Page 9 of The Great Pursuit
“A Lashed One,” the king hissed. “Was he captured?”
Harrison’s face fell. “Not yet, Your Majesty. People beganto shout about a Lashed attack and chaos ensued. But the men are searching. And this lad gave this paper to my soldier.” He motioned to the boy and the soldier behind him. “The child says a woman with brown hair and a blue cloak paid him a copper outside the gates to the royal lands to give this paper to a soldier during the burnings. We believe the boy knows nothing else. He claims he can’t read.” Aerity believed it. The boy sniffled and rubbed his eyes. Harrison handed the paper to King Charles. Aerity and the others watched.
He read it through once, and his face grew grave. “Great seas alive.” He motioned to the soldier and said, “Take the boy and find his parents. Question them. See if anyone else saw this woman or knows her whereabouts.”
The soldier saluted and left with the boy.
King Charles wiped his face again. “The letter says, ‘He who attempts to fool is a fool himself. For burning a fake list you shall lose a member of your kingdom. Do not underestimate my reach. Tomorrow morning your complete Lashed lists and the copies you have made will burn or more shall die.’” The king looked up with wide eyes, the room heavy with dread. “There is a traitor among us.”
Aerity stood with water lapping at her legs, the edges of the scene blurred in her mind. She was alone with the great beast. The creature stared eye to eye with her, giving a snuffle against her outreached hand. She was not afraid. She knew it would not harm her. In its own way the monster seemedto smile around its massive tusks, its eyes drifting closed as it took comfort from Aerity’s caress of its wiry jaw. Her stomach lurched, knowing what she must do. Slowly, like a cruel punisher, Aerity dug the sharp blade into the beast’s throat. Its eyes flew open, striking her with a brokenhearted look of disbelief. She twisted the knife and it howled.
Aerity shot upward, awaking in semi-darkness. She blinked to adjust her eyes.Only a dream, only a dream, she reminded herself. Still, she pressed a hand to her clenched abdomen, breathing away the feelings of sadness and guilt that the dream always brought. Her emotions were a snarled mess.
Only the slightest hint of moonlight entered the arched windows as she felt for her slippers with her toes, pushing her feet into them. She peered out over the silent, dark grounds, thinking it all seemed spooky despite its innocuousness.
She needed fresh air but didn’t dare swing open her windows. No flying beasts had been discovered, but they’d been ordered to keep the castle windows closed just in case. Nothing seemed impossible at this point.
Aerity grabbed her robe from the bedpost hook and shrugged her arms into it. She would take a walk to clear her mind of her dream of the monster’s eyes. She passed a guard at the entrance of her chambers, who straightened at the sight of her.
“I’m fine,” she said before he could speak. “I need a walk. I’ll return shortly.”
He gave a nod, but sent a wary look up and down the silent halls, as if danger were lurking around every corner.
Surprise flitted inside her when she became aware where her feet were taking her. Lord Alvi’s quarters. She’d never visited him before. Never had reason. Aerity hadn’t thought of him as a confidant, but she found herself wondering if his kingdom had ever dealt with treason. If he was to be her husband, she would need to learn to turn to him. There were some aspects of the coldlander she respected, such as his leadership and political outlook.
Her feet stopped halfway down Lief’s hall as she realized the ridiculousness of waking him in the middle of the night, though he likely wouldn’t mind. He was open to her in many ways. It’d been she who kept a wall between them. She stood there deliberating when she heard his door click open. Oh. Well, then, that settled it. Perhaps he couldn’t sleep either. She took a step forward as a hushed, breathy, feminine bout of laughter issued from his doorway.
Aerity halted and stared in shock as a young woman came out, a beaming smile on her pretty face, her hair a wavy brown mess of a braid undone. A shock of recognition jabbed Aerity in the stomach. Caitrin! Her maid . . . Lord Alvi reached out from his doorway and grasped the girl around the waist, a dashing grin on his face as he pulled her to him. He wore a towel loosely tied around his hips and nothing else. The shock of it made Aerity gasp. She covered her mouth to muffle the sound, but it was too late.
Both heads turned toward her. Caitrin leaped away from Lord Alvi with a cry and Lord Alvi’s eyes bulged. One hand held the towel while the other went to his blond hair, as if grasping for something, anything. “Princess, what are you . . .” His question trailed off.
A full-force gale began at Aerity’s feet and circled its way upward, turning her insides around and around, straight up to her head where she thought her mind might explode.
“Oh seas.” Caitrin crumpled to the floor, her hands pressed to the stone as her body heaved with uncontrollable breaths. “Your Highness! Princess, please. Please, I’m so sorry.”
Part of Aerity wanted to lift the girl to her feet, this girl who she thought of as a friend, and the other part of her felt utterly betrayed. Of all the men she could have had.
Lord Alvi finally dropped his hand and stood taller, staring from Caitrin to Aerity.
“Why have you come?” His tone was tinged with uneasiness. “Is there danger?”
She could not yet speak, only able to shake her head slowly. Caitrin had quieted, but kept her face down, nose to the floor, sucking in loud breaths as she fought for air, shaking.
Aerity licked her dry lips. “I needed to walk. I thought we might talk.”
Lord Alvi’s eyes searched her. “I was not expecting to see you.”
“Obviously.”
Caitrin let out a low moan and curled in on herself like an animal in fear.
Aerity was so tired, so numb, that she felt she’d rather turn and walk away than deal with this. But as she stared at her betrothed, still flushed from his time with her maid, a darker part of herself—a part she’d worked so hard to confine—began to rise from deep within her. It was the part of her that was angry about being a pawn, a prize, a victim of these tumultuous circumstances. It was the shameful part of her that did not want to sacrifice her love and happiness for the kingdom. Aye, that piece of her that wanted to be selfish, to rebel and run away from it all. To take something for herself, just as Lief was doing, no matter the consequences.
She took a shaking breath and allowed that sunken part of herself to surface, like a raging fire in the pit of her despair, kindled by the scene before her and her bleak future ahead.
This is my life, Aerity thought.This will always be my life.And then a simple decision arose within her. Lord Alvi actually appeared frightened of her.
Caitrin wailed, her nails scratching the stone.
