Star blushed. “He was half naked when I knocked on his door.”
“Figures.” Valen rolled his eyes. “He never liked to dress in formal attire.”
Whether it was Leer’s reluctance to dress up or Valen’s distaste of half-naked men, Star found his comment amusing. She stifled a smile and forced herself to think about the matters at hand. “That’s why he knew Zetta.”
“Who’s Zetta?”
“The superior of Evenspark’s Interkingdom Carriers. She knew who to send the letter to because he’d been a messenger previously.”
“Interesting.” Valen’s eyes shifted as if his mind were hard at work, calculating. “The treachery lies so deep within the system, and so high up.”
Star pursed her lips. “It could be anybody over there.”
“Hmm.” This time Valen put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. We aren’t done with our questioning.”
“He won’t tell you anything, even if he does know.”
“It depends if he wants his reputation cleared. We shall see.”
Valen began ascending the steps once again but Star did not follow. “You didn’t tell me why he was thrown out of the Royal Guard in the first place.”
“He wasn’t. He quit a few years back.”
“What?” Star couldn’t believe the twist in conversation. Valen skipped several paces ahead and she had to take two steps at a time to catch up. “What for?”
Valen shrugged. “I don’t know. He just up and quit one day. His horse is still in the stables here at the castle. The poor beast waits for another journey that will never come.” His attention strayed toward Star and he smiled, his eyes wistful. “Anyway, why don’t I see to it my page delivers your letters? You’ve been up all night and need to rest.”
“Yes, I have a long journey to prepare for.”
“Back to Evenspark, I presume.”
Although he said it, Star knew Valen’s hope was empty. Her tone grew sly. “If only it was that easy.”
“Come now, you can’t go saving the world all by yourself.”
“Who’s going to volunteer to go with me?” Star knew she had him in a bind, his duty sitting between both of them like a wall of bricks, but part of her wished he would choose her over his station.
“You know I would go if I could.”
Star kept her face stoic, not showing any inclination either way. “You’re the great ruler in training. They would never let you.”
“I know. And it would be irresponsible of me to run away.”
“It’s a death sentence for anyone else. No one can ride as fast as I can. They would be left behind.”
With her words, Valen suddenly froze.
“What? What did I say?” She thought back to her last statement. Then suddenly the answer dawned on Star. Leer.
“No.” Valen grabbed her arm. “You’re not going with Fallon.”
Star shook off his grip and walked back down the steps. “It just might be the one thing that can redeem him and the one way we will find anything out.”
“Did you hear anything that I’ve said about him? He can’t be trusted.” Valen followed Star to the dungeons. “He’s shifty, and he’s always looking out for his own good. He’d leave you stranded if it suited him best.”
“Look, Prince Valen.” Star turned around to face him. “I can take care of myself.”
“All I’m saying is that you’ll have enough to worry about out there. You don’t need an extra liability.”
“Would you prefer I go alone then?”
“I’d prefer you didn’t go at all, but seeing as I can’t forbid you, and you’re the best rider there is and the kingdom is on the verge of disaster, well, then…” Valen threw his arms up in the air. “Go ahead, ask him. He’s all yours.”
Star was so overcome with Valen’s consent she threw her arms around him, flinging him off balance on the steps. They teetered backward together and then settled in each other’s arms. She spoke with her eyes closed, holding him close. “Thank you for believing in me.”
Valen whispered in her ear, “I’ve always believed in you.”
Star pulled away, confused. “Always? But you’ve only known me for a few days.”
“There is something I must confess.” Valen leaned his head in to gaze into her eyes. “I didn’t know it at first, it was only a vague sense I’ve seen you before. But it came to me one night in a rush of memory.”
Star waited patiently. Ever since that day in the crowded hallways of the inner sanctuary, she’d wondered why he looked at her so strangely, but never found the courage or tenacity to ask.
