Page 13 of Her Royal Blood

I shifted out of my wolf and approached him, still feeling very fatigued, but better.

“She’s running to your kingdom to beseech your father to help us fight my new husband,” I said, feeling the heaviness of the last few days.

“You don’t look so well,” Cheyenne said as he slung his pack down and pulled out a leather bladder of water. “Here, drink all of it, you look severely dehydrated.” I took the water from him and drank some of it, but not all, as I’m sure he needed water too. “Did you just take off running, then? Is Polonius behind you?” Cheyenne put his hand on his sword as if that might be an actual possibility. “Kort, go scope the perimeter and see if there are any more warriors,” Cheyenne commanded the soldier by his side.

“Yes, commander,” the soldier said and shifted into his wolf and took off running.

“Here,” Cheyenne started rummaging through his pack and brought out something wrapped in linen cloth. “Have these as well.”

I opened the bundle to find a handful of dried meat.

“I can’t take all of your provisions,” I protested, grateful for the food.

“I wouldn’t let a queen starve and you’re not taking all of my provisions.” He stood tall, looking regal and handsome. “I havea second bladder of water and two more satchels of meat.” He flashed me a charming smile and for a second I could see his resemblance to Lex.

“Thank you, Cheyenne,” I said, reaching out my arms to offer a hug. “What a mess this all is.” I sighed in his ear.

“All necessary to make real change I’m afraid.” Cheyenne mused as if we weren’t on the precipice of the worst war in our history. “How did you escape Polonius? And sincerely Aria, he has to be after you.”

“He’s not, because I’m still with him.” I offered a clever smile. “I magically disguised Gabrielle to be me. Polonius has no idea that he’s married a counterfeit.”

“Oh that is brilliant. So, if you’re heading to Navarrah City you should know it's under siege and there are Crypt Claw everywhere. The pack is stretched thin and mom and Janaya are in hiding. We’re on our way to the Obsidian Valley to implore the Lupine Coalition to help us fight Polonius. I’m not surprised to see you taking this path,” Cheyenne laughed as we both knew this was the way Jarvis had instructed us to go if our troops wanted to move between kingdoms without being seen.

“We were both trained by the best,” I laughed with him, though there was no cause for mirth.

“We were. My father is rallying the troops and is trying to find a way to get Lex off of Vitoria Island. He’s securing fighters from the villages and towns, We’re asking for all hands at this point. Be careful returning home, you’ll have to have eyes at your back at all times.” Cheyenne’s sweet expression faded.

“I will. I just need to be there long enough to secure transport to and from Vitoria Island with Lex,” I told him, ready to be on my way so that I could get him.

“Be safe, Aria. I hope when we meet again it will be under better circumstances,” Cheyenne looked towards the woodssearching for his companion, who ran to us moments later with his report.

“There’s no more soldiers up here near the forest but plenty on the road,” the other soldier, named Kort, reported.

“Thank you,” Cheyenne said to Kort, then addressed me. “Stay on Jarvis’ path, you should make it to Navarrah City by nightfall. Do you need more to eat?” Cheyenne was about to dip into his pouch again when I stilled his hand.

“I’ve had plenty, thank you Cheyenne. And yes, when we meet again, it will be to celebrate and rejoice. Safe travels.” I smiled and hugged him once more.

“Stay alive, Aria. I want to bow before you as my queen one day.”

We released each other and both of us shifted into our wolves and went separate directions. I ran for the rest of the day and made it to Navarrah City late in the evening. I couldn’t walk up to the castle at that late hour and I hadn’t any energy to cloak myself with invisibility. I needed someplace to rest. I couldn’t just sleep in the streets so I went into the Eagle’s Nest, the bar where once Lex, Cheyenne, Ulryk and others got into a fight that had them all scolded and dishonored for brawling in public. While it was Ulryk who had started the fight, all of them were blamed. I pulled the cloak I’d worn as a dignitary from Solbrook over my head and kept my eyes cast down so no one could see me. As I entered the bar it was crowded with Crypt Claw warriors.

I was happy they were there getting drunk and sloppy, hopefully drink would impede their aim and dull their senses. I hadn’t money to buy a drink and little energy to conjure it, but if I didn’t I’d be seen as suspicious so I materialized a few coins in my pocket and went to the bar. A drink of water was what I wanted most, but ale would be better than nothing. As I wasabout to order a drink, I was grabbed from behind and did my best not to scream.

Chapter 6

Lex

I woke up to the sound of someone in my room. Their footsteps were tenuous and heavy, clearly not experienced in the art of ambushing the enemy. His breaths were heavy and erratic as I noted the sounds of a nervous man. I had the element of surprise on my side because I knew he was there long before he suspected I was awake. I kept my eyes closed focusing on the footsteps of the man approaching my bed.

By the uneven thud of his footfalls, he likely wasn’t as big as Hawk, which was a good thing. Even though I bested the brute, the fight had left me sore and bruised. Just as my intruder came up to my bed, I opened my eyes and saw that he was about to plunge a knife into my neck. I quickly rolled away from him and catapulted myself over the bed so that I was behind him. Shocked, he spun around to find me in the form of the man. I easily kicked his makeshift dagger out of his hand, caught it, and held it against his neck.

The thing was made of sharpened coconut bark crafted onto a broken pipe. He’d have better luck with the weapon if he’d just hit me over the head with a coconut. His shank was barely sharp enough to cut through one layer of flesh.

“First,” I said as I pressed his weapon to his throat. “If you’re going to kill a man, do it quietly. Second, if you’re going to make a weapon, be sure it’s sharp.” I sliced a tiny cut into his neck as I pressed hard into it, barely leaving a mark. “Lastly, if you're going to murder a prince so that you can spend your life enslaved to a tyrant, consider the fact that the prince will be rescued from this godforsaken place. When he is, he’ll make soldiers too…out of free men and women. Fight by my side and spend your nights with wine and women.” I turned him around to face me, holding one arm and pointing the tip of his dagger at his neck with the other. “What say you to that?”

The attacker said nothing, just wrenched his arm out of my hold and fled my hut without a word, proving a coward is a coward. I looked out of the door and realized I had survived the night. Things were looking up. Outside my hut was a guard who had been employed to watch over me. Just to taunt him I stretched my arms wide and stepped out into the sun turning to look back at him with a great big smile on my face.

“Morning,” I said, adding a lilt to my voice.

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