by May Sage
She just shrugged. “No, I do. It's simply that it can't harm me.”
The towns along the path of Duran existed to supply travelers with what they needed. They had provisions, food, and horses, and they also happened to have coats. He bought her one.
Devi rolled her eyes. “I said—”
“That you didn't need it. But this isn't cutting into our timeline, because we do need to stop for supplies. Besides, we'll pass another five towns before reaching the forest. How many eyes would fail to notice a female rider in nothing but a shirt as the snow falls? Can you be sure that none of these eyes belong to someone who'd give our direction away for a purse full of coin, or under torture?”
She shut her mouth and followed him to the horse master’s domain at the eastern edge of the village.
Thain Fairfolk was the man to talk to when it came to horses, and his children ran a shop that provided travelers with whatever gear they needed, as well as other random things they might sell to the villagers.
“We have ten minutes,” Vale said, gesturing to his left where the ladies' clothes hung.
Thain came to greet him directly, and with Kallan, they talked in low voices about their requirements.
“We need three horses, the fastest you have.”
“We’ve seen the smoke, and we got them all ready in case the queen requests our services,” the horse master announced proudly.
That would help.
As they carried on discussing the matter, Vale watched Devi from the corner of his eye. She looked through the racks of coats and pulled one out within a minute.
She tried it on; it was a dark coat lined with fur. Its hood fell down to her eyes when she pulled it up to try it in front of a mirror.
Catching his own reflection, as well as Kallan's, Vale frowned. He preferred understated tones, but everything about his dark habit still screamed unseelie; there were slashes of green through the black fabric.
Once they’d agreed on a deal for the horses, the master left to get their mounts prepared, and Vale asked Thain’s son to show him to the males’ coats. None were displayed in the front of the store.
The merchant shook his head. “We ran out, sir. We have brown capes though. Nothing fancy, and it won't help with the cold, but I reckon you could wear them over your coats.”
“It's perfect, thank you.”
Vale moved to pay the man, but Kallan stopped him. “A moment. Just one of the capes, please. And some hair dye too.”
Valerius stared at his second, his first and perhaps only true friend. He needn't ask what Kal had in mind. They knew each other too well by now.
He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the front of the shop, out of hearing range.
“No.”
“Yes. It will gain you some time. Besides, I need to return to Carvenstone and see the damage there. You know this.”
“I will not have you do this. Not again.”
Devi joined them, interjecting, “What am I missing?”
Vale didn't attempt a reply, too busy staring Kallan down.
“I'll play the decoy, so you and Vale may slip by unnoticed. I’ll ride north along the border of the Graywoods until I’ve reached Carvenstone. There, I’ll be safe. It won't pull everyone off your trail, but this should at least divide anyone who'd follow us.”
“You're not doing this,” Vale insisted.
“Of course I am. Don't get worried on my behalf, it's insulting. I'll be just fine. I know these roads, and they don't. They'll never catch up with me.”
“These aren't wayward orcs from the walls. These aren't seelie foes. These aren't even elves, Kallan. We're facing something entirely new.”
Kal shrugged. “I've seen them fall. I've seen them bleed. They're as killable as anything else. Sure, they're fast, but we have a head start. And if you're right and they truly are beyond our skills, we're all dead anyway. Let me do this.”
Valerius couldn't bring himself to reply for a moment, not when he knew he had to say yes.
“You will go as soon as the horses are brought to us. Take the most direct road, and stay alive.”
They exchanged coats to make the deception more believable, as Vale's was imbued with his scent. Kal retreated to the back of the merchant's shop to apply the hair dye, with the help of a shop assistant.
Too many eyes had seen the exchange, but still, it may work.
For the sake of his first companion, Valerius hoped it wouldn’t.
Seventeen
Ride of the Dyrmounts
His wings extended behind him, the traitor surveyed the burning city from the top of the castle wall. To his right, he watched a gold-winged fae destroy the gates. Devira. What a perfect little goddess she'd turned out to be. He was glad she'd made it, and he hoped she lived through the next year.
To his left, he saw the cowardly queen of the unseelie flee, no doubt planning to join her armies to the west. His soldiers were descending upon Asra from the north, tearing it apart.
Not his soldiers, he corrected himself. Not quite yet. There was no king seated on the crystal throne. And there wouldn't be any until he dictated it.
The traitor smiled, recalling the day he'd found his calling, when he was but a child.
The overking had been sick, and the traitor had asked his mother whether he was going to die. He'd wanted that fat, disgusting pig to die. Even as a child, the traitor had been thirsty for the blood of those who'd wronged him.
“Hopefully not,” his mother had said.
He had frowned. “Why, Mother? He took you and set you aside like you were nothing. His men did this to you!” he'd roared, pointing to the scar that devoured half of her once-charming face.
“Because for all his faults, if he died today, the world may end up a darker place for it. The realm of crystal isn’t a democracy. A leader is appointed by a technological device I don’t quite understand. And they all are bound to follow that leader. While it is Orin, the Isle is safe because he demands peace. But if he was to die and another leader was chosen, there could be war. People like us are the first to die in war, my little prince. I may hate fae, but I’ve seen wars. I hate them more.”
