“Go on, then,” Anchor said. “Or would you rather clean the piss pots? I can send Flanner instead.”
Grumbling, Ranik hopped off the boat. A cramp of uneasiness clenched his belly with every step he took closer to the end of the dock.
The Northerner’s crates were tied together with knotted twine. They’d have to be separated before he could move them. Ranik kept his eyes down as he tried to loosen the knots. The man didn’t move to help him, darting his gaze between the boat and up the hill to the town beyond the wall as if he thought someone was watching them. Ranik dared a quick look up the hill but saw nothing. He started again at the twine, trying to free the first crate.
“Hurry up,” the man growled. “Cut it if you can’t untie it.”
Ranik grabbed the fishing knife that hung from his belt and sliced the twine. He started to resheath the knife when the man said, “What was that?” He spun in a circle, his eyes wild with terror.
“What was what?” The man was clearly insane. Ranik stepped back from the crates.
Seeing that Ranik had stopped working on the twine, the Northerner turned toward him and shouted, “I said, hurry up!”
The fishing knife slipped out of Ranik’s shaking hands and clattered on the planks. “Sorry,” Ranik said, bending to retrieve the knife. In the next moment, an arrow flew over Ranik’s head and the Northerner’s face contorted in a spasm of pain. The feathers of the arrow stuck out from his thigh.
Ranik followed the Northerner’s gaze up the hill to where a soldier stood at the edge of the stone wall. He knew in a moment that it was Darin. She seemed frozen in place.
A second arrow cut through the air, then dropped into the water behind them. The man screamed and clutched the side of his face, his left ear dangling. He stumbled toward Ranik as if blind. Forgetting what he held in his hand, Ranik tried to catch him as he lurched forward. His fishing knife stabbed deep into the man’s torso, generating another scream.
Ranik pulled the knife back, gasping at the sight of the blood on its blade. Tossing it aside, he reached toward the man to place pressure on the wound, but now he’d fallen to his knees, one hand holding the side of his head and the other clutching the arrow in his leg.
Looking for help, Ranik turned toward the boat. Anchor had his telescope trained on two figures moving up the path toward the tower. One, Ranik knew, was Darin. He hadn’t seen the other soldier before, but the quiver on his back indicated he’d been the archer.
Someone had wanted this man dead. The attack was planned. He glanced down at the man at his feet, then looked back at the boat. Anchor motioned for him, and he realized the crew was racing to push off.
By the time Ranik reached the spot where they’d tied up, the boat was already several feet from the dock. He launched himself at the boat and Anchor caught his arm, pulling him aboard. He gripped the rails, his heart beating as if he’d run a distance ten times as long as the dock. The other men kept their distance from him and no one spoke. The only sound was of the waves slapping against the sides of the boat and the sails pulling at the lines with a swell of wind.
Captain came to stand next to Ranik. He held out a small leather pouch. “Split this amongst the others or save it for yourself. It was that Northerner’s fare. I saw you tried to help him, but that man had too many enemies. No one will mourn him.”
Ranik stared at the pouch and thought first of tossing it overboard. His knife may very well have dealt the death blow, but it was an accident. The man likely would have died from a third arrow—which hadn’t come because the bowman probably hadn’t thought it was needed after seeing Ranik’s knife slice into the man’s chest.
Keeping the coins was nearly like being paid for murder. He knew the others, though, particularly Anchor, would never forgive him for wasting them. He tucked the pouch under his belt with the plan to lose it all gambling on dice that night. Caratia disappeared from the coastline as they rounded the curve of the bay and the open seas stretched before them. The sky was cloudless and the sun shone brightly overhead, promising a warm breeze and smooth sails that afternoon.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Three weeks had passed since Darin had left for Caratia and there’d been no word from her. Aysha woke every morning with the hope of seeing the dark mare in the barn beside Cobalt and starting every day with disappointment only made the hours longer. But she wasn’t the only one waiting. Faces were drawn everywhere she went and conversations were stilted whenever Caratia was brought up. The only news they’d had was that the king had easily reclaimed the city. Since the roadblock went up, they’d heard nothing more. No one knew how many Caratians had been killed or if any Tiersteners were lost.
