Silence - By Kailin Gow Page 0,13

is the King and which the physician again, would you?

Only I could have sworn that I was the one who got to decide these things.”

The physician was brave, Briony had to give her that. She stood there for almost a second, blocking the King’s path.

“I just don’t want to see al my hard work undone,” the Hugtandalfer woman said.

“I know, Malwinn, and I am sure that no one wil blame you for an old man’s stupidity. Step aside now though. I am feeling stronger, and I wish to hug my daughter.”

As the physician moved to one side with a worried look, Waltham did exactly that, moving close to Briony and wrapping his arms around her.

“You are exactly what we need in an heir, daughter, a champion to help us against the dark ones.”

“You mean Pietre?” Briony asked. “I didn’t think he could get here.”

The King looked over at Archer. “Pietre?”

“The master vampire I spoke of, your majesty.”

Archer shifted his gaze to Briony. “Pietre is just one master vampire who wants a way into Palisor. There are many, many more master vampires from your world, from al over your world, who want the same thing.”

King Waltham moved back from Briony, his hands on her shoulders. Briony wasn’t sure if he just wanted to look at her, or if she was holding him up.

“We spend so much of our time defending the gates, trying to keep the dark ones out.” King Waltham said. “It says a lot that you took on that task even in your former world.”

He took Briony’s elbow then, leading her towards the exit to the room. That seemed to surprise the courtiers as much as anything else that had happened so far, and Malwinn the physician hovered with a worried expression.

“Malwinn, I am fine,” the King assured her. “The return of my daughter has done more to reinvigorate me than any potion you could give me. Now stop shadowing me like you expect me to keel over and go get ready for the banquet. I’m sure you have dresses to try on, or something.” He winked at Briony and whispered, “We need to enliven this place. Look at al the gloomy faces, especial y Malwinn’s. You would’ve thought someone had died.” The King caught Malwinn stil lingering in the room. “Malwinn?”

The woman curtseyed again. “If your majesty is certain?”

“Completely.” King Waltham looked around the rest of the room. “That goes for al of you as wel .

Tonight’s banquet is supposed to be a celebration, so go and prepare for it.”

One by one, the courtiers hurried out. Some looked excited by the prospect of the party to come.

Others looked at Briony with quizzical expressions, as though stil trying to work out exactly what she meant for them and the Kingdom around them. For al that Briony felt strange and out of place right then, it couldn’t have been any easier for them. They had acquired a princess almost from nowhere, and it would no doubt shake up the politics of their land in ways that might mean a lot for their positions in the court. The look Briony got from Malwinn was a little more direct though. It said, as clearly as if the Hugtandalfer had spoken, that Briony was to do nothing to wear her father out.

King Waltham seemed oblivious to it. Instead, his attention was fixed on Briony. “Seeing you is the medicine, the cure I needed.” He smiled. “You are blood of my blood, the last of my line. I never regretted knowing and loving your mother, for al that she was human, but knowing that my blood lives on in you, that has given me renewed hope.”

Briony couldn’t help glancing over to the portion of the room where Prince Vigor stil stood as the King said that. His scowl made his feelings very clear, and, for al that he was obviously self-important and ful of pride, Briony wasn’t sure that she could blame him.

The last thing she wanted to do was to enter a new world just to rock everything.

Archer moved up to Briony’s other side. He looked very satisfied about something. “Ignore the Prince. His majesty is right. Just you arriving here has already started to make things so much better.”

Chapter 6

Briony and King Waltham were almost at the doors to his chambers when trumpets sounded outside it.

“The heralds?” King Waltham said. “More visitors?”

“Just some catching us up, your majesty,”

Archer said.

When the doors opened once more, Briony wasn’t surprised to see Aunt Sophie and