Retrieve

by Sarah Addison-Fox

  Kade froze, a groan escaping at how much he liked hearing the sound. Even if it was at his expense.

  Hadley peered down at her feet and kicked out a boot from under the confines of her dress. A wide smile still on her face. “Oh, I don’t know, they’re good for climbing.”

  He snorted, attempting to recover himself. “The dress isn’t. It’d get tangled in the branches.”

  She shrugged and carried on as though laughing was an every-day occurrence. He sighed heavily, leaving smoky trails in the air, as he realised why she was happy. They were leaving, which meant they were one step closer to looking for her brother.

  His mood dampened, Kade helped her empty the cottage. By the time the sun was high and was providing a measure of heat, he tested his ribs one final time, before heaving himself onto the mount.

  Pleased by the lack of pain, happy himself to be heading back to his remaining family, and to finally be able to have it out with Cester, he tried not to dwell on why he felt bittersweet about leaving Arrowford.

  His body went rigid as Hadley climbed up, nestling in behind him, her gloved hands lacing around his waist, the scent of her clean hair unsettling as her body pressed against his.

  Kade dug his heels in, and with a tug of regret he didn’t want to understand, left Arrowford behind them.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sleep deprived, ribs aching, chills creeping over his body as the snow fell, Kade found himself staring almost unbelieving at Cester’s snow-covered Retreat. Sturdy cabins with lights burning in the windows, welcoming in the greying evening.

  Two weeks of travel, leaving him saddle sore, irritable, and with each rumour of stolen men and boys, at every town, village, tavern, they stopped for a brief respite, he was more convinced the king was up to something. Something that most probably involved the royals getting richer off the broken backs of the king’s own abandoned people.

  He peered down at Hadley, her back pressed against his stomach so he could shield her from the cold, he nudged her to waking. “We’re here.”

  She yawned, sending curling vapers into the crisp air. Under him, the horse protested as though sensing ahead lay a warm barn, fodder and rest.

  With no one willing, or able to give them passage the trip had been more arduous than he’d anticipated. Two weeks of sleeping in barns, or accommodating villager’s floors, had been hard enough, let alone dealing with the nagging worry he’d do something to destroy the tentative peace he and Hadley had managed to reach.

  The closer they got to the valley, the more his own anxiety mingled in with Hadley’s worry about what Cester would do. The prince’s words ringing in his ears every time he tried to close his mind off to the threat.

  Hadley groaned slightly as she peered around them. “It’s snowing again.”

  Kade spurred the horse on, delicate flakes of frost landing on them as he scanned for signs of his remaining family.

  News would travel fast enough, but he doubted Hadley’s identity would cause more alarm than the lack of the retrieval would anyway.

  Sure enough, even in the quiet they were spotted, and a relieved smile grew at the sight of Meg as she appeared at the door of her cabin.

  More doors opened along the snow-covered path as curious heads poked out. Most likely drawn by the whoop Meg made as she scrambled towards them.

  At her approach, the horse whinnied, and Meg’s feet slid to a halt. “Sorry! You made it! We’ve been praying for you.”

  Kade opened his mouth to speak, alarmed at his sister’s sudden use of words only Cester could have inspired.

  His chastisement stolen when Meg dropped to a strange bowing motion, her voice low as her eyes shot to Hadley. “Your majesty.”

  Hadley wriggled, sucking in a mouthful of air, and Kade almost wished he could see her face at the mistake. He should have thought of it sooner. Of course, they’d confuse her.

  Kade smothered a laugh as Cester appeared, a heavy frown on his face. His footsteps faltering as he approached cautiously, an unfamiliar heavyset man, with thinning grey hair, and an ill-fitting navy uniform covering his expanding belly, came alongside him, his eyes roaming over Hadley eagerly.

  At his words, Kade’s blood ran cold. “Your majesty, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you again.”

  Hadley’s body pressed into him as the man stepped closer to the horse. Kade ignored the questioning look Cester was giving him, instead pouring all his exhausted brain into figuring out the man staring at Hadley, like a hunter who’d found his prey.

  His arms unwittingly tightened around her. Whoever the man was. He was most certainly not as familiar with the royals as an emissary would be. And he sure as hell didn’t know the princess well if he mistook Hadley for the curvy brunette Hadley had described.

  Cester’s voice was strained as he took hold of the bridle. “Earl, if you could wait inside with Meg, we’ll join you momentarily.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed slightly, his lips curled into a forced smile as he bowed, his eyes still locked on Hadley as she sat rigid.

  Meg’s voice startling him into pulling his scowl away. “Where’s Hadley?”

  Kade shook his head, trying to convey his warning as the man stood, snow coating his shoulders as he gawked at them both.

  Picking up on his apprehension, Meg gave the slightest nod, before placing a hand on the man’s uniformed sleeve. “We’ll wait inside where it’s warm.”

  Cester tugged the mount forward, the deep scowl on his face, dissipating as he smiled at Meg.

