“How has it gotten worse?” I ask, afraid I already know the answer.
“The treaty was meant to end the hunting of the fea,” she says, “but it only served to divide our people and weaken us. The fea in Brax are at the mercy of the La’tarians and their word.”
“And the Vatruke,” I add, watching her carefully to gauge her reaction.
She doesn’t give much away when she nods. “The Vatruke would be bad enough without the La’tari military aiding them. For the fea in the south, the options are slim, risk death onchai’brukaror capture. If you know of the Vatruke then you understand why many might find death preferable.”
A loud snap echoes in the forest, and I reach for my bow as my head reels toward the tree line. A boar roots through a pile of leafy debris below the low branch of a larch. I knock an arrow, aware of the light clack of wood on wood beside me when Awri knocks one as well. I draw, take in a deep breath, aim, and loose. Awri is a quicker shot by a second, but she misses her mark by a hand. My own arrow flies true, piercing the heart of the boar the next moment.
The sky has begun to dim by the time we’ve dressed and packed the animal onto the horses. Awri gives me a satisfied smirk when she mounts, asmile I return as I scan the darkening horizon, my stomach turning in on itself. The smile falls from my face, and I gasp. Awri swears under her breath when her eyes follow mine.
“Mount, quickly,” she demands, “We need to warn the guard.”
With a fistful of mane, I swing into the saddle, and as if the tension in my body cracked in the air, the horses bolt for the palace at breakneck speed. I glance back at the La’tari warship sailing into the cove behind us and can’t help but wonder who is aboard.
Their reasons for landing here appear clear enough. If their mission involved anything but death they would have docked at the main harbor. Landing this far from town at dusk reeks of malicious intent.
It’s dark when we arrive at the front doors of the palace. Awri jumps from her mare before the horse has even halted its stride. My own mare, soaked in a frothing sweat, rolls the bit in her mouth nervously.
A young man collects her horse, offering to take mine as well while Awri vanishes into the palace after exchanging a few rushed words with a handful of soldiers near the entrance. One breaks toward the stables, while the others move quickly to spread word of the intruders.
I expect to see more panicked faces, but I suppose it is only a single ship. The halls are their typical evening quiet. Though, I have little doubt as the guards eye me warily, that tonight I am nothing more than La’tarian to them. A foreign woman from a land that appears to be invading their shores.
The looks are enough to make me quickly discard the thought of procuring more of Kishek’s tea. Tomorrow, when the news of the ship is not so fresh in the minds of the soldiers surrounding me, I will make enough to last the days it will take the king to arrive back in A’kori. The consistent dulling of my demon makes me a little bolder than I might have been before finding the tonic.
I walk calmly back to my room to tuck myself away for the night. Thoughts of familiar faces and war weigh heavily on my mind as I prepare for bed. What happened to make my king risk war with A’kori by sending the ship to their shores in secret? Have we ever really been at peace? I’m beginning to believe otherwise.
I pull on a dressing robe when there is a knock from the hall. Thegeneral doesn’t wait for me to answer before cracking the door and sliding inside, catching an eyeful of the delicate black night dress I wear, before I close the robe around myself.
“Have you come to arrest me for being a La’tari spy?” I quip, immediately regretting the thought I might have placed in his head.
He grunts as if I’ve just said something ridiculous, and I can’t tell if I’m relieved or annoyed that he believes me incapable.
“I’m taking a squadron of men to search for the vessel,” he says, “The others are joining me. I just came to assure you that you are safe within these walls and ask that you refrain from any of your evening escapades for the time being.”
“I’ll do my best,” I tease.
“No,” he demands, “You will promise me.”
I want to roll my eyes, to say something smart, to tell him he doesn’t get to make decisions for me, but the look in his eyes stops me. Worry lines his forehead and creases the flesh of his brow. I sigh, telling myself to let it go. I remind myself that before he came to make his demands, I was getting ready for bed anyway.
“I promise,” I say.
He puffs out a breath he’d been holding. “Thank you.”
I check the grounds the moment he leaves my room, and I’m not surprised to find it littered with guards. It makes perfect sense that they would increase the patrols, but a small part of me begins to wonder if I’m now a prisoner of war. It’s a question I don’t have to answer tonight, and one that will surely make itself clear when I leave my room to find Awri tomorrow.
The sprites are nowhere to be seen. Between the unrest at the palace and the male they are surely tending, I suspect it may be quite some time before I see their faces again. Aside from missing the amusing presence of the sisters, I am eager to see them again so that I can speak with the male. I have questions about Brax that I only trust him to answer. If, in fact, it turns out that is where he comes from.
I sink into bed and whether it’s thoughts of the sprites, my conversation with Awri, or the presence of the La’tari ship, sleep evades me. Itfeels like hours that I toss and turn. My mind skipping like a flat stone across a clear lake from one thing to the next. I hate it when my thoughts settle on the image of the beautiful female I met outside the general’s chambers. Even worse, her face is the last thing I see before sleep finally takes me.
I’m jarred awake when the general barges into my room at stars only know what hour. I’m going to have to find another lock for my door—a strong one that he doesn’t possess a key to. I blink back the sleep from my eyes as he slips an arm beneath my knees, another around my waist, pulling me against him as he slides me off the bed.
“What are you doing? Put me down,” I groan sleepily.
“We found the ship. It was empty.” It’s all he says before walking toward the door and I push against his chest, wriggling until he sets me down.
I suck in a small gasp when my feet meet the cool marble in the hall, only to have the male glare down at them. My toes curl in on themselves in a futile attempt to withdraw from his glower. Putting his hand on the flat of my back he pushes me down the corridor.
