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She smiled even while her pointed teeth were chattering. “I bring news.Bignews.”
“Here, sweetheart,” said Ogalvet, handing her a steaming bowl of stew.
“I am not hungry, Ogalvet.”
“It’ll warm your hands. Set it on your lap, keep your palms around the bowl.”
“So smart, you are.” She beamed a smile at him.
“What news?” I asked, now leaning my shoulder against the mantel.
Pullo, Soryn, and Dalya had also corralled closer.
“I know where the king’s elite guard went.”
“Where?” I snapped.
We knew they’d been sent on a covert mission. My own scouts had lost track of them near Hellamir, a light fae town on the Bluevale River.
“They went far into Lumeria, into Issos itself, to capture a prisoner.”
My entire body went rigid. I knew before I asked, “Who did they go to capture?”
“Princess Una, King Connall’s daughter.”
“And did they?” asked Dalya earnestly.
“Yes,” said Hava, her excitement dampened now by pity. “They will use her to force her father to surrender.”
No one said a word for a long moment, realizing my father had done the impossible. This may very well bring about the end of the war and bring Northgall into power.
Soryn who broke the silence first. “It would’ve taken immense stealth to go into Issos and capture the princess.”
“It did,” added Hava, no longer shivering. “They killed a farmer and his family outside the city on a hill with a perfect view of the comings and goings of the palace. When they saw a large royal guard following a carriage leaving Valla Lokkyr, they followed, expecting it to be her, or possibly someone important who might help them get to her. The guard and carriage went all the way near the outside of the city.”
“It was her, wasn’t it?” I asked.
Hava nodded. “She was bringing a healing orb to a sick boy, a villager.”
“Why would she risk her neck so stupidly?” asked Soryn.
No one bothered to answer. The princess had been foolish once before. Seems the outcome was the same. She’d become a prisoner of Näkt Mir for a second time. However, this time, my father had orchestrated it, knowing the power a prisoner of her importance might have on the war.
“They’re holding her in the dungeon, I presume.” I turned my attention to the fire, trying to stop the erratic buzzing in my blood at this news.
“Not the dungeon.”
“Where are they keeping her?” asked Dalya.
“Under guard and lock and key. In the concubine quarters.”
“What?” I asked on a hushed breath. A white-hot stirring of my magick burned in my veins.
Soryn stood next to me, crossing his arms. “Are you telling us that King Xakiel has made the virgin Princess of Issos his new whore?”
“Not yet.” Hava stood and handed the untouched bowl of stew back to Ogalvet and faced me. “The king has been meeting with his warriors near the front. He’d planned to join them on their push toward Issos, but he halted orders to move forward and returned to Northgall when he heard news that his secret mission had worked.”
“She’s just a child,” I grated through my teeth.
