Wildas kept expecting Coulta to vanish at some point during the celebration after the wedding ceremony, the way he kept scanning the crowds, but Coulta never left his side. The fact that he remained watchful even while the wine flowed freely at the royal table made Wildas feel that, whatever happened in the months to come, they would endure. Even Coulta alone could keep them safe. Or so it seemed at that happy time.
They moved into their new rooms that night, though they all slept in the largest room, which was Wildas's. Apparently, if they all wanted to spend the night together they had to use his room, because none of the other beds would comfortably fit four. Wildas was simply glad that he was drunk enough off the spiked wine for it to be the incredible night it was supposed to be, and not so drunk that he couldn't remember it.
Coulta startled them all awake with a brief shout just before dawn. Wildas, who had been laying beside him, tried to soothe him awake. It took several moments.
"That's the worst nightmare I've had in a while," Coulta murmured. "You had just appeared when I woke up."
"I'm sorry," Wildas said quietly.
"I need to go for a run," Coulta added.
Wildas let him go and watched him with concern as he dressed and hid the marks on his skin again – it turned out Wildas wasn't the only one who liked them. Then he opened the window and climbed out, using the climbing spikes Wildas had allowed him to set there so he wouldn't be jumping three stories.
"Is he all right?" Anil asked from Wildas's other side.
Wildas gently took her hand. "I hope so."
Coulta's excuse for sleeping in his own bed for the next three nights was that he knew Wildas needed an heir and he didn't want to be a distraction. His real reason was that he didn't want any of his spouses to worry about him as his nightmares grew worse. The concern he'd seen on all their faces was enough to decide him that first morning. Wildas's dream presence came to combat every nightmare, holding Coulta in his arms and fighting off the shadows when they tried to reform. It was comforting, but didn't stop the nightmares he had already had from lingering after he woke up.
Perhaps Wildas had a stronger sense of Coulta's dreams now and knew what he was going through, because he looked like he didn't believe the excuse but didn't ask for an honest answer. In truth, Coulta really did understand that Wildas needed to father a son as quickly as possible, especially as Varin's threat grew.
Which might have been why the nightmares were worse than they had been previously. Maybe Varin was making an even greater move to attempt to take over Ryal. Shelton even seemed to agree with this, when Coulta explained what he was experiencing. It was the only explanation for why all of Shelton's spies had suddenly gone silent.
The fourth night after the wedding, Anil and Myri practically dragged him from his room and into Wildas's adjoining chamber.
"Enough of this 'not being a distraction' nonsense," Myri said as they pushed him through the door. "Wildas is going to die of loneliness if he doesn't have you again soon."
"We've kept the two of you apart for long enough," Anil added. "We'd like a night to ourselves."
Wildas had just walked into the room from his office and gave them a curious look. "What's going on?"
Both women released Coulta and turned to Wildas.
"We decided the two of you need a private night together," Myri explained, then gave Wildas a quick kiss on the cheek and left for her own room. Anil did the same and followed.
Wildas watched them, then turned to Coulta with an amused smile. "She's gone from telling us not to have sex, to telling us we need to."
Coulta smiled, surprised to realize how much he suddenly needed this time with his husband, a title was still so new that it sent a wave of pure happiness through him.
"I wouldn't argue with the healer's orders," he said, his smile widening into a grin.
Wildas stepped close enough to pull Coulta into his arms. "I suppose you're right."
"Would you like to tell me why you've really been avoiding us at night?" Wildas asked later as they lay tangled in the sheets. "You don't have to, but I want to help, if I can."
Coulta sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "The nightmares are worse every night. I feel restless and can't sleep."
"Why didn't you ask Myri for something? I'm sure she could help."
"It never occurred to me," he admitted. "I've been dealing with this for so long, I never thought to ask her. And you have been helping, in a way."
Wildas ran a hand gently through Coulta's hair. "I wish I could do more. Can you try to sleep now?"
Coulta sighed again. "I think I'll go for a run first." Wildas looked skeptical, so Coulta kissed him lightly. "I won't be gone long, and I'll come back here."
Wildas nodded and gave him a kiss before releasing him. "Take care."
Coulta slipped from the bed. "I will."
In his own room, Coulta dressed in his fighting leathers and slipped a blade into each boot. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to dress for combat, but not to wear his belt. Maybe he was becoming paranoid.
