Page 14 of Crown and Dragon

Tahlia smiled. “Tell him thank you.”

A human with tan cheeks and light green eyes—and of course, his irises were round—rode into the clearing on a russet-hued mare. The human had two more horses on leads trailing behind—one dun with a star on his nose and one as black as night.

“The power of the wicked is nothing to those with hearts of fire,” the contact said.

Marius lifted a hand in a wave. “Fire, we have.” He put his fist to his chest.

Tahlia’s stomach was absolutely stuffed with butterflies. Code phrases like that just made it all seem so real once again; she was a Mist Knight and she was on a mission. It was amazing!

The human dismounted. Tahlia could tell he was male from the set of his shoulders, but she wished he weren’t cloaked and hooded so she could study his looks more closely. He had a snub nose and a heavy jaw. He didn’t have the sheen to his flesh that those with Fae blood had, but other than that, he appeared pretty much the same. His movements were what gave him away as human. Though he was clearly experienced with horses—he dismounted easily and gathered the mounts like it was what he did every day of his life—his hands worked in a slower, less graceful manner. The strides he took to approach them, reins held loosely, were ungainly in a way a Fae would never appear.

Tahlia suddenly worried they wouldn’t be able to blend in for this mission. Their movements would give them away, surely.

The contact gestured toward the two horses he’d brought for them. “They’re good creatures. Biddable. Smart. Won’t startletoo easily. And they’re trained to return to our place when you release them. Please do so before you come out of the tree cover near Midhampton. I don’t want any would-be thieves trying their hand at stealing my horses.”

“Understood,” Marius said, approaching the black stallion. He picked a bit of clover from the ground and held it in his palm for the horse to lip up. “Has the festival plan changed at all?”

“Not as far as I know. Your in-town contact will know more. He has your guard uniforms.”

“Oh, we had thought…” Tahlia picked at her tunic.

The man shook his head. “No, you’ll have official uniforms.”

Oooh, maybe there would be a really obnoxious pattern at least. Tahlia grinned and Marius glared at her like she was due for a scolding.

“As for the parade,” the contact went on, oblivious to Tahlia and Marius’s silent discussion, “for now, it seems it will begin at Bodkin Bridge. It’ll be hard to miss. They always drape it in banners. On the far side. It will wrap in an easterly direction through the oldest parts, down near the docks, then curve back to the fortress, near the other side of Bodkin. There will be stages set up along the parade route and traffic will stop to allow for the customary dances and competitions.”

“What do those involve?”

“The dances are performed by anyone willing. Sometimes, an official or guild leader will push someone on stage. It’s tradition. The competitions are preplanned. Jugglers tossing tomatoes. Folks balancing on one another’s shoulders to build human towers. Comedic acts that the crowd votes on by cheering. That sort of nonsense.”

Marius gave the man a nod that said he liked how he didn’t approve of silly things like that. Tahlia bit her lip to keep from snickering. Grouchy old things, they both were.

“Meet your contact at the safe house. Dress the part. Uniforms are hidden in an armoire in the kitchen. Enter the parade. Blend in. Head to the fortress as soon as you’re able and we have a couple of inside folks there to help you out. Better you than me, I’ll tell you that. I don’t know how you’re going to find an invisible artifact.”

“We have our ways.” Marius led the stallion a few steps away and released his reins so he could nibble at the tall grass.

“I leave you to it, then.” The man handed the dun’s reins to Tahlia, then he mounted up. “Best of luck to you!” he called out as he rode away.

Tahlia watched him until he was out of sight.

“I’m trying not to be jealous of a human male.” Marius climbed onto his horse’s saddle.

“It’s only curiosity.”

“I understand.” The sides of his mouth lifted a fraction like he was trying to smile at her, but his eyes burned with worry or confusion—she wasn’t sure.

They rode into the woods. Soon, they’d be entering a human city. As they sped through the shadows of fat-trunked beech trees and around tangles of thorn bushes, Tahlia made herself breathe slowly in and out. Excitement and curiosity made it incredibly difficult to keep from asking the horses to gallop even faster than they already were.

Chapter 7

Tahlia

The city of Midhampton boasted a fine arched entryway flanked by two tower guard houses—more security than most Fae towns and cities, but not as many as the Mist Knights’ castle or Caer Du, the heart of the Fae realm. A long string of humans made their way under the archway, stopping now and then to answer the guards’ questions. A group of minstrels in silks carrying lutes, pipes, and drums were ushered through with a laugh from a heavily bearded guard. Carts holding everything from crates of chickens to trunks overflowing with textile goods rolled into the city, mules and horses tugging them along at the behest of merchants and their families. Conversation and giggling rose in the cool, briny air to mix with the squawk of sea birds.

The cobblestones beneath Tahlia’s boots weren’t made of the same sturdy rock as the roads in the Realm of Lights. This rock was sandy and gritty under her step. One would slide on this surface if one came to an abrupt stop. A good thing to remember if it came to fighting.

Marius’s warm presence at her back made Tahlia even bolder as their turn to answer the guards’ questions arrived.

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