Kirill felt Jami’s
warmth behind him and thanked God that they were more than friends. If he could
choose a brother, it would be Jami. His intelligence and train- ing pretty much
matched Kirill’s at twenty-three.
They reached the
hill that overlooked the manor and watched for a long while. They saw nothing
amiss. As soon as twilight appeared, they walked the horse straight to the barn
and found his mother’s best friend there. Kassin had taken charge of things in
the manor since the first day they arrived there. His mother thought highly of
him.
“At the palace,
though I don’t know if alive or dead.” The eyebrows of the man on his late
forties rose sky high, while his eyes moved between Kirill and Jami for
more information.
“The palace was
attacked and we were lucky to run here with our lives, Kassin. I don’t know
what to do. Jami believes I should stay out of the light for a while.”
“Who attacked the
palace, young master?”
“We don’t know...,
they fought with thick, long knives.”
“The Sirilians. I
told the king they would be back before I left with your mother.... Is the king
taken then?”
“We don’t know for sure, though when I went by the throne room, a man cried ‘the king has fallen.’”
“Thank you....
Jami, when did you know who I was? With the run for my life? It didn’t register
that you called me prince, until now.”
“I found out when
your mother told you that you needed to learn your letters because a king
didn’t need to know about chickens and such.”
“You were but five
then.”
“Yes, I never told
anyone, not even you, that I knew because I wasn’t sure what it meant.”
“I was glad no one
treated me like they do in the palace. I guess they didn’t because they didn’t
know who I was.”
“If you remember,
Sire, your mother made her lady-in-waiting and me called her Lady Sophrony, her
maiden name, instead of Queen Consort. Of course, I did know who she was. The
servants you have now never knew.”
“She really was
our queen?”
“You didn’t know
that either? Think about it, Jami. If I’m the prince and she is my mother...”
“She is the queen.
No, I never thought of it that way. I, I fancied her my mother, at nights
growing up, but she wasn’t, how could she be?”
“Don’t worry about
that, Jami, you are like a brother to me, anyway. Wait, how did you know I was
at the castle?”
“You were to go to
the palace and didn’t invite me. I decided to leave before you did and see the
palace for myself. I was looking about when I found myself in a tower. That is
when I discovered foreign troops hiding outside the palace about the gardens. I
gave the alarm and may-hem ensued.
“The next time I
looked down, I thought I recognized your horse just a breath behind the enemy.
I followed your advance and knew you would be killed if I didn’t get to you
before the enemy did.
“You were lucky
they were going in and didn’t pay attention to their backs, or they would have
seen you.”
“And your quick
thinking saved me, Jami.” He embraced the young man sideway. “I didn’t know
right from left at the moment, so deep in my thoughts was I. I had no idea
a battle raged in the palace until I saw the guards fighting for their lives.”
“It has been an
adventure, young master. Why don’t you get cleaned up and have something to
eat? I will have the lads watch the road from the palace. They will let us know
if trouble is coming from there.”
“Thank you,
Kassin. My energy has escaped to realms far away and left me lacking.”
Before he lay down
to sleep, Kirill heard a knock on his window. He turned the light down before
he opened it.
“What is it, do
you know?”
“It’s a message
from your mother, addressed to you. It came by messenger two days ago.”
“Thank you,
Kassin. Listen, I don’t know when I can return here.”
“Don’t worry, young
master. Safe travels to you and Jami. You’d better get some sleep; morn comes
too early in the country.”
It must have been midnight when a loud bang and crashing that seemed to be the front door awoke Kirill in a fright.
I own every book by Anna del C. Dye. I love them and they have a special place on my bookshelves.
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