Chapter 16 #2
I nodded with a smile. “Yes! If we can look at his recipe, I may be able to piece together what was possibly in my tincture. Then we can try different herb combinations until we find the right one and get Cora and me back over the barrier to Edenalee!”
Darragh opened his mouth to respond, but Lyrik entered the room looking rather sheepish.
“Bad news. The book wasn’t in there, and one of the kitchen staff claims that Psilas’ book, along with some other recipe books, was lost during a kitchen fire about a decade ago.
Apparently, a now-deceased cook accidentally started a fire while frying up some hog meat.
I’m sorry, my lady. It was our only copy. ”
Just like that, my ray of burning hope was plunged into the deep waters of an icy abyss. Extinguished before it ever had a chance to take hold. I couldn’t hide my disappointment. “Thank you, Lyrik, and you, Frabo, for sharing your brother’s stories.”
“Any time, lovely. Any time,” Frabo grumbled as he continued to cut his apple.
Lyrik walked Darragh and me to our horses. I couldn’t muster any more pleasantries with the despondency sitting deep in my gut, so I remained quiet. Lyrik inclined his head. “Sorry you didn’t get what you were hoping for, my lady. Oh, uh, Darragh, I wanted a word before you leave.”
“Yes?” He lifted a brow.
Lyrik shifted his eyes to me and back to Darragh. “Maybe we should go somewhere private?”
Darragh shook his head and put his hands on his waist. “I’m not leaving her by herself. What’s this about?”
Lyrik glanced at me again. “There’s been talk…of strange behavior and movement in the west. Rumors are swirling that the threshing wall was seen breached.”
Darragh stiffened. “Militia?”
Lyrik shook his head. “I’m not sure, but there is something odd happening out there.
Gerron saw two men walk out of the fog early this morning while he was hunting some game.
One terrified man was being dragged by the other, bound and gagged.
He had rounded ears. About a two-hour ride northwest from the farm. Close to Briarscliffe Village.”
I drew in a breath and tried to maintain a neutral face, but it felt like I had been punched in the gut.
Another human came out of the barrier.
“I’ll look into it.” Darragh looked back at me, twisting my fingers, and then to Lyrik again. “Best to keep this to yourself for now.”
Lyrik’s mouth curled up at the corners. “I’m not stupid. I’m telling you and then forgetting I heard anything about it. Besides, you now owe me a favor, and I won’t jeopardize that. Let me know if we can barter again.”
After a quiet mile ride away from Toolock Farm, my curiosity got the better of me. “Do you think the rumor is true and another human came through the wall?”
Darragh sighed. “I don’t know, my lady. The timing of your arrival and this information is suspicious. Unfortunately, rumors tend to turn out to be just rumors. With your presence in the kingdom, it could well be people talking and someone making something up to cause a stir.”
“What if it isn’t a rumor? What if something is wrong with the wall or someone figured out a way to cross over, whether it was a human or a seraph?”
“I will check into it, my lady. I promise.”
I bit my lip. “Let’s go look into it now.”
He gave me an incredulous stare. “What?”
I shrugged. “Lyrik said it was a two-hour ride from the farm, so let’s go see if we can find anything.”
“My lady, I am most certainly not taking you into a situation where there could be danger.”
I rolled my eyes. “We aren’t going to confront anyone.
We can simply check the perimeter of the wall to see if anything is amiss or strange.
If nothing comes of it, we head back to the castle.
I promise, if there is anything you see that you think is dangerous, we will leave immediately. I won’t push any further.”
Darragh shook his head vigorously. “No. I don’t like this idea.”
“Please, Captain Reynault…Darragh.” I looked up at him through my lashes.
“It may help me figure out how to get back through the wall. Especially since my one lead with the recipe book was squashed as soon as I got it. I would hate to sit on this if there is evidence. It could disappear if we wait too long.”
He stopped Astorath, and I pulled back Celeste’s reins to do the same. Darragh rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
He let out a deep breath. “Alright.” His voice dropped and became stern. “But I must impress upon you, my lady, that we may find nothing and instead wind up in danger. Dryads do not like us in their forest.”
“I am well aware. A dryad attacked Cora and me when we first crossed the wall.”
“Then you know how deadly they can be. So, if I am going to allow you to come with me, then I need your word that you will do everything I ask of you, no questions asked. Anything I say or ask will be for your safety. Do I have your word, my lady?” Though his face was stern, his eyes remained soft, tracing over my face.
Obeying was not my strong suit, but knowing he would let me come along and had my best interest at heart, I had to agree. I couldn’t leave Cora without a mother. “Yes. You have my word. I will listen to you for my safety.”
He blew out some air and ran his hand down his face. “Alright then.”
I slid my sweaty palms down the sides of my dress, repositioned the reins, and sat tall in the saddle.
Focused. Prepared. For what? I wasn’t sure.
I had never done anything like this before.
I didn’t know what to expect or even what I was doing, but I knew time was precious, and if there was any evidence of humans coming through the wall, we couldn’t wait for it. I met his eyes. “Thank you.”
Without another word, Darragh pivoted Astorath, and we rode westward.
His demeanor tightened the further the farm was from our backs and the closer we came to the western woods.
I wondered if the thought of letting a human woman talk him into taking her to a forest full of danger coiled around his stiffening muscles.
“What did Lyrik mean about you owing him a favor?”
Darragh stayed quiet for a moment but yielded. “He agreed to arrange the meeting after we didn’t get permission from Lord Toolock, if I would owe him a favor. Favors are as good as currency here.”
My eyes widened. “You didn’t have to do that. Please let me owe him the favor instead. The meeting was for me.”
“Absolutely not!” he practically growled. “A lady ought not barter favors with men. They are not the kind of favors you will want to owe.”
I dropped my eyes to the moving ground beneath Celeste’s hooves. He was right.
I gave him a small smile. “Then I owe you an entire box of honey cakes, though I doubt that will equal what you just did for me. I appreciate you. Did you like it, by the way?”
“What?”
“The honey cake.”
Darragh looked around awkwardly. “Oh. Um. Yes, it was good. Thank you, my lady.”
I sighed. “Rory.”