Shield of Sparrows

How badly would it hurt if I jumped off this horse? More or less than the current pain radiating through my body?

Every second was agony. My back ached. My legs were cramped. My ass was numb. My skull was splitting.

At some point, we had to stop, right? We couldn’t keep going forever. Or did they expect me to sleep on this horse?

Well, it hurt too much to sleep.

We’d ridden through the night, traversing through the forest. I’d never been in a place so dark. The towering trees and their heavy limbs had obscured all but a sliver of silver light from Calandra’s twin moons.

Every other Turan had carried a torch, but the light had barely kept the shadows at bay. All they really did was allow a rider behind to see a rider ahead so that our caravan didn’t get divided and people lost.

We’d stayed in a tight cluster, the horses kept close. The wagons trailed behind. My foot had rubbed against Zavier’s on more than one occasion as we’d weaved through tree trunks and around areas where the underbrush was so thick not even the horses could trample it down.

The pace had slowed to a crawl at one point, and we’d shifted to ride single file so we could follow the trail.

A trail blazed by the Guardian.

He hadn’t needed a torch.

Those ever-changing eyes must allow him to see in the dark.

It went on the mental list of powers I was noting for Father.

Considering I had nothing else of value to provide, it would have to be enough. Because I sure as hell couldn’t explain where we were or how we’d gotten here. I was, well…lost.

Was that the point of this nighttime death march? To keep me in the dark? To shatter my internal compass? Not that it had ever been reliable, day or night. All I knew at this point was that the ocean was probably behind us. Maybe. It was a guess.

Later, when I had the chance to summarize our journey thus far, my only instruction would be ride through the forest until your entire body screams in agony. Oh, and if you’re not terrified, you’re doing it wrong.

Well, I’d been scared last night. Fear had kept me awake the whole night. Whenever there had been a gap in the treetops, I’d stared into the sky. Then, I’d prayed.

To Ama and Oda, the stars.

To the Six, their children, who made up the shades in between.

The trees had thinned near dawn, allowing us more and more space to travel. Then, a while ago, the trees had given way entirely to a sweeping plain. Behind us, the forest was a wall of green, growing smaller and smaller as we kept riding.

I had no idea how long it had been since we’d emerged from that dark forest. An hour. Two. Three. Ten.

This headache, this everywhere pain, made thinking nearly impossible. Even breathing hurt.

“Are you all right?” Zavier asked, his voice low.

“Fine.” If fine meant I wanted to die, then yes, I was fine.

It was the first time he’d checked on me since we left the coast. It was the first voice I’d heard since then, too.

No one had spoken, not a single word. We’d all blindly followed the Guardian toward daybreak.

In the distance, a range of mountains cut a jagged line into the sky. Their sharp peaks were capped in white, glowing as the sun lifted higher. The land between us and those mountains stretched on and on. It would take us days and days to reach the foothills. If that was where we were even going.

How long would we continue? We had to stop eventually, right? If not for the people, at least the horses.

Brielle and Jocelyn were somewhere behind me, riding amidst the Turans. I wanted to turn, to find them in the crowd, but the last time I’d twisted in the saddle, not only were there too many people blocking the way, it had freaking hurt. So I stayed facing forward, glaring daggers into the back of our fearless leader.

The Guardian must have felt my stare. He shifted to look over his shoulder, checking to make sure all of his sheep were following, then urged his horse into a gallop.

“Oh, gods.” I whimpered. Running? We were running now? Bouncing around in this saddle might kill me.

The thunder of hooves sounded before a group of Turans raced past us, hurrying to keep pace with the Guardian. But before I could urge my mare to do the same, Zavier held out his hand.

“They’re going to set up camp. We don’t need to rush.”

My entire frame sagged in relief. “Thank the gods.”

“The coastal forests are thick with grizzurs. Their nocturnal vision is poor, so it’s safer to travel through those areas by night.”

“Ah.” Apparently, the monsters in Turah preferred to kill their prey during waking hours.

Another group of warriors passed, riding fast but not at the breakneck speed of the others. Behind them chased the two wagons overloaded with firewood. Their wheels left twin tracks in the tall grass.

The landscape had changed so quickly it was almost like being home in Quentis, taking an afternoon carriage ride through the countryside.

Except there were no farms or buildings or towns to be seen. In every direction, there were only these rugged plains of gold and green grasses, stretching to those mountains.

Was there a crossing somewhere out there to reach Allesaria?

I couldn’t imagine attempting to go over those peaks. I’d never seen mountains like that before, so massive, so tall, they kissed the sky.

Turah was the largest of the five kingdoms, four times the size of Quentis, though it had less than half the number of people. I’d studied maps of Calandra. I had a general sense of the continent’s geography. But those maps didn’t do the difference justice. They’d never conveyed the magnitude of this landscape.

It was vast. Overwhelming. Magnificent. Frightening.

“I’ve never seen snow,” I said, hoping some conversation with Zavier would distract me from the aches and pains. “It doesn’t snow in Roslo. In our coldest months, all the worst days are gray and rainy.”

He hummed. That was all I got.

