Page 64 of Warrior Princess
I knew he was right. Caelan was volatile. He was a completely different person today. I’d only seen that crazed look on his face two times, when he shot those arrows at me at the cliffs of the Central Plains, and when he tortured me in the dungeons when he thought I was Leila. And even then, his craziness was relatively mild. Nothing like today. Today he was just… insane. The memory made me shiver.
The doorknob jiggled an instant before the door opened and Ronan walked in… alone.
I hurried toward him as he shut the door behind him. “Where are they?”
“They’re safe and already on their way to Valoria.” He pulled me into his arms. “I ran into Mykal, who told me he was keeping tabs on them. He’s going to send them a message to meet us in Marsten. You have nothing to worry about.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and rested my forehead on his chest, feeling his chest heave up and down in a steady rhythm. “Thank the goddess.”
Ronan brushed my hair back and cradled my head. “I also saw my father; he’s preparing to leave tonight, and I told him we’d leave with him. I don’t think it’s safe for you to remain in Eldwain.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here as soon as possible.”
Less than an hour later,we were back on the road, crossing the Eldwain border into the Central Plains. With just a few hours until we reached Marsten, I couldn’t contain my excitement for being reunited with my family after the harrowing ordeal we’d just witnessed.
We hadn’t told Chief Aryan about our plan to stop in Marsten, so as we neared the town, Ronan called out to him to stop. Chief Aryan peered over his shoulder at his son with a raised brow. “We need to stay the night in Marsten.”
Chief Aryan pulled the reins of his horse and spun it to face Ronan. “Why? We need to put as many miles as possible between us and Eldwain. Especially withherin tow.” He nodded toward me with a sour expression.
I knew I wasn’t his favorite person, but you would think he’d be more appreciative after all I’d done for the Crimson Clan.
“Shehas a name,” Ronan bit out. “And Leila needs to see her family. They’re meeting us in Marsten.”
Chief Aryan rolled his eyes and turned his horse back around to continue forward. “That is of no concern to us. If she wants to go to Marsten by herself, that’s fine, but the rest of us willkeep going until we reach Lomewood. The closer we are to the Grasslands, the better.”
Shiro cleared his throat, his face calm and impassive. “I must object, Aryan. Leila has done much for the Crimson Clan. The least we can do is escort her there and back to the Grasslands safely. I’m sure you would agree.” Shiro smirked knowingly.
Though he refused to turn around, the chief grunted and nodded in agreement, angling his horse toward Marsten.
Before long, we arrived in the small town. Our procession trotted through the streets until we reached an inn on the outskirts of town, where Mykal said my family would be waiting. I dismounted and peered around, but I didn’t have to wait long.
Marcellus came running out of the inn, shouting my name. “Thank the goddess you’re okay!”
I hugged him fiercely. “Same to you, brother.”
“Mother and Father are resting upstairs. Come.” He took my wrist and attempted to pull me inside.
“Wait.” I looked around. Chief Aryan and his warriors had gone ahead to one of the town’s inns and were waiting for us there. Shiro and Ronan stood beside me, scanning the area for hidden threats. “I need to tell you something.”
Marcel furrowed his brow. “What is it?”
I leaned and whispered in his ear. “First, Father whispered in my ear and told me I was right. Is he talking about Mother poisoning him?”
Marcel’s frown deepened. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about that, but I fed him the prescription you wrote for him, along with your blood. I had a healer from outside the palace come see him and he said he’s doing much better.” Marcel ran a hand through his short hair. “I’ve also been preparing his food, so she hasn’t had a chance to poison him again.”
I nodded and gave a relieved sigh. “Good. That’s good. But there’s something else. I met with Princess Avery a few daysago and she mentioned mother’s first born… Do you remember hearing about the stillborn she had before me?”
Saddened, Marcellus dropped his gaze. “Yes, but she doesn’t like talking much about it.” He looked behind me to where Ronan and Shiro were quietly observing the area.
“Well, brace yourself. It wasn’t a stillborn…andit was a silver-haired baby!”
Shock leached the color from my brother’s face. “What? How? From Ellyndor or Eldwain?”
“Eldwain,” I said. “And according to the midwife we tracked down, that child is very much alive.”
Marcellus shook his head as if trying to force it to make sense. “While I believe you, I still can’t imagine Mother having an affair.”
I squeezed his hands. “There’s no other explanation. Didn’t you find it odd how distraught she was during the funeral? She was crying as if it was her own husband who died!”
