading the group of soldiers and allowed them to surround him, guiding him down the dock and onto the sandy shore beyond. He was offered a horse, which he pulled himself up onto and took off towards Tonitrua, which was a short ride from the docking port. The air was dry – as it usually was between storms – and the General found himself in desperate need of water.

When he and his escorts approached the city gates, he noted that the flags hanging from the great stone wall surrounding Tonitrua were hanging limply at half-mast. Unease swept through his body, straight down his spine and into his feet. Something was wrong.

He turned to the guard riding beside him. "What happened while I was gone?"

The fair haired guard slowly faced him, his falled pulled into a grimace. "This month marks twenty years since the heir went missing, sir. The queen is grieving."

The General clenched his jaw. How naïve did these soldiers have to be to believe that the queen actually missed her son? Even the king played along with that façade.

He hadn't traveled to Direwood simply to participate in the Summer Solstice Tournament. The king had assigned him to track down the lost heir of Sieris and bring them home, but he knew the king wouldn't welcome them back. The boy was a bastard son, born to the queen before marriage, but still had claim to the throne upon return.

The king and queen had a daughter of their own, who now stood next in line to rule, but if the lost heir were to return . . . the king's daughter would be nothing but a princess. The heir would be killed without question, and the General had no intention of handing them over to be slaughtered.

Word had spread that the heir had been spotted in Dirwood – an obvious lie, since no one knew what the lost prince looked like – but the king had ordered him to participate in the Tournament the moment word had reached his ears. The search, of course, had been pointless, but he had used it as an opportunity to showcase his magic and catch a glimpse of a new culture, one he hadn't yet had the opportunity to experience.

Hell, he'd even met a human. The first to ever live among the fae. The idea was beyond him, but he'd seen the cunning in her gaze. The General had a feeling she was being greatly underestimated. But the snow haired girl was not what he was currently concerned with.

As they rode into the city, the fae looked up as their General rode past, looking like a god on his white stallion, and several young ladies batted their lashes at him. He offered wry grins in return, laughing to himself as their faces flushed red.

They wove their way through the crowded streets and between the dark stone buildings, pushing aside the silver and navy tapestries that blocked the alleyways. When they reached the base of the castle steps, the General slid off his horse and passed the reins to a nearby guard, who led the horse away. He glanced up at the towering fortress before him, taking in the expanse of dark building with its large turrets and metal roof, and through the stained windows he could make out the forms of maids and councilmen moving through the halls.