Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (57 page)

His eyes narrowed, and his arm didn't waver. Wind howled and a log popped on their fire. "Why did you help us?" This time, his voice was so quiet, I could barely hear it over the wind.

It was the question he didn't ask—his real wonder: Why had I helped
him
? If I hadn't saved him, it would have ended our quarrel then and there. But I had. For some reason, I hadn't been able to stand there and let that demon kill Danton. I stared straight into his eyes. "I don't know."

Danton stared straight back. He could end it in one stroke. He could pluck me from this world like a weed, and then he would never have to deal with me again. I could almost see his thoughts, his emotions. The hate and the fury. The
want
to be rid of me once and for all. He knew I saw it, too, but he struggled with the fact that when given the choice, I'd spared him. And his pride wouldn't let him give in since I had not killed him. It was always about his pride, but in this case, his pride might save me. I saw his decision a split second before his sword wavered, and a click sounded behind me.

"Don't even think about it, Point of Fact."

I glanced over my shoulder. Thaddeus stood there, holding a crossbow with a bolt aimed straight at Danton. Vera stood beside him, as well as a small handful of Nords.

"Drop it," Thaddeus continued. "Or I've got about a thousand Nords who'd be more than happy to add some blemishes to that pretty skin of yours. And that really is in point of fact."

Danton clenched and unclenched his jaw, and then he lowered his sword. Eager Nords jumped in to bind Danton's wrists behind his back, and then they bound Carter and his men. We didn't have magic-binding cuffs, but we wouldn't need them. Danton was the strongest magically, but holding off the demon had exhausted his strength. Even if Danton somehow managed to evade a thousand Nords—which I doubted—he wouldn't make it very far in this weather.

"Ah, lookie what we have here!" Thaddeus preened, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. "
Two
Point of Facts." He stopped before Carter. "Actually, I take that back. Considering your pops doesn't much like to acknowledge you, I guess that'd make you Point of Fiction."

Carter glowered at Thaddeus as Thaddeus ambled back to me.

"What about the bodies?" Vera toed one of the dead guards with her boot.

"Leave them," I said, and then I looked over at Carter. I wanted to say something to him about his losses, but now was definitely not the time.

I kicked snow on the fire. It hissed its dying laments as its spirit curled in smoke and dissipated into the night.

"Thought I told you two to stay put," I said to Thaddeus while we walked back to our camp.

"And I listened until you walked out of sight," he said. "Honest. But then V said she thought you were gone too long, and I agreed, and then we heard those god-awful screams, so we came running. You know how I hate being left out of a good fight."

"Which is why you're usually the one who starts them. Just to make sure you're not left out," I said.

"I'm so glad you finally understand." Thaddeus smacked me on the back.

I grinned and shook my head.

"What was all that screaming, by the way?" Vera asked.

I told Thaddeus and Vera what'd happened, how they'd accidentally lured the
vidak,
how the
vidak
had possessed one of Carter's men and attacked Danton, and what I'd done.

Thaddeus shuddered. "Bloody idiots," he said. "They're lucky you showed up, or that would've ended
so
much worse. But…I'm surprised you saved Point of Fact's hide."

"I am, too."

A pause. "So now, what?" Vera asked. "Are you planning on bringing them with us all the way to Rex Cross?"

"I'm not sure, yet. There are some things I want to talk to him about."

"Things, as in Rook?" Thaddeus offered.

"
And
I want to find out what he's doing out here."

"You know Point of Fact is nothing but trouble," he said.

"So are you, but things have worked out all right thus far."

Vera chuckled.

"Fair enough." I heard the smile in Thaddeus's voice. "But he'll need to be watched twenty-four seven. He
and
Point of Fiction."

"I know. I'll take first watch," I said.

Thaddeus eyed me. "Try not to kill him, okay?"

I gave him a tight smile. "You know I can make no such promises."

I helped the Nords get Danton, Carter, and Carter's men situated in the center of our camp. Danton and Carter each got their own special stake, while Carter's men shared two between them. After we'd secured everyone, I made my way back toward Danton. He sat hunched forward, head drooping with his arms tied behind him to the stake. None of the Nords encroached on the ring of snow around him. I stepped into this ring and stopped.

