“Believe it or not, it really was I,” Zander said. “I assure you, it was an accident, though. I was tossing stones toward the lake and simply missed. But if you are determined to expel the guilty party, I suppose I should go pack.”
Headmaster Stonecrusher stuttered. “Of—of course I wo—won’t be expelling you, Your Highness. Accidents happen. Everyone knows that.”
Zander bowed. “Thank you for being so understanding, Headmaster. I will see to it your window is replaced.” He motioned toward Talon. “My friend and I will be on our way then.”
Talon scooted past Roland Stonecrusher and followed the prince. When they were out of sight of the headmaster and his cabin, Talon stopped. “Why’d you help me?”
“Because that’s what friends do for each other.” Zander smiled. “I see potential in you, Talon Starkweather, and I believe we’re going to be very good friends.”
Those words rolled through Talon in the darkness as if Zander had spoken them moments ago instead of many years in the past. And it had been in that very same past, that very same day, when he’d made the promise.
“I’m honored, Your Highness,” Talon had said. “I’ve never had anyone call me friend, especially not a prince. If there’s ever anything I can do, anything at all, no matter how big, no matter how small, all you need do is ask and I swear, I’ll do it or die trying.”
Zander had chuckled. “I can’t think of a single thing I need today except for a sparing partner. Want to practice swords? But who knows, perhaps I’ll hold you to that promise someday.”
The very first glimmers of morning rays filtered through the curtains and lifted the total darkness from the room. It wasn’t like he minded the idea of forfeiting his own life if that was what was asked of him, but he did very much mind forfeiting Mia’s future, her hopes, her dreams. There was only one thing to be done. As soon as the sun completely rose and he could wake Mia, he’d travel to Halla and pay Zander and Kitrina a visit. There had to be something he could say or do to convince Zander that Mia deserved all the help they could give her, not their deception.
The only problem was, though, how was he going to sneak away for an entire day without Mia finding out where he was going and what he was up to? For if he even hinted at his destination, she’d insist on joining him, and then there really would be no discussing the promise or how to get out of it.
****
The feel of a big, strong, familiar hand gently shaking Mia woke her, and she opened her eyes to bright spring sunshine and the one face she’d come to count on being near. The one face, the one man, who had come to mean so very much to her, perhaps too much even.
“Talon,” she sighed. “There are no classes today or did you forget? Come back to bed and snuggle with me.”
He smiled. “Perhaps later, princess. I woke you only to let you know I’m off to the woods with Pearl to hunt. It’s hard to keep that VoT dragon fed these days. We may have to travel quite a distance to find enough fresh game to satisfy her veracious appetite. It might take all day.”
“Hmm,” Mia frowned. “I thought you took her out hunting yesterday?”
He gulped, and his face paled ever so slightly. “Wha—what can I say? She’s growing fast. Eats like a horse and has been yelling in my head half the morning, telling me she’s hungry. It’s either take her hunting or go mad.”
Her spiritmaster sense zinged to life. He was being untruthful with her, and she knew it, could feel it, could almost see the falseness of his words radiating like an aura around him. Not that Pearl wasn’t growing quickly, for she certainly was. The dragling was taller than she herself now, and Pearl did have the appetite of, if not precisely a horse, then at least a full grown man or two. But there was definitely something else Talon Starkweather was hiding from her, or in the very least, not being completely honest about.
Mia flipped the furs back and stood. “Well, if that’s the case, then give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll be happy to join you and Pearl on your hunt. It’s been ever so long since I was on an outing. I think I’d enjoy the fresh air.
“You can’t go,” Talon declared as he headed toward the door. “I—I mean, you haven’t even broken your fast. And—and trust me, you wouldn’t enjoy this kind of outing. Where we have to go in order to find the very best game there are bugs as big as my fist and snakes with fangs five inches long and—and rats, lots of great big hairy rats. Not to mention all manner of disgusting things you can’t even see before they are right on top of you. It’s best you stay here, princess. Go visit Leeky, Pierced, and Ohfeelya. We’ll be back before you even know we’re gone.”
