Heir of Vaashaa: The Lost Child of the Crown (The Lost Child of the Crown Series Book 2)

by Celine Simpson

  The water was cold, but refreshing. I was glad for it, especially with a day of walking through the thick, dense middle ground of the forest before us.

  On my way back to camp, Jude walked by with only a pat on my back before returning quickly to help us finish packing.

  Some things we left behind that were more a nuisance to carry than we had first anticipated. I had told the others that I solidified a force around us as we walked, with fair warning it would feel a bit like walking on ice to start but that they would get used to it and their bodies would adjust. Like a ball rolling forward with every step, the shield moved with us. I wouldn’t risk being heard or found, especially now that we knew what we were up against. A soldier with Black Magic of the elements taking us by surprise would have the upper hand, and if I was able to use my magic to seek out those near us, perhaps that was something the tainted soldiers could do too. I was counting on them being limited to basic magic as far as their knowledge went. The shield I had put around us allowed us to blend in. We would not be able to be detected which was exactly what we wanted. To be caught off guard? Not something we would want to have happen.

  We walked on with ease, setting a healthy rhythm and only stopping to have a bite to eat or check water pools for their cleanliness to fill our water skins.

  The sun set gradually and eventually the forest was illuminated only by the filtered glow of the moon through the treetops. More of the light came through than it did to the east when we had arrived.

  Jude held up a hand to stop as he was leading the group. I looked up to see what he was looking at. “What is it?”

  “The forest is thinning out here, we are coming to the western edge. We are a little ways north but there are villages that dot the edge of this forest, it’s not worrisome but it would be best to avoid them.”

  “Alright so we continue forward but move north slightly. Will that impact how we cross…”

  All the noise stopped. It just stopped.

  All around me, around us.

  It fell silent even in my own mind, except for a quiet buzz. I felt my face slacken and my heart pick up inside my chest but still I heard nothing, felt nothing but a tug, a pull to venture a little farther forward, to walk a little farther south from our intended path.

  “Silas.” Jude said my name with force like he had repeated himself a few times to get my attention. “Silas, what’s the matter? Are there people coming?”

  Asher drew his twin daggers so swiftly it had me wondering if they were not always in his hands. Just an extension of his own limbs.

  “No, no Jude. She is here.” I made to move as both men looked at me with concern tinged with confusion.

  “She is here, Terraleise. I…my…I feel her. The bond.” My hand went to my mid section, resting just below my ribs to where I felt the tether anchor into my own body and shoot out lining the invisible path I knew led to her.

  “What do we do? What if she is with – what if she is being held?” Asher fumbled with his words. A stark contrast to his confidence with a blade.

  “Then we will go in prepared.” I moved to step in the direction of the tug. But Jude caught my arm. “And if she is not there, Your Highness?”

  I placed my hand on his. “She is there, Jude. But for arguments sake, if she is not, we will continue on as planned.” The words came out of my mouth without hesitation, because it would not be the outcome, I was certain.

  I turned again to where I had felt the pull, the path to take as clear to me as anything I’d ever known. More to myself than to anyone else, I said “She is there.”

  So, we set off, closer to the western edge of the woods, closer to the village and towards Terraleise.

  Seventeen

  After we ate, we spoke quietly with one another. Our conversations steered clear of war, of Black Magic and Dee’s people from another continent through The Undiscovered Seas. A sea, mind you, that was not so undiscovered after all. She had explained that her family told her it had been referred to as The Passageway. It was so frequently used for trade and crossing to and from Kavasta and Vaashaa that there was never a time you could sail upon it and not come across another vessel on passage themselves. Instead, we spoke of things that had been recently pushed to the far corners of our minds and deemed unimportant because of what our reality was.

  Cassidy and Breanalee were already in service when my mother was the Queen of Vyterra. I listened to their stories of growing up with the knowledge that to serve and protect was the purpose of their lives. They were hardly older than I was, only in service for my mother in her last year before Cander stole the throne. The chaos and pain that was so blatantly reflected in their recounts of the gradual then sudden downfall of the House of Aslow – my mother’s house, my house – made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t talk through the time they shared their stories and did not bat so much as an eyelid when they hurried on quickly from the darker moments of their own lives. Simeera elaborated a little on her own story. I had been correct in my assumption that she was part Shellandrian. Her father had moved over for his trade, he was an incredibly successful horse breeder and so took a job as a trainer for one of the noble families that lived just on the outskirts of Altrey. Simeera’s mother was a seamstress who worked in the city of Altrey. They had met when he had gone for repairs of his own clothing and soon begun inflicting damage to his garments purposefully just for an excuse to see her. It was a genuine smile that crossed my face, it felt good to feel the happiness from another, for her to share her story. We had not set any expectations for our evening. It was unintentional but the night had indeed turned into a bit of show and tell of our lives.

