It Means War
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Ilya felled five knights with his bare hands. The sixth and last left the ground on a single broken scream. When nothing remained to bar his way, he strolled into the room without hurry. The smell of blood brushed Odin's nose, and he froze.
"Ayatoll Mardus. A detestable old man, I'll grant you, but sharp enough. So why is every son he's raised such a disgrace?"
Ilya clicked his tongue.
"He'd do better to end Evelynn's marriage and name her his heir."
Odin snatched up a shard of broken bottle and lunged.
"What would the likes of you know? You only hold the archduke's seat because your half-brother died young!"
Ilya slipped the blow at his leisure and sneered.
"You became heir in place of a brother who lost his head. You're no different. And from the look of you, that old man will be taking yours before long."
"Aaaaaagh!"
Odin charged again, howling like a wounded beast. I'm getting tired of that face, all twisted up with spite. Ilya caught him and slammed him into the wall. Terrible strength hauled him upward. An elbow pinned his throat, and he choked.
"This is the price for the coward's trick you played on my knight."
Ilya let his arm fall. Odin slid down the wall in a heap.
"There's more. Get up."
Clutching his throat and hacking for air, Odin threw himself at Ilya's side. He never touched him. A kick sent him flying. Ilya walked over and set his foot down, slow and firm, on Odin's hand.
"This is the price for laying a hand on my woman. Evelynn is not your sister. She is my one and only consort."
Ilya shifted his weight onto that foot. A scream that did not sound human filled the room.
He had been looking down at Odin with a bored face when something glittered. He bent and picked up a ring that had rolled away with the bottle. The ruby burned with an uncanny light, and his mouth curved in a slow, sharp grin.
He shook the ring, threw the window open, and dropped through it.
"No! Give it back! If I go back like this, Father will—"
The desperate cry rang out at his back.
At dawn the next day, Odin left Azantis Castle with no one the wiser. For the heir of the Mardus Marquisate, rulers of the central plains, it was a shabby exit.
"The wind is warm. Spring must be here."
Evelynn opened the window and drew the mild air deep into her lungs. In the garden, nameless flowers were gathering themselves to bloom. Bellina spoke, her face grave.
"My lady. Regrettably, the North has only a less cold winter, and a colder one."
"Oh, what are you talking about? Haha."
Evelynn's gaze lingered on the empty place at Bellina's side.
"When do you think Arthurs will be back? I miss him."
The eagle, busy playing with Liber off to the side, cut in.
"Fire Bear. Back soon."
"Little human. You miss Bear Cub too?"
"Yeah!"
Everyone here missed the cheerful boy.
"I said I'll do it!"
"You fool, are you trying to get someone killed? Cook that wrong and you'll be knocking on death's door!"
The quarrel carried in from outside. Surely not... Evelynn hurried out, and the moment she saw the hulking boy splitting wood with a skill that looked almost possessed, tears nearly rose in her eyes.
They called out together.
"Arthurs!"
"Arthurs!"
"Bear Cub!"
Arthurs flung the axe to the ground and came running.
"My lady, young master! You've been well, haven't you?"
"Arthurs, are you all healed now? And what's in that sack?"
Beaming, he lifted the sack in his hand. The eagle shot up, snatched at it, and dropped it.
Squeeeeeee!
With that raucous cry, pale pink things round as balls burst out of the sack. They hit the ground and bounced. Evelynn's face went white. Liber shrieked and hid behind her skirt.
"Goodness! They have eyes and mouths. And those dainty little wings...?"
"Human. Not wings. Fins."
"Heh heh. You didn't seem to be eating well. My pa always said women like fish, so I caught some and brought them."
Arthurs scratched his head, sheepish. Evelynn's eyes wavered.
"You caught them yourself? For... me?"
"Yes, my lady. Have you tried them? They're called Maslo. You only catch them in the Archduchy."
Evelynn shook her head. Since Liber's birth she had longed for a dish of fish—she had never even tasted one—but she had never been able to make herself ask.
Bellina laughed as she scolded him.
"Broke the ice to catch these, did you? No one would ever mistake you for anything but a bear."
"Human. Shape's odd. Sound's odd. Grill them, and they're good."
The eagle said it, swallowing a mouthful of drool.
"But why are you splitting wood?"
"So I can grill them over charcoal. You never know what those villains might have done to the firewood."
He said it with a perfectly innocent face.
"Bear Cub. Why don't you clean the fish yourself, while you're at it?"
"I was going to, but Sir Lewis..."
Arthurs pointed at the man standing beside him. Sir Lewis? Who is that? I feel as if I've heard the name... She followed his gaze. A young man with shaggy brown hair was raking his fingers through it, and he gave a small nod.
