The Broken Pieces(17)

The parchment crinkled in Gregane’s hands as he fought down his rage at the thought of such a betrayal.

“Are you sure this is wise?”

Sebastian shook his head. For once he seemed melancholy, calm and sober.

“Sure? Of course not. But it is my right to rule, and if not me, then Arthur. This is my family’s land, and shall always be. Family.” He let out a bitter laugh. “You probably think it strange that I of all men would talk of family. Here I am, having tried to kill my brother, and I well know the peasants say I did the same to my father.”

“Milord!”

“Don’t tell me lies, Gregane.” Sebastian rubbed his eyes. “I did, too, but not for the reasons they guess. He wasn’t my father anymore, not by the end. At times he didn’t even know my name. He was a child, just a child. Arthur felt the same, and tried to give our father a potion to make him sleep a few days so he might take over rule. I almost let him do it, too.”

Gregane knew all of this, all but what Sebastian wanted to say. He tried to think, to understand whatever was motivating him to surrender now.

“Why didn’t you?” he finally asked.

“Because I didn’t think Arthur would be a good lord,” Sebastian said. He laughed. “He wanted to put our deranged, insane father to sleep instead of killing him. Arthur didn’t have the strength, but I did. That…that…shell of a man was ruining the memory of Rodrick Hemman. I would know how to rule. I would know how to play the game of politics and priests. Nothing would take over my land, and I’d do whatever I must to keep it. Arthur’s honor would only be a hindrance. But now I’ve gone in too deep. I’m terrible at a game I thought I could master. My wife died years ago without blessing me with children, and I have no stomach to remarry. I’ve no heirs, and no love. But Arthur has the love of the people. He has the vagrants, the criminals, and the outlaws all swearing devotion. He has the strength to rule, so let him rule.”

Sebastian shook his head.

“But not the priests. This land cannot be a land of Karak. Let them teach. Let them spread their word, and every man from peasant to lord believe as they choose. But I cannot let them rule.”

Gregane felt himself at a loss.

“I will do as you say, milord. I will take this letter, though I must ask…do you think Arthur will accept?”

“I’ll be giving him everything he wants. Why wouldn’t he accept?”

“Because he swore your death,” Gregane said. “You sent assassins to kill him, and an army to surround and starve him. To him, you were once his brother, but I fear you are no longer. You are just an enemy to be defeated. To let you live would be to break his vow. There is also the matter of Kaide. I’m not sure living out your life peacefully in your castle is what he desires.”

Sebastian’s head dipped low, and he closed his eyes.

“Then pray Arthur isn’t foolish enough to let his vow interfere with the fate of all our lands. Convince him, Gregane. Tell him of my fate, and the desires of Karak’s priests. Surely he must still hold some measure of love for me, enough to side against that bastard cannibal. Most of all, tell them to hurry. They no longer march to take the North from my hands. They march to take it away from Luther’s, and they don’t even know it yet.”

“I will ride immediately,” Gregane said. “How soon must I have their answer?”

Sebastian looked up at him again, and his eyes were red with veins.

“You don’t understand, do you?” he said. “Luther claimed he’d leave me to my fate at Arthur’s hands, but I am no fool. In two days, I will give him my answer, and it will be the strongest denial my cowardly self can summon. And then they’ll capture me, torture me, kill me, whatever it is they need to get what they desire. There’s a reason that army camps outside our walls. Ride, Gregane, ride fast and hard. And maybe, just maybe, shed a tear for me two days hence.”

Gregane bowed low.

“Keep soldiers with you at all times,” he said. “And don’t let any servant of Karak through these gates. Survive, milord, just somehow survive.”

“Thank you. Now go.”

Gregane left for the stables, stopping only to pack a few provisions that would get him to the nearest town. He told no one else of his leaving, for he did not want to risk word getting back to Luther. Ten miles out from the Castle of the Yellow Rose, the smoke from the fires of Luther’s camps just a distant haze, Gregane realized he’d forgotten to have Sebastian seal the letter with his ring.





6



When they marched out from Willshire, Valessa was not with them, but Darius trusted her to follow. Despite Daniel’s arguments against it, Darius had ensured Valessa a pivotal role in their attack. The Blood Tower, even with its skeleton crew, could still easily hold off the hundred or so men allied together under Daniel’s rule. They had no siege weapons, no catapults to bust gaps in the surrounding walls, no ram to batter down the gates. What they did have, though, was a woman who could walk through walls and ignore the strikes of any blade.