Chapter Twenty-Nine

G aliena was immediately granted access to the great hall while she awaited an audience with the king. He had returned to the castle only a short time earlier and she had expected to be forced to wait long hours, possibly even refused. When she was shown in almost immediately, she took it as a sign that her hamingja was favoring this day.

There hadn't been time to go to Red, but she saw him across the castle yard, still chained to the high wall, but his shirt had been ripped open and there was something dark along the ridge of his collarbone. Ox and Bard had told her there was an incident during the night, but they did not give her details, only assuring her that Red still breathed and stood on his feet of his own accord.

Her chest had swelled with pride to see him standing strong, a defiant look on his face, and her heart had nearly burst with longing to go to him. When he noticed her being escorted to the hall by the castle guard, he'd jerked on the chains and shouted her name. She'd kissed her hand and held it over her heart as she looked at him, and mouthed, "I love you," to him, but the distance was great enough that she didn't know if he could see the words her lips formed.

"Please go to him, Bard," she'd begged. "Tell him I am not afraid and that he must trust in me."

"Come to the hall after you've spoken to Edward," Ox instructed. "I want both of us there in case things do not go as planned. Wolf is to stay with Red until we return and then I will relieve him of his post."

After they entered the hall, Galiena put a hand on his forearm. "Thank you, Ox."

Ox put his hand over hers and squeezed lightly. "You are one of us now. I will stand by you and protect you for as long as I have breath in my body, just as I do for Red, Bard, and Wolf." She was moved to see his eyes mist as he dropped his head and added, "I failed Dane, but I will not fail you."

"You have failed no one, Ox, and I am humbled to call you ‘friend'."

A muscle twitched in the jaw of the giant man as he looked down at Galiena. She smiled up at him. Before anything more could be said, there was a disruption as the guards in the hall came to attention.

King Edward, Queen Eleanor, Friar Ferrando, and the queen's guards had appeared; the king and queen took their seats on the large, intricate thrones on the dais. Galiena cringed to see Toad standing just behind the queen's chair but swallowed her fear. She closed her eyes, picturing Red's face smiling down at her, the image giving her strength and fortifying her resolve. This was the most pivotal moment of her life, and Red's future—and possibly her own—depended on what happened next. She had failed to save those she loved in the past. Now the arrogant, boisterous, overbearing Viking was her heart, her breath, her life. She would not fail him. A deep calm flowed through her.

Bard had entered the hall during the commotion and now stood beside her. "Red said to tell you not to fuck this up by throwing up on the king's boots."

Galiena smiled as warmth bloomed in her chest. He knew a prick of anger would heighten her focus and determination. "If he were here, I'd tell him to shut his mouth before it gets him killed or I'll have wasted my time."

Bard and Ox both chuckled softly and then Bard added, "He also says to tell you he loves you."

She felt the tears welling in her eyes, gladdened that he had seen the words she'd mouthed to him. But now was not the time to dwell on sentimental feelings. Lifting her chin, she said in a haughty tone, "If he loves me, I will hear the words from him, not from one of his mates."

"That's exactly what I told him," Bard said with a glint in his eye. "Now go save the insufferable man's ass."

The king called across the hall, his tone sharp and bitter as he motioned Galiena to come forward. "Have you come to beg for the Viking's life?"

Galiena walked to the dais and dropped to her knees in front of the king and queen of England, bowing her head low. "I am here to request a bargain."

"A bargain?" King Edward asked. "What could you possibly have that I would want?"

Galiena hardly dared breathe as she lifted her face enough to look up at the king. "I have the key to decoding the missive."

"Friar Ferrando has already decoded the message," the king growled.

She swallowed hard, drew a deep breath, and said the words that would either save the man she loved or land her in chains next to him. "Friar Ferrando purposely did not decode the message correctly."

The king's brows arched high. "You dare accuse the queen's cousin of deceit?" He bit out each word, though his tone was deceptively calm.

Galiena tried to ignore her racing heart. "Yes, Your Grace, I am accusing Friar Ferrando of deceit."

"She is lying," Friar Ferrando sneered.

"That is a bold accusation to make of my trusted advisor," the queen said testily. "Our mothers are sisters; I have known him since we were children."

The king narrowed his eyes at Galiena. "You stand by this accusation knowing Friar Ferrando is kin to the queen?"

"Yes, Your Grace," she said. Her stomach churned and she said a silent prayer that she would not be sick this very moment in front of the king and queen. Or on the king's boots.

"This is a very serious accusation, Galiena," the king said sternly. "What proof do you have?"

