Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Dahlia
“I won’t take you.” The large frost giant glared down at Dahlia from his sled, the caribou prancing in place. His black gaze turned to Loshika. “I will take you.”
Lia swallowed hard, her legs aching from all the mad trekking of the last two weeks.
They’d sold the horses and continued. The regal beasts drew too much attention in the outer reaches of Loriia.
And Serenity was hard enough to hide. Slogging through snow drifts took its toll.
Dahlia was half frozen and one stiff breeze from blowing over.
She dug deep. They had to reach her mother before the queen and her cronies.
She opened her lips to beg or even bribe when Loshika stepped in front of Dahlia.
The giantess stood to her full height. “You would have me leave my servant behind in this weather?” Loshika gestured to the black clouds quickly rolling toward them from the North.
“It would be a waste of flesh to leave her behind.”
Lia dropped her gaze to the snow, keeping her expression blank.
The further they ventured southwest, the deeper the prejudice grew against humans.
Not that she blamed them. These people had suffered the ravages of war worse than anyone.
Many times already, the healer had played the part of a lady with a lowly saloes servant.
It was a part Dahlia had no problem playing. Despite her marriage to the king, she was no lady. Just a humble bard trying to survive the games royals and nobles played.
And a murderer. You murdered the one you love.
She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to take a slow breath. Since her escape from the palace, Lia’s spells of shortened breath, panicked thoughts, and dizziness had increased. Her whole being was on edge—like she didn’t even belong in her own skin.
“Be that as it may, she’ll taint my sled. My mate won’t like it.”
“Imagine having them inside your home.” Loshika sighed, ruffling the scarf covering the bottom half of her face.
“I need to return to my mate immediately, and he won’t appreciate it if I leave his property behind.
” She reached into her cloak and then held out a pouch of coins to the giant perched above them.
“Please take this as a token of my appreciation. I’m sure your mate would appreciate this gift. ”
Lia peeked up from beneath her lashes and spotted a glimmer of excitement in the giant’s gaze. Gold and silver almost always soothed even the worst kind of bigot.
“What my mate doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” he mumbled to himself, as if mulling over the proposition. “Alright. Get in the back.” He held out his hand.
Loshika dropped the coins into his palm and then trudged to the back of the sled, Lia following silently. She clambered up into the rough wooden cart, sitting in the hay next to the healer. The frost giant clicked his tongue, and the sled jerked forward as the caribou trotted ahead.
Tucking her hands into her armpits, Dahlia stared toward the rolling black clouds. They seemed to mirror her emotions. Dark, uncontrollable, and dangerous.
“We’ll be there soon,” Loshika murmured in her ear.
“But will we bring death with us?” she whispered. Or had it already arrived?
The giant had left them outside the southern city Civelle .
They’d managed to find lodging in a rundown inn connected to the local brothel.
Lia kept her hood pulled up when they entered, noting all the scantily clad human women strewn about the room.
Their far-off gaze haunted Dahlia, reminding her too much of her own mother.
Her nose wrinkled at the scent of sex and incense.
She went unnoticed for the most part, apart from a few lingering male gazes, which Loshika quickly dispelled. Their room was simple but clean. The healer had secured the door and promptly fell asleep. Lia hardly slept a wink amidst all the moaning, the wind, and Loshika’s snoring.
Lia rubbed her tired eyes and gave up any pretense of sleeping.
She perched by the window and pulled back the threadbare curtains, scowling at the weather.
Even though dawn had come and gone, it was still dark outside.
The snow fell heavily and swirled through the air.
She could barely see the alehouse across the road.
At least Serenity wouldn’t be spotted in the bad weather.
That was something. Her skin itched with the need to move on.
You don’t have time for this.
Her pulse picked up speed, as did her breathing.
While Dahlia had done what the queen had demanded, she knew it wasn’t enough to stay the royal’s hand.
People like that never kept their word. The queen would have Lia’s mother executed, and then someone would be coming for her. No loose ends would be tolerated.
If she was not dead already.
Because of you.
Dahlia wrapped her arms around herself and began rocking, trying to calm herself. They’d hardly rested in the last fortnight. She’d set a grueling pace to get to her mother, but she couldn’t help but think that she was too late. Wasn’t that just the story of her life?
Too little to save her mother.
Too late to save her brother.
Too late to escape the schemes of monarchs.
Too late to realize she was falling in love with . . .
She slammed her eyes closed and bit her bottom lip to keep from crying.
Warm arms encircled her, and Lia breathed in Loshika’s familiar rosemary scent. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. She didn’t deserve comfort, and yet she clung to her friend’s arm.
“Follow my breaths,” the healer murmured softly.
Lia shook and panted, trying to ground herself. Each slow breath felt like a fight. One she was sure to lose.
The tremors stopped first, then the gasps, and eventually, the tears, which left itchy trails down her cheeks.
Sagging in Loshika’s embrace, Lia shook her head, ashy hair hanging in her face. She brushed the dirty locks from her cheeks, fatigue weighing down on her like a ton of bricks. “I’m sorry,” she croaked.
Loshika squeezed her. “You do not need to apologize.” A weighted pause. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Some.” A lie. “We need to leave.” The snow fell harder as if to contradict her words.
“You need sleep, Reilleve.”
She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged out of Loshika’s grasp. “Don’t call me that.” Lia reached out and laid a hand on the healer’s arm to take some of the sting out of her words. “I am no longer your queen. Just your friend.”
Loshika’s thinned lips softened as she searched Dahlia’s face. The healer opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it quickly. Her attention moved back to the window. “It’s not safe to travel in this weather. It’s easy to get lost and freeze to death.”
Something Lia knew well, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that they were being followed. The royals were always one step ahead of her. And if the Haunts knew who had assassinated their king, no doubt they would be hot on their trail already. The frost giant elite were merciless.
It’s why Lia had made sure the coins she used were a mixture of Asteran and Loriian coins—so it would be harder to trace them.
Also, why she’d darkened her hair with coal from the fire and asked Loshika to wear a scarf around her face to hide the scars.
She wouldn’t lead anyone to her mother or to the village that had taken care of her for the last fifteen years. They didn’t deserve that.
“We must go,” she replied woodenly. “There’s no time to waste.”
Loshika nodded. “We need to be alive to reach your mommar. Rest a few hours.” Dahlia almost argued, but the healer held up her hand. “You won’t make it to the next village. I need you strong. Perhaps if we give the weather a little time, it will get better.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
The healer sighed. “Then we will go.”
A knot loosened inside Dahlia. Her eyelids seemed so heavy. Just a few minutes of sleep and then they’d go.