Hidden Knights (Knights of the Realm #3) - Jennifer Anne Davis Page 0,67
His voice had a thick accent.
“You could have asked. I would have told you.” Reid saw no harm in him knowing her identity. She sat on one of the chairs across from the prince. Gytha insisted on standing next to her, hovering like a protective mother.
Prince Owen’s intelligent eyes narrowed, taking Reid in again, assessing.
Wanting to gain the upper hand, Reid crossed her legs, trying to pretend he didn’t rattle her. “Tell me, Prince Owen, you seem like a spry young gentleman. How did you manage to be captured by an old man?”
He sprang to his feet, ankles and wrists still tied together.
Gytha was already there, a knife at his throat. “Don’t move, prince.”
Reid chuckled. “So temperamental. Often a trait in the youngest sibling.”
“You would know, Lord Reid.”
Drumming her fingers on the arm of the chair, she said, “You didn’t let Seb capture you, did you?”
Instead of replying, he sat on the sofa.
“Do you think he wanted to come north?” Gytha asked, her knife still pointed at Owen.
“I do. The question is why.”
Gytha shook her head. “I told you, I don’t like these Melenians. There aren’t any women in their army.”
Owen chuckled. “We’re not any different from Marsden.”
“In Axian, we let women fight.”
“Too bad your king has gained control of Axian. Last I saw, he was rounding up women wearing pants and tossing them in prison.”
Reid bristled. The only people left at the palace were soldiers. And the women had all worn dresses so as not to upset the king. If what the prince said were true, that meant the king had sent soldiers to the nearby cities. Panic began to grow for the Axian people. They needed to overthrow Eldon as soon as possible.
Standing, she started pacing behind the chair, trying to figure out why Prince Owen would have wanted to leave the Melenia army and come north. What was here that he’d be interested in? “Your king and queen want control of Marsden,” she said, thinking aloud. “I’ve heard they are enamored with our mines.” Ships had been transporting jewelry to Melenia for quite some time.
His face remained impassive, indicating there was some truth to what she said.
“Did you come north to check on the mines?” She gripped the back of the chair, closely watching his reaction.
The corners of his lips rose, whether it was from her guessing the truth, she couldn’t be sure. Maybe she should ask Ackley for lessons on interrogation.
The only other reason she could think of for him being here was to check on the Melenia ships off the northern coast of Marsden.
Dexter, Gordon, Ackley, and Seb returned to the great hall. Reid wondered where Idina had run off to.
“Gytha, you and Ackley will escort Prince Owen to the barracks,” Dexter ordered. “He will remain there for now.”
“I assume in a locked facility?” Gytha asked.
“Ackley will show you.”
Reid wasn’t sure what that meant. Was there a dungeon or some sort of holding cell in the barracks?
Ackley chuckled, the sound cold, dark, and humorless. “This should be fun. Come, Prince Owen, it seems we get to play.”
Once Gytha and Ackley left with the prince, Reid turned to Dexter. “You’re having him interrogated?” The thought of Ackley torturing another person made her sick.
“There’s no need,” Seb said. “I already know everything of importance.”
“Then why did Ackley imply he’d be interrogating the prince?”
“I’ll find Duchess Bridger,” Gordon said.
“And I will accompany you,” Seb said. They exited the room, leaving Reid and Dexter alone.
“What am I missing?” Reid asked.
“Word came from Melenia,” Dexter explained. “Duchess Bridger has the letter.” He went over to the fireplace, putting one hand on the mantle while hunching forward. With his back to her, he said, “Russek slaughtered the entire Melenia royal family, and he gained control of the kingdom. Most of the Melenia army has been killed as well. He ordered heads placed on spikes along the entire border. It was brutal.”
Reid collapsed on the sofa, dumbfounded. “Does Idina know?”
“She does. She’s in her room, crying.”
The princess had to feel awful since she’d written to Russek letting them know a substantial portion of the Melenia army was in Marsden.
“If this forces the Melenia army to return home, then Princess Idina will have managed to accomplish something with minimal loss of life to the Marsden people,” Dexter said as if reading from a book.
“I agree, she very well may have saved our civilians’ lives, but at the cost of Melenians?” How many people had been ruthlessly slaughtered? Reid’s stomach twisted at the mere