Brazos shakes his head once. “We have plenty for about two weeks.”
“Good. I’ve ordered supplies and food to be delivered, but I hadn’t anticipated you coming so quickly. They’ll be here soon though,” I say.
He dips his chin once. “We have heard no updates from Whitecotton on the situation.”
Clearing my throat, I think about Logan who only left here a few days ago. I’ve received zero missives from him since he’s been gone, but I doubt he’s even reached his destination yet. Though, I do find it odd that he hasn’t informed Brazos on the current status of the situation at hand.
“I’m sure that you have just as much, if not more information than I do. However, I did want to converse with you about something. How many men can you spare for a special assignment?”
“How special?” he asks.
Clearing my throat, my gaze shifts to the side, then slides back to meet his. “Special and delicate.”
“Four?”
Nodding my head once, I press my lips together. “I need them. They’ll be tasked with being a woman’s personal guard. She won’t be leaving here without me, confined to the house and the main outside area. But they will guard her with their lives.”
“And she is?” he asks.
Do I tell him the truth? I shake my head. I can’t do that, not yet. Not until I know everything about this prophecy. Ernest claims we should get news soon from the scholars up north, once I’ve talked to them, only then will I feel comfortable telling anyone else about this situation. At this point, she’s a witch, and technically can be destroyed for it in this country.
“Mine,” I state.
“Your…”
Drat the man for forcing me to put a label on who this woman is to me. I can’t call her my mistress, that obviously puts a stigma on her that she doesn’t appreciate, not that I appreciated the way she was gawked at in town much myself.
“Lady friend,” I explain, trying not to laugh at the expression, imagining Birdie’s turned-up nose. “Miss Birdie Collins is to be guarded at all times. I want someone in the house next to her door twenty-four seven, even when she sleeps. When you’ve chosen your four best, send them to my office, I have some important information for them regarding their new duties.”
Without giving him another moment of my time I turn and head into the house to my office while the men set up their camp. I start to go through my letters, hoping to see something from Logan or the scholars, but I have nothing.
“Have you heard anything?” I ask Ernest, who is standing quietly at my back.
“I have not, sir, but that doesn’t mean that they are not on their way. I would venture a guess that this would be too good for them to stay in their homes and they will make the trip here to see Miss Birdie for themselves.”
I don’t deny that I’m a bit afraid of that. What happens if they tell me something that I don’t want to hear? What happens if they try to take Birdie from me? I don’t know if I would let them.
Closing my eyes, I let out a grunt. I know that I wouldn’t let them. That woman is mine, as much as I try to deny it, I can’t, at least not to myself. Ernest doesn’t say anything else and I’m grateful for his silence, that is until my office is filled with four soldiers.
“Jeremiah.” I chuckle as I stand and greet one of the men that I fought beside years ago.
His lips twitch in a grin as he returns my enthusiasm and we embrace. “Brazos acted as though this was a secret mission of some kind. We’re here to serve, James. We want you to know that you can trust us.”
Clearing my throat, I lean back against my desk, gripping the edges before I shift my gaze between them all.
“I’m going to tell you a story, one that I can’t believe is true myself. I’ll understand if you think I’ve gone a bit crazy, but know that this is real.”
With that lead-in, I tell them everything. Their eyes widen, a couple take a seat, but it’s Jeremiah who watches me intently. He doesn’t look as if he thinks I’ve lost my mind, but he does look a bit concerned.
“Can I be upfront?” he asks once I’ve finished the story of how Birdie came to us and who she is.
“You can,” I say, dipping my chin in a small nod.
“A year ago, I would have called you completely insane. The three men behind me think that you probably are, but I don’t.”
“Why is that?” I ask.
He clears his throat, lifting his hand, he wraps his fingers around the back of his neck and squeezes. He lifts his gaze to me, his eyes flashing with something that I can’t quite read.
“There are rumors, James.”
“Rumors?”
He nods his head a bit too frantically. “Rumors that the Queen of Bunafi is not exactly normal, that she comes from a mysterious land. That the Sea Queen of Wolfjour Ail is the same. That they are coming together and meeting, but nobody knows why exactly.”
“What are their names?” I demand.
Not that I know what Birdie’s sisters’ names are, but I’m going to find out. My heart starts racing and I know without a doubt that these two women, wives of powerful rulers, of warrior kings, that they must indeed be her sisters.
“Sybilla and Liv.”
Chapter Twenty-One
BIRDIE
I’m sitting at the dining room table, waiting. I try not to think about the droves of men that are camped out front and all around the house. I don’t know why they make me uneasy the way that they do. Florence has promised me that I am safe, and as distant as Colt is, safety and protection are important to him no matter what.
Nervously, I
