Diamond knew Tom wasn’t interested in girls. When they had just reached their teens they had decided it was time to experiment with their first kiss. It had been a weird experience for both of them, more sloppy and uncomfortable than passionate. They had both shrugged it off and decided not to repeat the process with each other. Tom had experimented once or twice with other partners but he had never wanted anything serious.
Diamond hoped a tough warrior fae like Zane would not be too overbearing or possessive of her friend. Tom would hate that. Still, her eyes watched Zane’s attention shift back to the cave entrance. Maybe Zane was more than just a bit interested. At least Tom would be cared for and safe if he found a partner in a fae warrior.
More weary-looking warriors returned from watch and went to rest quietly on the moss beds near Jack, who was now talking quietly to an archer with sinewy strong arms covered in intricate swirling tattoos. Her eyes must be tired, she decided, because those tattoos seemed to be swirling like the markings on a fae’s wings.
Thinking of fae—Hugo stood tall and rigid in the shadows, his eyes constantly scanning the cave and the men, running over her every now and then, making her skin prickle with awareness. The hilts of his swords were visible over his shoulders, glinting in the dimness of the cave. His beard was matted, but he had cleaned his face and hands. Diamond, on the other hand, had blood leaking down her face again from her torn lip. With a jerky motion, she used Hugo’s dagger to cut a piece of the blanket someone had given her and held the scrap firmly against her lip. She winced. The split must be deeper than she thought. Maybe she should see if someone could stitch it for her.
“Hi,” General Edo said gruffly, sitting down next to her. He propped his large forearms on his bent knees but did not look at her.
“Hello,” she answered, feeling a little awkward but not sure why.
“So, do you want to tell me what happened to you?” he asked quietly, studying her swollen black eye, bruised cheek and the scrap of blanket pressed to her lip.
“Aren’t you going to order me to?” she asked wryly.
“No. I’m going to order him to tell me,” he said with a nod towards Jack.
“Why did you fight Jack the day the dragon took us?” Diamond asked, picking at a loose thread on her ragged dress. She still hadn’t forgiven him for that.
The smile he gave her held no amusement. “I needed to assess very quickly what sort of man Jack is.” He paused glancing at Jack. Diamond waited, trying to be patient. He seemed to be weighing whether to tell her more, then he took a deep breath, “Before I found you and your father in the north, I was King Oden’s primary. That meant not only was I a general in his army and responsible for planning and executing his campaigns in the west against Ragor, I was also his advisor—and friend. Along with your father, I took responsibility for and commanded the Combined Army of Rhodainia. It was the greatest army in the world….” he said shaking his head in what looked like disbelief.
Diamond kept quiet. It must be hard to see that army in tatters, she mused, feeling sorry for him. Her father had told her of the army. It had never occurred to her to ask how he knew so much about it. Only now did her perception of him as a lowly woodcutter strike her as foolish. He shouldn’t have known how to fight so well or talk with such authority and diplomacy to the town sheriff and his men.
General Edo didn’t notice the tightening of her mouth.
“For hundreds of years men have been conscripted to fight alongside Rhodainia’s own soldiers, though most would apply to their monarchs or leaders to be allowed to serve. The Combined Army has been in existence since Ragor was banished to the Barren Waste Lands by Lunaria thousands of years ago. His monsters were contained by us. Your father was a good friend and an even better general—until he left with your mother.”
Diamond tried not to react to the bitterness in his tone at those words. He coughed, and when he spoke again his voice was neutral. “Your father and I advised King Oden on battle strategy as well as coordination and execution of any attacks. In fact, we advised on most things: patrols, supplies, even who should be on his council or promoted to captain of his personal guard.” He took a deep breath and sighed sadly. “After Jack was born and the Queen died, King Oden wrote a decree and placed it in the king’s vault deep under Stormguaard. The king’s council witnessed it and I was given a copy, as was your father.”
Diamond sat up straight. “What did it say?” she asked quietly, gasping when he pulled a yellowed wrinkled piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to her. Diamond carefully straightened out the wrinkles. Not even half way down the page she stopped. “Is this real?” she whispered, incredulous.
