“Exactly!” Nevis agreed and downed his drink.
Leo smiled. Of course they both believed that. They both had the same square-shaped bodies. Brody, on the other hand, was tall and slim. His pale face contrasted sharply with his long black hair. He had the same blue eyes he had in dog form, but the black patch of fur around his left eye was now a dark freckle on the outside corner of his eye.
Nevis handed Leo a cup of wine. “So what news did the envoy bring? Are you in trouble?”
“A little.” Leo took a sip. “I’m not the only one who’s taking my time. The duke and his daughter haven’t arrived yet, either.”
“Maybe she ran away like the last lady you were supposed to marry.” When his father cleared his throat, Nevis added, “No offense.”
“I doubt the Duke of Vindalyn would run away, not when it would mean losing all his land and wealth.” Leo sat behind his desk. “We have new orders. Now we’re to go to Vindalyn and escort the duke and his daughter to court.”
General Harden drank some wine. “We can break camp at dawn. Or later, if the storm hasn’t passed.”
All three men gave Leo a worried look.
“I went through the storm on the way here,” Brody said quietly. “There was lightning.”
Leo nodded. “I’ll get away from camp before it starts. We don’t want any of the tents catching fire.” His jaw tightened as the three men continued to watch him with wary expressions. “I’ll be fine. What news do you have, Brody?”
Brody gulped some wine, then began, “I heard the king talking to his chief counsel. The duke and his daughter actually began the journey to Ebton. But when they arrived in Ronsmouth, there was an outbreak of plague.”
“Plague?” General Harden asked.
Leo winced, then motioned for Brody to continue.
“That’s when the news gets sketchy. There are rumors that the duke and daughter died. Other rumors that they boarded a ship. No one seems to know what happened.”
Leo narrowed his eyes, considering. “So the king suspects they’re alive and have sailed back to Vindalyn.”
“Any news about the plague?” General Harden asked.
Brody shook his head. “None at all.”
“That’s strange,” Nevis muttered.
Strange, indeed, Leo thought. Ronsmouth, at the mouth of the Ron River, was the busiest port in all of Eberon. If a plague had occurred there, it would have spread. “Brody, go to Ronsmouth to investigate. You can travel with us part of the way since we’ll be headed south.”
“Aye, my lord.” Brody bit into a chunk of cheese.
Nevis smirked. “Don’t bring back any fleas.”
Brody continued to eat, but responded with a rude gesture.
“You suspect something?” the general asked.
Leo drummed his fingers on the desk. “We know why Uncle Fred wants me to marry the heiress of Vindalyn. He’s wanted that land for years, and once the girl marries me and her father passes away, it becomes mine. Then the king only has to wait for me to die for it to become his. But what if he’s decided he doesn’t want to wait?”
Nevis nodded. “If he kills the duke and daughter, then the land automatically becomes his.”
Leo leaned back in his chair. “What if the king never planned for the wedding to actually happen? It could be a ruse to force the duke and his daughter out of Vindalyn.”
“I see what you mean.” The general rubbed his beard. “The fortress at Vindemar is rumored to be impregnable. The easiest way for the king to attack the duke and his daughter is to lure them out.”
“Then kill them on the way to court,” Nevis added.
Leo nodded. “They could be in grave danger.”
Brody set the empty plate on the desk. “Hardly anyone at court has ever seen the daughter, but according to the gossip I heard, she is truly beautiful.”
Leo stilled for a moment, then realized the three men were eyeing him with speculation. He finished his wine and set the cup down with a clunk. “We march toward Vindalyn at dawn, and Brody—”
A bell clanged outside, and he jumped to his feet.
“The beacon alarm.” Nevis rushed toward the tent entrance just as a soldier arrived.
“Report,” Leo ordered.
“The beacon to the north has been lit,” the soldier said. “Three puffs of smoke.”
That meant the original beacon was three towers to the north. The border with Norveshka. Leo fisted his hands.
“What color was the smoke?” the general asked.
The soldier winced. “Red.”
Leo sucked in a breath. The Norveshki warriors were using their worst weapon. “Nevis, gather your best men. We ride north. Now.”
Nevis dashed from the tent.
“What about Vindalyn?” General Harden asked.
“You will go.” Leo buckled on his sword belt. “Take the army. We’ll catch up with you after we’re done.”
“I’ll ready your horse.” Brody dashed from the tent.
Leo slung a full quiver of arrows onto his back and grabbed his bow.
“Good luck, son,” General Harden said.
He would need it. The Norveshki had some terrible creatures at their command. Leo strode from the tent.
Nevis and his troop were readying their horses. Brody led Leo’s black horse to him. Fearless, Leo called him, for he was the only horse who didn’t balk at Leo’s power. Even so, he had to be covered from head to tail with black quilted material to keep from being fried.