5 Days Left

Minul made it down a hallway before a larger group of guardsmen approached. She tensed for a moment, but Gorm went out to meet them clearly recognizing them. One group handed over a stiff blood encrusted cloth and the other a small pouch.

“Your Majesty,” Gorm said returning to her, “these were the men that swept the gardens. They claim that you’ve sent both of them, though seemingly at different times?”

Minul nodded, “Yes captain, I hadn’t realized the first group would return so quickly,” she licked her lips glancing at the objects he carried, but tore her gaze away. Instead, she turned to the men and thanked them all personally before handing them over to their captain who sent them on their way.

“What did they bring back?” she finally asked, holding out her hand.

The captain cleared his throat and handed her the pouch first, “It appears to be foreign coin, your Majesty.”

Minul nodded pulling a single crown royal. The polished gold gleamed in the light of the bright-torches, seeming to almost to catch fire as it was so finely treated. In fact, it seemed nearly untouched. Likely, one or maybe two people had ever touched these coins and not for long.

“That’s really something,” Gorm muttered.

“Even a full gold prophet doesn’t shine like that,” Svadr added. Not that she’d actually handled a prophet coin. Most people never did. It was only ever bankers, a few nobles, maybe a handful of merchants, the Queen, and, of course, her Master of Finances that ever saw much of a prophet. They were too valuable to use in regular trade. Mostly, they spent time in small boxes in vaults where the names attached occasionally changed.

“Nothing shines like this,” Minul dropped the coin back into the pouch and cinched it shut, “Spread this out among the men once we return,” she handed it back to the captain who took with a reverent look.

He bowed and retreated a few steps but Svadr stepped closer seeing Minul’s expression.

“That was fresh mint,” Minul said rubbing her chin.

“Fresh?”

“Straight from treatment, pulled from the royal vault,” she narrowed her eyes. “I ordered the Lords into the main hall, right?” Svadr nodded, “Then Inga’s rooms should be empty… Gorm, send a double squad of men up to Inga’s rooms and search them thoroughly.”

The captain bowed and strode away almost walking into a figure that rounded the bend of the hallway, though, he managed to smoothly slip around the big figure in his hulking armor. Minul glared at the man approaching her, she didn’t recognize him but she still knew who he was.

As if fresh air suddenly brushed the lingering haze of smoke away, Saif’s appearance suddenly became clear to her. Recognizable. He had a few soot stains, his hair was a untidy and ruffled, his beard was wild and uncombed. Bloodstains speckled him particularly around his wrists, having soaked into the hem of his jacket. But he himself looked unhurt.

“Saif,” Minul smiled tightly, “Good of you to finally show up.”

The triplet master gave her a tired smile, “I had a little bit of errand to run.”

“Errand?”

“I had to catch up to Pashar and warn her that Saleema might be coming sooner, rather than later.”

Minul opened her mouth slightly before she registered what he’d said, “Sooner? She had a hole in her chest. How fast could she reasonably recover? Are we working on the same time-scale here?”

“You can just ask,” he replied, though, she noted a tightness around his eyes. “I mean at the upper limit she has until dusk.”

Minul let out a laugh as she looked out a window at the night sky, “What time is it now?”

“Touching on midnight, I think.”

Minul pinched her lips together into a thin line, “Are you sure? That’s barely any time at all.”

Saif nodded before changing the subject, “How are the plans going?”

Minul narrowed her eyes at him, she wanted to let him know that she had noticed him changing the subject. She wasn’t sure if she was going to let him, however. “You disappeared, Saif.”

The man sighed and nodded running a hand over his beard and tried to push it down, “I did.”

“Are you going to disappear again?”

“Not for the foreseeable future.”

“What does that mean?”

He closed his eyes and sighed, “I’m not going to disappear unless something goes very very wrong.”

Minul glared at him for a long time, her eyes burned whether from fatigue, smoke, unshed tears, or hurt. The night felt far far older than it truly was. She rubbed one hand tiredly across her face as she stifled a sigh turning into a yawn.

