“The princesses of Gaermon have always been delicate,” he said. “She is sickly.”
“Poor girl,” Gilbert said, while I felt like I’d said something dumb. “She has to be very mindful of her health.”
Sir Forrest poked one of the baking potatoes. “All right. They’re done enough.”
We could eat the potatoes inside their jackets, while walking, once they had cooled a bit. I put a ton of salt on mine but it still tasted bland. The men shuffled along, barely talking. The day wasn’t shaping up very well. My feet hurt and they were obviously exhausted and somewhat irritable. Maybe they had gone with less sleep before, but we’d all been on the road for a while, and they’d been fighting monsters all along the way.
Just two hundred miles to go until I find guardian number three…
Ugh.
Maybe it was one hundred and ninety by now?
That hardly sounded better.
The road was heading southeast, and between Empero and Capamere we were seeing increased signs of former civilization, which was eerie. Sometimes an entire town, abandoned and ravaged by elements, with plants growing out of windows and broken roofs, lined the road. In some cases, the houses were still furnished. Shops were full of useless remnants: mildewed bolts of cloth, heavy tools, barrels that used to hold food. When the monsters first broke out of the gate, people had to grab what they could carry and run for the cities with the best defenses. These towns had probably stood empty for a century now.
It was really depressing, thinking that families used to tend gardens in the yards and kids used to play here. Some of the houses still looked really cute, painted cottages with tidy fences. Flowers grew everywhere, the gardens run amok. It reminded me what we were fighting for. Some of these buildings, built from stone to last the ages, were not beyond repair. People could live here again, if we could shut the gate.
But the monsters were also a little thicker here. They seemed to be attracted to the capital, for some reason. We kept running into one or two almost every hour. It worried me because I knew the guys were so exhausted. I could see it in the way they fought. Forrest almost got bitten by one of them before he could cut it in half, which never happened. Wretch was on edge all the time.
We stopped for lunch in the afternoon, taking some food out of a safe house and drawing fresh water from the well there. We still used safe houses during the day, when we were all awake to hear soldiers coming and had daylight to quickly flee.
“I’m taking over,” Gilbert said, grabbing the cook pot from Forrest. “Your bean stew last night was miserable.”
“Oh, it was, was it?”
“You have to sweat the salt pork with the onions before you put the beans in.”
“I ‘have to’? Says who? That’s a northern method and I’m a southerner.”
“Let Gilbert try,” Rin said. “He’s a very good cook. For my birthday, he made me steamed fish pie wrapped in seaweed.”
Forrest narrowed his eyes. “Yum…”
“It’s a court dish,” Rin said. “Very easy to mess up if you aren’t trained as a chef. But his effort was truly admirable, almost as good as the palace kitchens.”
“Only for you,” Gilbert said. “But at the time, you said it was the best you’d ever had…”
“Are any of you guys ever going to actually put those beans in the pot?” I cried.
Forrest suddenly stood up.
“Do you sense that?” he asked Gilbert.
Gilbert stood up too. For some annoying reason, I couldn’t sense monsters myself. Only my guardians could. I guess my magic just assumed they would always be around.
Gilbert and Forrest exchanged a look.
“What?” I cried.
“It’s a lot,” Gilbert said.
“At least twenty,” Forrest said. “Maybe more.” He already had his sword out, and Rin drew his blades. “We should go out there and keep Phoebe safe in here.”
“No—please—,“ I said. “Just wait here until they pass!”
“But if the Black Army finds us here…”
Suddenly, three flying monsters swept down over the walls. Their wings had a heavy sound as they beat, and they let out shrill screams. Gilbert started playing a furious tune to daze them.
“Damnit, we need an archer,” Forrest said, swiping upward. The monsters dodged. I tried to grab Wretch but she was already flying at them with a hiss.
“Wretch, no—come back!” I cried.
“Sasanu sor!” one of the monsters wailed as it plunged toward Forrest again. They were out for blood and nothing else.
