Page 68 of Memory of Ashes

Workers wheeled covered wagons in and out of the Royal Quarter. What lay beneath those covers? Had something moved underneath one, or had he imagined it?

He’d have to send a spy into the towers to uncover that information.

Early that morning, he left the city and headed home. It was risky to stay in the city longer than was needed. He shuddered at the thought of being caught. Even he could not fight a whole city.

The roads led him near the border. Once he was out of sight, he urged his horse into a gallop across the wild country.

It would take him almost a full day to reach the fortress. He made no stops other than to rest his horse.

Now that he’d seen their army preparing, he would have to ready his own. It had been a long time since any of them had seen war.

It was the dead of night as he approached the last few miles of his journey. He had a strange feeling that something was wrong. It had been niggling in his mind. He urged his horse faster as he raced the last few miles.

The guards recognised him and opened the gates. Casyl dismounted, handed his horse to a servant and rushed into the fortress. The feeling intensified as he rushed to the human’s room. Where were the guards? Something was very wrong.

He burst into the room and saw a guard standing before the girl, a knife raised towards her.

The sight of the weapon sparked something primal. His body shook as he threw himself at the guard and snapped his neck without hesitation.

It was only when he’d calmed down that he realised he should have kept the guard alive and interrogated him. No matter. Someone else in the fortress knew, and Casyl would spill blood to find them.

He shook his head.

He spent most of his time trying to keep her alive, and to what end? His father had nothing good planned for her.

He helped her up. She appeared unharmed but stumbled a little. The smell of liquor hung in the air.

She’d been drinking.

He steadied her. Their eyes met. One of hers reminded him of the deep shades of the forest; the other caught the light like fire, flecked with gold.

She leaned into him. Her warmth pressed against him, her breath brushing his skin.

He paused a moment too long.

He pulled away and left before he did something he’d regret.

*

In the morning, Casyl ordered the human moved to the secure room at the bottom of his turret. It would be safer there for her whilst he investigated how someone had managed to breach the fortress. There was a window, but it was much too small for even her to climb through. She’d be more comfortable there too.

He frowned at the thought. Since when did he care about her comfort?

The king was disappointed that Casyl had failed to discover her entrance, but he was more infuriated by the High City’s preparations for war and the attempt on the human’s life.

He was ordered to ready their troops and prepare them for war. Before he could do that, he needed to find out how the assassin had infiltrated the fortress and who else was involved. He trusted no one else to do it.

Tharos could start the war preparations without him until he was able to join them. He would know what to do.

He went down into the dungeons of the fortress. They were rarely used but would now serve as a place for him to interrogate. He would find out what had happened, even if he had to resort to torture. The king would expect no less.

He had guards searching the servants’ chambers for any evidence of treason. The newest members of staff were the most suspicious. The warriors of the fortress had undergone intense training and had been there for decades. If anyone was going to be a traitor, it was more likely to be a servant.

“My lord,” the guard said, escorting a man into the dungeon. “We found him trying to climb out of a window.”

No one would try to leave the fortress without permission. The land was dangerous, and there was nowhere to go.

“Do you want to confess what you know before or after?” he said, tapping a finger to his temple.