10. Esther
ESTHER
“Move it,” a man yells at two buffalo pulling the large carriage. I flinch under the crack of the whip, my hands balling into fists as Regent and I watch on from the side of the jungle on top of a hill.
We’ve been doing this for two days now, remaining on the outskirts of the jungle, and returning farther in when coming closer to contact with other people.
If my knowledge serves me correctly, the Boey Jungle wraps around half of the Hemmont Kingdom.
The rest of the continent is filled with various terrain, including deserts and snowy mountains.
The Kingdom of Hemmont is north, described as a port city. Master Kain advised that greers were frequently hanged and staked in that city. It wasn’t illegal to be greer, but the magicless king often found loopholes to get rid of whoever he deemed a threat.
Grimace clicks his tongue as he paces back and forth along my shoulders. I pat him on the head. “I know,” I say with an understanding of his restlessness.
“Hurry up!” the man shouts, whipping the buffalo again. The animals pick up pace, clearly stressed.
“What do you think they’re carrying?” I ask Regent, lying low just as he instructed.
I learned quickly to do as I’m told, as I look back down at my ankles, which are currently shackled.
So, perhaps I might’ve attempted to take his life once more while I thought he was sleeping.
Now he makes a point to sleep on a high tree branch, so I won’t be so, in his words, “tempted.”
“A beast,” he grits out, and goosebumps rise on my arms. I look over my shoulder at his mare, who waits obediently like a lapdog. We’ve closed the distance somewhat over the past two days, but nothing that would allow me to be within reachable distance.
“How do you know that?” The shape of the container might be a giveaway, but as my invisible chains inspect around the carriage, I’m blocked by an enchantment.
“Here in Hemmont, dealing in beasts is common.”
Without so much as a whisper or chant, Regent focuses on the moving carriage. The earth twists beneath the carriage, and the wheels immediately halt.
“We’re under attack!” the man in charge screams, right before he’s thrown off and onto the ground. Vines from the jungle thread down the hill like snakes and grab around the ankles of the men on horses who rear back in fright.
The jungle vines drag them away as they scream and try to grab hold of something.
“Let’s go,” Regent quickly commands, his face immediately twisting into that clay mask he wears.
“What?” I ask, startled as he quickly brings the key to my chains, throwing them over his shoulder and pulling me by the wrist down the hill.
I cover my face with my hood as we barrel toward the carriage.
The men still scream, and the buffalo try their hardest to run, although stuck from the bogged-down carriage.
I follow Regent’s movement, throwing my back against the carriage, my heart pounding.
Grimace jumps onto the roof, and I reach for him, cursing as he scuttles over the top.
Regent grabs the remaining man sitting on the front seat of the carriage by his shirt collar, punching him so hard that blood sprays from his nose, and just like that, vines grab at the man and pull him back into the jungle.
I’m acutely aware of the fact that he will never return.
Where there were six men less than a minute ago, there are now none.
Regent slinks to the back, the carriage rocking back and forth.
A scraping noise comes from the inside, and I freeze, my invisible chains slithering around the carriage again, trying to feel a tidbit of its magic.
Grimace reappears, inspecting through the holes what might be inside, but not small enough to fit. I circle the carriage, sweat beading down the back of my neck from the relentless heat I’m not accustomed to.
Regent holds his hand to the carriage, irritated.
“There’s an enchantment on it.” He unsheathes one of the two swords crossed over his back.
It’s the first time I’ve seen him use one, and he shuffles back, his arms coming down as he tries to break the lock.
He’s thrown back, his feet dragging along the dirt as he comes to a stop.
I look at the padlock, and a large bang vibrates the door. What the fuck is inside?
“Remind me what we’re doing here?” I ask. “Is this something you’re looking to steal and sell as well?”
“Something like that,” he snaps. “But it’s useless if we can’t break the enchantment.”
Grimace jumps onto my shoulder, those large orange eyes looking boggled as he hocks once, then twice. He regurgitates a circular key chain onto the ground. I lean over and pick the saliva-drenched keys up. “Or you could just use these? No magic required?”
Regent’s face twists back to his original features. “Where did he get that from?”
I cock an arrogant smile. “Ooh, you didn’t know, Grimace and I make quite the team.
You might’ve noticed had you not been so focused on using and selling me.
” I high-five Grimace, impressed by how quickly he sniffed out the keys and stole them from the man at the front of the carriage before Regent sent him flying into the jungle.
Regent tries to swipe the keys out of my hand, but I’m quick to place my hand behind my back.
His eyebrow raises. “You know I could have you caught in a net within seconds, and those keys would be mine. Hand them over.”
“Say please.”
He glares at me as he steps farther into my space, and my back presses against the carriage doors.
The beast behind me groans, and my heart pounds hard, thrilled to piss this man off, but also uncertain of what exactly is breathing down my neck.
Grimace grabs the keys and shoves them back into his mouth.
“Wait!” Regent says, trying to grab for the beast that quickly disappears back into his marking at my throat.
His hand slams beside my face, and he leans farther in.
“You think this little game is cute?” he growls, and I can’t help but smile as I poke a daring finger on his chest. I know he can’t stand it when I touch him, because he goes out of his way to ensure I can’t, unless on his terms, like right now as he tries to intimidate me.
“I want a blade,” I say. “Those two big swords look like a hindrance.”
“The only hindrance is a prisoner who doesn’t know her place.”
I crawl one finger up above the next. “Come now. Admit it. You’re mildly impressed.”
“I’d rather swallow my own swords,” he grits out.
“Then give me one so we can play out that fantasy.”
He continues to glare down at me, a gentle breeze sweeping between us, the beast at my back breathing shallowly. I make a point to offer an even brighter smile.
