by Ivy Clyde
“Please, Miss. Take me with you.”
“All right.”
She looked stunned for a moment. She quickly wiped away the tears with the ends of her tattered sleeves and looked relieved for the first time since I saw her tied up in the cot.
“Stay still. I will remove the needles.”
She stood motionless before me. I was glad to see she was obedient. She would fit in with us at Linmoor perfectly. I retrieved the needles from the fat man’s body as well, making sure I left no trace behind me. Before we exited the room, I pulled off the corpse’s outer robe and handed it to Tilly. “Wear this over your dress.”
The brothel was quieter now. It was mostly drunken men who filled the place. A few women remained among them but they were older and probably hadn’t found any takers for the night. We were able to slip out without any obstacles.
I inhaled the fresh air deeply, willing it to chase away the stench of the brothel from my nostrils. Tuto, my ghost owl, flew overhead and gave out a high-pitched cry.
“Come on,” I whispered, shivering. The night had turned cold. Emerging on the empty market square, my gaze went to the arch bridge in the distance. Disappointment weighed heavy in my stomach. I wouldn’t be able to see Cain that night. Regret washed over me. He was the first man to make my heart pound with an emotion that wasn’t fear.
A part of me wanted to blame the shivering girl at my side, but even without her presence, I wouldn’t have gone to meet Cain. There was no way he could know about my identity. Even though I gave him my real name, my existence was the same as the night mist. Come daylight, I would disappear without a trace.
With one last sigh, I looked towards the path leading out of town and walked away.
Tilly kept up with my pace despite the blood she’d lost. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of cruel labor she endured under her father. The girl even had a ghost of a smile as she held my hand tightly.
Soon, we reached the edge of the woods. I recognized Tuto’s low screeches and spotted her in the far distance. She was perched on the branch of a tree, her snowy white body glowing under a shaft of moonlight. Down below, my horse stood waiting, his reins tied to the trunk.
A pang went through my heart, surprising me. I was still missing Cain.
You don’t even know him, I told myself, leading Tilly to the horse.
“We will wait for dawn to break,” I said. “It’s still too dark to travel through the forest.”
“Okay.”
She made no fuss of being cold or hungry but I could see exhaustion taking over her. Going to the horse, I searched for rolls of bread and the bottle of wine I’d stored in a bag tied to the saddle.
“Eat this,” I said, handing her a roll.
“Thank you, Miss,” she said gratefully.
“Call me Daria.”
She smiled at me.
“How old are you, Tilly?”
“Twelve.”
She stared at me, waiting for me to ask more questions. “Go on. Eat it.”
She tore into the bread and began wolfing it down. The girl looked starved. I uncorked the wine bottle and drank deeply from it. “Take a sip,” I said, lowering the bottle to her lips. She looked too weak to be able to hold onto it with her injured arm.
She drank thirstily and I had to stop her. “You will pass out if you drink like that.”
“Sorry, Miss.”
“Go on. Eat the bread. There’s more.”
She looked excited at the prospect and stuffed the rest in her mouth. “Easy now,” I said with a chuckle. “You don’t want to die choking.”
She grinned but waited patiently until I gave her another roll. I picked out strips of dried meat from the bag and called Tuto. She swooped down, her white wings spread wide open and hopped onto the forest floor.
“There you go,” I said, kneeling down and throwing her pieces of meat. She hopped closer and began gobbling them up.
“Is the owl your pet?” asked Tilly.
“She is more of a familiar but I suppose you could call her a pet as well.” Lowering myself, I sat down and rested my back against a tree trunk. “Sit with me, Tilly. We’ll be warmer together.”
Tilly scooted close to me. After the second bread roll, her head lolled onto my shoulder and within minutes she was snoozing. Without someone to distract me, my thoughts went back to the stranger I’d met that evening.
He was the second handsome man to appear before me. The first one was a dark-haired hero with tresses so black, they almost looked blue. He appeared in my dreams, plaguing me with a need I didn’t even know I had. My heart fluttered at the easy smile on his handsome face. I loved the hardness under my palms when I placed my hands on his muscular chest. Cain made me feel the same emotions he had.
The dreams started a month ago. I kept a lookout for him everywhere I went but he never appeared before me. I was a witch but not one with the gift of vision. My powers came from my blood and the magic that Elga, my master, taught me.
I kept expecting to see the blue-haired man but as I thought about it, my heart was just as happy to meet Cain. A deep sigh escaped me. There was no point in yearning for either man.
Linmoor was no place for a man. Along with Elga, every other dweller was a female.
I closed my eyes, hoping to meet the blue-haired man in my dreams.
3
I walked along the busy evening streets, wondering if I’ll see or hear the assassins who were supposed to carry out my orders to investigate the virgin blood trade and finish it from the core. My kingdom was in turmoil, but this recent fad was giving rise to crimes in small towns and villages. Young girls were being kidnapped and bled to death for the sake of earning gold coins.
Before embarking on this mission, I’d consulted Prince Ning Adal, the sixth prince of Baledonia. He was one of my closest friends and a scholar of the highest order. His library was renowned as the largest among the four kingdoms of our realm. If I could trust anyone’s knowledge and wisdom regarding the potency of virgin blood, it would be his.