Honestly, I should have known better. Zavier wasn’t the type for small talk.

I shifted in the saddle, searching for a position that was less painful than the rest. I’d never, ever been so aware of my tailbone.

Despite the pain, the stiffness, I turned to look behind us. With the others having ridden ahead, I was able to see Brielle. She was slumped forward, asleep. Tillia rode at her side, ensuring she didn’t topple to the ground.

When Tillia met my gaze, I mouthed, Thank you.

She nodded back.

The steady beat of hooves had nearly lulled me to sleep earlier. My eyelids had gotten heavy, drooping until I’d startled myself straight. The jolt of pain had been enough to deter me from letting myself drift off again.

I’d kept myself awake by memorizing anything that could be considered a landmark, from an outcropping of rocks to a cluster of trees. Anything to note in my journal that might help Father’s troops find their way across these lands.

Go toward the mountains wasn’t going to be enough detail with a range that stretched so wide I couldn’t see either end.

A wagon came into view ahead, stopped atop a gentle rise. Beyond them were wisps of white, rising from the earth, and the scent of smoke in the air.

“Campfires?” I asked, sitting straighter.

Zavier nodded.

Was this how it would always be? Nods and short replies. He hadn’t exactly been chatting on the Cutter, but since we’d reached Turah, he’d hardly spoken a word. At this rate, it might take me a decade to get to know my husband.

When I looked back to Brielle, she was awake, her pretty face etched in pain. Jocelyn had joined her, looking tired but not nearly as miserable.

It didn’t take us long to reach the others. When we crested the rise, I spotted a cluster of tents surrounded by a circle of fires. At least twenty were being set ablaze, each growing larger as men added more wood from the wagons. Beyond them was a river that wound through the plains like a blue snake.

Zavier swung off his horse, his movements easy, like riding all night was nothing. He held out a hand to help me down.

My muscles were locked and tense, but somehow I freed my feet from the stirrups and slid out of the saddle, nearly crumpling when my boots touched the earth.

Would they let me walk the rest of the way to Allesaria? The idea of getting back on this horse made me want to scream.

“Zavier.” Tillia joined us, hand outstretched. “I’ll take care of your horses.”

He passed her the reins, then took my elbow, urging me along at his side. Every step was stiff. Agonizing.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his green eyes full of apology as he guided me toward a tent in the center of the campsite.

A man was hammering a stake into the ground, securing the canvas to the earth. “They’re nearly finished inside.”

Zavier gave him a single nod, then looked down at me like he wanted to say something.

“What?” I whispered.

“Highness.” Jocelyn hurried to my side, clearly suffering through only a fraction of my pain. “Are you all right?”

“Tired.” I forced a smile.

Zavier sighed. Whatever he wanted to say would have to wait.

Someday, maybe I’d learn to have those wordless conversations like he did with the Guardian. But we didn’t know each other yet. So when he dipped his chin and walked away, I assumed he wanted me to stay put.

I couldn’t have walked much farther anyway.

“Why do you think they’re lighting so many fires?” Jocelyn asked, looping her arm through mine.

“I have no idea.” I leaned into her side, using her strong frame to keep me on my feet. My very bones were weary. Even my hair hurt.

The scent of roasted meat mingled with the smoke, yet even as my stomach growled, I didn’t have the energy to eat. I just wanted to lay down and close my eyes.

“You should eat something.” Jocelyn slid her arm free. “I’ll find Brielle. We’ll bring you food.”

“Sure.” I didn’t have the energy to argue, either.

As she slipped away, weaving past tents, I peeked into my own, finding a woman inside. She was setting up a small cot and—

Was that a bathtub? Or was I hallucinating?

Oof, my ass hurt. The feeling was slowly coming back, tingles and pinpricks shooting through my legs and backside. I was massaging the muscles through my pants, not caring how I looked, when a tug on my braid yanked my head back.

“Do you have no personal boundaries?” I swatted the Guardian’s hand away.

His eyes were hazel again, a mix of the Turan colors that surrounded us, from brown to green to gold. He dragged his gaze down my tunic to where one of my hands still palmed my ass. “Sore, my queen? We’ll have to add riding to your training regimen. That, or being ridden. I’ll have a word with Zavier.”

I hated the way my face flamed. I hated the way he could so easily grate on my nerves. Never in my life had I met someone so bold and unfiltered. He knew Zavier was as uninterested in me as I was in climbing atop that blue roan again, but he kept throwing it in my face.

Did I want to sleep with Zavier? Not yet. He was handsome and built, but he was a stranger. I’d never been the type for casual affairs.

“Don’t you have anyone else to bother?” I seethed.

“Not today.” The corner of his mouth turned up as the flap to my tent flew open and the woman inside stepped out.

“Princess.” She waved me inside. “Your tent is ready.”

“Thank you.” I gave her a smile, then flicked the end of my braid, letting it smack the Guardian in the face.

His laugh followed me inside the tent.noveldrama

It was more spacious than I’d expected. The cot was against one side, nothing more than a platform and two blankets, but the platform would keep me from sleeping in the dirt.