“I attended your first riding tournament. I sat as a spectator in the bleachers. I watched you go back to save the woman who’d fallen off her horse, and then overtake the entire race and win with no contest.”
Star nodded. “That was me, yes.” Another memory tugged at her senses, something about the Midnight Ball after the closing ceremonies, but try as she might, she could not resurrect it.
“I believed in you then, and I believe in you now.”
They stood that way for some time, not knowing what to do next. Although she’d pulled back, he still held her in his arms. She wanted him to be the one by her side during her journey. She almost mouthed the words to ask, but her sense of honor held her back.
When he did speak, his voice broke on the words. “Come now, let’s find you a riding partner, shall we?”
* * * *
Leer lounged exactly where they’d left him on the bench, sprawled out on his broad back and whistling at the ceiling boards. “Missed me already?” he sang out as Valen and Star entered the cell.
Valen crossed his arms. “We have an offer.”
Leer cracked his knuckles and sat up, tilting his head as if to work out a chink. “Let’s hear it then.”
Valen’s nod in her direction reassured Star. He was going to let her lead. “I’m traveling north to investigate the source of the mist and find the lair of the Elyndra. I’m the fastest rider in Evenspark and need an equally fast companion to accompany me.”
Star saw surprise flicker on Leer’s face. She didn’t know if it was the madness of the offer or the fact he’d underestimated her.
“Protect her, bring her home safe, and you are free.” Valen held out his palm as if he offered the world.
Leer laughed softly. “A fool’s errand. You’ll be lucky if either of us come back alive.”
Valen was unsympathetic. “It is what it is, and let me remind you that treason against your government is punishable by death.”
“And an easier death it would be.” Leer’s brows rose. “A mere rope burn compared to being eaten alive.”
Valen turned around, his face crinkling in disgust. “Come, Miss Nightengale, he’s not interested.”
Star opened her mouth to press further, but the look in Valen’s eyes told her she’d be wasting her breath. She followed him toward the door of the cell.
Leer stood, his shackles clinking. “Wait.”
Valen rested his arm against the cell door and closed his eyes, but Star turned around and met Leer’s gaze.
Leer skimmed over her and looked at Valen’s back. “All of my grievances would be pardoned?”
Valen sighed but did not turn around. “If she’s brought home safely, then yes.”
Star thought the prince’s rewards were a bit much. Valen placed everything on the table for her quest. Although his extravagance made her angry, her heart swelled with wonder. He actually did believe in her.
Leer smiled at Star like she’d just granted him his every wish. “Done.”
Chapter 14
Journeyman’s Voyage
Saying farewell was harder than Star thought. Two days had withered away since the conversation in Leer’s cell, and she was no more ready to leave Valen now than she had been in the dungeon, but every day she waited placed the fortress in higher jeopardy. T
he mist rose and the walls surrounding Ravencliff stood like a weak dam ready to crack under nature’s onslaught. Star wondered how the mist blowers coped with the worsening conditions back at her home in Evenspark. She hoped her parents were safe.
Since no journeymen had ever come back, there were no maps or charts of the territory in the north, only crude projections assumed by Ravencliff’s best geographers and cartographers. She planned to ride in the direction of the oncoming mist. Valen supported her plan, although he expressed his worries at her safety, and any path that got Leer out of his cell seemed agreeable.
Star stuffed her pockets full of matches. There were tinderboxes tucked into her belt, breeches, tunic and saddlebag. She was not going to take any chances that a pack might get waterlogged or fail to ignite. She also had a bundle of torch sticks tied to Windracer’s saddle, the best blazing torches in the land provided by the prince’s alchemists.
She thought it was wise to begin the journey when the first light filtered through the clouds to make the most of the day before darkness fell. Twilight hung in the air, heightening the suspense and anticipation fizzling in her veins. Soon morning would shine on the horizon, bringing with it a blazing sun. Star looked into the sky with weary eyes. In moments, the golden sphere’s rays would not be able to reach her. In a few nervous heartbeats, she’d be unreachable by everyone in Ravencliff.
