“Estra has no idea what the Kingdom Rogues are like anymore,” Red continued. She watched the moonlight cast rays of soft light over the hundreds of windows lining the manor. Red considered the beauty of the view second only to the glittering city of Peragon. “She has no idea how much has changed.”
As Red watched the day shift into night around her, she tried to feel anything other than the heavy weight of conflict sinking lower and lower in her gut. She wished that she could stay in the place between her old life and the life she had lived while away—never really living freely, but not having to follow loads of orders and be under constant supervision.
But life would move on.
The sun would still rise.
The seasons would still shift.
Nothing could change about her life… or everything could. And while she wished nothing would change, Red knew that nothing about her old life as a Kingdom Rogue would ever be the same the moment she took her place back in their circle.
As the overwhelming thought finally settled over her, Red pushed off the tree. She cursed Estra Ayrith’s name, doing her best to convince herself that the old woman was wrong—that she was making the only reasonable choice by returning to her old life.
Red fastened her pack around her shoulders, squaring them as she looked up at the only place she had ever called home.
With her cloak draped elegantly around her shoulders, hood concealing her face, Red strutted out of the woods. She held her head high, the swagger returning as she calmly walked toward the manor. A new determination filled Red, and she hoped that her gut feeling would not steer her wrong.
The night sentries appeared from their hiding places on the roof the moment Red cleared the tree line. The moon illuminated their silhouettes, each one with a bow pulled taught, arrows aimed for Red’s heart. None of the figures dared to move as they watched Red cross the clearing before the manor.
She watched the guards in return as three forms from the back of the roof made their way to stand next to their counterparts at the front. She gave a high, two-toned whistle.
At the realization of who stood in their midst, the sentries’ weapons immediately went slack. Their bodies once again melted into the shadows, eyes remaining on their target as Red never slowed her advance toward the mansion.
Red’s footsteps only paused when she was almost to the front steps of the manor. She loathed her hesitation, but soon she was stopped—her foot raised above the first step before the entrance.
The sheer size of the manor made it impressive from a distance. But up close, every finite detail made it a magnificent work of art. Each brick was scrubbed clean of dirt and grime despite the years the building had stood. Dozens of windows created perfect rows that led to each of the many rooms available. Blue shutters lined up along each side, granting the imposing outside a glamorous touch.
Lanterns hung on either side of the door, the flames never ceasing to glow even during the harshest storms so that any future Kingdom Rogue could always find their way. Illuminated by the light of the lantern were carvings etched into the ground exclaiming welcomes in each of the seven kingdoms’ dialects. Carved along the door frame, in the old faerie tongue, there were spells for protection and good fortune.
The details had not been lost to the wear and tear of time, and Red glanced over each carving, silently letting the words roll around her mind. When she finished mulling over each word, Red’s poised foot fell to rest on the bottom step.
Red slowly ascended the small staircase, her initial hesitance growing with each step up. Her feet grew heavier the longer she took to climb up those few stairs, and Red could not help but wonder what would happen if she never reached the top.
Her thoughts finally stilled enough to realize that worrying was pointless. Red felt her worries going numb while her body continued to rise one step at a time until she reached the landing.
That numbness took over Red’s actions as she slowly reached out for the front door, always unlocked because the guards stopped any threats before an intruder reached the first step. She slowly turned the brass door knob, not bothering with the formality of knocking to wake the butler. The mahogany door swung open on silent hinges.
As Red took her first steps through the dimly lit hallways, she realized that her old fascination with the manor had faded away. She had expected to feel the welcoming presence that had gotten her to stay five years prior. But as she made her way toward the one room in which she could make a dramatic entrance, Red realized that she had been hoping to feel more when she had returned to the Kingdom Rogues.
Whether that feeling revolved around undying loyalty or a newfound hatred, Red did not know. But she did know that she no longer felt like the Rogue Manor was as perfect as she had remembered it to be.
