Chapter 24
“Damn these trees,” Kye complained as he pushed his way through a mass of brambles.
I coughed into my hand to conceal my laugh as I slung the bow and sheath of arrows I'd been carrying on my back. The trees were purposely making the way hard for him. They liked my plan about as much as Lochlen did, but instead of punishing me, they were taking it out on Kye.
I looked back at him, at his dark hair against his hastily mended uniform. He had donned the king's surcoat again before we left, his sword at his hip, a water skin and pack slung over his shoulder. There hadn't been much time to prepare after our decision to let Kye take me into Aireesi as a prisoner. Because of that, we'd left the camp at dawn the next morning, saying goodbye to no one. I'd seen Maeve standing next to a tent, her shoulders slumped, and I'd seen Lochlen slink into the forest. I kept catching glimpses of someone in the thick undergrowth with faint whispers of dragon from the trees, and I knew we were being followed.
“Make way,” I whispered to the trees, and Kye's path suddenly became a little easier. He looked up at the foliage and scowled. I slowed so that I walked next to him.
“I wouldn't curse them if I were you,” I warned when I noticed his lips part. “They'll only make it worse on you.”
Kye's gaze moved to my face. “Is it me they don't like or your idea?”
I finally gave in to the grin. “The idea, but you went along with it.”
Kye mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like the curse I'd warned him not to make. I saw the twisting vine before he did, slinking along the ground and snaking its way across his foot before wrapping around his ankle. He tripped.
“Bloody hell!”
I looked down at him. “I warned you about the cursing.”
Kye sighed. “Fine. I'll play nice if they will.”
The vines unfurled, and Kye grabbed his foot.
“By Silveet! Those things are much stronger than they look!” he complained.
I held out my hand, and he took it. The contact made my skin tingle, and I suddenly felt self-conscious about my chapped and calloused palms. Kye didn't seem to notice, his fingers tightening around mine as he stood and scowled once more at the vegetation. His skin was warm and rough, and I had to remind myself to let go. The contact felt better than it should. I missed being close to someone.
Kye noticed my silence, and he looked down at me. “You okay?” he asked.
I didn't answer him. I turned instead and began walking again. I really didn't know where I was going, but Kye did. I knew he'd correct me if I strayed too far in the wrong direction. He'd been gently guiding me since we'd left the safety of the camp.
It was a warm morning, but not overly warm, and the forest smelled like fresh dew and flowering plants. I ran a finger over the petals of a large, pink flower I didn't know the name of as I passed it, my mind searching for distraction.
“How did you meet Feras?” I asked Kye.
He had been moving silently behind me, his swearing only mumbles now. Either the trees were being more forgiving or Kye was dealing with it. I didn't look back to see.
“It's a long story,” Kye said.
I stared up into the canopy, at the gentle golden rays falling through the trees. It made the dew on the plants sparkle.
“We have a long walk,” I answered.
Kye laughed. “Maybe not so long if I could convince Feras to take us both to the edge of Aireesi. I met with him last night in the cave tree.”
I almost paused but didn't. It shouldn't surprise me that he'd met with Feras. Feras was the king of dragons after all, and he had a large say in what we were doing.
“That still brings me back to the question of how you met him.”
Kye quickened his step, gently taking me by the arms before turning me to the left. I ducked under a low tree limb and followed the new direction. I expected Kye to let go then, but he didn't. He kept his hands on my arms. I swallowed hard. I wanted him to let go, and I didn't.
“I was a young boy,” Kye said. “I'd been playing in the fields beyond my home when a farmer's bull broke loose from his pasture. I saw him coming, his head down, his horns sharp.”
Kye paused, his hands tightening. My tunic kept his skin from touching mine, but it didn't make the touch any less effective.
“I was only ten turns, but I knew I was going to die, and then there he was … a massive, beautiful blue dragon. He lifted me in his claws, and I wrapped my arms around what I could of his leg, my eyes closed. When we landed, he spoke to me, calmed me. I wasn't afraid of him. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't afraid. Something about him called to me …”
Kye's words trailed off, and we walked awhile. One of his hands finally fell away, but the other remained on my arm, lowering some as if he wanted to take my hand but didn't think I'd welcome it.
