She rarely pleased, because Evander had never seen it done. Not even after the king’s death.
It was said that Raska was so ancient that, without Marwenna’s magic, the old raven would crumble to dust.
Panting, his back against the wall, Evander tried to gather his wits. He was trapped. With Raska after him, he couldn’t run without Hera, and she was about to be muzzled and sent to Sennalaith.
He had to choose: face Raska or an angry hydra.
Chapter twenty
Valenna
Wading through waist-tall belladonna, Valenna tore around her room, stuffing her clothes into her new carpet bag without even bothering to fold them.
How dare Evander reject her and walk away after everything she’d done for him and all the anxiety she’d shouldered. How dare he go into that paddock with an angry hydra. How dare he tell her to go home to Largotia and forget him. Well, back to Largotia she would go, and she never wanted to see him again, the sarcastic, foolish, beautiful idiot.
The sound of pattering feet and chattering voices below her window interrupted Valenna’s furious packing, and she threw open the sash and peered down. “What’s happening?” she called to a troupe ofvillagers who were hurrying along the path.
“The paddocking has been moved to this afternoon!” they replied cheerfully.
The savages. They were flocking to the paddocks to enjoy the spectacle of Evander be messily devoured.
“But … that was tomorrow!”
“Bournemuth moved it!”
Why would Haldir move it? Just to throw Evander off guard? To mess with his head? Some cruel game?
Valenna’s breath caught, and she floated blindly across the room and sank onto the bed. The paddocking wasn’t supposedto happen until she was safe on the coach, miles away from the sound of dragons bellowing and bones cracking. But if the ordeal was already underway, she had to stay and see it through. If for no other reason than to assuage her furious anxiety.
Valenna looked down at the lilac dress she wore, embroidered with white daisies. This wouldn’t do. What if she had to climb a fence and run to Evander’s rescue? Or, she thought insanely, what if something horrible happened and she was soaked in blood or brains? This was one of her favorite dresses.
She changed into a pair of trousers and a simple linen shirt under a suede leather jacket. If she needed to fight a dragon today to save the man she loved (loathed?), she’d best dress appropriately.
Dressed for action, Valenna ascended the stairs and passed through the kitchen, where Thomasina was packing a picnic lunch.
“This isn’t a pantomime for your entertainment!” Valenna blurted. “This is a serious, dangerous … what is everyone hoping to see, anyway? A spectacle? Blood? Entrails? What?”
Thomasina turned, her face blank with shock.
“I’m sorry.” Valenna rubbed her sore eyes.
Suddenly ashamed, Valenna blundered through the door and out into the sunshine.A knot of giggling girls passed, arms linked, their little stocking feet kicking up the dirt on the path as they ran.
“Which way to the paddocks?” they called to her.
“Down the hill and into the lake, you little minxes!” Valenna shouted after them.
Before they could reply, she marched down the shady path toward the back meadow. Her knees shook, and goosebumps rose on her skin. She couldn’t go to the paddocking like this. Already, her stomach was threatening to eject her breakfast.No, she would pick some bayberries until it was over and then, hopefully, see Evander healthy and whole before she walked away and left him to her past. If the worst happened, at least her final memory of him wouldn’t be stained with blood.
A thunderous roar frightened a flock of birds roosting in the branches overhead, and they took flight in a blur of whirring wings. A bush of toothsome bayberries at the edge of the meadow eyed Valenna warily as she waded through the hip-tall grass, a mist of insects rising into the air. Warm sun beat on her neck, but she went cold.
Standing just inside the line of trees was a huge black bird, taller than a man. Its feathers glistened iridescent purple and blue in the sunshine, and its massive head bobbed as it walked. When it saw Valenna, it stopped and tilted its head to the side, regarding her with curiosity.
“Raska,” she breathed. “What are you doing here?”
Raska snapped her beak and croaked. She gazed at Valenna for a long time, almost wistfully, then a dragon’s cry echoed from the paddocks and Raska flapped her wings and hopped through the meadow and into the shadow of the trees.
Was the scavenger here for her? What would Marwenna want her for? Besides, she wasn’t dead. Didn’t Raska only take the dead to her mistress?