Maybe it was the five-month separation from those familiar halls. Maybe it was some remaining confusion from her dream. Or maybe Estra Ayrith had been right all along.
~~~
Dranac Gnorw burst through the doors to Arthur Welin’s private study, halting before the dark ash desk. The heavy chair was turned away from the door, but Dranac dropped to one knee all the same, knowing that his mentor had been waiting. He bowed his head low against his chest as he waited for Arthur to start their likely harsh conversation.
When no answer came, Dranac raised without approval, planting his feet before blurting, “Red has been missing for several weeks. I lost her in the Pricker River, and I take all the blame for not being able to find her.”
Nothing came from Arthur.
“I assume that she is either dead or in prison,” Dranac Gnorw continued slowly, wringing his hands together as he tried to stand tall and still. “I fully intend to lead a search party to find her the moment you give the word.”
Dranac blanched as Red turned the high-backed chair around, propping her filthy feet up on the edge of the desk. Her face and clothes were covered in layer after layer of dirt and sweat. Her hair was in a messy braid slung over her shoulder, most of the golden brown strands in neglected abandon as they made small curls that framed her face in a wild mane.
The only clean aspects about her were the stunning blood red cape draped over the arms of the dark leather chair and her emerald eyes which flashed with mischief in the dim candlelight.
“No need to send out a search party, but I am pleased that you would even go through the trouble to try to find me,” Red drawled out with a light chuckle. “I had started to worry that you had forgotten about me. It is a shame, though, that you think so little of my survival skills that you just went about and assumed I was dead or captured after the mishap with the Pricker River.”
“Y-you’re alive,” Dranac gaped, stunned into a stupor as he raked his hands through his equally filthy hair. “You’re alive!”
“Of course I’m alive,” Red shot back sharply. “I had a little trouble getting through the Forbidden Wastes, but yes, I’m alive.”
Dranac Gnorw gulped at the mention of the cursed lands, his hands tugging at the ends of his hair as if he wished to pull the strands right out of his head. “You traveled through the Forbidden Wastes. Alone. And survived.”
Red flashed Dranac a daring smile as she watched his face go through every confused and dismayed expression in only a few seconds as he watched her own face turn deadly serious. “Survived. Thrived. Whichever term you fancy more.”
“How did you make it back?”
“Well, after I almost drowned in the Pricker River, I landed at the base of the delta at the entrance to the Forbidden Wastes territory. From there I traveled for a few weeks until I came to the border between the Wastes and Perancis. After making it across the border, I traveled for another couple of weeks through the larger farming estates when I finally made it back here.
“Now all I have left to do is wait for Arthur to finish up in his meeting so that I can brief him on my mission and move on to the next one.”
Red kicked her feet over the arm of the chair, twisting
her braid around her finger loosely as she continued to watch Dranac Gnorw gape. She shook her head when he did not elaborate on his own trip, letting out a long sigh as she waved her hands around to get Dranac’s attention.
“Do you have any idea what is going on in there”—she gestured toward the bookcase behind her that led into the hidden meeting room beyond—“because I have been waiting here all night and have not heard a peep. It’s getting a little boring waiting for Arthur to come in and find me here. I’d much rather take a nap and come back later.”
Dranac started to shake his head, shrugging his shoulders until the sound of the old bookcase creaking sliced through the silence. The two immediately turned their heads toward the hidden door, bodies tensing as they waited for their mentor to emerge into his office.
When Arthur Welin finally walked through the open doors, tension lining his every feature, he halted in surprise. His russet eyes switched between Dranac standing before his desk and Red’s head peeking around the edge of his chair. Those hard eyes narrowed as Red slowly spun the chair around, a smug grin on her face.
Arthur’s pale skin glowed orange and red in the fading candlelight, his eyes shining with a touch of anger as he took in his two disheveled assassins. His neat bronze hair fell across his shoulders, the muscles in his neck and jaw twitching with restraint. His clenched hands moved to straighten the cuffs on his dark wine jacket. The gold embroidery glowed in the light, exuding elegance from every angle.
