Chapter 19

Despite his best efforts to drift off, Thomas did not fall into anything close to sleep. By all accounts, he should be dead to the world after his day of interrogating Prince Fabian and then what he and Catherine had gotten up to. He’d warned her that she was sure to be with child before too long if they kept it up. She’d just smiled at the idea.

No sooner had he closed his eyes than a soft but distinct sound, a sort of fluttering, roused him. He opened his eyes to discover a raven had landed on the windowsill. He glanced at his companions. Frost was sound asleep, and Catherine was dead to the world.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked. It was definitely a raven since crows were smaller. From its perch, the raven observed him almost curiously.

“Come to me,” Thomas heard in his head.

He was suddenly somewhere else. Thomas turned in a circle and saw he was on the edge of the White Woods as it reached its ghostly pale petrified arms toward the sky. He could feel the tug to walk into the woods, so Thomas did.

He soon found a clearing with a circle of stones in the center. Thomas stepped into the ring, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. This felt... right, as he turned his attention inward and searched for the spark, the source of his magic.

He opened his eyes and was not surprised to find Raven, the woman the Knowledge Stone had shown him.

“Why haven’t I been able to communicate with the stone?” Thomas asked.

“Because you have not been trained.”

“In magic?”

“There is no such thing as magic. There is only knowledge. What people think is magic is simply an understanding of the world and of themselves. Learning about these things will allow you to do what most cannot.”

“But I feel it all around me,” Thomas countered.

Raven shook her head.

“You can sense what is around you, nothing more.”

“But...”

Raven chuckled, causing him to close his mouth.

“I had many of the same arguments with my teachers when I was first learning. Right now, it is pointless to argue the finer points of what the world is really all about. Just accept that you don’t know what you don’t know.”

“All right,” Thomas conceded.

“What I’m here for tonight is to give you some practical advice. Take Prince Fabian with you on your journey south.”

“What journey?”

“Just listen. We don’t have a lot of time. When you meet with the council, let your father do the talking. The other dukes and council members will discount you because of your age.”

Thomas bristled at what she said, but he understood her point, so he nodded for her to continue.

“When you go south, take the Wildlings and ask Duke Andric to allow Jacob and a contingent of his heavy cavalry to accompany you.”

“Anything else?”

“Trust your senses, and when in battle, disengage quickly, or you could be easily overwhelmed.”

Thomas jolted awake. His sweat-slick skin was clammy as he tried to catch his breath.

He lay there for a time as his mind reeled. What Raven had said at the end worried him because he didn’t understand what it meant. But it sounded like a dire warning.

The council meeting was joined by the three dukes, Cullen, and Thomas. Thomas noted that Torun had selected himself for guard duty so he could hear their deliberations firsthand.

“Are the rumors true? Did you arrest Prince Fabian for killing Queen Mary?” Duke Able, the ruler of the southern province of Pekin, asked.

“We did,” King Edward confirmed.

“So, it’s war,” Duke Andric, ruler of the eastern province of Henning, growled as he slapped his palm against the table.

“That is what we are here to decide,” Duke Charles said.

“Did he confess?” Duke Able asked.

“He wasn’t directly involved, but the prince confirmed that his father was. We also have a witness who can enlighten you as to what Virden has been up to,” Duke Charles assured everyone.

There had been a rumbling of dissent when his father had said that Prince Fabian wasn’t directly involved. Thomas could see this group was out for blood to avenge their Queen’s death. Prince Fabian made an easy target for that frustration.

His father called for the former Royal Guardsman, Simon, to be brought in. Thomas saw that he had been cleaned up but still looked stressed.

“Simon has agreed to speak. Let him tell his story, and then you can ask questions after he’s done,” Duke Charles said.

Duke Able’s face turned red when he heard about how the holdings on his southern border had been compromised. Simon and Gage had both joined the Royal Guard with instructions to feed Virden information and assist it in any way they could.

Simon said that Gage had killed the serving girl who’d poisoned both the King and the Queen. Simon had been sent to the apothecary’s apprentice to obtain the poison. He didn’t know who killed the apprentice.

Simon confirmed that he did periodically meet with Prince Fabian to pass on news, but he got his orders from a man named Fachnan. Fachnan had been the one to tell them what to do, including killing the Queen.

“Where is this man?” Duke Andric asked.

“He took his own life when men were sent to take him into custody,” Duke Charles said.

Simon then told them of everyone he knew that was working against the crown. Duke Able finally couldn’t control himself when he learned that three holdings in his province had committed treason.