“Yes. I’ve carried this with me for the last fourteen years. The king is dead and his son is not twenty. That means either your father or I should take the responsibility of regent. King Oden ordered us to give guidance to Prince Jack and involve him completely in the running of Rhodainia. Now your father is gone. It falls to me to decide if Jack is competent to continue ruling until his twentieth birthday.” He turned to look right at Diamond, and she almost shrunk from the ice in his eyes.
“About eighteen months after the king released your father from his service, he found out something about your mother. He wouldn’t tell me what it was but ordered me to find Arades and Tanelle and bring them home. He told me if Arades refused, I was to stay and protect them both and that I should not return to Stormguaard until they agreed to return with me. Now my king is dead and so are your mother and father. When you are safely in Valentia, my responsibilities will lay with His Highness over there.” His voice faded.
“I see,” she said. It was clear she was not going to be his responsibility anymore. Diamond kept her face down so he could not see how much that hurt her.
“Do you?” he asked quietly.
Time to grow up and fend for myself, she thought and lifted her chin. “Yes, I do. I understand you have a decision to make about Jack and your position in his court. To do that you cannot stay with me.” She frowned. “I don’t understand why King Oden would want my mother and father back in Stormguaard, though.” She winced again as her lip started bleeding.
“I wish I could tell you. All I really know is your father left the city to be with your mother. He had not known her long before they were married. He once told me it took the blink of an eye for him to fall in love with Tanelle—that they had some sort of deep bond and were meant to be together. I laughed back then. I never was one for sentiment of that sort.”
His voice faded and Diamond did not miss the thoughtful look he gave Hugo. Diamond saw Hugo glance at them both and dropped her eyes. General Edo smiled slightly as he awkwardly patted her hand. “Now I utterly believe him. Anyway, I had to assess if Jack is a capable leader. Challenging him was the only way I had to weigh him. Now I know he is not a coward. I also know how easily he can lose his temper and make a mistake. I’ve also had time to talk to his men and build up a picture of what sort of leader he is. Besides, he got you back safely—with a little help from Hugo.”
Diamond didn’t feel like pointing out she had saved the prince’s royal behind, not the other way around.
The general’s boots scraped against the stone as he shifted his position. “We are soon going to have to fight hard to get past that legion of rotting corpses and monsters camped between us and the Rift Valley. I have to decide whether to let Jack lead or whether to take leadership away from him.”
Diamond stayed silent, not really sure if Jack would let the general take anything away from him or that Jack’s men would follow the general. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then he gently took the parchment back, rubbed his eyes with both hands and gave a big sigh.
“I’m grateful to those two young men for keeping you alive. Arades will look on them both with favour from Eternity. Your face will heal if you get a couple of stitches in that lip, but we have a lot to overcome before we can get to the safety of Valentia and any healers. Stick clos
e to Hugo. I will be with the prince, so neither of you need worry about him. Anyway, I have a feeling Hugo won’t refuse to protect you. Do exactly what he says and you’ll stand a chance of staying alive. Understood?”
Diamond nodded wearily, wondering how happy Hugo would be about his babysitting duties.
“Good. Then I have something to do,” he said quietly but resolutely.
Diamond glanced over at Hugo as the general left her. Her breath caught in her throat and her stomach jumped painfully as his sapphire eyes met hers. Resting her forearms on her knees, she broke that contact, shocked but pleased to see General Edo sink to one knee in front of Jack.
He’s made a decision then, she thought with a mixture of relief for Jack, and regret for herself. She really would be alone if the general resumed his duties—it seemed Tom was comfortable being with Jack, and Zane was not likely to give up on her friend, looking at the way he kept glancing longingly towards the entrance. Determined not to think about what was to become of her in the city, she concentrated on the group across the cave instead.
