Valiant (10 page)

Once more, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and marched me toward a doorway tucked between a kennel and stables. I could barely keep my feet under me.

“Let me go!” I tried to stop, scrabbling for a toehold. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to save the city.”

I finally planted my feet and twisted away. His arm tightened, pinning me against him so that I couldn’t move. I glared at him, expecting to meet his stony gaze.

“Please,” he whispered.

I stopped, too surprised to struggle.

A second later, we were in the dark of a narrow corridor. I couldn’t see after the day’s brightness—only felt us turn left and then right and then right again. Lord Verras didn’t slow, and he didn’t release me, though his hold loosened as he threaded the damp and silent corridors. He must have decided I couldn’t escape in the dark tangle of hallways.

That frightened me more than the giants.
I’m trapped
, I thought.
I’m trapped under the castle
. Finally, I saw light ahead. I looked for torches but couldn’t find any. It wasn’t until we stopped in a pale pool of light that I saw it shone
from underneath a door. Lord Verras unlocked it and pushed it open.

“After you.”

He couldn’t be serious.

Then again, there might be something I could throw at him inside the room. I marched inside.

The room was cool and damp, despite a fire, and filled with dingy, mismatched furniture. Lord Verras locked the door behind us, and I rushed to a desk heaped with books. I snatched up a sturdy pewter candlestick and turned to face him.

He stood in the middle of the room, unperturbed.

I lifted the candlestick, just in case he hadn’t noticed it. “Why did you bring me here?”

Lord Verras rolled his eyes. “I have a sword. If I wanted to hurt you, I would already have done so. A candlestick won’t help you much.”

I’d just faced two giants. I’d show him what a candlestick could do.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked again.

Lord Verras simply eyed me from my boots to the top of my head. “Am I right? You’re a girl?”

I’d expected him to attack, to accuse. His question shattered my confidence. I could feel the bravado stream out of me.

“
Are
you?” he pressed.

It would be silly to argue. He’d known since the fountain. I’d seen it in his face.

“Yes.”

I half expected the fire to leap up or the ground to shake at my revelation. Instead, Lord Verras groaned and buried his face in his hands.

“How did you know?” I demanded.

He didn’t answer.

“
Why?
Why would you—?” He paused, then continued in a calmer tone. “This is important: does anyone else know?”

I gripped the candlestick tighter. I doubted I’d leave the castle that day, but who would take care of the Tailor? I could see him in his bed, listening for Will and me to return. I closed my eyes against the image.

“It’s a simple question,” repeated Lord Verras. “Does anyone else know?”

“Two people,” I said, pleased that my voice had not trembled.

“Who?”

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

Irritation crossed his face, but he mastered it immediately. “You will stand before King Eldin soon—you cannot avoid it. I may be your only ally. And believe me, you will need one. This”—he waved a hand toward me—“makes him look very foolish.”

“He does a fine job of that all by himself! Who declares a champion without even seeing him first? Is he that incapable of protecting Reggen?”

I knew the answer before the question was out of my mouth.

“This is not a game.” Lord Verras’s even voice was more unnerving than a shout. “You have thrown yourself into the center of a possible war with this duke and his giant army. Whether you like it or not, King Eldin’s proclamation set you up as the duke’s adversary, and when you defeated the giants, you
became
the defender of Reggen.”

I stared at him, openmouthed, but he didn’t stop.

“If the city—if the
duke
—learns that the champion is a girl and that the princess will not be wed, they’ll think there’s no one to challenge the duke’s claims. Reggen will tear itself apart, and this duke will think he goes unopposed.” Lord Verras shook his head. “It would have been better if you’d never gone out.”

“They had Will by the foot,” I whispered. “They shook him like a doll!”

Lord Verras winced, but he wouldn’t be distracted. “My duty now is to protect this city. I ask you again: who knows your secret? And
why
do I know you? I’ve seen you before, I’m sure of it.”

I blinked, afraid, but the fear made it easier to fight back. “Why should I tell you? You practically ran from Pergam and now you’re hiding here under the castle.”