“And yet you became a king's man?” I asked. “How could you be a king's man and have a relationship with a dragon?”
Kye's steps faltered. “I knew no other life except court. I met with the dragon, flew on him, trusted him, but I didn't understand all of the problems the Medeisians were facing until I'd joined the army. And then came my first mage-fire …”
Mage-fires were a reminder neither of us needed at the moment. It had been a little over a month since I'd lost Aigneis. The pain and the grief hadn't gotten much better, just easier to handle. There was still that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach, the tears in the middle of the night, the kind of tears that made no sound but soaked my pillow. How arbitrary my grief seemed compared to others, to the rebels who had lost entire families, but Aigneis had been my entire family in many ways.
Kye's hand fell even more, skimming my wrist now as we walked.
“It was Feras who eventually introduced me to the rebels inside the forest, Feras who enlightened me to the true depth of horror in Medeisia. My position in the army worked in my favor then. For spying. There are others, too; men and women who do not bear the mark, but abhor the laws, and help the rebels in any way they can.”
I absorbed this.
“Were you born near the forests?” I asked.
Kye finally dropped his remaining hand, and I missed it immediately. It seemed crazy that I should. I didn't know Kye well at all, and yet I knew him better than most in my life.
“Within view,” Kye answered. “But I didn't grow up part of these forests as most villagers have.”
He didn't elaborate.
“I grew up in view of the forests, too,” I said when it was obvious he was going to say no more. “But I never entered it. There was never any reason for me to leave my father's manor.”
Kye slowed.
“You'd never know you had no connection with the forest before.”
I looked up at him. “Oh, I think I had a connection even inside Forticry. I just never had a chance to explore it.”
Kye's brow was furrowed, his green eyes worried, and I felt my heart sink.
“Stone, I think there is something I should tell you,” he began.
A large limb suddenly came down in front of us, barring our path.
“King's men less than a day ahead. They have the child with them.”
My hand went to Kye's arm. “Nikalia. The trees see Nikalia.”
Kye looked up. “Where?” he asked.
“The same direction you go now, headed for Aireesi. They have three marked folk with them. They are discussing a mage-fire.”
I repeated the trees' words to Kye, and he took a deep breath before releasing it, his eyes hard and sad.
“They won't wait to reach Aireesi then. They must have a sorcerer with them.”
My hand gripped his arm.
“So they'll do what they did to Aigneis?” I asked. “Kill them at nightfall?”
Kye nodded, and I turned away, my hand going over my mouth. I hadn't developed the same type of connection to Nikalia as Ena. I hadn't allowed myself to develop much of a connection to anyone sinc
e that night in the forest when Aigneis was killed, but I could see Nikalia's face in my head, could see the dirt-streaked little imp begging extra food from Ena and irritating Maeve.
“We can't let them do it,” I said.
Kye didn't argue. “We must hurry. They've got a lead on us, but they'll be slowed down by wagons and by the people they escort.”
I let him push me forward. The trees and plants made it easier on us, their unease for my plan forgotten in our haste. No words were said between Kye and I. Speed was important.
I was panting after we'd traveled only an hour or two. I had been training hard in the rebel camp, running like the rest of the men and women with a pack or my bow slung across my back, but a month suddenly didn't seem enough.
“Stop,” Kye ordered.
I paused, resting a hand against a tree as I leaned over, gasping. A water skin was placed in my palm.
“Here. Drink,” Kye said.
I nodded and turned the skin up to drink deeply before handing it back to him. He did the same, his adam's apple moving as he took his fill.
“We'll eat while we walk. The soldiers will break for the noon meal. We won't. It should give us just enough time to catch up with them.”
Kye took the lead, and I struggled to keep up. I knew I could have asked for help, and Kye would have accommodated, but I needed to prove I was capable of keeping up with him, of fighting for a cause the rebels had been fighting for years. I needed to prove it to myself, and strangely enough, I needed to prove it to him.
