***
“Hurry up, men,” a male voice barked below. “We need to get the royal carriage out of this drift.”
Ranealya, still in her peregrine form, blinked the sleep from her eyes and peered down at the scene below. A small regiment of about twenty soldiers choked the road. A massive, gilded carriage lolled to one side, its wheel buried in the snow. On the opposite side, the door opened, and two small children jumped out.
“Give me back my doll,” the girl shouted after her brother.
The boy laughed and held it out of her reach. “Catch it if you can,” he teased.
A man emerged from the carriage, making everyone around him stop what they were doing and bow. King Dezrik had grown into a man since she’d last seen him. Of course, that was over a decade ago when he was on his way from the Academy of Magic in Arcana. He stomped over to his son and snatched the doll back, laying it gently in his daughter’s arms. “Stop tormenting your sister.”
“But, Father,” the young prince whined, “I’m bored. How much longer until we get to Dromore?”
The carriage rocked from side to side. The horses surged forward at the flick of the coachman’s whip, pulling the wheel from the drift.
The king smiled in approval. “Well done, men. Now, back inside children. As long as we don’t encounter anymore delays, we should reach my castle at Parvy in time for supper. Then, it’s only two more days to Dromore.”
“But I want to play.” The prince tugged his sister’s hair and ran away as she chased him. Their laughter echoed through the woods and stirred a deep ache inside Ranealya’s chest. Her brother had always been too old to play games with her when she’d been a child. What had she missed out on?
The wind rippled through the trees, carrying Malinius’s scent. Ranealya’s gut twisted. He said he wanted to kill the king and his heirs. Would he really murder them in cold blood right here? It was one thing to attack a grown man who could defend himself. But innocent children?
King Dezrik needed to know about Malinius’s plan, but she doubted he’d believe her if she shifted in front of him and warned him right now. No, she needed to get close to him first, to find out who his trusted advisors where and mimic one of them when she delivered the news. And as she watched the children run around the carriage, she formed a new plan.
What better way to gain access to the palace and protect the young prince and princess than to pose as a royal pet?
She drifted down from the branches, waiting until she knew she was out of sight before shifting into a small kitten. Then she started mewing as loud as she could.
The princess paused, her eyes widening. “Do you hear that?”
Ranealya took a few steps toward them, cursing the way her paws sunk into the wet snow. But, she needed to play helpless if she wanted to get their sympathy.
At last, the little girl spotted her. “Oh, look, a kitten!” She dropped the doll and ran toward Ranealya, scooping her up in her arms. “Can we take it home, please?”
Dezrik studied her as though he might have suspected her true nature. But as his daughter continued to beg, he sighed. “Very well, you can keep it. I suppose if you grow tired of her, the kitchen can always use a good mouser.”
Ugh! As if I would let myself be reduced to eating rats.
At least her plan was working. She purred and cuddled up against the princess, enjoying the warmth radiating off the girl’s body. If Ranealya had to travel to Dromore, this was the way to do it.
The carriage lurched forward, and Malinius’s scent faded.
A Thread of Magic Page 4