CHAPTER 7 Preventing Keith from Unaliving Himself

CHAPTER 7

Preventing Keith from Unaliving Himself

Rufus

The farther we traveled from the Black Fortress, the easier I felt.

The knot in my stomach began untangling itself. The worry that accompanied ignoring notifications and the pressure from those constant updates in my head slipped away. All I had to process was one bard and her horse … and interestingly enough, the horse was easier to read.

Donna was confident, content, and enjoying the sun.

Granted, I would only be picking up on any strong negative emotions, and it was a beautiful day, sun high in the sky, with a cool breeze. There wasn’t much to feel negative about.

It was my job to appear composed at all times; I had an army to lead and a castle full of minions to keep from killing each other every day … but my cultivated image paled next to Bronwynn’s—she was relaxed. It was probably that feeling that’d drawn me to her music.

“So tell me, Commander Rufus,” her melodious voice roused me from my thoughts. “How long have you been commander general of the Dark Lord’s armies?”

“Officially? A decade.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Officially?”

“I was chosen by Her Eminence Feliwyn as King Keith’s playmate when I was six, and we were expected to grow strong enough from there to win the job.” There wasn’t much to hide when the entire Dark Enchanted Forest knew. “The year Keith came of age, we all competed. I was eighteen when I won the Winter Solstice Tourney and claimed the title commander general. Keith won Dark Lord, and Her Eminence Feliwyn flew off to go have a nap that very afternoon. ”

Bronwynn frowned. I waited for her to gather her thoughts until she asked, “What did your parents think of that? Being chosen?”

“It was a great honor.” I tried to sound proud, but it came out flat.

“Really?” Her eyes still gave away her displeasure. “Alright then, what was it like being the Dark Lord’s playmate?”

“I was tasked with preventing Keith from unaliving himself. I was mostly successful, too.” The image of our illustrious king jumping off a building with his untested mechanical wings came to mind. Or that time he jumped into the lake after a selkie because the girl promised to take him treasure hunting.

Patina was now a lieutenant in the Dark Lord’s army, and the treasure hunting had been fun once I’d made sure she wasn’t just there to assassinate my prince. Keith was always walking into the line of fire, exploding himself or bringing home murderous creatures he’d somehow managed to convince not to murder him. His wife included.

My lips quirked at that thought.

“How did you meet our Dark Lady?” The name made me actually smile. The tiny fluffy princess who’d become our queen was about as evil as our distracted paper-shuffling king.

“She was pretending to be a maid, and kept coming to listen to me sing at the castle village fountain,” Bronwynn said, fondness in her speech. “It was nice having someone following me around asking for more songs.”

Our positions were switched, then.

“How old were you?” I pushed down the slight envy I had for our queen getting to hear Bronwynn’s songs from childhood.

“Twelve, I think?” She shook her head. “I always prided myself on figuring people out, but who would’ve guessed she was a princess with calloused hands like those? And we got busier as I became famous and she took on royal responsibilities … Honestly, I just ignored or explained away the signs. She’s my best friend, you know? Being a half giantess in Drendil meant I didn’t have a lot of friends, as you can imagine.”

The kingdom was known for being cruel to nonhumans.

“It must have come as quite the shock.” For a second, I thought about offering to counsel Bronwynn. It was a perfect opportunity while her guard was down … but that would be tricking her into becoming my [Patient].

It would make it easier to complete my task … but it would also make the entire trip unbearable . And I’d feel awful.

And there was no certainty that she’d even accept the prompt. Not everyone was like Henrietta, who’d shown up in my dungeon and accepted the request unquestioning, and then poured out her heart and soul without much effort on my part.

“I felt less shocked and more … I don’t know. Betrayed is a strong word.” The bard shrugged. “Sad that she didn’t trust me? ”

There was so much to unpack there, and I was standing on the edge of manipulating her into a full session … but wallowing in the past on such a nice day was a shame.

And, if I was being honest with myself, I respected the bard too much to use my interrogation skills on her. I would, if needed, but I didn’t need to. Yet.

I changed the subject. “And now?”

“Now I’m glad she’s found happiness.” Bronwynn grabbed her waterskin. She unwound the top as she continued. “And it’s nice that she’s smack-dab in the middle of the Dark Enchanted Forest. I’ll be visiting often, since I cross the forest every other week.”

On the outside, I nodded politely. On the inside, I was mentally screaming. The idea made my heart race, and at the same time, I could feel my stomach tense. I didn’t think I could see Bronwynn at the dinner table every two weeks for the rest of my life without wanting to confess my sins.

Which sins? All of them. That I was an adoring fan. That she already knew me from her concerts. That I was on a mission to spy on her.

The quest to discover if she was, in fact, a top-secret agent bent on illegally assassinating the world leaders with molten ash vane was the only thing keeping me from outright sharing my own dark secrets right then and there.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as three notifications lit up at the edge of my vision.

We were about to have company. And whoever they were, they were not happy.