Danton tilted his head a fraction, but he didn't lift his face completely, nor his gaze.

We'd been friends, once. A long time ago, though it was hard remembering that when for so long the mere thought of him filled me with deep loathing. I'd lost respect for him with how he'd use his position to philander with women. That, I could never tolerate, and that was when our relationship began turning sour. That was when he had morphed into this cocky, sneering bastard. And when I found out King Darius intended him for Daria, the mere sight of him made me want to fight.

On Hell's Peak, I'd had my moment. It'd felt so good hitting him, albeit brief, but when I saw Meira's body, naked and mutilated and still clinging to
his
baby, the idea of simply hitting him wasn't enough anymore. I wanted him to suffer a slow and painful death. It surprised me, really—the fervor of my anger. Which was why I was still shocked I'd stepped in back there. All those years of animosity hadn't been able to keep my feet planted, and now seeing him, slumped in humility with his pride tied to that post, I almost felt a twinge of regret. Regret, because I had known Danton before he grew into this bloody coward who waved his title around to get what he wanted from beautiful and impressionable young women, like Meira had been.

I felt the urge to hit him again, and I flexed my hand at my side to keep myself from doing so.

"Do you need something, Del Conte, or have you just come to gloat?"

Danton lifted his head to look at me, his expression hard. I didn't know what infuriated him more: being tied to a post or being my prisoner. Danton watched as I took another step forward and sat down, legs folded before me.

I rested my elbows on my knees and threaded my hands together. "Actually, I was hoping we could talk."

"Go ahead, then. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

We stared at each other a long moment, and then Danton sighed, his head sagging again. "What do you want from me, Alexander?"

"I want to know what you're doing here."

"Does it matter?"

"I'm not sure yet."

A pause, and then he looked up at me from beneath his brow, his smile twisted. That was the Danton I'd come to know and hate. "I've always known how much you dreamed of having a title, but I'm surprised by what you're willing to do for it."

"Considering all you've done in the name of yours, I'd think you'd be a little more empathetic."

His expression turned granite. "Don't judge me for things you could never understand."

"Wrong is still wrong no matter what the circumstances. Even you must acknowledge that, my
equitable
lord."

Fury melted the ice in his eyes. The only thing keeping him from attacking me then was the fact that he was tied to that post.

"I didn't come here to argue with you, Danton," I said.

He snorted.

"I want to know why you're here," I said. "I know your father didn't send you. He'd never send you with so few, and you rarely put yourself in such a vulnerable position—let alone with your brother, who despises you."

"Perhaps you should tell me why I'm here then, since you seem to know so much."

I frowned and waited.

"Fine." His shoulders rose with a deep breath. "I'm looking…for her."

My eyes narrowed as my chest tightened. "For Daria?"

He glared up at me. "Who do you think?"

I studied him, suspicion tickling the corners of my mind. "Why?"

He sneered bitterly. "Isn't the answer to that a little obvious?"

"No."

"No? My prisoner escaped and I went after her. Isn't that what people usually do?"

"People, yes, but not
you
and certainly not in this weather. It'd be more like you to just send your men after her while finding some other poor damsel to bed."

I expected him to be furious, even though I'd spoken truth, but he just shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the pole. I'd never seen him look so weary. A long moment passed, and then he said quietly, "I let her escape."

Another pause. I leaned forward. "You…let her escape."

"Yes." A breath. "I crossed paths with her when she was riding away."

My blood burned. "How in Gaia's name could you let her go? You know Eris is hunting her down. And you know how dangerous it is out there. There are a lot worse creatures than that
vidak
. She doesn't know her way around this world, Danton, and you let her out in it alone!" I punched a hole in the snow.

Danton's lips pinched together. Some of the Nords nearby peered over.

