by Nira Steele
They seemed to be coming from Darius.
“Are you okay?” she called out over the wind.
Then she remembered - they were being watched. Twisting her head she scoured the landscape for any signs of Lord Laurentius. Andie wasn’t sure what she should be looking for, perhaps a blue clad figure standing atop a mountain? That made no sense though as she was far more likely to see something much bigger.
Or absolutely nothing if she really thought about it. Darius was a completely different matter - he was grumbling and twitching like an enormous agitated bird.
“Let’s head back,” she yelled out.
Darius responded immediately with a deep grunt. Banking slowly he turned in a long sweeping curve. Then Andie felt it, a strange pressure like a gust coming in from the side.
The saddle began vibrating like an earthquake beneath her. Andie grimaced as she continued scanning the sky.
Fortunately they were back at the cliffs in under a minute. Entering the thermals they then began making their ascent to the top. Andie closed her eyes with a little wince as she felt the nausea swell in her stomach. Pressing her midriff with trembling fingers she then involuntarily released a very loud belch.
A gurgling sound rumbled through air.
“Oh shut up you jerk! This is all your stupid fault!” she barked at Darius.
Looking up she waited for the tingling as they passed through the shields. Eventually she felt it just as the sparkling rim of the platform blinked into view. Releasing her breath she instantly dropped her head, knowing within seconds she would be back on solid ground.
Tessa and Marcellus had waited for Andie, standing like a pair of sentinels in front of the cave. Darius spotted them immediately and landed barely ten paces from their feet. Flaring his wings perfectly, he touched down lightly upon the platform.
Andie closed her eyes and sighed.
“Good boy,” she breathed heavily as she leaned forward to pat a large scale. Darius lowered himself onto the tiles, obviously aware of her condition.
Slumping over in the saddle Andie heard the clatter of footsteps ringing out around her.
“Lovely landing!” Tessa enthused as she reached up for one of her hands. “Let’s get you down quick smart before you pass out.”
Snapping her eyes open Andie smiled weakly.
“I couldn’t agree more,” she murmured thickly. Unlocking her feet from the stirrups she then reached up to unfasten her goggles. Her hands were still too shaky though and her fingers could not manage to grasp onto them. She watched them vaguely as they fell to the ground.
“Oh shit,” Andie muttered irritably. Then she gasped loudly as she felt something sliding underneath one arm.
“Come on, ye look as grey as a cloud,” Marcellus declared. Andie realised what he was doing and turned sideways to face him. He hefted her up underneath both armpits and carefully deposited her onto the tiles.
“Thank you,” Andie murmured as she grabbed one of his arms. Completely embarrassed by her condition, she would have blushed furiously if she wasn’t preoccupied by her nausea.
“What’s wrong lass? Did ye eat too much lunch?” Marcellus asked.
“More like drink,” Tessa muttered.
Then they both turned their heads in unison. Bowing deeply the two Draconarid shuffled away from Andie. She immediately released Marcellus’s arm and quickly dropped her chin. Hopefully Lord Laurentius was satisfied with her -
All of a sudden everything went blurry. Her head started swimming as her knees buckled….
Blinking rapidly Andie felt a sharp stab of pain coming from her backside. Looking around she then realised she was now on the ground. How did she end up down here? It had absolutely nothing to do with her nausea.
Then she noticed Tessa’s little form just in front of her. She was kneeling on the ground right between Andie and Laurentius.
“Your Lordship, I must beg you not to do that,” Tessa asked smoothly. Her request was met with complete silence. Tilting her head the little Draconarid looked up into Laurentius’s face. “Your scrutiny is placing great stress on her. Surely you must see this.”
Andie gaped up in horror as he furrowed his perfect pale brows at Tessa.
“Have I not made you responsible for managing such things?” he responded in his smooth deep voice.
“I cannot prevent her from being terrified by you,” Tessa stated simply.
“I see.”
