Page 5 of Queen of the Night
Rhosse grins. “We left on a training exercise this morning; he probably thought we were still there.”
I finally release my stance and sheathe my sword, and immediately they step forward, pulling me into brotherly hugs with several strong claps on the back. I find myself blinking toreduce suspicious burning in the backs of my eyes, but this time triggered by relief instead of grief.
I turn to wave off the many soldiers who I’d just ordered to compete, but Donovan already took care of it. Everyone has returned to training. He offers me a distant salute, to which I nod.
I turn back around. “When did you return?”
Darvy speaks first. “The Lucent River spit us out near Kivan. Didn’t take long to make it back.”
“Would’ve been faster if not for the bite Darvy took from the river monster,” Rhosse adds. “Took us two days in Kivan to get a healer and originator to help mend him enough to travel.”
I look Darvy’s way with concern, but he shrugs. “I’m fine. Just a bit of a limp I can’t seem to kick.”
My brows pull together. “Maybe you should stay home this?—”
“Don’t even suggest it,” Darvy growls. “I’ll prove I can fight if I need to.”
I shake my head. I trust him. Heisa healer, after all. “Fine. But I thought the two of you were dead the entire time. Don’t ever do that to me again.”
Rhosse scoffs. “Youthoughtwewere dead? You’ve taken twice as long to return as we did! Scared years off our lives, Ikar. You left us to make up stories about why we returned without you, and Jethonan sees right through it. It’s a good thing you came back or he’d have thrown us in the stocks.”
I chuckle, imagining Jethonan doing just that. “The woman we rescued from the goblins? She was a bounty hunter… of sorts. She arrested me and blocked my magic. And worse, the river chose to take us to the far end of the kingdom.”
Darvy snorts. “You got arrested by a bounty hunter?”
“Yes, and now I’ve hired her to be the originator on our team.”
Both men are silent, and after a moment, Rhosse finally speaks. “For a journey such as this… don’t you think there might be a better fit? Or maybe even Nadiette?”
“You know I won’t ask Nadiette.” I see the knowing looks on their faces; I don’t have to explain why. “I’ve spent enough time with Vera to know she’s powerful—how powerful I don’t know. But I sense it. More than another expert swordsman, we need lucent magic.”
Darvy cocks a brow. “Oh, it’sVeranow? First-name basis?”
Suddenly, I want to punch him in the face.
“That’s how it usually goes when you travel with someone for over a week,” I growl.
“Of course it is,” Rhosse says placatingly, but why do I feel like they can see straight through it all? What did I say that gave away my feelings? What have I done in contracting Vera? I stifle a groan. I hired her because I need her—in more ways than one.
Chapter 3
Ikar
Jethonan watches me closely while I finish writing. I sign my name before I roll the parchment and place it into the waiting hands of a servant. It will be delivered to Vera along with a dress the castle seamstress deemed fit for an originator.
“I’ve never seen you exert suchenergyon a guest you’ve invited for a relatively simple dinner,” Jethonan casually mentions as he scratches Arrow, my wolf-beast dog, between his two pointed ears. Arrow sits half his large body on his royal blue robes that pool on the floor, but he doesn’t appear to mind.
His comment draws the attention of Rhosse, Darvy, and Nadiette, leaving the room quiet. Nadiette sits primly in her usual place on a comfortable sofa to the left of my desk, her eyes narrowing slightly at Jethonan’s observation. One of her perfectly shaped brows has risen the smallest bit, and I get the sense she’s awaiting an explanation as well, appearing more than curious about the originator I contracted. The tension between her and me is almost palpable. Part of me misses the comfortable friendship we shared for so many years, onethat began as children. Naturally, it was assumed we would marry, and I believed I loved her as much as a man could love a woman… but now that I’ve gotten to know Vera?—
No. Don’t go there.I ended our relationship before I left in search of a Black Tulip, and she didn’t take it well. Not that I can blame her. Guilt fills my chest, though I know I couldn’t have done it any differently. And still more guilt for the fact that I don’t feel as much for her as she apparently feels for me.
I was born into a duty that rules my life; it will always come first, and duty dictates we can’t be together. Idocare for her as a friend and hope that eventually the pieces of our broken relationship can be put back together into something akin to friendship, but from the look in her eyes I find it doubtful. Still, she is the Head originator for the kingdom. Her originators provide as much lucent magic for my soldiers as they possibly can—which saves lives. Wemustfind a way to work together, but right now, with only two days at the castle to plan our next journey, I have no time to revisit our past.
I busy myself clearing the rest of my desk, avoiding eye contact with Jethonan. “She’s important to the success of our mission.”
Jethonan is much too intuitive, and I sense he already knows there is much more to the story. He wisely says nothing more.
I push back from my desk, standing and stretching my stiff muscles. After speaking with Jethonan and Nadiette earlier, it seems things went smoothly in regard to the workings of the kingdom while I was away and will continue to do so after I leave again. Their capability and well-earned trust lifts weight off my shoulders—knowing I’ll return to a kingdom as well as it can be while battling gloam. Hopefully, when I return, it will be with the flower I need. Then I’ll just need to finda Black Tulip, but at the risk of triggering hopelessness I refrain from dwelling on that second thought too long.
