Chapter Ten
Ten
When we made it back to the courtyard where the carriage and horses awaited, the sun was on its descent. Time inside the caravanserai had slipped past like a warm desert breeze. A good trick for travelers tired of the monotony of the flatlands—and who had coin to spend.
The carriage was ready and waiting, all the horses rested, and Yue back in her spot in front, hat tipped forward to shield her face.
“Ready,” she said.
I slipped the windblade to Wren as discreetly as possible. When she’d tucked it into her belt, she pulled out her small dagger and extended it.
“Even trade,” she said.
“I can’t take your knife.” It was one of the few possessions she’d brought into the Lady’s manor, and she’d taken great care with it since then.
“You gave me a new one. It’s not sentimental,” she added. “It’s just old. You remember what I taught you?”
I nodded. “Use it like an extension of my hand. Dodge when possible. Aim for soft parts.”
“Good. Don’t cut yourself with it.”
“Funny,” I said. “Have a good ride.”
“You, too. And this time, try to keep your hands off the prince’s guard.”
Damn it. The woman missed nothing.
I watched through the window as we left the caravanserai behind, its crenellations dark against the sky.
It was the most of the world outside the stronghold I’d ever seen—of its people and places and things.
Leaving it behind was more disappointing than I’d imagined it would be.
Maybe if I concentrated hard enough, I could sear the images into my brain and, unlike so many other memories, never forget them.
I didn’t close the shutter again until the view became flat, pale land and blue sky and we’d passed beneath the border flags. And when I turned around, I found Nik gazing at me, arms crossed. Had he watched me the entire time, waiting for me to get my fill of the landscape?
“Why are you staring at me?” I asked.
“I was fascinated by your fascination.”
“Yes, I’m a very intriguing person. I’m skilled at scrubbing other people’s laundry. If I’m lucky, the water’s warm.”
“I don’t see you as a laundress.”
“I’m apparently not a very good one. Too impatient.”
“One of your few weaknesses.”
“It is.” But that list seemed one item longer today, with his name squarely at the top.
“Do you want to talk about what happened in there?” he asked.
“Yes. Do you think the Eastern Prince is going to use his army to fight the Emperor Eternal? Or the other princes?”
“That’s not what I was referring to.”
Of course he wasn’t. But we couldn’t discuss that.
Couldn’t think about it, couldn’t let the wanting of it rise up until I put my hands on his face and pressed my lips to his again.
That’s what I wanted to do. But he was a guard for a damned Lys’Careth and I was a thief and it absolutely couldn’t happen again.
It might be fun in the moment—no, it would be delicious in the moment.
But I couldn’t afford him. Better to be clear about it now.
“That was a mistake, and it doesn’t need discussing. The army?”
He studied me for a moment, apparently debating whether to push.
And decided to give in. “If that’s his goal, he should bide his time.
Develop relationships with the army leaders and gain the trust of the soldiers.
The Eastern Army is loyal to Carethia, to the Emperor Eternal, and to their former general.
They won’t easily switch their loyalties to a prince who hasn’t served. ”
“And is he patient enough for that?”
“I don’t know. We rarely saw him. The Empress Eternal preferred to keep him close.” He tilted his head. “Are you truly interested in this?”
“Wren and I don’t have many people to rely on.” And even that was an exaggeration. Luna wasn’t human, and the Lady supported us only because we brought in coin. “It’s safest to know what dangers may be coming.”
“War isn’t coming,” he said. “Not now.”
“We’ve got company!” Yue shouted out. “Riders behind us, coming up fast.”
“You jinxed us,” I said, and we opened the shutters again. Horses veered toward us from the south, golden in the fading light and haloed by a cloud of dust. They carried the white banners used by those on pilgrimage to important shrines.
“They’re moving awfully fast for pilgrims,” I said. And they weren’t moving toward the stronghold. They were moving toward us.
“Pilgrims don’t usually have fast horses. Or weapons.”
“Weapons?” I looked again, saw the hint of short swords and crossworn daggers. “Did someone in the caravanserai send them?”
“Savaadh wouldn’t,” Nik said.
“He wasn’t the only one there.”
“If they were from the caravanserai, they’d have attacked in Vhrania.”
“They were waiting for us across the border. Why?”
“If they’re thieves or mercenaries, they might have been waiting for anyone.”
“And they happen to catch a royal carriage with a handful of soldiers and good horses. How lucky of them.”
“I can hear your sarcasm, Fox.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
“Any pain?”
I shook my head. “No Aetheric.”