They continued to meet each other’s stares. Barely able to breathe Andie watched on as the tense scene unfolded before her. Her eyes fell back to her friend who stayed kneeling on the ground.
Then Andie noticed something quivering next to Tessa’s foot. It was her hand, her delicate little fingers splayed out and twitching over the tiles. For some reason she could not seem to move them, as if somehow they were being held in place. There was a glint from something metallic - a short handle sticking out from the back of Tessa’s boot.
In an instant Andie reacted.
Something rose within her - a sensation - like burning only there wasn’t any heat to it. Every nerve in her body came alive with an intense seething energy. The effect was so overpowering it eclipsed everything else she was feeling.
Sitting forward her eyes flicked up to Laurentius as her mind focussed onto one thought. If he harmed as much as a hair on Tessa’s head….
Andie was going to kill him.
Lord Laurentius looked up, his eyes meeting Andie’s as she fixated onto him.
There was no fear in her now, no doubt or concern for what might happen next. All she could feel was the desire to protect her friend at any cost. The air around her began vibrating as Darius emitted a deep rumbling sound.
Then Tessa spoke up. Instantly Laurentius’s attention was diverted back to her.
“I beg you to give her some space my Lord,” she growled with barely contained anger. “It is plain to see she cannot endure your attention any longer.”
He tilted his head ever so slightly, seeming to assess her words.
“Very well, Tessarina. I will leave you all in peace for now. In three days’ hence I shall return for another review. During this time she will become your sole responsibility. Do you choose to accept this?”
Dropping her shoulders Tessa released a tiny sigh. Then she leaned forward and bowed her head right down to the ground.
“I do my Lord. I swear on my life I shall not let you down.”
“Indeed.” Then he vanished.
A collective sigh was exhaled by all. Marcellus started to chuckle, the nervous relief clear in his voice.
“By the gods Tessa! Ye really do have a huge pair of balls!”
Lurching heavily to her feet, the little blonde groaned like she had just run a marathon.
“I had to do something,” she breathed.
Andie looked on with her mouth hanging open. Her rage seemed to have passed now, evaporating just as quickly as Laurentius had. She could barely believe she had just behaved so aggressively towards him.
However she did know something significant had just happened. Her new found-friend, someone she had only known for a handful of days had just made a deadly promise.
“I’m so hopeless,” Andie mumbled under her breath.
“Nonsense!” Tessa snapped as her face pinched into a frown. “Do you think you’re the only one he scares? When he appeared out of nowhere I almost soiled my leathers.”
“I couldn’t sense him either lass,” Marcellus admitted. “’Tis not right, we’re both damn trackers for heaven’s sake. Honestly he frightens the shite out of me.”
Andie stared up at them, completely stunned by their frank admissions. Then she felt something pushing her from behind - it was warm and solid with a faint spicy scent. Glancing back over her shoulder she found a huge scaly muzzle bumping into her. Chuckling weakly she lifted one hand and grabbed onto Darius’s snout.
“Does he scare you too?” Andie asked him. A short sharp huff indicated he probably d
idn’t. Sharing a little laugh they all looked at each other as the relief sunk in.
Today they had managed to survive the scrutiny of Lord Laurentius. For now everyone was safe but only time would tell if they remained this way.
Chapter 9 - Revelations
After the event on the platform everyone decided to take a break.
“I’m heading off,” Marcellus declared as he moved up next to Darius. Roughly patting his armoured hide, the stocky Draconarid regarded the saddle with a weary smile. “Come on big fella, let’s get this off ye quick smart.”
Darius behaved for once and allowed him to remove it easily. Once it was placed upon its wooden stand Marcellus bid the girls a farewell. Waving one hand he plodded away across the platform.
Standing at the cave’s entrance Tessa waved back with a weary smile. When he was gone she closed her eyes and leaned against the rough stonework of the archway.
Andie slumped next to her as Darius thundered across the platform nearby. Wincing from the vibrations she could feel the first pangs of a looming headache. Shutting her eyes she was just relieved they had survived their ordeal today.
