by J. D. Wright
“No, nothing. We’ve scoured some areas twice. I just don’t understand where a wizard, with no magic mind you, can take and hide two young girls without drawing attention to himself.”
“You’re right. Someone, somewhere, must have seen them. We’ll just have to keep looking.”
“Right. I’m taking Firefly to the stables and switching to another horse. He needs to rest.”
“You need to rest, too,” Nick said.
“I can’t. I tried to sleep after the first search but every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is how scared those girls must be.”
“I know you won’t agree,” Nick said, leaning closer to his son, “but you could always ask someone to help you to sleep. You are no good to anyone slow and exhausted.”
“I don’t need her help.”
“Then I’m sure Sidonie would be happy to find a potion for you if you’d rather take a chance on herbs…”
“No, I wouldn’t. I’ll be fine.”
“At least, try to eat something before you go back out there. I will have someone take your horse to the stables.”
On one hand, Reeve wanted to be left alone. On the other hand, he spent so much time worrying about Gabby that it was actually nice to have someone worrying about him. He was still getting used to the idea of having a father, having been raised solely by his mother. And even though he was thinking it, telling Nick to go to hell just didn’t seem like the best reply.
Instead, Reeve grunted and handed Nick the reins before sauntering off to the hall for supper.
~*~
She waited until the sun was completely set in the sky to make her move. Quietly, she slipped out of her chambers and down the hallway. All she carried with her was a small bag thrown over her shoulder, hidden by a long black overcoat. It was the most inconspicuous item of clothing that she owned.
Several of her other belongings, jewels, and gowns, were stashed in a trunk downstairs, just waiting for her to load into a carriage. She had already bribed the driver who should be hitching the horses to the carriage at this very moment. If everything went according to plan, she would be out of the castle and free to roam wherever she chose in just a matter of moments.
The location of her chambers in Sire’s castle made escape difficult for Vallica. The hallway was only connected to one stairway. She had to use it. There was no way to avoid it. And the stairs led to another hallway that passed directly behind the throne room. She hoped that since it was nighttime, Silas would be occupied. Her freedom depended on it.
Hiding near the wall beside the large open doorway, she took a quick glance into the throne room. Silas was standing next to his throne, but his back was turned to her as he spoke with one of his soldiers. This was her chance. She took a deep breath and slowly started across.
“Leaving so soon, my dear?” Silas called out, without turning.
Vallica stopped in the middle of the doorway. Irritated, she balled her fists.
“And without saying goodbye to me?” he added, turning to face her. “I am truly heartbroken, especially after our many happy years together.”
“I can appreciate a sick joke, the same as anyone else,” Vallica said, walking toward Silas. “But I wouldn’t consider our years to be happy while you paraded your whores in my presence.”
“So you aren’t satisfied with your fine jewels and pretty baubles?” he asked, ignoring the comment she made about his mistresses. “I thought you rather enjoyed your gifts. They’ve always looked so alluring on you.” Silas walked around Vallica, absentmindedly caressing her arms and shoulders as he went.
“Don’t pretend that you’ve paid attention to me, Silas. I gave up on vying for your affections years ago.”
“I will admit, I haven’t always appreciated your gifts,” Silas said, leaning in to sniff her hair. “And I have come to realize that you have much more to offer me than your feminine wiles.”
“Oh, really?” How so, my dear?”
Silas stepped around to face her, then leaned in and nibbled on her neck. After a moment, he pulled back. “I have heard a great deal of rumors regarding your behavior during my absence. Attacking neighboring kingdoms, torturing Dahlia, executing Simon, hiring a wizard capable and willing to use a forbidden dark magic… I must say, Vallica, I am surprised. And more than a little intrigued by the sudden change in you.”
Vallica watched Silas as he let go of her and turned to walk back to his throne. It was only then that she noticed the second seat beside it. It was the one she used to sit in before she stabbed him. After he had been gone, she had the seat removed from the throne room. She was confused and startled to see it sitting there.
“I’ve always focused on Dahlia, seeing as she was much more inclined to agree with my methods of ruling Sire. But you, my dear, really have come into your own.” He turned and sat on his throne, then gestured to the seat beside him. “I want you to rule beside me. To rule with me.”
“Is this another sick joke?” she asked, certain that blades must be hidden under the empty seat, just waiting for her to sit down on them.
“Why do you constantly doubt me?” he asked.
“Because I know you, Silas. The real you.”
“Perhaps,” he replied, looking her over. “And now I believe it is time for me to get to know you. The real you.”
Vallica wasn’t sure if she should believe him. She wanted nothing more than to stay a queen and to rule a kingdom. She just never thought she would actually choose to rule alongside Silas, ever again. But as strange as it was, she wanted to. If not for the fact that she suspected Silas was still somehow planning her punishment, she would have no reservations about staying. It seemed it only took her portraying terrible behavior in order to impress him. And if it was terrible behavior Silas wanted, Vallica was happy to oblige.
She brushed her hair back and walked over to him, loosening her gown behind her as she went. But instead of sitting in her seat, she climbed onto Silas’ lap, straddling him. He wasted no time in removing her gown and taking a mouthful of her breast.