At least she was not going alone. Star chanced a look over at Leer. He was saddling his horse, Wildfire, intently inspecting each fastening and every knot in the reins. She handed him an extra torch stick. “You’re sure she’s ready for a journey after lounging in the stables for so long?”
Leer quirked an eyebrow. “I just rode her last night and she’s got enough bundled energy to fly. Heck, she’ll give Windracer a run for it.”
Star resisted the urge to scoff at him. She didn’t like the thought of someone riding as fast as she could, especially after years of him dallying. “We’ll see about that.”
Leer took a step toward her and bowed his head so that his lips brushed her hair. His voice was barely a whisper. “I’d be more concerned about Valen’s safety. He looks as though he’s got the plague.”
Ignoring Leer’s proximity, Star watched Valen as he talked to the drawbridge guards. His expression turned grim and complex. Star could tell he was nervous by his shifting glances, his face ever changing as the weather on a windy day. She wanted to reassure him everything was going to be all right, but she felt awkward comforting him in front of Leer, and she wasn’t sure everything was going to be all right. It would be a false guarantee, an empty promise.
Valen ended his conversation with the guards and ran toward them. Leer spoke, his voice bringing her back from her wistful thoughts. “Gear is set.” He patted Wildfire on the hind leg. “We shouldn’t tarry much longer.”
“All right then,” Star agreed and looked to the guard. “Open the gate.” She took a step to mount Windracer, but Valen grabbed her arm and held her back.
“You don’t have to do this.” His eyes were sad, framed in dark circles from sleepless nights. They hadn’t talked much since the incident in the stairwell, partly because Star avoided his concerns and partly because she saw something blossoming between them, felt something that she’d never experienced before. It was frightening how much she wanted him despite the fact that it would ruin both kingdoms. She almost convinced herself he felt the same. She pushed the thought aside. It was better off this way.
Star pulled her arm away and mounted Windracer. “What else am I going to do? Where else am I going to go? My job is corrupt, my superior is the enemy. Who can I trust? To go back to Evenspark now would be far more dangerous than dealing with the Elyndra.”
As if to prove her point, the wheels of the drawbridge turned. The rumble of the gate had begun.
Valen took a step toward her. “You could stay here.”
Star looked at the lowering drawbridge, failing to meet his eyes. “My life was back in Evenspark. What could possibly be left here for me?”
She clamped her mouth like she’d said too much all at once. Valen took a breath to speak but held his words back as if a sudden thought gripped him. Instead, he offered her meager words. “Be careful.”
Star pulled a stray wisp of hair back over her ear. “I always am.”
The drawbridge hit the ground with a muffled thump. Leer sat on Wildfire, pacing before the gate like a leopard in a cage. He shouted over his shoulder, “Come on, Miss Adventure. You don’t want to miss your appointment.”
Star rolled her eyes at Leer before looking back to Valen once more. “I will get to the bottom of this. If there’s a way to halt the mist and stop the Elyndra, I will find it.” She gestured to Leer with a flick of her eyes and her voice fell to a whisper. “I’ll also find out who is behind those plans. If Leer knows anything, I’ll get it out of him.”
“Just return home safely.” Valen stepped back to allow Windracer room to gallop. His cloak fluttered in the breeze around his ankles, shifty like his own varying affections.
Leer yelled out a cry, spurring Wildfire into action. Star snapped her reins and Windracer took off seconds later. It was too late when Star realized she’d left yet again without saying good-bye.
* * * *
Riding with Leer was like dancing with a partner who whisked her off her feet. Star had never experienced anything like it before. Windracer and Wildfire encouraged each other, weaving in and out of one another’s paths, racing head to head. She found it exhilarating and, if the countryside wasn’t so dangerous, it would have been great fun.
