Moss Forest Orchid (Silver and Orchids Book 1)

by Shari L. Tapscott

  Sebastian groans when he sees us and turns away, looking like he’s angry enough to punch something. Bradley motions Avery into the cell closest to the stairs. The captain walks in, not putting up as much of a fight as I expect, and then the guard shoves me into the cell between the two men. Watching me with a sardonic sort of smirk, Bradley pulls a ring of keys from his side and turns the lock. “You’re a little too pretty to be behind bars.”

  “And you’re a little too stupid to question what you eat.” Dominic already figured it out. Nothing I say is going to make it worse at this point. “How’s your stomach?”

  “Lucia!” Sebastian hisses.

  Apparently, he’s of a different mind.

  “Don’t worry.” Bradley clasps the bars and leans in. “Adeline will join you soon.”

  Without a word, Bradley turns the corner and marches up the steps. Sebastian still won’t look at me, so I turn to Avery. He doesn’t look as angry as Sebastian. In fact, he yawns and stretches out on the bare straw pallet that lies on the floor, closing his eyes like he’s going to get some sleep.

  “So…” Sebastian says when he finally turns back, his eyebrows knitted with irritation. “Did your plan go as you pictured it?”

  I set my hands on my hips, facing him as I narrow my eyes, daring him to challenge me. “Not exactly.”

  “I had things under control.” He runs his hands through his hair, more frustrated than I’ve ever seen him. “I have no idea how we’re going to get out now.”

  “Maybe with these?”

  We both turn to the captain. Eyes still closed, relaxed on the cot, Avery holds up Dominic’s keys…which both the constable and guard forgot to take from him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Pack Light. Adventure Awaits.

  “I am not going into the wildlands.” Adeline sets her hands on her hips, indignant.

  We don’t have time for this. The guards are going to realize we let ourselves out, and they’ll be knocking on Adeline’s door any minute now. We were barely able to find our weapons and sneak away before they caught us. Luckily, the apothecary’s concoction was potent.

  “They know you helped us,” I say, exasperated. “They’re going to come for you. Do you know the standard attire for prisoners? It’s not velvet.”

  Adeline crosses her lace-encased arms and shakes her head. Her auburn curls bounce back and forth, framing her face. She refuses to meet my eyes. All in all, she looks very much like a stubborn child.

  Sebastian stands near the closed window, keeping a watch on the street through a slit in the drapes. Avery paces, looking as if he’s about ready to toss Adeline over his shoulder and walk out the door. Flink just looks eager to be out. He prowls about the room, chattering. He’s even larger than he was when we arrived in Grenalda, now the size of a small shepherd dog. He’s magenta for now—a color I can’t seem to match to an element. Hopefully, he won’t be spooked, because I don’t necessarily need to find out.

  “Dominic wouldn’t dare lock me up,” Adeline argues, though she looks a little pale.

  “I wouldn’t count on that.” Sebastian glances toward us, letting the curtain fall. After a moment, he turns back to the street.

  We should leave the stubborn seamstress here, but how can I do that? Not when I was the one who encouraged her to help us in the first place. In my defense, I honestly didn’t think the constable would blame her. Apparently, he’s not a terribly trusting person.

  Losing patience, Avery steps in front of Adeline and takes her hands. I watch him, incredulous, as he turns on his considerable charm. He steps toward her and gives her his sole attention, like she’s the only woman in the world. Softly, as if they are alone, he says, “Please come, Addy. I cannot endure the thought of you falling into trouble on our account.”

  She stares at Avery, blue eyes blinking, lips slightly parted. He kisses her hand softly, never breaking eye contact with her. It’s an intimate moment, so much so that even Sebastian looks uncomfortable.

  I shift my weight, irritated. I knew Avery was good, but I didn’t necessarily need to see him work his charm with someone else. Part of me thought that maybe, just maybe, I was special. Then a thought crosses my mind. He wants something from me, just like he wants something from Adeline.

  Bemused, Adeline finally nods. “All right.”

