Rangers of Linwood (The Five Kingdoms Book 1) (19 page)

Ryder stepped on the pressure plate, then, and the tile next to it slid open. “This is how and where the Rangers guard the greatest treasure of Linwood,” he said. “Only Arya and I can give the maintenance command, and this pressure plate can only be sprung under maintenance conditions. Most Rangers don’t even know it’s here.”

“I did,” Tesni said. “I spotted it and avoided it. I thought it was a trap, as well.”

“No, it’s not a trap, just a well-hidden pressure plate for an even better hidden treasure,” Ryder said. From the hole in the floor, he pulled out a beautiful golden orb. It was studded with tiny emeralds, the royal colors of Linwood. “Watch what happens when I place it in Rowan’s hands,” he said.

Rowan held it, but nothing happened. “What am I supposed to be watching for?” Tesni asked. “I’m not seeing anything.”

“Exactly,” Ryder said, taking the orb away from Rowan. “It will glow, but only in the hands of the rightful ruler. Now hold your hands out,
anelya
.”

As soon as Ryder placed the orb in Tesni’s hands, it glowed. The glow was soft at first, not quite visible, but then it grew. It enveloped her hands, at first, and then her entire body. The light was so bright that Tesni could not see her father or Rowan, and she doubted that they could see her. She began hyperventilating, and she could not put the orb down, even though she desperately wanted to do so.

Suddenly, the glow died down. While it continued to surround the orb, it was no longer surrounding her. Tesni looked up and saw Ryder and Rowan both staring at her, wide-eyed.

She felt trapped. She was overwhelmed and couldn’t run to the stables. She had just read of the huge secret that her mother had always carried, learned the reason she had memories of being spoiled by the queen, and discovered that she was meant to rule Linwood. It was too much. Still unable to put the orb down, she did the one thing that she could do.

Tesni fainted.

Chapter 16

“So she just fainted?” Arya asked.

“Aye, she did,” Ryder said. “It’s clear she’s not ready to take on the responsibility that’s just been handed to her.”

“I agree,” Arya replied. “I’m surprised she didn’t run to the stables.”

Ryder sorted. “How could she? We were in the pit in the bow course where we keep the orb hidden. Rowan and I were both right there. She couldn’t run and hide. It will probably help her in the long run, though. If she’s going to be Queen of Linwood, she needs to learn that she can’t just run off every time things get to be too much.”

This was the conversation Tesni was hearing from outside the tent when she woke up. She stood, still a little dizzy, and moved to the tent entrance. “It’s not like I asked to be a queen,” she said. “I just wanted to be a Ranger.”

Arya and Ryder looked towards her. They hadn’t realized that Tesni had woken up. They stepped up into the tent with her and sat her down, one of them on either side. “It’s scary, isn’t it?” Arya asked.

“Aye, it’s very scary,” Tesni agreed. “So what do I do now?”

“You’ll continue your training, for starters,” Ryder said. “Not only will it keep you ready to defend yourself, if need be, it will give you something to focus on so that you aren’t panicking about what happened this afternoon.”

“We’ll also find a way to discreetly train you in the skills you need to be a queen, like dancing, diplomacy, and negotiation, not to mention helping you learn to stay calm instead of running to hide,” Arya added.

Tesni couldn’t help but look down. She knew she needed a lot of help in that area, but she wasn’t sure how else to handle it. All she knew is that the horses never judged when you came to them to talk. They just listened patiently in exchange for an apple or carrot. If neither was available, of course, they always enjoyed a good brushing.

“Who else knows?” she asked at last.

“Just the three of us and Rowan,” Ryder said. “When you fainted, Rowan and I agreed that it was probably in your best interests not to let everyone know why you fainted. We even brought you straight here instead of taking you to Enid because we weren’t sure who you felt comfortable with knowing, and we didn’t want to lie to anyone.”

