“It would not be accurate to call Sky simply benevolent,” Samuel said. “Her enemies would certainly not agree, and she has not hesitated to execute many of them in the past.”
Drake frowned. “So how many enemies has she taken down? That we know of?”
“According to my latest reports, Sky has personally defeated a number of warriors and assassins in direct battle. She has also ordered the execution of twenty-eight captives.”
Given Drake had personally executed an assassin two nights ago after capturing him, he couldn’t judge Sky based on just that. She’d survived as a manor lord a lot longer than he had. Moreover, she had released a man who personally tried to shoot her... granted, without his ear.
“And what did the prisoners she executed do?”
“All committed various crimes against her people, her thralls, or her manor. After a trial, they were judged guilty. By the laws of our realm, their executions were just.”
“So she’s not into torture.” That was a relief.
“All she ordered executed were humanely beheaded save one. After his capture and confession, she ordered his testicles ripped off. She had her healers stop the bleeding and left him to die of dehydration on a cross high atop a mountain. He took days to die.”
Drake winced both physically and mentally. He’d heard Sky talk about how she intended to crucify the assassin who killed her rangers, but knowing she’d actually done it was a little beyond what he’d been prepared for. “What the hell did that guy do?”
“According to the trial records, he abducted, abused, and murdered several children.”
As he reflected on the man’s horrific crimes, Drake couldn’t help but understand Sky a little better—or hope he did. While such a brutal execution felt at odds with Sky’s own hesitance to ally with him when she thought he was the same as Lord Crow, this felt different.
It didn’t feel like sadism. It felt more like Sky intended to make it clear there were crimes she absolutely would not tolerate in her lands, and making a gruesome public example of this child-killing asshole had been her way to do that. Once more, he had to consider her actions as they existed in this murderous world with its murderous rules, not his own.
This made it all the more clear to him that Sky was a fierce warrior and a strong manor lord. He needed someone like her as his ally, and if Samuel was concerned Karth couldn’t cut it in her place, Drake was even more concerned. Yet what could he do to help her?
He supposed, if he had to, he’d simply go get her and teleport her back with him. “Where’s Fort Graystone?”
“Is that where Sky went?” Samuel asked.
Drake nodded. “Karth said it’s a three day’s ride away from the capital.”
Samuel considered for a moment. “If there were a day’s ride away when you spoke last night, and they did set out from Skybreak Manor on the same day we did... then, yes. That would force Sky and whoever went with her to ride three days away from the capital.”
“Which means there’s no way she can possibly get back by the time the cabal starts, and if we were to turn around to go get her, we’d all miss it by a week or more.”
“Correct.” Samuel grimaced. “As such, I believe we have no choice to—”
“We’re going after her,” Drake said.
Lydia tilted her head in obvious concern. “We can’t.”
“We can if we teleport her,” Drake said. “If Anna’s rarity works how I think it does.”
Samuel’s grimace turned into a possibly thoughtful frown. “You would reveal one of our most powerful rarities to Sky and her people?”
“We’re allied now. Also, won’t we have to report Anna’s rarity in Korhaurbauten?”
“Only once she comes of age,” Samuel said. “All citizens are required to register their rarity at age sixteen, if present, but you told me Anna is only ten. That means we could legally use her rarity in secret for six years without revealing it to the other manor lords.”
“I think the big four already know,” Drake said. “Remember Robby and his creepy green eyes? I know Anna and I have discussed her rarity in front of him, so Lord Proudglade, at least, already knows what she can do. Keeping it secret from the other manors probably isn’t possible anymore.”
“Perhaps,” Samuel agreed. “Still, that is all the more reason not to go after Sky. If Lord Proudglade has taken Anna’s ability to teleport others into consideration, he may expect her to come and have a trap prepared for her.”
“I understand that,” Drake said patiently. “Here’s what else I understand. The same assholes who have been hammering us this whole time just abducted Sky’s mom. The fact that they took the one person they knew Sky wouldn’t let die and then requested she come to personally deliver the ransom, when she was expected at a cabal, proves they want her gone.”
“That is simply what we suspect,” Samuel corrected.
“But if I’m right, it means Lord Proudglade and the others are already freaking out about what’ll happen in Sky shows up in Korhaurbauten allied with us. If they’ve gone to all this effort to ensure she can’t make it, she may be critical to our success in the upcoming negotiations.”
Lydia offered Samuel a firm glance. “He might be right. We could fail without her.”
