“Thank you,” the queen said. She glanced down at Avner. “The time has come for us to let Tavis go.”
The youth nodded and looked up to the scout. “I’m not a child anymore,” he said. “You should let me come with you.”
The scout shook his head. “I’ll be back soon enough.”
“That would be more likely with someone to watch your back,” the boy grumbled. “But if I’ve got to stay, I’ll try to avoid trouble. At least you won’t have to worry about that”
“I didn’t think I would.” Tavis ruffled the boy’s hair, then said, “Take care of the queen for me.”
Avner smiled weakly. “Don’t I always?”
“Always,” Brianna agreed. She gave the lamp to Avner, then waved him and her other two companions toward the door. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d like to have a few words with Tavis.”
As the trio disappeared into the folio room, Brianna wrapped her arms around Tavis’s waist. “Be careful.”
The scout did not meet her gaze. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll be back with help as soon as I can.”
Tavis tried to pull away, but Brianna would not release him. “That’s not the only reason I want you to come back alive.” She looked up at his chiseled face. “You know that.”
The firbolg closed his eyes and nodded. “I know,” he said. “But it’s the only reason that matters-at least until you decide about the alliance with Gilthwit.”
“Why?” Brianna demanded. “It doesn’t need to be that way. Even if I marry the prince-and that’s a big ‘if’-Arlien won’t stay long. He’ll be anxious to return to Gilthwit-”
“After you’ve produced an heir-and you’d still be his wife,” Tavis interrupted. “I’m a firbolg. I can’t be a party to such a deception. You’ve always known that about me.”
Brianna felt her mouth open, but she did not have words to push out of it. She felt wounded, as though Tavis had slipped a dagger into her heart, but that simply could not be. He was her firbolg bodyguard, sworn to defend and protect her. He could not hurt her, except by her own command-which, of course, was the situation now. Tavis could not live in deception, and by asking him to try she could only force him away. He could abandon their love, but he could not lie to save it.
“Damn it, you were raised by humans!” Brianna stepped back, but kept her hands on the scout’s waist. “Why can’t you lie?”
Tavis set the candle aside and took her hands in his. “Because I’m not human,” he said. “I’m firbolg.”
They were interrupted by a voice from the folio room. “Tavis, wait!” It was Arlien. “I hope you haven’t-oh, dear.”
Brianna looked toward the door and saw the prince’s form silhouetted against the lamp in Avner’s hand. She stepped away from Tavis and turned toward the wall, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“I’m s-sorry,” Arlien stammered. “I seem to have-ah-interrupted.”
“Not at all, Prince,” Tavis said. If the firbolg felt any resentment for the intrusion, Brianna did not hear it in his voice. “I was just leaving.”
“Then I’m glad I caught you,” Arlien replied, limping into the room. “I wanted to present you with a gift.”
Although Brianna could feel that her eyes were still swollen from crying, she turned to face the prince. There was no use pretending he had not seen Tavis holding her. Perhaps his father had even forced him to leave his own beloved in order to come and court her.
“You should be resting, Arlien,” the queen said. Noting that he was carrying his huge warhammer, she asked, “What’s that for? Surely you don’t intend to join Tavis?”
The prince shook his head. “I’m afraid I’d only slow the good scout down.” He held his warhammer out “But I want him to take this along. It’ll serve him well against the giants.”
Tavis clasped his hands on the prince’s, but did not take the weapon. “I truly appreciate your offer,” he said. “But with any luck, I’ll be avoiding our enemies, not fighting them. Besides, you’re likely to need that here, and I’d rather you have it at hand to defend Brianna.”
At first, Arlien seemed too stunned by the refusal to take the weapon back, but he recovered his wits an instant later and lowered the hammer. “As you wish,” he said, forcing a smile. “Rest assured that nothing shall happen to her while I am near.”
Tavis lowered his voice, then said, “And I’d also ask you to keep a close eye on Earl Cuthbert. That man is too frightened to be trustworthy.”
Brianna started to protest on the earl’s behalf, but discovered a lump in her throat too big to speak around.
Arlien nodded grimly. “The same thought had crossed my mind,” he said. “Don’t worry about him.”
“Good.”
“And Tavis,” the prince added. “Don’t worry about me. There’s no sense discussing alliances until we know whether Brianna and I come out of this alive.”
“Thank you, Prince. That’ll make it easier for me to concentrate on the task at hand. But I’m sure we’ll do what’s best for our kingdoms in the end.” Tavis inclined his head to Arlien, then turned and bowed to Brianna. “With your permission, Majesty.”
“No, not yet!” Brianna threw her arms around the firbolg’s neck and kissed him on the mouth, long and hard.
Prince Arlien politely turned away, fixing his gaze on the map that Earl Cuthbert had left lying on the desk in the corner.
4
Tavis sat against the tunnel door, whetting his sword and listening to the heavy steps outside. Every muffled boom caused the candle to hiss and sputter ominously, but the scout did not bother to rise and see how much stub remained. He had perched the taper on the edge of the door’s counterweight, and the long curtain of wax running down the side told him all he needed to know.
The giants had been out there all night, building war machines or dancing or rutting or whatever. It made little difference to the scout. He did not dare open the door while they were so close. The instant he pulled the counterweight down, the rusty chains would squeal like a raging boar. All he could do was wait-wait and hope the brutes would move off before sunrise.
Dawn could not be far away, for the journey through the secret tunnel had been long and difficult. The passage was so low and cramped that the firbolg had been forced to creep through it nearly doubled over, at times twisting sideways so he could squeeze his broad shoulders through. To make matters worse, a steady trickle of water had seeped down from the lake above, submerging much of the floor beneath an icy black puddle. Nevertheless, the scout had ignored his cold-numbed feet and pressed on steadily over the slick footing, only to hear the giants outside when he finally reached the door. With three-quarters of his candle remaining, he had taken out his whetstone and sat down to hone his weapons.
Now, his dagger and his arrow tips were all freshly sharpened, he was putting the finishing touches on his sword, and the stomping outside continued unabated. From the way his candle spat and hissed, the wick was all but gone and the flame was sinking into the wax. Tavis tried not to think about how long it took a candle to burn and concentrated on whetting his sword.
The blade was already as sharp as an owl’s talon, but the scout found himself scraping the stone along as though honing an unedged sword-and not because he was upset about his foes outside. Tavis knew from long experience it was best to remain patient and calm around giants, and he always did. But he had an aching knot where his heart should have been, and that kind of distress could have only one cause: the queen.
The whetstone shot from beneath his thumb. The scout’s hand slid across his sword’s sharp edge, opening a deep cut across his palm. Tavis cursed and opened his satchel to retrieve a bandage, grumbling at Brianna for causing him to be so inattentive. Though the firbolg had been raised among humans, he still could not comprehend the way their convoluted minds worked.
Brianna loved Tavis. That was what she claimed, and most of the time she acted like it. Yet she refused to wed him, claiming their union would weaken the kingdom. Then, in the next breath, she expressed her willingness to carry on secretly as though they were husband and wife! The firbolg, of course, had no choice but to refuse. It would be impossible for him to keep such a secret. Besides, if the earls objected to their marriage, he could only imagine how they would react to such a deception. The queen claimed the nobles would accept the arrangement, but the scout could not believe that. Even if he could live a lie, he failed to see how Hartsvale would benefit by asking everyone in the country to do the same.