Occasionally, Kye glanced back at me, his eyes searching my face for strain. I scowled at him, and he turned away, a hint of a smile on his face.
“Whoa,” Kye said a while later. I almost moved past him, but he placed a hand against my arm and pulled his pack over his head. “We can slow down some now, but we'll still walk while we eat.”
He pulled out a piece of the hard bread I'd grown used to eating in the rebel camp and broke it in half. I took my share, along with some fruit Ena had allowed to dry in the sun. We walked again, the pace easier; quick, but no longer on the verge of a run.
“Ask the trees how far,” Kye requested, as he peered up through the foliage. Kye had shadows under his eyes. It reminded me of his near fatal wound the day before. He may be healed, but I knew he was tired.
I looked up, but the trees didn't wait for my question. They gave me a description of the soldiers' location. The forest didn't understand human distance. Description was the best they could give me. I relayed it to Kye.
He nodded. “That isn't far from here. A few miles maybe. We should catch up with them soon. And then we'll need to bide our time until nightfall.”
I sidled up next to him. Sweat glistened at my temples, and I was still breathing harder than I would have liked. The cloth around my breasts itched like crazy.
“What will we do when we get there?” I asked him. “Should you turn me into the king's men and then release the prisoners as you did me?”
Kye shook his head. “No. If I turn you over to the king's men, the captain will only claim credit for capturing you in Aireesi. If he took you in at all. I couldn't guarantee the captain wouldn't kill you. Especially if he is a sorcerer. Sorcerers do not like to share their power.”
“Then what do we do?”
Kye sighed. “We find a way to release the prisoners, and then we run. We'll take an alternative route into Aireesi.”
If Kye had a more developed plan, he didn't share it with me. We ate our food, and we walked until the sun was high in the sky above the trees' canopy. It was warm, but not hot. Fall was beginning to descend on the forest. In a month or so, the leaves would begin to drop, leaving the pines the green sentinels of the woodland.
Voices were suddenly audible in the distance, and Kye pulled me deeper into the trees. We knelt to the ground. Beyond the undergrowth, the king's soldiers had made camp. It wasn't dark yet. We had hours until then, but the soldiers didn't appear urgent to move on.
“They are no longer in the part of the forest most plagued by rebels,” Kye whispered into my ear. “And, most likely, they are ahead of schedule. If so, they may camp here the rest of the day. They are forced to speed through the dangerous parts of the forest with little rest. If schedule permits, and they are escorting people of import, many soldiers will choose a respite before entering Aireesi.”
I looked over at Kye. Our faces were incredibly close.
“Do we attempt to rescue them now, then?” I asked.
Kye's hand rested unexpectedly against my hip.
“Not yet, Stone. Sleep or rest. When the time comes, we'll need to find a way to distract the soldiers quickly and then run.”
I turned back to the camp. People moved lazily within it. A group of red-coated soldiers were playing cards, their laughter loud. Some of the soldiers napped, leaning against trees with their mouths hanging open. On the edge of the camp, a young lady lounged with her maids on feather stuffed pillows while eating rich, dainty foods with her fingers. I could see the prison wagon beyond that. One face caught my attention. Nikalia, her dirty cheeks flat against the bars, her hungry eyes watching the rich women.
“Relax,” Kye breathed into my ear. “We'll find a way to get them out.”
I had to trust him. Even the part of my heart that still found it hard to accept Kye as a rebel had to trust him.
I leaned away, my back going to the tree as Kye pulled a hooded green cloak from the same pack holding our food. He wrapped it around his shoulders, and I realized he was worried the red surcoat he wore would be too visible to the camp's occupants, even as hidden as we were among the brush. He leaned next to me, his breathing easier than mine.
“Rest,” he prompted again.
I relaxed.
I had no intention of falling asleep, but the longer we sat there, the more my eyes drooped. One moment, the world was green and golden, the next it was black and filled with the distinct scent of pine.