Page 62 of If The Crown Fits
“It’s their decision to fight a war you and I both know they will not win. I cannot change their minds. It’s their right to fight. They’re braver than I will ever be.”
We stepped out on the other side of the stream. “How much further?” I asked.
“Our clan lives deep within the forest. We still have some distance to cover.”
“I suppose we should be lucky Everness is a fairly small country.” Or this trip might have been impossible.
“If we can find some horses, then we’ll make it there faster.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t see any wild horses nearby just waiting to be ridden.”
“Fool,” she muttered, but I heard her clear enough.
“Excuse me?”
“We won’t be taming any horses. We’re going to steal them,” she stated as a matter of fact and smirked, awaiting my reply. This was a way for her to test me. She would expect me to protest, judge or offer some form of disagreement. I wasn’t very keen on stealing anyone’s horses, but I doubted I would make it another hour if I had to walk.
“Very well,” I said, and she eyed me thoughtfully for a moment.
We proceeded through the woods with the low light of a nearby village glowing in the distance. It wasn’t long before we reached a campfire of what appeared to be sleeping merchants, no doubt stopping on the outskirts of the village — too small for an inn — on their way to trade.
Lara untied one of the horses before pulling herself up. As quietly as I could manage, I took the reins of the horse closest to me and untied the knot before mounting. Every part of me screamed in pain.
We quietly walked the horses away until we were at a safe distance. The men had been using their saddles as pillows, so I had to make an extra effort to stay on as we galloped away bareback. I wanted nothing more than for this to be over and all I could think about was the fact that my men were still back there and that I hadn’t saved them.
We rode for a long time before Lara suddenly slowed her horse to a walking pace. “We’re not too far now. Only a little while to go.” I wasn’t sure if she was saying this more to me or to herself. I heard something snap in the trees above and suddenly a body landed in front of us. Lara’s horse spooked but she didn’t seem to care.
“Ray, what are you doing here?”
“I was on night patrol,” the young man replied, and something about his voice was eerily familiar. “The better question is, what are you doing here?” He pulled his hood away from his face and I immediately recognised him as one of the bandits who had attacked us near the Duke of Darwick’s estate.
“You!” I said before I could stop myself and Ray’s eyes flew to me before going back to Lara.
“What is he doing here?” he asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“You know this man?” I looked at Lara questioningly.
“Cai, this is Ray, my oldest friend, and, Ray, this is His Royal Highness, Prince Cai of Norrandale.”
“Was that attack planned?” I asked Lara.
“No, that was purely coincidence.” She chuckled uncomfortably. “We should hurry back to camp. We need Benette’s help.”
“Are you hurt?” Ray reached out a hand towards her in concern.
“I’ll be fine.” She gestured to me. “He needs help, though.”
Ray didn’t seem very keen on this, but we followed him back to where his horse was waiting before riding to the camp.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, you know,” Ray said to Lara.
“People need to stop saying that,” she replied in frustration.
“We all thought you were dead until I found you with him.” His tone had a hint of disgust when he said the wordhim.
“I wasn’t dead, I was busy working.”
