Starbeam

by Adrienne Woods

  “Now that is a conversation for another time as you would think I’m barbaric.”

  I just stared at him. Why would I think he was barbaric? “So you have no idea what this girl looks like, do you?”

  “No, apart from her hair color and distinctive sad grey eyes, a lot like yours, I have no idea what she looks like.”

  “I wish now that I did have a sister.”

  He chuckled again and washed another plate.

  “How did you know she lived in Eikenborough?”

  “My dragon tracked her smell, only to come to realize that a grocer in Eikenborough was selling it to most of the women. So the smell alone wasn’t going to help.”

  “He hasn’t found her.”

  “Nope, she has a knack for hiding. To be honest I don’t know if she still lives in Eikenborough.”

  I nodded. “Your story is extremely complicated.”

  He laughed. “Tell me about it.”

  “You do know what happened to Eikenborough right?”

  He nodded and a sad smile lingered on his lips. “I can’t give up hope. She is great at escaping. I have to believe that she is one of the survivors.”

  “You know her name?”

  “Not even that.” He chuckled.

  “Then how are you going to find her.” I sounded frustrated which made him smile at me.

  “I won’t, I doubt Robert will either, but my soul will find her. I know it will.”

  His soul. It was so cheesy because I was right next to him and his soul was saying absolutely nothing.

  He kept on telling me about our night together. It was just as magical to him as it had been to me.

  The dishes were finally coming to an end when he asked me for a favor.

  “What?”

  “I want to see how good you are with that bow. Are you up for a challenge?”

  “You’re the crown prince of Paegeia. It’s my duty to lose.”

  He laughed. “I give you permission to not hold back.”

  I liked him more and more.

  “Well then be prepared for a royal buttkicking.”

  He roared again and we left to go back to the campsite.

  There were so many people here and I greeted everyone he introduced me too.

  Goran just smiled, “I knew he would convince you.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Already forgiven,” Goran said.

  “Okay, Andrew said he was up to a challenge. Anyone want to see if Gordy’s word is as good as his sight.”

  Everyone laughed. Goran included.

  He walked up to me and cocked his head to the side indicating that I should follow him.

  All the men, and some of the boys, followed us to another part of the forest.

  “Are you really as good as Albert with the bow?”

  “I guess we shall see.”

  “I’m Abe,” he held out his hand and I really started to miss Sammy.

  “Andrew.” I shook his hand like a man’s.

  I looked up and laughed just as a woman with blonde hair and green eyes passed us.

  Her entire body went rigid and she hissed in my face.

  My eyes followed her walking in the opposite direction. She looked at me for a few moments and then flung her head back as a few men greeted her but she didn’t acknowledge any of them.

  “Don’t mind her. She is like that with everyone.” Al said.

  “She’s not very friendly, is she.”

  Albert smiled. “Her name is Tanya. She is giving her human form a chance, but she is more comfortable in her other form than that one.”

  “She’s a dragon.”

  “Yes, all the pretty ones are.”

  I got what he was saying. Tony was handsome for his age too.

  “So that is their tell.”

  “If you are clever, yes. The Chromatics are easier. Most of them have red hair or blue hair. Green eyes or bright blue ones. They have to find ways to hide it and as you can imagine that’s not easy.”

  I looked at Al. “You a dragon too?”

  Everyone closeby laughed.

  “He wishes.” Helmut yelled from a few paces behind us.

  “No, but Helmut is right, I wish.”

  “I think I get why you are trying to free them.”

  “You learn fast.”

  We stopped at a clearing, but not really a clearing either since the top was protected by tree tops.

  “How did you…” I looked at the top.

  “Dragon magic.” Al said.

  I knew dragon magic well. My kernels were filled with it.

  I stopped next to Al. He picked up a bow that was leaning against a tree.

  I looked around.

  “Where is the target?”

  He pulled me in front of him and pointed to a small dot far away in the distance.

  “Al, that is more than four hundred yards.”

  “Four fifty to be honest. Let’s see how good you are.” He smiled which made my stomach flip.

  “So you can hit that?”

  “Not so far. But I’m always pushing myself.”

  I swallowed hard. He is trying to push for four hundred and fifty yards.

  He went first. My pulse increased again.

  He was so handsome and everything a girl could ask for.

  His arrow sang as he let it go. It was a familiar sound too, as I had heard it last night when Maze was shot.

  It was my turn and I put Albert’s bow down and took my own bow.

  “What my bow not good enough?”

  “First rule, never lend someone money, your wife or your bow.” I joked and everyone laughed.

  I took an arrow. It was a flight arrow and the distance these babies could go was only 400 yards.

  I gnawed off one of the feathers at the back as I felt Albert’s eyes on me, and licked the rest before I put it into my bow.

  I drew as hard as I could on the string and concentrated hard on that dot.

  It was never going to go the distance but I let go and it sang into the darkness.

  My father would be so proud if he could hear the sound my arrow made.