The traitor had kept his mouth shut, but secretly he'd wished for war. Suffering. Chaos. He'd wished for the world to burn, and now it was.
She would never admit it, but Devi would have preferred to carry on riding with Valerius. She was a proficient rider, but she’d never been fond of horses. They had minds of their own, and relying on a creature that may very well hate your guts didn't seem wise to her.
But she had a plan. She tiptoed to the elegant, powerful brown and white beast that she was to ride and whispered, “I heard you're called Alarik. Well, I'm Devi, and this shall stay between us.” She emphasized this by doing a shushing motion. The animal seemed unimpressed—at least until she pulled out a brown sugar cube and held it up on her hand. “There are a few of those where that one came from, boy. Here's the deal. You don't throw me over or change course, and you definitely don't ridicule me in front of His Mighty Pain in the Butt. Sugar cubes for you in exchange. What do you think?”
The horse whinnied, and she chose to believe it was a sign of agreement. "Good. Here's another one to seal the deal."
Devi knew little of horses, but she was aware that this one was mighty all the same.
Elham was far removed from any other dwelling, standing alone with nothing but open fields for miles, because the principal family of the little town had bought every stretch of land on their horizon.
The Fairfolks bred horses and sold them to the soldiers of the unseelie realm. The horses that pulled Shea's silver carriage had also been born here. In fact, fae came from near and far to this small, otherwise irrelevant little town just to purchase their beasts. Valerius must have emptied a fair part of his purse to acquire three tonight. But they could not have hoped for better steeds, hurried as they were.
Where a normal horse may strain after trotting a mile, the dyrmounts co
uld cover ten before they needed a break.
The horse was eating out of her hand when Valerius came out with their supplies. He handed her a share to store in the bags they fastened to their saddles.
“These will give us a fair advantage,” he said, visibly satisfied with the two beasts before them.
“Unless, of course, those who come after us decide to stop and buy horses themselves.”
Valerius’s smile showed all his teeth. “Aren't you cute, thinking I haven't thought that through.” He lifted a brow. “I bought them all, except for the pregnant mares and the yearlings. Express delivery. Three of Thain Fairfolk’s sons are leaving at once to deliver the rest of the herd to my mother. We're bound by honor to bring them back three studs by spring.”
Devi knew enough of finance to feel a little dizzy. When her agent told her that new horses had to be bought, she always groaned, thinking about the fact that she would have to spend more on one animal than on the food provision of her entire household for a month.
And Valerius Blackthorn had just bought a herd. At least fifty horses.
“I'm gonna be sick.”
She could come to terms with the fact that they now were at war, but throwing millions away in the space of half an hour was another matter.
“Such a spoilsport. No one likes a penny pincher, you know.”
“You're going to ruin this kingdom if it ever becomes yours to rule.”
“Now, now. I'll have you know that I didn't spend a penny of the royal coffers. No, this all comes from my pocket."”
“And you so happened to have a fortune on you?”
He shrugged. “Some of my bonds were in my bag, fortunately. Asra may have fallen, but gold bonds from the Isle's Bank can be cashed anywhere.”
She shook her head in disbelief. This male may as well live in another universe.
“Don't you get all judgy, little miss. If you must know, I make a salary, just like you. I've just lived a lot longer. Money amasses when you don't do much with it.”
“And you don't do much with it?” she questioned doubtfully.
Valerius lifted a brow. “Someday, when we have some time before us, ask me what I do in my home. I may yet surprise you.”
She didn't say so, but he was probably right, because Vale surprised her at every turn.
Another thing that she wouldn't say, even under torture: she was glad to have company. Besides, while the elves of Wyhmur might have something against finding her at their borders, they probably wouldn't turn their back on Valerius Blackthorn.
As well as a bloody herd and a coat she hadn't asked for, Vale had bought her a change of clothing, food, more arrows to replace those she'd used, and other resources, paying for her supplies without making a big deal out of it. It was a little weird to her. Normally she was the one who bought things for others, but tonight she had nothing on her except for a few coins. When she was leaving her room, Devi had believed she was just going to spend a normal night at work; she generally didn't need her purse for that.
Surveying everything she was packing away, she realized she'd be set to head to Shea. She didn't need to beg the elves for the essentials, thank all heavens.
But still, whatever way she thought of it, the safest path for her now was through the well-guarded woods.
The dark forest extended from low south to all the way up in the far north of the Isle, slithering along the lands of the seelie and unseelie alike, stopping right at the southern bothers of Corantius. All of it belonged to the elves, and no one with half a brain would enter without their consent. If they let her pass, she could circle the enemy's army and join the queen west of Asra, where her troops had been stationed.
Once he was done dividing their purchases between Alarik and Midnight, the black horse he'd chosen for himself, Vale took her hand, leading her to the horse's flank. Again she noticed how warm it was, particularly when he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her to help her on the horse. She was too busy contemplating how stupid she was for being quite so aware of him to protest that she could very well mount a horse by herself.
