Duty: a novel of Rhynan by Rachel Rossano Page A

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and rode after you. He didn’t wish to leave her with the traitor.
Those cowards sped us on our way with a volley of arrows. I gained
this dragging at Quaren’s reins.” He waved weakly toward my
hands.
    The thunder of approaching horses brought all of our
attention to the trail toward Kyrenton. Irvaine stood to greet
them. Five men burst upon us.
    The foremost rider, a thin young man with wild yellow
hair, dismounted before his steed stopped. His feet hit the ground
at a run as he clutched a satchel to his side. “Where is he?”
    “Here.” Irvaine pointed to me and strode on to meet
Antano and the other men who accompanied the healer.
    The healer wasted no time assessing the situation.
“Arrow to the gut,” he muttered as he lifted away my hands and
ruined tunic. “You are a fool, Kuy. That ride might have been your
last.” He glanced at me. “My lady, if I might?”
    I pivoted back onto my heels to give him room.
Surveying my blood stained hands in dismay, I tried to ignore the
panic constricting my chest. Loren, Taltana, and the rest of my
village were at the mercy of a lawless robber baron, my cousin, and
Brevand, not to mention their army. I closed my eyes against the
images, but they pressed all the harder.
    A hand closed on my shoulder. “Come, let me clean you
up.” Irvaine helped me to my feet.
    Sudden exhaustion pulled at my bones. The wild
emotional ride of the past few days pressed against my temples. I
wanted to do nothing more than find a warm quiet place and sleep.
Perhaps if I slept long enough, the world would right itself
again.
    I closed my eyes as Irvaine doused my hands in water
and rubbed them briskly with a rough cotton cloth. When he
finished, the skin remained red, but no longer from blood.
    “We will go and rescue them.” I searched his face. I
needed hope.
    “I won’t abandon them.” He met my gaze. “But we won’t
return yet. We are closely matched in number. The baron will send
for reinforcements from across the river. We must do likewise.”
    “From Kyrenton?”
    “And possibly beyond. It depends upon what we
find.”
    But Loren…. I forced myself to breathe. Images
of her resisting Orwin’s caress turned my stomach. I remembered
well the leer in his gaze last time he passed through the village. Kurios, please protect her. Protect them all.
    A gentle touch to my cheek brought my thoughts back
to the present. Irvaine lifted my chin so I gazed up into his dark
eyes. I couldn’t tell if they were black or brown. Even in the
bright light of the midday sun, I couldn’t be certain of their
color, only of the sorrow in them.
    “If I had the slightest chance of victory, I would
leave now to challenge Orwin and his allies. I will do everything
in my power to reclaim Wisenvale and its women.”
    “Before….” I couldn’t put it into words. To do so
would make it reality.
    “I can’t promise that.” Pain etched creases about his
eyes.
    Though my heart screamed at the injustice of it all,
I held my tongue.
    “Come, we need to move forward.”
    I followed him numbly to our horses.
    Hours later after nightfall, we made camp. No one
settled down for sleep, though. A watchful restlessness roiled
beneath the calm activities of the men. Irvaine moved among the
soldiers, speaking quietly with the healer, consulting with Antano,
and arguing with Jarvin.
    Dinner was comprised of roasted rabbit and waybread.
Jarvin’s seasoning did a great deal to make the stringy meat and
stale loaf palatable. I ate alone. Irvaine didn’t join me until I
was picking the last of the meat from the bones.
    “Morale is poor.” He set his wooden bowl full of meat
and waybread on the cloak before lowering himself down next to me.
“I don’t know whether to be encouraged that the men took to their
wives so quickly or discouraged that I can’t improve the situation
more than I have.”
    “We reach Kyrenton tomorrow,” I reminded him.
    “Aye. Should Kurios will it, we will find