Page 3 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
While her partner gave the serving girl coin for our meal, I offered Mev a smile. The Aetherian princess was as kind as she was fearless. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Kael. He may be fearless, but “kind” wasn’t the first word that came to mind to describe the Gyorian warrior. He might have sworn allegiance to Mev’s father, pitting him directly against his own, but the man glowered more often than not.
I stood as Kael and Mev did the same.
“We will need to find you mounts,” I said, spotting the very person who might secure them for us. Kael followed my gaze and groaned.
“What?” Mev asked.
“Rhett Damaris is a known human smuggler, even in Gyoria. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised Marek knows him.”
“I’ll choose not to take offense to that,” I said, making my way to Rhett. He owed me a favor. A big one. And it was time for him to pay up.
“Too bad,” Kael called. “Since I meant it as that.”
Thankfully, my back was turned so Kael couldn’t see me smiling. He was growing on me, but even so, I would be depositing King Balthor’s son in Aetheria before making my way to the Maelstrom Depths. The question now was, would I be heading there alone? Or would Lady Isolde be accompanying me? And more importantly, could I survive another encounter with her? Because the first one had nearly brought me to my knees.
2
ISSA
Hawthorne Manor, Border of Estmere and Gyoria
“Fall back.”
The order came from my commander, one I trusted with my life. But that didn’t mean I always listened to him. As Lady of Hawthorne Manor, the welfare of its people was my responsibility. I would not surrender these animals to our enemy when they were relied on by the farmer who owned them.
“Lady Isolde.”
Pretending not to hear him, I continued to pursue the reivers, spurring my mount forward. The Gyorian raiders were headed for the trees, dangerously close to the border. I knew that was the reason my commander attempted to pull us back. But if they did make it to the border, I was prepared to deal with the consequences. It was the largest herd of sheep they’d stolen yet and one I refused to allow.
Mindful these reivers were Gyorian and could manipulate the land and eliminate us easily, if they so chose, I relied on my knowledge of the terrain to anticipate their movements. Their most likely path was a choke point, a narrow path by the stream where they could herd the sheep through.
“We need a diversion,” I yelled to Warren, who rode beside me. He wasn’t thrilled with me, but I could deal with my commander later.
As he called for two guards to loop around and draw the reivers’ attention, the remainder of our party rode into the trees. “We need to block the path at the stream,” I yelled.
Unfortunately, as the reivers became aware of our advantage, tree roots suddenly snaked across our path. Navigating through them and an innocuous rockfall that proved the reivers meant to intimidate rather than harm us, we stayed the course.
Thankfully, the diversion worked. As the reivers hesitated, we seized the opportunity to block the narrow path at the stream. The Gyorians, realizing they had lost the advantage and the herd, retreated. Regrettably, I couldn’t do the same. Warren wasn’t pleased. I rode ahead as he gave a command for the others to herd the sheep back where they belonged.
“They could have killed you. Easily,” he said, catching up to me.
“True enough,” I admitted. “But they wouldn’t risk King Balthor’s ire in doing so.”
I could sense by Warren’s expression he didn’t agree. “Balthor would not mourn the loss of a few humans.”
I pointed to the roots we circumnavigated. “Those men have little regard for law, or Elydor. Balthor hates us, but he has a deep respect for Terranor.”
Their god, like all others in Elydor, demanded one thing above all. Balance. Creating, without taking away, was strictly forbidden.
“Perhaps they will return to right the land they’ve disturbed.”
I laughed, earning a smile from my stern commander.
“Or perhaps not,” he admitted. “Even so, I’d not see you come to harm and would have been pleased?—”
“If I remained at the keep,” I finished for him.
He smartly remained silent, for that was the truth of it. Despite the fact that my father trained me himself like the son he never had, Warren disliked whenever I used that training. It was an argument we’d had so many times, I tired of attempting to dissuade him. Instead, I let him believe what he would about my role as Lady of Hawthorne and continued to think and act according to the values my parents taught me. And if that got me killed one day?
