Three Guesses
Five armed men and Dommik, all donning Traveler’s blues, readied horses at the Illica gates.
“Your prisoner should be shackled,” a royal guard barked. His words rode a puff of steam in the evening air.
“She won’t be any trouble,” Dommik assured the guard, his gaze dipping to my shiver.
He pulled a black cloak from a pack on his beautiful gray mount.
I stood still and breathless—in disbelief I was still alive—as he wrapped the fabric around me.
The cloak was comically oversized for my height.
Its aroma encompassed me immediately. Freshly tanned leather and crisp pine.
I looked up, meeting his gaze. His gloved hands slid down my shoulders as he asked, “Right?”
I nodded. The heaviness of my choice settled on my shoulders under the weight of the fabric. I was alive, and this man would escort me to the Hive.
What had I done?
“Good,” he whispered. Then, Dommik squeezed my shoulders, lowered his lips to my ear, and continued, “Before we go. There’s something you need to do. A small test.”
I clinched beneath his grasp as I waited for him to demand some demeaning sexual act.
Of course. How stupid of me. I should have gone to the fucking axe.
I stepped back, not sure where I would run or how far I could get. I’d already relinquished myself to the Hive for only Dawn knew what kind of torturous future, and I refused to become a servant to men’s pleasure.
But instead of holding me firm or handling me roughly, Dommik released me. My tired limbs failed, and I stumbled. His arm shot out and caught my elbow, gripping it just tightly enough to steady me.
“What test?” I bit out, still reeling with suspicion.
His voice was low, like summer thunder. “Before I take you beyond the gates, I need you to prove your abilities.”
“I don’t know—”
Dommik lifted a hand. “If you deny it or refuse, I’ll send you right back to the keep and the Crown will happily execute you tomorrow.”
His features settled into a line as hard as the axe’s steel I’d just escaped.
I rolled my lips together and shifted my weight. There was no way out of this. And I wasn’t certain I could work up the courage to ascend those towering stairs again. Not to mention, refusing him meant Cova or Lydia could be next.
“Fine.” I huffed, folding my arms over my middle.
Evening guards were replacing their counterparts. Two off-duty sentinels eyed Dommik as they passed; ‘sorceress’ and ‘good riddance’ hissed between them.
With their disgust, I yearned for the silence of the forest beyond Illica’s gates. “Let’s get this over with.”
We stood there. Still and silent. I raised my brows to the Traveler and snapped, “Well? What are you waiting for?”
“You’re the one with the gift. I need you to walk me through how this works.” Dommik chuckled, his stubble lifting with his crooked smile.
Right.
I exhaled. “Close your eyes and envision the item in your mind with as much detail as possible.”
Steely blue eyes glared down at me. Unrelenting, I stared back, lost in them for the briefest of moments before his lids fell closed.
“Tell me when you’re ready.”
“Ready,” he whispered without hesitation.
I took his hands in mine. The warm contact threw me into his mind’s eye. My muscles locked and threatened to cramp after weeks of malnourishment. I had to be fast.
Along the edges of the blurred scene lay a dagger. A modest but decorative blade. Dommik leaned against a barrel, flipping it in his hand. Catching it by the hilt, then the blade. Over and over as he waited for…the unmistakable round form of the magistrate.
“Reyva,” Dommik whispered from beyond the vision. But I couldn’t come out yet. I clenched my teeth, urging my muscles and mind to hold out just a bit longer.
The midnight courtyard of the vision blurred in and out of focus.
“Fine night for a ride, eh Traveler?” The stout Illica lord attempted small talk, but I could feel Dommik’s focus, his disinterest in the magistrate, and his excitement…to meet me?
With mercenary precision, he caught the blade one last time before securing it into a sheath in his boot. I sensed him work to banish a fluttering anticipation in his chest as he whispered, ‘finally’ to himself and followed the royal representative to the keep.
I’d lingered longer than necessary and would pay for it. The vision collapsed on itself, taking the stranger’s feelings and memories with it.
I returned to my body, inhaling sharply as I was brought back to the present.
Fierce eyes were trained on me as I bent down slowly. A horse behind Dommik’s frame stomped and neighed as I reached for his boot and removed the blade.
“Very good,” he purred. His praise warmed my blood as he helped me to stand.
“Can we go now?” I wasn’t in a rush to get to the Hive, or even leave Illica. I just needed him to stop looking at me like a prize he’d won.
