Erika ordered her soldiers to withdraw. She’d rather be under siege than fight her brother. She had to believe Rory. What other explanation had she? If Barte son of Moshere had attacked the castle, he’d have brought an enormous army and would have broken into the keep in the dark of night. Casdamians were famous for their aggressive fronts.

Setting brush fires and ambushing men as they doused them seemed odd, and not in Casdamian’s character. She hadn’t known it to be Barin’s style either, though the strategy was clever. Skotádi had taken control of her brother’s mind. She needed Kairos. Or one of the lesser magicians, but most of them were wintering in Tellwater Valley.

The fires died down on their own, and no more violence occurred that morning. In the late afternoon, Erika went to visit her father in the keep and to relieve her sisters. They were reading to the king, and when Erika walked into the quiet stone sanctuary, she couldn’t tell who yawned the widest.

“Oh, good!” King Tobias greeted her with a smile.

Rhea stretched. “I’m hungry. I’ll have the cooks make something up for you, Father,” she said. Olinda closed her book.

“What are you reading?” Erika asked, wondering why all the sleepy eyes.

“Bronstein’s Theory and Strategy of World Power Domination,” Olinda answered, looking at the cover.

“I didn’t know you were interested in stratagem,” Erika commented.

“I’m not. I just pulled a book off the shelf in the library.”

“It’s dry,” the king commented, catching Rhea’s yawn.

“Well, I can sit with you for a bit, but I need to be back in the castle before dark.”

Olinda set the book down next to the king, but he waved at her. “Take it.”

“When I get back…”

“Take it. I’m not the least interested in world dominance, my dear daughter. Look at me. I can’t even dominate my own palace.”

Olinda curtsied, book in hand, and nodded for Rhea to follow her out the door. When they no longer heard their footsteps, the king fixed his eyes on Erika.

“Tell me what’s going on out there.”

“It’s a siege.” Erika answered. She didn’t have the heart to tell her father that his own son had attacked the castle. It didn’t matter whether the devil had the prince’s mind or not. The news would be heartbreaking. Father may still have his sense of humor, but his color had paled and there were circles around his eyes. Thinking his son had turned against him would kill the man.

“You have blood on your clothes.” King Tobias said. “Did you fight someone?”

“No, Father, I healed someone.”

He eyed her sleeve again. “Why aren’t you telling me everything?”

“Because I don’t understand it myself.”

“Well, good, then. Talk to me and I’ll help you sort through it. That’s what I’m here for. A guide, aren’t I? A king? A father?”

A father, yes, and just to hear him say that brought tears to her eyes. A father to her, and her sisters, and to Barin. How could she not tell him the truth? He needs to know.

“He’s in trouble Father,” Erika melted and fell on her knees at his bedside. “I didn’t want you to know. It breaks my heart.”

King Tobias combed her hair with his hand. His face sorrowful. “My son has come to kill me.”

“The devil has Barin’s mind, Father. He thinks Barte is in here, not you. He’s defending you, so he thinks.”

“Then someone has to tell him. Take me out there. Let him see me.”

“It’s not safe. They almost killed Rory.”

“If it’s a curse, where is my magician?”

“Rory says he’s with Barin.”

“Curses,” King Tobias sat up in his bed, his face flushed.

“Don’t, Father. I’m sure Kairos is only there because he’s under orders. He’s not against you. No one is.”

The anger had been too much for him. The king wheezed as he tried to take a breath. A coughing fit followed. “Erika, make this right before I die. I want to see my son.”

Erika bit her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I will, Father.”

Kairos did not doubt that Prince Barin was mistaken about a Casdamian invasion. If the foreign king had been here, the grounds would crawl with soldiers.

The wizard kept to the shadows, avoiding attention. Barin’s men were spouting off in fits of rage, cursing Casdamia and making threats that seemed vicious. Barin encouraged it. He laughed with them, raised his fist in anger with them. His eyes had grown wild ever since he ordered the men to shoot at Rory. Kairos feared them all, for the king’s sake and for his own life. He avoided Barin for fear the prince might ask him to use his magic, and he worried about Rory. He’d seen the young man hit—a trail of blood spewed after the soldier all the way to the eastern gate. The young man was a gentle sort, he didn’t deserve to die, not by the prince he loved. Injustice turned his stomach.

When twilight faded into night, and Barin and his men sat by their fires, Kairos lingered in the shadows, chewing on a blade of grass, listening to Barin’s conversation with his new officers, Fergus, George, and Daniel.

“When Neal gets here, that’s when we storm the gates. Barte is a coward, so I’m assuming he’ll be hiding in the keep. I’ll bring three men with me, and we’ll take the tunnel. Fergus, you lead your men into the main gate. Let Neal think he’s leading the charge, but I want you to climb the stairs to the towers. George, you find my sisters and get them into the woods. I don’t want any of them to be in harm’s way. That includes Erika if she’s still alive. Erika! The fool woman will get herself killed if we don’t look out for her.”