All around them the shaking continued.
“Hey,” Tessa whispered as she began tugging on Andie’s sleeve. They both turned to see Darius standing at the edge of the platform… then he jumped off.
“Don’t go!” Andie wailed out, lunging forward as he disappeared from view. Tessa moved instantly to grab her arm and barely prevented her from toppling over.
“It’s okay!” Tessa gasped. “He just didn’t get enough air time today.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Andie breathed.
“You are aware he goes flying on his own all the time?”
“Of course he would,” Andie murmured in response.
“Let’s go home. I think we could both do with some rest,” Tessa recommended.
Andie staggered off to retrieve her cloak before they left for the day. Initially they walked at a leisurely pace as they were both too tired to move any faster. However something wasn’t quite right - there seemed to be a lot of people on the upper levels. It was strange as Andie usually did not have many encounters up here.
Tightening her lips Tessa began frowning as she suddenly increased her speed. Andie followed her lead, beginning to stride as they made their way through the covered walkways. Reaching the corridors they continued to race to the point where they were almost jogging.
By the time they reached Tessa’s house they were nearly stumbling from fatigue. The little Draconarid stood there twitching as she slapped a hand against the door’s activation stone.
“Come on,” Tessa muttered irritably. “I swear this thing gets slower by the day.”
Finally the door slid open and they both lunged inside. Releasing a sigh Andie looked back and watched as the large panel slid closed behind them.
Instantly she felt much better. Beginning to smile she turned to examine her little friend. Tessa seemed exhausted, her eyes half closed as they wandered around the living area. Then she immediately perked up and smiled back when she noticed Andie’s gaze.
It was hard not to admire her. The courage, the determination… she really was an amazing person. Andie began grinning as a sudden impulse overtook her. Stepping sideways she quickly grabbed her diminutive friend from behind.
“Thank you, thank you so much,” Andie breathed as she squeezed her tight.
“Ugh, okay?” Tessa squeaked out. Her entire body had gone rigid as her eyes bulged out.
Chuckling softly Andie continued holding onto her for a few more seconds. Once she was satisfied she then released her little friend.
“You literally saved my life today,” she declared.
“It was nothing,” Tessa murmured. Turning a delicate shade of pink she quickly dropped her head. “I was just performing my duties as your assigned protector.”
“Well you did a frigging amazing job of it and you literally just risked your -”
“Okay, okay,” Tessa interjected as she raised both hands palms forward. “I’m just glad it bought you some more time here. I don’t think that big stupid lump would still be around without you.”
“Me neither,” Andie remarked with a smirk. “You did a huge favour for us both today.”
“I need to take a bath as I reek of tension and fear,” Tessa muttered. “You should go and rest until you sober up a bit.”
“Oh that’s already happening,” Andie admitted with a slight eye roll. Watching Tessa shuffling off, she then remembered something important. “Wait for a second, there’s something I really must ask you.”
Tessa turned back slowly towards her.
“What did Laurentius do to me back there? I mean the part where I fell over,” Andie enquired quietly.
“I think he tried to enter your mind,” Tessa responded in a level voice. “Your brain didn’t like the intrusion so you briefly passed out on the spot.”
Stepping forwards Andie enquired carefully, “Is that why you reached for your dagger?”
“So you saw me,” Tessa murmured. “I can’t explain it but I just flew into a rage. I mean, I know I have a temper but I quite literally wanted to….”
“Kill Laurentius?” Andie asked. “Because I felt exactly the same thing.”
“Really?”
“If I’d been carrying a dagger I would have reached for it too,” Andie confessed.
“Another test,” Tessa said quietly. Raising her head she looked straight into Andie’s eyes. “For some reason Laurentius really wants to push us.”
“Yeah,” Andie breathed.
