“The three of them were close,” Jerris said. “While Mari and Garhan struck up a relationship, I think Stepan’s sights had been set on having Mari for himself. Once Garhan was locked away, Stepan took some sort of pleasure in withholding the information from Mari. Perhaps he hoped she would turn to him with Garhan gone.”
Keiran was impressed and nodded slowly, turning his eyes forward. “Rather perceptive, Jerris.”
He shrugged and urged his horse onward. “I have my moments.”
They caught up to the others, Mari soon signaling them to come to a stop. She pointed down toward the road as they were on a small rise where it became visible. “Your men.”
Keiran counted them, able to make out his people from the Alerian guards easily, despite the distance. “All accounted for.”
Kanan grunted, unable to see the group distinctly. “I don’t understand why they haven’t been intercepted yet.”
“Jerris and I were just talking about that,” Keiran said. “Unless something catastrophic happened behind us.”
“More likely they’re walking into a trap that Adira has set up ahead,” Stepan said.
“Why not just attack them out here? There have been plenty of places along the trail they could have set up an ambush.” Jerris leaned forward in the saddle to look around Keiran at the Alerian guard.
“Point taken.” Stepan frowned and shook his head. “I have no idea what’s going on. This has been too easy, thus far.”
* * *
They continued on, keeping pace with the larger group. While it had taken seven days to get from the border to the capital on the way in, by the evening of the fourth, they were already near the border.
Keiran’s group stopped for the night, and Mari confirmed they were only a few hours from the border wall. If they began to move again at sunrise, they would reach the border well before noon.
Their plan to rejoin the larger group had never come to pass as they’d never seen any indication of Adira doing anything to stop their progress. However, as night fell, they were thrown into a discussion about whether or not they should rejoin the others to cross as one unit.
“It would probably be the easiest,” Kanan said, lying on his side near their campfire. “The Alerian guards have been sleeping rather soundly most nights. It wouldn’t be difficult for us to go down there, kill them off, and go with the group in the morning.”
“I know, but those guards have been ushering our men along toward the border without issue. I’m reluctant to go and kill all of them at this point. They’ve been doing exactly what Mari told them to,” Keiran replied.
“Getting you out of this country is of greater concern to me than the well being of those Alerians.” Kanan flopped onto his back to stare up at the sky. “I hate to put it so bluntly and I apologize to Stepan, but it is the truth.”
Stepan stood nearby, too nervous yet to bed down. “You know, we haven’t seen them make any contact with anyone else. Mari could potentially escort all the rest of you down to the group with a new travel document and tell the guards you were sent to catch up with them. I couldn’t go, obviously, but I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work for the rest of you.”
“What about me?” Garhan asked. “They know there were only three Tordanians missing. What would the story behind me be?”
Stepan looked down at his clothes. Though dirty, he was still dressed in a palace guard’s uniform. “The fit might not be right, but we could simply change clothes and pass you off as a guard sent along to help Mari escort the Tordanians.”
“And what of you, Stepan?” Mari asked, looking up at him. “You can’t stay behind. You’ll be killed.”
“I’ll forge my own travel document and exit the country as a traveler. It won’t be terribly difficult. The likelihood of the border guards recognizing me is miniscule.”
Garhan frowned and shook his head, but after letting his eyes sweep over the others, he realized it was their best option. “I hate for us to be separated like that, but I see the reason in doing so.”
Kanan and Jerris looked at one another silently nodding their agreement to the plan. While it put Stepan at greater risk, getting Keiran out of Aleria was their main objective and not something they were willing to chance.
Keiran saw their signal to one another and sighed. “All right, Stepan. In the morning, we’ll rejoin my other men with Garhan pretending to be a guard.”
Stepan closed his eyes and nodded, smiling. “It’s worth it to save the rest of you, even if I don’t make it out of Aleria alive.”
“But you will make it out of Aleria alive,” Garhan added, putting his arm around Mari’s shoulders. “I would ask for you to be allowed to go before the rest of us. That way, we can help if you have any trouble.”
Keiran didn’t bother to see if Kanan and Jerris agreed to that or not before speaking up. “That idea suits me just fine. If all else fails, we simply rush the gate, take you with us, and get out before they have a chance to do anything.”
“You hope,” Jerris said.
The vampire looked at his friend. “Aye.”
* * *
Adira had obeyed Athan’s orders and left the fleeing Tordanians alone. She’d arrived at the border crossing a full day before the Tordanians were due, thanks to pushing her men and horses to the extreme. She’d not slowed their pace even after calling off the intended attack.
While Adira didn’t know what she would do once they arrived, she needed to make Stepan and Mari pay. There was a growing fury within her at the old vampire’s order not to stop Keiran or Garhan, but the fear he’d instilled in her was enough to suppress her personal desires.
