Page 18 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

He gives me a withering look as he starts to walk towards the trees and then over his shoulder he asks, “Do you tie the hands of all your guests?”

I merely smile as I watch the muscles underneath the eagle on his back ripple as he stretches his shoulders when he walks.Just the ones who would run from me,I think ruefully as I pull my cloak tighter against the chill of the night.

I decide to prove my point about him being our guest and go in search of some bread, cheese and wine. He seems to be particularly fond of the latter. I’m In the process of making my way back to the cart when an unholy commotion breaks out and all I can hear is the prince’s angry voice shouting obscenities and threats into the night.

“By the gods, you’ll pay for this!” he roars. “What kind of hell’s demons are you to do this to a man?”

I pass the food and wine off to one of the Khaleeni and run towards the sound of his voice. Moments later I find him on his knees beside the two young soldiers, who we have gently laid on the ground, and my heart leaps into my mouth at the stricken expression on his face. It's obvious they are known to him and he feels their pain. His bound hands reach towards the soldier nearest to him and it's clear he wishes to offer the comfort of his touch, but then he draws his hands back as if realising it would only cause more pain.

I'm taken aback at the extent to which he cares about these two young soldiers as, in my experience, higher ranking male warriors prefer to stay emotionally detached from their troops and he holds one of the highest ranks of all.

“My Lord, do you know these men?” I ask.

He looks up at me. “Know them? Of course I know them,” he exclaims. “They are my men and two of the finest soldiers I've ever had the privilege of serving under my command.”

He starts to rise to his feet and I'm so stunned to see tears running down his face, I don’t immediately realise his intent.

“By all the demons in hell, you'll pay for this!” he roars as he lunges at me. Thankfully, Kes, Ailish and two other Khaleeni are on top of him before he reaches me and soon he is suitably restrained at my feet. Not that it prevents him from trying to break free or from telling me how much he is going to enjoy killing me.

Then Ailish says something to him in Bawnish, the native language of the Ellerban, and he stills.

“You are Ellerban?” he asks, speaking in the common tongue.

“Yes, my Lord,” she replies.

He looks her up and down. “And you are in service to this ‘queen’?”

He says the word queen as if he still doesn't believe I am actual royalty or if I am then I am not worthy of the title.

“I am, my Lord, and happy to be so. She is a kind and gracious leader who treats her people well. What you see here, the fate of these poor soldiers, was not the work of the queen.”

She stops talking and looks at me. It's clear she’s uncertain as to whether or not to tell him it was his brother who inflicted the terrible wounds upon these two soldiers. Their grievous condition has upset him enough and there is no way of knowing how he will react to the knowledge it was his brother who did this. Therefore, I decide to keep that knowledge from him for the moment.

“We found them in the Dark Forest,” I inform him, “took pity upon their plight and decided to bring them back with us to Ardvalla. I have expert healers there who I believe may be capable of bringing them back to health. That is, if they survive the journey. It’s imperative, for their sake, we make it back to Valensia in the shortest possible time. Therefore, my Lord, Iwould ask you to lower your voice and remain calm as we do not wish to attract unwanted attention that may delay us on our journey.”

I signal for him to be released and allowed to stand. He rises up before me and stands mere breaths away, necessitating me to raise my head to look up into his eyes. Two blazing orbs of green burn into me. “We have healers in Ellerban too,” he informs me, his voice strained with repressed fury. “There can't be a village too far away. If you really care about these men, then have some of your women take them to where they can be looked after and avail of the services of an Ellerban healer.”

“I'm sorry, my Lord, I can’t do that. Our mission is time sensitive and, for reasons I won't go into now, our presence cannot be discovered. Ailish is a practiced healer. Her grandmother was an Ellerban healer and she also has training with the master healers of Ardvalla, therefore she has skills and expertise from both traditions. She was retrieving the healing provisions when you discovered your men. We have broken our journey and intend to rest here so they may get some attention. Please, let her attend to them so that we may be on our way come the dawn.”

I motion to the member of the Khaleeni with the food to come forward. “You should eat and get some rest as we have a long journey ahead of us. And just so you know, these women, as you call them, are the most trusted members of my own private guard known as the Khaleeni. Each one is a highly trained warrior and I would strongly advise against testing them.”

He looks at the women surrounding him and I see the moment the truth of my words sinks in. The Khaleeni are a lethal fighting force and only a fool wouldn't recognise that, and this prince is no fool.

“Fine,” he says in a low voice as he accepts the food and wine, “but I will stay here with my men and remain with themfor the rest of the journey. I will see them recovered and then I’ll ask them who did this and by all the gods, I swear I will detach his head from his neck.”

Myself, Kes and Ailish exchange a knowing glance and I’m glad I decided to withhold the knowledge about his brother from him for the time being. To tell him the truth at this point would achieve nothing as he would merely think I was lying, or he would be so crazed with the need for vengeance it would be impossible to contain him and we would need to subdue him with nightlily for the remainder of the journey. Rendering him unconscious is not what I wish as it’s my intention to try to get to know him a little better as we travel back to Valensia.

I’m hopeful if we can get to know each other a little and he sees he is being treated well, that he will be amenable to my plan. I'm not so much concerned about his consent to the testing of his seed, as no man has yet refused the attentions of the maidens of the harvest. However, should his seed prove good, then I will need him to agree to my proposal of marriage to become my king. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem as most of my suitors are lords and would be marrying up and I have yet to come across one who didn't have ambitions to be king. However, this prince has a throne waiting for him in his own realm. Therefore, I may have to sweeten the deal with something else. I'm hoping, if we get to know each other, then I and my maidenhood might be enough. If not, then I have some other ideas, but I'd prefer not to have to use them.

For my part, I am intrigued by a man who cries tears for his wounded soldiers and whose eyes hint at a terrible pain hidden within the depths of his soul. I'd very much like to get to know him better and, despite the fact I have abducted him, I hope he will give me an opportunity to do so in the coming days and weeks.

One thing I know for certain is that he is a much more exciting prospect than any of the Lords of Ardvalla, and as I lay my head down to catch a few hours' sleep, I feel much better about my decision to abduct a prince I've never met. He has already proven to be a far finer man both physically and emotionally than those I have encountered thus far.

Chapter Seven

I rise before dawn and consult with the front riders who returned sometime during the night. They tell of a number of patrols in Greythorne’s territory and there’s no doubt it's going to be a risky journey. I pray Lady Luck will be on our side.

I go to check on the young soldiers and my captive. He is sitting between them, his expression unguarded, and I'm touched at the tenderness in his eyes as he looks upon them, like a father looks upon a child.

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