Chapter 53 Caspia
Fifty-Three
Caspia
The carriage jostled side to side as the driver did his very best to hit every bump in the road.
I gritted my teeth and wrapped my arms around my belly, breathing through my nose. My back ached. My legs were restless. My stomach churned with too many nerves. Too much unspent energy.
Too many layers.
My pants, tunic, and cloak stuck to my sweaty skin, and the open windows only seemed to let in dust.
This carriage was supposed to keep me out of the elements on the journey to the Evon.
Andreas wouldn’t like it, but after our next stop, I was riding on the supply wagon.
This damn carriage could return to Roslo for all I cared.
I couldn’t be trapped in here for five suns, no matter what agreement I’d made with my husband.
The clop of hooves was a steady companion as our caravan meandered through Quentis fields of wheat and grain. As far as I could see, there were golden hills and sweeping green plains. Not long ago, we’d passed a farmer riding on a horse-drawn plow, tilling a pasture.
He’d stopped and stared as our legion passed.
Andreas had wasted no time in organizing our expedition once we’d decided to search for the orbits.
We had four wagons loaded with food, water, and weapons.
We’d brought along digging equipment and lanterns in case the orbit was buried.
He’d enlisted a healer to accompany us in case of injury.
And he’d hired fifty trained soldiers to escort us to and from the Evon, as well as a trader who frequently traveled the ravine.
Seth Hay and his family made their living by transporting goods to and from Genesis. He was one of the few merchants who didn’t haul goods to the coast and ship them by boat. Instead, they traveled up and down the Evon every lune.
They had a fleet of narrow wagons specially designed for the steep switchbacks that cut into the ravine’s cliffs. Their pack mules were bred for their sure feet and calm temperaments. And the Hays were arguably the most versed in the ravine’s monsters.
Andreas was probably paying them more for this single trip to the bottom than they’d make in all their other trips this year combined.
A whistle rang out from the distance, and I swayed forward as the carriage driver pulled back on the horses. The moment the wheels stopped, I was out the door, marching away from the carriage for some air.
“My lady, wait.” The young driver leaped from his seat, but I ignored him and kept moving.
I stalked off the road and into a field of grass that tickled the tops of my boots.
The ground was uneven and the grass so tall and thick it was like wading through water.
But with every step, I dragged in long, deep breaths until my head cleared, and my noontime meal sank back into my stomach from my throat.
I stopped and closed my eyes, tilting my face to the sky.
“My lady.” The young driver stopped a few paces away, panting as he looked between me and the carriage. “Are you ill?”
“No. I just needed to breathe.” To feel like I wasn’t trapped in a cage. I waved him off. “You can go.”
“I, um…I’ll wait for you.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be alone for long.”
A moment later, Andreas galloped over on his bay horse, swinging off in a fluid motion and tossing the reins to the carriage driver. “Go.”
“Yes, sir.” The driver bowed, then led the horse away.
“Are you okay?” Andreas scanned me from head to toe, frowning when his gaze landed on my face.
I didn’t have a mirror, but I knew I looked a mess. My hair was frizzy, the curls wild from the stuffy carriage. Sweat beaded on my brow, and I’d felt the color drain from my face an hour ago.
“I’m riding on a wagon beside a driver,” I told him. “Or you can find me a horse. But I’m not getting back in that carriage.”
“All right.”
“How much longer will we travel today?” I spun in a slow circle, taking in the area. We’d stopped beside a grove of trees that bordered the road on both sides.
“Another few hours until we reach the village.” He put his hands on my shoulders, kneading at the stiffness in my muscles. “I’ll send a rider ahead and have a bath ready.”
He hated this. It was written all over his face. But neither of us would turn back now, not when so much was at stake.
It would take five suns to reach the Evon.
We could make it in four, but if we stretched it to five, it meant we could stop at an inn each moon.
And while part of me longed to sleep beneath the stars, curled next to Andreas, I wanted to be as rested as possible by the time we reached the bottom of the ravine.
Tomorrow, we’d reach Arany, the closest city to Roslo, where everyone in our party would be able to stay at an inn. But otherwise, those traveling with us would pitch tents and camp outside the small villages along the route.
“Can you make it until tonight in the carriage? We’re about to venture into lionwick territory. They are mostly nocturnal, but I’d feel better if you weren’t on a horse or out in the open.”
After what I’d read in the library about the monsters, they seemed deadly enough that I’d be wise to heed Andreas’s warning. “Fine.”
As much as I didn’t want to be in the carriage, I didn’t feel like coming face-to-face with a lionwick, either. There would undoubtedly be enough surprises on this journey once we reached the ravine.
Andreas bent to kiss my forehead, then took my hand, threading our fingers together. “I’ll ride beside you for a while and—”
A man’s scream split the air before it was cut short.
Andreas and I both whirled toward the forest as a horse without a rider came racing down the road. Blood gushed from four deep gouges cut into the animal’s neck.
“Lionwick!” a soldier shouted, and chaos erupted. Fighters drew swords and notched bolts into crossbows. A handful of them spurred their horses our way, doing their duty to ensure we were safe.
“Go.” Andreas gripped my arm, holding tight as we turned and ran for the carriage.
The thick grass slowed us to barely a jog.
A low growl caught my attention, and I looked over my shoulder just in time to see a barbed tail whip above the grass.
“Andreas, down!” I ducked, pulling as hard as I could on his arm.
The tail flew above us in a deadly arc but missed. Barely.