  Fifteen minutes later, I’m bedecked with the hunting outfit I had admired when we first visited the shoppe, and Flink’s secure in my arms. Adeline whines that she cannot possibly survive with only one change of clothing. We ignore her and pull her into the street, heading in the direction of the cove.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  It’s on the Map

  I feel like a criminal. I am a criminal. Sir Arthur’s map sits in my lap, reminding me of my crime. I alone will carry it, for I am the only one I trust to ensure its safe return to the duke. If we are lucky—or perhaps if we are good—we will return it to him with a cache of priceless orchid plants and our crimes will be forgiven. If we are lucky…or perhaps very good.

  The dinghy rocks in the gentle inlet as Sebastian rows us toward the shore. Flink sits at his feet. The dragon holds his head high, and his eyes are sharp. Adeline stares at the uninhabited beach and fidgets with one of her long, bejeweled earrings. It took us a day and a half for The Greybrow Serpent to sail to the coordinates in which Sebastian and Avery decided would be the best place to begin.

  The two have come to a temporary truce—I’m sure because Adeline is here. Comforting her has become a full-time task. That, and Avery’s ship saved us a good week and a half on foot.

  “Tell me again why it is you cannot help row?” Sebastian asks as we glide through the still, dark blue waters. Clouds hang low, creating a shifting morning fog that moves like wraiths.

  Avery stretches his legs in front of him. A smug, half-smile plays on his face. “Because I am the captain, and captains do not row dinghies.”

  Sebastian continues to propel us forward. The movement of his arms is strong and graceful—and frankly a little distracting. “But do they perhaps swim?”

  All right, it’s not much of a truce.

  I try to ignore my companions and study the shoreline. Trees tower over the land, giants in the mist. Ferns grow at their bases along with thick, impenetrable brush. The moisture is heavy in the air, cool and oppressive. It sinks into my long jacket and raises goosebumps along my arms.

  There is something unsettling about a place so untouched.

  We find a spot along the rocky shore to land. Avery leaps out and wades through the thigh-high water to pull us in. After he secures the small boat, he offers his hand to Adeline. “Ladies first.”

  She hesitates, terrified of this new territory. Avery takes her hand and then glances around. “No need to be nervous. It looks very much like the country that surrounds Mesilca.”

  Unconvinced, Adeline clings to him and stays close to his side even after her feet touch the wet gray rocks. Sebastian leaps from the boat. Once Adeline is settled, Avery turns and holds a hand out to offer me assistance as well, but Sebastian beats him to it. Hands around my waist, he pulls me toward him.

  I almost roll my eyes. When did these two decide I am as helpless as Adeline? Still, it’s hard to complain when I’m pressed against Sebastian’s chest, closer than I’ve been in days. I glance up to gauge Sebastian’s reaction. He looks down at me, his face carefully blank. Avery clears his throat, and we step apart.

  As the men discuss the best path through the brush, Adeline pulls me aside. “Magic is heavy in the air. Do you feel it?”

  I hold out my hand and shake my head.

  She shivers. “It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.”

  I don’t feel anything. “Perhaps you’re just nervous? It is unsettling here.”

  Shaking her head, the seamstress moves to Avery’s side and latches onto him like she has no intention of letting go.

  Flink, the last one to leave the boat, lets out a sound of dist
ress. I find him standing on the edge of the dinghy, rump wiggling, tail waving like a banner, too terrified to make the tiny leap.

  Letting out a sigh, I step toward the water.

  “No, let me,” Avery says, stopping me. “No reason to risk you falling in when I’m already wet.”

  The captain rescues my worthless pet and deposits him at my feet.

  The dragon sniffs the ground like a dog and growls low. We all turn toward the little beast, each of us looking a bit on edge.

  “How long is this going to take?” Adeline whispers to no one in particular.

  “Half a day in, half a day out,” Sebastian answers.

  Avery squeezes her shoulder. “See there? We’ll be rowing back to the Serpent before nightfall.”