Jack’s reactions went from shock to disbelief as the general presented him with the yellowed parchment and an explanation. Her heart went out to Jack as he sank to his knees and read his own father’s hand writing. Again and again he read it. His pale face and tight expression said it all. No one spoke to her or paid her any attention at all, they were all too busy watching Jack and General Edo. Standing, she headed for the entrance but changed her mind about getting some fresh air when she felt a sharp tug in her chest. Turning, she found Hugo staring at her. His eyebrows twitched up as he shook his head slightly.
She sat back down on the ground, irritated with herself for giving in to his silent command.
“Arse,” she muttered, flashing a dark scowl in his direction. An amused smile curled Hugo’s lips, and he lifted one dark brow. It was then Diamond realised she had forgotten how good fae hearing was.
Diamond felt bored. Tom did not return, and Jack stayed occupied with his warriors. They came and went, wanting orders or giving their prince information. Pushing herself up she wandered around to stretch her stiff muscles. Roin, the captain of Jack’s guard, was handing out strips of dried meat and some dried yellow berries from the line of food sacks. Standing behind Roin, the female warrior smiled as Diamond approached. It made her seem slightly less threatening.
Thanking Roin, she sat cross legged on the damp ground trying to eat. Blood rolled down her chin as her lip opened up again, the stinging pain made her eyes water. She winced and swore under her breath. Roin watched her struggle for a moment, then took pity on her.
“That needs stitching,” he stated as he squatted in front of her and took hold of her chin, inspecting her mouth gently.
“Yeah? Know any good seamstresses?” she mumbled.
He grinned widely, his tough face suddenly transformed and his grey eyes sparkling. “Yes. Me,” he stated proudly. “Ask Unis.” He nodded at the female warrior. “I’ve sewed her together enough times,” he chuckled.
“True,” Unis smiled back. “He’s obviously in the wrong job. Needs to be a seamstress and sew pretty dresses all day long,” she drawled. “He’d look better in a dress than that armour…wouldn’t you say?”
Roin flipped his middle finger and grinned before reaching for a pouch in his tunic pocket. After cleaning his small needle he sat on a boulder and instructed her to kneel in front of him. Roin then gently prodded the bruised tissue around the split.
“Trust me,” he smiled reassuringly, as she winced.
On the other side of the cave Hugo abruptly turned his head in their direction, almost as if he felt her discomfort. Breaking off his conversation with the tattooed archer, he strode over, his hands resting on the daggers at his hips.
Diamond immediately shrank back from the hard angry look on his face. Roin glanced up calmly. Unis and Gunnald sauntered closer.
“Something wrong, Commander Casimir?” asked Roin curiously whilst still inspecting Diamond’s lip.
“Do not touch her,” Hugo growled at Roin.
Roin raised his brows, “Why not?” His voice was still deceptively calm, but Diamond did not miss the stiffening in his shoulders.
A moment’s hesitation from Hugo. “Because there is nothing to numb the pain for her,” Hugo hissed, his fists curled around his blades.
Roin raised his eyebrows in surprise at the reaction from the normally unemotional Queen’s guard. “Maybe not, but her lip will continue bleeding and will get infected if it is left,” he replied reasonably.
“Roin, Diamond is my…responsibility. I will get her lip stitched when it is safe to do so. Not here in this dirty cave with nothing to numb the pain,” Hugo insisted. He looked directly at Roin, threat pouring off him.
What is he doing? Diamond thought anxiously. Jack’s captain only wished to help her.
“Move away from her, Roin,” Hugo growled.
She suddenly remembered who and what Hugo was: a cold-hearted killer.
Staring mutely at him, Diamond shuffled away from them all.
“Commander,” warned Roin in a low voice. “You’re frightening her. None of us will hurt her,” he said in a calm voice.
Hugo shot Roin a baleful stare but Roin did not seem at all perturbed; he just reached out and patted Diamond’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry. It seems the commander sees your well-being as his responsibility.” He winked at her and lowered his voice. “Fae and their instincts, ehh?”
Diamond flushed, suddenly realising what he meant. Her eyes shot to Hugo, who looked like he was about to throttle the grinning captain. Hugo opened his mouth to speak but the whoosh of an arrow stopped him.
