Chapter 20
Roderick Bryson
The eyes multiplied around Roderick, searing guilt into his core.
Bernard and Ornella stood dumbfounded by the steps.
Annette was nearly in tears opposite them.
Blackbird kept knocking on Anya’s door, with no answer.
Octavio was talking to him, waving a hand in front of his face, but the words were inaudible beneath the cacophony of voices in his mind. He was surrounded inside and out.
No matter what you do, you can never escape how the world sees you. And now they’ve all witnessed the real you. All your laurels can’t save you from who you truly are.
There’s no going back.
There’s no undoing this.
You just threatened the Princess.
Your title is as good as gone.
Even if Anya was the woman you long for, a princess would never want to be with a piss-poor horse trainer.
No one will.
His heart sank like a stone at the last biting truth. Every scrape, every bruise, every broken bone and puddle of blood had won him nothing; gained him no one.
Your days of value are done.
Soon, his title would be stripped.
His family would be ashamed and destitute. Not that they needed him anymore. He’d served his purpose.
He had no friends to lean on. Octavio and Dame Fletcher were only by his side because of their positions. Millicent had Ellis. Ornella, Bernard, and Annette were paid crew.
Not friends.
“Roderick!” Octavio kept waving a hand in front of his face. His voice was faint. “Talk to me!”
What’s next? the voice hissed. Shouting at Annette? Snapping Octavio’s neck?
“No,” he groaned, digging his fingers into his hair. “No, no, I wouldn’t do that!”
Really?
Anya’s fearful eyes and trembling hands forced their way into his mind’s eye.
You did that.
You’ll do it again.
So why don’t you do something useful for once in your life and protect them from yourself?
“Roderick!” Octavio shook him by the shoulders. “Roderick, snap out of it!”
“Get away from me!” Hot panic seized Roderick’s chest and throat. “I don’t want to hurt you too!” His heart sped to a dizzying clip as he fled to the stern.
“Roderick!” Octavio shouted after him. “You can talk to me! I’m not afraid of you! We can figure this out!”
Roderick clambered onto Yomira’s back, startling her from her slumber.
Rod? Yomira grumbled. Her joints shifted and cracked beneath him as she rose.
“Take me away from here. Please,” he begged, clutching her horns.
Yomira craned her neck back. A single ruby eye bore into him.
The wyvern could see the tears in his eyes, the agony in his mind, and everything in his heart. She was the only being who could silence the voices.
All right. But we aren’t flying high, Yomira answered.
“I don’t care. Just go somewhere. Anywhere.”
“Roderick!” Octavio shouted over the flap of Yomira’s wings. The sails pulled on their ropes. Metal hooks clattered against each other.
“Where are you going?” He could barely hear Octavio’s voice.
The pounding in his head and heart swelled to new heights as the Lupus Star faded from view, forcing decades of tears from his eyes.
Anya’s mention of Millicent had driven him over the edge and brought him back to his final day as Percival Toulouse, the day his granddad died because of Roderick’s failure to follow orders, and the ill-fated promise he’d made to Millicent.
Twenty-One Years Ago
Percival Toulouse
Percy kept his eyes on the bowl of pear custard he was faithfully stirring until Granddad trailed in behind Papa. The door fell shut behind the two of them.
“Granddad!” Percy jumped down from the stool and hugged him tight around the waist. Granddad beamed at him, smiling so big his red eyes nearly squinted shut.
“Perce! Perce my boy!” He hoisted Percy onto his hip. “Ready to sleep under the stars?”
“Yes! I packed my own bag and everything!”
“This isn’t a pleasure trip,” Papa muttered, hanging his cloak on the hook by the door.
Granddad cupped a hand over his mouth and whispered, “Don’t listen to him, Perce. He’s afraid of bears.”
“You know damn well what I mean.”
Percy giggled as Granddad bounced him on his hip. “What’s for dinner, Sera?”
“Pheasant pie,” Mum hummed. “And pear custard for dessert, courtesy of my little helper there.”
Pride filled Percy’s chest. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by screams coming from outside.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
Papa and Granddad rushed to the window and drew the curtains, then peeked between the edge on either side.
A man shouted with fury, “The red-eyed bitch bit me!”
“Let me go you—” The woman’s voice stopped suddenly. Percy inched closer to the window.
“There, she won’t be biting anyone like that. Shut your yap before I gag you too. And hurry up. We get more if she’s on the boat by tomorrow.”
“Dear Divine,” granddad said, his voice hollow. “They’re early.”
“Early for what?”
