Branded by Clare London

Author:Clare London [London, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634764643
Publisher: DSP Publications
Published: 2016-01-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I’D BEEN waiting in Seleste’s outer office for an hour or more, but the latest Council meeting had gone on far longer than expected. For maybe the first time in my life, I was glad I was no longer a soldier of rank, for I didn’t have to wait at attention for that time. I was wearing my tunic and trousers, but inside Seleste’s Household I was allowed no armor or arms. That was a condition of my tenure, unless I had duties on the training field, but I had to admit it also made for a more comfortable time off duty.

Her secretary brought me water, but no one saw fit to explain why I was there or to suggest how long the meeting would last. Maybe I should have said yet another Council meeting; my Mistress had been absent for most of the last month on one official duty or another, ever since her accession as Queen. As much duty as the life of a soldier, I might have said if I were looking to amuse her. Instead I sat alone and restless, and I brooded on many things.

There was a discreet tap at the door, and a soldier entered, a Silver Captain. Not one of Seleste’s own Guard, so I assumed he’d been part of the spoils from the battle. The city still hummed with tales of that day, of the courage and drama of the fighting, of the fate of the other sisters—notably the last few to surrender—and of the hero status of the Gold Warriors, Zander the best of them all. Despite his chastisement on the day of the battle, he was back in favor and as arrogant as ever. Every soldier had been threatened with severe punishment if he spread the story of Flora’s attack on Seleste, but luckily the popular tales had plenty of other, more positive news to tell. There’d also been a stream of visitors to the Royal Household every day since the battle, either on official business for the new Queen or on less official—but maybe more interesting—business, to see and bid for the captured soldiers who were not required by the Royal Household. Seleste had made her exclusive choice for the Royal Guard within the first few days, with Zander at her side.

Whereas I had no hero status, no praise in the common ale-bar songs. Instead I sat in her office as a civilian of sorts, waiting to know what she had in store for me.

The soldier glanced at me, and his eyes widened. I wasn’t unused to the effect, but it still made me weary. “The Queen’s secretary is through that door,” I said. Was he here with a message, or for disciplinary reasons? There were no other soldiers with him. “You may leave your message with her.”

He didn’t move away. He was also unarmed, though he wore the daily breastplate to show he was a serving soldier. He was black-haired and slim, his eyes an unusually deep shade of gray.

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