Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) (17 page)

*
*

“Father, we tried!” Talbot exclaimed, wishing his father would look at him. He was currently on the floo
r at his father’s feet. He glance
d up,
but Donn only looked away
, staring past his son.

“I want results, Talbot, not excuses! You
brought an entire unit
with you and brought back only half of that. What happened?”
The king turned his eyes back to Talbot, his grey pupils burning with his fury.

“The Rogue Royal was there, Father. I never saw Aston. He might not have been there after all. I sent half of your men in to get your knight, but none of them came back,” Talbot
explained. He moved to stand
, but Don
n pushed him back to the floor with his foot.

“You’ll stay down there until I tell you
otherwise,”
he ordered
. “
What do you expect me to do now, Talbot? Hope that whoever The Rogue goes after next decides to send me a letter asking for help? The o
nly reason I knew about this attack
was because King
Roland
and I were close friends. Now he is dead, too. What’s it going to take for you to bring Aston to me?”

“Shouldn’t w
e worry more about the
The Rogue Royal
targeting one of us
?” Talbot asked. Ernst’s words were still foremost in his mind. With his father angry at him, Talbot stood no chance against The Rogue shoul
d he decide to target him
next.

“I don’t care who that man kills now, Talbot. My closest friends are all dead. If it weren’t
for Aston’s foolishness, they w
ould both still be alive.”

“How could Aston have sav
ed King
Roland
?” Talbot asked, confusion evident in his voice.

“If he hadn’t failed with Duke Aeron, I would have sent him to protect
Roland
. As it is now, I’m stuck with knights half as strong as him and a dimwitted son to watch over my army,” Donn exclaimed. He stood from his throne an
d strode down the red carpet
. At the door, he turned.
“You can s
tay there for now, Talbot.”

“Father!” Talbot cried, but Donn did not turn around.
His footsteps gradually became softer, and soon Talbot could not hear them at all.

The prince looked around himself. He’d never paid much attention to the throne room; it was always just the room he went to to order people around. Now, he realized it really was beautiful. Tall, marble columns were spaced throughout the room. Each one had the country’s
roaring
lion
emblem
engraved into it right where the column met the ceiling. The golden thrones were kept polished, gleaming in the light let in through the floor to ceiling windows that took up the entire left wall. Burgundy curtains were pulled to the side and held in place by thick, gold tassels.

For the first time, Talbot realized how lu
cky he was. He had a father who loved him
most of the time. His mother was kind and always put others before herself. He had an army that would put their lives on the line to protect him and a country full of people who knew one day he would rule them and respected him.

What had he been doing with his life?

He looked up as the sound of shuffling feet approached. Turning, he spotted Aston
’s little servant friend, Richard
. The boy glanced at Talbot and bowed slightly before proceeding to the thrones. He carried a bucket that was sloshing with soapy water in both hands, a towel clutched tightly between the handle and his palms.

Without looking at Talbot again, the boy began to clean the thrones. He started on the king’s, makin
g sure to get every inch gleaming
in the late morning sun. When he was finished with King Donn’s, he moved on to the queen’s. Talbot continued to watch the boy, and Richie sent sideways glances at the prince every once in a while. Finally, the boy stopped what he was doing and turned to face Talbot.

“Is something wrong, Your Highness
?”

“Nothing. Just a conversation I had with someone recently.” Thinking over the idea, Talbot decided to test his theory on Richie. “Can I ask you something?” he asked the boy.

Richie shrugged. “I suppose so.”

“Do you think The Rogue Royal would ever think to come after me?” Talbot asked.

Richie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“
Where did you get that idea, Your Highness
?” he asked.

The prince sighed
.
“It’s nothing. Just something I’d been thinking about. Run along. Go…clean something,” Talbot ordered.
He stood, despite his father’s orders, and left the throne
room.

**

Richie shrugged and turned back to Talbot’s throne, remembering the dream he’d had the night before. Talbot had been sleeping, and The Rogue Royal was standing by his bedside, dagger in hand. He wondered if that had anything to do with the prince’s sudden burst of kindness. As he finished washing the prince’s throne, he noticed a letter sitting on the floor by the king’s. He looked toward the door to make sure Talbot really was gone before picking up the letter.
It took him a while, but with Aston’s reading lessons, he was able to struggle through the letter.

Donn,

I
thought I should let you know that I received word from The Rogue Royal today. He says he
sent word to every kingdom, letting them know their royalty was safe until winter is through. I suppose even blood thirsty murders don’t like to travel in the winter.

I also received word from the Queen of
Northsbury
. She says the death of her husband will not put plans for the winter ball on hold. She says her husband would be dishonored if they did not celebrate as usual.

I suppose I will be seeing you and Talbot there next month.

Any news from Aston about my dear daughter?

Your friend,

Aric

Richie didn’t understand what most of the letter was about, but one thing did stand out to him. The Rogue wouldn’t be killing anyone else until after the snow left.

Smiling, Richie left the room and went to the stables, talking to Vernon for a bit before climbing on Vernon’s old mare and leaving the palace. If there was one place Aston would always go back to, it was Delgrab’s cabin. If he hurried, Richie could make it there and back before dark. He would leave the letter with Delgrab
and hope Aston made
it back before
the first snow.

