Queen of Lost Stars (Dragonblade Series/House of St. Hever) Read Free Page A

swinging his broadsword, Nicholas spurred his horse towards the base of the hill where the road led up to Beeston.
    There were huge rocks and any number of crevices where men could fight or hide. Nicholas charged towards the mound with several men on his tail, including a few of Kaspian’s men, only to find Cairn and the small group of English soldiers with him being swarmed.
    It didn’t look good. They were back in one of the larger crevices at the base of the crag and the fighting was hand-to-hand. Nicholas paused, watching Cairn as the man struggled to fight off the Welsh from atop his roan charger. It was clear that he was struggling, nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of Welsh, but he was fighting valiantly. He was swinging his sword and his fists, and even his feet. As Nicholas watched, a Welsh fighter grabbed hold of Cairn’s left arm and pulled him off of his charger, back into a cluster of rocks. As the horse bolted off, Cairn was swarmed by men trying to kill him.
    This should have been Nicholas’ cue to ride to the rescue, but he didn’t. He simply watched as Cairn fought for his life. What was it St. Hèver had said? We shall be at Lavister until we die. Knights couldn’t live forever, after all. One man falling in battle would not a difference make.
    … would it?
    That something dark and calculating flickered in Nicholas’ eyes again.
    Seeing that the knight was down, the men with Nicholas began to rush in to help him but Nicholas called them off. He held out a big hand, preventing them from charging in.
    One man falling in battle would not a difference make….
    “Nay!” he bellowed. “I will get to the knight! You clear these Welsh out of here! Get them away!”
    It was a command that made little sense but the English obeyed. One man, one of Kaspian’s men, disobeyed the order and ran for Cairn, but Nicholas intercepted the soldier and kicked him in the head, sending the man to the ground, half-conscious. As the fresh English soldiers went to clean up the Welsh beating up on Cairn’s outnumbered and weary troop, Nicholas spurred his horse in Cairn’s direction.
    But he didn’t get too close. He simply swung his sword around and looked as if he were going after the men who were overwhelming Cairn. Nicholas knew l’Ebreux distantly; he didn’t know him well. They were not friends. He’d always heard that the man was competent if not a bit too relaxed when it came to his duties. Surely a man like that wasn’t worthy to have a post at Lavister. It was an active and prestigious post that had a lot to do with feasting and soothing the local Welsh warlords. There were opportunities for wealth there, too, in the form of contracts and negotiations. Surely a knight like l’Ebreux didn’t deserve the post. He was a mediocre knight in a land that was full of such fortunate fools. A knight like Nicholas deserved it more.
    Therefore, one knight falling in battle would not a difference make.
    So Nicholas remained just out of range as Cairn was thrown onto his back, making eye contact with Cairn and seeing the panic in his eyes. Cairn was giving the fight a tremendous effort but it was to no avail. As Nicholas easily dispatched a few Welsh who had rushed him, he made no effort to assist Cairn, who received a dagger to his chest and neck. The Welsh were vicious and relentless, and yanked his helm off, revealing his bright red hair, as they continued to beat and stab him with their crude iron knives.
    It would have been a horrific thing to watch for anyone else, but not Nicholas. He was quite detached. When he finally saw that Cairn was beyond help, he rushed in and chased the Welsh off, looking for all the world like a man who had been too late to save his comrade. He even dismounted and picked Cairn up, slinging him over the back of his horse, and looking heroic as he carried Cairn to safety, but by then it was too late. Cairn had bled out from his wounds and there was no longer anything to be done for