Page 68 of Veil of Winter

“I will not do as you say. I will not do as my father says. I will not marry Rodrigo. You will not get away with forcing my peopleto be your slaves as long as I am alive. You will have to kill me. And then you will see the people revolt.”

She was not at all sure her people loved her enough to revolt on her behalf if harm came to her. Perhaps they would never know if she gave her life for them. But she shoved those thoughts away. She had to put up a brave façade.

“Your people revolt.” He blew a contemptuous, scoffing breath through his teeth. “Let me tell you this.” He leaned so close she could see the bloody veins that snaked through the whites of his eyes. “If you don’t come back to Valkenfeld with me, marry Count Rodrigo, and tell your people to go to the Valkenfeld mines like good little sheep, then I will kill off your men one by one, starting with this young woman’s four brothers.”

He held out his hand toward Ysa, and Elyce’s blood went cold.

“You do have four brothers, do you not?”

Ysa nodded, her eyes wide.

“I believe their names are Tobias, Leonardo, Matthias, and... Dimitry. Am I right?”

Ysa’s bottom lip quivered.

“You are despicable,” Elyce breathed.

“You will pay for this.” Sir Gerard glared at King Claude, ignoring the sword point touching his chest.

“I can start with killing you.” Claude turned his cold, dead eyes on him. “The son of an English earl, are you not? The Earl of Dericott. What will your family do? You had no right to come here and meddle in our affairs. This is not England. This is the Holy Roman Empire.”

He sounded as if he were scolding a child.

“I will kill them all. Her brothers and your knight-errant.” Claude turned to her.

A hundred bees hummed in Elyce’s ears, and Ysa whispered, “No, please.”

“No. Do not harm them.” Elyce’s hands and knees trembled. She couldn’t bear to see these good men killed.God, help us!

“Why should I not? What will you do for me, for the trouble you have caused?”

Elyce clenched her teeth. This man was pure evil. How dare he say such a thing to her, as if she owed him something. But he was going to kill Sir Gerard and Ysa’s brothers.

“Let these two knights go back to their homeland, and do not harm my servant’s brothers.”

“I have a better idea.” King Claude was smiling again. He addressed his guards. “Take them to the dungeon in Valkenfeld. I shall hold them for ransom. Sir Gerard’s brother is a wealthy English earl. He will pay for his brother’s release.” He waved his hand. “Take them and go.”

Elyce’s eyes locked onto Sir Gerard’s. She felt as if her heart were being ripped out of her chest as a sharp pain shot through her. What was in Sir Gerard’s eyes? His gaze was so intense she couldn’t look away. But when the guard shoved him toward the door, he went, along with Sir Oswalt.

Other guards took their place in the room, flanking King Claude.

Would King Claude truly hold Gerard for ransom and not harm him? Or was Claude lying? Had he made an agreementwith the guards beforehand to kill Gerard and Oswalt no matter what he said in front of Elyce? Her heart pounded hard.

“I am glad you have come to your senses and will go back with me to Valkenfeld.”

“I will return to Montciel,” she said, emphasizing the name of her own kingdom. “I will not go to Valkenfeld, and I will not marry Rodrigo.”

“Then you are willing to allow Ysabeau’s four brothers to be executed? That is a shame.”

Ysa began to cry, covering her face with her hands as she sobbed.

“I did not say that. Why would you kill innocent men? What do you think King Wenceslaus will say if he hears of it?”

“He will not hear of it, and even if he does, do you think he can do anything about it? He only loaned you a few of his soldiers and wrote a letter. That proves he does not really care.”

“That is not true. He does care. Any act of aggression on your part will not be taken lightly by him. He is the overlord here. You answer to him.”

But even as she said the words, she knew they probably weren’t true. As the king of the Holy Roman Empire, Wenceslaus had authority over all the countries, regions, principalities, dukedoms, and city-states from Germany to Sicily, but he had little real power, and he seemed very disinclined to use what power he did wield.