Fortunately, Tobias had a steady stream of needs to keep Aysha busy—today she and Cobalt were headed to pick up his mended boots. As Aysha rode through the market square, she spotted Marian, who beckoned her over.
“The roads were opened this morning. The Elders are to meet as soon as we have word from Caratia.”
Aysha felt her spirits lift. “Any news on your son?”
“Not yet. But with the roads open…”
Aysha understood the hope in Marian’s voice. Too well. She could hardly concentrate on her errand now and hurried to find the cobbler. With the battle lost so easily in Caratia, Tiersten had little hope for resistance. What hope the town had seemed to be hinged on her continued presence in Tiersten. It was taken for granted by nearly everyone, it seemed, that she had come to Tiersten to choose their next king. The first in the line of Raniers had been chosen by a witch, setting a precedent that had endured to this day.
Thanks to Nan, who had taken to broadcasting Aysha’s reputation following the quick recover of Olaf from his wounds, it was now widely assumed that she was in fact a witch. She received daily requests for her nursing skills and had already had occasion to bandage a few wounds, assist a mother in labor, and dose an ailing family with a draught of her tea. Admittedly, she enjoyed being useful. What she was not enjoying was having strangers bow their heads when they passed her on the road and bowing again when she introduced herself. She wasn’t sure if it was a sign of respect or fear, but all the head-bobbing made her uneasy.
After packing Tobias’s boots in her saddlebag, she went to see the baker for her favorite nut rolls. Darin had left her with a handful of silver coins, which she’d used sparingly. The last thing she wanted was more attention and no one in Tiersten had more than a few pieces of silver in all their savings.
As Aysha mounted Cobalt, her rolls safely tucked away, a woman’s scream shattered the morning calm. A cloud of dust had arisen on the far end of the market and then amid a thunder of horse hoofs, she picked out the soldiers clothed in black. The riders descended on the market, one after the other in an endless stream. Horses galloped straight into the crowd at the market’s center, crushing those that did not leap out of the way in time and tumbling carts in a dizzying rush.
Lighting torches, the soldiers threw them onto the thatched roofs surrounding the square. The crowd in the square scattered in every direction. In the midst of the chaos, a voice called out. “Get out of here, Aysha! Ride!”
Digging her heels into Cobalt’s sides, she took off up the hill toward Heffen Castle. Arriving at Tobias’s cottage, she found the door busted open. She called Tobias’s name and had no answer.
Marian had told her to leave Tiersten in the event of an invasion. Now she couldn’t think of another option. She hid Cobalt behind the cottage gate and slipped inside to pack up her things. In only a few minutes, she was back astride Cobalt.
A neighbor had come out of his house and motioned to her. “The Elders asked me to give you a message. You’re to go to Maylek.”
“Maylek?”
“You’ll be safe there.”
He glanced down the road at the sound of a whistle. One of the Elders was hurrying house to house likely passing word about the coming soldiers. The neighbor continued, “Ride through the orchard but keep to the west o
f the castle grounds. At the mountain pass, keep west again. The path there will take you south over the mountains to the ocean.”
“Give Marian this,” Aysha said, passing the bronze locket to him. “Tell her I’ll return when she sends it back to me.”
The neighbor pocketed the locket. “Marian has a cousin in Eldering—Cyrus is his name. The Elders send news through him.” A group of soldiers galloped toward them and the man ducked inside his house without another word.
Aysha watched the soldiers speed up the hill to Heffen, fearing that at any moment they might turn and see her. She froze as a soldier astride a black horse turned off the main road, jumping the latched front gate of Tobias’s cottage and pulling up next to Cobalt. Cobalt whinnied before Aysha recognized the rider.
“Darin!” She’d never been more glad to see her face.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” she said.
