CHAPTER XII #4
It’s rare to see him in a serious state, so rare that I nearly do a double take. I glance across the campsite and take in the rest of the group, noting that everyone has the same look of resolute about them.
“There’s a group of Riverland riders south of us,” Keane announces as he approaches the now dead fire, “they are scouting the main road at our east. We’ll continue to avoid the road but will break up the group…”
I shift on the ground and move closer to Cal with a grimace.
“The majority of us will travel as we did before and ride due east. Lord Daniel, Cal and Lady Alexis will travel north and then east to put more space between them and the Great Road.”
The news makes me outright scowl.
Keane is sending our small group as far away as possible from the Leviathans, opting instead to ride with the rest of the crew in their potential direction.
“He’s putting everyone in danger at the expense of giving us a clear path,” I whisper angrily, “why can’t we all just take the same route?”
“They know what they’re doing, Alex,” Cal repeats.
I watch as Keane’s eyes narrow on mine, the look he gives me daring me to question him again.
“We’ll meet in Fumagalli,” he says to the group sternly, keeping his gaze on mine, “and will ride the moment Lord Daniel lowers the boulders.”
Everyone, including myself, quickly stands at the comment.
Once we’re all situated on our horses Keane gives Lord Daniel a slight nod.
Daniel, the only one not on his horse, faces his palms in front of him again and glances at the rocks surrounding us.
The ground begins to shake under us with a force, the earth opening up to swallow the boulders whole until they’re all firmly underneath.
The Discerni Lord smiles and jumps atop his horse, riding to me and Cal as Keane and Desmond lead the main group away.
“We’ll head north for a bit,” he says, “then ride east. If everything goes smooth, we’ll meet the rest of our crew just before dawn along the Great Road, not too far from the entrance of Fumagalli.”
Cal and I nod silently and follow Lord Daniel’s lead as he kicks his horse into a gallop.
We ride hard in the opposite direction of the rest of the group and follow the northern stars for a complete full turn of the moons.
Eventually Lord Daniel flicks his reins and begins heading east, the three of us never breaking our steady gallop.
I don’t know for how long we ride, as the Plains around us all meld together in a forever expanse of yellow, but at some point I look up to the sky and notice the moons nearly at their apex as we continue riding in speed.
Stormfall is still fast asleep and perching against my neck when Lord Daniel finally brings his horse to a walk at the midnight apex, signaling to me and Cal a break in the ride as we need to refresh and cool the horses.
I dismount quickly and pull out a small bowl from my travel pack and grab the canteen of water.
I fill it up and hold the liquid towards Millie, her mouth frothing at the sides and a true testament of how hard we rode.
I hold her muzzle strong and caress her body, smiling when her breathing starts to settle.
“Take care of yourselves as well,” Lord Daniel nods and takes a seat on the ground, “we won’t stop next until we reach the Great Road.”
Cal and I join the Lord in silence, the three of us passing around food and water for another full turn of the moons. Once Daniel determines the horses are fit to ride, he nods at us to saddle up and we take off again.
We continue in another strong gallop with our heads down and the moons sinking behind our backs.
My ass is the sorest it’s ever been, and my legs are so tired they’re nearly shaking.
But each stride from Millie and the rest of the horses brings us closer to the early morning before dawn, so when Daniel yells next to us that he can see the road farther ahead, the relief in both my face and Cal’s is immediate and apparent.
I sigh with a small smile and slow Millie to a walk at the Lord’s side.
Cal does the same and grabs his canteen, passing it around to me and Daniel as we all look towards the plains ahead.
I don’t see anything that resembles the Great Road, but I know better now than to question a Discerni’s eyesight.
“The group will join us at dawn?” Cal asks, taking his canteen back from Daniel.
I look up at the dark sky. Dawn won’t be for another full turn.
“Yes,” Daniel runs a hand through his wind-blown hair, “give or take. They should come up from the south at some point.”
“Will we wait here for them?”
“No,” the Lord shakes his head, tying his hair securely to the nape of his neck, “we will continue down the road. Either our group or theirs will recognize the horses’ prints in the dirt and will catch up with the rest. We’ll take this at a walk for now and give the horses another break, then we’ll ride hard after dawn. ”
Cal nods, his own auburn hair tangled from the wind as well. I feel Stormfall move against me, the Bird of Ash finally waking up as the Great Road comes into view a ways down.