She yanked on her pale green mystic’s tunic, slipped on her buff colored breeks, and followed him. “Wait.”
He was almost to the door when she reached him and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m not afraid of the woods, you know, and I’m not so much of a princess that you have to worry about me slowing you down or getting lost or even scaring the game away. That is what you’re concerned about, isn’t it?”
He shook his head. “Of course not.”
She could feel the truth of his words. If her being in the way wasn’t his reason for not wanting to take her along, then what was? Was he meeting someone else? Who would he not want to tell her about? Another female perhaps? Was he using Pearl’s appetite to get away and spend a long, private, leisurely morning with another woman after turning her offer of snuggling down?
“Who is it?” She took a deep breath to keep her voice from trembling. “Who don’t you want me to know you’re going to see?”
His eyes grew big. “No one. You’re talking crazy. I told you, I’m taking Pearl hunting, that’s all.”
Her blood ran first hot and then cold as his false words flowed through her veins like ice water. Even her palm on his arm broke out into a cold sweat. So what if he was planning a liaison with some two-bit doxy? It really wasn’t any of her concern. He was a single grown-ass man, after all. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and with whomever he wanted to do whatever with. There was no reason to lie to her. She didn’t deserve that. And what was he worried about anyway? She didn’t own him and had no desire to? If truth be told, he was less than nothing to her.
Her heart ached and a sob formed in her throat. Mia swallowed it down. Oh, my God Draka, now she was even lying to herself. She was falling in love with the block-headed barbarian, and if he truly did have an appointment with another woman to do even half of the things he’d done so wonderfully with her, she’d be beyond devastated.
Tears clouded her eyes and she couldn’t breathe. Now that she’d admitted the truth to herself, she could no longer hide behind the safety of the lie. But when had she begun falling in love with Talon Starkweather? And what the VoT was she going to do about it?
This was a disaster.
She couldn’t be in love with him. She simply couldn’t. For one thing, he obviously didn’t return her feelings. And even if someday he might, he was totally unacceptable. Not to mention the fact he’d made her promise not to develop tender feelings for him, and she’d assured him that she wouldn’t.
This was ridiculous. It would never work. He’d told her himself he was the great grandson of a traitor which, though, personally she didn’t care, her fellow barbarians certainly would. The entire kingdom would be in an uproar if she chose Talon Starkweather to be her mate. They’d never in a million ions willingly accept him as their king, and if by some miracle they did and if by an even greater miracle she actually succeeded in Queen Adrina’s quest, he’d never ever agree to take her name, sit docilely by her side, and let her rule. He’d made that fact abundantly clear.
Talon Starkweather would never be anybody’s quiet companion, let alone their pet, not ever. Not even for love.
No, she wouldn’t do that to him, and she wouldn’t do it to herself either. She wouldn’t love him, she wouldn’t. She’d get a grip on these silly, mushy feelings and put an immediate stop to them. And no matter how much it
hurt, she wouldn’t let him see that she cared about who he was trying to get away to meet or why.
But still, she couldn’t help herself. She needed to ask one more time. She simply had to know for sure. It was on the tip of her tongue to accuse him of lying and demand he tell her the truth, when there was a loud knock at the door.
“For the love of God Draka,” he grumbled. “Who could that be?”
She walked past him without a word and swung the door wide open. There stood the last person she expected to see today. It was the very same halfling messenger who’d summoned her before the council on the first day of her classes. And like last time, without a single word, he handed her a sheet of parchment, bowed, turned, and simply walked away.
She trembled, and her legs felt as if they would no longer hold her weight. Then, Talon’s warm, strong arms encircled her, and her world righted itself once again.
“Is that what I think it is?” he whispered.
She nodded and held the parchment out for him to see. “I’m being summoned. It appears the council has reached a decision, and the first quest is finally to begin.”