Aysha immediately kicked Cobalt toward the orchard and Darin followed close behind. Using the trees for cover, they raced up the hillside, turning at the last row of apple trees and skirting around the far side of the castle. A deer trail led up a narrow ravine, and once around a rocky bend, they quickly slipped out of view of Heffen.
Too many words came to Aysha’s lips, but the fear that they might have been followed kept her silent. Darin kept a constant watch behind them, stopping her horse frequently and sniffing the breeze. Worry lines creased between her eyes.
Aysha didn’t relax until hours later, when they descended into a wide valley and finally Tiersten felt far behind them. She looked back at Darin and realized her anxious expression had eased.
She couldn’t wait any longer. Aysha pulled Cobalt off the path and hopped off. Darin got off her horse as well and met her with open arms. As Darin’s arms wrapped around her, Aysha felt tears course down her cheeks. She didn’t try to stop them.
“You have no idea how I have missed you,” Darin said.
“I have some idea,” Aysha returned. She met Darin’s lips and didn’t pull away until she needed to breathe. “Why’d you stay away so long? Every night I worried that you had been killed in Caratia. I’d wake and rush out to the barn, hoping to see you…”
“The roads were closed.”
“That stopped you? Since when do you need a road? I know I should only be thankful that you came back, but I wanted you here weeks ago.”
Darin brushed her fingertip over Aysha’s lips. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t only the roads. I had to stay until I knew what the king’s plan would be for Tiersten. Then I tried to return, but they took me for a soldier trying to defect…It wasn’t easy getting out of Caratia.”
“What will happen to Tiersten?”
“Tonight they’ll start fires…The soldiers have orders to kill anyone who might be a threat to the king. By nightfall, they will have moved King Bairndt to Heffen.”
“Tiersten had no chance.”
“The king had heard of Tiersten’s witch. Even in Caratia people talked of you—the witch who’d returned to choose the real king. You’ve angered Bairndt more than you can imagine. Hunters were sent to find you, along with half of his army. I worried that you wouldn’t know to leave.”
“I had strict instructions from Marian. I knew they had no chance…but part of me hoped King Bairndt would forget about Tiersten.”
“Bairndt won’t last,” Darin said. “Tiersten will have a new king before long.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know someone who can sense the future…The king’s counselor.”
Aysha looked doubtful. “You trust the king’s counselor?”
“I know him well. And I could sense if he was lying. Telv knows that King Bairndt will move to Heffen. But he said Bairndt will die before the year’s end and you will pick his replacement.”
“How do you know this counselor?”
“We were lovers once,” Darin admitted. “Long ago.”
Aysha realized that of course Darin must have had other lovers in her past, but she didn’t like the thought of her meeting up with one. She’d learned jealousy from Shawn. And she could hardly hold back the string of questions that came to her mind now. Darin didn’t deserve an interrogation. Still, she didn’t need to pretend to like one of her old lovers. “He doesn’t even know me. How can he know that I’ll pick the next king?”
“He described you perfectly. As for how he knows the future, he has never been good with details. All he tells me is that he can see it in the clouds.”
“You can believe what you like, but I’m not going to pretend that I’d trust someone who saw things in the clouds.” Aysha felt suddenly too weary to walk. Voices of her new friends in Tiersten echoed in her head. She steadied herself against Cobalt’s shoulder. “And I’m done with you leaving. I thought I’d lost you. From now on, if someone leaves, it will be me.”
“Fair enough. Though I doubt you’ll be able to escape me for long. I have a nose for tracking.” She smiled. “We should keep going while there’s still light.”
“I’m not ready yet,” Aysha said, reaching out her hand.
Darin clasped her hand and brought it up to her lips. “Your scent’s changed. You’re jealous of Telvin?”
