She walks with a nobility most people can’t master in a lifetime. Even in her current feline form, she is magnificent as she prowls along beside me, keeping watch as we make our way through the trees.
After a growl of frustration, gold magic shimmers around her and she changes into a mare. Her mane is long and a beautiful chocolate brown. She nudges me with her muzzle and leans her head down, a silent offer to carry me. I gratefully accept. My tired legs are thrilled to get a break from the endless walking. I hold on tight as we gallop through the forest.
We make good time and arrive in the village shortly before dusk. Aileen disappears instantly to find some clothes, while I scout the village for any sign of Maximus’ guards.
I make my way along the outskirts of the village. Carefully sticking to the shadows while I weave through the alleyways, only getting close enough to catch any signs of the soldiers. Thankfully, I hear nothing about soldiers visiting from any of the locals.
When I meet back up with Aileen, she is wearing a dress of muted browns. It is a simple style light brown dress with a dark brown corset over it. There is a matching dark brown cloak tossed over her arm.
“You look lovely, Aileen.” Even wearing a plain dress like this one, she is beautiful. “I don’t want to know where you got it, do I?”
“I’m just borrowing it, sister. I have every intention of paying them for it when you have your crown back.” She smiles a sly smile at me that has me wincing.
“What else did you do?” I ask suspiciously, even though I'm sure I don’t want to know the answer.
“Well, we can’t go into the village with you looking like that.” She pulls a bundle of clothing from behind her back.
“I don’t need new clothes. What I’m wearing will suit me just fine…” My voice trails off as I glance down at my clothing. My blouse is ripped and bloody while my trousers look like they’ve been trampled by a stampede of horses. “Alright, I’ll take them.”
She leads me to a small creek nearby and stands guard as I wash up. I'm using my new "borrowed" cloak to dry myself off when Aileen walks up.
“What in the Ancient is that?” I ask as she pulls a small bottle out of her pouch.
“It will change how people see you. It’s a shame to change your beautiful hair, but everyone in town will spot you in an instant. You look exactly like mother.” Agreeing reluctantly, I take the bottle from her and drink it.
I gag as the potion touches my tongue. It tastes like dirt and pond water. Making a face I tip it back and swallow all of it.
She chuckles as I hand the empty vial back to her.
When I’m finished, she helps me pull on a simple dress the color of the forest trees. It’s green corset and skirt pair nicely with the dark brown cloak she's borrowed for me.
“I picked that one because it will look perfect with your red hair, but you look breathtaking in it with your hair dark too.”
She leads me back to the water's edge and I gasp at my reflection. Staring back at me is a dark-haired woman with plain brown eyes and a short petite nose. I look nothing like myself.
"That's impressive," I say to my sister as we make our way towards the town.
Thanks to my research of Arklow, I know that there is only one place suitable for us to gather the sort of information we need. The Tavern.
Does everyone think I killed my parents? Have they heard about the soldiers nearby? We need the fastest route to Aith and the best way to bypass any soldiers that might be waiting for us.
I open the grimy wooden door to the tavern and the smell of stale ale immediately washes over me. Sound pours from a makeshift stage where someone is playing a very lively song on a fiddle and the tables have been scooted out of the way to provide a temporary dance floor. Couples are laughing as they dance across it and it mesmerizes me for a moment. I've been to plenty of balls and royal parties. But there is something about this that seems so freeing.
Aileen nudges me and we begin winding our way through the jumble of tables to a booth in the back. The brown fabric on the seats are faded and worn down from years of use. There are dividers rising from the sides of the booths creating an illusion of privacy in the flood of people.
I assess the surrounding booths as we sit down. Next to me, there is a group of rowdy men around our age and on Aileen’s side, there is a group of women laughing and watching the dance floor.
When the server comes over, we order ale and the day’s special stew. Aileen had the foresight to bring a little money with her when she’d left to find me, so we can afford to eat dinner here before we travel south again.
When our stew arrives, I eye the brown liquid suspiciously. A twirl of my spoon reveals carrots and potatoes amongst the pieces of mystery meat. I raise an eyebrow at Aileen who sniffs her food delicately. With a shrug, she spoons some in her mouth and smiles at me.
“Whatever it is, it’s surprisingly good." She gives me a sly smile and eats another bite.
I grimace as I watch her eat.
Well, you were a giant cat earlier chasing mice in the woods. I'm not sure your recommendation is important.
I pull up a spoonful and gingerly take a sip of the fragrant broth. Shockingly, it tastes delicious. Whatever seasonings they used on it makes it rival some of the cooking I've had in the castle.
While I scoop another spoonful into my mouth, I let my eyes scan the people milling about the room.
My breath catches in my throat as I meet a stunning pair of steel-gray eyes. His dark hair curls softly around his face while he's leaning back against the wall in a carefree manner, but his watchful eyes betray him. He is strikingly handsome and from the smirk on his face, he knows it.
I watch him as he seems oblivious to the woman hanging onto his arm. She bats her eyes at him, trying her best to get his attention. Ignoring her, he stares straight at me. The skin around his eyes tighten slightly as his lips turn down at the corners.