"He's your escort knight, my lady. His specialty is concealment, so you've hardly seen his face."
Ah. So the knight drawn from His Grace's royal guard was Sir Lewis.
"The knight who has been watching over us from hiding. Sir Lewis, it's a pleasure to meet you."
When Evelynn greeted him warmly, Lewis bowed his head low. Through the soft brown hair, the tips of his ears showed red. He seemed embarrassed.
"Our escort knights are all together at last."
She smiled brightly at the three knights and the one beast.
Squeeeeeee!
The fish shrieked, determined not to be ignored. Lewis, a wickedly sharp kitchen knife in hand, made a solemn declaration.
"Fire Bear. Go catch more. I'll cook."
Squeeeee—bwooooo!
The fish in Arthurs's grip wailed, pitiful and loud. Everyone clamped their hands over their ears and suffered—everyone but the eagle, who calmly spread its wings and covered both of Liber's.
Arthurs gave the sack a couple of smart whacks against the firewood, and the noise that had been tormenting their ears stopped dead. Are they dead? They were cute, for fish. Ugh. I don't want to look.
"Maslo are poisonous. Not just anyone can cook them."
Lewis sheared a fish's head off with the sharp knife, and Evelynn quietly turned her face away. With practiced ease he cut away the tail and the fins, then scored the body. He slipped his hand into the cut and drew the poison sac free as if he had done it all his life. She had been watching those hands with bright curiosity; now she clapped a palm over her nose.
"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick. It's musty, like something left out for days..."
"Forgot to warn you. Stinks when you pull the poison. Fire takes care of it."
The eagle said it without a flicker of apology, and this time covered Liber's nose with a wing.
Lewis brought a large iron griddle from the kitchen, flicked oil across it, and set it over the fire. He dusted the cleaned fish with white powder and began to fry them. Mysterious sauces and vegetables went in with quick tosses of his wrist, and Evelynn could only marvel. What kind of knight cooks like this?
"Family trade. My parents run an inn that serves food."
Lewis said it as if he had read her mind. Evelynn's mouth fell open. Looking over her escort knights—not one of them like the others—she let a small smile slip.
As the fish browned, everyone lowered the hands they had been holding over their noses. Just as the eagle had said, the foul smell vanished at once, and only a fragrance that woke the appetite remained. Liber sniffed and wriggled from head to toe.
When the dish was done, Lewis was the first to offer a plate, and he held out to Evelynn a silver dish heaped with the white flesh. She forked off a piece and put it in Liber's mouth, and the child kicked both legs.
"Liber, is it that good?"
She laughed at her son, who opened his mouth wide as a baby bird before the fork could even touch his lips.
"You eat too, human. Before it gets cold."
Evelynn chewed a small piece of fish, and the marveling would not stop.
"It's wonderful! So tender it melts the moment it touches your tongue."
She emptied the plate clean and smiled at the boy.
"I think this is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"Heh. I'll catch you more next time."
"Really... thank you. It's the best gift I've ever been given in my life."
It was the brightest she had smiled since coming to Azantis Castle. She was grateful for the gift, but more grateful still for the heart behind it, and something soft and warm seemed to bloom in her chest.
Arthurs scratched his head, embarrassed, and looked at Liber.
"Young master, you're full now. How about a run? It's been a while."
"Yeah!"
Evelynn caught her son. She had taken out a handkerchief and was wiping Liber's mouth when Arthurs made a sound of recognition.
"Huh? That."
At his words she unfolded the handkerchief. An unknown medicinal herb was embroidered across it. Of all the things to grab without looking...
"The roots look just like a person, so it's creepy, isn't it? It was a gift, though, so I've simply been using it."
"It's not that. I ate a lot of it when I was little, so it surprised me."
Evelynn brightened at once. A few days ago she had agonized over this very handkerchief, sent by Sophie's sister. Now her eyes shone as if she had met a savior.
"Do you happen to know its name?"
"I don't, but my mother—!"
A stifled sound escaped him, and he clamped a hand over his mouth. He shot the eagle a troubled look, and the eagle cut in at once.
"As if Bear Cub would know. Let's ask the master. A mage knows everything."
"The mage?"
Evelynn had barely spoken when the eagle took off in a rush of wings. A moment later it returned, and a woman's voice spilled from its beak.
The others startled. Only Arthurs grinned, wide and foolish and glad.
It was toward evening when Ilya came to the Annex with Renee.
"This is Renee. A mage who used to work at the castle."
She caught the fall of her dress, set one foot behind her, and sank into a curtsy. For all the offhand way she had been introduced, the courtesy was flawless—a noblewoman's to the last degree.
"My lady. It is an honor to meet you. I am Renee."