He could feel Wildas watching him as he slipped out the window of the central bedchamber. Once outside, he ran from rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the cool summer night breeze. Then, halfway across the city, he caught a scent in the air.
The smell of woodsmoke wasn't strong in the city because few people needed fires for warmth at this time of the year, and it was too soon to be fixing a morning meal and too late for dinner. What he smelled was a great deal of smoke, as if from dozens of fires. He feared briefly for the farms, but surely someone would have come to the city seeking aid if the farmlands were burning. Reaching the outer wall of the city, he realized it was something worse.
An evil, chilling sensation went down his spine as he looked out over the field below Ryal. It was empty until the treeline, and he couldn't see much beyond those massive branches, even from atop the wall. He could feel, though, that something awful was out there. Deep in his heart he knew exactly who it was.
Then he realized why he couldn't see past the trees: a cloak of magic was resting on the land beyond the forest, an evil, tainted magic that made his blood run cold. It was a magic he'd never encountered before, and it was steeped in blood and death.
But the magic let the smoke from campfires through it, and he realized that what he had thought were clouds were actually wisps of smoke.
Two guards were watching the gate, playing a game of cards by a single lantern's light. Coulta made himself visible and cleared his throat. Both men jumped and grabbed for their swords, knocking cards off the table and almost tipping the lantern over.
Coulta held up one hand. "I didn't mean to startle you."
The guards released their swords and hastily bowed. "We're sorry, Sir Coulta," one of them said. "We didn't notice you approach."
"Because I didn't want you to," he replied.
"What are you doing out here?" the other asked, then quickly added, "Not that I mean any offense. Of course it's not my place to question you."
"It's all right." He pointed off into the night. "Do you smell the smoke? Do you see the smoke in the sky?"
Both men sniffed the air and squinted at the stars.
"Come to think of it, I do," the first man answered. "I just didn't think nothing of it. There's no sound and I don't see a thing out there. Must be from one of the farms."
"No. There's an army on the other side of those trees. I could sense the magic even from the castle." He didn't care if it was a lie or not. He doubted these men would know any better. "The magic is hiding the camp, but not the smoke."
As the guards squinted into the night, a horse burst from the treeline, a rider bent over its back. The horse was being ridden bareback, with only a halter on its head and a rope slung over its neck.
Horse and rider hadn't gotten far from the trees when a hail of arrows shot out, taking down both of them before the rider could even yell. Ten men in dark uniforms moved out from the trees and dragged both bodies out of the open.
"By all the gods," one of the guards groaned.
The other guard looked at Coulta. "Should we raise the alarm?"
Coulta shook his head. "Keep watch. I'll take news back to the castle. Don't raise the alarm unless they start to attack."
With that, he melted back into the shadows and sprinted for the castle.
Having arranged for Wildas and Coulta to have some time together, Anil and Myri had chosen to do the same. The wine she'd had at the banquet after the wedding had helped Anil get past her concerns on their wedding night, not to mention that her husbands had been understanding. After she'd been with both of them, Myri had taken her aside to give her some herbs the take away the mild discomfort she hadn't even paid much mind to. Every night after that, her attention had always been focused on Wildas.
She thought, though, that if she and Myri were married, why couldn't they take pleasure in each other like Wildas and Coulta did? As soon as she'd awkwardly broached the subject, Myri had readily agreed.
So it was, as they were finally drifting off to sleep together in Myri's bed, that the sounds of hurried movements came from the other side of the door, in Wildas's room. Anil assumed her husbands were just starting up a new round of lovemaking and tried to ignore it.
Until Coulta burst into the room wearing his black leathers and sword belt.
"What?" Myri demanded, sitting up.
"We're going to be attacked," he said, sounding winded.
"How do you know?" Myri questioned, not moving.
"I saw proof outside the city. Varin's army is camped on the other side of the forest. I suspect they will attack at dawn. Wildas wants everything in the castle to gather in the Great Hall."
That was all he said before he left.
Anil looked at Myri, suddenly more terrified even than when they had fled Windwick. That same fear was reflected in Myri's brown eyes, until the healer gave a grim nod.
"Come."
The Great Hall was filled with all the castle residents, from members of the royal family to the very last servant. Wildas stood atop the raised dais in the room with his spouses and his siblings, behind their parents. Rohan was the last to enter the room before pulling the doors shut. He'd been at the barracks warning the Guardsmen there to prepare. He slipped through the crowd and joined them on the platform, saluting his father before taking his place close to Wildas. Rohan turned to Coulta for a brief moment and nodded to him. Coulta returned the nod.
