Orphan's Blade. Aubrie Dionne

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СКАЧАТЬ have been a snowy winter up there.” Nathaniel gestured toward the darkened peaks. He kicked a rock into the water, and the muck swallowed it with a clump. “He couldn’t have gone far.”

      “That’s the problem. You don’t have to.” Timber crouched and scanned the surface of the water. Reeds and tall marsh grasses blew in the cold wind. “He wouldn’t be the first one lost in the depths.”

      The wind changed direction. Was the howling from a man? He tried not to imagine rowing out there with only a lantern for a light. “We’ll need a boat to continue the search.”

      Timber placed a heavy hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “Wait until morning.”

      “I’ll have to inform Brax.”

      “Either way, he’s going to know.”

      Nathaniel nodded, promising himself to cover for Kent when he reported back to Brax. Timber spoke with the wisdom and patience of his age. The boy wouldn’t get far. That was if he survived at all.

      Only the gods knew why Nathaniel longed to save him, even if it meant crossing the moors.

      Just as he turned back to the gate, movement from the dark peaks drew him back. A black mass spread from the highest mountain, thinning into dark specks as it widened over the valley below. A chorus of caws filled the air.

      “Crows.” Nathaniel squinted at the sky. “Thousands of them.”

      The birds flew in strange patterns, coalescing into spiral shapes and breaking at the top, like tornadoes unleashing darkness upon the land.

      Timber pulled his bow from his back along with an arrow. He aimed as the birds flew over their heads.

      “What are you doing?”

      “Making sure.” He fired, and the arrow pierced a bird, felling it over the gate. They ran back to the city.

      The beast lay in the middle of the shambled cobblestone road with the arrow through its heart.

      Nathaniel bent over it, as a current of sorrow drifted through his chest. He knew what it felt to be aloft, soaring triumphant and free and to be hit with an arrow through the heart, ending the dream that life once was. “Why did you fell it?”

      “Don’t touch it!” Timber crouched beside him and used the tip of his bow to move the wing. He cocked its head to the side. A milky, cataract-covered eye glanced up at them. Bald spots covered its body where the feathers had been plucked, or had fallen out. The blood that oozed from the arrowhead was a black, gelatinous goo.

      Nathaniel had never seen anything like this in his lifetime, but he’d heard enough stories. “An undead bird?”

      Timber nodded, then watched the sky with suspicion.

      None of the crows had settled in the city. They’d come and gone so quickly they wouldn’t have noticed if they hadn’t been standing at the back gate.

      Timber glanced over his shoulder at the open gate and the moors that lay beyond. “Spies.”

      Chapter 7

      Dismissal

      “I do not understand why they’ll deny the future princess of Ebonvale entrance to her own council chambers.” Valoria collapsed into a velvet seat, staring down the guards on duty as they stood with their spears crossed over the doorway. The one on the right glanced down with a small amount of guilt pulling at the corners of his mouth, but the one on the left stared straight ahead as if the future queen of Ebonvale were not even present.

      “Calm down. I’m sure there’s an explanation.” Cadence sat beside her and took her hand. “Perhaps they are planning the wedding and wish to keep it a surprise.”

      “I highly doubt it.” If they were planning the wedding, Brax wouldn’t even bother to be there at all. “Everyone who’s important is in there. Everyone except for me.” She’d gone down to breakfast hoping to make headway with her new family only to find the room empty. A servant had tipped her off to where they all were.

      “My father would never think to leave me out of meetings.” Father had included her in all aspects of running the House of Song and the outlying village. A sickening wave of melancholy overcame her. She missed his quiet, noble poise more than anything. She could use a measure of it herself.

      “Perhaps they do not wish to bother you right before the wedding.” Cadence tapped the back of her hand encouragingly.

      “Bother me? They’ve managed to do enough of that already.”

      “Shhhh.” Cadence glanced at the guards. “You never know who’s listening.”

      “Let them listen. They can teach these warriors proper manners.”

      Cadence threw her hands in her lap. “Honestly, I’m not sure what Echo wants me to do. ’Tis like leading a blind goat across a cliff side.”

      Valoria narrowed her gaze. “What did he put you up to?”

      Her handmaiden pouted, guilt saddening her eyes. “He wanted to make sure you…followed through.”

      “Followed through? Who does he think I am? The Queen of Ebonvale?”

      “For Helena’s sake, pipe down.”

      Guilt panged in her gut. She shouldn’t have spoken ill of her future mother-in-law. Hadn’t she told Nathaniel she didn’t judge others? Valoria behaved better than this. Circumstances had unraveled her just like the edges of that dusty tapestry of some forgotten king on the far wall.

      The guards moved away from the door, and the large slabs of oak opened with a creak. The king and queen burst through, followed by a retinue of advisors. A woman so old, she could have been a ghost drifted past. Her long, white hair trailed to her ankles. Bone thin with wrinkled withered skin, she clung to a young man’s arm as if she’d fall to pieces without his strength.

      Was that Sybil, the mother of the queen who’d run away with the minstrel so many years ago? It was hard to believe one waif of an old woman was the source for unending minstrel hatred.

      Valoria was here to end that prejudice, to unite the kingdoms, to undo the seed that old woman had sown. If only it hadn’t grown so monumentally large.

      Nathaniel emerged next. His uniform was rumpled, and a bloodied bandage wrapped around his right hand. He looked as though he’d been up all night.

      Despite Cadence pulling on her arm, Valoria broke free and approached him.

      He regarded her with welcome surprise. “Valoria. I did not know you were here.”

      All of her frustration melted away. She touched his hand. “You’re hurt. What happened?”

      Nathaniel glanced back into the room uneasily. “I am certain Brax will inform you.”

      She clutched his arm, refusing to release him. The wool of his uniform felt coarse under her fingers, a barrier she could not cross. “Tell me now.”

      Nathaniel СКАЧАТЬ