Kinshield's Redemption (Book 4) Read Free

contingent of guards would shield him from. It was the supernatural hazards of what lay ahead that concerned him.
    Gavin watched his wife’s caravan depart for Tern, glad he wouldn’t have to suffer her company for a few days and ashamed of being glad. He loosed the shudder he’d reined in, letting the memory of Feanna’s vileness ripple down his arms and spine. Shooting Cirang a resentful glare, he told her to bring the horses. He burned his gaze into her as she hurried to the stable. Because of her, his wife was gone and his unborn son was either lost along with her or suffering the horror of being imprisoned within a monster.
    And still, everything sat upon his own shoulders.
    The Lordover Ambryce, Efre Nasiri, a young man impeccably dressed in fashionably tight breeches and high-heeled shoes, hurried over. “Oh, dear. I’ve missed her. I meant to thank the queen for her visit to our fair city and wish her a pleasant journey home.”
    Gavin smirked, certain the lordover had timed his arrival so that he wouldn’t have to suffer Feanna’s foul manners again. “Sorry about last evening,” he said.
    The lordover had insisted on dining with the king and queen the previous night, despite Gavin explaining about the contaminated water in the temple and the effect it had on the dozens who’d drunk it. Efre witnessed that effect clearly for himself when Feanna threw a handful of buttered turnips in his face, asking how dare he feed such a foul vegetable to the queen. Gavin had spent the rest of the evening apologizing for her behavior, but he had tried to politely decline. Now the lordover knew why he’d wanted to shut the queen away until he bustled her out of town.
    “Oh, Your Majesty, please don’t give it another thought. I should have asked her preferences before my cooks began preparing. The fault is my own.”
    He thanked the Lordover Ambryce for his generous hospitality and for the water in their skins and the food in their satchels.
    “I’m sorry to see you go so soon, my lord king,” the lordover said, “but I understand the urgency of the task before you. Can I offer any assistance? A mason to help repair the leak? Perhaps a guard or two?”
    Gavin shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but your mason gave me a mix of sand and other crap to make a putty. I just got to add water when we get there. If it doesn’t work, I might need to send for him, but he’s done what he can for now.” He hadn’t seen the need to bring the mason along because, according to Cirang, the leak was too high and the mountain face too sheer for anyone to reach without ropes and scaffolds. Gavin would have to use magic to push the putty into it, so he only needed a mason to mix the right mortar. If that didn’t work, he’d return with an entire construction team and figure it out.
    Cirang approached leading Gavin’s dappled, gray gelding, Golam, and Daia’s mare, Calie. A stable hand followed with a white mare, previously owned by the couple Cirang had murdered outside Ambryce. Cirang stood by, head bowed, waiting for Gavin’s next order. Though she dressed in Vandra’s chain armor, the blue ribbons in the sleeve had been replaced with black so that no one would mistake her for a First Royal Guard. Gavin wanted her alive for the time being, which was why he didn’t let her carry a weapon. She wouldn’t attack him, but she might try to kill herself to escape her punishment.
    “Do you have something to say to the lordover before we leave?” he asked.
    Cirang looked up, confusion wrinkling her brow. “My liege?”
    “You left his city a horrible mess. He deserves an apology.”
    “Yes, my liege. He does.” She looked briefly at the Lordover Ambryce before lowering her eyes again. “My lord, I’ve done terrible things, but few as awful as what I did to the queen and to your citizens. I don’t expect or deserve forgiveness. Please know how truly sorry I am. If it’s in my power to reverse the damage and right