As the sun rose, she was already up and near the window to the inn room she’d taken. Though the cheap bed wasn’t what she was accustomed to, it was a merciful break from what she’d endured in the carriage for several consecutive days. Still, her body ached to the point it had forced her out of bed early.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
The truth was she’d been frightened out of her sleep by every small sound within the inn during the night. The old recurring nightmare had plagued her, thus making meaningful sleep impossible. While she’d been able to admit to herself that Lord Vercilla’s appearance had frightened her, it went beyond that.
She’d been raised to fear vampires—it was in the Aviatrovs’ blood. While she’d never found anything too frightening about Garhan, something about Athan was different.
Besides the magic he could perform, there was something else unnatural about him. His voice, his expressions, even the way he’d moved had struck discord within the Alerian queen.
All of it brought back memories of being a little girl and hearing Ilana’s screams as she’d been trapped in her room, being attacked by an unknown and never captured assailant. She remembered standing in the corridor of the palace, seeing over a dozen men struggling to break down her sister’s chamber door to rescue her, but they’d been unable. Her mother had finally found her and carried her away from the scene, but the sounds of Ilana’s cries had never been forgotten.
The way her sister had looked following the attack had always haunted her. Ilana had been covered in bruises, even the whites of her eyes stained a deep burgundy from burst blood vessels.
Her sister’s movements had become slow, pained, and somewhat erratic for weeks afterward. Ilana had been through something so horrible that it had changed who she was, making her into what Adira thought was a monster.
She’d pushed those old memories away long ago, a psychological defense mechanism to get past it. However, being face to face with Athan had brought it back on a level that made it as fresh as the night it had happened. She had no way of knowing some of that was from Athan’s manipulation of her mind. The end result was a constant paranoid terror stirring just under her calm façade.
There was a knock on her door, and she spun around, a small cry escaping her. When she saw no one standing behind her, it registered tha
t someone was waiting for her on the other side of the door. She pulled her robe closer around her body and rushed over, needing to see a familiar face to help her get away from her memories again.
She pulled open the door, spotting Mikale on the other side. Adira closed her eyes for a second, pleased for the reprieve from her solitude. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Queen Adira,” he replied, giving a bow. “Our spotters have brought back some news.”
Turning away from the door, Adira motioned for him to enter the room. She sat on the edge of the bed and folded her hands on her lap. “Now, what have they seen?”
He closed the door lightly behind him. “The Tordanian guards will be here in a few hours. Midday at the latest. Last night when we went to do our reconnaissance, we found them very close. ”
“And King Sipesh and the others?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“They were still staying back from the larger group, trying to hide in the trees, but they are just as close.”
Adira nodded and stood up again, her nerves making it difficult to remain still. She walked back to the window and looked at the street below. “All right. Make certain the larger group gets through without trouble. Whenever King Sipesh makes his appearance, I absolutely have to be present. Though I don’t want any of the Tordanians or Garhan harmed, I want Stepan and Mari dead. We will need archers over the border gate to kill them once they pass.”
Mikale nodded and took a step closer. “I still don’t understand why you called off our attack the other night. We could already be done with all of this and have eradicated both vampires. Now, you’re going to let them simply—”
She spun around, a frown deeply set. Her eyes reflected fear, however, not anger. “Don’t you dare question me, and don’t you forget what happened to Stepan after he did so! I have my reasons for changing my mind on how to handle the situation. Once they are out of Aleria, they cease to be my problem! But those two traitors, Mari and Stepan, they will absolutely pay for what has happened!”
Mikale fell silent, studying the older woman. While she’d always had an air of grace and class about her, it was gone. Her makeup and hair hadn’t been done for her since she’d left the palace, and the nightgown and robe she wore were wrinkled and hung about her lithe form with no regard to how they looked. Her hair was a tangled mess around her face, the length of it loose and scattered around her shoulders and torso. Instead of looking like the dignified Queen of Aleria, she looked like a worn-down, old woman.
Adira continued to frown as Mikale stood before her. There was something in the way he looked at her that she didn’t like. She turned away from him and pulled the robe tighter around her body again. “You are dismissed. Have someone retrieve me when the Tordanians are close.”
“Very well,” he replied quietly before slipping out.
Adira hung her head and looked down at the street. All she wanted was for the entire episode to be over and to go home. Hopefully, Athan wouldn’t feel the need to visit her again once her former captives were beyond her borders. She’d been humiliated enough with Victri’s defiance, and the escape the others had mounted. However, being ordered outright by the elder vampire had shaken her confidence on a level unfamiliar to her.
She watched the people below. Assorted citizens of the border town were going about their morning chores while delivery wagons passed by. Her attention moved off to the gate at the eastern edge of the town, not far from where she stood. The massive wooden doors had been opened already, the guards stationed there screening travelers.
Her eyes landed on a lone figure, waiting on his horse to get through the guards. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him at first, but something caught her eye.
The horse he sat upon was beautiful and obviously an expensive animal. The saddle’s silver hardware glinted in the overcast morning light, indicating that it, too, was pricy. However, the man’s clothes didn’t quite seem to fit right, and while they might have been of good quality when new, they were badly worn out and filthy.
