fight on our side and then we will have no worries at all.”
“I wish,” Gwaynn said rolling his eyes. He gently pulled away from her but still kept hold of her hand. He led her from the room and out into the main hall of their new home. It was quiet, empty and still in the hall itself, but sounds of construction filled their private rooms as men erected platforms along the interior of the main wall of the fortress.
They stepped out into the day. It was bright and sunny, though it had rained sometime over night and the ground was wet and muddy in spots. All the men working looked up and nodded. They were a popular couple and the warriors of Massi were becoming fiercely loyal to them both. A few workmen shouted out greetings, some of them smiling and briefly forgetting for a moment that they were working on the very walls designed to hold out an army, an enemy army that was moving inexorably closer.
As they zigzagged their way around the muddy spots, Gwaynn could feel the pressure of the approaching army; feel the pressure of the High King.
Samantha’s hand returned the squeeze he hadn’t realized he was giving and Gwaynn glanced at her. She was watching him as they moved together through the main gates and into the square that separated the two motte and baileys. Krys, Emm, Cyndar and Lee Brandt were waiting with the Zarina Monde. Along one side of the Traveler stood Queen Ramona, who was currently residing in the sister fortress, her son had already returned to the Gap to guard against the imminent attack they all felt was coming.
Waiting on the opposite side of Monde was the Weapons Master Tabernas, who would be joining Phillip at the Gap shortly, and the Speaker Zebo Sorbello. Traveler Jess na Gall departed two days ago on horseback, bound for Heron. From there she would Travel to Parma, the large port city and Capital of the Cassinni. Lonogan Bock and five other handpicked men went along with her as escort, just in case King Marc Cassinni attempted to make any claim on the Traveler’s freedom. na Gall believed such “protection” was not necessary but Gwaynn insisted, and Bock seemed more than eager to get away from Manse for a while and accompany the beautiful Traveler to an exotic and distant land for a few days. It was Gwaynn’s hope that King Marc would judge all of Massi against Lonogan and thus feel more confident in supporting their cause.
“Anything from our High King?” Gwaynn asked Lee Brandt, who would be assuming Bock’s duties in his boss’s absence. Gwaynn had offered to elevate Brandt to Captain, but the big man just shrugged. He cared nothing for titles and had little trouble motivating those who worked under him. Gwaynn nodded slightly to Cyndar, who appeared nervous and was standing slightly behind the big man, as if for protection. Gwaynn wondered briefly at her behavior, but did not guess she was using Brandt’s large body to shield herself from the eyes of Zarina Monde. The two of them had met briefly over a year ago and in fact there was a scar on the Zarina’s right shoulder given to her by Cyn de Baard. How she had not recognized her immediately, Cyndar could not have said, but she knew it might be only a matter of time before Monde made the connection.
Brandt shook his head at Gwaynn’s inquiry, but it was Ramona who answered.
“My son reports no activity along the Gap and as of an hour ago Captain Wicks claims the waters around Cape to be free of enemy vessels,” the Queen said wanting to do more than just report on the front. She knew her people were doing their share to prepare for the upcoming battle, but she felt useless and impotent in the face of approaching battle. What advice could she give when it was her decisions that led to the loss of her own country? Her confidence was shaken, but she was still Queen and so must carry on with pretense.
“I will be here to await word if anything menacing develops,” she added bitterly but smiled faintly as Tabernas put a hand gently on her shoulder.
Gwaynn nodded, catching the older woman’s mood. “We’ll be able to return immediately if it comes to that,” he said then stepped forward and embraced the Toranado Queen.
“You have given us valuable time,” he whispered into her ear. “No one could have stood against such a force. My father couldn’t and I no longer blame him.”
“But you did,” Ramona whispered back and hugged the young man fiercely.
“I was the fool, not my father,” Gwaynn replied and pulled away but gave an extra squeeze with his hands before completely disengaging and turning to Krys and Samantha.
“We’ll stay in close contact,” he said in a louder voice. “This may take a week or a day. There is no way to tell.”
Gwaynn glanced at Krys, suddenly nervous. “Contact me if anything unexpected arises,” he told his Weapons Master.
Krys nodded and smiled. “Emm and I will keep things under control,” he replied and squeezed the hand of the woman he loved. “We won’t be surprised.”
Gwaynn nodded, completely confident in his young friend. War had aged and matured them both.
And with that the High Zarina Monde began working on the bridge to Noble as Gwaynn hugged and kissed Samantha goodbye, neither feeling even a trace of embarrassment over their display of affection. Within moments the bridge was solid and with a last look at Samantha, Gwaynn stepped through and was quickly followed by Monde.
Samantha never took her eyes him as he moved from Massi to Noble, but when the bubble suddenly popped out of sight she found herself staring into the hard eyes of Cyndar Huntley. The Captain held her gaze for a long moment before lifting her chin and sauntering off toward the practice fields.
?
The High King stood at the edge of the rampart and watched as the tail end of the fleet glided swiftly over the horizon. The morning was very windy and unseasonably cool. But the sky was generally clear with just a few large, white clouds that streaked across the blue as if racing his ships to the distance shores of Massi.
Mastoc frowned with nervousness, uncomfortable with the fact that his Temple Knights were now all aboard ship, ships that would soon be moving through enemy waters guarded by what was left of the Toranado fleet. He was no fool and realized all too well that his rule depended greatly on the dominance of the Knights; without them he would be at the mercy of his enemies. He just hoped Admiral Blakely of the Palmerrio knew what he was doing. The Toranado navy…they were still a concern, and would be until their ships were utterly destroyed.
“Arden will keep the Toranado at bay if necessary,” Audra said bouncing the growing baby boy in her arms. “He’s placed Admiral Braunwain and the Deutzani fleet at the very tip of the finger.”
The baby, Aiden, yammered something unintelligible and reached up and tried his best to pluck his mother’s left eye from its socket. She leaned back, smiling and the youth became distracted by her hair, which was well within reach.
The High King looked down at his heir and couldn’t help but smile at the baby’s antics. Then he glanced into his wife’s face, who at sixteen was little more than a child herself. He felt a wave of love and confidence. They would get passed this threat, and when they did he promised himself to put away intrigue for the time being and enjoy his family, which was growing quickly. Audra was already large with child again though young Aiden was not yet eight months old.
“The Cassinni will have to be made to pay for their lack of cooperation,” he finally said as if ignoring his own thoughts.
“But not yet,” Audra said simply, and leaned down to kiss the wiggling fingers of her baby.
“No not yet,” the High King agreed, suddenly happy to be here, happy to be with his wife and son. “And we will not have to move against them by sea,” he added and raised his face wistfully to gaze back out toward