“Sometimes I wish you couldn’t guess all my thoughts.” Aysha let herself be pulled into a long kiss. When Darin let go, she said, “Yes, of course, I’m jealous.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
For the rest of the afternoon, they picked their way among the rocks, steadily climbing. When they reached the first pass, the path forked and Aysha pointed to the trail heading west. It was near dusk and she wondered if they should stop to set up camp. When Darin kept on, she didn’t argue. Her thoughts were too distracted to let her rest. Knowing Tiersten was under siege, she wondered which of the faces and names she’d learned in the past month would miss tomorrow’s sunrise.
Darin finally pulled her horse into a clearing when the light was too weak to see the path. She laid out the sleeping mat she’d gone to Caratia with—now their only mat. It wasn’t nearly wide enough, but Aysha was content with Darin’s body close to hers. Drifts of snow clung to spots between pines and rock outcroppings. They were high enough for the weather to be closer to early spring than early summer.
As the wind picked up, Darin wrapped her arm around Aysha. They woke before the first light, shivering. Neither spoke as they headed out with drowsy horses in tow, the moon’s glow for their light. Darin’s mare, Onyx, kept a faster pace than Cobalt so she took the lead. Aysha felt her heart raise every time Darin glanced back at her. Maybe hunters were following them, but Darin could protect her. Despite everything, she felt safe.
By late afternoon of the following day, they descended the final slope. A faint line of rooftops peaked out from a dense fog. Aysha couldn’t clearly see the ocean, though she was certain by the smell that it was close. “That must be Maylek.”
“Are we stopping here?”
Aysha nodded. “For a time.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Darin had changed out of the soldier’s uniform before they reached Maylek and was once again dressed as a typical Glenland man. Aysha found the change of clothes an unexpected relief. They rode through the center of town and were quickly pointed to the only inn.
The innkeeper and his wife set them down to a meal of bread and fish soup. Cobalt and Onyx were seen to by the innkeeper’s son, and after they’d eaten, the innkeeper’s daughter led them up a narrow staircase to the rented room. The girl pointed out a basin of water for washing just outside their door and then darted off.
“I think we frightened her,” Aysha said as soon as the girl had gone.
“I doubt they get many visitors who aren’t sailors. Everything here smells of dead fish,” Darin said under her breath. She scrunched up her nose as she aired out the blankets.
“But there’s a bed,” Aysha said. “And no soldiers in sight.” She sank down on the mattress. The walls were thin and the muffled voices of the
innkeeper and his wife traveled from the kitchen below to their room. She listened for a moment. “They’re talking about us.”
Darin nodded. She was listening too. “We’ll have to watch what we say.”
Aysha sighed. She’d hoped that the tension of the past month would be gone once they’d gotten to Maylek. But they’d brought it with them.
* * *
When Aysha awoke the next morning, Darin was sitting at the edge of the bed looking out the window. The sky was a clear blue and they had a perfect view of the harbor and the ocean beyond. Gray-blue water stretched as far as she could see, blending with the deep blue of the sky far in the distance.
“The water plays tricks on me,” Darin said. “I can’t focus—there are too many scents and each one overpowers the next.”
“I like the smell of the ocean,” Aysha said simply. “I’ve never seen or smelled it before.” She slipped her arm around Darin’s body. “Is it only the smell that has you on edge?”
Darin kept her gaze trained on the waves, crashing on the rocky shore below. “You have no idea.”
“Tell me.”
“If you are found by the king or his soldiers…What if I’m not at your side? I was nearly too late in Tiersten. I saw that they’d busted down Tobias’s door.”
The intensity in Darin’s voice sent a chill up her spine. “But I was fine. And we got out. We’re safe here.”
“Maybe.”
Darin continued to stare out the window, her nostrils flaring every so often as she seemed to catch the scent of something new. Her body was rigid, every muscle tensed and ready for a fight. Aysha shifted away from her.
“Caratia changed you,” Aysha said. She picked her words carefully. “I think you wore that soldier uniform too long.”
Darin was silent for a long moment. Finally she said, “So much happened in Caratia. Alekander was there…I watched him fall with an arrow in his side and a knife in his chest. It should have been his end. But instead of dying, he only lost an ear.”
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