“Get your filth out of my chair,” Arthur Welin demanded in his deep, honey coated voice that could trick anyone into following his every order, even when he was angry.
“And here I assumed that you thought more highly of me,” Red teased as she stood from Arthur’s chair. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders, her head tilting up toward the glare that was losing some of its harshness.
Arthur gave a thunderous laugh. “And here I assumed that you would have presented me with a severed head when you finally returned home.” He gave another chuckle, his eyes losing some of their harshness as he looked her over to see if there were any wounds located under the layers of grime. “I also assumed that you would not be back so soon.”
“Already trying to get rid of me?” Red asked, stepping back as if offended. “If I had known you would be disappointed to see me, I never would have returned.”
“Never disappointed, Red, just unprepared.”
“Unprepared indeed,” Red agreed, brushing specks of dirt from her arm onto the muslin carpet beneath Arthur Welin’s desk. She noticed that the carpet had changed since Red had last been in her mentor’s office. It had most likely been replaced a few times after badly timed mistakes that always ended in immediate punishments.
“She was hoping for a great feast and a ball in her honor,” Dranac Gnorw teased, trying to make his mark in the closed off conversation. He looked at Arthur with a sheepish grin, stating, “She deserves it for what she’s been through.”
“It’s a shame Arthur won’t get to hear all about your journey,” came a feminine voice from beyond the still open bookcase.
A beautiful woman stepped into the office, tracing her perfectly polished nails across the shining designs around Arthur’s shoulders. Long legs pushed through slits in an elegant lilac dress, the sheer material leaving nothing to the imagination. Platinum blonde hair was curled and swept out of the way, showing off the woman’s made-up face.
Everything was too perfect about her, and Red immediately disliked her pursed-lipped smirk.
Arthur Welin clearly did not feel the same way as he wrapped an arm around the young woman's hip, pulling her to his side. “Did you bring Estra Ayrith’s vial?” he asked Red, nuzzling his nose into the woman’s neck.
“I had an altercation with some Airaldan guards after I got it,” Red bit out. Her face grew warm as she watched the indecent display of affection between her mentor and the courtesan. Red looked back at Dranac with disgust, but he seemed just as taken by the woman as Arthur was.
“That is disappointing,” Arthur commented in a low voice. He did not care about the vial as much as Red had thought, but she guessed that she had the courtesan to thank for the useful distraction.
The courtesan giggled as Arthur Welin began to nibble on her ear. She gently pushed him away, but her heavy-lidded eyes still showed that she would easily welcome more. “The street lords are waiting, Arthur,” she tittered. She tugged on Arthur Welin’s arm as she let out another sugary sweet whine. “We can’t keep them waiting for too long.”
“I’ll see you in there, darling,” Arthur promised, nudging the girl toward the room beyond his bookshelf. “I just need to find those papers they were asking for.”
The courtesan pouted at Arthur, but she followed his nudge. She looked back at Red and Dranac Gnorw, her disgust showing through as she looked over the much shorter, dirtier girl.
She turned away from Red with a disapproving huff, trailing her hands over Arthur’s arms before twining her fingers with his. She reluctantly stepped away from the older man, slowly dropping his hand before swinging her hips as she slipped back into the dark meeting room.
“Since when did we entertain street lords and prostitutes?” Red blurted as she watched Arthur Welin lick his lips at the girl’s distracting exit.
Red’s mentor gave a sigh, rubbing his hands across his temples as if she were a headache that he had to massage out of the way.
“I was hoping that all of that business would be over before you returned.” He shuffled through the papers on his desk, pulling out a pile of what looked to be loyalty contracts before tucking them under his arm. “We need the extra eyes and ears in the cities. Some of the more powerful street lords are a little hard to negotiate with, so they have been brought here to discuss the certain benefits they want.”
