The wagon jostled onward, creaking wood and clopping hooves breaking apart the silence left as Aldric rubbed his chin in thought. “I suspect Delmurra will be there, too. She’s the Red Covenant’s Grand Mageraetas and has become a trusted advisor to the king. She’s a stern sort and not one you want to cross, so do as she says and be honest with her. If anyone can help you sort out this wind and magic business, it’ll be her. She’s the most powerful mageborne of this age, people say. She’s also the one who’ll decide if you’re innocent, so best stay on her good side, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Dnara replied, but her monotone response didn’t make Aldric look any less concerned about the meeting to come.
If Dnara could feel anything at all, she would be even more concerned than the commander. She tried pushing past the haze, using the dark blue of Alderic’s eyes as a mooring point in an unfocused world. The starstone hummed at the back of her neck, sending a pulsating shiver up and down her spine. Her muscles locked and her head tingled. Pouring all her effort into one thought, she managed to make one finger twitch.
Aldric’s gaze flicked down to her hand and stared at the finger. She tried to do it again, but the starstone had won the battle. As its buzzing pitch increased, the fog around her vision turned to shadow. The wagon hit a deep rut in the road, jostling its passengers. Dnara slumped forward, exhausted, and let the starstone have its way. Aldric caught her and looked on into the setting sun behind her, worry written deeply upon his expression as the Red Keep’s distant silhouette finally came into view.
“Ancestors,” he whispered, his eyes filled with an uncertainty he had not felt in years. “Please watch over this one, for I fear I may have made a mistake.”
38
Dnara regained awareness as the wagon came to a stop and Aldric lowered its back gate. The collar’s buzzing had subsided, possibly assured she would no longer put up a fight. In all truth, she no longer had the energy to do anything but accept Aldric’s assistance down from the back of the wagon. Stepping onto finely paved, red brick ground, Dnara found herself in the middle of a large circular courtyard barren of all vegetation save for one massive silver leafed oak tree growing from the center. Circling all around were high walls built of giant black stones that must have taken a thousand men to set in place. The stones were so precisely cut, it may not have been men at all, but magic that had built the Red Keep.
“This way,” Aldric said, gently turning her shoulders and facing her away from the walls.
In front of them rose a wide stairway flanked on both sides by armed soldiers, their eyes following her as their heads remained still as statues. The stairs led to a black iron door three times as tall as Aldric, its foreboding exterior barbed and its massive weight moved by pullies connected to a stone wheel pulled by two large oxen. The last soldier on the right stepped out of line and walked to the center of the top step. Aldric stopped halfway up as the soldier saluted.
“Welcome home, Commander.” The soldier hit his fist upon his heart, metal on metal.
“Thank you, Mattias,” Aldric replied. “All is well, I hope?”
“Yes, sir,” Mattias confirmed, his gaze never straying to Dnara. “A full report awaits you in your quarters. There is one matter I would like your input on, sir, once you are settled.”
“Oh?” Aldric questioned.
“Security arrangements for the envoy from Ka’veshi. They should arrive in six days and have a long list of requests.”
Aldric let a small groan slip. “I thought that was still months away. If Ambassador Ja’nesh is with them again, I may have to find some reason to suddenly be in the Grey Marsh.”
Mattias chuckled quietly. “Please, take me with you.”
“Noted,” Aldric replied.
Mattias opened his mouth to say more, hesitated then leaned in with a lowered voice. “Is it true the fires are dying in the east?”
“I see rumor still travels faster than my squadron,” Aldric said, earning a smirk from Mattias.
“The unfortunate way of ravens, sir,” Mattias retorted. “They don’t follow the roads.”
“Speaking of ravens,” Aldric said instead of affirming the rumor. “I need you to send one to Lee’s Mill, directed to Mayor Whitehall.”
“Of course, sir.” Mattias dropped his question about the fires along with his smirk and stood up straight, accepting his commander’s order. “What should the message say?”
Aldric’s fingers gently flexed against the back of Dnara’s shoulder. “Tell him, the girl has reached the Red Keep without harm, as promised, and now resides under the safety of His Majesty’s authority.”
“Understood.” Mattias repeated it once under his breath to commit it to a well-trained memory. “Anything else, sir?”
Aldric thought on it for a moment. “See that an extra provision of the king’s wheat is sent to Lee’s Mill.”
“It will be done, sir.” Mattias saluted again then stepped back in line.
Mattias called out an order to raise the gate. From the wheelhouse nearby, a whip snapped and the oxen set their heads low to pull the great stone mechanism. The door raised upwards with a bellowing groan, revealing sharpened spikes along its bottom and turning the opening gate into a gaping maw. As the door lifted, a narrow iron grate
