Page 18 of Heart of Shadows

She sloshed over to him. Behind a rock, she saw a tiny coracle big enough for one.

“Get in.” She looked at him, dumbfounded. “Get in!” he repeated. “The cliff won’t hold them back forever. There are Kingsguard alongside those peasants. Believe me, they don’t want to be denied of their prize catch. Me.”

Harper fleetingly wondered what was worse than allegedly stealing a Dragonheart, but she obeyed, giving him an incredulous look as she clambered into the coracle. This tiny, frail thing would bear a person’s weight—or two? It looked like nothing more than a few scraps of leather bound around a twig-like frame. As she settled into it, her legs crossed, she held the Dragonheart close. Through the sodden cloak, it pulsed with warmth, as if burning with an inner fire. She clung to that as shivers wracked her.

The elf tugged the small vessel out onto the lake. In the centre of the bobbing coracle, Harper wrapped her arms around herself and squealed as it tipped—threatening to capsize—when the elf got in. Miraculously, it did not. He squeezed awkwardly around her, and she ended up wedged between his legs at the front of the vessel, the Dragonheart clutched tightly in her hands. By some unseen magic, for he had no paddles, the coracle bobbed away from the shore, over each lapping wave, accelerating until it zoomed across the surface of the water, somehow not tipping them out as it crested each wave. With one hand, Harper clung to the rim of the coracle, leaning back into the elf’s warm chest as he leaned into her for balance, and willing away the rising churn of nausea swilling around her belly.

“That ought to do it. They’re scuppered for now,” he said with a grim smile. “They’re at least half a day’s walk away from where we’ll land on the far shore. Well… unless they have a dragon. In that case, we’re damned, but I’d wager not. I’m pretty sure if they did, I’d already be dead.”

“R-Right,” Harper stammered through her still chattering teeth. She was entirely unsure how to process that. Dragons had not been seen in Caledan for hundreds of years, but it very much appeared she was no longer in Caledan.

Wind whipped against her, sending wet tendrils of hair slapping into her face, evaporating what little warmth she had. Spray drenched them with every juddering impact across the lake. The water was sweet, just as sweet as the stream she had drunk from, but even though she was thirsty, it was too cold to enjoy a mouthful and a shower at the same time. She twisted to look behind them. The crowd at the top of the cliff had faded into the distance, their faces indistinguishable blobs, though snatches of their voices followed Harper and the elf across the lake. The elf grinned, as though utterly satisfied with events.

“Sorry for the tight squeeze. Didn’t plan on having any company,” he said. His gaze dragged across her, his brow slightly furrowed, as he took her in. Her stomach tightened at the scrutiny—at being at his mercy on this vessel in the middle of a lake in a strange land. “Don’t worry. Just a little while more and we’ll get you dried off before we figure out what on earth to do with you.”

“We?”

He chuckled. “One doesn’t plan heists of this nature by himself, you know.”

What had she gotten herself into? Harper let out a shuddering breath. The coracle slowed as it approached the shallows on the other side of the lake. Water lapped against the pebbled shore, which receded into coniferous forests stretching up towering foothills as far as the eye could see. Harper held the Dragonheart tighter. She was exhausted, wet, freezing, starving, thirsty, and in shock. There was no fire left in her. When the vessel bumped into the shore, she held back an angry sob. The elf helped her clamber out of the tipping coracle, and she strode through the freezing shallows onto dry land, where she fell onto her knees, her hands throbbing as they crushed against sharp rocks. He rushed to her side. “Are you all right?”

“No! No, I’m not! What in Caledan’s name is happening? I’ve no idea where I am or how I got here. I’m starving, tired, cold, and wet, and I’ve no idea why all those people were hell-bent on chasing me. I’m not going another damn step until someone explains something!”

18

HARPER

“Aedon? Who’s this?” a deep, gravelly voice asked, a heavy twang twisting the Common Tongue away from the slant Harper was used to in Caledan. Harper looked up. And up. Large, booted feet. Muscled legs twice as thick as her companion’s—whose name she surmised now was ‘Aedon’. A chest so broad that the armour upon it would have fallen right off a human. Bare, scarred arms with leather bracers. He towered over her so much, her neck hurt from how far back she had to bend it to take him in. A weather-worn, craggy face stared impassively down at her. And… Wings? Wings rested on his back, just like the woman she had seen in the village. Except his were far bigger and tawny in colour. She gaped. There was no fear left in her to be scared by this monstrous male.

“Er… I have no idea,” Aedon replied. His voice was almost sheepish. He turned to Harper. “Who are you?”

The man-bird groaned. “Not a dead weight. Please tell me you have not picked up another useless mouth to feed. We already have the dwarf. You were supposed to get horses. Four legs! Not two!”

“Hey, you’d starve if it wasn’t for his cooking. You’re just grumpy you can’t beat him at chatura. She won’t be a weight at all,” Aedon said, waving at the bird-man dismissively. “Will you?”

Harper froze. She had no idea how she ought to reply.

“See. We’re fine. Our band of merry men and women grows one larger, at least for now. Brand, she seems to have had a terrible day of it. I’ll wager she has a story that will entertain us as we sup tonight. Surely she can stay for a night?”

Brand huffed and turned, stalking away. “Fine,” he muttered. “Keep the stray. She’s all yours.”

“Don’t mind him,” said Aedon, winking at Harper and offering a hand to her. She took it mutely and stood. “He’s as soft as a dwarf’s backside when you get to know him.”

The elf drew himself up. “My name is Aedon. The Aedon.” He smiled at her, as if expecting her to know who he was. She stared at him blankly. His face fell slightly. “Er, right. Not from around these parts, I see. I guess there is a limit to how far my reputation precedes me, and that’s wherever you’re from, which would be where, Miss…”

“Harper,” she replied quietly. “I’m from County Denholme. In Caledan. This isn’t Caledan, is it?” It was barely a question. She knew, deep in her gut. Her fingers curled into her palms, nails cutting little half moons into the skin. But no amount of sharp pain made any of this vanish.

“Right you are, Miss Harper. When did you arrive?”

“Today.” She hedged her bet—honesty with no detail to incriminate her.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Today? Here? Hmm… Your lips are turning a little blue, and we could do with finishing off our rather spectacular escape. How about we get somewhere safer and you dried off, then we’ll talk. Trust me. You’re safe for now.”

Safe. Did she feel safe? Every nerve in her body screamed of fighting or fleeing, even through the growing haze of exhaustion which threatened to collapse her after the longest day of her life. Aedon strode away, and turned back to her, waiting expectantly when she did not follow. It took every ounce of effort not to sway on her feet—or fall. Harper swallowed, her throat dry and thick. More walking. She was certain her body could not take it, yet she had no choice but to go forward. Backwards seemed absolutely out of the question. “All right.”

Aedon nodded. “That settles it then. Tonight, you can sing for your supper.” He smirked. “Not literally, if you’re a terrible singer. Singing is not mandatory. Then we’ll give you a bed for the night. Of sorts. More of a metaphorical bed, to be honest. On the ground. Ahem.” He gave her an encouraging grin. “Smile, Miss Harper. There’s no need for that wan face. After a hot meal and a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel far more chirpy tomorrow. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the rest of them.”

Harper was too tired to even wonder about who that might be as she trudged after him, utterly dispirited. Clearly, her day wasn’t getting back on track anytime soon.

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