Samuel lightly stroked his chin beard. “So you suggest we send a fast-moving force and Anna to meet Sky and her people at Fort Graystone, and, if they are still alive, teleport them to a recall spot... where?”
“On the floor of this carriage,” Drake said. “Or the floor of a wagon.”
Samuel’s brow rose in obvious surprise. “The recall spot can move?”
“When Anna teleported me into Captain Ro’s wagon, it was on wheels. So while it’s possible that they kept the wagon parked the whole time they set up their abduction, it seems like all we need to teleport is a big round circle of blood. We might even be able to cart the spot around on a plate if we wanted.”
Samuel nodded thoughtfully. “So while a small force protecting Anna proceeds to Fort Graystone, our main vanguard and the recall spot would proceed toward the capital. If we can verify your understanding of Anna’s rarity, that could work.” He hesitated.
“I’m sensing a but in there, Samuel.”
“This would only work if Anna and her escort could find Sky’s force in time, and if Sky’s force had not already been captured or defeated by the people who captured her mother, and if Lord Proudglade has not anticipated that we might send Anna and laid a trap for her. If anything goes wrong, our force and Anna could be captured or killed.”
“Would you take that sort of risk for me?” Drake asked.
Samuel said nothing. He appeared to be thinking about it.
“Yes,” Lydia said. “We would absolutely take such a risk for our own manor lord. Sky is now allied with us in all but an official proclamation in the capital. Lord Gloomwood is also correct about Lord Proudglade’s motives. If we don’t help Sky, we may face him alone.”
Samuel looked to her, then back to Drake. “In this case, I cannot offer you a definitive recommendation. If we attempt to reach Sky and teleport her back to the capital, we risk losing Anna as well. If we proceed as Sky intended, we risk arriving without a critical ally we need to navigate this cabal. Our allied manor also loses its powerful leader.”
“So what you’re saying is, it’s my call?”
“Yes, Lord Gloomwood. I will accept your decision.”
“Then we’re picking up Sky,” Drake said. “Without risking Anna.”
Samuel’s eyes widened, and then he scowled. “Absolutely not.”
Drake grinned. “You just said you’d back my decision. No take backs.”
Lydia looked between them in confusion, but then she too gasped. “You cannot be thinking of going yourself!”
“Why not? Lord Proudglade might be expecting Anna to show up, but he sure as hell won’t be expecting me. I’ll copy Anna’s rarity and use it to teleport myself, Sky, and her people right back here to my armored carriage. That’ll throw the old fucker for a loop.”
“Risking valuable blood thralls to save a crucial ally is an acceptable risk,” Samuel said grimly. “Risking our manor lord is not. You cannot place yourself in harm’s way.”
“Oh yes I can. Because even if I die, your next manor lord can’t do shit to you.”
“That doesn’t mean they might not report what you have done to the noble court, or execute us after we act against our new manor lord.”
“So push him down a flight of stairs.”
“We need you as our manor lord,” Samuel said firmly. “We need your unique ability to maintain our secrecy. Once the noble court learns how you have changed the Gloomwood Manor blood pact, our manor could be censured or worse.”
Drake mentally shook his head. “You really think the noble court will go apeshit because I made it impossible for manor lords to murder their own people?”
“You have made it possible for blood thralls to murder their manor lords,” Samuel corrected firmly. “They could see that as an attack on all manor lords, and in particular, the authority of the noble court. That is not a risk we can take in the current political environment.”
Drake looked to Lydia. “How would you feel about me naming Samuel my successor instead of you?”
She nodded immediately. “I believe that would be wise.”
His butler’s next words died as his mouth opened, but no words emerged. Drake had finally said something to rattle him. He looked to Samuel again.
“Congratulations, old man. You’re next in line to the throne.”
Lydia squeezed Samuel’s shoulder. “You are the best choice.”
Samuel recovered enough to frown at her, then at Drake. “I cannot be your successor.”
“Why not? Everyone here loves you. Sachi, the battle maids, the staff. Hell, I bet even old Cresh has a soft spot for you. Moreover, you may not be able to regenerate as fast as me when I copy your rarity, but you’re still one tough SOB. You’re hard to kill.”
“I am your spy master and advisor. I am not an acceptable choice for manor lord.”
“Because you care about your people?” Drake asked. “Because you’d hesitate to sacrifice Olivia or Lydia or any of the others if that was the only way to keep Gloomwood Manor safe? Well tough titties, old man, because that’s just what I’m asking you to do if I die.”
