I WILL NEVER LET anyone part me from you.
Cassia silently recited Solia’s promise to herself again. Hugging her knees, she tucked her cold
feet deeper under her skirt and watched their father. From her place at the back of his tent, she could
look between all the tall men and see their father’s arm, his shoulder, and his blond hair. Not his face.
But he wouldn’t be worried. She was sure of it. He never lost.
She hugged her knees closer. Somebody would get hurt again, but Father would win, and Solia
would get to leave Lord Bellator’s castle. Then they would all go home to Solorum. When spring
came in a fortnight and a half, she and Solia would plant new flowers in the garden.
Nurse’s sharp fingers tapped Cassia between her shoulders. She startled in her chair and dropped
her feet to the ground. She must be on her best behavior so she would get to stay here and see Solia as
soon as she came out of the castle. Cassia didn’t want to lose her special privilege of remaining with
Father in his camp instead of having to travel onward with his court.
Cold seeped up through the pelt on the floor from the icy dirt beneath, chilling her feet even
through her leather shoes and soft wool stockings. She eyed her new puppy. Knight sat next to her
chair, his back paws sprawled to one side and part of his belly peeking out of his fur. He didn’t look
like he was cold. Would he mind sitting a little closer to her? With a nervous glance at Nurse, Cassia
leaned down and gently picked up her dog the way the kennel master had shown her, then set Knight
on her feet. His body was warm, his fur soft. He wiggled a little, then stretched out over her shoes
and laid down his head.
The tent flap flew open. Cassia leaned to one side to peer through the crowd at the man who
entered. He was wearing Father’s blue and gold livery, like many of the men who had come in and out
today. Cassia straightened her back and listened.
The messenger bowed low. “My King.”
He sounded anxious. Cassia gripped her hands together in her lap.
Her father’s silence was an order for the messenger to speak. The only thing worse than telling
Father something he didn’t want to hear was not talking when he wanted you to.
The man finally went on. “It appears Lord Bellator was informed of Her Highness’s whereabouts
at Your Majesty’s pleasure palace at Desidia. He knows Your Majesty authorized Lord Altius to pay
court to Her Highness there.”
Lord Hadrian’s gruff voice erupted in a string of words Cassia wasn’t allowed to say. He always
sounded like he wanted to hurt someone. “Whose tongue shall I cut out for betraying our future
queen?”
“The rat’s identity remains unknown, Your Lordship. We know Her Highness’s party left Desidia
safely, but before they could join the court on the road to Solorum, Lord Bellator waylaid them. He
brought her here to Castra Roborra with the aid of Lord Evandrus. The princess’s guard could not
withstand the combined forces of two free lords.” The messenger cleared his throat. “Now we stand
against four. Lords Reman and Mareus have joined Her Highness’s captors inside the fortress with
their own warriors.”
“I see,” said Father.
Cassia struggled not to cry. She must not shut her eyes and stop listening. A lady always tries to
understand what’s going on.
“So Reman and Mareus have thrown in their swords as well,” Lord Hadrian snarled. “The
cowards who call themselves ‘sovereign’ free lords. If they have aligned with Bellator and Evandrus,
this may prove far more dire than a simple demand for ransom.”
“The traitors will not manage to put aside their petty squabbles for long,” Father replied. “This
union against Us will be short-lived.”
Horns sounded in the camp. Cassia jumped in her chair again. The tent flap snapped back once
more, and strangers crowded inside to present themselves to her father.
“Is Lord Bellator prepared to receive Us in the castle?” Father asked.
“Lord Bellator will grant nothing in exchange for nothing,” one of the strangers answered.
“Admit Us into Castra Roborra, and his wedding to my daughter will take place. We made Our
terms clear.”
“Lord Bellator has no further interest in your daughter for that purpose.”
“Then he is a fool.”
“My lord instructs me to say you are the fool to think you could deceive him.”
Cassia widened her eyes. They had dared to insult her father. Now she knew who would get hurt
today.
But the stranger, Lord Bellator’s messenger, continued. “My lord is now wise to your intentions.
Your support for his courtship of your daughter amounted to nothing more than empty promises to win
the concessions you desired from him. As soon as you got what you wanted, you planned to withdraw
the offer of marriage. Even now you are in talks with Lord Altius about a betrothal between him and
the girl, as if you think my lord would stand by while you barter a place in the line of succession to
his rival.”
“Lord Bellator is mistaken,” Father said calmly. “Lord Altius has no claim on my daughter’s hand,
and no man in this kingdom has a claim on my throne.”
Cassia had known the secret. Father was playing the game with Lord Altius, too. Solia had
explained why she had to go to Desidia so Lord Altius could spend some time with her. But she had
reassured Cassia she wouldn’t marry him, either. Father always won.
Lord Bellator’s messenger must know he was losing, for he sounded angry. “You do my lord the
insult of lying to his face. Your deceit has come to light, and you can no longer deny you are forsworn.
The Autumn Greeting is a promise of betrothal, one on which you never intended to deliver. My lord
will not tolerate your faithless disregard for your oaths, nor will the Sovereign Free Lords of the
Tenebrae endure your violations of their ancient rights, promised them in the Free Charter laid down
by our ancestors.”
All the men in the tent started talking at once, some of them quietly and others, like Lord Hadrian,
loud and angry.
“Lord Bellator offers new terms.” The messenger spoke over everyone. “You will return all the
gifts he bestowed upon you, thinking he paid a bride price. Along with them, you will cede Regnum
Ceposum to its rightful sovereign, Lord Reman. You will reaffirm Lord Mareus’s exclusive right to
collect tolls for passage across the Palla River. You will...”
The names went on and on, and although Cassia tried to make sense of them all, there were too
many she hadn’t learned about yet. At last, the list ended in the only name that mattered.
“You have elevated yourself above the lords who were once your peers,” the messenger
concluded, “and presumed to make yourself the first of a new royal dynasty. If you do not agree to the
terms as dictated, my lord shall see to it you are also the last of your line. You have until nightfall, at
which time, if you have not delivered, Sovereign Lord Bellator shall order the execution of your only
scion and heir, Solia.”
Cassia stared at her father. Now it was certain. Father would kill Bellator and the other lords so
Solia could come home.
Their father did not move in his chair. “I refuse his terms.”
The tent was silent.
The messenger’s face twisted into disbelief. “This is not a bluff. If you refuse, her life is forfeit.
Your only heir.”
“I have the sword to get me another.”
Cassia clutched her middle. The wail came out of her anyway.
“Silence that noise,” the king ordered.
Nurse tried to pull Cassia to her feet. But Cassia’s whole body shook, and she could not stand. The
sobs would not stop. It took one of the soldiers to pry her off the chair. He took Knight by the ruff and
carried them both, whimpering, out of the king’s presence.
In the confines of her own tent, Cassia wailed while they waited for nightfall. She tried to hide her
crying in her blankets, but it was not enough. Nothing could stop the whole camp from hearing her
shame.