  It took a while to walk to the target and we found Albert’s arrow ten feet in front of the tree. He can shoot four hundred and forty feet, but we couldn’t find my arrow.

  “Maybe yours disintegrated.” Albert joked and everyone laughed.

  “Or hit a tree a few yards back, we just didn’t see it.”

  “We will look in the morning.” Everyone cheered at their prince. He would hit that target soon, I knew he would.

  We all said goodnight after I was shown the campsite.

  I had to share with Goran which wasn’t a bad idea. He knew Kate.

  “I’m sorry for this arrangement,” he looked around.

  “I’m not. At least I know you will wake me up if I’m the other me.”

  “Are you sure about that? You are a lot prettier on the eyes than this sturdy bastard.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Was that flirting? Be careful Gordy, they might think you are exceptionally different,” I said softly. He laughed hard.

  “So,” Goran asked as we climbed into our bed rolls. “Not what you thought it was.”

  “Not at all. Al is something different. The way he sees things.”

  “Is special. He is one of my best friends, apart from my brother.”

  Silence crept between us.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”

  “It’s okay. We all tell white lies sometimes, Goran.”

  “No this was a big one.”

  “Mine is bigger. Does he know?”

  “No, I promised you I wouldn’t tell another soul. I meant it Kate.” He whispered and my lips curved.

  “Goodnight.”

  “Night,” I said and turned around to get some shut-eye.

  Albert didn’t fight with the rebellion, he was their leader.

  * * *

  ALBERT

 
; The next morning I went to search for Andrew’s arrow. The morning air of the forest was great to wake you up and for your lungs.

  The hunting party had already dissipated earlier today. But I was on the lookout for anything wild close to the camp. The number of mouths we needed to feed was always a worry, but Emanual was also helping out a lot, making sure that if there were no wild animals, that at least there would be fish for supper. He was an exceptional fisherman.

  We had saved his life a few years earlier and when we started getting the rebels rounded up, he was eager to help the cause.

  I looked closely at every tree I passed for Andrew’s arrow. It sang when he released it, meaning that the aim was straight.

  The arrow was simply nowhere.

  I reached a target tree and I glimpsed a shaving right next to it.

  My fingers touched it softly.

  No way.

  I looked past the target tree and saw his arrow stuck in the grass.

  I paced the distance from the target tree to the arrow.

  Then I picked it up from the ground, placed it in my sheath and started to laugh.

  He really was a remarkable archer and the best in Paegeia.

  I turned around and went back to the camp.

  On my way, I caught a glimpse of a deer and hunted it down.

  It would feed the camp for at least a few days.

  I carried it over my shoulders and gave it to the group that prepared the meat.

  The hunting party hadn’t come back yet.

  Goran also had to prepare to go back.

  He regularly brings a person or two that he thinks could further our cause.

  Andrew was sitting at the morning fire talking to the men.

  I threw his arrow at his feet.

  “So it didn’t disintegrate?” he smiled.

  “Nope, it was behind the tree that held the target.”

  He’s eyes shot toward mine. “What?”

  “You beat my royal ass, Andrew and you are by far the farthest shooter in Paegeia. We should work on your aim though.”

  Everyone laughed.

  We all had breakfast together with the children. I looked at Andrew as he played with some of the kids. He was great with them.

  “He has a good heart Albert,” Issy smiled. “But there is just something about him that I cannot put my finger on.”

  I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. It’s like he’s hiding something. Call it dragon’s intuition,” she said.

  Gordon didn’t get that feeling at all. He would’ve told me if he wasn’t right for the cause.

  I looked at him again.

  “Maybe I’m just nervous that the wrong person is going to find the camp and disappoint you again.”

  “I’ll be careful, promise.” I smiled and carried on eating my food.

  I didn’t like what Issy had said. Whenever she got a funny feeling, the dragons usually turned out to be a menace, and we struggled to keep them in order. I did not get that from Andrew at all.

  We both looked at him as he dramatically pretended that Abe was piercing him with his toy sword.

  All the kids playing with him laughed as he fell down and jumped on him.

  Issy and I both laughed.

  “Okay you guys, give Andrew some air to breathe.” I got up.

  “I’m supposed to be dead.” He said with one eye open and caught Abe, who was close by, and tickled him like crazy.

  He pretended to eat him and then told him to play dead and then looked at the others with a wild face. “Who is my next meal.” He growled and they all scattered away with shrieks.

  He was just a kid still in so many ways.

  I shook my head at Issy. There was no way he would betray our cause. He simply just loved kids way too much, like me.

  A funny feeling started in my stomach. It had to be admiration for the guy as there was no way that I could fall in love with him. No, it was admiration.

  The fact that he had my lady’s eyes was playing games on my mind. It had to be admiration.

  I focussed on something else.

  But the way the kids laughed and the way Andrew played with them was hard not to watch.

  I couldn’t be here.

