A Chill in the Flame (Villains #1)

Epilogue

Epilogue

To His Royal Majesty, King Eero,

I’m writing you to inform you that your daughter and her companions have sought sanctuary here in the Castle of Gwydir. They arrived in the night and were intercepted by my guards and are now comfortably sheltered on the castle grounds. I apologize for the unconventional nature of this conversation, and for harboring Princess Ophir, should that go against your wishes.

I suspect there is much to be learned about what transpired on her travels, and I will gladly share it with you, as Raascot continues to see Farehold as an ally and maintains an interest in our peaceable union. In that spirit, I will move forward with our intentions to wed to further unify the north and south. I will leave it in Ophir’s hands to select the date for such an occasion, as well as give her the opportunity to return to her home in Aubade, should she wish, for the wedding.

My hope is that you have found this quill an acceptable gift for our correspondence and that you will use it when best you see fit. I will gladly resume more conventional methods of communication, should your preference be raven, though I do feel confidently that ravens can be intercepted, and a note that’s written directly from one monarch to the other maintains a comforting air of privacy.

If there’s anything I can do to help ease the burdens or assuage the worries of you or Queen Darya in the wake of these uncertain times, please let me know.

Cordially,

King Ceneth

To His Esteemed Highness King Ceneth,

It is with both relief and a heart heavy with misfortune that I receive your letter. I am indebted to you for locating and sheltering Ophir. I trust she is in safe hands and am infinitely grateful that she found her way to your doorstep.

As for her companions, it was my sincerest hope that you were referring to the men I dispatched to retrieve her from Tarkhany. As I have received separate letters from my men and from their queen just this morning, I now know this is not the case. If Ophir is traveling with a woman from Sulgrave, please exercise extreme caution and proceed delicately. It is my belief that she is responsible for much of the tragedy that has befallen the continent.

On to more serious matters, I do believe a problem greater than your marriage to Ophir has arisen. The word from my men was a message of warning that Tarkhany’s king poisoned many at a banquet, including the successful drugging of Ophir’s personal guard. They’re safely outside of city limits but wrote of a winged serpent and demon as black as night devouring the city. They described a massacre. I do not know if Tarkhany is to blame for the siege, though the coordinated timing between King Tempus’s subterfuge and the arrival of unspeakable monsters is both suspicious and problematic.

The second letter was written by Queen Zita of Tarkhany, calling for a meeting of the continent’s monarchs. I suspect you will receive your raven soon, if you have not yet already. As we move forward with this diplomatic gathering of the kingdoms, I hope Farehold and Raascot will be able to continue to count on one another as allies.

With hope,

King Eero