“Yes.” Dommik’s outstretched hand beckoned for me to return the dagger.
I scoffed as the metal left my palm. I wouldn’t know how to use it anyway.
Buckles clattered as the last of the supplies were secured. I didn’t need assistance, but Dommik helped me mount my russet mare. I patted her mane and whispered a thank you for carrying me—a habit I’d picked up from Beau. My heart twinged with the small reminder.
“It’s two nights to the Hive,” Dommik informed me as he effortlessly swung a leg over his gray steed. “I don’t want to delay our travels too long with breaks, but tell me if you get uncomfortable.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said. Despite the slight dizziness from calling in a vision, my nerves settled with my comfort in a saddle, a little reminder of who I was.
Our small travelling party headed North, through the Eckwood.
Known for its tall pines and picturesque waterways, the breathtaking expanse was home to many dangerous inhabitants.
Boulder-sized bears nestled into deep caves, mountain lions traversed overlooks with claws as long as Dommik’s dagger, and of course, Illica’s outcasts—thieves tucked into the shadows.
After an hour of trotting beneath the stars, Dommik broke away from the casual conversation with another Traveler and said, "It’s a beautiful night. Aren't you happy you’re alive to see it?”
“Mmm.” I schooled my expression, not willing to admit my renewed appreciation for the glittering orbs scattered across the black blanket of evening sky.
“Fine. Don’t admit it.”
I scoffed, annoyed that he was right. And that he knew he was right.
I turned from Dommik to the dark creeping tendrils along the spindle-like trees, mirroring my warring thoughts between cautious optimism and dismal reality.
As if nature knew I needed a deep breath, a breeze fluttered through the forest, rustling the pine needles in its caress.
I tilted my face to the night sky in an effort to revel in what little peace it would offer.
“You can give me the silent treatment all you want, but it won’t stop me from being able to read you like a book.”
The irony of his declaration was lost only on him.
If he had a talent for deduction as he so claimed, it didn’t hold a candle to my abilities.
I’d rummaged around in his head, not just living his memories through his eyes but in his body.
It was more than noticing and cataloging small details.
The specters of his feelings echoed through my mind and goosebumps prickled across my arms. Restless impatience.
Cautious hope. A whicker from my mount shook her body and pulled me back to my present.
I blew out a steady breath, banishing Dommik’s residual emotions from my mind. “Well, you’ve got me all wrong.”
Dommik cocked his head and cued for his mount to drop back in pace with mine. His dove-gray stallion nickered happily at the company of my russet mare, and the two leaned into each other, putting the Traveler close enough to touch. Or punch if he insisted on this pestering.
“There’s too much life in you to wish for death, Lady Bergmont.” His tone was low.
“Maybe I’ve seen enough.” I sighed, taking a sudden interest in the smooth leather reins.
“Apparently not. You were curious enough to relinquish yourself to the Hive’s custody.”
“I’m not here because of some childish curiosity. You threatened my family!” I shouted. The caravan’s casual chatter went silent as the night around us, leaving only the steady rhythm of hooves.
Dommik cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his saddle. “I’ll admit, that was an undesirable tactic. But—let me finish—I’ll also admit, I’m relieved you decided to join us. The alternative could have been…messy.”
The way he accentuated ‘messy’ made my throat tighten, although I wasn’t sure I was in for a tidy future amongst the vampires of the Hive.
My knuckles blanched around the reins. I needed to change the subject. "What will my quarters be like?”
“The human quarters vary,” he explained.
I thought of the pamphlets and posters requesting volunteers for the Hive with absurd amounts of royal gold as an incentive. Many struggling families couldn’t resist the coin. And I wondered, with nothing but their blood and servitude to offer, what were their quarters like?
“By their talents?” Sarcasm dripped from every word.
He looked forward and chuckled through a sly smile. “Mmm, indeed.”
“Well, can I expect them to be…comfortable?” I asked with a wince.
I wasn’t the most pretentious high-born lady.
My sister’s tastes were finer with exceedingly higher expectations than mine could ever entertain.
She’d never admit it, but I’d suspected she was jealous I’d been married off to a much more elevated man than her husband.
The station had afforded me a standard of living most nobles of Atoris could only hope their grandchildren would achieve as long as their fortunes held.
The Illica keep had been a violent adjustment.
Little could be worse than that dank, stale cell…
except perhaps, as Dommik called it, a headless funeral.