*
*

Night found Aston and Jade halfway home. It also found them camping out in the middle of the forest, winter upon them.
The first flakes of snow had fallen right as the sun was setting, and Aston had quickened their pace, hoping they would be able to reach Delgrab’s cabin the next day before the snow started to stick.

As the sun finished its des
cent
, Aston forced Sterling into the forest and off the main road. He wanted to be able to build a fire without worrying about someone seeing it.

“Stay under that blanket until I get this fi
re started. Stay by Edward.
You can share his body heat until I’m done.”

Jade nodded,
and Aston noticed her teeth were chattering. He worked faster, knowing the princess wouldn’t be used to the cold. It took him
only a moment to create enough friction to start a fire. He put the flint back in his satchel before grabbing Jade’s hand, pulling her close to the fire. He’d taken his own blanket and draped it across the ground; as long as it didn’t snow much more that night, they wou
ld be able to keep warm enough beneath the shelter the trees offered.

“Lay down on that blanket, Jade, close to the fire,” he instructed. Aston was used to the cold; he was worried about the princess. No doubt she’d spent every winter
’
s night in front of a fire with a steaming cup of hot tea in her hands. Being out in the extremes like this would be hard on her.

Once Jade had lain down, Aston covered her with the wool blanket he’d given her as well as the blanket from her pack. When he was sure he’d made her as comfortable as he could, he disappeared into the woods to find food.

Jade lay there, shivering, wishing Aston would come back. She didn’t like being out here by herself. It reminded her too much of the night outside Fridel when the wolves had been chasing her. She cowered under the blankets Aston had given her and scooted
closer to the fire, hoping the flames would protect her until Aston returned.

She didn’t have to worry for long. Aston returned within the hour, carrying three dead hares. She used to cringe at the sight of them, but she was getting comfortable with Aston’s hunting. Now, she found it intriguing, watching the way he treated the dead animals as if they were still alive, still precious. He skinned them with such care, emptied them out like they were simply ill and he was helping them. Wh
en he placed them over the fire and washed his hands using water from his leather canteen,
he came to her.

Jade didn’t have to ask to know what Aston wanted. She moved away from the fire, allowing him room to lie down. Once he was beside her, she unraveled herself from one of the blankets and tossed it over him. Seemingly unsatisfied, Aston took the blanket that was still wrapped around her and pulled it free, tucking himself in beside her before encompassing them both in the blankets.

Jade was surprised at how warm Aston’s skin was. With how long he’d been out in the cold, she’d been sure his skin would feel like ice against hers. Instead, he was like a warm hearth. His heated arms wrapped around her chilled flesh, causing goose bumps that were in no way related to the cold. Inside the cocoon of his arms, she almost forgot that she’d been nearly frozen only moments before.

“No use wasting body heat,” Aston said, jerking her from her thoughts.

“You don’t have to have a reason to hold me, Aston,” Jade replied, tucking her head underneath his chin. She buried her face in his shirt, noticing for the first time how he smelled. The knight smelled like pine trees and sweat. While it wasn’t a combination
she would normally have thought of as appealing, for Aston it just fit.

“I wasn’t trying to give it reason. I was just stating a fact,” Asto
n told her, resting his chin on
top of her head.
Smiling, Jade leaned up and stole a kiss, loving the fact that she could make the knight defensive.

He returned her kiss wholeheartedly, moving his tongue along her bottom lip. Jade smiled into the kiss
,
and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, running it along her teeth before withdrawing again. He felt more than heard Jade’s disappointed moan when he broke the kiss.

Aston uncovered himself and slid from the blankets, settling them back over Jade
.
He looked over his shoulder at her once he reached the fire, smiling when he caught her watching him.

“What will you do, Aston? When you’re a free man again, where will you go?” she asked him, turning
on her side, placing her elbow on the ground,
and resting her head on her fist.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think I want to go back to Fridel. I love being a knight, but this journey has made me question so many things I thought I knew,” Aston replied, staring at Jade. The firelight was playing over her body, making her auburn hair dance with color. She looked beautiful.

“Where will you go, then? If I asked you to come to Adion, fight for my father, would you?”

Aston looked away then. He meant what he said; he loved being a knight, and he respected King Aric more than many of the other monarchs he’d met. Aric was the one king Aston always felt saw his soldiers as more than lives to throw away. However, he
didn’t think he wanted to fight for him. He didn’t know if he wanted to fight for anyone anymore, other than himself.

“I like this freedom, Jade. I love feeling like I can go anywhere I want,
do
anything I want. I don’t know if I want to go back to being someone’s soldier,” he answered honestly.

Jade nodded in understanding
.

“For now, I’m happy doing this. Travelling…with you,” he said.

Jade looked up at him and smiled.
“I like this, too. It’s better than being a prize on Jacob’s arm,” she replied.

“What will you do when you go back to Adion? Your father will make you marry
the marquess
.”

“I don’t intend to go back.”
Jade narrowed her eyes at Aston as his
eyes widened. “What? You’re allowed to run away forever, but I’m not?” she asked him.

“I didn’t think you would want to leave your father forever. King Aric is a kind man,” Aston replied, turning his attention back to their dinner.