“Do you hear that?” Lord Daniel turns in his saddle with a frown.
I shake my head as Cal does the same, the three of us riding slowly towards the road.
“I thought I heard something to our right...”
I look over my shoulder and see nothing but the vast darkness beyond.
But then, very subtly, the feel of hoofbeats begins to rumble against the ground below us. I squint my eyes to the group of travelers riding directly along the Great Road, the group too small to be our own.
“That can’t be them,” I shake my head, “where is everyone else?”
“It’s not them,” Lord Daniel scowls and moves his right hand towards the ground, “Cal, do you see the road just farther ahead?”
“Yes,” my big friend grimaces.
“If this does not go well, you will take Lady Alexis and continue down the road to Fumagalli. Do not stop until you enter the Black Forest.”
Cal nods in hard understanding just as a protest forms on my lips. My friend sheathes a large dagger from his waist while Lord Daniel gives me a stern look, the three of us now turning to face the riders as they move closer.
“Lady Alexis,” Lord Daniel looks at me from his side, “I must ask that you draw your hood, and, to the best of your ability, hide Stormfall.”
The little beast at my neck gives a small chirp. I pull my hair in front of my face and cover him with my hood, reaching down my leg as I unsheathe the smaller blade from inside my boot. I tuck it into my waistband for easy access and eye the Leviathans moving towards us.
“I will greet them,” Lord Daniel moves forward as Cal and I follow slightly behind. He still has one hand holding his reins while the other rests calmly on the side of his thigh, waiting.
I take a heavy breath and watch as five riders in total come to a slow in front of us, each of them forming a line to our left and right. All of the men sport a rich blue and white blanket draped under their saddles, the official colors of the Kingdom of Livyatan.
“Disce,” the man in the center smirks, “what a pleasant surprise.”
I’ve only seen Leviathans twice in my life before now, though their appearance was not something I’d likely forget.
Both instances were at court in Bardot years ago, when the foreign Kingdom sent a small delegation to visit our capitol.
On both nights the Leviathans kept their conversations to the royal family, especially Troy, though their smiles were giving to the rest of the court.
And while they certainly looked different from our people of Disce, I never got the impression that they were evil.
That impression is quickly changing as I watch the leader of the five riders look over us with a dark smile.
Leviathans in general are graced with dark skin.
Not the type of dark skin that Desmond has, but with a hue that looks like a deep tan.
Their hair is dark brown and black, always long and pulled away from their faces, most of them hosting waves or rows of braids that fall behind their backs.
Indeed, this leader has his hair braided in intricate rows across his head before it falls behind him in more braids.
The ends are fastened with white, tan and blue beads of ceramic, the colors matching the white and tan embroider of his rich blue tunic.
His brows are black and angled, providing for a hard face that’s graced by even harder cheekbones, but his lips are a soft red and completely full as they curve up…
almost, but not quite, inviting in their smirking challenge.
If the situation had allowed, I might’ve thought that this man was exotically handsome, but his brown eyes are shrouded in a malicious amusement that is wholeheartedly unattractive.
“What are you all doing outside your forests?”
Stormfall stirs against me as Lord Daniel replies for the three of us.
“Traveling home, as this is the road for it.”
His tone has a slight bite to it, so unlike the polite man that I’ve gotten to know during our travel. A few of the Leviathan riders shift in their seats, all of them having the same deep tanned skin, black hair, and look of malevolent amusement in their eyes.
“And you?” Lord Daniel asks steadily, “what brings you so close to our borders?”
“Are we close?” the leader asks sarcastically, eyes darting to Cal. He lifts a brow at the size of him before nodding in appreciation.
Cal ignores him completely.
The man chuckles and moves his gaze to me, smiling when he looks over my figure and notices how much smaller I am from the men I travel with. I hold his stare for a brief moment before looking away in disinterest, truly and completely unimpressed.
The rider perks, smirking at my gesture, and then turns back to Daniel.
“You travel with a woman?”
“Whom we travel with does not concern you,” Lord Daniel states, fingers twitching at his side.