He flinched. Whoever he was, he must not have much authority.

I drew myself up. “I want to talk to Lord Cinnan.”

Verras didn’t answer. Perhaps he was too busy trying to figure out who I was: a girl he had seen who also knew the
name of the king’s advisor. Finally, he said, “Lord Cinnan is under house arrest.”

I nearly dropped the candlestick. “Why?”

“The king found his counsel tiresome.”

Tiresome
. I’d heard the king use that word so many times. How would King Eldin react without a sensible advisor when he found out he’d been tricked by his own tailor and that there was no champion?

Lord Verras held my gaze. “I brought you here because I wanted to know the truth about you and the giants before you’re taken to the king. Before you are peppered with questions until the truth comes out in front of every nobleman and soldier in attendance. There is no Lord Cinnan to speak …” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “… 
wisdom
to the king. And we have minutes before I must bring you to the throne room. So tell me: who are you, and who else knows about you? I’ll do my best to keep them safe.”

I’d hung all hope of safety on Lord Cinnan. What was I supposed to do with this young noble?

“Who are
you
?” I sank down into a chair with patchwork upholstery, still gripping the candlestick. “You say you’ll keep them safe, but can you?”

Anger tightened his voice, clipping the words. “I am Galen Verras, cousin to the king. I assisted Lord Cinnan.”

I looked up in surprise.

“My job was—
is
—to gather information for the king and his advisor. I have cultivated friendships with many in the
castle: lords, servants, guards, rangers. Now that Lord Cinnan is gone, I work under the new advisor, Lord Leymonn.

“He does not like me, and he does not listen to me. Still, I’ve used what little influence I have to learn what is happening with the duke and giants. Even if Eldin does not wish to know.” He spoke the last words quietly, more to himself than to me.

Lord Verras pointed to the door. “I’ll unlock it, and you can leave. Eventually, soldiers will discover you and take you to the king. But you’ll have no protection. The two who share your secret will have no protection. And Reggen?” He shrugged. “Reggen will be defenseless. Is that what you would choose?”

Lord Verras studied me as if he could find the answer in my face—and he kept looking. A tickle of unease ran up my spine. It was the first time someone had seen
me
, and not the Tailor’s apprentice, since Will discovered me weeks ago.

His gaze was nothing like Will’s.

I forced myself to return Lord Verras’s gaze with the same intensity. With all he asked of me, it was only fair. Dark, almost black hair. A nose with a small bump in the middle, maybe broken once. It kept him from looking too noble. He was determined—I saw that in the set of his jaw. But he was also worried, his gray eyes solemn, and I remembered how serious he’d been on that walk to Reggen. He’d guessed this threat was coming, and he hadn’t been able to stop it—or even prepare.

“You faced two giants for that boy,” said Verras. “I don’t believe you’ll walk away now.”

He was absolutely right, and he knew it. Sky above, I disliked him! But I needed him, and if I had to choose between Lord Verras and Pergam …

I set the candlestick down on the table beside my chair.

“These two people who know about me. You must bring them into the castle and promise that they will be cared for.”

Lord Verras closed his eyes a moment and sighed in relief. “I will. Though the castle may not be safe soon.”

“It’s the safest place in Reggen.”

He nodded. “I give you my word. I’ll keep them safe.”

No mention of me. Couldn’t he guarantee my safety? I thought of the king with his new advisor, this Leymonn, and suppressed a shiver. “Thank you.”

Verras nodded again, but didn’t answer. Then I realized: he was waiting for me to tell him. Just like that, I was supposed to reveal everything.

It was harder than running toward the giants.

I closed my eyes. I had chosen this, even if it felt like no choice at all. When I opened them, my voice was steady. “One is the boy who was hurt. Will.”

Verras mouthed a silent
ah
.

“You’ll make sure he’s taken care of?” I pressed. “His foot …”

“Physicians should be seeing to him now. I’ll make sure they are the court’s best as soon as we leave this room. And the other?”

“Willem Gramton.”
Why was it so hard to tell him?
I had to force myself to say each word. “You walked with him on the
road to Reggen earlier this year. You pulled him away when the wagon wheel broke.”

