Jen brushed her red hair out of her eyes and put it in a ponytail. Both her swords were sheathed on her back, and she let out a breath. It was almost time to speak to the king of Skahad, Verronis. Despite her cool nature, she felt a twinge of nerves. She hadn’t used her connection to the Whispering Mists to get a meeting before. Other members of her clan did that.

  Part of her felt like she was abusing her power. Modric would understand, right? She had to tell herself he would. Modric had told her to help Arturo, and this was helping him. She walked down the stairs and was surprised to see Arturo waiting for her. Here I thought I would be waiting on him. she thought.

  “Ready to go?” Arturo asked.

  Straight to business. Jen missed when her brother would tease her or joke. She wasn’t sure how to break Arturo out of the shell he had encased himself in. “You’re up earlier than I expected.”

  “Hard to sleep in,” Arturo replied.

  “Is anyone else coming?”

  “No.”

  “Then let’s go,” Jen said.

  She walked out the door and glanced at Arturo. He was massive, and she barely went up to his chest. It was unnerving sometimes how serious he was. Looking at him, you would think they were about to join a battle. Jen decided not to say anything and led the way.

  The streets were fairly busy, with wagons being pulled and civilians walking about. Most people steered away from Arturo. There was a lot of “May Tarmella bless you this day” from the people, which she would thank them for. She noted how Arturo never responded. Jen hoped Arturo wouldn’t cause any problems when the guards asked for his sword. Surely, he would be expecting that?

  The inn they stayed at wasn’t far from the castle, and within twenty minutes, they arrived at the gates. Two guards were stationed. Jen spoke before Arturo could, “We are here to see the king.”

  “Your name?” the guard asked.

  “Jen Pentori of the Whispering Mists, and this is my brother, Arturo.”

  The guard looked up at Arturo and down at a list he pulled out. “All right, you’ll need to hand over your weapons.”

  Jen’s shoulders tensed, and she watched Arturo carefully while unsheathing her weapons. To her surprise, Arturo unhooked his sword without a fuss. The guard looked at the sword oddly, as if trying to figure out how he could move it.

  “Set the sword over there,” the guard pointed at the wall next to him.

  Arturo said nothing and leaned his weapon, tip touching the ground, against the wall. Jen handed her swords over. She’d had those swords since Jahad died when the invaders attacked. The swords were taken care of, and she would wield them until the day she died.

  “You’re clear to enter,” the second guard opened the doors and ushered them inside.

  “I’m surprised you gave your sword up so easily,” Jen whispered.

  All she got in response was a shrug. Stubborn fool. Jen ignored her irritation and maintained a neutral expression. Her training with the Whispering Mists had taken over, and she analyzed the throne room carefully. Three guards on each side of the throne, with King Verronis sitting there with a gold crown on his head. The king was dressed in all gold colors today, and his curly hair stuck up through the hole of the crown, which had a ring of clovers around it. A couple of servants stood nearby, one holding a tray with fruit and another with a gold pitcher and three cups.

  Verronis stood. “Welcome, welcome!” he said cheerfully.

  “Thank you for seeing us, Your Grace,” Jen said and bowed. She noticed Arturo didn’t bow and remained standing still. She wanted to smack him upside the head. Didn’t he know kings didn’t like to be disrespected?

  “It’s no problem. Anyone from the Whispering Mists is welcome here,” Verronis said. If he cared about Arturo’s lack of bowing, he didn’t show it. “Care for a drink?”

  “No, thank you,” Jen said.

  “Ah, very well,” Verronis motioned with his hand, and the servant with the drinks walked off. “What can I do for you?”

  Jen motioned for Arturo to speak. It was his mission; she had only come to get him in the door. The rest would be up to him.

  “My name is Arturo Pentori, and I am traveling to all the nations of Aidris to recruit warriors for my army. I hope to show unity by fighting the invaders as one force.”

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  “An admirable goal,” Verronis stroked his chin and sat back down on his throne. “But why ask me? You can walk around Skahad and recruit as mercenaries do.”

  “A couple of reasons. Firstly, I don’t want any misunderstandings. I want to have an army of skilled warriors, of which I am sure you know some. Your assistance will make things easier,” Arturo said.

  “Ah,” Verronis didn’t say anything for a moment as he pondered the statement. He turned his attention to Jen. “This isn’t like the Whispering Mists to request such a thing.”

  “I apologize if this offends you,” Jen said, picking her words carefully. The last thing she needed was for Verronis to get mad at the Whispering Mists because of her. “My clan is helping my brother to form his army as we believe in his mission to show a united front in the coming war.”

  “Then you have my permission,” Verronis said. “You are staying at The Dragon's Cheese, correct?”

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Jen said.

  “I shall give you a list of recruits I think you’ll find worthy. I’ll send a messenger once it’s ready,” Verronis said.

  “Thank you, we appreciate your help,” Jen said.

  Seeing the signal to leave, Jen nudged Arturo, and they walked off. The meeting had gone far better than she had hoped. They walked out the doors they came in and retrieved their weapons. One of the guards stared at Arturo with awe as he effortlessly grabbed his weapon and hooked it on his back. She would bet the guards had tried to hold the weapon and found it too heavy.