“Yah!” Forrest slashed one of the wings all the way though, and it tumbled, where he could easily kill it. Just two to go now. That was a little better, since Forrest and Rin could each focus on one. Gilbert’s music was subduing them, too. They flew a little more sluggishly, but they were still dangerous. The violin music provided a very dramatic backdrop for the battle; it wasn’t just random notes but a melody worthy of a symphony hall, the bow dancing over high notes. The monsters wouldn’t get near Gilbert.
“Watch out!” I cried, as Wretch flew too close to one of them. I was so scared for her. She kept getting way too involved in these battles, and she was just a tiny little cat.
She swept down to me and landed on my shoulder, knocking her head into mine, but when I tried to grab her, she flew out of reach.
“Hey, come on!” I jumped, spreading my fingers, trying to stay calm. “Let the guys handle the monsters. I hate to break it to you, girl, but your teeth and claws are better suited for squirrels.”
She flew higher up, and then she flew over the wall of the safe house, out of my sight. “Wretch!” I screamed. I ran to the door of the safe house, but I could hear all the many monsters hissing on the other side. I would have been insane to lift the bolt. Behind me, I heard the sound of another monster being cut down over the maddening music.
The monsters growling on the other side of the door started to retreat. They were running, like they were chasing something.
My cat!
“They’re going after Wretch!” I rushed toward Forrest. “She flew away! We have to go out there and get her!”
“Shit!” Rin tumbled to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Blood streaked his fingers.
“No time.” Forrest pushed me back and swung the Monster Cleaver, beheading the last beast in midair while it was chewing on a piece of Rin’s cloak.
“That’s the last of the flying ones,” Forrest panted. “Your majesty—how bad is it?”
Rin gritted his teeth and slowly peeled his hand away from a wound. There was an alarming amount of blood and I saw gashes in his flesh.
Gilbert made an anxious sound. “Looks like a bad bite.”
“Shit,” Rin said. “We must press on.”
Forrest was breathing hard. He licked his lips, shifting his stance to face the door. He was thinking about throwing open that door, going out there, and taking them on. Normally I would have stopped him. But Wretch was out there. I heard monsters growling and hissing in a pattern that suggested she flew over their heads. What if more flying ones came?
“I’m afraid we’re better off staying here to rest, despite all risks,” Gilbert said. “The sun will be down in a few hours anyway. We wouldn’t have gotten that much more travel in. We’re all tired. We need to put space between ourselves and that pack. The monsters have been getting stronger.”
“We have to find Wretch!” I screamed. “We have to find her! If she lands those things will tear her up!”
“No…Gilbert’s right.” Forrest’s glove landed heavily on my shoulder. “Phoebe…she knew what she was doing, I think. She drew them away from you.”
“No…” I crumpled onto a bench and sobbed.
I knew he was right. It was too dangerous to leave the gates. Rin was hurt. But Wretch had been my friend and companion through thick and thin for the past decade. When I came back from my year in the troupe, she was glued to me for months. I promised I would never leave
her again. What kind of friend was I if I couldn’t rescue her?
“Cats are very clever,” Gilbert said, sitting beside me for a moment. “Especially winged cats. She can land in a tree somewhere and they won’t get her.”
“B-but—how will I find her? She’s—she’s not going to know to go to Capamere— If she goes anywhere it’ll be home, and I can’t even get a letter from Mom, so—” I sobbed again.
Gilbert rubbed my back for a moment, and then he went to see about Rin’s wound. I cried until my throat hurt. She was an old cat… Maybe this was how she wanted to go—
I swallowed, pulling myself together. By this time, Forrest was building the fire and Gilbert was chopping some stuff up for a stew. Rin had gone into the cabin to lie down.
I pulled the goldenstars out of the saddle bag. They were still wrapped up in my dress. I took them inside the dim little room. He was spread out on a bedroll, staring at the ceiling, bandages around his shoulder. This safe house only had one cot, and it had a big hole in it, so I guess he decided the sleeping bag was better. It was one of the shabbier safe houses I’d seen. There was a cabinet of supplies with one broken door that hung on one hinge, a stool next to the hearth, and a small table.