  She gulps like she doesn’t believe him. I draw in a long, bolstering breath because I know I don’t. I’d bet my parent’s chicken farm that we’re looking for night-time shelter before we reach the flowers. But I’m naturally optimistic like that.

  “I’ll be rowing us back,” Sebastian corrects. “Not we.”

  I nudge him in the side. “Captain’s don’t row, after all.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  He smiles. I smile back. Avery frowns and takes off into the forest.

  ***

  “I just don’t understand why I couldn’t stay on the ship,” Adeline says for what must be the dozenth time.

  “It wouldn’t be safe,” Avery answers.

  “Or proper,” Sebastian feels the need to add.

  “And this is safe and proper?” She pushes her way past a huge fern frond that lies low in the animal trail we’re following. It swings back and smacks her in the face.

  We don’t know what animal made the path, and I’m not eager to find out. There are all kinds of tracks in the springy ground, but none of us care to examine them too closely. If we’re lucky, we won’t meet anything.

  “Of course, it’s safe,” Avery exclaims, lying through his teeth. “You’re with us, aren’t you?”

  The seamstress looks up at him. “Forgive me if I don’t have a lot of confidence in the two men who got themselves thrown in jail after attending a ball.”

  I wonder what it says about me that I’m feeling left out because she didn’t mention my involvement in the ordeal.

  “Stop for a moment,” I say, interrupting their conversation. “What do you suppose this symbol means?”

  Angling out the map for them all to see, I point to a shape that almost looks like a star, but rounder. There are odd marks all over the thin leather, in various places, but this one happens to be very near to us.

  “I have no idea,” Adeline says, her tone snippy. “Perhaps it would have been wise to kidnap a mapmaker instead of a seamstress.”

  Losing patience, I smack the map against my thigh. “For the last time, you were not kidnapped.”

  “Well, I am certainly not here for the thrill of it.”

  I try to control my temper. Adeline was friendly on the ship—she laughed and talked and told stories. I know she’s terrified, and because of that, I must give her some leeway…even if we’ve only walked an hour, and I already want to shove the map down her throat.

  Sebastian frowns. “It looks like a swamp of some sort.”

  “I can see that.” I point to the marking again, which sits directly in the middle. “But what is that?”

  My eyes scan the rest of the symbols. There are some I recognize—like the nest of dragons to the northern part of the territory, a clutch of serpents off the shore farther from where we landed, and a few places that denote where Sir Arthur made camp. But this…I have no idea what it might be.

  “I think we should avoid it,” I say.

  “It looks like a rock.” Avery’s not impressed. “This is the most straightforward route. We’ll lose half a day if we go around.”

  Sebastian glances at Adeline, uncertain. “Which would mean we’d be spending the night out here.”

  Adeline wasn’t paying much attention, but at that, she whips toward Sebastian. “Absolutely not.”

  “Forward it is.” When Avery sees my scowl, he drapes his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. “Fear not, I’ll protect you from the great hulking boulder.”

  With a snort of disdain, Sebastian moves to the lead, directing us right toward the “great hulking boulder” that I am quite certain is not a boulder at all.

  As the morning gives way to afternoon, the fog dissipates, and the sun shines down through thick, towering trees. The cool day becomes warm and sticky. Gnats come out in swarms, pestering us incessantly with their buzzing.

  Flink twitches his tail back and forth, irritated with the tiny nuisances as well.

  “They’re getting thicker as we near the swamp,” I say, petulant, as I swat more away.

  “See there?” Avery says from behind me, where he’s bringing up the rear. “You should have listened to me when I told you to go around the swamp.”

  I glare at him over my shoulder, but he only grins.

  We pass through a thick stand of trees. Adeline curses softly under her breath as she ducks low to avoid the branches. I follow closely, grasping hold of sticks and twigs before they can snap back in my face. A bird cries out from our immediate right, a mother protecting a nest we’ve wandered too close to. Adeline, startled by the outburst, shrieks and bolts forward. A branch whips back before I can catch it. It hits my forehead and snares itself in my hair.

