Chapter 5
Carus opened his long traveler’s coat and revealed a plethora of bladed weapons.
There were daggers of all blade lengths and hilt sizes.
A few even resembled the three-prong blades carried by ninjas, where the center prong was longer than the other two, though in his case, the blades were wider, and none of them were very short.
My face fell further as he plucked a small, almost needle-sized dagger from his wide assortment. “I don’t think I like the way this is going.”
Secundus dismounted and puffed out his chest. “You refuse the test?”
“I’m just shopping for other options that don’t involve a blood donation.”
Carus paused with his empty hand stretched out to me and barked out a laugh. “Sorceress or no, we may have to keep this one, Your Majesty.”
The king studied me with a soft eye that broke down some of my defensive barriers. “She does seem rather bold for her life having been in danger only a few minutes ago.”
I grinned at him. “I can faint when you get me to where you’re staying. The beds there should be more comfortable than the hard ground.”
The king took the needle-like weapon from his companion and held out his empty hand to me. “Let us see if you shall enjoy that bed.”
I hesitated. Here I was in a strange place, surrounded by strange men, and now they wanted a piece of me. Literally.
The king’s eyes met mine. Their gentle green color soothed my frayed nerves, as did the soft lull of his voice. “We have no intention of using your blood for nefarious purposes.”
“Speak for yourself,” Carus spoke up as he grinned at us. “I plan on using it as a finder to see if she has a sister.”
I blinked at him. “A finder?”
“To track your familial scent, dear lady.” The king gave him a look of warning, and Carus sighed. “Very well. I swear not to use it at all.”
His Highness returned his attention to me and stretched out his hand closer to me. “If you would.”
I reluctantly set my shaking palm in his. He lowered the needle point to the back of my hand, and in a movement too swift to see, I had a pinprick of blood pop up from my flesh. It hardly hurt.
“There,” he murmured as he scooped up a droplet on the tip of the weapon and held out the dagger to Secundus.
Secundus rolled up his sleeve and accepted the dagger.
My mouth dropped open as I watched him press the bloodied tip against his own arm.
His own life fluid bubbled up, mixing with mine.
He held out his arm for all to see. Everyone leaned forward in their saddles and stretched their necks, their eyes fixed on the bloody spot.
Carus clapped his hands. “Well, I guess that’s that! She’s no witch, to be sure!” He held out his hand to the imperious gentleman. “If you would, Lord Secundus.”
Secundus grudgingly returned the knife and drew out a handkerchief, which he used to dab his wound. “I will admit she has not an ounce of magic in her, but her behavior is very peculiar.”
Carus laughed as he cleaned his weapon and tucked it back inside his coat. “Have you not learned that those women with a peculiar nature are the most interesting, Lord Secundus?”
“I have learned that they are the most dangerous,” Secundus countered as he mounted his horse and tightly grasped the reins.
He turned his steed to one side and eyed me with a sharp look.
“And she still has not explained how she came out here. We are miles from a house, and even the road is far off.”
“She can explain better after she has had some rest,” His Majesty assured him as he studied me with his soft gaze. “Have you a camp nearby, or a horse?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back.” I paused and looked down at myself. My clothes were covered in pitch, dirt, and needles. “Those don’t look so good, either.”
“Then we will see to your comforts at our camp,” he offered as he beckoned to his steed.
The horse stood only a few yards away, out of the way of the action but a close distance for remounting. The animal trotted over and let out a soft whinny as the king led me to the horse. Its bright blue eyes studied me with more intelligence than I expected, and it nuzzled its nose against me.
“See there, Lord Secundus,” Carus mused as he grinned at us. “Dress or no, Niveus thinks she’s good enough for his affection.”
Secundus lifted his patrician nose. “I’m sure the horse desires the grass clinging to her strange clothes.”
The horse tossed back its head and nickered. The king stroked the animal’s nose and spoke to it in a soft voice. “Patience, Niveus.”
The horse settled, and the man helped me into the saddle before climbing in behind me.
I had never been on a horse in my life, and clung to the horn like it was my last defense between life and death.
The king grasped the reins with his arms on either side of me and turned the steed in the direction they had come.
We trotted away with the party following.
I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder at where I had run.
I felt like I was leaving something behind. Perhaps it was the hope of ever returning to my city and my family.
Sorry about that dinner, Mom, I thought to myself as I tightened my grip on the horn. Tears welled in the bottoms of my eyes. But I’ll try to make it back. I promise.
The horse meandered through the forest, being mindful to avoid low branches that would have knocked us off. Or at least, knocked me off. I felt like a bowling ball precariously perched on the head of a needle. I shifted in the saddle, and the man behind me chuckled.
“You don’t have much experience with riding horses.”
I shriveled beneath his comment, and a sheepish blush accented my cheeks. “This is my first time.”
The man with the blond hair sidled up on our right side. “You must have lived an unusual life, or perhaps you have walked all of it.”
“Not so much the first, but definitely a lot of the second,” I told him.
“What’s your name?”
I twisted around to get another good look at him. “Grace. Grace Holt. What’s yours?”
Secundus trotted up to us, his face a picture of horror and disbelief. “Do you not recognize the ruler of these lands?”
“Not everyone will know me from sight if they don’t belong to the court,” the king scolded his courtier before he turned his focus back to me. “My name is Cassian Scalyvar, ruler of the lands of Vyranthia.”
“Of which you are in,” Secundus added as he looked me up and down. “How did you come to make the acquaintance of that nethral?”
I blinked at him. “A what?”
Secundus narrowed his eyes at me. “How can you not know the name of the kingdom’s most dangerous enemy?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m not from around here.”
Carus came up to the king’s other side and looked me over with a mischievous grin. “Where do you hail that such clothes are common among your women? I would like to meet more of them.”
“You can meet enough of them at the inn on the morrow,” the king pointed out.
His young companion sighed and shrugged. “Alas, none of those fair maidens will speak to me. I haven’t any idea why.”
“Probably because you have been a scoundrel with most of them,” Secundus retorted.
Carus tapped the side of his nose and winked at us. “One must have his fun when it can be had.”
I turned my head to the king. “So we aren’t anywhere near your capital? Or do you not have one of those?”
“I do, the ancient city of Elyra. It was founded by my forefathers four centuries ago.”
“On the plains of Elysium, where the flowers are everblooming!” Carus added as he raised a hand in the air and swept his eyes over his comrades. “And there’s no finer valley in the whole of the
“And what remote hamlet do you hail, Lady Holt, that you are ignorant of the nethral?” Secundus spoke up.
A little color drained from my face, but I managed a shaky smile. Still, my reply came out in a tiny squeak. “Me? I, um, I hail from, well, it’s a little place called, um, New Hamlet.” Brilliant. Just brilliant. Put that on a plaque and nail it to the wall.
Secundus was as impressed as my inner voice. “New Hamlet? What a strange name.”
I stared straight ahead and prayed he wouldn’t notice the tremor in my hands. Even tightening my grip on the horn didn’t help. “It’s, um, a strange place.”
“It must be a very nice place not to have nethral,” Carus mused. Some of his humor fled as he swept his eyes over the woods. “A throwback to the time before the Great Sin, as it were.”
I desperately wanted to ask what that was about, but Secundus’ intense gaze told me that wouldn’t have been met with happiness.
“We should move faster,” Scalyvar spoke up as he nodded at the sky. “It will be dark in a few hours, and we have a long ride.”