“Virgin blood is no different than an ordinary woman’s blood,” he told me. “It’s just a hoax the group created to make some quick money. They sell it at high prices to the men and women of noble families who can afford such vulgar luxury.”
That was all the confirmation I needed to set out on eradicating the threat risking the inner law and order of my kingdom. However, it was more difficult than one might anticipate. I couldn’t ask my generals to take care of the problem. This would make the crisis official.
As was decreed by Drakhaven, everything official in the lesser three kingdoms had to be reported to Emperor Ivan. And once he knew there was something wrong in Iorna, he would use it as an excuse to station one of his sons in my palace. Emperor Ivan’s son, Mekhi, had already killed the last royal heir of Redfall by accusing him of treason.
Both Adal and I knew it was a matter of time before we would be attacked as well, either by force or a made-up reason. I was determined to keep the inevitable at bay for as long as possible.
It was a problem I couldn’t solve on my own and once again, I reached out to Prince Adal.
“We could seek out the assassins of Linmoor,” he told me.
“Who are they?”
“It is an underground guild of assassins. They are the best at what they do. Their identities are hidden and they can’t easily be found or contacted.”
“How did you know about them in the first place?” I asked, intrigued.
“My great grandfather mentioned it in one of his personal journals. He left detailed instructions on the way to their secret hideout in the mountains.”
As always, I was astonished at the span of Adal’s reading list. Apart from the thousands of manuscripts in his library, he even managed to read the personal diaries and notes left by his predecessors. Even though I was a prince myself, I never found the inclination to visit the archives in my palace. The very air and heavy silence was enough to make me drowsy.
“Will you lead the way, Adal?”
“Might as well. When they run out of virgins in Iorna, they will come to Baledonia. Better to root out the problem at the source.”
He led me to Oakhedge, a small town on the mountainous strip in the western part of my kingdom. From there, we followed the covert trail to Linmoor Valley, the den of the assassins he’d spoken of. To my surprise, the leader was a graying, elderly woman, named Elga.
“I will take care of the problem for you,” said the woman in a clear voice. “We will tackle it from the very source. Come back in two days and we shall have the names of the parties involved in the virgin blood trade.”
It sounded too good to be true but my instincts told me to trust her words. Despite her hag-like appearance, an aura of intense power surrounded her being. She was no ordinary woman.
Adal and I would return to Linmoor next morning. I was too anxious, hoping the assassins wouldn’t create a ruckus to fulfill their mission. The most important condition I’d given them was everything had to be done discreetly. It was imperative Drakhaven remained unaware of the problem before news leaked out to the other kingdoms.
To calm myself, I walked around the town. It was a rare opportunity to walk among the people I ruled. The peasants and merchants on the streets were unaware of my princely status. No one bowed down or greeted me at every step. It was so much easier to breathe out here than the clean, luxurious corridors of my palace.
Something soft collided against me. Looking down, I saw a beautiful young woman rub her forehead as she stared up at me with sparkling green eyes. A shaft of moonlight fell on her at that moment, making her flawless, porcelain skin shimmer with radiance. She was dressed in a sensuous gown of lavender silk that hugged her every curve intimately. Her lips were pink and petal-soft.
I wanted to kiss those rose-bud lips that curved in an expression of mild curiosity. The urge was so intense, all I could do was stare at her. I struggled not to gaze at the way her gown hugged her ample breasts. I didn’t want to startle or disgust her by the waves of lust thrashing against body. I had to remember I was Prince Cain, the ruling prince of Iorna, and not a common man who couldn’t keep from ogling at a beautiful woman.
Ignoring the way my body was reacting to her beauty, I said, “Are you all right, Miss?”
“F-fine.” Her nervous stutter was adorable. Her cheeks turned a beautiful pink as she looked away from me. Her next question jerked me out of my lustful thoughts. “Could you tell me where the brothel is?”
I couldn’t believe what she was asking for. She looked healthy and well-off, not the kind of woman you’d think would go to a place like a brothel to sell herself.
“I am meeting a friend there,” she explained but I knew she was lying. It had to be something else.
“Would you like me come with you?” I offered.
She refused at once. Then, as if she realized what going to the brothel implied, she quickly added, “It’s not what you think!”
I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me. This woman was interesting. I rarely found a female companion with whom I could hold a proper conversation. The ones in the harem of my palace looked for every chance to get close to me. Their fawning and backstabbing each other put me off from going near them a long time ago.
The stranger looked at me expectantly, so after an internal sigh, I placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her towards the direction of the town brothel. It was the first place I was recommended to visit by the innkeeper.
Warmth seeped through the thin fabric of the sleeves and onto my skin. Even an innocent touch was enough to make fire spread through my veins. “It is that way,” I said, my voice sounding incredibly husky to my own ears.
“Thank you.” She stared up at me and in that close proximity, I could smell the subtle fragrance of lotus and jasmine on her. I inhaled deeply, memorizing her heady scent.
“What’s your name?” I asked before she could walk away from me.
