Crusader

Chapter 24

“Did you know?” It was Ryin who asked the question, after Cyrus had laid out everything that King Longwell had told him. Reactions had ranged from shocked horror (Nyad, who had her hands covering her mouth, her eyes wider than usual) to calm acceptance (Curatio and J’anda, each of whom let only a single raised eyebrow appear on their faces-Curatio, the left and J’anda the right, the contrast of their light and dark skin and facial reactions making them appear as bizarre mirror images) to unflinching, uncaring emptiness (Terian). Only Ryin spoke, though Samwen Longwell had a question of sorts on his face.

“Of course he didn’t,” Nyad said, turning to slap Ryin across the arm with a backhand, drawing an annoyed look from the druid as he rubbed his shoulder. She turned back to Cyrus, and her expression changed to perplexed. “Wait, did you?”

“He didn’t,” Curatio said, studying Cyrus. “This is not the sort of thing our gGeneral would have hidden from us.”

“I’d like to hear him say it,” Ryin spoke up again, still massaging the place where Nyad had struck him. He looked at the faces around him, Curatio, J’anda and Nyad in particular, showing some irritation with him. “It’s not as though it’s the first time he’s played games with the truth to get something he wanted. I just want to hear him say he didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know,” Cyrus said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “But now we have consequences to deal with.”

“Actaluere’s declaration of war isn’t as problematic as one might think,” Longwell said, drawing the officers’ attention to him. “They’ll have received a summons to Enrant Monge as well, and they’ll be obligated to attend. We’ll have a chance to smooth this over with Milos Tiernan himself.”

“What if our esteemed General doesn’t want to smooth it over?” Ryin asked. “I mean, we are talking about handing over his lover-”

“She’s my nothing,” Cyrus said, drawing a gasp from Nyad. “She is nothing to me, now.” He didn’t wait for the officers to react before plunging ahead. “She is, however, under the protection of Sanctuary, granted asylum because of the barbaric treatment of women in this land.”

“Asylum she gained from you under false pretense,” Ryin said. “She didn’t mention she was the sister of the monarch, did she? That seems like material information that could have influenced our decision to allow her to come along.”

“It wasn’t ‘our’ decision,” Cyrus said dully. “It was mine.”

“Great,” Ryin said sarcastically. “Because your stubborn decisions never lead us into war.”

“Calm yourself,” Curatio said to Ryin. “We do have a reputation to consider. Once we grant someone protection, do we lift it and throw her back to the same brother who willingly wedded her to that monster the moment it becomes inconvenient? That doesn’t seem to be the Sanctuary way.”

“And starting another war for Galbadien to contend with?” Ryin Ayend looked around the other officers. “Is that the Sanctuary way?”

“It is if we start and finish the war for them,” Terian growled. “I’m no fan of the Baroness, but I could stand to have another few battles before we head home.” He smiled coldly. “After all, we have troops that need seasoning. It’d be a shame if they marched all the way out here to take part in only one good fight before we turn around and go back to Sanctuary.”

“Cyrus?” J’anda’s cool voice seemed to demand a level of quiet from the others in the room. “What do you intend to do?”

“We go to Enrant Monge,” Cyrus said. “We’ll travel along with the Galbadien court, and I’ll speak with Milos Tiernan, outline our position, and we’ll see where we go from there. Maybe there’ll be a war with them …” He let his voice trail off before it returned, only slightly above a whisper, “… and maybe there won’t.”

“What position will you be outlining to him?” J’anda asked, looking around at the other officers.

Cyrus did not move, did not blink, and gave no hint of any emotion when he answered. “I don’t know yet. But I’ve got a little less than a month to figure it out.”