Ginny Hartman by To Guard Her Heart Read Free Book Online Page B

anyone but me, and do not look at them," One hand waved in the general vicinity of the corpses lying on the floor.
    The king cringed at the mention of the bodies. He didn't need Terric to remind him not to look, for he never wanted to see the bloody carnage again. He followed Terric to the door, shutting and barring it the minute he slipped out into the hall.
    Terric squared his shoulders and began jogging towards the main keep of the Castle. He tuned into his surroundings, noting that he heard no sounds of battle. There were no screams piercing through the air, no clanking of metal. He held his breath as he rounded the corner, anxiously hoping that the silence meant nothing was amiss. His shoulders slumped in relief as he witnessed a scene not unlike any typical day in the castle. Servants were busy readying the long tables for supper. Several of them were carrying in large bowls of fruit to place down the center of each table.
    He reached forth and stopped a young boy with one hand, “Tell me lad, where can I find King Lawrence?”
    The boy appeared shocked that the King Cedric's lead defender had chosen to address him. Stammering, he said, “I saw them in the inner courtyard of recent, sir. Mayhap they are still there.”
    “Thank you,” Terric muttered, as he turned to check on them himself, hoping he would be where the boy had said.
    When he reached the doors leading outside, Terric paused and scanned the courtyard with his eyes. It didn't take him long to spot King Lawrence conversing with a small crowd under the large oak tree that framed the door of the outer wall. Upon closer inspection, Terric observed that the crowd was his wife, Queen Margaret, and his own three children. Queen Isabel and her two daughters were also counted among the crowd. Along with the royal families was King Lawrence's Lead Defender and several other defenders as well. He exhaled in relief, knowing they would be safe. He watched them momentarily, relieved that they were safe before his heart clenched within him. They appeared so happy, so unaware. He was suddenly grateful that it was not his duty to inform them of the tragedy that had just occurred in the council room, pitying King Cedric for the task he would be required to perform.
    Slinking back inside the castle, he apprehensively returned to King Cedric and to the nightmarish scene he had only just fled. Raising one fist, he knocked roughly on the door.
    “Who is it?” came the king's shaky voice. He couldn't blame him for sounding scared
    “Tis I, Terric.”
    He stepped back and waited for the king to open the door. He tried not to look towards the ground where King Eustace and Queen Constance lay, but his eyes involuntarily wandered to the bright pools of red that seemed to scream at him to notice them, to acknowledge the people whose veins were now drained empty of that very lifeblood. Though his eyes couldn't be kept from settling briefly on the bloody pools, he refused to let them wander to the actual bodies. Instead, he quickly barred the door once more and stepped around the bodies, walking to the far side of the room.
    King Cedric followed. “Am I being foolishly optimistic in hoping that your presence means that the rest of the castle is safe?”
    “Aye, there doesn't appear to be anything afoot. I saw King Lawrence and his family with my own eyes, along with your wife and daughter. They were perfectly well; they had several defenders nearby.”
    “You didn't...” his unspoken question trailed off, but Terric knew to what he was asking.
    “Nay, they never even saw me.”
    “Good. I need to be the one to tell them myself, though I dread the task completely.”
    “With good reason too. The news will not be well received, especially by King Eustace's children.”
    The mention of the dead king's offspring made King Cedric inhale sharply. “In my grief I failed to remember Princess Rosalind. She is the only family not at Brantonwall Castle. She is not safe.”
    “You