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Chapter Ten

"Where are you going?" Nori asked as Gavin lifted her from his lap and stood.

He couldn't resist dropping a kiss on her lips. He wanted to carry her back up to the bedchamber they shared and indulge both of them with more love play, but he expected she might be too sore to enjoy it as much as he would.

"How are you feeling this morning?" he asked and watched her turn red as she flicked her gaze toward Theo, who stood near them, making no attempt to pretend he wasn't listening.

"Fine." The word was whispered so softly Gavin might have missed it if he wasn't looking at her.

"Would you like a bath? It might soothe—"

She smacked her hand over his mouth and glanced at Theo again.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" She might have phrased it as a question, but Gavin knew it wasn't.

"Should I meet you outside?" Theo asked Gavin.

Gavin kissed his wife's palm and removed her hand from his mouth. "I need to go, Nori. Stay here with Rory and Jo. Don't go anywhere by yourself."

She gave him a curious look. "Are you worried Robert might try something? He won't. He's stupid, but even he wouldn't risk your wrath, Gavin."

"He already has. He threatened you."

"It was only words," she argued. "I'm sure he'll think better when he leaves."

"When left unchecked, words lead to actions," Gavin warned her. "Buckingham made a choice when he threatened you. I'll make sure he understands the consequences of that choice."

"I'll walk out with you," Phillip said as he joined them. There was pain in his gaze when he looked at his granddaughter. "I mean to send another messenger to see how far out Rowan and his men are. I should also check on Buckingham."

"I told you I'd deal with him," Gavin warned.

"He's young and impulsive, still. I ask that you not kill him. He's his father's only remaining son. I'll see he brings no harm to my granddaughter," Phillip vowed. "I'll send word to his father immediately. He'll make any amends you wish for the threats Robert uttered today. To you and me."

"I don't want amends," Gavin growled. There was nothing the other man could offer that would appease the need to protect Nori from any threat. Especially one offered by the man given the honor of being father to Nori. A role he'd failed abysmally at. Phillip had made the mistake of trusting the Buckingham family with Nori's safety. Gavin wouldn't. Blood would spill.

"You're looking unwell, grandfather," Nori commented, stepping from Gavin's side to Phillip's. "Maybe, you should rest. I'm sure Gavin can see that your messages are sent."

Phillip brushed the backs of his fingers down Nori's check. "Thank you for worrying about me. Maybe, I haven't lost you completely."

"I'm not an object that can be lost," Nori told him. "I'm your granddaughter, and I love you. That hasn't changed. I have. I'm not a girl who'll easily be set aside any longer. I ask questions now, and I want answers. I never got to know my mother or father because they were gone. Not knowing you was your choice. I'd like to think we can change that."

"I'd like that," Phillip whispered, pulling in Nori for a hug. Though Gavin hated seeing her in another man's arms, he held in his growl. "Your father wasn't merely a soldier. He was a noble-born knight. He and Rosamund were married by proxy much the way you were. When they were together, your mother's smile shone brighter than the sun."

"She loved him?" Nori asked, and Gavin heard the plea in her voice. Phillip must have, as well.

"Yes, much to my dismay. I didn't feel he was worthy of her. Rosamund was a princess. She deserved marriage to a future king, but I couldn't deny her. Though I never heard your father speak of his love for her, he showed it in the way he spoke of her, the way he treated her. It nearly broke her when he was killed in a border skirmish. This was before your war king and his fellow kings conquered the Dread Lands." Phillip's gaze seemed far away for a moment. He shook away whatever memory he'd summoned and with his arm still around Nori, began walking toward the front entry to Kingsley Keep. "I feared I'd lose her then, but Rosamund held strong for the child she carried. For you, Nori."

"Only to die giving birth to me." Nori's whispered words were rife with turmoil. Gavin hated it and stepped forward, tugging her from Phillip as the door opened. Phillip turned then gasped, eyes flaring wide.

Gavin took it all in quickly, pushing Nori behind him and noting the way Theo moved his large body in front of her, as well. Then Gavin tugged Phillip down, careful of the arrow through his shoulder.

"Grandfather!" Nori screamed while soldiers and warriors swarmed around them.

"Stay back!" Gavin bellowed. He turned to two of Phillip's men. "Get your king inside. You, get the healer, quickly." His gaze landed on his men. "Find whoever shot that arrow and bring them to me." Gavin knew one thing. That arrow had been intended for Nori. She'd only been saved by Gavin pulling her to him and Phillip turning.

"Nori," Phillip whispered through clenched teeth as he was lifted.

"No one will touch her," Gavin swore.

"Grandfather!" Nori called again as she pushed her way through Phillip's soldiers and took his hand. She glanced back at Gavin. "I'll stay with him."