Samuel watched him with increasing unease.
“You’ve told me how hard I must be many times. Valentia just came out and said it. I have to be ruthless enough to order executions and even order people I care about to go to their deaths if it’ll keep the manor safe. Are you telling me you can’t do what you advise?”
“Lord, I...” Samuel appeared to be a true loss. “This is not what I want.”
“Which is why I feel completely comfortable naming you as my successor. I named Lydia when I got here because there was no one else I felt could protect our people as well as she can. However, you’ll need her as steward. So it’s time for you to step up.”
“We do not even know if this plan of yours will work,” Samuel said insistently. “While you have been able to successfully absorb a few rarities, Anna is not part of your blood pact.”
“Neither was Lord Crow, and I still snagged his dire rat. Showed him how to use it, too.”
“This is unwise,” Samuel insisted. “It is exceedingly reckless. Even were you to succeed in obtaining Anna’s rarity, you could lose your ability to regenerate. Every rarity you have thus far absorbed only came after the one before it disappeared.”
“I’m pretty sure I will lose your regeneration,” Drake agreed. “That’s why I can’t do this alone. I’ll need a few battle maids to keep me safe, and Sachi to track Sky and make sure we don’t stumble into anything we can’t handle. The rest I’ll leave with you, along with Anna.”
“Your ability to absorb rarities and to deceive others is far beyond my talents,” Samuel cautioned.
“And your ability to navigate murder politics and run our manor’s affairs is far beyond mine, not to mention your ability to deceive isn’t so shabby either. Overall, it’s a wash.”
His butler frowned in consternation.
“But I’m still more handsome,” Drake added. “Right, Lydia?”
She ignored his question and touched Samuel’s arm. “We should consider this.”
He stared at her in exasperation. “Now even you are considering his reckless plan?”
“I have seen Lord Gloomwood in battle,” Lydia said firmly. “I have also seen him navigate traps and situations that would have tripped up or ruined even a veteran manor lord. He has not only navigated these challenges, but survived and grown stronger. He can do this.”
Drake felt a warm rush at her praise.
She smiled at him. “However, Samuel is more handsome. I am sorry, lord.”
He stared, betrayed. “Oh, come on.”
“It would not be accurate to call Sky simply benevolent,” Samuel said. “Her enemies would certainly not agree, and she has not hesitated to execute many of them in the past.”
Drake frowned. “So how many enemies has she taken down? That we know of?”
“According to my latest reports, Sky has personally defeated a number of warriors and assassins in direct battle. She has also ordered the execution of twenty-eight captives.”
Given Drake had personally executed an assassin two nights ago after capturing him, he couldn’t judge Sky based on just that. She’d survived as a manor lord a lot longer than he had. Moreover, she had released a man who personally tried to shoot her... granted, without his ear.
“And what did the prisoners she executed do?”
“All committed various crimes against her people, her thralls, or her manor. After a trial, they were judged guilty. By the laws of our realm, their executions were just.”
“So she’s not into torture.” That was a relief.
“All she ordered executed were humanely beheaded save one. After his capture and confession, she ordered his testicles ripped off. She had her healers stop the bleeding and left him to die of dehydration on a cross high atop a mountain. He took days to die.”
Drake winced both physically and mentally. He’d heard Sky talk about how she intended to crucify the assassin who killed her rangers, but knowing she’d actually done it was a little beyond what he’d been prepared for. “What the hell did that guy do?”
“According to the trial records, he abducted, abused, and murdered several children.”
As he reflected on the man’s horrific crimes, Drake couldn’t help but understand Sky a little better—or hope he did. While such a brutal execution felt at odds with Sky’s own hesitance to ally with him when she thought he was the same as Lord Crow, this felt different.
It didn’t feel like sadism. It felt more like Sky intended to make it clear there were crimes she absolutely would not tolerate in her lands, and making a gruesome public example of this child-killing asshole had been her way to do that. Once more, he had to consider her actions as they existed in this murderous world with its murderous rules, not his own.
This made it all the more clear to him that Sky was a fierce warrior and a strong manor lord. He needed someone like her as his ally, and if Samuel was concerned Karth couldn’t cut it in her place, Drake was even more concerned. Yet what could he do to help her?
He supposed, if he had to, he’d simply go get her and teleport her back with him. “Where’s Fort Graystone?”
“Is that where Sky went?” Samuel asked.
Drake nodded. “Karth said it’s a three day’s ride away from the capital.”