“Rin,” I said. “I gathered some healing flowers back around the first safe house. If we pack them around your wound under the bandage, it’ll speed up the healing process a lot.”
He sat up slowly, regarding me with his dark eyes. “That was forward thinking. You know something about medicinal herbs, then?”
“A little. We lived near an herbalist in Istim. She handed out a lot of tips.” I paused. Another shirtless man, and Rin wasn’t my guardian. I wasn’t even sure how to behave around him. “Can I—” I lifted my hand toward the bandage.
“Of course, my lady.” He quickly added, “I am so sorry about your cat. We actually have a winged cat breeder in Gaermon. When all this is over, I will be sure you have your pick of kittens.”
“Oh, no, I—” My eyes welled again. I couldn’t even really answer. I was more tender-hearted about Wretch than I was about most humans.
He shook his head. “No, that was insensitive. I’m too used to solving problems with gifts. Sometimes I forget that you can’t buy off a broken heart.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m sorry if I sounded insensitive about your sister earlier. I didn’t know she was sick.”
“Not at all,” he said. “Few people know much of her condition, even in the palace. She would want to be thought of as strong. It is possible I underestimate her. But I was raised to be her protector.” He paused. “I was raised to be a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
“A king. A fighter. Husband to another princess, chosen by my parents…but here I am running around with Gilbert instead.”
Rin was so cool most of the time, such a perfect prince. The way he held himself, the way he fought, the way he spoke: it all seemed as honed as his blade. I was a little in awe of him, and I didn’t feel like I knew him at all. But now, I saw a young man under it all. Someone with responsibilities heaped on his shoulders. Imagine if it was still the Era of Elders when the priestess was marked at a younger age… “I see. You didn’t have much freedom, then.”
“No. But now I will bear regret all my life for my father’s death. I should have been at his side while Gaermon was under attack.”
“You’d probably be dead, too.”
“Yes…dead with honor.”
“Oh, come on,” I said. “You’ve got to rescue Himika. That ‘dying with honor’ stuff is so stupid. It sounds a lot better in an opera with a glorious soundtrack than in real life.”
“At least I have a glorious soundtrack now,” he said, indicating Gilbert.
“I think it’s lucky you met Gilbert and apparently dodged out on your kingdom, because otherwise your poor sister would have no hope at all. Right?”
“Hmph…”
I unwrapped the bandage. The inner layers had already soaked through with blood, but at least the wound didn’t seem to be bleeding too much anymore. I could clearly see two nasty lines of bite marks, like he’d gotten bitten by a tiny shark. I packed the dried out flowers around the wound and pressed the bandage to it, looking around for the roll. It wouldn’t hurt to change it already. It was sitting on the table. I extended my hand, trying to reach it while still holding the bandage to his shoulder.
“I wish I could heal you like the other guys,” I said, without hardly thinking about it.
He covered the bandage with his own hand, realizing that I needed to move. When his fingers touched mine, a tingle went through me. “I wish you could too.”
Bad girl, Phoebe. What was going on with me? Rin was kind of acting as my guardian so maybe it was no wonder my emotions were a little confused, but none of my sigils were for him. And clearly he was used to taking on a guardian role anyway. He was doing this for his sister, not me. “I mean, you know,” I said, laughing it off.
“Yes. Four men is going to be quite enough,” he said. His faint grin was sly and did some wobbly things to my knees.
“But, I am honored to be escorting a priestess,” he said. “You can be sure of that. I hope you and my sister do get to know each other. She has had such a sheltered life, I think she could use a friend like you.”
“Yeah, one thing I’m definitely not gonna be by the end of this trip is sheltered, huh?” I relaxed a little, wrapping a fresh bandage around the goldenstars.
“Try to enjoy what you can,” he said. “I know Gilbert. He will do anything to make you happy and keep you safe. But I’ve heard what the empire can do to the opposition. I’m ready to take them on, but if something happens to me, tell Gilbert not to cry. I think this is my destiny as much as it is anyone’s.”
