Free Queen (Brotherhood of the Throne) by Jane Glatt Page A

frayed nerves.
    “What do you want to do?”
he asked quietly, settling his arms around her and pulling her against his
chest. “Who can help?”
    “I need to contact Jemma
and Marcus Brunger and anyone else who may be able to get close enough to
Beldyn in the next few days.” Brenna sighed. “Tonight - right now. I must talk
to Beldyn before the coronation, Kane. After that, it will be too late, I know
it, I feel it.”
    “All right.” Kane slipped
out of bed and padded over to the hooks on the wall near the foot of the bed.
He took down both of their knives and placed them in the middle of the bed and
sat down opposite her. “I want you to promise you’ll use my strength if you
need to, Brenna.”
    She nodded and reached out
and placed her hands on both weapons. With a sigh, Kane did the same.
     
    It had taken a while but
they finally had woken Marcus Brunger. Brenna’s hopes had soared when he’d told
her that the guild was delivering their gifts to Beldyn the next day and that Jemma
was to be one of the bearers. Marcus also promised to have both his daughter
Carolie and Colm there. Each of them would try to tell Beldyn to see Jemma.
    Jemma had been easier to
wake.
    “ Isn’t it more
dangerous to meet somewhere else ?” Jemma asked when Brenna told her to make
sure she and Beldyn talked somewhere private.
    “ There’s nowhere safe
to talk in the castle. Not even Beldyn’s quarters, assuming you could get there
alone with him ,” Brenna said. “ No. He must come to you. He should be
able to get out of the castle unseen and he won’t be hurt if he’s caught. Not
when he’s to be crowned King in a few days. Besides, you won’t be allowed to
take your knife when you see him and I can’t contact you without it. ”
    “ All right ,” Jemma
said. “ I’ll make sure he knows that you want to talk to him yourself .”
    “ Thank you ,” Brenna
replied. “ Don’t worry about the time of day or night. As soon as you and
Beldyn are together you need to contact me .”
    Brenna lifted her hands
from the old steel weapons and slumped down in bed. Very lightly she’d drawn on
Kane’s strength, just enough to let her complete her conversation. He put their
weapons away and came back to bed, frowning.
    “You need to take the help
that’s offered,” he said as he sat back down pulled her to him.
    She sighed. “But you have
your own work to do.”
    “Yes, but none of it
matters if you exhaust yourself.” Kane leaned over and blew out the lamp.
“There’s still a few hours before dawn, try to get some sleep.”
     
    Duke Thorold eyed the line
of merchants, noting the fine silks and wools. He reached out a hand to caress
a bolt of wool in a rich shade of green, deciding it would make a very fine
cloak for him. The young woman who carried the wool stopped in front of him,
her eyes on the floor as he enjoyed feeling the fine texture beneath his
fingers.
    “Who made this cloth,
girl?” he asked. When she lifted her eyes to him a flicker of fear crossed her
face. Thorold smiled.
    “My father made it my Lord
Duke,” the girl stammered. “It’s made from the fall shearing far north in
Fallad.”
    “Hmm, it’s very fine
quality. Does your father have more?” Thorold decided he rather liked the way
the girl’s long brown hair fell into her eyes when she ducked her head. She wasn’t
a traditional beauty but she had a certain fresh quality that he could appreciate.
    “We’ve a little of the
wool left, my Lord, but shipments have been unreliable this summer.”
    Thorold looked at the girl
through narrowed eyes for a moment before waving her on. He doubted she was
bright enough to understand that the trade routes were disrupted because of the
church of the One-God. Idly, he wondered if she was bright enough to see the advantage
of a dalliance with him.
    The procession of goods
continued and Thorold smiled with approval at the delicate glass and finely
worked silver that came next. It was good to have