“The tailor, the one with the fabric …” He looked more closely at me then. “You’re his daughter. The one who talked with Lynden about the Guardians.” He smiled as if seeing something else. “That’s all.…”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“
That’s all
. It’s what you said when I asked you about the giants at the fountain. You said it when I asked you about the man on the road to Reggen—with the same glare. I
knew
I’d seen you before.”

“You remember that from all those months ago?”

“That man had barely spoken a word, and then he started talking to some girl—!” Verras faltered when he saw my frown. “So … yes. I remember. Now tell me about your father. Where is he?”

Some girl
. Lynden hadn’t thought I was some girl. Why couldn’t
he
have discovered me?

But I gave Verras directions to our shop. “The Tailor’s sick. He can’t move. He can’t speak. He’ll be scared. And angry. Very angry. You must promise that whoever brings him to the castle will bring the big trunk in his shop. It means …” My voice faltered. I looked down at my boots, trying to breathe around the pain in my chest. “It means everything to him.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“He was struck ill soon after we came to Reggen. I dressed
as his apprentice to find work for us. We wouldn’t have survived otherwise.”

“You couldn’t sew as a woman?”

I crossed my arms. “Noblemen don’t appreciate having a girl fit them. It isn’t done—like advisors to the king hiding under castles!”

He ignored the jibe. “And Will?”

“A boy shouldn’t have to compete with dogs for food.”

He nodded. I could almost see him stitching the story’s pieces together.

I heard it first: the sound of footsteps in the corridor.

“We need to leave,” said Lord Verras.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “If we leave, we’ll walk right into them. And you said we were going to the king anyway!”

But Lord Verras was already sweeping aside a tapestry on the far wall.

“
F
ollow me,” he
whispered. He stepped up onto a bench and squeezed into a recess behind it.

“You want me to hide behind a privy? Absolutely not.”

Lord Verras looked down at me, his face like stone. “I’m done arguing with you, Miss Gramton. If you want to keep Will and your father safe, you’ll come with me.
Now
.”

I heard the jingle of keys. “Lord Verras! King Eldin commands that you and the champion join him in his suite!”

Verras had already disappeared. He’d just left, expecting that I would follow. I did hate the man.

I leapt onto the bench, turned myself sideways, and slipped into the narrow recess, pushing past a hanging of felt. I thought I’d bump into the walls of the chamber—or worse, Lord Verras.

But the recess was bigger than I’d thought. And dark.
Dark
didn’t do it justice. Something fell on my shoulder, and I jumped. The pressure grew firmer and gave my shoulder a quick shake.

Lord Verras. His message was clear:
Be quiet
.

I yanked my shoulder away. I wasn’t a girl who’d squeal in
the dark. Where were we? Was this a secret tunnel? I groped along the wall behind me with my left hand, but stilled when I heard the thud of a door being thrown open. Then voices. Though it did no good in the dark, I turned toward the opening, toward our hunters.

The edges of the felt glowed. The men must have swept aside the curtain to the privy.

“Did you really think he’d be in there?”

“He’s an underhanded fellow. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

I looked back and saw Lord Verras in the pale gray light. He didn’t move.

“Leymonn ought to get rid of him. Have you ever had Verras watch you? It’s like you’re being hunted—”

The voices faded and the light disappeared, but not before I saw Lord Verras’s small smile.

His hand found my shoulder and then my forearm, closing completely around my wrist. He tugged me forward, and I followed like a child. I had to take small steps, feeling ahead by sliding my feet forward. Even then, I stumbled on the uneven floor. After a few turns, he released me, and I heard the sound of flint being struck. Those few sparks flared bright as the sun, bright enough to make me blink. Then Lord Verras held a lantern aloft.

We weren’t in a tunnel. It was a cave.

It seemed open, but there were so many … pillars. I didn’t know what else to call them. We stood in a forest of stone that looked like it had been poured from the ceiling. But it wasn’t
like standing in a forest. I’d never worried that trees would tumble down on me and bury me in the dark.