“Oh, no need to talk like that just because some stupid monster bit your shoulder,” I said. “That’s better. Does it feel secure?”
“Perfect. Thank you, my lady.” He took my hand and gave it a chaste peck that nevertheless made me blush. I guess Rin wasn’t going to stop with the ‘my lady’ stuff. I was okay with that. The words suited him.
I was still pretty down in the dumps during dinner, even as Gilbert played some music for us that really was very good, and I think it was also infused with a little magic for improving my mood. It could only go so far. I felt like a piece of me was missing without Wretch. Besides that, I think it drove home the seriousness of what we were doing to everyone. We really could get hurt and die.
“I should take the first watch,” Rin said.
“But we’re in a safe house,” I said. “Do we need a watch?”
“No, Rin’s right,” Forrest said. “We just had three flying monsters at once. That’s more than I’ve ever seen. Maybe they can’t get in the safe house itself, but they could attack Horse.” (Yes, Forrest had named his horse ‘Horse’.) “We don’t want to lose him. Rin, you might want to ride for a bit tomorrow with your shoulder like that, and we need the supplies he carries.”
“That’s true. We don’t want Horse to be hurt anyway!” I added.
“I’m fine,” Rin said. “I had a nap. I’m not much good for fighting but I can sound the alarm. You two definitely need to recover your power.”
Forrest shrugged and waved me into the cabin. It was really dark inside now, since the sun had gone down, but he fumbled in a supply cabinet and found some candles. Our four bed rolls were lined up on the floor already, in a row. They took up pretty much all the open floor space. I took off my shoes and socks before walking onto mine and sitting down. Gilbert followed us in, leaving the door open just a crack. Forrest stripped off his leather vest and wrist guards, trying to be all casual, but totally failing.
“I should actually grab that wine we bought in Empero,” Gilbert said.
“I’ve got my whiskey,” Forrest grunted, taking out the flask.
“Well, I’m more of a wine man myself.”
“‘Course you are. Go ahead, then.”
; Gilbert stepped out again.
“Wait, what is happening now?” I asked. “Seems like you guys talked while I was helping Rin out…”
Now I was the one failing at acting casual. I knew what was going on. This was the first time we had all spent time together alone, and the guys definitely had an air of “getting down to business.”
“You’re ready for a trine,” he said.
“I—I don’t know about that.”
“It would be the easiest one. Gilbert won’t penetrate you. But the road has gotten very dangerous in this stretch, and with Rin injured, we’ll both need as much power as we can muster. Soon we’ll find your third guardian and at that point, we’ll have to accommodate him as well. It’s better for all of us if we get used to this… I’m struggling with it as much as you are. I’m glad Gilbert can go to Rin for…release.”
I crossed my arms. “I—I don’t know. Do you even like Gilbert?”
“I don’t dislike Gilbert. But yes, it’s no secret that I would rather have you to myself.” He stroked a hand along my loopy braids. I warmed to his touch. “But this is better than nothing.”
Gilbert came back with the wine and two cups. Very refined of him. We could have just swigged right from the skin. I drank mine pretty fast. The warmth of the alcohol went straight down to my core. Very convenient, how alcohol zoomed right down to my nether bits. I was so nervous I could almost—but not really—forget that Wretch’s familiar presence was absent, that I hadn’t heard her mews or felt the nudge of her little face in hours.
“I told her the plan,” Forrest said.
“So serious. Dear gods, if this is our life we’d better at least enjoy it. For Phoebe’s sake, if nothing else. Why don’t you stand up, darling?”
Forrest looked at me over his flask, and I could see desire flickering there, in the soft light of the candle. He wanted me. He found me beautiful. His eyes asked for me to do as Gilbert said, and so I did.
Gilbert lifted both my dress and shift up over my arms at once, sweeping them over my head and dropping them to the side. Forrest stood up too, and now I was almost naked between them, my skin glowing in the light.
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