Samuel considered for a moment. “If there were a day’s ride away when you spoke last night, and they did set out from Skybreak Manor on the same day we did... then, yes. That would force Sky and whoever went with her to ride three days away from the capital.”
“Which means there’s no way she can possibly get back by the time the cabal starts, and if we were to turn around to go get her, we’d all miss it by a week or more.”
“Correct.” Samuel grimaced. “As such, I believe we have no choice to—”
“We’re going after her,” Drake said.
Lydia tilted her head in obvious concern. “We can’t.”
“We can if we teleport her,” Drake said. “If Anna’s rarity works how I think it does.”
Samuel’s grimace turned into a possibly thoughtful frown. “You would reveal one of our most powerful rarities to Sky and her people?”
“We’re allied now. Also, won’t we have to report Anna’s rarity in Korhaurbauten?”
“Only once she comes of age,” Samuel said. “All citizens are required to register their rarity at age sixteen, if present, but you told me Anna is only ten. That means we could legally use her rarity in secret for six years without revealing it to the other manor lords.”
“I think the big four already know,” Drake said. “Remember Robby and his creepy green eyes? I know Anna and I have discussed her rarity in front of him, so Lord Proudglade, at least, already knows what she can do. Keeping it secret from the other manors probably isn’t possible anymore.”
“Perhaps,” Samuel agreed. “Still, that is all the more reason not to go after Sky. If Lord Proudglade has taken Anna’s ability to teleport others into consideration, he may expect her to come and have a trap prepared for her.”
“I understand that,” Drake said patiently. “Here’s what else I understand. The same assholes who have been hammering us this whole time just abducted Sky’s mom. The fact that they took the one person they knew Sky wouldn’t let die and then requested she come to personally deliver the ransom, when she was expected at a cabal, proves they want her gone.”
“That is simply what we suspect,” Samuel corrected.
“But if I’m right, it means Lord Proudglade and the others are already freaking out about what’ll happen in Sky shows up in Korhaurbauten allied with us. If they’ve gone to all this effort to ensure she can’t make it, she may be critical to our success in the upcoming negotiations.”
Lydia offered Samuel a firm glance. “He might be right. We could fail without her.”
Samuel lightly stroked his chin beard. “So you suggest we send a fast-moving force and Anna to meet Sky and her people at Fort Graystone, and, if they are still alive, teleport them to a recall spot... where?”
“On the floor of this carriage,” Drake said. “Or the floor of a wagon.”
Samuel’s brow rose in obvious surprise. “The recall spot can move?”
“When Anna teleported me into Captain Ro’s wagon, it was on wheels. So while it’s possible that they kept the wagon parked the whole time they set up their abduction, it seems like all we need to teleport is a big round circle of blood. We might even be able to cart the spot around on a plate if we wanted.”
Samuel nodded thoughtfully. “So while a small force protecting Anna proceeds to Fort Graystone, our main vanguard and the recall spot would proceed toward the capital. If we can verify your understanding of Anna’s rarity, that could work.” He hesitated.
“I’m sensing a but in there, Samuel.”
“This would only work if Anna and her escort could find Sky’s force in time, and if Sky’s force had not already been captured or defeated by the people who captured her mother, and if Lord Proudglade has not anticipated that we might send Anna and laid a trap for her. If anything goes wrong, our force and Anna could be captured or killed.”
“Would you take that sort of risk for me?” Drake asked.
Samuel said nothing. He appeared to be thinking about it.
“Yes,” Lydia said. “We would absolutely take such a risk for our own manor lord. Sky is now allied with us in all but an official proclamation in the capital. Lord Gloomwood is also correct about Lord Proudglade’s motives. If we don’t help Sky, we may face him alone.”
Samuel looked to her, then back to Drake. “In this case, I cannot offer you a definitive recommendation. If we attempt to reach Sky and teleport her back to the capital, we risk losing Anna as well. If we proceed as Sky intended, we risk arriving without a critical ally we need to navigate this cabal. Our allied manor also loses its powerful leader.”
“So what you’re saying is, it’s my call?”
“Yes, Lord Gloomwood. I will accept your decision.”
“Then we’re picking up Sky,” Drake said. “Without risking Anna.”
Samuel’s eyes widened, and then he scowled. “Absolutely not.”
Drake grinned. “You just said you’d back my decision. No take backs.”
Lydia looked between them in confusion, but then she too gasped. “You cannot be thinking of going yourself!”