“Let us make haste,” he said, once he'd gotten on his own steed. “Whether those sent to hunt us be of Corantius or the seelie realm, they are day dwellers. We're to put as much distance between us and the city of night by dawn.”
“How far are we exactly?”
She was vaguely familiar with the road ahead because she'd looked at maps, but she wasn't quite certain of the distance they had to cover.
“It would be a twelve-hour ride if a horse was capable of covering that distance in one go. We'll have to stop one or twice. These horses may be good, but I'll not have them die on our account.”
“We'll get to rest, at least,” she said, quite thankful.
Four hours later, Alarik was fine, and the large beast of Vale's was galloping ahead of her at a pace and with an ease that seemed to say, “Pfft, I cover that distance as a warm-up, bitches.” Meanwhile, Devi hurt absolutely everywhere, including muscles she didn't know existed. She was as fit as any female—the protectors’ rigorous training paired with her time in the basement with the queen had whipped her into shape—but damn, she was gonna walk funny for days.
Still, she wasn't about to say anything, imagining Vale's mockery. To her relief, although he seemed just fine, Vale still slowed down for a break once they neared Shorthaven.
It was close to dawn, and the streets were empty, quiet. Devi wondered if word of the war breaking out had reached the small village yet; she doubted it. From there, they couldn't see the clouds of smoke over the city.
“We announced our presence at Elham. Let us be discreet here. There's an inn at the other end of the village. We’ll stop for an hour and pay them to tend to our horses. If anyone asks, and they will, let us say we're headed to the ocean for a getaway."
“In the winter?” She lifted a brow, questioning the hasty story.
Valerius thought it out. “Good point. Did you say you came from a county near my land?”
“Yes, just east of it, along the borders of Graywoods.”
“Where Kal is headed.” Valerius frowned, weighing his next words carefully. “If we say we've taken the quiet, picturesque roads to head to your home, whoever asks will follow Kallan's trail, I'd wager.”
And he didn't want his friend to be in more danger, so that wasn't an option.
“All right, the beach it is.” She added, “No one will believe it, but that's a story.”
Valerius smirked wickedly, his maddening smile lighting a certain mischievous glint to his violet eyes. “They’ll believe it,” he stated.
For the first time today, she was a little afraid.
Eighteen
Hunters and Prey
“And then I got down on one knee and told her I wouldn’t live another day without binding myself to her. We’re to wed on the beach and then honeymoon at Castle Creek, at the top of the hill of Sandleham.”
There actually was a violin playing deep, soulful muscle in the background while Valerius served a pile of horseshit to the little crowd assembled around the bar. He never stopped smirking.
Devi wasn’t quite sure whether she wished to strangle the male or laugh her ass off. Either way, keeping her expression that of an enamored fool took some effort.
“You’re far from the coast, Your Grace.”
“Aye, we’ll stop again, perhaps at Hemladris in a couple of hours,” he carefully lied. “There’s a nice little inn, if I recall correctly.”
“Oh yes! They'll set you up all right. My missus and I spent our anniversary there not a fortnight ago.”
And so it was without invasive questions—other than a few that concerned the manner of Vale’s imaginary proposal and their intentions after the nuptials that would never take place—that they set out again two hours later.
“I can't believe you,” she said, although by that point she would have actually believed him capable of just about everything, particularity if it wa
s likely to either irritate or embarrass her.
“They certainly bought it.”
“Tonight,” she concurred. “But on the morrow, they'll know their prince lied to them, and didn't care to tell them that they ought to run for their lives.”
Vale shrugged. “Running wouldn't do any good. Act like prey and predators will chase. If they go about their business and are in fact entirely innocent, they'll have less to fear.”
Devi thought it through and regretfully had to agree. Vale was an odd mixture of knowledge, silliness, gravity, and solemnity she may not quite get even if she spent years studying him.
“Right. We have another four hours ahead of us. For pity's sake, try to move with the damn beast. Loosen your waist a little. You're fighting it, that's why your lower back hurts.”
She needn't ask how he knew it; Devi had done her best to hide it, but each of her steps had been a challenge.
“Here, don't move.”
She yelped in surprise as Vale pushed the right side of her coat behind her and slid his hand on her lower back. Then she sighed in relief. He was holding a small, hot object.
“I had the innkeeper warm a water skin. It won't help for long, but it should provide some relief. Let me know when you need a break. We have a head start, and our steeds will be grateful for the reprieve.”
She hesitated. “I don't mean to delay you. If you'd be faster by yourself—”
He didn't let her finish. “To your horse, Rivers. We are in a hurry, which means no time for nonsense.”
She went to greet the animal, who seemed to have appreciated his rest. “Hello, you. You've kept your part of the bargain, now here's mine.”
She gave him another sugar cube, and finding eyes set on her, Devi turned to the intimidating beast Vale rode. “And look who feels left out.” She held up a sugar cube to Midnight. The black horse's eyes stared right at her, unflinching. He didn't move, displaying no interest in the treat.
Well then.