Knight of Thieves

Chapter 19

“Alright,” said the king, “since we are all here, let us begin.” King George was seated at the head of a long, rectangular table. The queen, Queen Reyna, sat to his left. The king surveyed the room and the many knights in attendance. Hopefully, someone in this room would be able to fix the situation before them. “Sir Wylan, if you would.” The man rose to his feet and explained the night the Cyrans infiltrated the castle and attacked Emberly and James.

“I still think this is a bad plan, Dern. You said it yourself. We should be training,” James Heczah whispered in her ear. They were currently crouched down on a small balcony which overlooked the war room, a place Emberly, Kyra, and Arran had stumbled upon the previous year.

Arran, who was perched on the other side of her, spoke, “You saw how agitated Sir Wylan was. I’m with Emberly. I want to know.” James huffed.

“Besides, Will needs us here for moral support.” They glanced down through the holes in the wooden railing. Will looked a little green seated to his father’s right. Will told them he had never been to a war meeting before. After the Cyrans entered the castle a second time, Will was asked to attend as well.

“—Dern sent the stable boy to warn the castle guards, who were able to arrive a few minutes later,” summarized Sir Wylan. “Dern and Heczah were able to contain the Cyrans to the stables. Even managed to win in a fight against them.” Sir Wylan, despite his words, did not sound terribly impressed.

“Thank you, Sir Wylan,” said the king. Sir Wylan took his seat, turning his attention to the king.

“This is the second attack on the castle in as many months and I want to know why.” There was a hardness to the king’s tone. He was outraged and rightly so. “How are the Cyrans getting across the border?”

Silence filled the room. To the knight’s credit, they all looked ashamed of themselves and their failings. After all, the last time the Cyrans infiltrated, the king and his family were sequestered to a safe room for four hours while the guards checked and double checked the castle for Cyrans. When the king was finally released, as Will told them, he was irate. The castle was clearly unprotected.

And if the castle was unprotected, then Etrusca itself was weak.

Will slowly stood up. All eyes turned to him. “The tunnels in and out of the castle are not guarded,” he said.

“You are mistaken, Prince William,” refuted one man. His hair was greying prematurely and his bushy beard covered his facial features. Emberly did not recognize the man. “We have patrols assigned there daily.”

“Then you are mistaken, myself and seven second-year squires spent six hours down there yesterday. We did not see a single guard.” Silence fell in the room once more. Will stayed standing, pausing long enough for the gentlemen around him to speak if they wished. When no one spoke, he continued. “But this is only a small part of the problem. Cyrans are crossing the border. And, as we have yet to see an army, I think they are crossing at Northem, the northernmost border with Cyra.”

Arran and James glanced at Emberly, who bit her lip. It was true Northem bordered Cyra. In fact, they rarely had knights there because of the rarity of attacks. It was nearly impossible to drive an army through the forest, especially when they were unfamiliar with the terrain. However, if it was a small party of Cyrans, they could, theoretically, find their way across the border. From there, they could pass as regular travelers—

Emberly’s eyes widened and buried her head in her hands. Over the summer, she helped a traveler lost in the Northem woods. They were headed for Cyrans. Did she do this? Did she lead them there?

“What do you make of this, Sir Leon?” asked the king as Will reclaimed his seat.

“Clearly the squires have too much time on their hands,” teased the man sitting at the far end of the table. His smile eased off and disappeared into seriousness. “It is true Northem is rarely guarded. Earl Dern protects the land himself. But he has been away for months. It is conceivable they could have crossed there.”

Father’s been away for months?

“Look into it,” ordered the king. “Ensure the border is fortified.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your Majesty,” said Sir Wylan, “do not forget the issue before us. The Cyrans, if they were crossing at Northem, managed to make it all the way here, to Central.”

The king hesitated briefly. “Were you able to glean any information from the Cyrans?” Wylan shook his head.

“They died shortly after I arrived. Their wounds were…extensive.” The king sighed.

“Then we must proceed with caution. The information does not leave this room.” The severity and seriousness of what the king would say next weighed down on each of them. “After the first attack, we interrogated the man who informed us of the Cyrans. We have reason to believe there is a traitor among us. We are dealing with this situation carefully. Everyone must keep their eyes out. The traitor must be found. For all our sakes.”

The king glanced at his son before looking back at the table. It was so quick, the men did not register it, but Emberly did. The king was not worried for himself. He was worried for his son.

“A traitor,” repeated Arran, his voice quiet and disbelieving. “Who would betray Etrusca?” James shrugged, Emberly said nothing. He studied her briefly. “Kyler?”

“I knew already,” she whispered. “Benedick told me weeks ago. He thinks the King of Thieves is working against Etrusca and selling weapons to the Cyrans.”

“We have to stop him,” James said, a determined tone in his words.

“We have no real proof it's him,” said Emberly. “Besides, the king did the interrogation himself and found nothing. We have to be smart about this.” Besides, he has no control of the patrol in the tunnels.

She looked back at the rectangular table. The knights moved on to discussing the possible fortifications they could make in the castle. James looked up at the balcony. He had a worried look in his eyes as his gaze met Emberly’s. They could have crossed at Northem. This could have been all of her fault.

“C’mon,” said Emberly to James and Arran, his voice quiet, “let’s go.” They crept down the back staircase, away from the war room. Each step Emberly took felt like a weight on her heart.