The Soulstoy Inheritance by Jane Washington Page B

Nareon in?”
    Cale paused, flicked his eyes over me and then exhaled heavily. “So it’s true then? I was hoping Hazen had hallucinated it all.”
    “No, it’s true.”
    “Hazen told me to tell you to keep him out of this world as much as possible.”
    “I think it’s a little too late for that,” I said, holding up my bracelet for him to see. “He went and got this, without me calling him. He can appear in a totally different kingdom, and still physically interact with things, and it’s only been a matter of days.”
    “He’s drawing his life from somewhere, we need to figure out how before he comes back from the damn dead.”
    “Isn’t that a bit like killing him, all over again?”
    “What if he’s killing people right now, to gain his strength, Bea?”
    I paused, feeling a wave of nausea. “Alright, I’ll do my best.”
    He strode forward, grasped my hands again and squeezed them. “I have to go now, they only gave me an hour. Tomorrow is Monday, so if you agree to the terms, there will be a contingent waiting in the clearing past the border for you. If we’re lucky, Harbringer will be back at his post, but he won’t be able to openly communicate with you, not until this whole thing is over. I hope you understand.”
    “I understand. Will he say that I compelled him to do it? That’s probably his best defense.”
    “No, he’ll say that Fenrel assigned him to your protection, which everybody already knows to be true. He’ll say that he didn’t realise the king had been killed, he merely moved you to the synfee border when you told him you were in danger.”
    “That’ll work too.”
    “Yes, we hope so.”
    I hugged him again, tightly, and watched with tears threatening to spill over the line of my lower lashes as he left the room.
    “Be safe!” I called out as the door closed, and then moved into my dressing room, curling up into a ball to sob quietly.
    That was where Gretal found me, an hour later. She coaxed me out, and dressed me in a simple, white court dress. It had only one skirt layer, and the half-sleeves and square neckline were without fringing. I nodded, approving her choice, and let her braid my hair so that it hung over my left shoulder.
    “Harbringer’s gone,” I told her, once she was done.
    Her hands froze, and she shot a glance toward my dressing room.
    “Gone, Lady?”
    “You have to start calling me Bea, I can’t stand these titles anymore, Gretal.”
    “Where did he go?”
    “The condition of putting my trial off was to have his trial straight away. But Cale thinks that all of this was planned in advance. What if Harbringer’s trial is part of it? What if something terrible is about to happen to him?”
    “He’s Joseph Harbringer, sweetheart, I don’t think you need to worry about him.”
    “Do you really believe that, Gretal?”
    “I do. Now what are you going to do today?”
    “I think it’s time to find out what the Throne Test is, and get a High Council into place. I don’t know how the kingdom has been running itself for the last few days, but I’m sure some kind of decision will need to be made soon, and I’m simply not equipped to make it.”
    “I think that will be wise.”
    She gave my shoulder a pat, and I rose from the vanity, pulling on a pair of plain slippers to match my dress, and then I began my search of the castle to track down Grenlow. I found him by the front gates to the outer courtyard, talking to another soldier. They both fell silent as I came near and Grenlow smiled, while the other man dropped into a quick bow.
    “How are you today, Lady?” Grenlow asked.
    I thought about my night before, and wondered why I wasn’t sick, and then I remembered that I’d let Sweet kiss me, and I almost tripped over my own feet, before gathering myself.
    “Fine thank you, Grenlow. I think it’s time to convene a High Council.”
    He seemed pleased, and led me back into the castle, muttering random instructions to people as we passed. Grenlow