by Ash Night
"Don't remember, but my ribs sure do!"
Cam sighed, looking at Liam like he was a lost cause. "And how many of those falls were on your head?"
He shrugged. "Once or twice..."
Kat was unusually quiet, her eyes darting back and forth. "Kat, what's wrong?"
"Um, n-nothing, just... The last time I was without my dagger, I got ambushed and beaten up. Guess I'm a little jumpy. Sorry."
"No, don't apologize! That's perfectly understandable. But you’re safe, I promise. These guys may act dumb, but they're amazingly quick at being useful when they need to be."
That made Kat laugh and I felt my own anxiety ease up. It was hard seeing Kat like that, but I tried to understand her fear. She'd been on her own for a long time, with no one to protect her. Not everyone had a Liam to protect them. I was extraordinary lucky.
"That's right. We haven't talked about that, have we?" Cam said. "Snowflake mentioned you’re a slave."
Kat glared at Cam. Immediately, her body language screamed defensive. "Was."
"Was," he amended without batting an eye, continuing to walk ahead of her. She seemed to relax a bit once she saw he was willing to show her his back. It was such a subtle yet primordial response that I felt a chill go up my spine. "I have no problem with who you were. Slavery in any form is sickening, and I don't stand for it. All I want is for everyone to have their magic back. Once that has been accomplished, I will personally see to it that all slaves are set free and slavery is abolished completely."
"Do you want to be king?" she asked. Both Liam and I looked at each other. Why hadn't we thought to ever ask him that? The question, now that it had been asked, seemed so basic.
Cam rested a hand on his chin. "Hmm... Maybe," he said finally. "King Cam has a nice ring to it. Or I'll just appoint someone to lead while I go on bigger and better adventures. I dunno. I'll figure that out when I get to it."
My heart sank. It was one thing to be flippant about minor things, but this was a pretty big thing. Deciding the leader of a country, especially one as big as Valora, was a big deal. I wasn't quite sure how it worked exactly since King Artemis had been in power since I was born, but it had to be more complicated than just appointing someone the job. He had sons.
"Artemis and his sons won't be too happy about that." Kat laughed. "I can't wait to see him thrown in the dungeon."
Cam raised an eyebrow. "You want a corpse in the dungeon?"
Chapter Twenty
We stopped and stared at him. He turned and faced us after he noticed we'd stopped walking. "What? You didn't really expect I'd let him live, did you? He's a horrible person! He had his men go on a hunt for all the sirens in my hometown and tear out their vocal cords. They were snatched out of their homes, forced to the ground, and had their vocal cords forcibly removed. While other creatures just stood and watched, too afraid for their own lives to help!" Cam, his chest heaving, had that same faraway look on his face as he had that night around the campfire. Murderously angry. I took a step back as Liam stepped forward.
"Chill, dude."
Cam glared at him. "Fuck it, I'm fine. But I will not let him live. If you disagree, feel free to leave." His gaze rested on me and all I wanted to do was run up and hug him.
"I wholeheartedly agree," Kat answered after a moment of silence.
"Me too," Liam said.
I simply nodded. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of killing the king, but I was aware it needed to be done. Just like I knew we wouldn't be able to have a peaceful protest if we wanted everyone's magic back. It was going to get bloody whether I liked it or not.
Cam sighed at my nod and continued walking. "This isn't a game, Sunshine. Blood will be spilled. Lives will be lost. But it won't be yours, I promise."
"I know," I said, looking down at the ground as we walked. "It's just hard to deal with knowing I may have to..."
"I can't promise you won't have to, but it's for a good cause. Just try to remember that, okay?" He hugged my shoulders. "I know this is hard for you. If everything could be solved peacefully, I'd be open to ideas. But peaceful protests won't work. Even you can’t be naïve enough to think it would."
"The king is an asshole," I mumbled. "You mentioned that before, seeing the sirens getting... hurt. At the inn in my village."
"It was a horrible experience, not easily forgotten. Most of them survived, but to be honest, they probably hadn’t wanted to."
"Losing your voice can't be easy." Liam looked ahead. "I'm not the most talkative guy in the world, but not being able to talk would make it really hard to order food at the tavern."