Gavin nodded, fighting the urge to pull her close, to run his hands over her body until his heartbeat slowed and he accepted she was unharmed. Instead, he sent five of his warriors with them with strict order that she wasn't to leave their sight.

"There's Con," Theo said, nudging Gavin out the door and onto the steps of the keep.

"A group of men fled through the gate, still firing arrows as they rode," Con said as he yanked forward the body of a male, dropping him at the base of the steps. "Cris took ten warriors and followed. They'll bring them back."

"Buckingham?" Gavin asked.

"Escaped with the group during the chaos," Con admitted, rage simmering in his gaze. "We'll find him and see he pays for the threat to our queen."

"This one?" Gavin glanced down at the unconscious man.

"He was part of the group who attacked. Miles was close enough to knock him from his mount. We'll wake him and find out what he knows," Con stated, and at Gavin's nod, turned, and hauled away the man.

"Did Miles follow after Cris?" Theo asked.

"I'm here, my king," Theo's second called as he joined them.

"Bring me anyone who knows anything about what happened here," Theo ordered Miles.

"I'm already working on it," Miles said with a dip of his chin before he strode away, moving swiftly through the gathered men.

"That arrow wasn't meant for Phillip," Theo offered quietly at Gavin's side.

"I know," Gavin seethed.

"We'll get them," Theo said, giving Gavin's shoulder a hard squeeze.

Gavin growled in agreement as he moved in the direction Con had taken. "If anything happens to Cris, Nori will be mad as hell."

Theo laughed, pulling Gavin's gaze his way.

"That's what you're thinking?" Theo asked.

"She has a soft spot for Cris," Gavin admitted, not needing to share that he did, as well.

Cris and Con had been with him since they'd left the keep of the man who'd taken over their training and shown them what hell could be. They'd helped Gavin limp out of there, while the male who'd tortured them all lay broken and bleeding out behind them, his precious keep burning around him. Those who'd taken part in his vicious games and punishments had died that day, as well. They'd died when Theo had returned from the battle he'd been sent to and turned into the fierce bear-like warrior that had earned him his name of The Bear. His brother had taken exception to the games Gavin had been forced into. Games that had included Cris and Con and forged a bond that nothing would break.

He shoved away the memories and focused on the present. Nothing good would come from revisiting the past. There was nothing there for him. The present held everything in the gaze of the woman he'd vowed to protect at all costs. His wife. His queen. Nori.

He shoved open a door, taking the stairs down to the underbelly of Kingsley's keep, to a rarely used dungeon where only severe punishments were meted out. This was where Gavin would get his answers.

"My king!" One of his warriors called as he led a man forward. "This one says he knows who fired the arrow."

Gavin took in the young male. He didn't tremble as most men would. He held his head high, shoulders back as he faced Gain and Theo, who'd stopped with him.

"What do you know?" Gavin demanded.

"The arrow came from one of the men who rode in with Robert Buckingham, War King. They were readying their horses to leave. I don't know what Buckingham told them, but they were angry."

"How do you know this?" Theo demanded.

"I was close by when they mounted. Everything happened quickly after that. Buckingham yelled for retribution. They all echoed the cry. Then one of them notched an arrow. He glanced back toward the keep and shot. I didn't even realize where he aimed until I saw King Phillip go down."

"It wasn't Buckingham who fired?" Gavin asked.

"No," the boy said with a shake of his head. "But his words were the purpose. They fled when the king went down. There's no need to torture for information, War King. Those with Buckingham are no longer here. All who are left are loyal to King Phillip."

"What's your name?" Gavin asked.

"James, War King. James Weston."

"What do you know of the commander at the eastern border?" Gavin asked. If Weston was surprised at Gavn's question, he didn't show it.

"I hear Rowan York is a just man. Both feared and revered, depending on those you question. I hope to fight under him some day. He rarely travels from the east, though, so I'll need to wait until King Phillip allows me to go there."

Gavin understood why Phillip had sent Rory's father to the opposite side of the country from where he'd delivered his niece and her mother. A place where Gavin knew the occasional raid still took place. Rowan York would have been kept busy at the border. He wondered what lie Phillip had told him to make him never turn his eyes westward.

"Does he have any family?"

Weston shook his head. "None that I know of. Some say he had a brother who was killed in battle, but York is bastard born. Same as me."

"Well, if things don't work out with York, let me know," Gavin offered. "A man should never be judged by what side of the sheets he was conceived on."

"Thank you, War King." The boy looked at Gavin with a bit of awe, and Gavin dismissed him with a nod.

"That boy would be eaten alive in the Dread Lands," Theo warned.

"Some would have said that about us, once upon a time," Gavin reminded his brother. "The boy's honest and willing to speak up when others would hold their tongues. It's commendable."

"Mmm," was all Theo offered.

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