The King's Bastard - By Rowena Cory Daniells Page 0,128

But what could he do? He couldn't betray Piro.

'Fyn?' Feldspar pressed.

He shook his head. 'I can't think straight.' At least that was true.

Feldspar came to his feet, his face ravaged. He seemed ten years older. Fyn and Feldspar had lost more than Lonepine's friendship with his murder.

'You're right,' Feldspar said. 'It would be foolish to make a decision now. We should go wash our faces and put on our formal robes for the farewell.' He shivered. 'Lonepine's empty bunk will be next to mine.'

Fyn felt raw and bruised, as if one more blow would shatter him. It could so easily have been he who met Beartooth on the stairs. Even now, a solemn monk would have been skating across the valley to his parents to tell them of his accidental death.

Byren slid open the drawer where he kept the lincurium jewellery and the notes for Elina's poem. He was going to escort Garzik to Dovecote and he wanted to make a clean copy to take with him. When the moment was right he'd give the poem to her. He gathered the scraps of half-finished verse, thinking surely there were more of them. No matter, the best version was on the top so he began to write it out on a clean sheet.

'Byren?'

He looked up to see his mother at the door to his chamber. Quickly, he slid the paper under an innocuous book of pre-Merofynian myths.

'I've been thinking.' His mother swept gracefully into the room, accompanied by the soft chink of her keys of office. 'You should take Piro with you, when you go to Dovecote estate. Time with Elina would do her good.' Seeing his expression she added, 'You do mean to escort Garzik back to their estate before the Jubilee, don't you?'

He licked his lips, not wanting to lie.

'Byren?' Her brows gathered together in a straight line.

'I've been delaying leaving in the hope that Lence would return from Cockatrice Spar so I could invite him with us to Dovecote,' Byren revealed. Actually he had considered asking Lence to escort Garzik. Now he wondered if it would make Lence feel better or worse to see Elina.

He ached to see her, but to see her and have her reject him again would devastate him.

'We don't know when Lence will be back. He might stay on Cockatrice Spar until he's ready to escort Rejulas to the Jubilee.' His mother tilted her head watching him and he felt the beginning of a headache. 'Is there something you're not telling me, Byren?'

He frowned, concentrating despite the thumping in his temples. 'Do you ever regret relinquishing your claim on Merofynia?'

She looked surprised and the headache lifted. The queen fiddled with the keys on her waist ring, then laughed softly. 'How could I rule Merofynia? I would have had to leave your father and live there, for an absentee ruler would never be able to contain the warlords. I could not leave your father.'

She was right, an absentee king wouldn't be able to hold Merofynia. Byren cleared his throat. 'But Lence could have ruled Merofynia. He is next in line after you.'

'And you could have ruled Rolencia.' She frowned, releasing the keys. 'Is that what's troubling you? You two are twins after all. Only seven minutes stand between you and the throne -'

'No.' Byren sprang to his feet. 'I don't crave the kingship. I was thinking of Lence.'

'But he is the heir to Rolencia.'

'And Merofynia, if he chose to assert his rights.'

'And he will one day rule Merofynia with Isolt as his queen,' his mother said. 'Though I don't know how he'll divide his time between the two countries.' She paused, obviously mulling over the practicalities.

It was clear to Byren that Lence did not want Merofynia on those terms. 'But he does not love the Merofynian kingsdaughter.'

She laughed. 'Since when does love decide royal marriages? Lence must give poor Isolt a chance. The ambassador assures me she is nothing like her father.' His mother smiled winningly. It was the smile his sister used when she was trying to winkle her way out of trouble. 'So, will you take Piro with you to Dovecote?'

He was trapped. To refuse would lead to embarrassing questions. Besides, the request was not really a request, not coming from his mother. 'Yes, I'll take Piro to see Elina.'

Since he would not actually venture onto Dovecote estate without dishonouring the Old Dove, he would ask Piro to arrange a meeting for him with Elina, so he could give her the poem and