“Certain benefits?” Red asked, appalled that the scum of the streets had even been allowed through the doors. “Anything specific that they’re looking for?” Red popped her knuckles, her eyes roaming past the still open bookcase to look into a room full of sleazy men and trampy women chatting together.
“Everyone will all learn soon enough. Now why don’t you run along and clean yourselves up? I assume you’re starved, so feel free to wake the cooks.”
He barely had to look at Dranac before the boy was obediently pushing through his office doors.
Arthur Welin ushered Red from behind his desk, squeezing her shoulders tightly. The gesture was hardly meant to be warm. It was more like a warning for what would happen if she broke into his meeting. Once they were close enough to the door, Arthur shoved Red out into the hall before he slammed his study doors shut—ending any conversation that Red wanted to have.
~~~
Dranac coughed behind Red, interrupting the silence as she continued to stare at the door that had just been slammed in her face. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“No thanks to you,” Red commented dryly, her mood growing more sour as she tried to comprehend what had happened in Arthur Welin’s office. She waved her bandaged arm around, the gauze covered in dirt and dried blood. “A present from the Forbidden Wastes,” she added, piling on the guilt.
Dranac Gnorw let out a sigh, his hand reaching out to look at her arm. He gently unwrapped the bandage, wincing as he recognized the mark that would surely leave some impressive scars. “I was really worried about you,” he admitted. “I thought you… I thought you were dead.”
Red pulled her arm out of Dranac’s grasp, the wound throbbing as she examined it for infection. “I’m surprised you just made it back. Where’s the rest of your group?”
“I sent Bryce to his room. I hope the twins drowned, but I’m assuming they made it out of the Pricker River eventually if they didn’t end up washed up in the Forbidden Wastes with you.”
“Figures,” Red stated. She turned away from Dranac, moving to plop herself down at the bottom of the staircase. “One of them definitely tried to drown me, so they probably wanted to g
et away while they had the chance.”
Dranac moved to stand next to her. He leaned against the banister, looking down at Red with concern. “The fact that you are so calm about the Norton twins trying to murder you scares me.”
Red shrugged. “I’ve seen some shit.” She twisted a corner of her cloak around her finger, winding and unwinding it repeatedly.
Dranac Gnorw sat down next to Red, stretching his arms and legs out as he made himself comfortable. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“No.”
Dranac huffed out a laugh, his head resting back against one of the carpeted steps. He tucked his hands behind his head, nestling into the uneven seat. “Do you wanna hear about how drunk I got at the Golden Tavern while waiting for you?” He closed his eyes, leaning even farther into the staircase.
Red caught Dranac watching her with one eye, a broad smile lining his lips as she smirked down at her muddy shoes. “Drunk enough to lose all of your money?” Red tapped a mocking finger against her chin. “And, let me guess, your pants too?”
“All the money Bryce let me use,” Dranac Gnorw confessed, his chest shaking with silent laughter. “I don’t recall ever losing my pants, though. You’ll have to ask Bryce on that one.”
“So while you were having the time of your life getting drunk, I was running for my life in the Forbidden Wastes,” Red chuckled dryly. She shook her head in disbelief, her smile turning down into an annoyed frown. “What a great twist of events.”
Dranac rose from his laid-back position, his body tensing as he realized his mistake. He prepared himself for a yelling match that he was sure to lose, but nothing ever came. He watched Red, her hunched form keeping him from being able to see her face.
“If I had known that you were alive, I would have gone to look for you.” He placed a comforting hand on her back, but he snatched it back when Red flinched away from him.
Red turned to glare at Dranac, her anger rolling off of her in waves. She could not believe what he had just said, especially after what had happened in Craelon almost a year before. He had left her then, and he surely would have left her behind in Peragon if she had not been set free.
Cloak of Darkness (The Destroyer-Blessed Saga Book 1) Page 16