"The friar told the queen Sir Grogan was implicated in the translated message. But I know that he was not named in the message. Although a lord in your attendance the first night we met with you was named."

"And how do you know this?" the king asked.

"Because, Sire, I decoded it with the assistance of Red and Bard," she said, lifting her chin high even as her heart pounded so hard in her chest that she was sure her shaking was clearly visible. Think about Red, she told herself. I cannot fail. I must save him.

"That's impossible," the friar said with a mirthless laugh.

"Why did you not bring this information to me before?" King Edward stared down his long, regal nose at her as he spoke.

"Red was on his way to bring you the message when your captain arrested us and took the decoded message." Galiena had to remind herself that though this king was known for his temper, ruthlessness, and swift justice if wronged, he was also known to be a fair man, respected by his lords, and tolerant of commoners testifying against those who had wronged them, even if noblemen.

The king looked at the castle guards lining the wall. "I expected Boris to be in attendance. Where is he?" There was an ominous tone to King Edward's words that left Galiena feeling like there was more to this situation than of which she was aware.

One of the guards stepped forward from his post at the foot of the dais. "Sire, we have not been able to find him this morning. A contingent of guards is searching for him as we speak."

"What is your name?" King Edward asked the guard, his voice tinged with irritation.

"William, Your Grace."

"William," King Edward growled, "Who saw Boris last?"

"I cannot say for certain, Sire, but I saw him relieving the prisoner's guard during the night."

The king arched an eyebrow. "Is that so? Not the typical duty for the captain of the castle guard."

The hairs stood up on the back of Galiena's neck. The guard must have been part of whatever happened to Red during the night when Wolf was forced from the castle yard. She saw William swallow hard, his lips pressed into a thin line and his face pale as he nodded once.

"Sire," William said, a shake barely perceptible in his voice. "Permission to speak with you privately."

The king studied him for a long moment, then motioned for the guard to follow him as they walked a handful of paces away from everyone else in the hall. The guard could be seen speaking earnestly, his voice a low murmur. The king's face turned from wary to intent as he listened. He appeared to ask the guard some questions, then nodded at the young man and directed him back to his post.

"Which of you were with Boris when he arrested the Viking?" the king asked as he returned to stand on the edge of the dais.

Three of the guards stepped forward from their positions along the wall.

"Did any of you see a missive confiscated?"

"Aye, Sire," one of the guards admitted. "It was taken from the prisoner's boot and given to Boris for safekeeping."

"Did any of you see what he did with it?"

"No, Sire," all three guards replied in unison.

"Was anything else confiscated?"

"A dagger, Sire," one of the guards responded.

"I have it, Husband," Queen Eleanor said. She snapped her fingers and one of her guards brought it forward and set it in her outstretched palm. She turned the dagger so that her husband could see the blade. "They recovered a dagger with snakes engraved in it that match the intertwined snakes on the missive."

The king nodded slowly, then turned back to Galiena. "Does this knife belong to Red?"

Galiena felt her heart sink. She did not want to say anything to make things more difficult for Red, but she dared not lie to the king. "Yes, Sire. But there is an explan—"

The king held up his hand. "Until Boris is located, we do not have the document that you claim Red was bringing to me, nothing to prove you translated the message. But we do have a knife engraved with an incriminating design and owned by the man you are proclaiming is innocent."

Galiena felt her stomach knot. If she did not proceed carefully, all could be lost. "Your Grace, if you will allow me to demonstrate to you how to decode the missive, you will see the true message." She hoped that if the king agreed to her request, she would then be able to explain the reason for Red possessing a dagger with the same design as the coded message. "I am confident if you ask Friar Ferrando to do the same, he will not be able to demonstrate the method he used because he falsified the message he gave you, to serve his own purposes."

"Your Grace, she knows nothing about which she speaks," Friar Ferrando said, throwing up his hands as he stalked forward. "She is lying to save her lover. A woman of weak morals cannot be trusted. Decoding is excessively complicated, requiring a master scholar of my training to comprehend."

The king motioned for his wife to lean closer to him, then said something into her ear. The queen pursed her lips as the king was speaking but nodded in response. King Edward turned his sharp gaze back to Galiena, then directed his attention to Friar Ferrando. "The logical solution is to have Galiena demonstrate her method." He held up a hand when the friar started to protest. "Since it is complicated, as you say, and she can't possibly comprehend the methodology required, then you have nothing to fear, yet she has everything to fear."

The friar looked like he wanted to protest, but instead, he clenched his jaw, giving one reluctant nod of agreement.

"What is it you require, Galiena, for this demonstration?" the king asked.

