A footman approached, bowed respectfully, then gestured with his arm. “If your friends would follow me, I will make sure they are kept comfortable while you are attending His Majesty.”
Tiny glanced at Will, who nodded. The big man and Darla went along without trouble, while a second footman led Laina and Will down a smaller side hall. She draped her hand over Will’s arm, but he leaned over and brought his ear closer when he felt a slight tug. “Have you ever been summoned like this before?” she asked.
He nodded quietly. In fact, he hadn’t, but in the more general sense, he’d been in similar situations with the king. Once when he had been released from the royal dungeon, once after saving Selene from a hungry demon, and then once when he had invited himself in to steal the princess away. On almost every occasion he had been subjected to violence at some point. Except when I took Selene, he noted.
“How did it turn out?” Her voice was smooth, but given her last encounter with their monarch he knew she was nervous.
He wanted to reassure her, but after their recent spiritual exploration of one another, he knew that kind words would only make it worse for her. She wouldn’t believe them. “Usually I try to be polite but eventually I offend him anyway. Most of the time I wind up with a black eye or a few bruises, but nothing more.”
“That was before he nearly whipped you to death, wasn’t it?”
He winced. “And before I eloped with his daughter.” Another thought came to him then. His last encounter had gone badly specifically because of Laina’s presence. He’d taken the whipping because Lognion had threatened his sister. Did he insist on her presence so he could use her as leverage against me? Will’s stomach twisted at the thought.
Laina’s hand moved down his wrist and she clasped his hand briefly. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt you again,” she told him.
She’s more worried about me? He didn’t think there was much she could do one way or another, but the thought made his chest hurt as he realized they were each worried more about the other. Like family.
The footman opened one of a pair of large double doors, then gestured for them to enter.
The room was relatively small, less than thirty feet in length on the longest side. A collection of cushioned chairs and benches were scattered artfully around the space, with side tables positioned helpfully, so that those who were seated would have places to rest their drinks or other refreshments. It was, in short, a salon, an excellent place for a small gathering to eat and converse informally.
King Lognion stood at the other end, watching them. As they entered, the door closed behind them, and Laina automatically started to curtsey, but Will caught her arm and prevented her from observing the customary formality. She tugged at him for a moment and shot him a warning glare, but he refused to let her lower herself. “Not with me,” he growled in a quiet voice.
Lognion chuckled and walked forward, his posture relaxed and unworried. “Trying to teach your bad habits to others, William?”
He glared daggers at his father-in-law. “I was just explaining to Miss Nerrow that this is a family gathering, so there would be no need for such obeisance.”
“Family?” said the king in a querulous tone. “Oh! You meant me! I wasn’t sure for a moment.”
It was a veiled threat, that the king might reveal Will’s secret relation, but Laina, despite her nervousness, wasn’t having it. “Surely you didn’t forget that my brother is married to your daughter, Your Majesty?”
Lognion blinked, his eyes studying her for a second, then turned to Will, who merely smiled. That caught him off-guard.
But Lognion wasn’t one to linger, especially not on a point that had taken him unaware. Instead he pivoted to the matter at hand. “Tell me about what happened in the city a few hours ago. A vast portion of my capital has been destroyed, and I’m getting interesting reports regarding who was responsible for the damage.”
They had stopped Ethelgren’s spell before the mad wizard had made much more than a five- degree turn, but that still meant that roughly one or two percent of the city had been destroyed, assuming the swath of destruction had gone all the way to the outer wall. A few percent might not sound like much, but Cerria was a densely packed city of several hundred thousand people. The number of buildings, homes, businesses, and most importantly of all, the people who had been annihilated in that small arc was hard to conceive.
And the man who had done it had been wearing Will’s face. Not only that, but Ethelgren had taken command of the Driven and soldiers in the area just before his act of wholesale slaughter. Presumably they had all died when the first portion of his ritual spell had taken place, but if any had survived—their fingers would be pointing directly at Will.
But Laina had been present as well. If any of the blame were to spill over onto her…
“It was me,” stated Will.
“Will had nothing to do with it,” said Laina simultaneously.
The king smirked. “This is more interesting than I had anticipated. William, come here please.”
Will stepped forward, keeping his face clear. He could see the king already making a fist and he knew what was likely to come. The knowledge made it hard to remain still, and his eyes closed as he saw Lognion’s shoulder begin to move. He felt the air in front of his face move and something brushed against his chin, but no blow came. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Laina standing in front of him. Only one word emerged from her lips, “No.”
The king was studying her thoughtfully. “You’ve gotten much more protective of your brother, Miss Nerrow. I can only wonder what brought on such a transformation.” He made as though to swing at her, then began laughing as he saw the look in Will’s eyes. “Not to worry, William. If I plan on beating your sister, I’ll do it when you aren’t present. I’d rather not break my hand on one of those annoying shields.
“Back to business. You lied to me, William, while Miss Nerrow was kind enough to tell the truth. Do explain.”
“I stole Ethelgren’s Exhortation from Wurthaven, but when I attempted to use it my body was possessed by the spirit of Linus Ethelgren. He was intent on destroying the vampires, but his best solution was to destroy the entire city. Laina stopped him,” he answered.
The king looked at Laina. “That’s a truly outlandish story, but William seems to actually believe what he’s saying. What do you think, Miss Nerrow? Was that true?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
He frowned. “Now you both claim truth and my instincts agree. What part of William’s story do you disagree with, Miss Nerrow?”
“It wasn’t me who stopped Ethelgren,” she replied. “I helped, but it was mainly Will himself. He was in my body at the time and we worked together.”