Soon she was riding him, right there on the throne. It was the same position she had seen him in with one of his whores, many years ago. Only, this time, it was her rear that he was squeezing and her hips that rolled over him. And when he finally reached climax, it was her body that he spilled himself into.
She might have looked like one of his whores, but she felt like a queen.
Chapter Nine
Zander and Rianne had traveled for almost an entire week before coming across a sign that marked their trail. Rianne read the sign to herself then groaned, loudly.
“Another day? I’m beginning to think we’ll never get out of here.”
“It might actually take us two days. Silver Glen is a big place. Especially when you spend the first few days going in the wrong direction,” Zander said, smirking. “You’re just lucky to have come across me when you did.”
Rianne shook her head but couldn’t help but smile. It was at least the third time that he had joked about her terrible sense of direction. She had gotten over the anger of being off course by the end of the first day. She could laugh about it now. At the time, however, it hadn’t been very funny.
Their traveling was slow, mostly because of the heavy forest and rocky terrain, but she didn’t really mind. It was the most time that she had spent on her own, not to mention, in a forest. Traveling as a princess usually meant staying in the royal carriage day and night which was dreadfully boring. Climbing up and down the steep ground of the glen was exhausting and certainly wasn’t boring. But it also meant that they weren’t able to travel very far in a day’s time.
“How much further do you think we can get, today?” she asked, glancing up at the sky.
“We could keep going, but it won’t be long before nightfall.”
“Maybe we should go ahead and set up camp, then. I’d hate to repeat last night’s events.”
“I told you we should have stopped. But, no�
� You wanted to get as far as possible. Remember?”
“So it was my fault?” she laughed.
It was fair to say it was her fault. She had practically begged Zander to continue on when he wanted to stop for the day. Then, once they finally did stop, he was too drained of energy to use his magic to light a fire. He could get a spark or two to develop, but it would disappear before he could use it. And Rianne learned that wizards were useless without their magic. He had no idea how to light a fire the traditional way. Then again, neither did she.
So they had been forced to sit beside one another and share her small blanket until Zander was able to eat and regain enough energy to light the fire. At first, being so close to him made her nervous. She wasn’t sure how to behave. But Zander kept making funny jokes which lightened the mood and helped ease her nerves. She couldn’t believe how easy he was to talk to. He was funny and reminded her of Xavier.
“It won’t happen, tonight,” Zander said. He held up his hand and summoned fire magic. A small ball of fire appeared. He let it linger for a moment while she watched it spinning around. Then he closed his hand and the fire disappeared. “See? Plenty of energy, tonight.”
“Only because you ate enough to feed a small village, today! Honestly, how can you afford to feed yourself? You eat like a horse!”
“I’d rather eat like a horse than cry like a baby,” he said. Then he started to mimic her voice, “Oh, I’m so lost. When will I ever get to Sire?” he teased, dramatically.
“You’re such a jerk!” she said, laughing. She swung her arm out, intending to playfully slap him, but he was quick and caught her hand with his. Feeling his warm skin on hers surprised her. She started to pull her hand back but hesitated because he was watching her. It was almost as if he was testing her to see if she would cower.
She didn’t. Instead, she squeezed his hand, which startled him. He let go, cleared his throat, and pretended as if nothing had happened.
“I will get some wood for the fire,” he said. “Can you unpack, on your own? Without getting lost?”
“I can manage,” she replied, winking at him before she turned to remove her sack.
Zander walked away as quickly as he could. Even though he wanted to pretend like his heart wasn’t beating out of his chest, it certainly was. Not only from the brief moment he held her hand but also from the jolt he felt when she winked at him. Those beautiful blue eyes were deep and reminded him of the sea. He couldn’t help but get lost in them even though he tried not to. He just hoped she didn’t notice how many times he caught himself looking at her. Staring at her, mostly. Even though she kept her hair pinned back and her clothing was as plain as any commoner’s, it did nothing to detract from her beauty.
It wasn’t as if he’d never seen a beautiful girl before. Quite the opposite, actually. Living in a castle provides for a great number of visitors. And being the furthest northern kingdom in the southeast region of Everealm meant that Vale received visitors from the southeast and the northern parts of the realm. He had seen many beautiful ladies. Even kissed a few of them.
He smiled to himself as he bent down and picked up a few thick twigs.
But it wasn’t just her face that drew him to her. Rianne was different and he couldn’t yet understand why. The fact that she never spoke about her family or the reason she wanted to reach Sire so badly should have been a warning, but he couldn’t help but feel attracted to the mystery of her.
And he loved her laugh. He never realized how funny he could be until now. Daughters of arrogant lords were usually pretty stale, themselves. But not Rianne. She actually liked his jokes and she joked right along with him. He could think of no one else that he would rather be stuck in the middle of a forest with. Then again, he hardly knew her. In fact, she knew much more about him than he did about her. Yet, that didn’t really bother him.
