Chapter 22
SAPHIRA
Iwoke from a fitful sleep with my hand wrapped around my dagger, the room slow to come into focus as I fought to level my breathing and banish the constant replays of Lorien looming over me with a knife that had me waking in flashes of panic throughout the night.
Not even my recurring dream of running in the forest and meeting the elkyn had calmed me this time.
I had felt a strange, pressing sort of feeling during my dream of racing through the woods to see the moon, the lake and the beautiful beast. As if a clock was ticking down.
That feeling had only passed when I had returned to that dream after having one of Lorien looming over me, a nightmare that had woken me and seen me checking all the doors and windows were locked.
When I had fallen back to sleep, the elkyn had still been there, grazing at the lakeshore under the full moon and aurora. I had approached it this time, and it had walked away from me.
Out onto the water.
The still surface hadn’t broken under its weight.
It had stood there, looking back at me as if waiting for me to follow, and I had noticed its reflection as glow bugs had twined and danced around its long legs, dipping to skim the water and disturb the surface.
It hadn’t been white, with black antlers ringed with gold.
In the reflection, the elkyn had been black, with golden antlers ringed with onyx.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, or whether it meant anything at all, other than I was missing the Shadow Court.
It took a lot of convincing to get my fingers to release the hilt of my blade, and even more to convince myself to leave my bed without it. I padded across the wooden floor of my bedroom, trying not to wake Danica as she slumbered peacefully, tying my robe closed as I headed for the glass doors.
I opened them as quietly as I could manage and slipped out onto the cream stone terrace that ran along two sides of my room.
Sunlight warmed the icy chill from my skin and I raised my face to it, soaking it in and letting it soothe me, and then lowered my head to distract myself with watching the people in the main garden.
Only my gaze snagged on something beyond those walls the highborn used to elevate themselves from the commoners in the lower city.
That was a lot of tents.
I charted the sections of the wheel of the city that encircled Evergreen Castle, figuring out which one suddenly had an encampment right outside it, spreading across the fields.
The district where the two garrisons responsible for protecting the castle and the trainee soldiers were housed.
Curious.
Movement below me caught my eye. Sylvan. He wore his white and gold armour today, his golden hair shining in the morning sunlight, gleaming as he strode towards the castle with one hand resting on his sword.
Had he just been out in the soldiers’ district?
I crept back inside and dressed as quickly as I could manage, pulling on a pair of teal cotton trousers, black riding boots and a cream blouse that had been delivered to my room last night after I had requested an outfit more suitable for training in.
Its arrival had surprised me. Part of me had expected Sylvan to barge into my room and deny my request, preventing me from training.
The clothes weren’t the only thing that had arrived. Set on top of them had been a teal and gold belt and scabbard that fit my dagger perfectly.
I retrieved that dagger now, slotting it into its sheath, a bounce in my step as I left my room and strode down the corridor in the direction of the stairs.
It felt good to be armed again, other than my own claws and fangs.
It felt good to be in more comfortable clothing too, even when I knew it couldn’t last. The messenger who had delivered them had also delivered a message that I could only wear them when training, and when I wasn’t I was expected to wear something more suited to my rank.
It had taken all of my will to resist sending a message back with the male, one that would have said something about the clothing Lorien was allowed to wear and how if it was suited to his rank as heir, I should be able to wear the same thing rather than stuffy dresses.
If I had given in to that urge, I probably would have found myself training in a corseted dress that weighed almost as much as I did.
I reached the bottom of the elegant twisting staircase and strode out into the sunlit courtyard, blinking as the sudden shift in brightness made my eyes water.
Light glinted at me.
Sylvan.
He walked with another male who was dressed as elegantly as he was, a male I had seen before, heading back towards the main arched entrance of the castle. One of the commanders.
I hurried towards them.
When Sylvan noticed me, he waved the other male onwards, muttering something about joining him shortly, and then turned to me with a broad, warm, and utterly fake smile.
“Is something the matter?” He raked cold blue eyes over me. “Is it something about your attire?”