I give him my most haughty look, hoping it will make him turn away and leave me alone.
Focusing my attention back on my stew, I pretend to forget about the stranger. Aileen chooses that moment to tell me that she is going to mingle and wonders off.
As I take a drink of my ale, I look at the man from under my lashes. His gaze is still focused on me as he too sips his ale.
The woman must be annoying him because he leans down and says something to her that has her turning beet red and glaring in my direction. She spins on her foot and disappears into the crowd.
I wonder what he said to make her act like that?
The noise from the group behind me grows so loud, I find myself listening to what they are saying…
“I can’t believe she just JUMPED!”
“She must be insane.”
“There is no way she survived it.”
“Didn’t you hear the General? He says she’s still alive, and we have to find her.”
“Do you think she really killed her parents?”
“Anyone who jumps off a cliff in the middle of a storm is crazy enough to do anything.”
My stomach rolls and the stew threatens to come back up.
They're the soldiers from the cliff, and they're talking about me.
Conscious of the gray-eyed stranger watching me, I take a bite of my stew and force it past the lump in my throat. I mentally relax every muscle; I have to appear normal.
The men behind me quiet down again and I lean backward slightly, straining to hear what they say.
I take a sip of my ale and try to calm my nerves.
“I think you dropped this.” A deep voice says from beside my seat.
I turn to find the mystery man crouching down beside me, picking up my cloak. It had fallen off the seat beside me and was settled onto the dirty flood. His gray eyes are even more stunning up close, and he is almost painfully handsome.
“Thank you,” I say quietly, taking the cloak from his hand.
He stands up, walks over to Aileen’s now-vacant seat, and s
its down across from me.
“Have we met before?” He asks, frowning at me again. Those watchful eyes search my face, trying to figure me out.
He does look familiar, but I doubt I know him.
The way he watches everyone and everything happening is unnerving. I know I need to be careful with what I say here.
“I don’t know. Have you ever been to the farmland east of here?” I ask in my friendliest voice.
Just casual conversation…
“No, I can’t say I have. I’m from the south. I’m just passing through.” His frown deepens as he studies me.
I feel something reach out towards me. Dark tendrils curl around me, caressing me… Searching me.
Realization hits me. Someone’s magic is searching me, looking for what magic I might have. And If I had to guess who, I would wager on the scowling stranger sitting across from me.
My magic jumps at the caress. Unbidden, it flutters in my core and I can feel it trying to escape. I don’t take that as a positive sign for the man in front of me. I clamp down on my magic, refusing to allow even an ember to burn in my core.
Not here, there are too many people that will get hurt.
As the server comes by, the stranger orders an ale for himself and another one for me as well. He settles back in his seat, staring at me while we wait.
I guess it's up to me to talk…
“So where are you traveling to?” I ask, trying to keep it friendly.
“A little bit of everywhere, my job keeps me traveling. You live in the farmlands? What are you doing here?”
Technically, I never said I lived there; he just assumes it.
I can work with this.
I rack my brain, trying to remember what I know about farm life and what will fit my story.
“My sister and I are traveling to visit an old childhood friend. This seemed like a decent place to stop for dinner.” Time for a subject change. “Where's the most exciting place you’ve ever been?”
He raises an eyebrow and stares at me. I resist the urge to squirm in my seat.
After a long pause, he speaks, “Perth. I was up there last winter, and it was magnificent. Have you ever been?”
A pang of sadness washes through me as I think about the northern mountain territory. Xander, the Prince Elect that rules Perth, is like a brother to me. Well, until our territories’ rivalry tore us apart.
But, they're very cautious with their visitors. They don’t let outsiders inside their city unless they are extremely important. Who is this man?
“Wow, you’ve been all the way to Perth? That’s fascinating. I’ve heard they don’t let anyone inside the city walls.” Okay, maybe I am interrogating him slightly. I just have to be careful about it.
“They’re very selective, but they allow certain people in.” His vague answer doesn’t help my inquiry.
A man across the room yells and I glance over just in time to see him dump his ale on someone. Punches start flying and I reach for my bow, wincing when my hand catches nothing but air. Soon half the men in the bar join the fight.
The man with the gray eyes sighs deeply in frustration and stands up with a hand on his sword. He’s way taller than I had thought, and his broad shoulders make him look unmovable. He looms over me and holds out his hand.
“This is going to get far worse before it ends. Let’s get you out of here before some idiot does something stupid.”
I could get out of here on my own, but not without calling attention to myself, so I stand up and reluctantly take his hand.
As soon as our hands meet, power explodes through me, coursing through our joined fingers. My body tingles all over from the powerful wave of magic and my breath catches in my throat as I look up at the stranger.
His eyes are wide with shock and his mouth parts slightly. The whole room seems to draw quiet around us and the fighting fades away.
“Who are you?” He whispers, staring at me in confusion.
Chapter Eight
An overwhelming desire rushes through me to tell him who I really am, and I bite my lip hard, fighting the urge.
Come on Adeline. You have no idea who this is. Stop acting like a girl with a crush.
