The Vampire & Her Witch

”Father,” Liam said awkwardly with a pained expression on his face. ”I have a letter for you. I can discuss it with you and Mother, and then we can decide who else...”

”Liam, I’m disappointed,” Loghlan interrupted. ”I’ve taught you better than this,” he said, scowling at his son. ”Unless we are compelled to do so, we don’t keep secrets from the people who rule in our place. Remind me why that is, Liam.”

”I know what you’re saying, Father,” Liam said, clenching his fists under the table. Any other time, he would even agree with his father. ”A man who swims in secrets must struggle alone, and alone a man cannot rule wisely,” Liam quoted. ”But this is different, Father. Her Dominion is extending considerable trust to us for me to come here tonight and...”

”If she trusts us, Liam,” Mairwen said gently, placing a hand on her husband’s forearm to hold him back before this turned into a large argument between father and son, in front of half their knights and their children. ”Then she can trust our judgment about who we keep our council with.”

”You’ve seen the viper’s nest that places like Keating turn into, where each lord and their heirs keep secrets from each other,” Mairwen reminded him. ”Perhaps it’s the same in Blackwell, and Lady Blackwell expects us to act the same, but we have enough struggles to face without keeping secrets from each other.”

”Mother, I understand,” Liam said as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair under her reproachful gaze. ”But you don’t know what you’re asking. Sir Ollie,” Liam said, turning to the flame-haired knight for help. ”I understand her Dominion’s intentions, but do you think she would understand if we shared the letter with as much of the Court as have gathered here?”

For a moment, Ollie sat there, his brows furrowed in thought while his fingers drummed on the table. He didn’t want to make this decision. Or, more accurately, he didn’t want to make the wrong decision here. More than anything, he wanted to ask for advice from Sir Thane or, better yet, Sir Marcel, who knew more about handling secrets than anyone else he knew.

”I think we should let the little ones go to bed,” Ollie said, mostly to buy himself time. ”I can explain a little bit more then, but... I think a little fresh air would help everyone,” he said, glancing at the worn-looking baron and at the anxious figure of Sir Padraig, who likely wouldn’t rest well until he received news of his sister in Hanrahan.

The air in the tent had grown stuffy with the increasing tension in the room, blending with the scent of roasted duck and strong wine, and Ollie’s suggestion was quickly embraced by Lady Seren, who took the opportunity to pull her husband, Padraig, aside, whispering reassurances in his ear as they collected their children to bring them away.

”Cadeyrn, you stay,” Sir Brennus said as the oldest of the squires prepared to escort his younger siblings back to their family’s tent on the opposite side of the sprawling camp. ”It won’t be long before you stand your vigil, Son, and you’ll need to learn to bear the weight of your oaths soon enough. You may not speak unless asked, but you should listen and learn what it means to have courage in the face of something that cannot be defeated with sword and shield.”

”Yes, Father,” the young squire said, though when he looked at the solemn expression on Lord Liam’s face, his enthusiasm at receiving permission to stay for the serious discussion ahead faded a bit.

”Sir Ollie, a word?” Liam asked, standing from his seat and nodding in the direction of the exit.

”Sure,” Ollie said, grateful that he had an excuse to step away from the tension that had accumulated in the tent, even if it was just for a few minutes while servants entered to clear away the dishes and to refresh everyone’s wine.

”Just one moment,” Ollie added as he stopped one of the servants who was clearing dishes, briefly asking for someone to fetch his saddlebags from wherever their horses had been taken. ”You can just set them in a corner over there,” Ollie said, pointing to the far corner of the tent.

”I have a few gifts from Lady Ashlynn to present to Lord Loghlan, so please be gentle with it,” he added, pressing a large silver coin into the man’s palm and clapping him firmly on the shoulder before he joined Liam outside the tent.

The sun had slipped behind the western mountains, and the sky was growing darker outside the stuffy tent. The crisp, cool winter air was a welcome relief, and Ollie instantly felt his thoughts starting to clear as soon as he’d taken a few steps toward the swiftly flowing River Luath.

”Lady Nyrielle should be waking soon,” Ollie said quietly as he approached the riverbank. ”And Lady Ashlynn with her. We’re going to need an answer soon, one way or another,” he said as he knelt at the riverbank, reaching out to wash his hands in the crisp, cool water.

”And you’ll be able to get word to her Dominion, all the way from here?” Liam asked as he knelt in the soft, sandy soil of the riverbank to join Ollie in washing his hands, followed by splashing his face with cold water and scrubbing fiercely. ”Will she be able to tell you what she’s decided to do?”

”We have our own ways to communicate,” Ollie said, glancing around until he spotted a small stand of trees that lined one of the streams that fed the mighty river. ”I’m not very good at it, but I can whisper a brief message to the trees, and they’ll carry it to her. Just a few words, but it should be enough for her to make whatever decision she needs to. She can do the same,” Ollie said with a slight smile. ”But she’s better at it than I am.”

”What do you think she’s going to do?” Liam asked. ”I know she didn’t have time to form a plan before she sent us to talk to my parents, but... You know her better than I do. How is she going to respond to Owain’s ’Grand Ceremony’?”

”She’s going to kill Owain Lothian before he takes the throne,” Ollie said, shaking water off his hands as he stood to stare across the river. He couldn’t see them, but he knew that Milo wasn’t far from here, along with Harrod and the other scouts they’d brought with them. The men were waiting and watching the camp for a signal from Ollie that the Dunns had rejected Lady Ashlynn’s offer.

Ollie hoped he wouldn’t have to give that signal because it would mean he’d failed in one of the first missions that Lady Ashlynn had given him. While this was ultimately a test for Liam Dunn and his family, it was also a test for Ollie, and Ashlynn was counting on him to act as Liam’s backup as well as her contingency plan in case the worst happened.

He didn’t want to go back to her with a failure, not while she was doing everything she could to protect her sister before Owain could bring Jocelynn to any more harm than he already had. Ashlynn needed a victory to pave her way to killing Owain and rescuing Jocelynn from him... and Ollie intended to give it to her, even if he had to take some risks to do it.

”Let’s go back inside,” Ollie said, drying his hands on his sleeves as he turned back towards the large tent. ”And hope that everyone makes the right decision...”