“No. My attire suits me just fine, thank you. Meiryn was kind enough to offer to help train me in basic magic.” I wasn’t sure why I was explaining why I had needed this outfit when I was heir.
Something about him always left me feeling as if he was the one in charge, which I supposed he was until I turned one hundred.
I tucked a rogue strand of my silver-white hair behind my ear, an action his gaze tracked.
It lingered on my ear when I lowered my hand.
My very round ear. And now I felt inadequate.
Far too many people had started staring at my ears over the last two days. I was sure Lorien had said something about them, making everyone notice how rounded they were and how I lacked the pointed ears of a fae.
He was trying to turn the court against me.
I really should have killed him when I’d had the chance.
“I was just… I was out on my terrace to soak up the morning sun and couldn’t help but notice a large number of tents have appeared overnight.” I fidgeted with my hair, trying to look nervous.
“A battalion of soldiers reached Evergreen Castle last night and will be housed here for the time being.” He cast his gaze towards his commander as he reached the arched gate.
“Why?” I was quite proud of the wobble I put in my voice when he looked at me again, the cold edge to his eyes softening just a touch, revealing there were feelings in that dead heart of his. “Are we in danger?”
“No. No.” He smiled again, patting my arm as if I was a fearful child. “It is merely a precaution. With so many heirs here, I thought it wise to ensure your safety by moving several legions to this area.”
I wasn’t sure there was a single seed of truth in his words. He had no problem with us heirs killing each other, so why would he move a host of soldiers here to protect us?
“Do you think… do you think the Shadow Court might attack?” I lifted a hand to my chest, close to my heart, and he noticed the gesture I pretended I wasn’t aware I had done, one that revealed my fear and that I felt vulnerable.
He slowly shook his head, his tone calm and gentle as he said, “The Wrathful King would be a fool to do so. The accord prevents such behaviour and for good reason. This court is not without its scars inflicted by that king.”
“I heard the Shadow Court is not without its own scars inflicted by my father.” My tone was equally as calm and gentle as I played my role as lamb in wolf’s clothing perfectly, acting as innocent of the fae ways and the history of the courts as he might expect.
He smiled tightly. “That is sadly true. There has long been bad blood between the two courts, and I believe it is the reason the Wrathful King took you captive. For his vengeance.”
“It was for his vengeance,” I admitted with a grave smile that hid my amusement as I confessed that, “but I am free now, thanks to you.”
Meiryn jogged up to us, dressed in a similar fashion to myself, and tugged at her trousers, pulling a face at them. “These are most uncomfortable. I do not know how you seem to get along with them so well.”
“Years of practice,” I said as I looked her over. “You get used to them.”
“I don’t think I will.” She discreetly reached behind herself and tugged at the rear of her pants. “They seem to want to venture places I do not wish them to venture.”
I chuckled.
Sylvan bowed to both of us and followed his commander.
I watched him go.
“What were you talking about?” She glanced from me to Sylvan and back again, giving up fighting her clothing.
“The sudden appearance of what has to be a thousand soldiers.” Something about that set me on edge. What was Sylvan up to? I added it to my mental list of tasks to get done as soon as possible. Find out why Sylvan had brought a thousand men to the castle.
Meiryn’s eyes lit up. “I did notice that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Heirs to the throne do not hook up with soldiers.”
She giggled. “You clearly haven’t been around for Beltane.”
It made me think of Kaeleron at Beltane. Which made my cheeks heat a little.
“Or perhaps you have,” she whispered, gaze scalding my face as much as my blush was.
“Should we go somewhere a little more private for this training session?” Ignoring her demanding look, I jerked my chin towards the raised walkway on the opposite side of the courtyard, where Lorien leaned against one of the stone columns that supported the pitched roof.
Glaring daggers at us.
“Maybe we should, because I’m not sure Lorien is going to take you learning to harness your magic very well.” She gestured towards the other end of the courtyard, past the long pond, where a smaller wall intersected it.
I could see a hint of green through the arched doorway. “I don’t think he will either.”
In fact, I felt certain that he was only going to come at me harder the second he realised I was practicing summoning magic and trying to get stronger.