Shaking her head Tessa turned and trundled off towards the bathing room. Rubbing her chin Andie wondered why Laurentius would want to do that to her. Testing Andie was understandable but now he was examining Tessa too?
Wandering off into the kitchen Andie found the largest glass she possibly could. Filling it up with water, she then proceeded to guzzle most of its contents. Making her way into the lounge area she sat down slowly in her favourite chair. Wincing slightly as she made contact, she could feel the spot where she had hit the tiles.
Sobriety was definitely finding her now, accompanied by a dull headache. Well she deserved to be suffering as Tessa had paid a high price for her today. If Andie messed up from now on her little friend would be blamed for her misdemeanours.
She was feelings the pangs of remorse again, the cheap regrets for her poor behaviour. The needless swearing, the excessive drinking… she really was becoming ashamed of herself.
Andie was coming to realise just how loyal Tessa was. This wasn’t just some act or merely the symptom of being bored. It was part of a set of very strongly held beliefs. If there was anyone who deserved her faith now it was Tessa.
And her honesty.
She already knew how important it was to keep Darius in Lunaris. If she failed to achieve this then all her efforts were in vain. Not just hers but everyone supporting her. People like Tessa who were prepared to risk everything to help her.
His secret loomed over her, adding to an already stressful situation. Pondering quietly, Andie weighed up the risks of revealing his identity. If he suddenly took off without a word then she would have to confess who he was. She would pay dearly for her concealment and by proxy so would Tessa.
After a while she found herself coming to a difficult conclusion.
Eventually Tessa finished her bathing and re-joined Andie in the living area. Sauntering smoothly into the lounge room she then stretched herself out languidly along the adjacent chaise. Now dressed in a long cream gown she seemed completely relaxed and refreshed. In her hands sat a freshly brewed tea which she sipped very carefully with her delicate lips.
Andie knew his wasn’t going to go down well. Steeling herself, she sat up straight and tried to choose her words carefully.
“I have something to share with you,” she spoke levelly. “I can’t put this nicely so I’ll just come out with it. Two days ago grumpy face transforme
d in front of me.”
“What?” Tessa blared as her mouth fell open. Letting her cup slip forwards she sent half its contents across the lounge room floor. “When did this happen?” she snapped.
“The day before Laurentius went for a ride with me,” Andie responded meekly.
“So you didn’t go to your aunt’s then?”
“Oh yes, but he took me to his hidden cave on the way back.”
Tessa just sat there looking like a stunned fish. Wincing fiercely Andie felt like burying her head under a cushion.
“I wanted to tell you,” she muttered. “I’m so sorry but he swore me to secrecy.” Then she paused, frowning deeply as she thought about it for a moment. “No, that isn’t the reason. I was just scared he would leave if I told you.”
“So who is he exactly?” Tessa murmured as she leaned forward to place her cup on the low slung central table.
“His name is Darius. He’s a member of the royal House of Solista.”
“He can’t be,” Tessa muttered with a frown.
“Apparently he wasn’t there when his House was attacked,” Andie explained. “He was out on a hunting trip and didn’t even….”
Andie stopped talking when she realised how Tessa was reacting. The little blonde had gone rigid as her eyes grew even bigger. Then she gasped loudly, jumping to her feet before turning to march towards the front door. Stopping at the threshold she started wringing her hands as she spun back to look at Andie. Muttering to herself, she then began pacing back and forth through the living area.
“Watch out for the tea! You’re walking right through it,” Andie spluttered as Tessa passed through the lounge area. Dashing off into the kitchen Andie found a small tea towel on a silver hanger. Snatching it up, she then scurried back and dropped to her knees to mop up the mess.
Tessa marched around her like a robotic toy.
“I’m really sorry,” Andie mumbled as she wiped the floor with frantic strokes. “I should have told you straight away. I really am….” Releasing the towel she pressed her hands to her face.
“Hey,” Tessa breathed. She had stopped right in front of Andie, leaning forward to lightly touch her head. “This isn’t your fault you know.”