“I need commitment from you, Saif,” she worried at her lip, “Otherwise, I think I’d prefer you to leave now, rather than when I actually need you.”

He sighed, breathing out slowly. For a few moments, he seemed to grow much older as rubbed a hand across bushy brows and through his hair. She could see his cheeks and lips distending as he ran his tongue over his teeth.

“What do you want from me, Minul?” He finally said no play or the usual irreverent flavor in his voice. He just sounded tired.

“You’ve been playing at committing to my side for years now. I thought it was over when you finally signed on as Master of Spies, but then you run out. Are you even okay with what happens next?”

“In the plan? Sure, why not?”

Minul rolled her eyes, “We found freshly minted ankirian royal crowns on a group of guards sent to kill me.”

Saif sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, “So she is here, then.”

“You think they’d really only bring Saleema?”

He shook his head, “No, not really…” he paused. He knew what she wanted to hear. Tonight she was going to kill one of the royal family. One from his, their, family. Someone he ostensibly owed allegiance. “I will do it. It should be me,” he finally said turning his gaze down to the floor and kicking at the carpet under them. He looked up at her and for a moment his orange eyes burning with life, turning almost as yellow as hers.

Minul nodded and waved for Gorm to approach, “What do we need to be ready?” she asked him as Saif sealed them in smoke that caught the sound.

“I need to grab my horn. The drums are being set up as we speak they should be ready just after the soldiers.”

“What about the men in the sitting rooms?” Saif asked those would be his duty.

“Moving in as we speak.”

Minul resisted the urge to reach and sense for their presence. They weren’t far from the main hall right now, and she might actually be able to detect their individual presences from this distance, though others might be able to detect her search.

Inaaya was as royal as Minul and so was also a tethered. She was a good few years younger than the Queen so they hadn’t trained together, but Minul knew she had only gotten a second-rate ankirian education. Inaaya certainly hadn’t, though Minul’s training still outstripped any elusrian.

She nodded to the captain, “Grab the horn and return to the entry,” she nodded to Saif and he dismissed the smoke. Gorm jumped up one of the stairs instead heading up to his room, while they continued toward the entry to their destination.

She could hear murmurs and cries from inside the hall. Many of the people inside certainly weren’t happy with the way things had gone. Minul wasn’t pleased either, though she would make the most of it.

Her group waited in tense silence until footsteps approached. At first, Minul thought it was the captain but they were too soft and uncertain. Hildrid stepped out into the entry, guards following behind her. The fire had gone out in her eyes and she just looked devastated. Grieving.

Before she could speak another, more rapid set of footsteps emerged. The captain strode in behind her with his horn strapped to his side. “I’m ready, your Majesty,” he bowed to her.

Minul returned the gesture, then looked at Hildrid, “And what do you want, Master?”

Hildrid opened her mouth once, before turning her gaze away. Then she finally cleared her throat and spoke, “Can I help?”

Minul’s brows started up, but she caught herself before blurting out a blatant ‘No’, she turned towards the older woman and looked at her more closely. “Why?”

Hildrid worked her throat a few times and made a pained expression as her face contorted on itself. Minul felt distinctly uncomfortable watching the elderly, stern, and often angry woman fight back tears. “I just want to understand a little more about him. I wasted so much time…” She closed her eyes drops falling down her cheeks, “I didn’t mean to…”

Minul glanced at Saif who nodded to her. Minul swallowed once before stepping closer, “Maybe now isn’t the time, but you can help later?”

Hildrid took in one ragged breath, before she slowly nodded and reached out to Minul with her stubs. She realized what she’d done and pulled them back clutching her chest as she finally crumpled and fell against the wall.

Minul looked down at her for a moment, as tears fell silently into the old woman’s ruined dress. Then she turned away just in time to see the messenger deliver a letter to Saif.

“It’s time.”