  Yana spoke last, she had been quiet and attentive, but it was clear she was not so comfortable in her uniform as the rest of us that sat in the circle. Yana played the cello in the royal orchestra. Well, she had up until Cander. Her duties were then considered as useless so she was moved into a different department of the household. She didn’t tell us anymore than that, and I was in no rush to hear her say it. It would come through in time to someone who earned her trust in our group of six that surrounded her.

  When asked about my own story I shared it freely and without restraint. It was both a privilege and a surreal situation to talk about my life back in Lex. My nineteenth birthday seemed so far away, but with autumn in our midst and the cold being kept at bay by only a prayer to the Gods it was a reminder that a year’s mark was coming fast. Silas’s name seemed to fall from my lips with every sentence I spoke. At first it was comforting, but only as I went on, and the timeline of my past raced to meet my present did I realise that he had no idea I was alive, or that I had escaped. Their movement north to storm the kingdom from Move meant something had changed with their plans.

  Exhausted and barely able to move I fell into a dreamless sleep. I woke in the morning to find a spot in the forest for a bit more privacy and it was only then that I learned we had already been in our camp a full day, not counting the half day it took to walk to it, my being carried between the six others. The shock did nothing to speed up the healing. Even as I slept, Dee, against my wishes, helped me along, only using what she was able to spare without risking her own strength. The rest of the day saw me much the same; sleeping. I was only woken periodically by the noises of the other women practising either hand to hand, the thuds and bumps, or with their weapons with the clashing of steel. The pounding of their boots on the forest floor echoed in my mind even as I slept.

  The sounds of the night settling into the space around us stirred me finally to a state of consciousness where I could open my eyes. The forest had softened down, the sounds of birds and bugs had lessened as they found their places for the night and the rustling of the camp around me and the creatures who had slept through the day crunched with the leaves littered on the ground. Taking a mental note my body had loosened, I took a deep breath that was mercifully not etched with aches. The stiffness in my limbs had simmered to a dull ache and the fog of exhaustion
lifted from my mind. I cast a web of my magic to encompass the forest itself. The group I had noted had naturally moved on given the time I’d been asleep, and the forest seemed healthy and at peace, another mercy. It even seemed to sigh in relief, reaching back to me and caressing my own magic tenderly. Goosebumps appeared on my arms. Feelings of confusion prickled at my mind. It had never acted so maternally toward me, the forest or the naturally occurring magic of the earth.

  Someone was making their way over to me and the feeling fluttered away on a musing of wonder as my eyes opened to be met with a fire blazing. Its heat beckoned me, just as Dee offered me a hand to help me stand and move closer to the group.

  Simeera had managed to snare a couple of rabbits through the day, their meat roasted slowly over the fire and filled the camp with the succulent scent of a home cooked meal instantly putting everyone in a good mood.

  “How are you feeling tonight, Terraleise?” Dee asked me around bites of her own food. Casual conversation starters seemed like something only to be had from a different life. I knew it would lead to something heavier but it was still nice to be asked the question in a light-hearted way. Her hand lifted to cover her mouth as she spoke. With my own mouth stuffed with food I nodded back as I chewed to swallow. “Better. I have you to thank for that I presume. Thank you, Dee I truly hope that you haven’t used up too much of your own power. I am not so sure how it works, your reserves.” She waved me off not indulging my curiosity and continued to eat. Launching into conversation about our movements tomorrow.

  “Now that Terraleise has recovered enough to move we need to get going. Simeera and Cassidy will go to fetch the horses. With only two of them and six of us they will be mostly for supplies. Terraleise, if she needs to, will ride for starters as she continues to improve and then we will all take turns. My hope is that we should be able to pick up some extra horses on the way. Moving north along the ranges there are sometimes wild horses or farmers who have had it tough and willing to part with one.”

  Breanalee spoke what I knew we had all thought. “You cannot ride a wild horse. Should you be lucky enough to get near one without losing a mouth full of teeth.” Dee smiled a bit as if she had anticipated the comment. “It is not a problem, Bre. My gifts provide me a certain talent with animals, both tame and wild.”

  It would take some time for us all to adjust to Dee’s magic and what she could do. I made a note to find time to speak with her about it. Yana spoke up next, having already eaten. Not a scrap left on the bones at her feet. Her fingers licked clean.

  “Terra, how can you be so certain we will find the Prince and his army to the north? What if those plans have changed? You have been separated from the others for so long.”

  I set down my own food wiping my fingers off on my pants and sighed. “It is the only information to go off, as outdated as it is. Before we left Altrey Dee had learned that part of the armada was sailing north, this could only mean…” A buzzing filled my ears.

  Everything around me had lost all sound. I could see Yana’s confused expression, her mouth forming words that looked like a question of if I was okay but it was all a muffled silence beyond the buzzing.

  The bones in my lap fell to the floor as I jolted upright. My sight no longer seeing what was before me immediately flashed to a forest setting. Hurried footsteps and heavy breathing. Two men in front of me. They, we, were all in some kind of uniform but it was so dark I couldn’t make out where they were from or what kind of uniform it even was.