He pushes away from me, cursing under his breath. “Fine, I’ll give you a blade. Now give me the keys.”
“Excellent,” I say, summoning Grimace. I hold out my fist, and when Grimace materializes, his fist bumps into mine, a smug smile on his expression.
Regent’s jaw tightens. “You have a weird bond with your beast.”
“Don’t be jealous. This is called friendship. You should try it sometime,” I bite as Grimace hocks up the keys again. I catch them, my face turning downward because of the amount of saliva hanging off them.
I dangle the keys in front of Regent, and he snags them out of my hand.
I can’t help but smirk as I take two steps back, watching the opening of the carriage.
I’ve worked alongside a few beasts, but for the most part, they roamed freely in my kingdom.
I’m already learning that beasts come in all different shapes and sizes.
Grimace, inquisitive as always, hangs off the edge of my hooded coat, sniffing in the direction of the beast.
Regent’s mare paces back and forth alongside the buffalo, who are now grazing on grass, seemingly unfazed by the ordeal that just eventuated.
A clicking noise is made the moment Regent turns the lock. He opens the carriage slowly, and I crane my neck around to look into the dark space, which has only a few holes of sunlight drifting through.
The chains rattle when the beast tries to stand, three young cubs behind it.
The shape of it is close to a bear, with soft pink fur and vibrant blue horns that glow iridescently.
Its light-blue eyes look tired as it struggles to get onto its feet in the cramped space.
One of the little cubs whines, and a fragment of my heart breaks.
“You’re okay,” Regent says, holding out his hand to the beast. It whines in pain that I fundamentally feel.
It closes its eyes, permitting Regent to touch it.
My chains inspect them closer. The pleasant subtlety of Neina-blessed magic surrounding them.
Such an aversion to my naturally Felia-blessed magic.
But I can still appreciate it, having been raised by a master who tried his best to teach me in Neina-blessed magic.
“What are they?” I ask over his shoulder. As if remembering that I still stand here, he moves slightly to the side, silently suggesting I come closer. “Creatures and beasts don’t usually like to be around me. Not those of good nature, anyway.”
“They’ll be okay while I’m here,” he says and waits for me. I nervously step forward, and the beast’s regard snaps to me and then to Regent for reassurance.
“What are you, some kind of beast whisperer?” I try to lighten the intensity as I slowly shuffle forward. Grimace speaks gibberish on my shoulder but remains curious.
“They’re called stormbears. Beasts that hide in the mountains and often keep to themselves. When they feel safe, they naturally create a large amount of rainfall around them.”
The stormbear cries as I step closer, my heart pounding in my chest. Regent grabs my hand and slowly guides it toward the beast’s nose.
My breath hitches from the warmth of his guidance as the stormbear looks between us, unsure.
“They’ll go for a high price at the Volmere auctions, considering how dry most of our land is, well, the parts of it where anything can grow and be harvested. ”
My hand touches the silky soft fur of the beast’s forehead, and my breath hitches again.
A rush of excitement runs through me, and my heart overflows as the beast slowly closes its eyes and leans into me.
My breath staggers, a relief washing through me that for the first time, besides Grimace, a beast permits me to touch it.
A smile blossoms from my heart as I look at Regent. “It’s so soft.”
He’s watching me carefully. No one could possibly understand this feeling of relief. Although Regent is a thief and a bandit, he has given me a moment in life that I never thought possible for me.
Thunder crackles in the distance, and Regent and I both look up. “Is this because they feel safe?”
Regent studies me for a moment before releasing my hand. He jumps into the back of the carriage and begins with the chains.
“Yes, but not yet. We need to get them away from here. Those idiots were careless in moving them so close to the jungle. Only dark beasts live in there, and anything of light, they’re drawn to devour. We need to change direction.”
The chain drops heavily among the hay.
“Wait? So, you’re not taking me to the auctions anymore?” I say hopefully.
“No, we’ll still be going. We’re just detouring to rehome them.”
My shoulders sag, and I look down at the padlock on the floor and consider locking him inside.
With lightning speed, vines catch around my wrists, binding them together like before.
“What the fuck? I didn’t even do anything?!”
Regent jumps off the back of the carriage and immediately scoops up the lock. “Do you not think I’ve learned how your conniving brain works, Denva. I bet you considered locking me in so you could find your escape.”
I don’t look him in the eye. “It was just a thought.”
He closes the carriage door, pulls something out of his leather coat, and offers it to me. I look down at the white-and-silver hairpin with a winged tip. It’s the one Selena had given to me, but I was certain I lost it that night.
“What’s this?” my voice cracks as the thought of my homeland and Selena surface.
“Your blade, as agreed.” He places it into my bound hands.
“Wait? What! No, we agreed on a sword!” I follow him around the carriage.
He turns and picks me up from the waist. “Hey!” I scream as he places me to sit at the front of the carriage. “I didn’t promise any such thing. Do you really think I’d give you one of my swords? Surely, you’re not that dumb.”
My jaw drops as he jumps beside me and calls for his mare to follow close by. Grimace props himself onto my lap as Regent takes the reins.
“We’ll have to be more vigilant until we return to the jungle. We’re far more exposed in the open,” he says, throwing his hood over his face and then grabbing the back of mine and throwing it over as well. His face twists into the jarring mask.
“Wait, what is going on? You wouldn’t help the humans only two nights ago whose village was set alight, but you’ll go out of your way for these beasts?”
He whips the reins but says nothing.
I huff, frustrated as I throw my back against the board, immediately remorseful as one of the little cubs cries out, scared.
Regent is giving me a careful side-eye as if I don’t already feel guilty enough.
Not only is he a thief and a bandit. But now he’s also a liar.
It irks me to know he’s once again got one up on me.