Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

ROLAND

Roland could not for the life of him say what they discussed. Not in any detail. He knew they were welcome in the College and that all would be done to help them. Alouette already had her many experts searching for the information needed to help Elodie. He had been assured of that. He sat watching her speak, and lingered beside her as she turned her attention to other things and found himself living for those moments when she smiled at him, for him, alone.

Once or twice, she suggested he should relieve himself of weapons and armour, and possibly his clothes as well ‘to get more comfortable’. It was only when Anselm made another noise of barely disguised alarm that Roland remembered the Grandmaster should never lay aside Nightbreaker, not least the rest of it. That was part of his vow and he had never failed in keeping that. He had only offered it to Yvain because he had been dismissed and Yvain named Grandmaster in his place. The horror on the man’s face had said everything about his ambitions on that front, though his wife would have been happy, Roland thought. From lady-in-waiting to the highest station in the land to which she could aspire, not being of noble birth. Not that it mattered. Yvain had refused to take it, which he supposed, in the eyes of his knights, meant Roland was still the Grandmaster, even if he was currently in exile.

‘She must be very beautiful, your queen,’ Alouette said absently as she poured a fresh glass of the deep red wine. ‘You have been so devoted to her for so long.’

‘I have,’ Roland replied warily. ‘But it is not just a matter of beauty, chancellor.’ Better to use formal titles and try to keep his honour in mind. He was here on a diplomatic mission really, even if it was without the blessing of the crown.

He turned the goblet around, staring into the liquid, aware that there were things he should be doing rather than sitting here in the chancellor’s solar, with her guards and Anselm by the door. Just the two of them together, if they would only dismiss their attendants. He’d need to order Anselm out of the door and even now Roland wasn’t sure the young knight would obey.

Alouette touched his arm again and soft warmth suffused his skin, as thoughts of Anselm drifted away. He almost lifted the goblet to his lips this time but paused just in time. He needed his head clear, something that was increasingly difficult to maintain. This place, he realised, ever since they had stepped within its walls, was interfering with their minds, their common sense. Or perhaps, he realised, just his own.

Anselm was on edge. Olivier was acting strangely. It had taken far too long to get here, guided by two children who were not entirely children, and they’d only managed the last part with Tobias’s help. The shadow kin had come out of nowhere and they had been vastly outnumbered.

Vivienne had given Anselm one of those charms. One of the sort the witchkind used.

And now…now this woman he had never heard of before was in charge of the whole College of Winter. And he couldn’t think straight…

He feigned drinking, without letting the liquid actually touch his lips, and watched her more closely, looking past that dazzling beauty and the charm and…

A charm…that was it. She was like a tapestry of charms, all woven around her to make her irresistible. They weren’t made of straw, but of silver and gold, woven in her jewellery and through her clothes in shimmering threads. They were tangled in the length of her hair and slid against her skin. Everything about her was a charm. A look of smug satisfaction passed over her beautiful features, unmistakable. Roland took in another breath and thought of Elodie, of what she would say about all this. Something scathing, no doubt… And in that moment, Alouette’s beauty faded to something nearer that of a mortal woman’s.

Roland swallowed hard on a suddenly dry throat. He wanted that wine now, wanted it badly, but he also knew that if this strange enchantress he had never heard of before wanted him to drink…well, that was the last thing he should do.

The woman rolled her shoulders languorously, clearly aware of the effect it had on her cleavage, and almost purred with delight.

‘And now, my dearest Roland, perhaps you should send your man away and we can have a more frank…discussion…’

The implication could not have been clearer, and she didn’t expect to be countered. The spell she had wound about him should have worked by now, it seemed. He clung to his thought of Elodie as if it was a lifeline.

‘Anselm,’ Roland murmured, in what he hoped was a good imitation of what she expected. ‘Perhaps you should check on Olivier. Make sure nothing untoward has…’

Anselm started to argue and Alouette glared his way which offered Roland the moment he needed.

He flung the wine at her and she rose with a shriek of alarm. It was as if some kind of cloying scent fell away from his body. He could breathe again, think again. Which was just as well because her guards surged towards him, but Roland was ready, and Nightbreaker was at her chest in an instant.

‘Drop your weapons,’ Anselm barked at the armed men approaching them and Roland heard a note of relief in his voice now. Later, much later, they were going to have a frank discussion of their own about trusting your superiors. Right after Roland thanked him for not allowing him to fall into this trap alone.

Because it was a trap. He didn’t know what was true, not anymore.

Anselm herded the three guards to a small antechamber. Luckily their reputations as Knights of the Aurum was doing most of the work for the moment and the guards complied with his instructions to the letter. He shut the door on them and wedged it closed with a chair.

‘What exactly is going on here?’ Roland asked the woman and she had the nerve to smile at him as if he didn’t have her at sword-point.

‘You appear to be intent on murdering the chancellor of the College of Winter, de Silvius. That won’t go down well in the fortress full of witches, will it? All you have to do is give me the sword. I promise, no harm will come to you or your men. In fact, we’ll make sure you’re blissfully happy here, willing to serve.’ Her smile became a smirk. ‘Eager, even.’

‘Who are you?’

‘They told you. I’m the chancellor of the College of Winter. As of…oh, two weeks ago. It was an overwhelming popular vote, you know? Eventually.’

‘You worked an enchantment on all these people.’

‘Enough of them,’ she admitted. ‘You only ever need enough people to comply, you know. The others quickly fall into line. Or their own will take care of them for you.’ She shrugged. ‘That one has a remarkable ability to resist. So stubborn.’ She flicked her hand to Anselm again, and a dark shadow passed through her eyes. They were not vibrant and beautiful now, but rather a flat brown and full of hatred. ‘Or did you have help? Vivienne and her little charms, I suppose. I’ll need to deal with her again, it seems. Stubborn girl. And you… You’ll need to deal with him , Grandmaster.’

Before he knew what was happening, she pushed Nightbreaker aside and flung her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his.

The world blurred and slid sideways, as she slipped away from him. He turned, head whirling, to see Anselm just standing there, undefended, as if he hadn’t thrown his lot in with a dark witch and betrayed the Aurum, as if he hadn’t just attacked them both, as if he hadn’t threatened her life.

The rage that filled Roland was more than he could name. He had never felt anger like this, an incandescent fire in his blood. What could you expect from the son of a traitor? His father, the Earl of Sassone, had almost killed the queen. The boy needed to be taught a lesson. He needed to beg for her forgiveness.

Which her? The voice was still trying to reach him from far away. Elodie or Alouette? Think, Roland, think…

No, this wasn’t the time to think. Anselm needed to be punished. More than punished.

He needed to die.