Galiena released a huge breath, relief coursing through her body—though she wouldn't indulge in feeling triumphant until Red was released and the full extent of Toad's evilness was exposed. "Parchment, ink, and quill. Two pieces of parchment, if I may be so bold. And the encoded message."

"Fetch what she has requested," the king said to one of the queen's guards standing behind them. "The copy of the message that Ferrando was referencing is in the solar; bring that as well."

Galiena was still on her knees in front of the king and queen, the discomfort a small price to pay for the king's attention, and nothing in comparison to what Red had endured for the last day and night.

"Rise, Galiena," the king ordered. "Am I correct to assume the bargain you are proposing is to gain Red's freedom in return for decoding the message— if I deem your translation to be correct?"

"Your Grace." Galiena paused to muster her courage. "I mean no disrespect, but if you deem my translation correct, and it proves Sir Grogan is not named, is that not proof enough to release Red?"

The king studied her for a long moment, a small smile on his lips. "Well said, dear lady. However, there is the small matter of him threatening the life of my wife's cousin and trying to attack him in the presence of my wife. How am I to know he was not intending to also harm the queen for ordering his capture?"

Galiena slid a sidelong glance at Toad where he stood on the edge of the dais. A shiver ran down her spine from the cold look on his face. She feared he might try to escape, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She would have to trust the king to order his guards to stop him if he attempted to leave. "If you will allow me to hold my request until after I have proven the message was decoded incorrectly by the friar, I would be grateful, Sire."

The king set his lips in a straight line, obviously displeased with her request. "I give you no promises that I will honor your request in the bargain if you are not willing to tell me now what it is you want."

"I understand, Your Grace, and I am willing to risk the consequences if you are willing to indulge my request and trust it is for good reason." Her legs were shaking beneath the layers of her gown, and her knees felt like they were about to buckle. The king had been tolerant of her forthright speech to this point, but she knew his tolerance could end in the blink of an eye.

"She has pluck, my love," the queen said to her husband, though her voice was loud enough to be heard by all. "Red has chosen well."

The king put his hand over the queen's where it rested on the arm of her throne, letting out a throaty laugh. "I cannot fault him, as I know well the value of a bold woman."

The queen smiled lovingly at the king as her gaze locked with his, and for a moment, it was as though they forgot about everyone else in the room as they looked upon each other with devout admiration.

The guards returned with the supplies, breaking the spell between the king and queen. "Bring a table and a chair for the lady," Edward ordered. When four of the guards had muscled a trestle table onto the dais, he motioned for them to set it in front of the thrones and for Galiena's chair to be placed opposite of them. "Be seated, Galiena. Let us see how you deciphered this code. You, as well, Ferrando. Someone fetch him a chair," the king ordered.

As she took her seat and reached for the supplies, the king instructed the castle guard to retreat to the far end of the hall near the doors, out of earshot. The queen's guard was instructed to move to the back of the dais, but Toad was sitting uncomfortably close, his chair situated only an arm's length away from her. Her hands trembled and she had to take a deep, steadying breath, reminding herself that the future of the man she loved, whether he lived or died, depended on what she would do next.

The king drew her attention when he directed a question to Galiena as he motioned toward Ox and Bard. "Are they privy to the contents of the message you translated?"

"Yes, Sire," Galiena said sheepishly. "They have been charged with my protection in Red's…absence."

"I see. They do not look very willing to be out of reach of you." Slanting a warning glance at the two men, he said, "Out of respect for Galiena, I will allow you to stay. Beware, Ox and Bard, you will be placed in shackles along with Red if I am not convinced Hawk is innocent of wrongdoing. Or if you do anything to raise my ire."

Other than Ox and Bard, Galiena was now alone with King Edward, Queen Eleanor, and The Executioner.

She positioned the ink well, a quill, and two pieces of parchment in front of her on the table, then placed the copy of the coded message to the side where she ensured the king and queen had as clear of a view of it as she did. When she was situated, she lifted her head to see Toad staring intently at her, his eyes dark with hate. She held his stare for a moment, refusing to be intimidated by the loathsome man, and then she looked at the king and queen. "Your Graces, with your permission I will explain to you my process for deciphering the missive as I am working."

"Granted," the king said.

"There are ten lines in the message, comprised of letters and symbols." She pointed to the symbols composed of dots, explaining they were the vowels within the words, then pointed to the symbols composed of small circles in the last line of the message. "If these are numbers, then the last line appears to be a date. That is where I started."

Toad scoffed and said, "That is not at all how it works."

Galiena lifted her head to see the deep lines of concern etched in Toad's face, despite the flippant tone of his remark. Good, she thought. When she looked at King Edward and Queen Eleanor, they were both leaning forward, attentive as they watched her work. "Continue," the king instructed, ignoring the queen's cousin.