"Once again, everything comes back to food with you, doesn't it?" Kat chuckled.
He grinned. "Catch on quick, don't you? Can you ride a horse, Red?"
She smirked, like a kid who was going to reveal she stole a dessert and ate it before dinner. "I used to ride the dusklings whenever Darkvern and his wife left on long weekend trips. Ali taught me."
"She didn't go with her parents?"
Kat laughed. "It was a sexy weekend, so I doubt she was welcome."
The sounds of horses made me flinch violently, snapping me out of my thoughts. Prince Talen's kind face flashed in my mind. Cam steadied me as he laughed. "Forget why we came here? Geez, when Ezra mentioned it was even more out of the way than his place, he wasn't kidding."
"Did I hear Ezra? How is the old bastard?" A white-haired halfling walked out of the barn, leaning heavily on his cane with each step.
"Ezra told us we could get a few horses here?" Cam asked, stepping forward to shake the old man's hand.
He looked at it like it was a snake and just kept walking until he stood in front of me. "You know what breed you want, young lady? His scowl softened into a smile. "I've always been better at talking to ladies than uppity boys who think they just want a fast animal that they don't even know is smarter than they are."
"I've noticed." Cam scowled at the old man, an irritated growl rumbling in his chest. I shot him a look over the old man's shoulder. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
"Got any young ones?" I asked. "I don't really care what breed it is. I just want one that can endure long rides. We'll be traveling a lot and I'd hate for it to be too hard on the poor thing."
He smiled. "Answers my question of whether I'm handin' my animals off to good people. Feel free to take a look. Barn's open. More in the front and back paddocks. Every single one's for sale."
"You don't keep any for yourself?" I asked as he led us into the barn. The smell of hay and the horses hit me and my heart sang. I loved the smell. Being around horses made me infinitely happy. I could stay here all day.
Alton sighed. "I used to. Buried one too many. My last died last winter. Now I just sell."
"I'm sorry. That must have been hard."
Kat, who had been wandering around the entire time, grabbed my hand. "I found you the perfect one!" She pulled me over to a stall. Inside was a snow-white horse with blue eyes. Its soft black muzzle nudged at my pocket. "It already wants treats!"
"That's Snowbell. Feel free to rename her if you want. She just turned eighteen months and I've already been able to ride her so she's saddle-broke. She loved the process so her training went quickly. Rides like a dream." I was surprised to hear pride in the old man’s gruff voice.
Snowbell snorted as if to say, Of course, I do.
"I'll take her!" I said, pulling out my wallet. Cam rushed over.
"My treat," he said, resting his hand over mine as I started to pull out a few coins.
I looked up at him. "You don't have to. You've been paying for everything so far."
"I want to. Think of it as your Name Day present."
"My Name Day already passed." I wrinkled my nose at him. "I want to pay for Snowbell."
"I don't care who pays for her as long as I eventually get paid," Alton grumbled. "Ten gold is what I'm asking. Saddle and bit included, and I'll throw in two bags of feed since you're all buyin' a horse."
I smirked at Cam as I gave Alton ten gold. "Here you are."
Alton smiled a toothy grin. "Thank you kindly, young lady."
Snowbell snorted as she was led out of the stall on a lead rope. Alton saddled her up for me and slid the bit under her tongue. After handing me the reins, he unclipped the lead rope and undid the halter. I slipped my foot into the stirrup and gracefully sat down in the saddle. Snowbell nickered, as if she were proud of me. I chuckled.
"Ride her in the paddock for a bit. Get a feel for her. I'm sure you two will make a great team, but can't be too careful," Alton said. I nodded and nudged her forward. She went out of the barn into the paddock with barely any prodding.
Remembering my lessons from a few years ago, I went through the basics with Snowbell. She walked, trotted, and cantered beautifully. When she was tightly controlled. The second I signaled her to transition to the next gait, she kept trying to gallop. It was all I could do to make her listen. After a few laps around the paddock at a walk, and making her circle back any time she misbehaved, she finally realized I decided when we could go faster.