“You think she still lives, then?” Daniel asked.

Barin fixed his gaze on the fire and his hand slipped into his pocket. He didn’t answer the man but continued relaying his plan. “Daniel, you’ll come with me to the eastern gate. They took the traitor into the ingress, so we know there are soldiers guarding the great hall. They know we’re here now, so we must be sly. The rest of our men will kill as many guards as they can and imprison the others.”

“What about the servants, Vasil?”

“Shut them in the cellar until the fighting is over. If there are spies among them, we’ll deal with them later.”

The trees behind Barin rustled. Not enough to garner Barin’s attention. He kept his focus on the fire, but Kairos could see the disturbance and something of a form. It wasn’t a man. Men don’t climb olive trees, their branches are too weak, too flimsy, but what moved was too large and bulky to be a bird. Kairos watched with a keen eye.

“There’s a chance that Barte’s men are wearing our uniforms—an old war trick. Barte is witty. He’ll want us to think it’s our people in the castle to lure us in. Don’t believe it for a minute. It’s a trap and they will slaughter you. Barte son of Moshere would love to wipe out the blood of Potamian kings, and I, being the last of the heirs, would be his grand finale.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t go in,” Daniel suggested. “Maybe that’s too risky.”

“Let us protect you,” Fergus offered.

Barin shook his head. “My sword screams for Barte’s blood. I will be his end.”

Barin put another log on the fire. Flames shot up and then Kairos saw the face in the trees. It wasn’t a face of a man. If he guessed right, a skura spy lurked in the brush.

The wizard bowed back into the bushes as quietly as he could, hoping the snapping of the fire would keep Barin from hearing him. Apparently, it did, because no one pursued him.

He would have ridden a horse to the castle, but that would be too risky. Better to walk. If he crossed the field before the moon rose, he’d be safe. He’d stay in the shadows. He had a dark enough robe, save for the gold threads, so he took it off and put it on inside out. Kairos walked to the north gate garden and approached the castle from the orchard where he’d be out of sight of Barin’s soldiers. The servants kept the northern ingress bolted. No one frequented that entry into the castle, but he had a chance of climbing up to Rhea’s window without making a disturbance.

The castle walls were built from cut stone, large and jagged with corners that jutted outward and could be used as steppingstones. A man with climbing skills could find his way to the window on the second story with no difficulty. Kairos did not have climbing skills, but he had agility, having performed various physical maneuvers to retrieve herbs and minerals for his potions—or bats from hoardings. So, using the stone wall to procure entry into Rhea’s rooms wouldn’t be too difficult, he presumed. Aside from wanting to warn the king, he had a strong desire to see his sweetheart again. He also wanted to be rid of Barin’s insanities.

His cloak almost became the death of him as he tripped on it twice climbing the wall. He grabbed onto the rock above him, and kicked the hem from under his feet, muttering a profanity. He bit his tongue, for he spat the words a bit too loud.

Sure enough, Rhea’s shutters flew open, and then he heard a gasp.

“Kairos!” she whispered. “What are you doing?”

“I’m climbing this wall trying to get to you,” Kairos answered. “Are you going to help me or just shout at me until Barin’s soldiers shoot me down like a trapped turkey?”

She surveyed the steep castle wall and then stepped back inside. She peeked out again, this time with Olinda by her side. Olinda laughed.

There were no more jagged corners to use as steps, and so Kairos could climb no higher.

“Jump,” Olinda told him.

“No!” Rhea argued. “We can send him a rope.”

“Do you have a rope?” Kairos asked.

Again, Rhea disappeared back into the room. When she re-appeared dangling a curtain line, he sighed. “Open the door for me.”

And then he jumped.

He scrambled to his feet as the door beneath Rhea’s room opened. She reached out and pulled him inside. He would have told her what he’d been through, he would have poured out his fears and misgivings, but she kissed him. He forgot all of that. His lover had him in her arms. Kairos shut the door with his foot and drew her close, pressing his lips against hers.

“You two, get up here,” Olinda ordered in a hushed voice. “Erika is going to want to hear everything you have to tell her, Kairos!”

“Come,” she whispered and grabbed Kairos’ hand. She didn’t have to pull him—he went voluntarily to her chambers. The fragrance of lavender teased his senses once they’d topped the stairs and entered her room. With Olinda gone, Kairos no longer had reason to restrain himself. They sat at the end of her bed, her soft hands stroking his face where a beard should be. He held her hands and kissed her fingers, her soft arms. She giggled, and it made him laugh.