What did bother him was how much traveling with Rianne was distracting him from his goal. The only reason he came to this part of the realm, in the first place, was to find Henry and to make sure that he paid for his actions. Sure, he could leave it to Everett to find Henry, but he didn’t believe for a moment that Everett would do what was necessary to make sure Henry suffered. And he deserved to suffer, just like his wife was forced to suffer when he was choking the life out of her.
It was almost a blessing that he and Rianne would be out of the glen in another day or so. Even though he would much rather escort a beautiful girl to Sire than hunt a murderer, he knew there was probably no chance of escaping without punishment after he found and killed Henry. He would likely be hung in Hallowood. And that was only if he weren’t sent to Labara for his punishment, instead.
Being a wizard, he would probably be granted the opportunity to beg the King of Labara for a pardon. It was a benefit of having magic in his blood. Because wizards were so highly regarded by royalty in Everealm, he might even get the pardon. But he didn’t want it. He wouldn’t beg anyone for forgiveness. The only person he wanted to forgive him was dead. His mother would never be able to pardon him for failing to protect her. And because of that, he had already received the only punishment that mattered.
He bent down to pick up another twig but froze when he heard it.
Rianne’s scream.
Without thinking, he dropped the twigs and started running toward the spot where he left her. As soon as he got close enough to see her, his breath caught in his throat. Two men, dirty and unshaven, each had hold of one of Rianne’s arms. A third man stood nearby, holding a long dark knife in one hand and some rope in the other.
When Rianne saw him, her eyes went wide but she didn’t scream, again. She stared into his eyes and started slowly shaking her head. He knew she was warning him not to approach. But he couldn’t even fathom the idea of leaving her.
“Leave her alone,” Zander hissed, stepping out from between the trees. His sudden appearance startled the man with the knife, who turned to Zander and sneered.
“By whose orders?” the man asked.
“Zander, no!” Rianne shouted.
“You can have whatever you want. Money, anything. Just let her go. I won’t fight you,” Zander said, calmly.
“Fight me, boy?” the man said, laughing. “I don’t need to fight you to get what I want.” He glanced over at Rianne, then walked closer to her. “I’ll take your money, but I think we’ll enjoy something else of yours, too.” He reached out and pulled the pin from Rianne’s hair, letting it tumble down.
“Zander?” One of the two men holding Rianne’s arm suddenly spoke. “Did you say his name was Zander? Isn’t that Henry’s boy? The one that’s a wizard?”
Oh, no. Zander wasn’t sure who these men were, but if they knew Henry and told him that his stepson was here, Henry would probably flee, along with any chance he had of catching him. But finding Henry became second thought as Zander tried to think of a way to free Rianne, preferably without using magic.
“So it is,” the third man said, turning back to Zander. “Henry will not be pleased.”
Rianne couldn’t understand what the men were talking about. Zander hadn’t mentioned anyone by the name of Henry. Then again, when she asked why he was traveling to Hallowood, he had said it was in order to visit family. But if Henry was family, why wouldn’t he be happy to see Zander? Something didn’t make sense to her. But as much as she knew she needed to be cautious, she couldn’t help but trust Zander. It just felt like a natural thing to do. And considering that she was hiding things from him, she couldn’t really blame him for doing the same.
“I believe you must be mistaken,” Rianne said, looking at the man with the knife. “This boy is Zander, yes, but he isn’t related to your Henry. And he definitely isn’t a wizard.” She had no clue if he really was related to Henry, but the look on Zander’s face gave her the urge to lie for him.
“Then why is he wearing wizard robes?” the man holding her left arm asked. His voice was rough and his breath smelled terrible.
“I stole them,�
�� Zander said, without hesitation. Any story that they could spin in which Henry didn’t discover that he was being followed was in Zander’s best interest. He just hoped the men were dumb enough to believe it.
“Then,” the third man said, waving his knife in the air, “you won’t mind if we take them from you. Seeing as they aren’t yours to begin with. Now, hand them over, along with your money.”
Zander started to remove his robes. Now that the men were distracted, watching Zander, Rianne saw her opportunity. As foolish as she knew it was, she couldn’t let the men take her money. She needed it to get to Sire. And if they found her jewelry, she would never be able to barter passage to Carroway. She had no choice but to get away from them, with all of her belongings. She just hoped her months of practicing would pay off.
First, she lifted her leg and stomped down on the foot of the man to her left. He let out a howl and released her arm, which was what she hoped he would do. It gave her just enough slack to reach the knife that was tucked between her underdress and overdress. She swung her arm around and stabbed the knife into the shoulder of the man holding her right arm.
In shock, the man whose foot she had smashed began to swing his fist at her. Rianne ducked down and his arm missed her head. Crouching down, she could reach the knives in her boots. Grabbing the first knife, she swung her arm up and stabbed the man in his side. She had no idea exactly what part of his body she cut, but the man cursed her and grabbed his wound as he fell to his knees.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man with the knife approaching Zander. She had no time to think about what the man was planning to do. If she wanted to make sure Zander didn’t use his magic to protect himself, she had to stop the man, herself. She switched her third knife from her right hand to her left hand, because that was her better throwing arm. With Zander being so close to the knife-wielding man, she had to be as accurate as possible.