“Why not? Lord Proudglade might be expecting Anna to show up, but he sure as hell won’t be expecting me. I’ll copy Anna’s rarity and use it to teleport myself, Sky, and her people right back here to my armored carriage. That’ll throw the old fucker for a loop.”
“Risking valuable blood thralls to save a crucial ally is an acceptable risk,” Samuel said grimly. “Risking our manor lord is not. You cannot place yourself in harm’s way.”
“Oh yes I can. Because even if I die, your next manor lord can’t do shit to you.”
“That doesn’t mean they might not report what you have done to the noble court, or execute us after we act against our new manor lord.”
“So push him down a flight of stairs.”
“We need you as our manor lord,” Samuel said firmly. “We need your unique ability to maintain our secrecy. Once the noble court learns how you have changed the Gloomwood Manor blood pact, our manor could be censured or worse.”
Drake mentally shook his head. “You really think the noble court will go apeshit because I made it impossible for manor lords to murder their own people?”
“You have made it possible for blood thralls to murder their manor lords,” Samuel corrected firmly. “They could see that as an attack on all manor lords, and in particular, the authority of the noble court. That is not a risk we can take in the current political environment.”
Drake looked to Lydia. “How would you feel about me naming Samuel my successor instead of you?”
She nodded immediately. “I believe that would be wise.”
His butler’s next words died as his mouth opened, but no words emerged. Drake had finally said something to rattle him. He looked to Samuel again.
“Congratulations, old man. You’re next in line to the throne.”
Lydia squeezed Samuel’s shoulder. “You are the best choice.”
Samuel recovered enough to frown at her, then at Drake. “I cannot be your successor.”
“Why not? Everyone here loves you. Sachi, the battle maids, the staff. Hell, I bet even old Cresh has a soft spot for you. Moreover, you may not be able to regenerate as fast as me when I copy your rarity, but you’re still one tough SOB. You’re hard to kill.”
“I am your spy master and advisor. I am not an acceptable choice for manor lord.”
“Because you care about your people?” Drake asked. “Because you’d hesitate to sacrifice Olivia or Lydia or any of the others if that was the only way to keep Gloomwood Manor safe? Well tough titties, old man, because that’s just what I’m asking you to do if I die.”
Samuel watched him with increasing unease.
“You’ve told me how hard I must be many times. Valentia just came out and said it. I have to be ruthless enough to order executions and even order people I care about to go to their deaths if it’ll keep the manor safe. Are you telling me you can’t do what you advise?”
“Lord, I...” Samuel appeared to be a true loss. “This is not what I want.”
“Which is why I feel completely comfortable naming you as my successor. I named Lydia when I got here because there was no one else I felt could protect our people as well as she can. However, you’ll need her as steward. So it’s time for you to step up.”
“We do not even know if this plan of yours will work,” Samuel said insistently. “While you have been able to successfully absorb a few rarities, Anna is not part of your blood pact.”
“Neither was Lord Crow, and I still snagged his dire rat. Showed him how to use it, too.”
“This is unwise,” Samuel insisted. “It is exceedingly reckless. Even were you to succeed in obtaining Anna’s rarity, you could lose your ability to regenerate. Every rarity you have thus far absorbed only came after the one before it disappeared.”
“I’m pretty sure I will lose your regeneration,” Drake agreed. “That’s why I can’t do this alone. I’ll need a few battle maids to keep me safe, and Sachi to track Sky and make sure we don’t stumble into anything we can’t handle. The rest I’ll leave with you, along with Anna.”
“Your ability to absorb rarities and to deceive others is far beyond my talents,” Samuel cautioned.
“And your ability to navigate murder politics and run our manor’s affairs is far beyond mine, not to mention your ability to deceive isn’t so shabby either. Overall, it’s a wash.”
His butler frowned in consternation.
“But I’m still more handsome,” Drake added. “Right, Lydia?”
She ignored his question and touched Samuel’s arm. “We should consider this.”
He stared at her in exasperation. “Now even you are considering his reckless plan?”
“I have seen Lord Gloomwood in battle,” Lydia said firmly. “I have also seen him navigate traps and situations that would have tripped up or ruined even a veteran manor lord. He has not only navigated these challenges, but survived and grown stronger. He can do this.”
Drake felt a warm rush at her praise.
She smiled at him. “However, Samuel is more handsome. I am sorry, lord.”
He stared, betrayed. “Oh, come on.”
