Skylar pledged her life to protect her homeland, but she didn't expect that she would have to resort to marrying the king's brother and using her wits instead of a sword.
...
The fog hung over the forest like a thick veil. The sun barely peeked above the dark mountains on the horizon, slowly dispersing the gloom of the night. The forest was calm and silent.
Far too silent.
Skylar tiptoed, her feet swift and sure on the forest floor as if she was one of the creatures living there. When she reached the clearing, she raised a hand in warning, signalling the people following her to stay back.
A gutted carcass of a deer was lying there, and something was feeding on it.
The unnatural silence was only disturbed by the sickening sounds of tearing flesh and crushing bones.
Skylar gripped her shield harder and signalled to her companions. Without a word, they dispersed, encircling the clearing. Suddenly, the wind blew, bringing a repulsive stench of rotting meat with a hint of a coppery smell of spilt blood.
The beast lifted its head. It looked like a monster out of nightmares. It roughly resembled a wolf but was much bigger, and instead of fur, it was covered with sleek dark skin, and part of his body was rotting. The eyes glowing with angry red light found people hiding in the bushes, and wide jaws full of huge sharp teeth opened.
The terrible shriek pierced the silence, making even the bravest of men tremble.
"Fire!" commanded Skylar.
The arrows whooshed through the air from all sides. The monster howled in pain when a few of them found their aim. But it seemed more angry than hurt. With a ferocious growl, the beast jumped towards the archers.
Before it reached the tree line, Skylar bashed at it with her shield at full speed. The creature screeched in pain as it hit the nearby tree. It tried to get back on its feet, but a spear pierced its back. And then another. And another.
The beast roared and thrashed, but it was already too late. It was a savage and fearsome enemy, but it was not immortal. Its clawed paws scraped the ground, muscles shivering from sudden exhaustion. Blood gushed from dozens of deadly wounds, leaving the creature weak. Fierce red eyes were darting around, glaring with pure hatred.
Skylar walked to the beast and gripped her sword with two hands. When she was looking down at the hideous beast, she felt nausea rising in her guts. It looked all wrong and mangled, a thing that should not be alive. She plunged the blade into the monster's heart with one swift movement. The sinister red light was finally snuffed out like a candle, leaving a terrible husk dead and unmoving.
Skylar wrenched her sword out and flicked her hand to remove the stinking black blood covering the blade.
"How many Blood Vultures have we encountered this week?" she asked.
"Ten, Captain," one of the soldiers replied. "And we're still not even halfway through it."
"More of those foul creatures come from the Blighted Lands every day, Captain," said another one. "I fear soon we won't be able to catch them all. We don't have numbers to guard the whole border all the time."
"I know, Dun. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The union with the King is almost finalised. And with that, hopefully, we'll finally get proper reinforcements."
"Do you think the King will send us more soldiers, Captain? The Capital never cared for what happened in our lands...."
"Leave it to Rori," replied Skylar with a smirk. "She will bring hell to those dandies from the capital and force them to send us more soldiers. Now, let's burn this carcass and move. The day barely started, and we still have a lot of ground to cover."
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