“I thought I had lost you forever,” she said, stroking his cheek again. Such a soft touch. He fingered her blond curls, wondering why he had left, and then remembered the king had ordered him to go.

“What’s happening outside?” she asked.

“That’s Barin out there, you know.”

“Erika told us.”

“How did Erika know?”

“Rory. Poor fellow. Erika removed the arrow. But he’s in a bad way. I nearly retched to see him. I hope he survives.”

Kairos frowned. “It’s a shame they injured him. He never should have been punished as a deserter either or locked in prison. Why was he the only one who got in trouble over that escapade? I was there too, and no one accused me of desertion.”

“Neither the king nor Barin would lift a finger against you, Kairos. You’re the king’s magician!”

“How is the lad? Is Rory recovering?”

“I do not know. Erika said if we see you, we’re to tell her. She’s taken charge of the men-at-arms. Father is in the keep and he’s not doing well.”

“Who’s with him?”

“Sylvia. Erika is too frantic to be of help to him. She roams the castle like a cheetah ready to pounce.”

“The woman is fire.”

“She needs you, Kairos. We all do.”

He kissed Rhea again, loving those words coming from her.

Erika burst into the room. “Kairos!” Her voice so startling, Kairos jumped off the bed.

“Tell me what you know.”

“Fairest,” Kairos said with a cordial bow.

“What is going on with Barin? Has he gone mad?”

“No, Erika, he’s not mad, he’s misinformed.”

“Misinformed?”

“He believes what the devil is telling him. Everything he’s doing would make perfect sense if indeed Barte had conquered the castle. Barin’s method is curiously clever.”

“Reverse the spell,” Erika commanded.

Kairos shook his head. “If I could keep Barin from hearing the lies he’s being told, I would have done it already.”

Rhea sulked, her stare burning a hole in his heart. “You’re our only hope, Kairos.”

“I’m sorry.” He took Rhea’s hand with both of his. “I’m sorry. I hate seeing our prince like this as much as you do. But to undo a curse by a Vouchsaver is against convention. It cannot be done. Or undone, I mean. Especially if the Vouchsaver is a demon. Certainly not if he were the Devil himself. It’s not in the books.”

Erika threw her hands up in the air and paced. She had boots on, tall shiny boots that drummed on the wooden floor in a nervous beat, the sound unsettling. Rhea walked to the window. “What’s going to happen?”

“That I can help you with.” He turned to Erika. “Barin is waiting for Neal and his men to show up. They’ll be here before morning. Then, with Neal’s help, he plans on storming the castle.”

“That’s absurd. Won’t he just see that it’s us? There doesn’t need to be any bloodshed,” Rhea said.

Kairos held up a finger. “It would appear so. However, before I left, I heard him warning his officers that Barte will disguise his men as Potamian soldiers. He has given the order to kill on sight.”

“That’s ludicrous!” Erika blurted. “He’ll kill us all!”

“No. He won’t.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Rory’s brother Stormy told Neal that Skotádi has control of Barin’s thoughts and Stormy went with Neal to Fairmistle. Did Rory tell you where he had been riding from?”

“Rory went to Fairmistle,” Erika said.

“Ah! You see. My suspicions are they all met in Fairmistle and through their conversation, perceived the truth. Hence, Rory was sent, or volunteered, to warn you.”

“Where is Neal?”

“Most likely arriving soon. What is the protocol for an officer whose commander betrays a king?”

“He’s standing for the king.”

“So, you see? Neal’s army will slaughter Barin and his men before they step foot on palace grounds.”

Erika’s mouth flew open. Rhea gasped.

“Yes,” Kairos said. “They will murder the prince while he is attacking his own kingdom. The thought is preposterous. There is no rhyme nor reason, and the devil has the upper hand.”

“I’ll just go out there and meet him.”

“That might not be wise, Fairest. Barin would think it a trap. In his state of mind, he cannot listen to reason. He’s possessed, Erika.”

“Abduct him, then,” Erika whispered.

“What?”

“Sneak into his camp and kidnap Barin. Render him unconscious, somehow. If he’s in the castle, you could work your magic. Surely you have some kind of potion that will subdue him. Without Barin leading the troops, Neal, as commanding officer, could restrain the others.”

“It could work, I suppose.” Kairos juggled that idea in his mind. “I’m not, however, the sort to do any kidnapping. I may have something that will put him to sleep once you have abducted him, though. Ah!” He held up his finger again. “There’s one other thing.”

The women’s eyes were on him.

“When at camp tonight, I spotted a skura listening in on them. Skotádi’s spies are near.”

Erika breathed in deeply. “Skotádi is behind all of this, isn’t he? Looking for souls to rob.”

The girl knows more than she lets on, Kairos thought.