Chapter 11 #2
When Kaz said they were less than a day away from the border of Nyr forest, and they were setting up camp for the night, Zane saw a shadow flicker in the trees behind the wagon.
Focusing harder on the area, he didn’t see anything out of place, but the hairs on the back of his neck prickled as though he was being watched.
As a tracker himself, he’d learned to always trust these instincts. He glanced at Talon.
“I think there’s someone following us,” he said, his voice hushed.
To Talon’s credit, he didn’t immediately glance around, instead looking towards Zane and smiling like they were carrying on a conversation.
“Where?” Tal asked.
“I thought I saw a shadow over by the wagon, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Perfect,” Talon replied. “I need to use the little boy’s room, anyway.” Throwing a wink at Zane, Tal walked towards the area behind the wagon with an unconcerned strut.
“Where are you going?” Emmeric called from where he was setting up the bedrolls.
“I have to piss!” Talon yelled over his shoulder, laughing.
Zane joined the others around the fire while carefully monitoring the trees Talon had disappeared into. He caught Emmeric’s eye. “I think someone is following us. He went to check.”
Worry flitted over the other soldier’s face before he nodded and resumed his tasks.
The two friends had spent the past ten years doing this exact thing—putting themselves in front of a dangerous situation and dealing with it, while the other did what they needed to do.
But since Talon had died…It was nice for Zane to know someone else was worried about Tal, too.
When Talon reappeared in the treeline unharmed, Zane breathed a sigh of relief. He joined the rest of their group around the fire.
“I didn’t see anyone,” Talon said, “but they could have come and left. Didn’t you say Altair just disappeared once Kaz leapt at him?”
Emmeric nodded. “So you’re thinking maybe a star was out there spying on us, then poofed away into thin air?”
“It’s possible,” Tal said, shrugging his shoulder. “We should make sure we take turns on watch and keep our eyes open until we get to Nyr.”
Luckily, that night was uneventful. The next morning, they decided to ditch the wagon and walk into Nyr on horseback.
Emmeric and Iyana sat atop Pryn, while Zane and Talon were on his own horse, Ryunn.
He was glad they’d thought to board the horses; Zane would have hated to be parted from the magnificent black stallion.
Kaz trotted along next to them in her leopard form.
Zane wasn’t exactly accustomed to riding a horse with a large man seated behind him, but he couldn’t say he was opposed to the situation—especially not when Talon’s arms encircled his waist. Or when his head rested on Zane’s shoulder as he took a nap.
Any time he thought of the casual touches between them, his breath caught and his stomach swooped with excitement and fear.
He still wanted Talon desperately, but he didn’t want to push the issue.
In all honestly, he didn’t want to talk about it in fear that Talon had changed his mind about being together.
Zane decided to reevaluate later, as there were certainly more important things to tend to.
It was abundantly clear the second they crossed the border from Athusa into Nyr.
An oppressive heat and humidity bore down upon them all, and they took a minute to shuck off their winter gear, Kaz shifting back into her human form.
Zane appreciated the change in weather, feeling it warm his body down to his bones.
“How is it this warm when it’s winter?” Iyana asked Kaz.
“Oh, it’s the wards.”
“Wards?” Emmeric asked.
Zane had to admit it wasn’t a term he was familiar with, either.
“All of Nyr is encircled by magical wards,” she explained.
“It’s how I knew we’d be safe here from the stars; it won’t let in anyone with ill intentions towards our kingdom.
But it’s a closely guarded secret, which was why I didn’t want to say anything on the road.
The wards keep it so that the weather is always like early summer. ”
That had to be why Uther had always refused to visit Nyr.
Zane had asked him about it once, wanting to see the kingdom for himself, but his father told him Nyr was reclusive and wouldn’t let anyone in.
Uther either must have known about the wards, or else had tried to get into the kingdom before and hadn’t been able to.
The wards would have sensed his nefarious plot and barred his entry.
Zane finally took in his surroundings, viewing the kingdom he’d always wanted to visit.
Though they still stood within a forest, unlike the trees he was accustomed to, this one was filled with palm trees, green leaves larger than himself, and vines crisscrossing above them in the canopy.
Flowers of every color and shape were dotted throughout the greenery and they perfumed the air with their sweet smell.
Birds were chattering away, and the sound of a distant waterfall could be heard.
Zane thought his mother would have loved it here.
A rustle in the leaves alerted him to the presence of someone else a split second before an arrow came spearing from out of the trees, aimed right at Kaz.
With feline swiftness, she grabbed the arrow out of the air and snapped it in half.
All three men’s mouths were agape at the display of speed they’d never witnessed before.
However, they quickly recovered and drew their swords.
Silver light glowed in Iyana’s hands, her magic at the ready.
“You can put those down,” Kaz said. Then, shouting into the forest, she continued, “Not your best shot by far, Jato!”
Over a dozen men and women, all with varying shades of dark skin, emerged from the surrounding jungle.
Their clothing was perfectly dyed to match their surroundings.
They all held either a spear or a bow. One large man stepped forward closer to them.
His hair was cropped close to his head, and his deep, brown gaze assessed Kaz first, then the rest of the group.
Zane saw him catalogue the weapons they all had, and his eyebrow raised ever so slightly when his eyes passed over Iyana’s magic.
“You know the rules,” he said, his voice rich and deep. “Once you leave, you aren’t allowed back in.”
Kaz scoffed. “I doubt that applies to me.”
“Zahar has instructed me not to let you in.”
“And tell me, Jato, have my parents revoked my rights as crown princess and given them to Zahar while I was gone?”
Jato frowned deeply. “No.”
“I have vital information the king and queen will want to hear so, as your crown princess, I am ordering you to stand down and escort us to the palace.”
Jato finally nodded, then turned on his heel and disappeared into the forest.
Kaz beamed at them. “Well, come on, then. Let me show you to my home. We’ll have to walk the horses from here.”
Team Save Arinem followed the shifter into the forest, the rest of Nyr’s warriors falling into place next to and behind them. Their weapons were still drawn, but Kaz didn’t seem concerned. Iyana sidled closer to her side.
“Kaz,” she asked quietly, “who is Jato?”
“He’s captain of the border guards,” Kaz said, looking towards the man leading them forward. “And my betrothed.”