Chapter 11
Aiden
The steady drumof Wicked’s hoofbeats usually calmed me. But not this time.
This time, they echoed the fear and pain that bled from my heart with each beat.
From confronting Kiera to telling her a rushed goodbye and now riding into an unforeseen battle, I was rattled. At least she would be safe from this fight. But if she was headed to Aquinon...
I swore and squeezed Wicked’s sides. He snorted and galloped faster.
The path through the woods was well-worn and as yet unburdened with snow. But here in the mountains, that could change overnight.
It would take a day and a half of hard riding to reach Arduen’s Mountain if we slept little.
Eventually, the path grew too narrow and twisted to race along. Clouds of steam puffed from Wicked’s nostrils as he restrained himself to a fast trot.
Maz pulled up next to me on his golden horse, Valiant. He adjusted the axes strapped to his back, grimacing.
“Pain?” I asked.
He shot me a glare. “No. Just a bit too tight. It’s been a while.”
I patted the bag I’d secured to Wicked’s rump. “I brought what healing supplies I could for you and your sisters. And anyone else who might need it.”
Maz clenched his jaw. “Do you think the ship will beat us there?”
“We have the shorter route, but if the wind favors them, or we run into trouble...” The potential consequences played like a grisly memory in my mind.
“Who do you think’s on the ship?” Maz asked, glaring at the dense woods ahead. “Sailors? Soldiers? Wolves?”
I’d been trying to figure that out from the moment I heard the news. “We know that Dracles and some of his men were stationed at Calimber. Could be that Renwell ordered them to take one of the ships here.”
“Or your little jaunt to see the ships scared them, and they’re looking for us.”
My spine stiffened, even though I’d wondered the same. “They sailed right pastMynastra’s Wingsand the river entrance. Perhaps they didn’t see Skelly’s ship hidden in the bay, but the route to the Yargoth camp isn’t exactly a secret.”
“I suppose,” Maz grunted, stroking his beard. It’d grown long enough that he’d started braiding it again. “I suppose there’s no way a ship that gods-damned big would make it up our river. Perhaps they aim to send boats down the river from the north. In which case, we could ambush them on their way down.”
A rabbit ran across the path, causing Wicked to dance sideways. I stroked his mane to calm him. He wasn’t a war horse, but he’d been through a few skirmishes. Riding into battle would hopefully give us an advantage. And we’d need every one against that ship.
“The fireseed harvest is too close to be coincidental,” I said. “Renwell either wants to steal the fireseeds, or he wants many Dags gathered in one place where he can use catapults on them all.”
“Fucking Four, Aiden,” Maz grumbled. “You’re like a mirror in a sewer. All you see is shit.”
A weak chuckle rumbled in my chest. “Give me something else to look at, then.”
Maz pondered for a moment, then snuck a glance at me. “Did you say goodbye to her?”
My fingers tightened on the reins. “Who?”
Maz rolled his eyes. “We may be riding to our deaths. Spare me the idiotic denial.”
Kiera’s worried amber eyes filled my mind. A small, desperate piece of my crumbled heart hoped some of that worry had been for me. But she’d made her feelings clear.
Nothing we say can repair a trust so broken.
“I said what I could,” I replied.