Satisfied, and a bit sweaty, I unsaddled her and let her run for a bit. She excitedly took off like a bullet.
"Ow!"
I turned to see Liam cursing under his breath as he gave a dark bay a sharp look. The bay had soulful eyes and a white diamond-shaped patch above its eyes. I chuckled. "I think it likes you."
Liam smiled. "Ya think? Maybe he's related to Lily. She always liked to bite me the most. Damn, I hope that old lady is taking care of them..."
"She is, I'm sure of it. Master Cisco wouldn't let just anyone take care of them."
He waved Alton over. "I'll take this one."
Alton burst out laughing when he saw Liam's choice. "That's Leo. He's the offspring of Didra, our mule, but he's faithful, if a bit grumpy at times."
"Mind if I rename him?"
The old man shook his head. "Course not. He's yours for twenty silver. Discounted on a count of him not being full horse."
Liam smirked, scratching his new steed behind the ears. "Hope you like the name Cisco. It's the name of a man who is very special to me so wear it with pride, okay?"
Cisco flicked his tail, not seeming to care either way. Alton laughed and handed Liam a bit and saddle. Liam paid, without hassle from Cam, I noticed, and led Cisco out to run with Snowbell. "Wonder which ones Kat and Cuff Boy will pick."
Kat was looking at a mean-looking, ink-black stallion. The stallion was glaring at her. She just grinned. Oh man, were her bones going to hurt. I was already imagining how many times she was going to fall off that beast. That was, if he didn't decide to crush her skull under his powerful hooves first. She was insane.
"I'll take him."
Alton sucked in a breath. "Good, I'd be grateful/ if you could take him off my hands. He's free if you really want him, but no returns, got it?"
Kat nodded enthusiastically. "You got it. What's his name?"
"Ornery old bastard," Alton replied. "Never gave him a name. He's been an ornery shit since he was dumped in my corral one night. Least the previous owner had enough sense to not put him with the others, or I'd have woken up to at least one dead horse in the morning. Do you have any idea how hard it is to bury a horse without magic? It used to be easier. Fuckin' government running like scared little dogs the moment one baby shows higher magic levels..."
"So, Rai? Short for Darkrai. Because I’m pretty sure some people would consider you a nightmare. But you’re a good at heart, I’m sure of it."
Rai snorted and stomped the ground. Kat led Rai out of the stall by herself without the use of a lead rope or even a halter. She simply held onto a piece of his mane and led him to the small corral where I had been practicing.
In one fluid motion, she hopped up on his bare back. He hadn't tried to bite her up to this point, but now that she was on his back, it was clear he'd had enough of being pushed around.
He bucked, kicked, and reared like nothing I'd ever seen. Cam and Liam watched, tense but amused, while I peeked through my fingers, afraid of seeing my friend get trampled. Her red hair was whipping her face but she remained seated somehow, her legs squeezing his stomach.
"You done?" she asked when he had finally tired himself out. Her eyes, as well as her grin, were wild, as she panted, just as tired out as he was. "Good, now you're going to behave, all right?" Rai snorted but stayed still, his eyes blazing. He knew he had been beaten, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
Liam whooped from his seat on the fence beside our saddles. "Woo, nice ridin', Red. Who knew you were a cowboy like in those old books?"
"A what?" she asked, pushing her hair out of her face.
"A cowboy. Master Cisco had been given a collection of books as a gift from his times with the humans. He figured out a way to get it to read over a Record Codex and we would listen to a chapter every night before bed. Cowboys were humans who used to go around riding horses and shooting guns. They were so cool!"
"I'll take that as a compliment then." Kat hopped off Rai and let him run. All the other horse ran away as soon as they saw him, huddling in a big group at the other end of the paddock, leaving Rai all alone.
"I don't blame them, but it is a little sad." Liam looked at Rai with pity in his eyes.
Kat smiled. "Give it time. He just needs to learn how to get along with people. And other horses too."
I looked around. Cam wasn't anywhere in sight. Walking into the barn, I saw him at the other end, talking to a beautiful red roan
"...and it's going to be tough, but you'll be a good boy and everything will be okay," Cam was saying. The horse was looking at him intently, as if he was hanging on every word.