  My own vision came back – as quickly as it was taken – to the soldiers around me now standing and on guard. Dee was in front of me, her words coming back into focus.

  “Terraleise, what is it?” Her voice remained calm but there was no denying the underlying fear. She had indeed used too much of her own power to heal me. “There are people, here. Three of them, all male. Someone is coming.” Collectively we moved as one. Weapons drawn and ready. “I can’t see them. Not even through the forest. I can’t feel anyone.” I said out loud, my irritation was palpable. Then, like a breeze I sensed them. The movement along the forest floor like they were somehow floating. “They have magic. I sense them like an outline but they have managed to hide themselves.”

  Vines had risen to my call and entwined with my fingers and hands, ready and waiting. The others had positioned themselves at my flank, weapons drawn.

  “Are they close, Terra?” Simeera asked me in a whispered tone. I moved my head to my left where I knew she stood close behind, and nodded. “Yes.”

  The buzzing was not getting louder as it was getting more intense. I could feel the mass moving closer but still could only identity them by my vision. I could feel nothing but some kind of invisible bubble that seemed to be weaving its way through the forest, but nothing else. Whatever the hell that ‘vision’ was anyway, moving through the forest like I was there with them, like a dream but it was so real. Either that, or I was going mad.

  “Dee, can you feel anything at all? Can you sense anything?” My tone was hushed as it was to Simeera, but Dee replied back without the damper on her own voice. “No, Your Majesty. I can feel nothing.”

  Their shadowed figures came into sight but it was hard to make out more than their silhouettes in the dark as we stood on the other side of the fire in our camp. We all crouched further into a fighting stance, releasing the vines from my right hand I grabbed a blade. My left still felt the vine slither up my arm, like a serpent of the earth. One thrust of my arm would have the thorned vines around the necks of our intruders.

  The group approached rapidly without hesitation from the thinning forest directly in front of us. As they moved into our clearing their faces were illuminated by the fire between us.

  My whole body stiffened and straightened. The knife falling from my hand, landing on the forest floor with a thump. My vines fell lifeless from my grasp.

  “Jude?” I blinked my eyes rapidly, afraid I was seeing things. I could feel the buzzing over my entire body. My throat tightened with every thought, every prayer I made that they were alive that I had sent to the Gods. The hope I had shoved so far down into the centre of me. Relief like I had never known flowed through me at the instant knowledge that they had all gotten out okay. That they had lived, despite it all, despite what Ainsley had said, what Dee had confirmed, I had refused to believe it, not until I could see it for myself to be true.

  Emotion swam in his eyes, brightened by the fire between us as I took a step forward toward him.

  “Your Majesty.” Jude inclined his head quickly before stepping out of the way. I took another step towards them. A second figure came into sight. It was another soldier from the Lygot army but not one I was so familiar with. He bowed, keeping his eyes down as he moved to stand beside Jude who had retreated to the outside edge of our cleared camp.

  The firelight flickered violently drawing my eyes back to the spot where both Jude and the unknown soldier had come from. Setting aglow the third figure that stepped into the clearing.

  As he stepped into the light every second that had passed until the present moment tore through me all at once. The silent screams of my name on his lips as I drowned in a sphere of water in the Main Hall of the palace in Altrey. The memories flashed through the forefront of my mind as my eyes scanned him from head to toe clad in his Lygot fighting leathers.

  A sound escaped me that sounded so broken, not for the person I was now but the person I had been when his name was on my lips as I screamed for help and found strength in the tendrils of wind that wrapped around my soul refusing to let it shatter, when colours and sounds were such distant things they were merely figments of my imagination.

  In three long strides he was in front of me. His eyes the piercing green of grass covered in morning dew, bright with every emotion I knew was reflected in my own.

  Gently, as if worried he would startle me away, he moved to take my hand from my mouth, where it had flown in a desperate attempt to keep myself together. As he grasped my wrist
, his calloused hands warm and strong, the buzzing jolted and snapped. Tightening into a solid line that went from me and into him. Moving my hand to the side of his own face, my eyes scanning his features repeatedly in disbelief. He held my hand in place as he leaned into my touch. His eyes shutting in relief he moved to place a kiss on my palm. The area his lips touched sent a jolt through my entire body.

  “Silas.” Nothing more than an airy sound leaving my mouth. He Lifted his hand to hold my face. Leaning into his touch was the easiest thing I had ever done. My eyes closed involuntarily as the tears that had been swimming in my eyes made their descent. Bringing his forehead forward to press against my own his voice cut through everything, including the hardened black stone that had encased my soul.

  His hand slipped from my face to the back of my neck, holding me closer to him as he spoke. “There is nowhere you could ever go that I would not follow, Terraleise.” Then, he brought his lips to mine.

  Eighteen

  “Soulbound?” I had never heard of anything like it before.