Talon nuzzled her neck. “Well, then, we better get going. I don’t think it would be wise to keep the council waiting a second time.”
“What about Pearl? Didn’t you say she’s hungry? You don’t have to baby-sit me, Talon. I’m a big girl.” She laughed to cover her nervousness. “Don’t worry. I can face that group of crotchety old barbarians on my own. You taught me that.”
Her throat constricted, and she fought the tears threatening to fall once more. “And anyway, no matter where this first quest may take me, it won’t be taking me there before tomorrow at the earliest. Go see to your dragon or whatever you really have planned. I’ll see to the council.”
He held her against his chest, and the heat of him seeped deep into her soul. “Not a chance in VoT, princess,” Talon whispered once again, this time against her hair. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy, and Pearl will have to wait. All of Albrath and everything in it can wait. If nothing else, she can hunt the entire time we are journeying to wherever this first quest takes us. My place is by your side, Mia, today, tomorrow, and every day after that until you no longer have need or want of me. I’m in this for the duration.”
Her spiritmaster senses zinged to life once more, and she relaxed into his embrace. This time he was telling her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and she fell in love with him a little bit more because of it.
Chapter Ten
The heat of the gaze of a thousand sets of eyes boring into her backside shot straight through Mia and seared her all the way to her soul. She nervously swiped the palms of her sweaty hands against the hem of her everyday, novice mystic’s tunic, took a deep breath, and cleared her throat for the third time in as many minutes.
Like her other two attempts at getting the council’s attention, neither, Duke Algen Daggertoss, nor any of the other eleven barbarian men surrounding him took notice. They simply kept doing what they’d been doing, which looked to be, having a whispered debate of some kind.
Every now and again, Mia would make out a single word or two. “Impossible” was uttered more than once by the governor of Bane, Earl Theodosius Swordwielder, while “unfair” and “too dangerous” were spoken by some of the others. Even the nuances in the men’s facial expressions were ever-changing. One moment, they were either smiling or grimacing, and then the next, they appeared close to coming to blows with each other.
The one and only constant demeanor throughout the entire discussion was that of Duke Algen Daggertoss himself. And that was what scared Mia more than anything. The duke never once raised his voice or even bothered to look in her general direction. He simply kept a cold, flat expression on his face, shook his head every time someone dared disagree with his opinion, and stood his ground.
Her life was going to change today, and whatever her fate was to be, Mia had no doubt it rested firmly in the duke’s hands, and his hands alone.
She only wished he would get on with it, because she really needed to pee. She shook her head and silently scolded herself. Why hadn’t she gone while still in the privacy of her chamber? What had possessed her to go running off without first seeing to the most basic of female barbarian needs? Impatience that’s what. And where had her impatience gotten her? Standing before at least a thousand strangers, not to mention the council, and about to do her very own version of the pee-pee dance for all to see. That’s where her impatience had gotten her. It wasn’t to be borne.
She told herself no matter how long the council made her wait and no matter how many people were staring at her backside, she wasn’t going to fidget. After all, she was a princess of the royal house of Hammerstrike. Fidgeting was beneath her. She was going to stand perfectly still and await the council’s decision with her head held high if it was the last thing on Albrath she ever did.
She’d wait forever if that’s what it took.
But then, that was before the nasty little tics and tremors started on top of the fact she needed to pee. What the VoT was wrong with her today? It wasn’t as if she were a little old lady in a little old lady’s body. She was twenty-one, for God Draka’s sake, and not even near her prime yet. Twenty-one year olds didn’t twitch, and she of all people certainly shouldn’t be experiencing such embarrassment. Even if she weren’t a princess and even if she weren’t standing in the middle of a huge ceremonial hall crowded with people, she still shouldn’t be plagued with uncontrollable body movements, especially this morning, especially now. It wasn’t dignified.