  “What is it?” Sebastian calls from ahead, racing back to see what attacked Adeline.

  I fight with the branch, trying to untangle it. Avery’s behind me, pressing his chest against my back, leaning over in an attempt to help. “A jay of some sort—terrifying. We should move on before she gathers her winged friends, and they attack as a group.”

  Adeline bristles at the captain’s teasing, but she shivers again. Sebastian sets a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her she’s safe. Irritated with Avery, she looks up at Sebastian and relaxes at his side as if he now is her knight in shining armor.

  I narrow my eyes at the two and swat Avery’s hands away. “Stop it.”

  Chuckling under his breath, both from my surly tone and the cause of it, he catches me around the waist. “Hold still.”

  It only takes him a few moments to unwind my hair from the branch, but now there’s sticky sap in my braid. The hair stands every which way. I attempt to lay the strands down, somehow make them blend with the rest. It’s no use.

  I coax Flink out from under a bush, where the mighty dragon high-tailed it to the moment Adeline squealed. We continue again, fighting with the brush and gnats as we go. Instead of bringing up the rear, as Avery had been doing, positioning Adeline and me between him and Sebastian for safety’s sake, he’s taken to walking next to me where the trail allows.

  Ahead, Adeline still clings to Sebastian as if he alone will see her safely through the Grenaldian wilds.

  “They’d make a lovely couple, don’t you think?” Avery teases.

  I glare at him but don’t give him the satisfaction of an answer.

  “He, from a grand family with land and prestige and she, the lovely lady seamstress. It just works, if you ask me.” Avery smiles, and the sun catches on his light brown hair, making him look innocent and golden.

  “No one’s asking you.”

  The ground is damper here. The soil is sponge-like and sticky, and our footprints fill with brown water as we walk. The trees have thinned some, and a ways ahead of us, beyond a towering rock in the path, appears to be a clearing.

  “That must be your boulder.” Avery motions ahead.

  I bite the inside of my cheek, looking at it. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m afraid he’s right.

  Sebastian and Adeline pass from the shade of the forest into full sunshine. I hurry forward, hoping to find a spot where we can look about and get our bearings. Suddenly, Adeline screams, and Sebastian yells at her to stay back.

  Avery draws his sword—
a very illegal enchanted sword—and races ahead. Armed only with my dagger, acutely missing my bow, I run with him. “Kept that one hiding, haven’t you?”

  Grinning despite himself, Avery yells, “Along with so many more.”

  I laugh, almost glad for the distraction from the monotonous trek with its never-ending bugs—even if it’s an unpleasant one. We burst into the clearing just in time to see a massive green, moss-covered amphibious beast rise from the middle of the bog in the clearing. It’s easily as large as a house, several stories tall.

  Flink lets out a horrified squeal and runs for a protected crevice in the towering rock.

  Avery yells at Adeline to run to the cover of the trees, but the girl stands like a statue, too stunned to move. Sebastian, with his sword already drawn, attempts to shove her behind him, but it’s not soon enough. The frog-like creature unrolls his very unpleasant, very long tongue, blinks once, and snatches the seamstress right off her feet.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Not Your Average Bullfrog

  Adeline’s shrill screams fill the clearing, and for one solid second, I gape at the horrifying scene in front of me, unable to move. The monster carries Adeline to his boggy perch, dropping her into the foot-deep water in front of him.

  He prods her with his gooey tongue, trying to decide if she’s worth the time it will take to digest her. I come to my senses when Sebastian crashes into the water. He races through the stagnant bog to reach the beast.

  “Sebastian!” I yell.

  The beast is too gargantuan. He’ll never save her.

  Avery and I are right on his heels. Sebastian looks over his shoulder and goes pale. “Lucia, go back to the trees!”

  But I do not. Foul-smelling water fills my boots, and I almost slip several times on the sludge at the bottom of the mire. The creature looms ahead of us, too consumed in his perusal of the girl in front of him to care that there are others. As I slosh through the bog, I startle a water snake, and it slithers away, into the reeds. I shudder but continue on.