Thunk! It struck flesh. A loud agonizing scream had Hugo spinning on his heel towards the entrance. He stepped directly in front of Diamond, shielding her as the others burst into action, heading for their prince.
“Stay behind me!” he commanded, his eyes already scanning the cave and the men, analysing the situation.
The men resting on the moss beds jumped up, immediately drawing their weapons. General Edo bellowed orders, and Gunnald, the tattooed fae, raced to the entrance and returned fire with his elaborately carved bow. Diamond’s mouth dropped open. The bow glowed, along with Gunnald’s tattoos. He loosed arrow after arrow in such quick succession she couldn’t follow his movements. He had magic! And it seemed he had no hesitation using it in front of Hugo.
Diamond’s throat tightened as the roar of hundreds of Ragor’s men resounded outside the cave. Arrows rained down from the small holes above. Hugo spun and grabbed her around the waist, moving so fast he was just a blur. Her feet left the floor, breath exploding from her lungs as her back slammed against the moss-covered wall. Another hail storm of arrows thudded into the packed dirt at their feet. Wide-eyed, Diamond gripped onto Hugo’s body as she scanned the cave for Jack and Tom. Jack was pushed right up against the back of the cave shouting something at Hugo, who glared at the prince. The general was bellowing and gesturing wildly with his sword.
Blood roared in Diamond’s ears but she heard Jack’s voice holler at Hugo, “Get her out of here. Now!!” His brown eyes met Diamond’s startled gaze. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head. She didn’t want to leave her friends.
Without hesitation, Hugo grabbed her hard around the waist, pulling a sword from across his back at the same time. “Hold tight and do not let go,” he ordered her. “We’re going.”
“But we can’t leave!” she cried. “What about the others? No!” she shouted, hitting ineffectually at his massive shoulders.
It made no difference. He pulled her against him, lifted her with one powerful arm and ran to the exit. Dark blue wings unfurled and armoured, then they were airborne. Even in such a dire situation Diamond was startled by the speed of that transition. Wind rushed by her ears, and it was all she could do to hold on around his neck. The whine of arrows dogged them. Hugo dipped and rolled with incredible skill despite her legs,
which dangled and swung around uselessly, threatening to pull her weight from his arm.
“Get your legs around my waist,” he roared.
Petrified, she flung her feet up, but she was weak and unable to clench the muscles of her thighs. It was no use. Her legs slipped time and again. Diamond clenched her fingers into Hugo’s leather armour until her nails threatened to rip off, terrified that if his grip faltered, she would plummet to the ground. As they flew unsteadily over the forest canopy it became clear she was upsetting his balance, but there was nothing she could do. His knuckles turned white where he gripped her waist.
Diamond flinched back as the fletch of an arrow kissed her face a split second before it slammed into Hugo’s shoulder with a sickening thud. It tore through his shirt and into his flesh just under his shoulder guard. Reeling backwards, his wings lost their rhythm, pounding unevenly against the air as he tried to stop spiralling down towards the dead trees.
The grey, wiry hide of a Wolfman flashed in the corner of Diamond’s vision. With amazing skill Hugo flipped himself around as it leaped for them. Muscled, hairy arms reached for her, long claws gleaming before Hugo skewered it on the sword in his hand. The creature roared before going limp, its dead weight dropping them like a stone. Hugo released his sword and, in one swift movement, enclosed Diamond roughly in his arms, wrapping his wings around her. Barely seconds passed, before they crashed through the tree’s and hit the ground. Over and over they rolled. Hugo slammed into something and jerked; suddenly the cage of strength and armoured wings was gone. Her body was thrown from his protection. The forest floor ripped her skin to shreds as her momentum drove her tumble onwards. She collided with a tree trunk and her skull cracked against the solid wood. Through sheer will she stayed conscious, crying out as pain flooded her body.
A Bond of Venom and Magic (The Goddess and the Guardians Book 1) Page 14