She explained how she deduced the final line was a date, and how she narrowed it down to the month of December based on the one repeated vowel symbol throughout the word. "When I wrote ‘December' under the letters and symbols, it became apparent that the code was a shift of one position to the right along the alphabet." She went on to explain each line varied in the number of positions shifted along the alphabet and alternated the direction of either left or right.

As she spoke, the king motioned for one of the queen's guards, waving him close to whisper in his ear. Galiena could not discern what had been said, causing dread to prickle along her spine as the guard retreated from them and exited the hall. Focusing on the task at hand, she forged ahead with the translation. When she got to the sixth line of the message, she counted out loud the shift of nine positions to the right, proving that the lords implicated were Burbek and Wright.

She lifted her face to see Toad's reaction to the proof that Grogan was not one of the lords named in the message. He was staring at her with the intensity of a man ready to kill someone with his bare hands.

"Cousin?" the queen said, puzzled. "How did you come up with Sir Grogan's name? She has matched your translation line for line until this point."

"It is nothing more than a misunderstanding, Your Grace," he said in a voice devoid of emotion. He turned toward the queen. "An error resulting from my haste to decode the message. I am deeply concerned about the life of my dear cousin's babe and wanted only to find the men who dared threaten him."

"I think Sir Grogan would not be pleased with your error," the queen said evenly, looking directly at her cousin.

"My sincerest apologies, my queen," the friar said, placing a long, slender hand over his heart.

Galiena had expected the gratification of seeing Toad stutter and his usual smug superiority replaced with a pale look of fear, but when she looked at him, his face was hard with cold calculation. She shivered as he fixed a deadly stare on her.

"Sir Burbek is not here to defend himself," the king said. "He left yesterday for his manor in the south of Wales." He turned to one of the queen's guards. "Tell the stable master to ready forty horses with provisions for a journey of two days."

"Yes, Sire!" The eager young soldier was already running for the door as he called out his response to the king.

"Continue with the translation," King Edward said, waving his hand at the missive. "I wish to see what else Ferrando translated incorrectly."

Galiena continued through the translation until all the lines were transcribed. "The one line that doesn't make sense is the ninth. It just says Meeting at , nothing more, and the next line is the date."

"What did you find for this line, Ferrando," the king asked.

The queen answered before the friar had a chance to speak, " Hawkspur on… "

"I question that the girl's translation is even correct," the friar said, his voice shaking with anger. "It is coincidence that her method even produced a translation, and a matter of luck that some of it was correct."

"Is it?" the queen asked, staring up at her cousin.

"With your permission, I will retrieve my translation notes to demonstrate my findings to you." The acquiescent expression on his face was in direct contradiction to the fury reflected in his eyes.

"I think not," Edward interjected. "Perhaps later, when you are giving me a detailed explanation as to the incompetence of your translation."

Friar Ferrando's face had turned a deep shade of purple, and Galiena feared he might come over the top of the table at her if the opportunity arose.

Reaching into his tunic, the king pulled out a leather pouch, which he opened, extracting the original rolled parchment Galiena had given to him a few short days prior. He spread it out on the table in front of them, looking from the copy to the original. "There does not appear to be anything omitted from the original when the copy was created."

Galiena was about to agree with the king, but something caught her eye. She leaned forward to see the parchment better, noting there were ink splotches scattered over the missive. At first, it appeared to her to be nothing unusual or uncommon, but upon closer inspection, she could see a pattern forming. "Sire, I believe the ink splotches are deliberate. See how there is a spot of ink directly to the right of the words that translate to meeting in ? If you look at the lines, there is one ink drop on each, over a specific letter."

She picked up the quill and wrote on her translated copy the letter with an ink splotch from each line: G-l-a-m-o-r-g-a-n.

"Glamorgan," King Edward read aloud. "The most southerly region of Wales. There are several lords residing there who claim to be loyal to me—including Lord Burbek."

The king nodded thoughtfully as he studied the missive. When he looked up again, Galiena could see the anger in his ice-blue stare. "I want to know who wrote this missive."

"Sire, if I may be so bold?" Galiena stared at the evil friar, remembering the despair in Red's voice as he told her of the day The Executioner killed his mother and uncle, thinking of Dane and the horrible suffering he endured at the hands of this man, and knowing that if given the chance he would just as surely rip out both Red's and her throats without hesitation.

"Is there something you wish to say, Galiena?"

"Yes, Sire." She glared at Friar Ferrando and then faced the king. "I would like to request what I want from you in this bargain."