Page 4 of Oath of Rebellion

He couldn't share their plans with her, not when she worked for the king who kept threatening the forest.

Not that he didn't trust her. He absolutely did. She was the only sister he'd ever had. Many just assumed that because they both had the same sun-weathered complexion with a shit load of freckles that they were true brother and sister, but they were wrong.

No, only three people knew he'd been a giant egg that sat on Olive's mantle for her entire life until he'd hatched thirty years ago. He'd learned so much from Scarlet's ranger father. He'd died in the war, but Knox felt he owed the man. He would protect Scarlet.

And the less she knew of the Robin's work, the safer she'd be.










Chapter 2

EIRWYN LAID ON THE top of the carriage with her hands behind her head. "That one looks like a butter churn. Do you see it?"

"No, I don't. I told you I'm not playing this time, and if you don't get back in this carriage this instant, I'm going to–"

Eirwyn snorted. "Do what? Tell Gastone? I thought we were beyond this, Helga. You promised."

Helga banged on the roof. "And so did you, but you forgot, didn't you? Again. So I'll bloody tell him if I think I should."

Eirwyn laughed. "We've been in the forest for hours, and nothing has happened. We paid the toll for safe passage, so we'll be fine. Did you really expect me to stay cooped up in that bloody carriage the entire drive?"

"Don't say bloody. You're a princess."

Eirwyn laughed again, weaving shadows and light around her hands and playing with them. With one hand, she formed a tiny point of light on her palm. It bounced off her palm and formed a projection of a tiny knight on her lap. He held out a hand, and she created a dancing princess, spinning circles around the knight with soft pastel colors swirling.

"Helga, dear, you're the one who says bloody way more than I, or haven't you noticed? Should I tell Gastone where I learned to curse?"

Her nanny turned traveling companion and maid banged on the roof of the carriage before leaning her head back out the window. "I'll just point out all your tavern visits and tell him you picked it up there. Now get back in here. It's not safe out. Haven't you heard the stories?"

Eirwyn nodded absently, her mind flitting to the stories of the Feral Forest. She slowly stood, widening her stance on the roof and spreading her hands wide. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, listening to the birds chattering and feeling her magic flare.

The wind swirled around her, and she smiled. It was almost like she was flying. This was something she did all the time at the top of the castle, imagining herself flying with the goddess Eirasil whom they had named her after. Enjoying the wind through her hair, the rush of excitement from having nothing beneath her, the fear of falling.

The way the carriage moved... it added a whole new, more exciting layer to her daydream.

She opened her eyes, her head still back so she could see the faint light filtering through the trees. There was something about the forest that called to her on a primal level.

The carriage hit a rock, and she stumbled, sitting hard on one of their trunks strapped to the back half of the roof. She sighed and leaned back on her hands, her bodice stretching tight over her breasts.