Papa whirled around, ignoring Percy’s question. “We’re leaving. Right now.” He grabbed his cloak, then tossed one to Granddad and Mum.
“But I’m hungry,” Percy protested. The pear custard was almost ready, and the pheasant pie smelled so good.
“Quit your whining!” Papa hurtled Percy’s school bag at him so hard, he fell back as he caught it. Tears welled in his eyes as pain shot up his back.
“Charles, this isn’t helping,” Mum said as she helped Percy to his feet.
More screams echoed in the streets. Percy clung to Mum and sniffled. He didn’t want to hear the screams; he didn’t want to see Papa. He wanted to eat dinner, then enjoy spoonful after spoonful of pear custard while Mum read to him.
Granddad knelt and handed Percy a cloak, then looked up at Mum. “Charles is right, Sera. We have to go. It’s only going to get worse. I thought we had more time, but—”
Glass shattered outside, followed by sickening shouts of glee.
“There’s two in here!”
Percy stiffened as Granddad squeezed his shoulders and held his gaze.
“Perce, there are people out there who want to hurt us. They don’t like Centarians, see.
So we’re goin’ to find some friends of mine so we can be safe together.
We’re going to go outside, and it might be scary.
But I need you to be brave, all right? I need you to listen to exactly what I say. Got that?”
Unease wormed in Percy’s gut. Granddad’s carmine eyes didn’t have the usual glimmer that came with a joke. This was serious.
Percy furrowed his brow and nodded. He could follow orders, just like the knights in his book.
“All right. Follow me.”
Percy took a deep breath and shouldered his pack.
Granddad pulled his hood on and led them through the streets.
Shattering glass and slamming doors came at every turn.
Screams, shouts and curses echoed through the market square.
Percy usually loved the market, with its dark-trimmed buildings and white stone fountain in the middle.
It would bustle with life every day of the week.
But not today. Not even the gryphons that normally perched on the roofs were out.
Mum spoke in hushed tones to Papa as they walked.
Granddad walked beside Percy, patting his shoulder reassuringly every time a noise made him flinch.
For a rare moment, there was only the sound of their shoes on the cobblestone.
A faint sniffle caught Percy’s attention.
The soft hic should have been impossible to hear, but compared to the gut-wrenching screams and smashing windows, it was impossible not to.
He halted his step and followed the sound down an alley and found a girl no older than five sobbing beside a refuse barrel. His steps made her flinch. She looked up at him with terrified, glassy red eyes, and fangs on full display.
“G-get away from me!” the girl cried, curling up against her knees. Blonde hair draped over her legs that nearly reached her feet. She seemed to think if she couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see her. “I won’t bite anyone! I promise!”
Percy knelt down beside her and patted the back of her blue day dress. “Where are your mum and da?”
“I’m not telling you. You’re one of them.”
“Percy!” Granddad shot around the corner and yanked him up. “There you are. Don’t stray off, please. Come on now.”
“But, Granddad, she’s—”
A clamor of footsteps and clinking metal came down the alley.
“You! What are you doing down here? Stop and show us your eyes!” A man clad in piecemeal armor pointed to Granddad, who kept his hood up and head down. His red eyes were harrowing as he stared down at Percy. Percy swallowed hard.
“Percy,” Granddad whispered. “I want you to run past the men and yell ‘thank you’. Can you do that? Keep your fangs hidden. And don’t look back. I’ll catch up.”
Why would he do that? The men seemed like the ones causing all the commotion. They might have even been the ones who made the girl cry.
Granddad sensed his hesitation and squeezed his shoulder. It was an order. He’d follow it, like a brave knight. Granddad was smart. There had to be a reason.
Percy bolted toward the men.
“Thank you! Thank you!” he yelled, nearly tripping as he passed the angrier looking of the two. To his surprise, they let him go. Percy halted his step as he rounded the corner, then peeked back around. Why wasn’t Granddad following?
“I said show us your eyes!”
Granddad kept his head down. “You aren’t knights, or paladins. I don't have to answer to you.”
The girl sniffled, and the men froze.
“I think we found our straggler from earlier,” the angry man said.
“You’ve found no one. Turn around, and I’ll let you go,” Granddad hissed.
“You, will let us, go? Make no mistake, old man, we hold the cards.”
Granddad pulled a dagger from his waistband. Percy had never known him to carry a weapon. He saw Granddad’s mouth move but couldn’t hear what he said. The little girl darted out from behind the barrel and down the alley in the opposite direction.
“After her! I’ll get him!”