Rowena Daniells - The uncrowned King

He set off across the lake with a will. He'd miss breakfast but he'd be there in plenty of time for the midday meal.

When Soterro finally unlocked her door, Piro was awake and ready for breakfast, stomach rumbling. She'd been waiting for ages. It was mid-morning.

'Lord Dunstany wants to see you,' Soterro said. She stood up. 'Bring your bundle, girl. I'm not your servant!'

When they reached the ground floor, Piro found Merofynian soldiers all over the place, packing things into crates and loading them onto carts outside. So much booty stolen from Rolencia. Indignation flooded Piro, but she also rejoiced. In all this confusion, escape would be easy.

The smell of warm cinnamon buns and freshly heated hot chocolate came from the kitchen, making her mouth water, but Soterro stopped at a door and opened it to reveal a small, windowless chamber opposite the dining room, the apothecary's workroom. Starkiss candles burned, their musky citrus scent heavy on the air.

The noble scholar looked up from his notes, an array of small tools laid across the desk in front of him. Piro recognised weights and the fine metal tongs of a jeweller.

'Off you go, Soterro, and see that those buffoons don't break anything,' Dunstany ordered. The door closed and Piro was left alone with him. His intense black eyes studied her. 'Do you know why King Rolen banned Power-workers from Rolencia?' He went on to answer his own question. 'Without the protection of the gods, their Affinity leaves them open to evil. In fact some actively seek out evil. I am not one of those. But I do know something of the sinister arts, for it is necessary to be able to recognise evil, to protect yourself. My enemies find me a very dangerous man. And I don't expect my servants to murder me in my bed.'

'The knife was not for you, sor,' Piro said quickly, ready now for his questions.

'Then who was it for?'

'For my own protection, my lord.'

'My servants are under my protection. No one will harm you.'

'Tell that to Grysha!' she snapped. 'His hands wander. I had to elbow him in the ribs once already.'

He looked surprised, then glanced down to hide the laughter in his eyes. Piro felt a little thrill of power because she'd made him smile.

When he went on, however, he sounded serious. 'I will speak with him.'

'I already did and he has the bruises to prove it.'

Dunstany smiled this time.

Piro felt a surge of joy, then a tug of sadness. She wasn't going to see the noble scholar any more after this morning.

How long before they left? It looked as though they were nearly ready. It would be easy to hide in Rolenton, for she knew every lane.

Dunstany sighed and she looked a question at him. He waved a hand to the candles. 'Do you like the scent?'

She inhaled deeply and smiled. 'Starkiss. It's beautiful.'

'Did you know the monks and nuns make dreamless-sleep from the pollen of the starkiss? Dreamless-sleep brings relief from pain, but like all powerful things it can be used to harm as well as help. Combined with another drug, which I will not name, it can be used to bring on hallucinations. Knowledge is power.' His deep voice dropped to an intimate timbre. 'Have you seen one of these before? It is called amber.'

Picking up a stone with the metal tongs, he held it near the candle. The flame glowed through the stone's translucent surface, rich and alive. Piro came closer, drawn by the amber's beauty. There was an imperfection… no, something was trapped in the stone.

'This is a jewel now but long ago it was sap, dripping from a tree,' he said softly. She could almost see it happening. 'A little creature crawled into it, became trapped and was encased in the amber. That little creature was you.'

She blinked and the dark spot resolved its shape. She saw herself in miniature, flowing black hair, naked limbs tinted gold by the honey-coloured amber, suspended forever in a dreaming state.

Piro gasped and pulled back, heart hammering, skin clammy.

Dunstany slid a fine gold chain through the ring that was clasped to the piece of amber and hung it around his neck. 'Your untrained Affinity makes you vulnerable, Seela. I have captured a small but vital part of you now, some would call it your soul. So don't be thinking of running away, for you are mine until I release you.'

Dunstany rang the bell for Soterro.

Piro stared at him. He'd known what she was thinking, or he'd guessed. She'd been right to fear him. He was too powerful, too cunning.

Fool. She should have run when she had the chance.

Now she was trapped!

When the door opened, Dunstany told Soterro, 'Seela is ready to help with the packing and you won't need to watch her so closely. We have come to an understanding, haven't we?'

Piro nodded reluctantly, unable to banish the vision of herself trapped within amber.

Soterro led her back to the kitchen, where the cook was wrapping a leg of smoked lamb in calico.

'Grab a bun and a hot drink, then get to work, girl.'

She followed his advice, but despite her hunger the crusty bread had no taste. How could she had been so stupid as to underestimate the noble Power-worker?

Soon the soldiers had finished and ridden off in all but the last cart. The cook had cleaned out all the store of preserved food and the last of his cooking utensils were being stacked in baskets on the kitchen table when Soterro returned.

'Palatyne's commandeered a merchant's boat-sled so we'll be riding to Port Marchand in comfort. The lord's overseeing the loading of his precious cargo right now. He wants a bite to eat before we leave.'

'But everything's packed.'

Someone knocked at the back door and Piro answered it. Her old nurse held a tray of hot pies.

Seela beamed. 'Apple and blueberry just as you ordered, and some rhubarb too.'

'That was good timing.' The cook stood. 'Put the kettle on, girl.'

Piro filled the kettle and put it over the grate, while Soterro took a slice of pie to Dunstany. As soon as the cook went off to get the coins Piro slipped over to her old nurse.

'Good news!' old Seela whispered, pulling something out of her apron pocket.

Piro gasped softly. It was Byren's leogryf-tooth necklace. So he lived. Or had he sent it before the ulfr pack got him?

'Only this morning a lad brought it to the castle, looking for Byren's honour guard. Byren's in hiding in the high country. I'll wait at the end of the lane. You slip out and I'll take you to him.'

Piro's heart lifted, then sank. 'I dare not. My master is a Power-worker and he has bound me to him using my Affinity.'

'A curse on him!'

Tears stung Piro's eyes as she clasped her old nurse's arm. 'I must stay until he frees me. But I want you to go and take care of Byren. Tell him — '

'Here's your coppers,' the cook announced, counting them out as he walked over. 'Your pies will come in handy. It will be hard to cook while travelling.'

Piro backed off a step, relieved that he had failed to notice her intense exchange with the supposed pie-seller. Her old nurse accepted the coins and sent Piro a look loaded with meaning as she left.

Soterro returned. 'My lord's pleased. He says the pie is fit for a king!'

Piro hid a grim smile and finished making the hot drink. Byren was safe in the high country and Fyn… She shuddered to think of Fyn, trapped in Halcyon's Sacred Heart with the Mulcibar mystics waiting to pounce on him.

The hunting howl of an ulfr pack made Byren's gut tighten and fear sent a pulse of energy through his aching limbs, empowering them. But the sensation of renewed vigour was illusory, for even this short journey had exhausted him.

'Kingson?' The boy looked up to him, eyes wide.

'It's all right, Rodien. I'm with you,' Byren told him.

They were alone, since the dyer had gone to check the path ahead. Byren looked up at the sky through the snow-cloaked evergreens. Nearly midday. The thaw was late this year, as though Sylion did not want to release his hold on Rolencia. That's why the ulfr pack was desperate.