The Gathering Storm (Crown of Stars #5)

The Gathering Storm (Crown of Stars #5) Page 284

“If he seeks griffins and sorcerers,” Adelheid continued, “and means to return with them and invade Aosta, then he must cross the Alfar Mountains over one of the three passes—St. Barnaria, Julier, or the Brinne.”

“Where is the Brinne Pass?” Hugh asked. “I’ve not heard of it.”

“It’s far to the east. Few folk use it, for it leads into eastern Avaria and the marchlands, and there’s little trade in that direction. The road lies up the northeast coast and inland into Zuola, where Marquesa Richildis rules. She is loyal to us.” Zacharias heard the turn of her foot on the carpet. Her voice remained cool and collected, but her pacing betrayed agitation. “That is what we must do. We must post men in each of the passes to keep watch for the prince and his army.”

“It could be months or years before an army appears, if it ever does.”

“So be it. That is the only way we can hope to gain warning of his approach.”

“If he returns from the east,” said Hugh.

“If he does not, then he is no threat to us.”

“Perhaps. If he chooses to foment civil war in Wendar, then the north might rise against Henry.”

“Henry will ride east with the skopos. When he returns from Dalmiaka, our position will be strong. That’s when we can march north to restore his authority in Wendar and Varre. For now, all we can do is watch the passes and prepare ourselves.”

Hugh chuckled. “You are a strategist, Your Majesty. It is well that you are, because you must fight this battle alone. I will ride north soon in preparation for the great weaving.”

“Why must you go?”

“Because the Holy Mother demands it.”

“What of Henry?”

“Anne will take the ribbon. She will watch over the emperor.”

“I don’t like it. Dare we trust the Holy Mother with him? She might do anything without you or me there. That we hold Henry is the only sword we have to protect ourselves from her.”

“There is much in this world that we do not like that we must suffer because it is the only way to achieve the ends we seek. If we do not make a show of trusting her by giving her the ribbon, then she will know we do not trust her. She may come to believe that we act against her. She is more powerful than we are right now. We must be patient. We will bide our time. The day will come when all that we seek will come to pass.”

Too late, Zacharias searched for the door. He still lay on his back, and the door lay a very long way away, an impossible distance but his only hope. If he could escape this chamber, he could warn someone—anyone—even fall at the feet of the skopos herself and use his tongue to condemn these two, who had forced him to betray his beloved sister.

“Very well.” Adelheid’s footsteps sounded on the carpet as Zacharias hunched his shoulders to see if he could squirm backward.

“Will you kill him?” the empress asked in a cool voice.

“He is innocent,” said Hugh. “Brother Marcus promised him that he would be taught the secrets of the mathematici. Yet, as he is, he is a danger to himself and to the emperor because he knows too much.”

Too late Zacharias realized that they no longer spoke of Prince Sanglant. It was Hugh who had come to stand next to him, not Adelheid; she remained by the emperor’s bed.

“Is he so educated that he can learn the secret paths known only to the mathematici?” she asked.

Hugh’s beautiful face wore an expression of compassion, but his eyes were cold. “There is much he can learn. But, no, he is not educated. Yet it is precisely because he cannot write or read that we can show him mercy.”

Zacharias got his elbows under him and heaved himself up. On the bed Henry slept, yet a stiffness in his limbs suggested that the emperor did not rest entirely at peace. The red ribbon lay across his throat, unmoving.

“Will you teach me?” he demanded through his tears, then hated himself for succumbing even for a moment to that consuming desire. “Nay! I will not be taught by you, who made me betray my sister!”

“I will teach you to weave the crowns,” said Hugh patiently. “If you learn well, you can take my place as cauda draconis when the time comes.”

A grim exhilaration goaded him on. “I’ll not consort with those who mean harm to my sister!”

“I will need all four guards,” said Hugh to the empress. “You are certain of their loyalty?”

“They wear the amulets you wove for them.”

“Ah. Then we need not fear that they will betray us.”