  I got up and left. I had to clear my mind. I could not fall for this guy. That wasn’t who I was and my father would never ever accept it, not to mention the people of Paegeia.

  “Hey, you okay Al?” Andrew asked and I nodded as I walked deeper into the forest.

  What on earth was happening? This was exactly how I felt with my lady that night.

  This boy was awakening feelings in me that shouldn’t be awoken. Feelings that didn’t fit with me.

  They were foreign.

  I was glad that Andrew didn’t follow. I needed Constance to set my emotions straight.

  This was what war does to a man, or it was the stories that I heard that soldiers shared when father thought I was asleep.

  I needed a woman, and fast.

  Chapter 16

  KATIE

  “So when are you coming back.”

  Goran laughed. “You will be fine here. Just eat your kernels on time and you won’t have anything to worry about.”

  “I know I’ll be fine, but will you be? I mean what do you tell the other side when you have been here?”

  “I give them the locations that Albert tells me to give them. He always makes sure that it’s a location that got ransacked by the rebellion.”

  “You guys have really thought this one out.”

  “War takes years to prepare, Andrew.”

  I watched Goran jump on one of the wagons and then he waved at me as the carriage left.

  He really had become such a great friend over the years, and when he discovered who I truly was, an even better one. I went back to the campsite and started with my daily duties. It was usually target practice from nine in the morning, right after breakfast to midday, and then in the afternoon, I helped the hunting party search for any animals nearby. At night we helped the women with whatever they needed.

  Tanya was also keeping a close eye on me. She was making me nervous.

  It was as if she could see straight through my appearance, seeing the woman lingering beneath the man.

  I didn’t like it very much. If she was going to reveal my secret, Al would never let me fight.

  But she kept her distance.

  The morning after Goran left, Al gave me another permanent duty, to be part of the hunters that went out every morning early. Making jerky from the meat of the small rodents that I caught became another duty. The men were crazy about my dry meats.

  I worried about Maze.

  “I have some herbs if you want.” Issy said.

  I looked at her. “Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Constance the Swallow Annex?”

  She laughed. “Yes, they have, because they would be stupid not to. I’m her twin.”

  I froze. “You are a dragon.”

  “Guilty. I stay here, I’m not as adventurous as my sister. I only go with her when the king orders it.”

  “How do you know when he needs you.”

  “Easy, Zeba.”

  “So the fox isn’t the king’s?”

  “No, she hates the king in fact, but she loves Al. So when will this batch be ready.” I hung the pieces right up in a tree and covered them with branches so that wild animals couldn’t get to it.

  “A fortnight or so.”

  “You sure are a wild man Andrew.”

  I laughed. “I am afraid that I won’t be able to fit in society again after this.”

  “Oh, you would be surprised how one easily adapts, but you will meet great friends here, Andrew. Friends that would give their life for you if you treat them right.”

  There was a warning in her tone, like she knew I was hiding something. I nodded.

  Caleb, the prince of Areeth was in charge of the hunters.

  He wasn’t really eye catchi
ng but he had a great personality. Took great care of the men beneath him and I started to realize just what a crappy judge I had been when it came to the princes of Paegeia.

  They would definitely rule Paegeia differently than their fathers.

  They faked their own deaths to start a war.

  A war that will stop the black market and keep the Chromatic children safe.

  They all had great hearts.

  I went to the stream below after the hunting trip to wash up.

  I was a better man than a woman and wished that I was Andrew instead of Katherine Squires.

  I wished that I had heard word of my family. Not that I had hope that there was any good news. Knowing would be better than not knowing.

  The water in the small river behind the log house was cold. But it did the trick and afterward, I lay in the sun.

  Yep, I was more relaxed as a man than I was as woman. I should’ve been a boy.

  I closed my eyes as the morning sun baked my skin dry and then all of a sudden, the sun disappeared.

  When I opened my eyes, a woman’s face hovered over mine.

  It was Tanya.

  I got up as she jumped out of the way.

  “What is your problem? Why are you following me?” I was defensive.

  She sniffed the air. “What are you hiding?” Her accent was different. Heavily accented like she came from a different part of the world and not just Paegeia.

  I huffed. “I knew you could speak English.” I said and her eyes grew bigger.

  I ignored her comment and walked past her, but she pushed me hard against a tree.

  She was strong.

  She sniffed again. “What are you?” She asked softer this time. Her eyes filled with alarm.

  Could she smell magic? Did it even have a scent. Shit, I should’ve asked Tony that.

  “I’m not hiding anything.” I tried to make my tone stern, but I failed.

  To be honest, knowing that humans could tame dragons, scared the living crap out of me. It wasn’t for me.

  She pushed me harder against the tree and grabbed my crotch.

  “What are you doing.” I tried to push her away.

  She huffed. “No man would be able to resist my touch. You are still limp just like a few seconds ago.” Her eyes found mine as she tried to rile me up.

  “You are crazy,” I yelled and pushed her away as I stormed back with huge strides to the camp.