Page 44 of Crown of Briars
How dare he? As if he knewanythingabout what my people had suffered at the hands of the unseelie fae.
My hands curled into shaking fists as I tried to follow Varius into the castle, but he had vanished so quickly that I wondered if his shadows had swallowed him up. At any rate, he walked directly through a line of soldiers practicing archery, and I wasn’t quite bold enough to step in their line of fire.
The training yard was a maze of wooden beams, shooting targets, and massive climbing walls. Everything was so huge I could hardly make out the castle turrets that I knew were somewhere behind the training yard.
High in the sky, dark shadows swirled. They were thicker and denser than the Umbra Mist I was accustomed to. Then I remembered what Enzira had told me about the Umbra Mist—it recoiled from light. Right now, with the sun high in the sky, the usual thin and transparent layer of Umbra Mist was gone.
I frowned, glancing upward again. Clearly, I was in no danger; if the soldiers could train here without issue, thensomethingwas keeping the dark shadows at bay.
I recalled Varius’s words from the library:I maintain the shield around the castle that protects it during the daytime when the Umbra Mist is thinnest.
Squinting, I peered closer at the shadows in the sky, raising a hand to block the brilliance of the sun so I could see better.
Sure enough, an almost invisible pearly white fog hovered just in front of the darkness, like a ghostly barrier.
That had to be Varius’s magic.
Satisfied with my assessment, I lowered my gaze and watched the soldiers train for a while, curious of their method. The drills were very unlike what I was accustomed to with my own training; Gerard often had the men run laps, then spar one-on-one to improve their technique.
The fae soldiers all fought in one massive group. After watching for a few minutes, I realized why: they were learning how to battle multiple opponents and threats at once. And, with unseelie creatures who possessed tails and wings and other appendages that could be used in battle, this was a valuable technique to learn. One fae used his barbed tail to take down a soldier at his back, then slashed at an opponent with his claws while striking another with his sword.
And the leather armor the soldiers wore was quite flimsy. Claws and blades easily pierced through it, and several men were bleeding profusely by the end of the exercise. I watched them leave the training yard, some limping and others needing to be dragged out. I could only hope they were on their way to a healer.
Then I realized that healer likely resided in the castle, so I hurried across the grass after them, hoping they would lead me out of the chaotic training yard. I needed to get back to my rooms to help Azure. She had gotten a massive splinter that had cracked one of her talons when she’d landed last night. She had only just told me this morning, after enduring a sleepless nightof agony. The birch root tucked in the folds of my skirts would help her heal, and I was anxious to remove the splinter for her.
The injured soldiers climbed a steep hill, and on the other side was a covered walkway that led to the rear side of the palace.
A breath of relief whooshed out of me as I trailed after them—but I stopped short when an unfamiliar soldier stepped in my path.
I offered a nervous smile and tried to step around him.
He blocked me again.
“Excuse me,” I said in Agnarrish.
The soldier only smiled. I looked him over, noting his muscular frame that towered over me. He had a pair of black horns and strange, mismatched eyes, one gold and one silver. His skin was a pale blue.
“Where are you off to, human?” he asked in my language. “You seemed so interested in our training earlier.”
“I was only curious,” I said. “And a bit lost. This castle is confusing, and I’m trying to find my way back.”
Once more, I stepped to the left, trying to get past him, but he matched my movements. Anger prickled underneath my skin, and I glared up at him. “Do you mind?”
He cocked his head at me and flashed a smug smile. The king often canted his head a certain way when he looked at me, but this was nothing like that. Varius did it to scrutinize me. But this soldier was looking at me like I was his next meal.
And I didn’t like it one bit.
My hand clamped around the hilt of the dagger hidden in my skirts, and the strength of the diamonds flooded my veins, filling me with boldness and clarity. “Let me pass,” I ordered, trying to put as much authority in my voice as possible.
“Perhaps you should linger for a while longer,” the soldier said, unfazed by my demands. “The squadron hasn’t had a good hunt in a long while. It would be exciting for them.”
My blood chilled. Surely this stranger wasn’t suggesting the trained soldiers wouldhuntme for sport.
I thought of the unseelie creatures terrorizing the villagers in my kingdom. Bile crept up my throat.
But I refused to let this fae’s threats cow me. I drew my dagger and aimed it for his chest. “Step aside,” I said in a low voice, “or I will run you through.”
The soldier looked at my dagger and laughed. “You think you can harm me, human? Have they not educated you in those tiny schools of yours? Mortals cannot kill us.”