Tesni cocked her head to one side. “How did you keep people from wondering why you were carrying me?”

Ryder shrugged. “I just told them that you had fallen asleep because you had been pushing yourself too hard, lately, to the brink of exhaustion, and that I was bringing you back to bed.”

“So you didn’t want to lie to anyone, but you did anyway?” Tesni asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you were technically asleep,” Ryder said, “and you did technically push yourself too hard when you tried to deal with a situation you weren’t quite ready for. So it wasn’t technically a lie.”

Tesni looked at her father, unimpressed with his semantics. Still, she had to admit that his reasoning was sound. Finally, she just sighed and looked down again. “I would trust the rest of the Rangers with my very life. You both know that. But I agree that we should keep this knowledge to as few people as possible.” She looked up again, a wry smile on her face. “I’m not sure if I want to tell Enid or not. The knowledge that she’s treating the rightful queen might put too much pressure on her.”

Arya and Ryder both laughed at this. “I agree that Enid could be a safe choice,” Arya said, finally. “So could Fiona and Alastar.”

“Aye,” Tesni agreed. “I would definitely trust the three of them to keep my new secret. But is it really a good idea to tell them, anyway? Yes, I trust them, but I seem to remember always being told growing up that two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. It seems to me that the more people who know, the more likely one of them is going to say something to someone not approved to know, and then everyone suddenly will know.”

“Well,” Arya said, a smirk on her face, “at least now you have a purpose for all those fancy dresses and jewels.”



Aeron had heard enough. He was grateful to Agrona for busting him out of prison, and now he had useful information for her. As the darkness of night fell, he slipped out from beneath the platform the tent stood on and slipped out of the camp. He had been surprised that the hole in the fence had not been repaired, but it worked out for him and for his mission.

He slipped through the woods to where his horse was tied up, mounted up, and rode off towards Agrona’s keep. Though it was the middle of the night, he knew that his mistress would be awake, waiting for him in the library. As soon as he arrived, he went straight there and knelt down.

“What news have you brought, Aeron?” she asked.

“Your niece is dead, Mistress, but it wasn’t the girl you suspected,” he replied.

Agrona arched an eyebrow at this news. “Truly? I kept Fiona here as a servant, believing she was my niece, hiding in plain sight, and that I could train her in my own image, and now you tell me that I was wrong?”

“To be fair, Mistress, the names sound alike. It wasn’t Fiona, but Cliona, and Princess Cliona died six years ago.”

“That means that Tesni is…” Agrona started.

Aeron nodded. “Aye, Mistress, and I wouldn’t have known if Tesni herself had not found out. She received her inheritance from her mother earlier this afternoon, and Ryder took her to where the orb is hidden to test the theory that Tesni developed after examining the final letter that Cliona left. Cliona used hidden clues to get Tesni to not only read between the lines of her letter, but also to reveal the message hidden not with ink, but with scratch marks.”

Agrona sat back, in deep thought. “Yes, Tesni has always been a rather clever girl, hasn’t she? How did she react to learning the truth of her heritage?”

“She fainted, Mistress. Ryder and Arya are so intent on keeping the truth secret that they lied to those they met along the way and told her that she was merely exhausted and fell asleep,” Aeron reported. “Except for us, the only other who knows is Rowan.”

Agrona laughed. “Oh, this is too good to be true. Rangers are lying to other Rangers in order to keep the young princess safe? What happened to their stupid little creed of death before dishonor?”

Aeron finally stood. “Mistress, if I may, perhaps they believe any lengths to protect Tesni to be honorable?”

“Still, I wonder why she fainted.”

“She was likely overwhelmed by what she learned. She could not escape to the stables, where she normally goes to think, so she escaped into unconsciousness, instead.”

“You learned much about her personality while you were in your false courtship with her,” Agrona observed. “It likely served you well, and I believe it can serve us both well again. What does she do in the stables?”

