Trials of the Twiceborn (The Songreaver's Tale Book 6) by Andrew Hunter

Author:Andrew Hunter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-07-04T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The Road to Braedshal

Garrett awoke just before dawn to the sound of whispering voices.

“You can’t let him get inside the city!” Mirion hissed.

“This is how it has to be, Mirion,” Sir Baelan sighed.

Garrett opened one eye to see the two Astorrans moving furtively in the pre-dawn gloom, striking camp in preparation for another day’s ride toward the castle at Braedshal. Sir Baelan had apparently already donned his armor. For all Garrett knew, the man probably slept in it.

“Just because he gave you his sword doesn’t mean that he’s harmless!” Mirion insisted, “He’s a sorcerer, Sir Baelan! The King isn’t safe anywhere near that monster!”

Garrett stifled a laugh, pretending to still be asleep as he watched the big knight and the angry young woman pack up to leave.

“He must stand trial for his crime, Mirion,” Sir Baelan said quietly.

“Crimes!,” Mirion spat.

“What happened to Jons was no crime, Mirion!” Sir Baelan shot back with a hint of anger in his voice, “He died with honor, sword in hand, in contest with an armed foe. You need to accept that!”

“No!” Mirion said, no longer bothering to keep her voice down. She pointed her finger at where Garrett lay in his bedroll. “That... thing there has no honor... and Jons died trying to stop him from reaching our king... and now you want to bring his murderer right into the royal court... Tell me, Sir Baelan, how is that not treason?”

“Enough!” Sir Baelan roared, spinning to face her, “That is enough!”

Mirion fell back a step, her eyes blazing with rage as she stared at the big knight.

“I am honor-bound to deliver this man to justice!” Baelan said, jabbing his finger toward Garrett now, “and I will do that, with or without you!”

Mirion started to speak again, but Baelan cut her off.

“Return to Hawkskeep, Mirion!” Sir Baelan growled, “Tend to your lord’s estate!”

Mirion’s face fell as she took another step back, seeming almost to shrink into herself.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“Why not?” Baelan demanded.

She looked up again, and Garrett could see the glint of fresh tears in her eyes in the dying light of the campfire.

“Why can’t you go home, Mirion?” Sir Baelan sighed, his voice gentler now.

“Because I am no longer welcome there,” she whispered fiercely. She reached up to rub a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand, “She sent word to me before we had even...” She began to cry.

Baelan moved forward to put his arm around her as she wept against his shoulder.

“She took Jons back to Hawkskeep, Sir Baelan,” she sobbed, “She took him, and I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye...”

Sir Baelan said nothing, but held the young squire as she cried.

Garrett at last pretended to stir, but kept his silence as he slowly got to his feet and began to gather up his things.

Mirion sniffed and wiped her eyes. She did not look at Garrett, but pulled gently free of Baelan’s arms to return to her preparations for the day’s ride.

Baelan took a deep breath and scratched his head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.