“Why would your father do that? Was it money or something else?”

“Money was only a part of it. Fachnan came to our home and promised my father many things. He also stated that when Virden gained control of our kingdom, they wanted Abingdon’s men to be in positions of power. He played on my father’s belief that his family should be, at the very least, ruling the southern province.

“But my father saw through their plans and realized that he would end up nothing more than a puppet. When he was about to refuse, armed men forced their way into our home, and they took my two younger sisters,” Simon said.

The anguish was evident. Thomas could tell that Simon loved his sisters.

“Fachnan told my father that if he didn’t do as they said, they would sell my sisters to the worst possible inns as entertainment. If he supported King Hector when he took over, they would be returned untouched,” Simon explained.

The room went quiet.

“I’ve heard enough. I want to thank Duke Charles for gathering this information. I would ask that Thomas and Cullen leave so that we may deliberate on what to do,” King Edward said.

When they left, Cullen pulled Thomas aside.

“Are you positive that Prince Fabian wasn’t involved in trying to kill the King?”

“I am. I think we can use him. He knows he can’t go home, and he continues to share valuable information,” Thomas said, hoping to save the prince’s life.

As far as Thomas had learned, the prince had acted more as an envoy for Virden than as an agent. He hadn’t been entrusted with any of the shadier goings-on. While that seemed to be accurate, Thomas also knew that the prince wasn’t naïve. Fabian had admitted that he suspected his father was behind all the assassination attempts.

Cullen thought about what he said and then nodded.

“All right. For now, I want you to continue as you have.”

The council had discussed the matter at length, and their decision had been the inevitable one: war.

Later in the day, Thomas was summoned to the King’s private chambers and directly to what they were now calling the war room. He found King Edward with the three dukes and some of their men. Torun and Shepherd were also in the room. There was no sign of Cullen.

“Tell us what you’ve learned from Prince Fabian concerning Virden’s preparedness for war,” Duke Charles ordered his son.

“He estimates that they currently can field an army of about two thousand men. He said that his father plans to build up that force by hiring mercenaries from overseas. Prince Fabian said that by the end of summer, they will swell their ranks to as many as seventy-five hundred,” Thomas shared.

“If we wait, they’ll outnumber us by at least five times. I don’t like those odds,” Duke Andric said to state the obvious.

“I would still feel better if we had the forces from Manito at our side,” Duke Able added.

Part of the reason Princess Catherine was sent to marry one of the ducal heirs was for a situation like this. In the current crisis, though, it would take too long to send a message to King Gabriel and have him come to their aid.

“We need to find some way to buy time,” Duke Charles said.

Thomas felt the Knowledge Stone stir on his chest. He was talking before he knew what he would even say.

“Send me south. I’ll go under the guise of negotiating a trade for my brother in exchange for Prince Fabian.”

“That will never work. They’ll simply kill you, and it will tip our hand,” Duke Andric said.

“To what? That it is war?” Duke Able asked in disgust.

Duke Andric knew the truth of it and gave a shrug in response.

“He’s right in one regard. It’s a suicide mission. I won’t have you wasting your life on something like that,” Duke Charles said.

“I wouldn’t go as an envoy. I would sneak in and talk to King Hector alone,” Thomas said.

Dukes Able and Andric looked at Thomas like he’d just announced that he had a pet direwolf that liked belly rubs. Then again, that might not be a good example because he’d never actually been brave enough to give Frost a belly rub. Who knew? She might like them.

“Rumor has it that he walked right into the middle of the Wildlings’ camp,” Shepherd shared.

“I heard the same thing,” Duke Charles said. “And if getting into the castle in Virden is harder than strolling into a Wildling camp, I would be surprised. I have no doubt that Thomas can get in. It is getting out that has me worried.”

“If this is to work, he needs to move quickly,” Duke Able said.

“What would be the goal? To goad King Hector into marching north sooner? Why would he act before he’s ready? It sounds like if he waits, he’ll have the advantage,” Duke Charles said.

“The other problem is that if Thomas does get King Hector to march north, we aren’t ready,” King Edward said.

“Then I will have to slow their advance,” Thomas said.

“You plan to slow several thousand men with only a handful of Rangers and Wildlings?” Duke Able asked in complete disbelief.

“He’s right. You would need more than a few mounted archers,” King Edward said.

“Then give me Jacob and some of your heavy cavalry,” Thomas said to Duke Andric.

Thomas remembered what the Knowledge Stone had told him. Besides, Henning was noted for its horses.