“Normally, she talks to the horses, but if whatever has sent her running to them is too much to even let her get her feelings out that way, she will crawl beneath the hay to think things through, first,” Aeron said.

Agrona stood, going to look out the window into the night. “I cannot be queen while the little brat still lives. She is now old enough that, were she to prove herself to the people, they would crown her immediately, and so I cannot even act as regent for her.” She half-turned so that she could address Aeron. “Kill her. Bring me proof that you have done so, and I will make you my heir.”

Aeron nodded, and retreated. When he got back to his room, he threw himself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

When Agrona had taken him off of the street, she had promised him great riches. She had trained him to be charming and charismatic, which had allowed him to win Tesni over. She had promised him that he and Tesni would be wed, and that she would make them her heirs if he could only persuade the girl to join them.

Now, Agrona wanted Tesni dead. He would still be her heir. Things had changed when Tesni went from being a servant’s child to being her niece, but Agrona would not allow him to legally make Tesni his wife.

Not that it really mattered. Aeron had felt the magical bond sever and had known that Tesni had been kissed by her true love, likely Rowan. He would never again be able to persuade Tesni to marry him. She would someday marry Rowan.

It bothered Aeron that Agrona wanted her own niece dead. So a servant’s daughter could live, but a princess could not, simply because the princess happened to stand between Agrona and the throne? They were the same girl, and Agrona’s attitude changed only upon learning that this girl was, indeed, her grand-niece. Did Agrona value the life of a relative so little? And if she did, what would she do to him if she found him inconvenient?

The next morning, Aeron ran to the Ranger camp. He knew that they weren’t likely to believe them. He knew that they might even kill him. But he also knew that he no longer wanted to be associated with Agrona, and he had to try.

As it always was during the day, the huge gate was open. Aeron ran right through, even as the Rangers on the wall called out his approach. Within minutes, Aeron was surrounded, with bows and blades pointed directly at him.

Aeron was escorted before Ryder. To make things worse, Rowan was with the horse master. That was the last thing that Aeron needed, to be humiliated in front of his former rival. He couldn’t dwell on it, though.

“You… How did you get out of jail?” Ryder asked.

“Agrona got me out so that I could spy on Tesni,” Aeron admitted. He looked around. “Please, Ryder, could we speak in private?”

“Tie him up in the stable for now,” Ryder said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Are you really going to talk to him?” Rowan asked as they took Aeron away.

“Aye, I am,” Ryder said. “He seems ready to give up information, for whatever reason. I’m not sure how he thinks he will benefit, but there is definitely something.” He walked into the stables and stood in front of Aeron. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“How much do you know?”

Aeron sighed. “I know who Tesni is. I know she’s the lost princess and that she knows who she is. So does Agrona. I took the information to her. Agrona has sent me to kill Tesni. When she gave me the orders, last night, it made me think. Tesni is now inconvenient to her, so she wants her dead. What will happen if I become inconvenient as well?”

Tesni just happened to walk in at that moment. “What is he doing here?”

“Apparently, Agrona sent him here to kill you,” Ryder said. “He was spying on us and told Agrona who you are. Oddly enough, he was smart and chose to confide to me in private instead of blurting it out for the rest of camp to hear. Quite honestly, I was thinking about just slitting his throat.”

“No!” Tesni moved swiftly between the two of them. “
Atar
, you can’t just kill him. I don’t care what he did. He chose to come and confess rather than actually try to kill me.”

Aeron swallowed hard. “I’m with Tesni. Please don’t kill me.”

Ryder snorted. “I’m only joking. But Aeron, you deserved a good scare and you know it.”

“Well, either way, I don’t want him in the stables,” Tesni said. “This is my refuge.”

“I know,” Ryder said, “but this is the only place to keep him where he can’t talk to everyone.”

“ I won’t talk at all,” Aeron said. “Please, just let me stay in the camp. I don’t care what the conditions are. I don’t dare go back to her.”