Chapter 6 #3
Stepping to the side, I bent down in front of a chair, moving my fingers up to hover over a piece of fabric glinting in the light.
Or rather, sucking the light right out of the room. The shade of black was so intense, so lifeless, I was scared to touch it. I was sure the garment it belonged to was beautiful, an intense shade that demanded your focus.
Even without touch, I could tell that it was expertly crafted, likely the finest of materials. Precious to Muli, as I’d never seen anything like it on Vir.
I’d have to ask Soren or Bellamy about it, they had much more access to finer fabrics as—
My mind skidded to a halt as a realization struck.
The Prince had been here.
It might have seemed like a far logical leap to make. However, when my fingers finally clasped over the scrap of fabric, rubbing the impossibly soft material through the pads of my fingertips, I knew that it wasn’t crazy at all.
I knew every single luxury or unique product coming out of Muli, and one look at this piece of fabric and I could tell it was the most expensive thing I’d ever touched.
Whether its existence had been intentionally obscured or Roger’s supply chain couldn’t get their hands on it, either option only cemented the fact that this belonged to someone powerful.
Someone royal.
If the Prince was here, that probably meant Elijah was nearby, and I had some words to have with him.
Nearly killing Bellamy just for the fun of it, causing a distraction so that they could rain hellfire down on our camp mere hours later.
I wanted to scream and break something, taunting the Prince to face me and answer for his little minion.
Logic clawed at me, telling me that would do no good, and was only just able to find purchase on the edges of my sanity and drag me back down to earth.
Pocketing the fabric, I stood and forced myself to look for other clues.
The arrangement of the chairs made me think five people had been sitting at the table.
Roger, Elijah, and the Prince if I had to guess, but that left two people without identities.
Carson, maybe. One of the soldiers that followed Elijah’s every move.
Ford was doing a good job of distracting Roger, but I didn’t think there was enough time for me to make it across the expansive bar to the back wall and see if anyone was hiding back there.
Taking a chance, I turned on my heel and ran towards the door as fast as possible on quiet feet, making sure I didn’t slam the door behind me on the way out.
The second I rounded the corner to the barn, I felt the sharp spike of Sky’s anxiety in my chest. Breaking into a full sprint, I ran blindly out into the darkness, finding him on instinct.
Further into the wide expanse of fields that marked the end of Pax, I could see Sky and Shadow in the distance. One of them was running circles around the other, obviously trying to keep them from running off.
I knew my horse, and knew that Sky would gear towards logic, while Shadow was the more impulsive one.
Something so contrary to Ford’s stoicness that it made for a good match.
I saw the moment they caught wind of my reappearance, providing a distraction to abandon whatever had stolen their focus and turn their attention back towards me.
They both broke into a full sprint, making it to be in seconds. My hands were already reaching out for both of them, accepting the press of their snouts into my palms.
Their combined, heaving breaths brushed over my forearms, marked with the distinct snap of anxiety.
“What did you see?” I asked in a cooing tone, trying not to communicate my own fear while they were still deep in the thrawls of their animal instincts.
The question was rhetorical anyways, and not just because they couldn’t answer. I knew what they saw.
I imagined I could even see it in the distance, the glint of metal off a saddle or a boot on the far end of the forest that was firmly within Muli territory.
Panic seized my chest so severely, I wasn’t positive my heart didn’t skip a beat from the constriction.
It would have been so, so easy for one of them to harm Sky or Shadow. Several horses had been injured in the attack.
I knew Sky, and he would have put up a bucking fight. How did I not even hear his whines from inside?
“Esme!” My name was shouted into the night at a volume and tone that I’d never heard before, enough that my first thought was that Roger had been the one to speak.
Instead, I found Ford striding towards me on quick legs, eating up the distance between us in seconds. With a whimper, Shadow buried her snout in his shoulder, pouring her anxiety into him.
Ford reached up to hold her close, pressing a comforting hand into the muscle in her jaw.
“What the hell?” he growled, his eyes sweeping over me in two quick passes.
His concern used to be one of my most consistent fantasies, that he’d find me injured and the Bond would come smashing out to play, but clearly those thoughts existed firmly in the realm of make-believe.
In reality, his concern made me angry. Oh sure, it was an anger fueled by hurt and defensiveness, but it was nowhere near the flooding relief I’d imagined.
“Calm down,” I snapped back, venom sharp in my tone. I restrained the urge to tack on that he had no right to act like this after everything. “Roger is watching. He can’t know.”
Ford didn’t react, just stayed still as a statue and staring at me with an expression of pure disbelief.
“No help,” I muttered under my breath, then turned to Roger who was still hovering close to the barn. “Sorry about that! Sky got spooked by something and scared Shadow in response.”
I squeezed Sky’s neck lightly, a silent statement that I’d be back in a moment. Leaving Ford gaping, I walked over to Roger and gave him a quick hug.
My skin smarted at the touch, and dread sunk like a stone in my stomach.
Clearly doing a poor job at obscuring my reaction, Roger’s eyebrows pinched together in the center. “Everything okay?” he whispered under his breath.
All I could bring myself to do was give him a tight smile and a nod. I tried to will my hand to reach out and sweep down his arm in a comforting motion, but the limb felt heavy and numb at my side.
Roger very clearly did not believe me, but let me walk away regardless.
Ford was standing in between Sky and Shadow, scratching both of them under the chin. The fact that Sky was allowing the touch without trying to snap off Ford’s hand spoke to how startled he’d been.
When I approached, Ford let me take over the comforting strokes on Sky, but didn’t move away. I could tell he wanted to ask what happened, and I knew we had much to debrief.
Conversation was unavoidable between us, but that didn’t mean it had to be wrapped in warmth and familiarity.
Ford, apparently, did not hold the same opinion. He leaned even closer, and I would have jerked back if Sky didn’t choose that exact moment to press his face to my back in a hug.
“What happened?” he said, eyes bouncing over my face. Unfortunately, I knew him well enough to catch the concern in his gaze.
That realization would have refueled my anger if I wasn’t focused on the fact that with two words, spoken in that low, grumbly way of his, he’d soothed the stinging sensation still lingering from Roger’s touch.
Reminding me exactly what torture was coming for me when the Bond woke up again.