Warrior's Mind (Book 2 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 50

A chill ran down her spine as she walked past a flower encircled bench towards the central dome. Diana got waylaid by one of the music instructors who had some concern about a delivery of wood that wasn't right for the instruments they were carving, so Leyla was heading back alone.

She smiled at two passing children and caught the eye of their mother who looked puzzled by her appearance. And no wonder. Leyla had to look a state with her wet hair, her dress clinging to her and Raphael's shirt ballooning around her like some kind of sack.

Raphael. She forced herself not to blush at the mere thought of him. What happened at the pool earlier meant nothing. She clung to him out of fear and Raphael..he was just helping her. He had kissed her once before to calm her down, back when they were in the dungeons at the Warrior Kingdom, and this was the same thing.

Well, perhaps it had gone on a little longer, but it meant nothing. What could it mean, when he was obviously not interested in her that way? And she was definitely not interested in him. She couldn't be interested in a man who was holding her prisoner and kept a mistress who wanted her dead. She wouldn't.

Reaching the empty school room, Leyla crossed over to the staircase and began to climb. The guest room she was using was on the first floor, beside two other rooms she had never been into. She past by one of the rooms and was almost at her own when Raphael's voice reached her.

Leyla's hearing perked up immediately and she turned her head, noticing the furthest door at the end of the hall had been left ever so slightly a jar.

Raphael spoke again, but his words were too muffled to be understood. Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked closer slowly, careful not to make any noise as she continued to listen.

"What you are suggesting constitutes an act of war!" A second voice that she recognized as belonging to the Land of Light's minister of defense said. Leyla moved even closer, looking through the crack at the door to get a glimpse of what was going on inside.

The room was around the same size as hers, but it was designed as a library. Along one side there were book shelves that started from the floor and rose to the ceiling in a dark red-hued wood. The other side of the room had a glass wall, but thick velvet curtains hung had been partially pulled across it, casting shadows into the room and giving the chamber a dim glow. At the centre of all the reading material were two large couches facing each other.

Raphael and the defence minister sat with their backs turned to her, both of their faces turned towards the woman standing in the space between the seats. She was wearing a dark blue uniform, Leyla realised with surprise. A dark blue uniform with a crescent moon on its chest. It couldn't be...a spy?

"I can't be certain what the Warrior Kings' intentions are. As I said, not even his closest aids have been informed of his destination." The woman shifted her weight as she spoke, but her face remained in shadow. Leyla pushed the door, ever so slightly, trying to see her features. "All I can be certain of is that the day after full control of the army was transferred to him, King Alec took his elite troop of 50 Warriors and headed out of the castle without holding conference with his generals."

Leyla frowned at what she was hearing. What could have led Alec to make such a hurried move? Maybe the Green King was causing trouble again and he wanted to diffuse the situation quickly? The number of men he took would constitute a show of force that was large enough for intimidation, but not large enough to be a declaration of war...was that his intention?

"The Warrior Kingdom has laws preventing generals, even the King, from leading such a sizeable troop without some kind of consent among the military leadership," the defence minister's thinning hair bobbed side-to-side with the agitated movements of his head. "In all my years of observing and studying Warrior leadership, I've never seen such a completely unexplained act!"

"Calm yourself, minister," Raphael spoke with his usual even tone. "I have a notion what our new King might be up to, but I need to hear my fiancé's ideas on the matter."

Leyla's eyes opened wide at the mention of her name. Her body frozen, she was trying to decide if she should attempt to hear more or leave quietly, when Raphael spoke again.

"Consort, won't you come in and lend us your opinion?"