He opened the side shutters and gestured to Galen. He and Wren moved their horses closer.
“They’re moving fast,” Galen said.
“We aren’t close enough to the stronghold to beat them there,” Yue said.
“We could loose the carriage, ride the horses,” Wren suggested.
Nik shook his head. “We can’t unharness the horses without stopping.”
“Then we split up,” Wren said.
“No,” Yue and Galen said together.
“We aren’t splitting up,” Galen said. I was half-surprised he didn’t offer to throw us to the bandits so they could make a clean getaway.
“We run,” Nik said. “If we’re lucky, we get within sight of the stronghold wall. There will be guards and soldiers on the rampart.” He looked at Galen. “Stay beside us as long as you can. Then go wide, and try to get behind them.”
Galen nodded, and Wren and I shared a look, and they moved their horses away from the carriage.
“Let’s go,” he called out to Wren.
“Yah!” Yue called out, the reins snapping as she urged the animals into a run. The carriage jerked forward as they picked up speed, tossing me into Nik’s lap.
He grinned down at me. “Throwing yourself at me just in case we don’t survive?”
“Very funny.” I climbed up and steadied myself in the now rocking carriage.
“Do you know how to fight?”
“I’m more of a runner.”
He nodded. “Good. If it comes to it, take a horse, make for the stronghold. You’ve ridden, so you understand the basics.”
“I’m not going to steal an imperial horse or leave Wren.”
“Only if it comes to that. And in the meantime…” He tossed aside one of the cushions and lifted the top of the bench. Inside was a full cache of military-style supplies. Sheathed short swords, rope, grappling hooks, maces, and things I couldn’t even name.
“Were you planning for war?”
“Soldiers are always planning for war.” He pulled out a small crossbow, the entire weapon shorter than my arm. “How’s your aim?” he asked as he checked its components.
“I have no idea.” I held out my hands. “But I’d like to find out.”
He handed it to me. It was lighter than I’d thought.
“Tiller,” he said, pointing to the main center post. “Bolts,” he said, and handed me two bundles of short metal rods that tapered into points at one end.
Then he showed me how to pull back the string, nestle it into the catch, and place the bolt.
“Aim higher than you’d think. The bolt will drop as it moves.
Press here when you’re ready.” He pointed to a small metal latch.
“The range won’t be as far as a larger crossbow, and it won’t do as much damage.
But even spooking the horses may give us time. ”
I nodded. “All right.”
He frowned. “Aren’t you scared? Most civilians would be.”
“When you’ve already lost everything, there’s nothing left to be afraid of.”
“In a different life, Fox, you might have been a soldier.”
Then he cursed when an arrowhead suddenly punched through the back of the carriage, barely a hand’s width above his head.
“Arrows!” Wren called out.
“Yes, we can see that!” he yelled.
He pointed to the back window. “We have more bolts. We don’t have more time.”
I nodded, then moved to the back bench. The riders were only four or five horse lengths behind us now.
My heart was pounding in time to the carriage’s bounce across the landscape, but I kept my eyes trained.
I pointed the crossbow through the window, aimed for the closest rider, and pushed down the latch.
The bolt struck the rider’s arm and bounced off, but it got his attention.
He bared his teeth and leaned over his horse to push it harder.
I ducked out of the way and placed another bolt, forcing myself to stay calm.
I’d been in tight spots before, and I knew how to keep my hands steady.
Of course, I hadn’t faced down bandits on horseback from the back of a royal carriage, but each day was a new fucking adventure.
I looked back and found him barely two strides behind us, reins in his left hand, sword in his right.
I breathed in, breathed out, and fired. The bolt hit its target this time, striking him just above his collarbone.
He kept his seat but groped at the bolt, dropping his sword in the process.
It hit the dirt with a satisfying cloud of dust.
“You have very steady hands,” Nik said.
“Practice,” I said, and positioned another bolt.
“With weapons?”
“Not exactly.” Although hands were a thief’s weapons.
“They’re aiming for the wheels!” came Wren’s shout.
“Arseholes,” Nik said, pulling me to the carriage’s wooden floor. “Yue! Take care!”
There was an enormous sound of cracking wood, and the carriage shuddered, then tilted toward its side as one of the wheels shattered. Nik and I slammed into each other, then the bench, and were sloshed around like wine in a jar as the spooked horses tried to run from the noise.
“Yah!” Yue shouted, and we ground to a spiraling halt, dirt spraying into the air as the wheels dug into dry earth.
“Yue?” he called out.
“Fine.”
“Horses?”