  She didn’t speak until they were out of the palace grounds. “Why didn’t you bow to the king?” Jen asked.

  “I don’t bow to anyone,” Arturo said.

  “You could have ruined the meeting or gotten yourself thrown in prison,” Jen said, feeling anger starting to rise. She had to force the feelings down and did some breathing exercises to keep control of herself. “You should reconsider for the next one.”

  “I won’t ever bow to any noble or king,” Arturo said.

  “Even if it means your life?”

  “Yes, even if it means my life,” Arturo said.

  “Stubborn oaf,” Jen said to herself.

  They walked into The Dragon's Cheese and found Tarmon and Achillion sitting at a table, talking to one another. Tarmon let out a loud laugh and quickly stopped when he noticed Arturo. Arturo walked over and took a seat next to them, then cocked his brow when Jen didn’t move.

  “I’m going up to my room for a bit. I’ll be back later,” Jen said and walked upstairs. Despite the short meeting, she felt exhausted. Having to stress about Arturo and interacting with the guards and king wasn’t what she had expected.

  She opened her door and closed it, then slumped to the ground. Would Modric chastise her for helping Arturo build his army? Jen wanted to believe he supported her, but she worried he would be angry with her. “A problem for another time,” she whispered.

  Jen sat in a meditative position and cleared her mind. She needed to keep a level head, and she would not let Arturo take that from her. She began her breathing exercises and closed her eyes.

  Tarmon and Achillion started laughing at a joke someone said nearby while Arturo took a bite of his fish and looked at the ceiling. He hoped Jen was all right. There was no doubt in his mind she was upset at what she called 'disrespect' towards the king. Why should any noble or king be given respect when they don’t do anything to deserve it?

  Arindall had shown him that kings and nobles were nothing but talk. None of them cared about commoners. Arturo disliked them all. The door opened behind him, and he was surprised to see Eurisha walk in and rush to his table.

  “Problem?” Arturo asked.

  “No,” Eurisha said and raised her hand to get a drink from the innkeeper. “My people are settled, and I wanted to make sure everything was going well here.”

  “More than well,” Tarmon said with a wide grin. “Verronis agreed to help us recruit warriors. Today is a good day!”

  “That is good news,” Eurisha said. “You, Achillion, would you like to arm wrestle?”

  “What?” Arturo blurted out before Achillion could respond. Eurisha ignored him and stared intently at Achillion.

  Achillion shrugged. “Why not?” He put his elbow on the table and wrapped his hand around Eurisha’s. “Hope you don’t expect me to go easy on you just because you’re a woman.”

  That got a nasty smile on Eurisha’s face. “If you did, I would make you regret it.”

  Arturo found himself fascinated. Eurisha came barging in and demanded to arm wrestle Achillion. Was this some sort of test?

  “Ready?” Achillion asked.

  Eurisha nodded, and they started. The match was closer than Arturo expected, but Achillion ended up slamming her hand on the table after a brief ten-second struggle. Eurisha didn’t look upset or surprised.

  “You are a strong warrior,” Eurisha said.

  “It's arm wrestling, doesn’t prove anything,” Achillion said nonchalantly.

  Eurisha shook her head. “You outlanders may believe that, but my people can see things in a match. I can tell you’re strong, swift, and carefree.”

  “You’ve been traveling with me for over a week. Of course, you can say that now,” Achillion said with a wave of his hand.

  “Believe what you will,” Eurisha said and leaned back in her chair.

  “I will,” Achillion downed the rest of his drink and looked around. “Think I’m going to get myself a girl. Excuse me.”

  Arturo watched him leave and shook his head. Before Arindall, he would have been all over going after a girl. His friend, Dorvan, was great at talking to girls. He wondered if his friend had survived and decided it didn’t matter. If Dorvan was alive, he doubted he would ever see him again.

  “I like Achillion,” Eurisha said.

  “Me too,” Tarmon said.

  Eurisha started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Arturo asked.

  “Look over there,” Eurisha said, still laughing.

  Arturo looked and saw Achillion with a girl on each arm, heading up toward his room. That was quick. Dorvan would have loved him. he thought, and sighed. Tarmon was shaking his head, unable to contain his laughter.

  “A legend on and off the battlefield,” Tarmon said.

  “I’ll need to convince Achillion to join us,” Arturo said.

  “You better, or I might leave,” Eurisha said.

  Arturo couldn’t tell if Eurisha was joking or not and assumed it was Forest Dweller humor. “Well, I figure I should get some supplies while we wait for the king’s messenger. Anyone want to join?”

  “I’ll go with you,” Tarmon said.

  “I’ll pass, enjoy your shopping,” Eurisha said.

  Arturo got up, and Tarmon followed him as he walked out the doors. He needed to get supplies, for he had a feeling they wouldn’t be in Skahad very long, not if the king's list turned out to be good anyway. He hoped so; there were still four other nations to go.