“You told them we were married.”
She winced, barely, but enough that I took notice. “Yes, but only after I’d tried everything else to change Reese’s mind. They’ll follow me into battle, Simon. They know me; they know my father. They’ll follow you if they believe you follow me, and not her.” She shifted her weight before adding, “Besides, many people had expected it would already be true of us, or that it soon will be.”
I nodded as I took that in. It was absurd that I continued to fight the inevitable, and hadn’t I already suggested to Harlyn that the Scarlet Throne would be ours one day? At some point, I would have to marry Harlyn, and in time, we would probably be very happy. Or I could pretend as much anyway.
I took her hands. “You got them here, which is better than I could have done. Now that they’re here, we have to deal with their reasons for coming.”
“Then we’ll tell them the truth.”
She was trying to smile but doing a poor job of it. And though she was taking responsibility for the lie, I also knew she’d never have had to lie if I’d already married her, as I should have done.
Gripping her hands tighter, I said, “What if we make what they already believe become the truth?”
Harlyn tilted her head. “Are you serious?” I nodded, but she still seemed uncertain. “Do you want to marry me, or do you feel that you must?”
I sighed and tried not to think of Kestra, or tried not to let my thoughts of her ruin this moment. “Part of accepting the realities of who Kestra has become is accepting that I’ve missed what is right in front of me. It will take me time to get to where I should have been all along, but I will get there, Harlyn.”
Harlyn’s face twisted, but at least she was still smiling. “That is literally the worst proposal of marriage anyone has ever heard. But we’re at war, you’re obviously exhausted, and I did recently announce our marriage as a last resort to save your life, so I suppose you’re forgiven. I accept your offer.”
I leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t the kiss she should have received considering that we had just agreed to marry, but it was a start for us.
When we parted, I said, “I’ve got to tell the cavalry the truth about us. I can’t ask for their trust and betray it in the same breath. Will you come with me to speak to them?”
“I have to go on patrol with Gabe right now.”
“I’ll go in your place. You should be here to prepare the cavalry for the coming battle.”
“Their king must prepare them.” Harlyn placed a hand on my cheek. “They’re already on my side. Now let’s get them on yours.”
I took her hand, and together, we walked to the front doors. A light snow was falling, made worse by a cold, wet wind. We pulled on our cloaks and wrapped them around us, then went outside to welcome the cavalry—my cavalry, I supposed—as they approached. Commander Reese led about a hundred riders forward, and on his signal, they stopped in four straight rows behind him. All were dressed in the brown and blue colors of the Halderians, and two riders on either side of Reese carried brown flags, each with a blue stripe across it.
Reese dismounted and gave me a curt nod of his head. He had been with Harlyn’s father when we had fought at King’s Lake two months ago, though we had not worked together directly. He was a large and sturdy man, the kind of warrior I needed on my side, and not only because he would likely defeat me in any sort of challenge. If I could persuade him to follow me, the other men here would accept me too.
Which made it even more problematic when he only nodded in my direction but then addressed Harlyn. “My lady, we have ridden as fast as our horses would allow. My riders are exhausted and cold, and their horses need care.”
Harlyn opened her mouth to answer, but I said, “Commander Reese, you are relieved of duty.”
He widened his stance as he looked over to me. “Pardon?”
“If you are so exhausted that you forget to address your king with proper respect, then clearly you are too exhausted to lead these soldiers into battle.” I cut off his attempt at a protest by adding, “You are dismissed. Tend to your horse and you can sleep in the stables until you wish to speak to me with respect.”
“And who are you that I should care to address you at all?” Reese’s hand shifted to his sword. “You’re a boy who came from nowhere, without a drop of Halderian blood. Only King Gareth’s ring, which, for all we know, you stole from his finger as he slept.”
“But I am Halderian,” Harlyn said. “And this is your king. If you stand with me, then you must stand with Simon too.”
“I will fight for you alone, my lady, whether as a commander or a stable boy.” Reese’s glare aimed at me contained a tangible heat, the most heat he was likely to feel on this cold night. “But you must excuse me now. My horse needs tending to.”
He grabbed his horse’s reins and began to walk toward the Woodcourt stables. In turn, Edgar, one of the other men I’d overheard back in Nessel, dismounted and said, “My horse also needs attention, my lady.” Ten men and women followed his actions and excuses, and within a minute, every single rider was walking their horse toward the stables.
Harlyn looked up at me and smiled wryly. “That could have gone better.”
“It’s not over yet.” I kissed her hand. “Be safe on your patrols tonight and take care of Gabe.”
“You be safe too,” Harlyn replied. “I daresay you’re about to deal with a far more dangerous situation than I am.”
I nodded as she returned to Woodcourt, worried that she might be right. Somehow I had to face a group of soldiers who had already committed treason in their hearts. All that remained was to finish the job.
We waited to leave until the night was as black as it would become. We had chosen this night for its darkness—a new moon gave us just enough light to guide our horses, and the overcast skies dimmed the stars. We hadn’t expected the snowfall, but Joth said it might keep others off the roads and further mask us. I hoped he was right.
Joth set out first, then me, then Darrow, none of us speaking unless absolutely necessary. Considering the consequences of being discovered too early, I couldn’t think of anything that would make extra noise a necessity.
Unfortunately, that left me alone with my thoughts, and my head was so crowded with them, I didn’t know where to put my attention.
The threads linking our plan together were too thin. There were too many possibilities we could not account for, too many things that could go terribly wrong. Even if everything went right, I was beginning to doubt my own abilities. I’d already tried once to kill Lord Endrick, and that had ended terribly. A second failure would likely be my last mistake ever.
Yet success was the most frightening of all. If I succeeded tonight, then what?
It was a question without an answer, or worse, a question that spawned another hundred questions. At the center of them all: What would happen to Antora after tonight?
What would happen to me? Once I succeeded, would I become the next target?
Joth would be on my side. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted that.
Despite what he claimed, that his people were not susceptible to corruption, when he had joined powers with me, that had introduced corruption into him. I didn’t know if he could see it in himself as easily as he had recognized it in me in All Spirits Forest. I could see it though. If only I knew what to do for either of us.