The Amulet Of Nicmir (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 1)

Chapter 13

Wren was beyond nervous as she approached the doors to the throne room. Her stomach clenched, her heart beat wildly, and her brain tried its hardest to turn her feet around and march back to the safety of Kiro's arms.

This is to save Kiro, she reminded herself. That thought gave her courage. She would do anything to protect him. Even betray him.

She took a deep, shaking breath of the stale air and unclenched her hands, forced her nausea away, and stepped up to the door. The guards crossed their guisarmes, blocking her way.

"What business have you here, woman?" one questioned harshly, his voice rattling through the visor of his helmet. His armor was terrifying: a toothed crest and jagged gauntlets, a breastplate with the royal seal emblazoned in black and gold, and countless other implements meant to rip flesh and spill blood. Wren was surprised a simple guard would be so heavily equipped.

"I have information concerning the king and his son," she said, standing up a little straighter. The strength in her own voice was rather reassuring, though she knew not from whence it came. Inside, she was shaking like a leaf. "He's been expecting me."

She could see the guard narrow his eyes through the slits of his helmet. "Very well. I'll inquire of the king himself. Malni, keep her here until I'm back." He pushed the heavy oak door open a few feet and slipped inside.

The second guard lowered his guisarme and grabbed her arm in an iron hold. His fingers dug into her skin through the fabric of her dress painfully, but she tried to push her discomfort back, concentrating instead on the stone walls and worn red carpet of the hallway.

It wasn't often she came to this part of the castle. In fact, this was only the second time. The first had been earlier that day, when she'd been summoned suddenly to the throne room for a reason unknown to her at the time. She silently wished to return to those peaceful hours, before her life had been in danger and before her world had been thrown into chaos. Before she knew Kiro was a traitor to his own blood.

It didn't make her angry, as she thought it might. It struck sorrow into her heart, that he felt such a need to protect his traitorous sister that he defied his father. His king. It was a tragedy that Kariana, the very woman she'd waited on since she came into servitude here, had fallen into the deceptive clutches of the captain of the guard. That made Wren angry. That spying rat of a man had not only deceived her mistress, but seduced and married her. Kariana was such a kind woman. And now she had to pay for another's crimes.

The door opened, and the guard stepped back out. He gave Wren a tight-lipped smile. She could see anger smoldering in his eyes, though he hid it well.

"Right through here, girl," he said, his voice curt. He gestured through the door.

"Thank you," she said, pulling her arm from Malni's grasp. Without looking back, she walked through into the throne room.

Agnir sat on his throne, raised several inches above the sable stone floor on a polished granite slab. He was fairly handsome, with jet-black hair cut above his ears and piercing, intelligent golden eyes nearly identical to his son's. But there was pain and cruelty in this man's gaze, terrifying evidence of his horrific past.

The stubble on his cheeks was as dark as his hair, cloaking his sharp jaw and chin, and his forehead was high and proud.

His eyes followed her every move as she approached him, stepping lightly, afraid to make even the slightest sound in the noiseless room. It was almost like a dream, sort of hazy in Wren's mind. The milky light from the candles in the massive crystal chandelier hanging fifteen feet above her head didn't help, lulling her mind, calming her racing heart and setting her dancing nerves at ease.