“Come now, you can’t go any faster?” Leer called over the din of hoofbeats and wind roaring in her ears.
“I was going easy on you!” Star spurred Windracer forward with a kick of her heels. She realized she had underestimated Leer. Although he weighed more than her, Wildfire stood an inch higher than Windracer, able to carry the load as easily as Windracer supported her weight. It was a magnificent sight to watch the horse’s muscles heave in synchronicity with Leer’s rising and falling muscular figure.
It was only when the earth grew jagged they were both forced to slow down. Unlike her runs between kingdoms, this time there was no beaten-down path. They were going where few had gone before and from where no one had ever come back.
Unlike the marshes in the south, the north sprawled out into moorland, sprinkled with tufts of dry grass and slabs of granite jutting out in spiky protrusions like the ridged backs of dragons. Although the terrain was lonesome, Star had the distinct feeling they were being watched. Each step brought them closer to the Elyndra’s turf, making them trespassers in a hostile land. The mist grew thick as old molasses, clinging to everything it touched. Star could feel the coolness of the wisps on her face and the moisture dampening her hair.
They rode throughout the day and into the darkening twilight, staying close to Ravencliff’s mountains as if they were the lifeline to their countrymen and their home. Star hoped they could find shelter within the crooks of the crags.
Leer roamed the perimeter of the mountains, searching for any crevice where they could take refuge from the oncoming night as Star watched the sky with a blazing torch in hand. She brandished the flames, challenging the darkening sky and searching the mist for any sign of life, but there was only emptiness around her.
“It’s all right, girl, he’ll be back soon.” She ran her fingers through the tangles in her horse’s mane. Her voice sounded weak against the backdrop of thickening mist and shadows.
When hours had passed and Leer had not come back, worries crept into Star’s thoughts. The evening had given into night and the darkness pressed in on her. She thought she heard whispers on the wind, guttural utterances speaking an archaic language she did not recognize or, perhaps, her imagination conjured up.
Star swung her torch in wild arcs but could see nothing beyond the mist. She tried to remember how she got there in the first place and Leer’s face
as he explained he’d return as soon as he found shelter. A clinging doubt deepened in her mind. She felt as though she had stumbled into the afterlife and was trapped in the place between the living and the dead. The desolate countryside was made for devilish nightmares. Had she truly made it this far? What if she’d fallen and hit her head, only to be picked off the earth by an Elyndra? What if she joined the dead?
She was relieved beyond words when Leer’s torch became a growing glow in the distance, followed by the sound of Wildfire’s hoofbeats. The comfort of a familiar image brought her back to the tick of time itself. After collecting her rambling thoughts, she mounted Windracer and met him halfway. Star covered her diminished composure with an accusation. “You were gone for so long.”
Leer shifted his weight in the saddle. In the firelight, Star could see the weariness in his features. Perhaps he had not had the easiest time alone either.
She let her indictment drop with a sigh. “What did you find?”
“There is a cave several hundred feet from here. If we build a fire by the entrance, we should be safe for tonight.”
Eager to get out of the maddening mist, she stared at Leer like he’d given her salvation. “Wonderful. Let’s go then.”
But Leer was not so enthusiastic. His eyes were dark and guarded. “You will not be so cheerful once you see what is inside.”
“Is it dangerous?” Star pictured a cavern with Elyndra hanging from the ceiling like bats.
Leer shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Star had to work to suppress her frustration.
“Let’s just say that we weren’t the first to find the hiding spot.”
His words haunted Star all the way to the cavern. She wanted so badly to inquire further but respected his silence. If he had trouble speaking of it, then it would be easier for her to wait than cause him more discomfort, even if he was a rogue. Besides, she found it hard to talk to him. Silence fit him best. To pull words out of him would be to make a one-legged man dance.
Leer had found the cavern out of sheer luck. Hidden behind an outcrop of tangled weeds, the entrance was but a slit in the mountain’s edifice.
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