Giggling softy, I walked up to Cam and his new friend. "You found one."
"His name is Shiloh. He's paid for and ready to go. I was just explaining that he might see some scary things, but it'll be okay. Just like I was telling you earlier."
"I—I never got a chance to thank you." My face got hot when I felt him touch my forearm again. This time we weren’t interrupted. Sparks raced up my spine and I couldn't stop myself this time. I clung to him like a scared, drowning child. He rested a heavy hand on my head and stroked my hair. "Thank you for this. For everything. I never knew things... I never knew life could be this exciting."
"I'm glad you're having fun, Sunshine. My ultimate goal hasn't been reached yet, but making you happy is a very close second." He hugged me to his chest and I heard his strange heartbeat, wild and strong. The heart of a demon Fae. The boy who couldn't lie but could twist the truth so well, it was almost as if he could.
I felt safe with him. It occurred to me that the villagers back at the inn hadn't noticed his cuffs or maybe because they were so afraid of the wyvern it didn't matter to them. I still couldn't believe the only reason he was helping was because he needed coffee. When he had initially said no, I'd gotten so angry.
"Is that really why you want to help with the wyverns? Calderdash coffee?"
"Sunshine, I'm an inherently selfish creature. I do things because I want to."
"You're just helping everyone get their magic back because you want to? Not because you'll be helping millions?"
He shrugged. "It's more complex than that. Of course, I want to help people, but I also have my own reasons."
"Do—do you want power?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. The dream from the night before I left my home replayed in my mind. Cam's armor had turned black as night. Darkness in its purest form.
"Not exactly. I mean, I want my full power back, but I don't think I want to be king in all seriousness.” Cam frowned, puzzled. Then he chuckled softly to himself. "I guess I'll know when I shove my sword through the king's throat."
I shuddered. "Why do you have to think so violently? Or at the very least, say those thoughts out loud?"
He chuckled again. "Sorry, Sunshine. I forgot, your world is all sunshine and rainbows and no one ever gets hurt. Well, this is the real world."
> "I know that!" I snapped, feeling like he was scolding me.
Ruffling my hair, he walked past me and then paused at the doorway without turning around. "I wish I could have an ounce of whatever it is you have that makes your world seem so enticing. I envy you; I truly do. For as much as Snowflake, Kat, and I make fun of you for it, we envy your naive sense of justice more than anything."
"And here you have me, wishing I could understand why you see the world the way you guys do."
He sighed heavily. "And it'll break my heart when you finally do."
Being in the saddle felt oddly natural and I was thankful we didn't have to walk back to Hollowsville. Kat was muttering instructions to Rai so he would stay calm after he’d tried to pull ahead and plow though the others earlier. His punishment was to walk behind everyone. I could tell he hated it, but he was probably at least grateful Kat hadn't saddled him. She’d almost lost her fingers putting the bit in. An hour later, he was still trying to chew on it.
"How you holdin' up?" Liam asked. Cisco was very obedient and a perfect match for Liam. Unlike Rai, he hadn't been any trouble and was the only one of our horses to move out of the way before Rai had a chance to even come close to him.
"Good, Snow's been great." I patted her neck. She nickered. "Cisco seems like he couldn't be a problem if he actually tried."
Liam laughed. "Yup, he's wonderful." He leaned close to me and whispered, "Wonder what's got Cuff Boy so tense."
"Cuff Boy is tense because Cuff Boy has to listen to you ask," Cam snapped.
Liam growled. "Drink your coffee and go take a nap, why don't you?"
I sighed. Ever since our conversation in the barn, Cam had been quiet and stiff as a board. I was dying to ask what was wrong, but I knew asking in front of Liam would just cause him to give a snippy response instead of the real answer. He didn't want to admit anything was wrong, even if it was plain enough for everyone to see.
Dammit, his pride would be the death of him. I had always thought Liam's ego was big, but it was a speck compared to Cam's. At least Liam could admit when something was wrong. The whole world could be crumbling around him and Cam would insist he was fine. It was infuriating.