Adira’s eyes narrowed and her face pressed against the glass as she continued to study him. She couldn’t help but think the horse he rode looked like one of Mari’s prized animals, and there was something familiar in the tattered clothes he wore.
She drew in a sharp gasp and immediately tried to open the window to call out to the gatekeepers, but it had been painted shut long before. Adira felt panic settling in, and she turned from the window and ran out of her room.
The guards in the hallway took chase, seeing that something was wrong. She refused to stop and address their questions, her bare feet slapping the wooden treads of the stairs as she raced toward the exit.
Stepan heard a commotion behind him, and he glanced back after handing the gate sentry his travel document. It took him a moment to realize the crazy old lady running toward him in her bedclothes was the queen.
Once he recognized her, he turned back to face the guard and offered up a shrug about the situation. “They start early here, do they?”
The guard didn’t recognize Adira either, and the fact she was being pursued by several guards made him laugh. “You know how the elderly get when they lose their minds.”
Stepan forced out a laugh, hoping his worry over the situation wasn’t going to cause him to start sweating or shaking as he waited for the guard to look over the document.
The guard didn’t look at the paper too closely, instead passing it back to Stepan as his attention was pulled by the screaming woman running toward them. “You’re fine, be on your way. I need to see what this is about.”
Stepan gave a grateful smile and plucked the document from the guard’s hand. He looked back again, his grin lingering as he signaled his horse forward, quickly passing under the gate and officially out of Aleria.
Adira reached the gate sentry and shrieked at the top of her lungs. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
The guard still had no idea who she was. He scanned her up and down, seeing her mud-caked feet and robe. “Ma’am, I’m sure there is someone very worried about where you’ve run off to.”
“What?” Her eyes went wide. “I’m Queen Adira! How dare you talk to me that way!”
The sentry began to laugh her off, but the guards who’d been following her immediately flanked Adira, silently signaling the sentry to stop. He felt the color drain from his face and he looked back, seeing Stepan now safely into Ibia and out of their legal reach.
“Kill him!” Adira pointed with a trembling hand toward Stepan as he rode further away.
“He’s beyond our border, there is nothing we can do,” one of the other gatekeepers replied.
“I said kill that man! I don’t care if he’s on that side of the fence, just do it!”
Her outburst had gotten the attention of the Ibianese guards on the other side of the fence. While they rarely acted, leaving most of the border crossing enforcement to the Alerians, they were not going to allow any Alerian incursion into their territory. They took up more defensive positions, ready to stop any Alerian guards who tried to move forward.
Adira’s wild eyes flicked between all of the men around her. The exertion from her run and her roiling emotions caused her cheeks to burn red. Her chest heaved as she panted for air between her curse-laden tirades.
The guards didn’t know what to do. While they all feared her wrath for not following her orders, they weren’t about to commit suicide by crossing the border into Ibia. While the Ibianese were incredibly tolerant of travelers flowing into and out of their nation, they were unwilling to allow foreign soldiers into their territory.
Adira’s temper tantrum raged, and she went over to a nearby vendor’s cart and scooped up several apples. She then ran back to the gate and started to hurl them toward Stepan, though he was well out of her range.
The former head of the Alerian palace guard simply turned in the saddle and smiled, lifting an arm and offering Adira a rude gesture. He laughed openly as she ra
n out of apples and then reached down for a clump of mud to hurl in his direction.
He passed over a small rise in the road, effectively putting him out of Adira’s line of sight.
The Alerian queen gave another scream into the morning air as Stepan vanished. She looked down at her hands, seeing them muddied and shaking. Something within her had snapped, and she found it hard to get back in control of her faculties.
People had gathered around after hearing her screams and witnessed the spectacle. They whispered amongst themselves, speculating whether or not it really was the queen or just a deranged woman.
The guards took notice of the amassing crowd, and Mikale stepped forward and put a hand on Adira’s shoulder, hoping to get her off of the street.
She turned sharply, throwing his hand off. “Don’t touch me!”
“Your Majesty,” he said, trying to keep his voice low, “I think it would be best to get you inside and cleaned up. It’s not good for your health to be out here like this.”
Adira had to fight the urge to strike Mikale, her vision blurring in her fury. As she looked around, however, she saw all the spectators, and her self-consciousness managed to crop back up through her anger.
Everyone stared at her in a way she was utterly unaccustomed to. Their whispering and mocking voices cut through the last of her rage, and she hastily moved to get off of the street and somewhere she could clean up and dress properly.
* * *
Keiran and the others had joined the larger group of Tordanians before the sun rose. Stepan had gotten anxious and left for the border much earlier than they’d originally planned, but none of them had been able to sleep. Afterward, the others had gone ahead and moved down to the group of guards along the road.
Once Mari explained to the man in charge that Keiran and his guards urgently needed to leave the country and cut their trip short, they’d folded into the group. The guard didn’t understand how Mari had caught up to his group yet again, but a few gold coins pressed into his hand by Keiran had stopped his questioning easily enough.
The Lost Duke Page 24