At first, it had been just her left eye and cheek that jerked every now and then. And then three fingers on her right hand began to tremble. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the calf muscles in both her legs started spasming. The VoT things were taking turns cramping up as if she’d run sprints all night instead of sleeping peacefully in her bed, in Talon’s arms.
She shifted from one foot to the other, trying to relieve her discomfort. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she didn’t simply need to pee anymore, she desperately needed to pee. She squeezed her thighs tightly together and tried to think about something else, anything else.
“Are we boring you, Princess Hammerstrike? Or keeping you from somewhere else you’d rather be? Did you perhaps have a shopping trip planned for this particular morning? We certainly wouldn’t wish to hurt the economy by impeding your departure on such an important endeavor.”
Tittering laughter filled the hall.
Mia glared at Duke Algen Daggertoss. So, after she’d been kept waiting for what felt like the full turning of an hourglass, now the leader of the council deemed her worthy of his regard? “No, my lord, I assure you I have nowhere else I’d rather be. It’s well past time this quest began. Though, when I was summoned, it was with the understanding that a decision concerning the first portion of Queen Adrina’s quest had finally been made. But all I’ve witnessed since arriving in this council’s presence is what appears to be petty bickering.” She feigned a yawn. “Perhaps I should simply return to my chamber and continue to wait and wait and wait until you men can come to an agreement of some kind. If that’s even possible.”
The tittering laughter grew louder.
The duke slammed down his gavel. “Silence,” he roared.
The sound of a pin dropping could’ve been heard echoing throughout the great hall if anyone had had the courage or stupidity to drop one. Mia certainly didn’t. Instead, she stood motionless, holding her breath, waiting to hear her fate.
The duke rose and, with a flourish, addressed the great hall. “After many long hours of deliberation this council has come to a decision concerning the first task in your quest to become the female ruler over barbarian men someday.”
He chuckled, and the sound made Mia’s blood run cold.
“We’ve decided this first quest should be the simplest of the three. Something easy to get you started. All you need do is capture a cute litt
le baby bear,” he pointed a finger at her, “with cunning mind you, not force, and bring it back here before this council within a week’s time. A little test of your diplomatic skills, so to speak. That is if you still wish to proceed? You do, don’t you, princess? If not, you’re certainly still free to choose a worthy barbarian male to rule in your sted. No one would blame you for even the time it would take half a grain of sand to fall through an hourglass.”
She took one deep breath and then another and then another. Perhaps the council really wasn’t out to see her fail, after all. Perhaps she’d misjudged them. She could do this, she knew she could.
She could devise some kind of a trap and catch a bear cub without harming it. After all, hadn’t she spent more hours than she liked to remember out in the woods with her father, King Adan, her Uncle Uthiel Dragonheart, and every bug and snake between Alaria and castle Kuropkat while being forced to learn how to forage and hunt like a commoner? Let alone the crazy overnight expeditions in the woods with Kit, her pet dragon, and their elfin cousins Graydon and Gareth? Nights filled with strange sounds and the discomfort of sleeping upon cold, hard ground? VoT, if she’d survived those adventures without a scratch, she certainly could survive this.
Mia smiled. “I’m confident I can capture a young bear and bring it back before this council within a week’s time.”
“Do you really think so?” The duke smiled back at her, and Mia’s stomach did a roll. Something was wrong, very wrong.
“Perhaps I’ve spoken in too broad of terms concerning our expectations of you, Princess Hammerstrike.” He chuckled. “Please, allow me to be more specific.”
In the morning light of the great hall Duke Algen Daggertoss’s eyes gleamed a strange mixture of blacks and gold, and his smile stretched so tightly across his face, Mia wondered at his sanity, or lack thereof. “You see, my lady, it isn’t just any ole’ bear cub we wish you to catch and present before this council. Even my page could accomplish that simple task. Oh, no, Princess, it’s a very rarely seen and specific offspring we wish you to procure.”
Tested by the Night Page 11