We stood, whirling as we kept moving away. Andreas’s hold was unrelenting as he hauled me behind him.
A roar came a moment before a lionwick pounced from the grass, jaws open wide to reveal sharp, black teeth ready to sink into Andreas’s flesh.
But Andreas had lifted his crossbow, and with a bolt already loaded, a quick squeeze of the trigger sent the arrow into the monster’s heart.
The beast landed at our feet, nearly toppling us over.
Its chest rose and fell with labored breaths. Blood seeped from the bolt and pooled on the dirt as it gave a final growl. Its front leg twitched once, and then it was dead. Its long, barbed tail slumped over its body like a snake.
“Vexx,” I cursed, pushing the curls out of my face.
The soldiers riding for us kicked their horses to a run, their swords raised as they shouted, voices panicked.
A flash of gold caught my eye. The whip of another barbed tail, slicing through the air on its way to Andreas’s throat.
I pushed at him as he pushed at me, both of us trying to save the other. He shoved me far enough out of the way the tail missed my face. But the monster was clever, and even though I’d shoved Andreas hard, whatever control it had on that tail was as quick as a bolt of lightning.
The tail dragged across his chest, cutting through his leather vest and shredding the clothes and skin beneath.
“No,” I screamed as he dropped to his knees.
Behind us, soldiers charged, but years of training took control. Moving with a speed that was not my own, I ripped Andreas’s sword from its scabbard across his back.
When the second lionwick pounced from the grass, I was already swinging. The blade cut clean through the monster’s neck, severing its head.
Blood sprayed. Soldiers shouted. I dropped to my knees at Andreas’s side.
“Divine.” I ripped off the sleeve of my tunic, holding it to the blood coating his chest.
“I’m all right.” He winced, his hands covering mine. “It’s not deep.”
“Help,” I barked at the first rider.
“Get the healer!” the man yelled over his shoulder toward the carriage. Then he barked orders at the other soldiers. “Spread out. Look for more. You three stay here.”
I ignored them and focused on Andreas’s wound, pressing harder to stanch the blood.
“Caspia.” He put his hands over mine. “I’m all right.”
I looked up and met his gaze, realizing my own was swimming with tears. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m fine.” He breathed, letting me feel the rise and fall of his chest. “I’m all right.”
“I could have lost you.” My chin began to quiver. “What are we doing?”
“Saving the realm from monsters far more deadly than the lionwick.”
A woman came hurrying for us, a brown satchel strapped across her chest. A blue scarf covered the tops of her black braids while their ends hung loose. Her eyes stayed locked on Andreas, and only when her hands took the place of mine did I finally move out of the way and let her work.
She frowned up at him and shook her head. “These cuts will need to be sewn shut. But they’re not deep. The Six spared your life.”
The Six could fucking rot.
I bit my tongue as she dug into her satchel and took out a roll of gauze.
With deft fingers, she wrapped the wound, then stood, helping Andreas to his feet. As they started toward the wagons, I turned back to the dead lionwicks.
Their smooth, leathery coats were as golden as the castle we’d left behind in Roslo, their claws as black as their teeth. These creatures were designed to hunt and kill. Yet they were two of the most beautiful animals I’d ever seen.
Even in death.
I’d never killed before. The sword in my hand felt too heavy, but I didn’t let it slip from my fingers.
There were beasts in Nelfinex with fangs and claws and talons and teeth. Beasts feared by humans. But not the Starling. Never the Starling.
Except whatever bond we shared with beasts had been broken in Calandra a long time ago.
This was what Calandrans faced all the time, wasn’t it? That farmer we’d passed earlier. Did he know how to save himself from a lionwick?
This attack hadn’t been about food. There was much easier prey with the livestock in the area. They’d come after us for the kill.
For bloodlust.
What would these creatures be like if the orbits were destroyed? Would they be this vicious?
“My lady, may I escort you to the carriage?” The soldier who’d called for the healer dismounted his buckskin horse. His blond hair was combed neatly, and even though he was younger than most, if I had to guess, he was Andreas’s age. Like my husband, he carried an air of authority.
“Thank you.” I turned away from the carcasses and fell into step beside the soldier, his horse trailing close behind.
His expression remained blank, his eyes locked ahead where Andreas was sitting on the end of a wagon while the healer took out supplies to stitch his wounds.
Another soldier rode up to us, his horse’s coat foamy with sweat. “We’ve checked the area. No signs of another monster, sir.”
“What happened to the soldier in the trees?” I asked.
The man atop his horse gulped and shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“We’re all from Quentis,” the blond soldier said. “We know the risk of traveling in the countryside.”
“Does this happen often?”
“Never more than one at a time.” The rider gulped. “They came right for you. Normally they climb up and hide in treetops before—”
“You can return to your position,” the blond man ordered. “So can the others. We’ll take extra caution with archers as we make our way through the trees.”
“Yes, sir.” The man rode off to relay the message.
They came right for you.
Yes, they had.
Probably because I’d been out in the open. But what if there was more to this attack? What if that bond between Starling and beast wasn’t as broken as I’d thought?
When we reached the road, I didn’t stop at the carriage, wanting to check on Andreas.
“Can I bring you a cloth, my lady?” the blond soldier asked before I could walk away.
“A cloth?”
His hazel eyes with amber starbursts dropped to my hands.
To my fingers coated in Andreas’s blood.
“No.” Not yet.
It would serve me well to suffer this blood on my hands.
As a reminder of everything at stake.