  Hadley angled her head as they received curious glances, her voice low as she leaned into his chest. “What’s going on?”

  Kade leaned down so he could whisper in her ear. “I don’t know.”

  Hadley’s reply was stolen as Carl finally made a hasty appearance, a broad smile on his face.

  He ignored Hadley completely, just as Kade would have done in his place, instead ready with a continuous stream of insults of why it had taken him so long, not to mention he’d lost another newbie along the way.

  Kade chuckled despite himself. “Eh, you know me, ran into a few problems.”

  Carl’s smirk grew as he shoved his hands into his pockets and jerked his head in the direction of the main house before he strode off after Meg.

  Kade’s smile died at Hadley’s gentle elbow to his ribs. “What am I supposed to do?” she whispered.

  His lips brushed her ear as he leaned down again, stealing the last moment he’d get to spend with her before the questions began. “If you can pretend to be a boy, you can pretend to be a spoiled princess.”

  Cester gave him a tight smile as he led the horse into the open barn, snow swirling around them as he pulled the door closed. He waited, thick arms across his chest, foot tapping impatiently on the straw-covered ground.

  The moment Kade steadied himself and helped Hadley dismount, Cester was in his face. “Alright Stormer Kade, start talking because she is most definitely not the princess.”

  He illustrated his point, by jabbing a finger at a startled looking Hadley. Kade’s stomach flipped about as he struggled to find the words to talk them both out of trouble.

  For a moment he stood, his mouth flapping about before he remembered who’d gotten them both into this mess in the first place.

  His temper flared, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I can explain everything Captain. Can you?”

  Hadley stepped back a little at the heavy scowl on Cester’s face. Kade’s shoulders and face set hard as he squared off against the man she knew he was having trouble trusting.

  Cester held Kade’s glare then his posture shifted as he blew out a breath. “Where is the princess?”

  Kade raised an eyebrow, but his posture hadn’t softened to match his captain’s. Instead, he gestured to her. “You remember Hadley? She found the princess, and it turns out she wasn’t kidnapped and apparently she is very happy to be in Amaria.”

  Hadley froze, her eyes widening as much
as Cester’s did. What was Kade thinking? One minute he was telling her to act like the princess, and now he was telling Cester.

  Cester shook his head and narrowed his eyes as he shifted his gaze to her. “We’ll discuss this further later. Right now there is a more pressing problem to deal with.”

  Hadley held her breath as Cester gestured outside. “The earl is either lying about who he is, or he is hiding something else. Either way, I’ll need your help to figure it out.”

  Kade shot a glance sidelong at her before his gaze drifted back to Cester. “Hadley can stay then?”

  Hadley’s stomach tightened at the peculiar look on Cester’s face before he waved his hand in front of her. “She can bunk with Meg until we find a resolution.”

  Relief swum through her at his words. Kade gave her the slightest of smiles before he faced Cester again, an edge to his voice. “Don’t you want to know what happened in Lazen?”

  Cester frowned before he moved to begin untacking the horse still waiting patiently. “I can guess. And from the way you’re holding yourself, you were delayed because you were injured again.”

  Kade managed a shrug as he replied. “You know me. Trouble finds me wherever I go.”

  Cester unstrapped the saddle, and turned, his forehead knotted into a deep frown. “Indeed it does. But unfortunately trouble seems to have found its way to my home, that’s not something I can tolerate.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  Cester pulled the bit from the horse’s mouth and rubbed the horse’s long nose before answering. His gaze drifting from her to Kade as he answered. “The kind of trouble that makes me nervous, Stormer Kade. The king is losing control of the country, and his enemies are seeking ways to destroy him. That will never end well for Azetaria or for the Stormers.”

  Kade’s eyes popped a little wider before his eyes locked on hers and she saw the concern in them. Her breath hitched as he broke the silence. “And you expect us to do what exactly?”

  Cester hefted the saddle off and hung it before answering. “Just play along, and whatever you do, do not mention to the earl the real princess is still in Amaria.”

  Hadley’s stomach twisted into a knot at the look Kade gave her, and the sarcasm lacing his reply. “Sure. More lies. You’re good at that, right? So why not?”

  Cester’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll do what I can to give you some peace. This is not the time to discuss the particulars of your retrieval.”

  Kade’s jaw only worked harder as Cester nodded his head at her. “You can explain yourself at a later date. But know this, whatever it was that you were hiding from, it’s not going to bother you while you’re in my employment.”

  Her stomach flipped about. Employment?

  He turned on his heel, his bulky frame pausing at the barn doors before he looked back at them, a wry smile etching over his face as he said the words that caused her heart to speed. “Welcome to the Retreat, Stormers,” he said.

  To be continued in Book Two, Retreat.

  About the Author

  Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born misfit who writes action-packed fantasy with a smattering of punch ups, mega amounts of romance and a dash of family values. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 28 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on her YA fantasy romance series' she can be found binge watching Mission Impossible movies, drinking lager and eating curry.

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