If the situation at the moment had been less dire, Wildas would have smiled. Coulta and Rohan had learned to work together so well that it almost seemed like they could read each other's minds. Even if no one had told Rohan that Coulta had raised the alarm, the Prince-General could have guessed accurately.
"I regret that you were all roused from your beds at such an hour," Deandre began. All the murmurs and mutterings fell silent at his first word. "Not an hour ago an enemy force was sighted outside the city, waiting on the other side of the woods to attack at dawn."
That caused a stir of fearful whispers, and Deandre let the people have a moment to react.
"Many of you have already been preparing for such an event," he went on, "so you know what must be done. The healers will set up here. Anyone who wishes to assist them will seek out either Mistress Sara or Lady Myri."
Myri nodded to the crowd and Sara, surrounded by others Wildas recognized as healers, raised a hand briefly.
"The kitchen staff will continue working to supply food to everyone. The laundry workers will bring as many blankets and towels as they can for the healers. All young children will be taken to the royal nursery on the top floor, including children of servants. Princess Cara will be there to watch them, but will need help from anyone who would join her. If there is anyone who wishes to fight but is not a soldier you may fight. Seek out Prince-General Ruairi. All persons with magic strong enough to be useful is required to fight or work with the healers.
"We will ride with the dawn to meet our enemy. Go now."
"And may the blessings of Mahault, Rutsav, and Savjuvi be upon you all!" Brother Pelles shouted from one of the balconies above the crowd, calling on the gods of war, healing, and magic.
The crowd began to disperse and Wildas turned to Anil. "What will you do?"
"I'll help the healers," she replied, her voice steady despite the fear in her gray eyes.
Wildas nodded and kissed each of his wives. "Take care."
"You, too," Myri told him.
"I'll be with him," Coulta reminded her.
"And you take care, too," she added, wiping her eyes before she gave him a kiss, as well.
Wildas knew the reality of what they faced. He knew he could very easily not return from the field outside the city. He knew they were almost certainly outnumbered. He hated leaving both of his new wives – his friends – there, knowing he might not see them again.
But Coulta was a solid presence at his back as they left the room. Deandre was ahead of them, giving orders to Rohan, who finally turned away and ran down another passageway. Then he saw another brother and uncle leave the group, and he felt another stab of anxiety. Jarlin and Pavle were being sent out to sea on one of their naval ships, just to ensure that one of Deandre's sons would survive the coming battle.
Star and Ralix were both waiting for them when they returned to their suit of rooms. Star had prepared Wildas's armor that he had barely worn; his metal breastplate stamped with the Steed of Ryal, the helmet, gauntlets, shield, and chainmail.
Coulta's new armor that awaited him made Wildas even more anxious about what was to come; leather armor nearly identical to what he always wore, but embossed with the Steed of Ryal across the chest. No chainmail or heavy metal plates, only leather, tough though it may be. The only real change Coulta had allowed was for lightweight metal plates to be sewn into the chest and back pieces. He'd drawn the line there and wouldn't allow more protection that might slow or hinder his movements.
Wildas tried not to think about it as Star helped him dress. "Will you fight?" he asked the younger prince.
Star shook his head. "I'm going to work with the healers until you need me."
Wildas nodded. "They will need you."
From across the room he heard Ralix quietly tell Coulta, "I wish I could fight."
Wildas glanced over at his cousin, who was tying the straps on Coulta's leather shirt. "You can fight if you want to."
Ralix looked up at him. "The army doesn't want me, you know that."
Wildas waited for Star to finish securing his breastplate before he said, "You have a horse, don't you? Take your bow and ride out with the rest of the non-scripted fighters. We need all the help we can get, Ralix. This isn't going to be an easy victory."
Ralix went back to work, but at least he was thinking about it.
"Why are we riding out to meet them instead of defending the walls?" Coulta asked.
"The last time we did that, Phelin was lost to Berk."
Coulta just nodded.
The attendants left them when they were both in their armor. Wildas moved to Coulta and kissed him, trying to convey all that he felt.
"I love you," he finally whispered.
Coulta brought a gloved hand to Wildas's cheek and pressed their foreheads together. "And I love you."
They remained that way for a long moment. Then, without another spoken word, they left for battle.