I'm frantically trying to think up a way to explain this when I glimpse something behind him. A man is being thrown through the air towards us.
“Look out!” I yell, trying to tug the gray-eyed man out of the way. It's like trying to move a brick wall, he doesn't even budge.
Within an instant, he whirls around and pulls me behind him. Effectively shielding me with his body. When the man slams into him, my mystery man barely flinches.
He glances over his shoulder at me and shouts “Move”.
I obey the order and sprint away from the brawling men. I wind around tables and sidestep a man lying on the floor with blood pouring from a gash in his head.
The memory of my father lying dead on the floor in the castle assaults me and I stumble.
I'm almost to the door when something slams against me. I flinch as I glance up and see yellow teeth and a crooked nose. The man pins me against the wall and the smell of old fish and stale ale assaults my senses. My skin crawls as he sneers down at me.
“Well then, where did you come from, Beautiful?” He looks down at my body and grins, pressing himself closer into me.
“If you don’t get off of me now, I will break your nose and your arm,” I say as a calmness washes over me.
This is something I know how to fight against.
“Oh, and how will you do that?” He laughs under his breath and leans in towards my neck, sniffing loudly. “You sure do smell good.”
“Well, you don’t.”
I pull my knee up hard, connecting with the one place I know will hurt him the most. He gasps and doubles over in pain, giving me just the opportunity I need.
“You bitch!” He snarls at me.
My fist flies out and makes contact with his nose, breaking it. He howls in pain as blood gushes down his face.
Furry flashes across his face as he lunges for me. Leaning back, I grab his arm and pull him towards me, using my leg to trip him and knock him onto the ground.
He rolls onto his back; his face turning bright red with fury. I grab the arm he flings at me, bend my knee onto his chest, and yank his arm back into my thigh. He bellows in pain as I hear his arm crack.
“Behind you!” Someone yells. I duck and spin to the side as another angry drunk throws himself into me, knocking me to the ground.
“What did you do to Roger? You worthless bitch!” He straddles me around my waist, pinning my arms to my side.
I glimpse his fist flying towards my face and try to brace myself. Pain explodes in my head as colorful dots expand across my vision.
I wince, preparing for another blow as he's lifted off me. I shudder at the gray eyes glaring down at me. My new friend's face is dangerously calm as he throws the drunk into a table.
Grabbing my arm, he hauls me onto my feet.
When he leans towards me, his warm breath tickles my ear. “Stay behind me. I will get you out of here.”
At my nod, he takes my hand in his and we edge towards the door. Men come at us from all directions, but he fights them back.
Admiration flickers in me as I watch him. He’s more skilled than any of the soldiers I have seen at the castle.
We finally make it to the door, and he flings it open. Cool air caresses my skin as he pushes me outside.
He reaches a hand to my face and places it gently where my eye is already starting to swell. I wince at the feeling of his fingers on the tender spot. He studies my face for a minute as his finger moves deftly over my cheek, inspecting it.
He exhales in relief. “You’re okay. Your eye will be bruised tomorrow, but you’ll be okay.”
My magic rises within me fighting to burn its way out. A familiar sense of dread flows through me.
Aileen! I can feel my magic screaming to get her out. Now.
She’
s in danger. But, if I go in there, my magic is likely to explode and hurt everyone.
I look up at the gray-eyed man, searching his face, trying to decide if I can trust him.
My magic overpowers me and lashes out to him. Surprise lights his eyes as he feels my magic whirling around him. His expression darkens and he nods at me, somehow hearing my unspoken plea. He pulls a dagger out from under his cloak and hands it to me.
“Wait here and use this on anyone that comes near you. I’ll get her out.”
He turns and walks back into the mess that is the tavern.
I try to push my magic out and sense Aileen's magic like I had with the stranger, but I can't find her. Panic courses through me.
What does that mean if I can’t feel her magic? Is she okay?
I push those thoughts away. She has to be okay. I didn't find my twin, only to lose her again.
I wait outside counting off the minutes. As the fifth minute passes, I walk to the door.
Enough. I think as my magic swirls around me, heating my skin. I have to find Aileen.
I yank the door open, ready to unleash my magic on whoever gets in my way when my sister almost knocks me over as she’s thrown through the doorway. Her dress is torn on one side and her hair is disheveled.
Relief floods through me as she lands on her feet and spins around glaring at the gray-eyed man. His sleeve is torn, and blood is pooling from scratch marks on his arm. He slams the door closed behind them and walks over to me.
“You could have warned me about that one.” He says, nodding towards Aileen. “She’s as vicious as a mountain cat.”
I try to hold back my laughter. He has no idea how right he is.
Aileen starts prowling towards him with murder in her eyes, so I casually step in between them.
“Sister, calm down.” I calmly step in between them and hold my hands out to her. "He helped me get out of the tavern, and I asked him to help get you out too."
She narrows her eyes in warning, distrust clearly written on her face.
It’s my turn to scowl at her. I have no idea if I can trust him either, but he did just help us. I'm not about to let her tear him to pieces.
“Is everything okay?” The man asks from behind me.
Princess of Fire and Smoke (Forbidden Court Book 1) Page 6
