The Ippos King (Wraith Kings #3) - Grace Draven Page 0,129
and if circumstance had seen fit to let her deal that justice, so be it. She hoped the same might happen with Serovek's steward Bryzant.
She reached Saggara a day and a half later, tired, filthy, and ready to switch an equally tired Magas for a fresh mount so she could ride to the Beladine capital after relaying her news to Brishen. She galloped through the gates of the redoubt and had barely reined the big stallion to a halt before she was out of the saddle and striding toward the doors of the expansive manor house that had once been the long-ago summer palace of Kai royalty. She spotted Brishen's steward, Mesumenes, as he emerged into the main bailey from the manor. His eyes rounded when he spotted her. “Where's the herceges, steward?”
She handed Magas's reins to a nearby soldier. “Take him to the stables. Have the stablemaster give him the best care.” She patted the stallion's neck before he was led away. “Good horse,” she said. The horse rolled an eye at her as if to say he was indifferent to her good opinion then followed the soldier to the stables.
Mesumenes had disappeared back into the manor. Anhuset strode after him, only to be greeted at the threshold by Brishen who burst through the doors and swooped her into his arms.
“Lover of thorns,” he said into her hair, squeezing her until she gasped. “I was about to send all of Saggara out looking for you.”
She briefly returned his embrace, noting the pinched worry lines around his mouth. “I'm fine. There's much to tell and messages to give, but I have to make it fast. Serovek needs my help. As soon as I give you my news, I'll ride from here with rations and a fresh horse to Timsiora and...”
“Sha-Anhuset.” Brishen's voice was calm but implacable, addressing her as his sha instantly focusing her attention back to him. His features softened. “Enough.” He squeezed her arm. “Enough. Come with me.” He nudged her toward the door, inviting her inside.
She exhaled a frustrated sigh, entering the house at his side. “Herceges, I mean no disrespect, but I don't have time for friendly chatting.”
“But you will make time to plan instead of racing off with no idea in mind as to how you'll break Serovek out of a Beladine prison for treason and sedition.”
She halted, caught by surprise. “You know.”
Brishen nodded. “A messenger from High Salure managed to sneak out of the fortress and ride to Saggara. Rodan sent troops to arrest Serovek at the monastery. High Salure is currently under the command of one of King Rodan's military advisers. The messenger told me it was seized by royal troops and will be held until Rodan decides what to do with Serovek.”
Her anger at the injustice of Serovek's predicament had simmered in her blood from the moment the troop captain had announced the charges. It heated to a boil now. “He's innocent of both charges. His fucking steward tried to have him killed by a warlord and now by his own king. The warlord himself admitted it as did the steward's henchman before I cut his throat and left his corpse to the crows.”
Brishen's eyebrows rose. He gestured for her to keep up with him as they made their way through the busy great hall to one of the more private chambers he used for meetings and set in a short wing of the house. “When we aren't trying to figure out how to help our friend, you'll tell me that story.”
He ushered her inside one of the rooms—familiar to her and one she disliked. It was in this room they and the Elsod had hatched a plan to defeat the galla and change the Kai nation forever. Brishen was closing the door when a bright-haired figure darted inside.
Ildiko blew a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You found her! Thank the gods.”
Anhuset bowed. “Hercegesé.” It was an odd thing to hear the relief in Ildiko's voice. She and Anhuset got along well enough, and Anhuset's admiration for Brishen's ugly human wife grew a little more each day. She was a worthy consort to the regent and devoted mother to a child not her own.
Ildiko didn't try to embrace her as Brishen had, but she smiled a wide, square-toothed smile. “I think the worry took a decade off Brishen's life.”
“I assure you that was never my intention,” Anhuset said.
Brishen leaned against the closed door and crossed