Page 3 of Kingdom Of Veil And Vow

Stepping up to the stand that holds my armor, I buckle my cuirass on first as Grayson continues. “Anderson is working on sorting the data to give to the king, but it doesn’t look good. Nearly twenty guard members were taken out last month, and another ten are already sick with symptoms. And that’s not to speak of the handful of women in Vitour, one of whom is also pregnant.”

I pause at that, a small seedling of sympathy rising. I let it linger for a moment before squashing it back down. Finishing, I step out of the closet and back into the room, meeting Grayson’s gaze where he sits in a chair at the edge of the bed.

“While horrific, I can’t imagine that is the only reason you’ve come.”

He forces a crooked smile. “It isn’t.”

At the hesitation in his voice, my shoulders tense. Grayson has never been one to mince words, certainly not with me. Taking me under his wing when I was a child and the king forced me to join the guard as an apprentice, he was kind when others were not. But though the decades that separate us show their wear in the gray in his hair and beard and the wrinkles on his forehead, I still trust the man to defend my life as well as anyone my own age.

My fingers curl around the edge of my helmet where it rests in the crook of my arm. “What?”

He sighs, eyes moving to the closed door on the other side of the room as he drops his voice. “The second group of guards just arrived.” I suck in a sharp breath, my feet already carrying me in the door’s direction when Grayson jumps up and lays a hand on my shoulder. “Xander wait—”

“I need to see if she is with them,” I bite out, turning to look at him. “Princess Rhea—”

“She’s not with them.”

The tension coiled within me releases slightly. “You’re sure?”

He nods, letting me go and waiting until I turn to face him fully. “I confirmed with one of the returned guards. Neither she nor Flynn were the one they apprehended.”

I pause at the mention of the man who aided in Princess Rhea’s escape, Flynn. He had raised concerns to his commander about a longtime tower guard named Alexi leaving his post in the middle of the night. Of course, all King Dolian had focused on was Alexi going inside the tower and coming out an hour or so later, but he didn’t question why Flynn was watching in the first place. I had, though. Following him out of the throne room that day, I had demanded to know what he was doing near the princess’s tower to begin with. His was a quickly given answer; something about overhearing a suspicious conversation between Alexi and an unknown castle worker, but though he gave the story confidently, there was something about him that I didn’t trust. My instincts proved true when Flynn later caught me off guard and attacked. Bound at the tower’s base, all I could do was watch as he and the princess fled.

“You have confirmation that he went with her?” I ask, setting my helmet down and tying the top half of my hair back with a leather strip.

Grayson nods, even as suspicion narrows his eyes. “They cornered Princess Rhea and Flynn at the Mage Kingdom border.” He rubs a hand over his jaw, opening and then closing his mouth.

“Spit it out, Grayson.”

“Our men surrounded them and should have easily taken both into custody. Except they were attacked when Flynn produced magic.”

A choked sound leaves me. I had my suspicions about the princess truly being mage. Or at least harboring magic. There were three Trusted killed by her and Flynn during their escape, and while one was felled by a sword, the other two were disfigured. Their skin blackened as if by disease, pockmarks of bone peeking through. I had no idea mage magic could do such a thing, and to know that Flynn might also possess the same power? An ache begins to form between my temples. “Where are they now?”

“According to the guard, they both passed through the Spell and disappeared into the Mage Kingdom.”

“So Flynn is mage,” I begin, my mind turning over everything I’ve learned. “And for reasons unknown, he infiltrated our guard pretending to be mortal. Now he and Princess Rhea—who has magic despite being born in this kingdom—have escaped to the Mage Kingdom. Does that cover everything?”

“Seems about right,” he answers, scratching the back of his head. “And though the guards are oathed not to speak about anything they see, they now know that mages can pass through the Spell and live. They also have questions regarding the princess.”

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though I doubt King Dolian won’t try to keep that knowledge as quiet as possible. “I need to find out what the king knows about Rhea Maxwell.” Is he aware that she possesses magic? Did it come from the Maxwell side of the family? From her father, the late King Conrad? Or was her mother, the woman who Rhea looks remarkably similar to, secretly mage? Wait… “Grayson, if Rhea and Flynn got away, why did you say they apprehended someone?”

At that, he smirks. “I thought you’d never get to that little detail.” I send him a bland look, fingers curling around the hilt of my sword. “Did you know that Princess Rhea was traveling with a white fox?”

“I did.” The creature had been a surprise discovery when I caught the princess attempting to escape the first time—before she left with Flynn.

“They caught her.”

I snort, mentally going through a checklist of things I need to do today now that I know the princess isn’t with the King’s Guard. “For what purpose? Is their intention to interrogate an animal?” A few long seconds pass before Grayson sighs again and begins heading towards the door. “Where are you going?”

Turning the handle, he pulls it open and gestures for me to enter the hall. “The dungeon. I’m afraid the answers to those questions are better shown than explained.”

Chapter Two: Xander

“Has the king been down here yet?” I ask him, our steps careful as we descend the slick stone stairs, the stagnant air heavy with the scent of mold. While lit torches provide bursts of light every few feet, the darkness is still oppressive. Thick in a way that constantly presses at my shoulders. As if someone is standing just behind me, breathing down my neck.

“Not yet. He should be getting an update from the commander of the returned guards now.”

Commander Miles. My pulse quickens, and I push my steps to do the same. “Then we need to hurry.” I’d rather not risk a surprise encounter with the king or that asshole unless it’s on my terms.