Rise of the Gray Hunter by Drake Richard T

Author:Drake, Richard T
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Twisted Myth Publishing
Published: 2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

30

Keeping a close eye on the princess proved even harder than Kado imagined.

He had expected Ivabella to call for him as soon as he got back to the palace. If nothing else, she had to be curious. They hadn’t had a chance to speak since the attack on the Fortress of the Radiant Night.

But when Kado returned to his quarters, no message had been waiting. So he went inside, bathed, and changed into a fresh set of monk’s trousers and tunic. He stood at the mirror and patted his hair—it was long enough now to stick up a little. Then he sat on the edge of his still made-up bed, and waited for a summons.

No servant called. The morning grew longer and longer. At last, Kado sighed, picked up his scroll case, and stepped out the door, heading for the princess’s chamber. Whether Ivabella summoned him or not, Kado had a mission.

He strode along the palace halls, slowing his steps carefully every time he rounded a corner. After last night, he wasn’t sure what sort of reaction he would get from Father Nalaro or the clerics. But Daia said Kado had been given companion status. He assumed that if he messed up and overstepped the bounds, someone would let him know.

As it turned out, the only folk he ran into were a couple of servants who scurried past with lowered eyes. The corridors were virtually deserted. Kado chewed his lip as he walked. Daia had said to watch every stair and hallway, to keep an eye out for agents of the Smiling Fox Gang. To watch for anything unusual. The trouble was, Kado hadn’t been in the palace long enough to know what usual looked like either.

When he knocked lightly on Princess Ivabella’s door, he received no response. Even though he was sure he could hear someone moving around inside. He asked a passing servant if they had seen the princess, but they only shuffled away, their cheeks reddening.

He knocked a couple more times, trying one of the grand double doors and then the other, but never received an answer. So he sat down on the bench outside Ivabella’s chamber, and waited.

About an hour later he walked back to his quarters and went out onto his little balcony. The view wasn’t great. It was mostly cluttered by the forest of white cylinders that made up the palace. But he could just make out the main gates through a gap between two towers. The royal courtyard was swarming with Kingsworn.

Kado tapped a finger on his lips. The heightened security would limit the threat of someone accessing the palace who shouldn’t. Which, he decided quickly, wasn’t very comforting. It wouldn’t stop Ivabella from leaving the grounds. If there was a way to sneak past the Kingsworn without being seen, the princess would know it.

Kado’s expression darkened. Twice more, he made the trek over to the princess’s chamber, taking a different route each time, doing his best to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

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