The King with Six Friends

Death of the King

"Take Ingrid with you," Björn snarled, "I could care less what you do with her. I don't want her here."

Moments later, with horse reins in hand, the huge wooden doors of Castle Brackhill swung close with a banging finality. The blizzard had finished its tantrum through the valley, leaving behind a dense swath of ice over the ground and rocks. Icy sunlight flashed between the overcast sky and the horizon in patches.

Kiera rode with Zar behind her and Kindle rode with Eryx. Edge held Ingrid steady on his horse. Even though she was still unresponsive, he tied her hands to the saddle horn- just in case.

It wasn't the same frantic procession that had raced so eagerly to the northern mountains. They rode back to the coast at a slow, limping pace. The longer they traveled, the warmer and friendlier the breeze grew. Tundra turned to prairie, which turned to meadows, and then eventually turned to woods.

Sometime while they were venturing the forest, Ingrid roused, muttering unintelligibly.

"Erik. . . Astryn, run. Astryn, he's coming." Ingrid grumbled. She jolted upright so suddenly that she nearly hit Edge in the face with the back of her skull. The horse jumped and whinnied nervously at the unexpected arousal.

Edge struggled to console the animal. "Easy, easy!"

"Is Erik dead?" Ingrid demanded, "Tell me he's dead." Her left eye was bloodshot and a dark yellow bruise had formed around her temple.

Edge yanked the reins to control the horse. "Zar let him go. He's not dead."

"He- he let him go?" Ingrid said in disbelief. In a single swift movement, she cut the ropes on her wrists with a hidden knife, snatched the reins from Edge, and galloped to confront Zar at the head of the pack. Edge had to death-grip the back of the saddle just to stay on the horse.

"You let Erik go free?" Ingrid growled at Zar.

"I did," said Zar, "But I would have strangled him if I'd known better."

"So why didn't you?" Ingrid pulled the horse in front of him to a stop.

Zar gritted his teeth. "I would have been no better than him."

Ingrid's face contorted into fury. "So, your damn honor and pride got in the way, and now everyone you care about is going to die."

"Watch it!" Edge snapped a warning behind her.

"You thought he was just going to disappear and leave you alone?" Ingrid continued, ignoring Edge. "Erik has connections and agents everywhere in the South Kingdom. One word and someone gets a knife in the back."

Zar was taken aback. "What are you saying? Who's in danger?"

"King Invictus," said Ingrid. "There's a servant in the palace who was bribed years ago to await an execution order. If I were Erik, the king would make the best target. He's probably already been poisoned by now."

"We're almost to the South Kingdom," Kiera said to Zar. "If we hurry, we might make it before anything happens to him."

Zar narrowed his eyes at Ingrid. "How do I know if we can trust you?"

"I never wanted to work for Erik, but there's a debt my family must pay to him," she bitterly explained. "He's stationed soldiers in my village. Erik knows I've betrayed him, so my family will be the first to be killed when he gives the word. There's no advantage for me to lie to you."

Zar considered her warily. Ingrid had almost killed him, which meant there was no telling if she was being truthful. But she had helped them in the castle, so it was possible she could be a strong ally.