My trunks were still loaded onto the wagon, but there was a neat stack of fresh clothes on the foot of the cot. And against the other wall was a simple round tub that had been filled with steaming water. She must have brought it in through the flaps that opened on the back of the tent.

“Yes,” I moaned at the thought of washing away the smell of horse and wind.

“Need help with your hair?” A rogue whisper caressed the shell of my ear.

I whirled on the Guardian, planting my hands on his chest as I shoved him out. Or tried to shove him out. The son of a bitch didn’t so much as budge. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” He smirked.

“If that water gets cold, I swear to Ama and Oda that I will kill you with my bare hands, here and now.”

“Such rage, my queen. I am simply here to ensure you’re comfortable.”

“I’m comfortable. Happy?”

“Would you like a meal?”

“Not at the moment. Goodbye.”

His grin widened. “You’ve got today and tomorrow to rest. We’ll give the horses and weaker riders”—meaning me—“a break. The journey beyond the river will not be easy.”

“Harder than last night? Actually.” I lifted a finger. “I don’t want to know.”

“We’ll train tomorrow.”

That idea made me want to cry, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I’d love to. Anything else?”

“Don’t wander past the fires. Not even for the river.”

I opened my mouth to ask why but stopped myself. Why was it that the Guardian was always the man to deliver the messages? When would Zavier stop hiding from me? How were we ever going to get to know each other if he was always gone?

“Fine. Would you please tell Zavier I’d like to speak to him later? In private?”

The Guardian’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because I’d like to speak to my husband in private. What we discuss is none of your concern.”

“The crown prince is always my concern.”

“If you’re not going to send him here, I guess I’ll have to find his tent myself.”

“Feel free to wander into mine, Princess.” He leaned in closer. “Zavier likes to share.”

My breath caught as that statement drove straight through my chest like a blade. Had they shared women before? Would Zavier expect that from me?

I didn’t want that. I didn’t want the Guardian.

He studied me like he was reading every thought that passed through my mind. His eyes shifted from hazel to green. It wasn’t a blink like I’d seen before, the colors changing instantly.

The green spread slowly, chasing away the other shades. It bloomed like the heat beneath my skin.

My heart beat faster, harder, climbing into my throat. It was dangerous, holding this man’s gaze, yet I couldn’t seem to stop. To blink. He snared me with that emerald green as if I were his prey, drawing me in closer and closer.

“No,” I said. To him. To myself.

I took a step away, crossing my arms over my chest. I was not that woman. I was not that weak.

If this was another test, he could go fuck himself.

“Highness, are you—” Brielle’s question was cut short with a gasp as she stepped into the tent and noticed I wasn’t alone. “Oh. Uh…”

“The Guardian was just leaving.”

He stared at me for another long moment. Then he was gone.

The air instantly felt thinner. Cooler. Easier to breathe.

“You should be careful around him,” she said, checking over her shoulder, making sure we were alone. “He’s dangerous.”

“I’m aware.”

He carried that danger in his body, like a permanent cloak of malice and rage. I’d noticed it before, but it had never been like this. Maybe because we’d always spoken in open spaces. But here, in this cramped tent?

Oh, yes, he was dangerous. In more ways than one.

I shivered, the movement sending ripples of pain through my limbs. “I’m sore.”

“Me too.” She shuffled to the bed, sitting at its end. “You should take a bath.”

“Do you have a tent?”

“Jocelyn and I are sharing. It’s not set up yet, but they’re working on it. It’s closer to the fires. They put you in the center of camp.”

Where I’d be protected.

“Jocelyn went to find food.”

“Okay.” I walked toward the tub, every muscle in my arms and shoulders screaming as I stripped my tunic over my head. “That was…a strange night.”

She closed her eyes. “I’ve never been in such a dark place.”

“Neither have I.”

“Tillia said it was safer to travel at night away from the coast because of the grizzur. Do you believe that?”

“I don’t see why she’d lie to us.” I kicked off my pants and underclothes, then climbed into the tub, sinking into the water with a low moan. “I’ve never hurt so much in my life.”

“I used to ride all the time. At home on the farm,” she said. “But nothing could have prepared me for this.”

“You should lie down while you wait.”

“It’s your bed, Highness.”

“I don’t mind.” I closed my eyes, leaning against the tub’s edge. My braid draped over its lip. My knees were tucked close to my chest, but I was sitting in this water until it went cold.

“I think they made us ride all night so we couldn’t tell where we were going,” she said, curling up on her side, her hands tucked under her cheek. “They don’t trust us.”

And they shouldn’t.

“I was sure we’d be attacked by a tarkin or bariwolf.” She yawned. “Do you think the fires will keep them away from the camp?”

“I don’t know.”

At this point, I didn’t know anything other than the aches in my body and the weariness in my soul. So I closed my eyes, savoring the warmth of the water.

I didn’t get to sleep.

Before I could drift off, a roar ripped through the campsite.

A roar, vicious and feral, that sent a chill down my spine.

A roar that meant maybe Zavier had been telling me the truth.

That in Turah, it was safer at night.