Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

one gets in or out until we're finished. Try to keep
    alert. Lewis or Dominic would quite happily kill all of you, just to get a chance at killing me.'
    The Steward waited a moment to be sure he'd finished, and then set off briskly down the corridor.
    Jordan and Gawaine followed her. Jordan could hear Roderik spluttering with what sounded like pure rage behind him, but he didn't dare look back to see. He didn't trust himself to keep a straight face if he did. Taggert led the way to an unobtrusive door tucked away in a shadowy corner. She opened the door with a heavy key on a chain, and gestured for Jordan to enter. He did so, and Taggert went in after him and shut the door behind her. Outside, Sir Gawaine drew his axe and took up his guard.
    The room was small and bare, and the walls smelt strongly of fresh whitewash. The only light came from a single candle stub burning in a wall holder. Jordan let his hand drift casually closer to his sword. He trusted Taggert, but there was no point in being foolish. Taggert looked uncertainly at Jordan, as though wondering exactly where to start.
    'Just say it right out,' he said gently. 'I don't think either of us has much patience with diplomatic language.'
    Taggert smiled suddenly. 'You've changed a lot since you went into exile, Viktor. You weren't a bad sort before, for a Prince, but after you met Elizabeth and she threw you over, you just fell apart at the seams.
    No offence.' Jordan nodded to show he'd taken none, and she continued. 'At the time, I thought you'd become as bad as your brothers. There's a well-established streak of instability in your family, you know.
    Comes from all that inbreeding for Blood in the old days. King Malcolm used to think about that a lot. It worried him.
    'We talked quite a bit, your father and me, after my father died. I suppose because my dad and I were the only people in the Court who didn't play politics. We never have. Our job is too important for that.
    Anyway, the point is your father trusted me. He told me where to look for his will if anything should . . .
    happen to him. So when he died, suddenly, I followed his directions, took the will - and kept it. I agreed with the Regent, you see, I thought neither you nor your brothers were fit to be King. And then I saw you, fighting beside me in the Court and again in the West Wing, and I knew I'd been wrong about you.
    I'm sorry, Viktor. Here's the will. It's yours.'
    She reached into her pocket and brought out a single polished ruby. It gleamed darkly on her palm like a great drop of blood. Jordan looked at Taggert for a long moment, and then took the jewel from her.
    Their eyes met, and she shrugged and smiled, suddenly embarrassed.
    'You stood up well in the West Wing, Viktor. Not everyone can cope with the Unreal; it takes more than ordinary courage. You were scared half out of your mind, but you didn't let it stop you. Watching
    you cut a path through the Unreal was like watching your father on a battlefield in his prime. Strong and brave and . . . royal. I was impressed. We all were. I've never listened to the will myself, but I suppose it contains instructions on where to find the crown and seal. If anyone's going to wear the crown, Viktor, I'd rather it was you. Now, if you'll excuse me Jordan nodded dazedly, and she hurried out of the room.
    Sir Gawaine looked in, to make sure everything was all right with Jordan, and then went over to join him.
    Jordan speechlessly showed him the ruby, and Gawaine nodded slowly.
    'Malcolm's will. You must have made quite an impression on the Steward, your highness. I haven't known her to blush and go all tonguetied since she was in pigtails. Now we'd better get back to the others. I don't like us being off on our own, away from the guards. And I think the sooner we've got that will in a safe place, the better.'
    Jordan nodded, and slipped the ruby into one of the hidden pockets in his sleeve. The jewel felt strangely warm, its heat pulsing against his arm like a living thing. He walked out into the corridor with Gawaine at his side, and only then realised he hadn't even thanked the Steward. He looked quickly up and down the corridor, but Taggert was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged unhappily and rejoined his party, and Roderik cursed him in an icy monotone all the way back to Jordan's suite. Not that Jordan listened to any of it; he had too many other things
    on his mind. The Steward had placed a great deal of trust in him by giving him the will,