The Wayward Prince by Lee H. Haywood

Author:Lee H. Haywood [Haywood, Lee H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780997081091
Publisher: Free Dominion Publishing
Published: 2019-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

VIII

A FATHER’S WISDOM

Leta hiked her knees up to her chin and stared despondently at the floor. She was in her father’s parlor, ordered to sit and wait for him to come and scold her like she was a child. Sir Rupert stood guard at the door just in case she tried to leave. It made her feel like she had lost every year of hard-fought wisdom she had ever gained.

“I’m the one in the right,” she muttered irately. But her proof was gone. The image of Hern laying at the bottom of the ladder, his head cracked open like a melon, made Leta feel like she would be sick all over again. She had already thrown up twice, once on General Saterius’s shoes. The tiniest of victories, thought Leta with a grim smile.

She only saw Ionni briefly. The bold girl had made the mistake of trying to shield Hern with her body. Saterius swatted Ionni aside like she was a peasant, breaking her nose and giving her a black eye. The last Leta saw of the girl, she was being escorted to the infirmary by Herald Cenna, her legs wobbly and unsound. Ionni’s wounds would heal. Hern’s would not.

Saterius left Hern’s body where it fell, insisting that only Vacian Sisters had the training to deal with a corpse tainted by the Blackheart. Leta read his true intentions; Saterius didn’t want to bring the body into the light. It would be impossible to hide the signs of torture. If Leta had to guess, the corpse was probably being sped off to the crematorium while Leta sat locked in her father’s study. I need to stop that from happening, otherwise my last shred of evidence will be gone.

Leta rose from her chair and scowled at Sir Rupert. “I can’t just sit here all day waiting for my father to come scold me. I need to go check on Ionni.”

“The girl is fine,” said Sir Rupert. His eyes were fixed blankly on the wall. “Herald Cenna knows what he’s doing.”

“Be that as it may, I feel responsible. I shouldn’t have involved the girl.”

“Right you are on that one, priestess. Damn stupid, that was.” Then, perhaps sensing his words were a bit too harsh, he sighed. “Look, on any other occasion I would abide by your command, priestess, you know I would; but not today. I have very specific orders from your father. He doesn’t want you to... ah... embarrass yourself any further. His words, not mine.”

“I didn’t embarrass myself,” muttered Leta under her breath.

She considered charging the door, but she knew Sir Rupert wouldn’t step aside, and if he had to use force to restrain her, he would. Feeling defeated, Leta flopped back into her chair, folded her arms across her chest, and glared angrily at the knight.

“It won’t be much longer, priestess. I assure you,” said Sir Rupert, fidgeting with discomfort.

Just before noon, there came a soft knock on the door and High Lord Valerius entered the parlor. He exchanged a few quiet words with Sir Rupert, then the knight departed, leaving Leta alone with her father.

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