61. Strange Silence
She believed her magic was murder. That’s why she had never touched it.
Sure, there was always a fear, but to have the power to change the world for the better and not even try to learn how to? That was something he couldn’t fathom.
He watched as she slipped into a fitful slumber and whistled to halt the carriage.
The magic responded, and the carriage slowed. Maelys, Otto, and Ridge halted and looked back at him. Cyrus, Dust, and Oak approached the carriage and then stopped by the door.
“She’s asleep. Cyrus, take your ordered position. I want my horse back.”
Cyrus’ nostrils flared, and Wilder primed for a fight. This was what he had been hoping for.
There was a storm brewing inside of him, and without the ability to take it out on Lyra, the ill-tempered guard was the next best thing.
But in a move that ripped the wind from Wilder’s sails, the guard nodded and slipped off the horse.
They switched places, and as Wilder swung up onto the black stallion, Maelys watched.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“He was ordered by the king to be on carriage duty. And I can’t take one more moment stuck in there with her.” Wilder shook his head and rode up beside Maelys. “I just don’t understand her sometimes.”
Maelys cocked her head to the side. “Why are you even trying to?”
“Because it helps me understand her decisions better. Why did she agree to the bargain with my father? What’s the play here?”
They nudged their horses forward, and the carriage wheels creaked. Wilder threw a glance behind them to see Oak and Dust stay beside the carriage for a moment before dropping back.
She would be safe with all of them guarding her, even if he wasn’t inside the carriage. But something about not being there irked him. He shook it off and turned forward again.
“I think there’s a lot about her you won’t be able to understand,” Maelys replied with a shrug.
“Like what?” he snapped. Otto and Ridge shared a look before dropping back.
“For starters, she’s not the monster our kind has been led to believe.
She was never given the ability to grow and learn on her own.
She’s been caged and stifled. This is her first taste of being on her own, and she’s still technically under someone else’s thumb.
Can you imagine what that must be like?”
A weight settled on his chest. He could and had experienced it for himself. But his capture had not been as peaceful as Lyra’s had been. Not even close. The scars on his back were evidence of that.
“I do,” he whispered with quiet rage.
“I know you do,” Maelys replied. “But when you were returned, things had changed. You were allowed freedom, and your father attempted to understand you better.”
That was also true. But by the looks of things now, it hadn’t lasted as long as he had hoped.
“If she returns, if she’s not killed immediately, her life will be even more miserable than it was before she left.
She has no friends, or at least no one that you or I would consider a friend.
The entirety of her choices, from the books she reads to the food she would prefer, will be stripped away.
It’s a cage, Wilder. And it will kill her. ”
Wilder sighed and shook his head to clear it from the thoughts that sliced at him.
“So, it makes sense that her motives or actions are not logical to you. They’re probably the impulse of the moment for her.”
The journey passed quietly after that. Wilder thought through what Maelys had explained, and the idea of it made sense. He hadn’t realized how similar their paths had been.
Wilder stood firm in his decision not to take on his father’s mantle. It was his choice, like it was Lyra’s choice not to take on the weight of what her power would dictate. She was exercising the only bit of control she had in what she thought was the safest way possible.
Late in the evening, rain fell. Big, fat droplets hindered his ability to hear anything outside of their perimeter. But with the moisture in the air, it increased his ability to scent their surroundings.
He raised a fist in the air, halting them. A mangy scent filled his nose, and the hair on the back of his neck rose. Wulvers.
They weren’t close, but they were there.
“I smell them,” Maelys whispered.
Ridge and Otto pressed forward, and Wilder glanced at Otto.
“I can’t see what they plan or if they know we are here. But I will keep checking.”
“Let’s find shelter for the night and set up camp,” Wilder ordered.
He was surprised Lyra had not been sticking her head out of the carriage window every hour to complain about being stuck in there with Cyrus, or that she needed to relieve herself, or eat. She hadn’t spoken at all.
Dread sliced like ice through his veins, and he hopped off his horse and stalked towards the carriage. Wilder ripped the door open to find a sleeping Lyra and a glaring Cyrus.
“Has she been sleeping the whole time?” Wilder asked, his gaze bouncing from Cyrus to Lyra.
“No,” Cyrus replied, a devilish smirk tugging at his lips.
“Did she not need anything?” Wilder asked.
Maelys approached from behind him, and he could feel the irritation radiating off of her.
“Not that she told me.” Cyrus shrugged.
Something didn’t feel right, but without Lyra awake to corroborate the story, there wasn’t much he could do about it right now.
Wilder’s eyes raked over her one more time. Her lashes fluttered against her ivory skin. There was a line on her cheek, from pressing her face against the seat cushion, as she was slumped in the most strange position.
“We’re setting up the camp. Get out and help,” Wilder ordered.
Irritation glowed in Cyrus’ eyes, but he got out of the carriage and shoved past Maelys. She gave him a wide berth, but her shoulders stiffened and she whipped her head back to Lyra.
“Is she alright?” Maelys whispered.
“She’s asleep,” Wilder replied.
He turned around to see Cyrus, hands in his pockets, walking towards Dust and Oak, who were pitching their tents.
Something didn’t feel right.
“Wake her up,” Wilder said to Maelys. “I don’t believe his story.”
Maelys nodded and slipped into the carriage across from Lyra. Worry etched into the lines on her face as she gently stroked Lyra’s knee to wake her.
It was nice to see, Wilder thought. That care and concern Maelys had for Lyra. He was glad someone did.