Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

" S he heads this way," Roland whispered.

It was the first time he and his friend had been in Strategies together in a sennight. When they were recruited, it was made clear to each man, no matter how skilled they might be, they were to attend every lesson. Roland seemed to be the one exception. Eamon had given him leave to skip sword training that day to come here with him and Darien, though the instructor had not given Roland the reason.

As the others studied maps Elara had handed them, she breezed by him and his friend, leaning down as if to say something about the map Darien held. Instead, she whispered to Alden.

"Come to me before the meal."

Elara said it so softly, and quickly, he wondered if he had heard her correctly. Until he saw his friends' expressions. Aye, he'd heard well enough.

"Did she just—" Roland began.

Darien quieted him. "Perhaps you wish to repeat it loudly enough for all to hear?"

Roland ignored the barb. "Alden." He shook his head. "The two of you—"

"Shhh." This time it was Alden who stopped his friend. "Let us speak of something else. The map, perhaps, so we might answer Lady Elara's question."

"Or you can do so privately." Roland grinned. "Before the meal."

"What will we say to the others?" Darien asked. "They begin to notice."

"Amalia and I will come to the hall this eve," Roland said. "I'll regale the men with stories that will make them forget Alden altogether."

"Aye? Which stories are those? I do not believe the men wish to hear of how I bested you in the training yard this morn during Gareth's lesson. Actually, mayhap they will."

"Has anyone," Elara asked from the front of the chamber, "found the ideal meeting point yet?"

Alden sat back and listened to the answers and his friends' jests, but mostly, he wondered why Elara wished to see him earlier this eve. Last night, he'd been reluctant to leave. It had been so difficult after she found release, his fingers a poor substitute for making love to her. She had enjoyed it, aye, but more and more when they were together, Alden envisioned her under him, the two of them joined completely.

A very dangerous vision.

How he'd hoped to avoid wanting more, Alden wasn't certain. But one thing was: it was only going to get worse.

"He has not been with us since this all began," he heard Roland say.

Realizing the lesson was over, Alden tore his gaze away from Elara. Forcing himself to leave with the others even though he wished to remain, to speak to her, to touch her, kiss her...he dispelled the thought with a brisk shake of his head.

"I cannot believe, you and Lady—" Darien began, but Alden would end it.

It was Elara herself who told Alden, "Your instincts should never be dismissed." The more he thought about deceiving his friends, the more it disturbed him in a way he could not shake. Roland and Darien would never betray them. He knew it as well as he knew he was developing feelings for Elara that went well beyond passion.

"Come with me," he said to them both, in a tone that did not leave space for negotiation. Gareth would be finishing lessons in the larger of their three training fields, the one that could accommodate the approximation of a joust.

Both Darien and Roland asked where they were going and why, but he refused to answer. It might be reckless to share information he had promised Elara not to share, but it would be even more so to do it without at least Gareth's acquiescence. If he did not agree, Alden would reconsider.

"We speak to Gareth," he said finally as the three men left the keep.

"Why?"

He did not respond to Roland, but instead walked briskly toward the field that was, thankfully, devoid of any but their friend. Gareth led his mount to a stableboy that appeared seemingly from nowhere. Was he the one who had offered the information about the fire's origins? It mattered not. Both he and Elara were convinced that fire began as either a way to distract them or weaken their order.

Gareth watched the three of them approach, leaning against the curtail wall. Though he'd been smiling, Gareth turned more serious as he spied Alden.

"Is something amiss?"

"Aye," he responded. "That they should be deceived any longer. Elara asked for me to join her early this eve, though I know not the reason."

"I do," Darien cut in.

"Deceived?" Roland had picked up what Darien had not. He, like Gareth, no longer smiled or jested either. "Alden?"

He and Gareth looked at one another for the briefest of moments before Gareth nodded just slightly.

Alden turned to his friends, thankful to have the courtyard to themselves. There were precious few spots within the keep that whispers could not be heard.

Elara's bedchamber being one of them.

"The steward uncovered a discrepancy in the books that led him to believe there may be a traitor among our ranks. Elara is investigating and elicited my aid since Gareth is no longer one of us."

Gareth took exception to Alden's phrasing. "I will always be one of you."

"As a recruit," he clarified.

"What discrepancies?" Roland appeared as shocked as Alden would expect.

"You and Lady Elara..." Darien looked between him and Gareth.

"Are working to find the traitor. Rumors about the fire are true. It appears to have been started in two locations, leading us to believe 'twas no accident."

"A traitor." Roland's jaw flexed. "One of our own men?" He began to pace.

"Perhaps," Gareth said. "Or another instructor. Or a servant."

"We have cause," Alden added, "to suspect the blond maid, Lila."

That was news to all, including Gareth. "Indeed?" he asked.

"We've found no evidence yet, but Elara has another on the serving staff observing, listening. Both she and I found the maid's behavior suspicious when the fire was mentioned."

"If she has ought to do with it," Gareth mused, "'tis unlikely she works alone."

"You did not tell us." Roland was getting more angry with each passing moment. He stopped pacing. "Your visits with Elara?"

"Purely strategy," Gareth said.

Alden did not confirm his friends' words.

"Or mayhap not?" Darien mused, watching him closely. All three men turned to look at him. Though Alden did not wish to lie to his friends, neither would he implicate Elara any further.

"It is of no consequence. What matters is that our entire order could be in jeopardy."

"Much more than that," Gareth said. "If there is indeed a traitor among us."

"Lives are at risk," Alden said, watching as Roland took up pacing once again.

"If this is true, why would he, or she," Darien asked, "employ such underhanded methods? Why not simply expose us and be done with it?"

"A question we've asked from the start," Gareth admitted.

"Why did you not tell us before today?" Roland grumbled.

"We were told, explicitly, not to tell anyone," Alden answered truthfully. "But I know neither of you are the traitor and trust you with my life." Nothing further needed to be said.

"Lady Elara will be angry when you mention this to her. She was quite clear about not doing so," Gareth said.

"I will speak to Elara later. She asked that I meet her before the meal, though I do not know the reason."

"Elara." Darien smiled. "She is no longer Lady Elara to you."

Again, Alden did not respond.

Roland stopped before him. The look he gave Alden said he was angry at being left in the dark but grateful to be brought into the fold. "Tell us what to do."

"Listen," Alden said. "Watch."

"If you have occasion to glean any information from the maid," Gareth added, "do so in a way that does not alert her to our inquiries."

"I should not simply ask her, ‘Are you the traitor?'" Roland asked dryly.

"Perhaps not." The corners of Gareth's mouth rose.

The men fell silent. The consequences of Alden's revelation likely weighed heavily on both Roland and Darien, who had come to accept, reluctantly, that every move they made at Castle Blackwood could very well be watched by someone sympathetic to the king's cause.

"We must find them," Roland said, echoing Alden's thoughts.

"We will," he said, determined to do so. Their very lives were at stake.