From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [30]
Bran’s mouth gaped, his dark eyebrows pinched as if he were thinking very hard. “Averella, Gypsum?”
Vrell’s voice came softly. “She is heir to Carm now.”
“Why would you renounce your birthright?”
She could not tell him that Duke Amal was not her birth father. “The prince signed an agreement with my mother. Carm gives full support for his campaign if he agrees to marry Mother’s heir.”
He rubbed his face as if exhausted by the conversation. “I don’t understand.”
“It is a private matter. But please do not misunderstand me. I do believe Achan will make a good king. I support his claim to the throne and want to help him take it. I can do that best by serving as a healer in Armonguard. Please, Bran?”
Bran sighed. “The duchess forbade you to come with us. Prince Oren has told you no. As has Sir Jax. And Sir Rigil is in agreement. I will not defy them.”
Vrell stewed a moment. Truly, she had known all along that Bran would not help her. She sighed dramatically. “I suppose I should give you leave to bid your peasant girl farewell before you abandon her as well.”
His expression tightened. “Ugliness does not suit you, Averella. I know you to be a lady above such petty insults. The truth shall set you free. Think on it.” He opened the door. “I shall find my own way out.”
And Bran left.
Vrell slumped into her mother’s chair and pressed a hand against her aching side. She did not doubt Bran’s wisdom. And she did need to speak with Achan someday.
She imagined going to him now. He would show his joy, scold her for leaving, perhaps an embrace…
No. She would not accept any affection until she spoke her mind. She would remove his hands and say, “I am Lady Averella Amal. I am sorry for deceiving you.”
And he would say…?
Dash it all, she did not know what he would say, but her stomach knotted just thinking on it. Or perhaps what truly upset her was the thought of his embrace.
Vrell led Kopay out of his stall and toward the stable doors. Dawn had not yet broken. Dressing as a boy would have allowed her to leave at daybreak, but the guards would not permit just anyone to ride Kopay through the gate.
She patted his neck. “I have missed our rides together, boy. I am sorry I have not come to see you until now. I could not risk it. But I also could not leave you behind this time.”
Kopay dropped his head and snorted, plodding alongside Vrell. He was a sleek white courser with a white mane and tail and flecks of black on his hindquarters.
Her desire for taking Kopay meant she couldn’t afford leaving in daylight. Everyone in the castle thought she was away still. Rumor of her “return” would spread like wine on linen. She needed to be on the road by the time word reached Mother. Or Achan.
She would leave as Lady Averella, ride south under cover of night, and wait near the fish pond. She could change her clothes there. And once Jax’s party passed, she would trail them as a lagging soldier.
Vrell had Kopay three paces from the stable doors when one side creaked open. A young woman carrying a lantern slipped inside. Vrell froze, hoping this girl would not think Vrell a horse thief and call the watch.
The girl lifted the lantern above her head, took two steps before her eyes locked onto Vrell, then screamed. She dropped the lantern, which tipped on its side, igniting bits of hay strewn across the dirt floor.
“Oh!” The girl lunged for the lantern, but pulled back when the flames licked at her shoes. “I’m sorry!”
Vrell jumped forward, righted the lantern, and batted at the fire with her skirt. The flames died, and Vrell breathed out a long sigh.
“Thank you, miss!” The girl lifted the lantern, casting light over her black gown. “I’m so clumsy.”
“All is well now, since nothing—” Vrell stared, for Gren Fenny stood before her, the girl Achan had pined for in his youth. The girl whose husband had been recently killed, leaving her widowed and with child.
The same girl Bran found