I had to get a grip. I dragged my hands down my face and held my breath, one, two, three seconds. I fisted my hands in my lap, and my next exhale trembled. "And how in the seven territories did she manage to ride off, anyway? Your father's pined for her for you ever since he found out she existed. He'd never let her run away—especially not with the way things stand now."

Danton's eyelids opened a sliver. "He didn't. He had guards stationed all over the grounds. When my uncle arrived and informed my father of the situation at Castle Regius, my uncle placed magical barriers around her room
himself
so that she couldn't escape. But somehow your
helpless
princess managed to evade all of that, as well as a dozen of my father's personal guards, a handful of Morts, and my uncle, Tiernan. I intercepted her crossing Sunder Bridge."

All of that. Daria had gotten past all of that. "I never said she was helpless," I said.

"Didn't you now."

I didn't like the look on his face. "Did she find out what happened to Prince Stefan and King Darius?" I asked. "Is that why she ran away?"

Danton's thin lips pinched into a line and he swallowed. "Yes."

So she knew about Stefan and her grandfather. She carried her grief alone in this world. "And you just…
let
her go." I repeated.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He dropped his head as if it was suddenly too heavy to hold up. "Why, indeed."

I stared straight at him, and I knew. He cared about her. Danton, who didn't care about anyone but Danton, actually cared for Daria. I wasn't sure how I felt about this. Did she…had she cared for him back? Danton had his charms, and most women weren't immune to them. I remembered what Lord Cethin had shown me, but I forced down the thought as quickly as it'd come. I couldn’t—wouldn't—worry about that now. Her safety was too important.

"If you let her go, why are you going after her now?" I asked.

He waited another breath before answering. "Lord Cethin visited my father a few weeks ago. He reported that he, Myez Rader, and a handful of shadowguard had intercepted her in the wood, but that Myez had betrayed them and taken her away using Eris's amulet. Myez did not take her to King Eris, though. Lord Cethin wanted to know if I knew where she might've gone."

Myez Rader? How had he come into the fold? Knowing he was with Daria made my anxiety increase ten-fold. I also knew how…persuasive Lord Cethin could be. "What did you tell Lord Cethin?"

"Nothing specific, because I had nothing to tell, thank the spirits. Gaia knows he could've drawn it out of me."

"Daria never mentioned anything to you?" I asked. "Anything at all as to where she might go?"

He looked straight at me, his lips in a hard line. "To you."

And that was all Lord Cethin would've needed to know. That was why Lord Cethin had come to Astor. He'd been waiting for me because he thought Daria would be with me.

"She's not with me," I said. "I haven't seen her since she left me for you."

Danton searched my face. He looked worried.

"You're sure Myez didn't take her to Castle Regius?" I asked.

"Positive. Lord Cethin notified His Majesty of their disappearance, but last I heard, His Majesty hadn't seen them. After Lord Cethin left, I decided to go after her. I told my father I was going to search for her—"

"And then what?" I snapped. "Take her straight to Eris?"

"No, if she hadn't made it safely to you, then I…there's a place I know where she would be safe. I didn't…say this to my father, when I left. He assumed I'd be bringing her back."

"You're a bloody fool if you think she'd be safe anywhere on this cursed planet for very long. And what about you? Were you going to just stick your head in the sand until the war's over, and then pick the winning side?"

He glared at me. "Is that what you think I am doing?"

"It's not what I think, Danton. It's what you do. Every bloody time." I drew Nightshade from my waist and stabbed it into the snow so that it stood upright between us. Danton recognized Daria's dagger at once. I didn't know how I felt about that either.

"Where did you—?" he started.

"Lord Cethin had it on him," I said. "He was in Astor, waiting for me, I presume. Thanks to your
unspecific
information. I killed him with it. Or at least I think I did. He vanished into smoke, so I can't be sure."

Danton blinked at me in shock.

"Does your father still have the unity stone?" I asked.

He exhaled slowly. "He did when I left."

This both relieved and surprised me. "Why hasn't he handed it over?"

Danton didn't answer immediately. "I'm not sure. Daria said some things to him that…struck deep. Though I can't know if her…influence and persuasion is the sole reason he's held off."