“Daria.”
“I am Cain. Meet me at the tavern later tonight. Also, if it’s money you need, I will help you.”
She smiled me. “I’m not sure how long it will take but you don’t have to worry about me. I can look after myself.” With that, she walked past me and disappeared in the throng of the market square in an instant.
I returned back to the tavern and found Adal sitting in a shadowy corner at the back. Even though he was dressed in cheap linen clothes, the air of regality about him didn’t disappear. Curls of golden hair fell around his face as he read a thick scroll with absolute focus. The noise of the tavern didn’t disturb his concentration one bit.
Walking towards him, I sat down and pulled away the scroll from his hands. At once, his face turned thunderous. It took him a few moments to realize he was glaring at me, and not one of his servants.
“Ahh, Cain. It’s you.”
I laughed as he relaxed back in the chair. We’d been friends since we were children. In the past, when our kingdoms were peaceful and our parents still alive, we’d often spend summers visiting each other’s palaces. There were no restrictions on the movement of the Royals back then. Adal, Norvin, and I…we’d become close friends as we played together all those years back. Out of the three, only Adal and I remained alive.
“It’s getting late. Should we head to bed?” asked Adal, drinking from a small cup. My friend was in a tavern and somehow he’d managed to get the owner to brew him tea.
“I am waiting for someone.”
“What? Who?”
“A woman I just met.”
“Cain. We can’t reveal ourselves here. You know the risks,” he said in a lowered, worried tone.
“She doesn’t know who I am.”
“Good.” He got to his feet and snatched away his scroll from my hand. “I am going upstairs to rest. We have to be awake before dawn to set out to Linmoor. You know we can’t delay it beyond that before risking someone following us there.”
“I know, Adal. Stop nagging me.”
“Goodnight to you.” He walked away, his back ramrod straight, completely unaware of the attention he was attracting to himself. I couldn’t help wondering if I was failing at my disguise too.
A young maid came to the table and leaned down beside me. “Would you like something, sir?” She’d made sure to pull down the front of her dress to reveal her ample cleavage.
“Get me whatever he was drinking,” I said, gesturing at the clay pot on the table.
“Right away! Are you sure you don’t want anything else?” she asked suggestively. “I can take a break for a few hours.”
“No, that’s all.”
The girl’s face fell. She took the pot and walked away, leaving me with my thoughts. My mind went back to Daria. A part of me struggled to stay at the tavern and not go looking for her in the brothel. While I knew she wasn’t a whore, it was a dangerous place for a woman as attractive as her.
The tavern girl brought me back tea and attempted to start a chat with me. She amused me, so I let her go on while I waited for Daria.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” Cary, the tavern girl said after an hour.
“Apologies.”
She huffed a sigh. “Oh well. It was a worth a try. Darla back there,” she jabbed a thumb towards the bar. “She said you were only interested in the pretty man who was here earlier. Guess she was right and I wasted my time.”
I laughed out at her. “It’s not like that.”
“Still, I have been wasting my time,” she muttered with a pout.
“Here you go,” I said, pushing a gold coin into her hand.
Cary’s eyes went wide and she smiled toothily. “Thank you, sir!”
“I’m not such a waste, am I?”
“No,” she said, giving me a tight hug before skipping away from the table. I chuckled into the teacup and leaned back in the chair. Ordinary women were so much warmer than the ones residing in the palace. Perhaps, a day would come when the constant
threat from Drakhaven would disappear. I would get rid of all the women in my harem and fill it up with some lively ones from small towns and villages. The amusement would be never-ending.
Slowly, the hours trickled by. The tavern emptied by midnight but I decided to sit in my spot.
“We are closing,” said the burly innkeeper an hour later. “If there’s nothing else, you should go upstairs to rest.”
“Can you keep the place open? I will pay you five gold coins if you can keep my request.”
The man’s expression changed at once. He smiled and nodded. “For that much money, I would serve you my best ale while you stay up.”
“I don’t want your ale. Just keep the gates open.”
“Yes, master.”
The night turned cold. I knew Daria wouldn’t be coming back there. A desperate part of me hoped she would be safe at least.
My eyes closed briefly but they opened at the sound of footsteps approaching.
“Why are you still sitting here?” asked Adal. He was fully dressed. Looking around at the empty tavern, he said, “Why haven’t they closed shop yet? I was hoping we could take advantage of the dark to slip away.”
“I paid the owner to stay open.”
His sapphire-eyes flashed at me. “You are still waiting for that woman. Cain! Have you gone mad? Have you forgotten what’s at stake here?”
“No,” I said in a tight voice. “It’s just…” How could I explain the connection I felt with Daria? She was a stranger but my heart couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“Stop. Don’t explain,” Adal said shortly. “We have to leave now. The tavern master is asleep at the counter. It is the best chance to slip away.”
“Get the horses to the back. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Adal gave a nod and walked out of the tavern. I went up the stairs to pick up my sword. Both Adal and I had decided not to parade the streets with our ornate weapons that would easily attract attention. Merchants never carried anything more lethal than dirks or knives. For the sake of our fake identities, we’d hidden our swords.
