Blessed by the Gods (Gods & Dark Creatures Book 1)

Chapter thirteen

Something flew past the windows. A shadow appeared and disappeared just as quickly. At first, Amaya ignored it, but then it flashed outside the windows again. She heard a sound she knew very well. It was a falcon. She quickly ran to the nearest balcony to make sure it wasn't just her imagination. It didn't seem like it. She saw him circling the sky. He had a blue ribbon tied on his leg. It was a falcon from Amorite. It circled low in the sky, looking for its target. It will circle there until it finds it.

Must have belonged to Zariah. Dozens of thoughts raced through Amaya's head. How long has she been messaging people in Amorite? What is written in those messages? What does she write about her in them? Why didn't Zariah tell her about falcons? She doesn't trust her. No more.

"Any problem, miss?" General Adrien snapped Amaya out of her thoughts.

Amaya almost jumped in shock when he appeared next to her.

"No," she replied. "Everything is perfectly fine, General."

Amaya walked away down the hall. The general watched her constantly. She felt his gaze burning into her back. Her step was nervous. She cautiously looked over her shoulder and watched as he watched her. As she suddenly rounded the nearest corner, she started to run. She ran through the corridors as fast as her breath would allow.

She went to the kitchen. She took a piece of meat from there. She hoped she could lure the falcon before it got to Zariah or before anyone who should not have noticed.

She ran around the gardens with a piece of raw meat in her hand, trying to attract the falcon to her. But it didn't even see her.

"Come here, you stupid bird," Amaya said to herself.

She looked like crazy over there waving that meat in the air like that. And she definitely didn't look inconspicuous. The falcon continued to circle above her head, waiting for its rightful recipient.

Amaya finally gave up and went to the training room. The soldiers immediately took notice of her presence. Amaya walked straight to General Marcellus. She didn't hesitate. She was lucky Prince Ciaran wasn't there at the time. They usually always train together.

"Is something wrong, Miss Amaya?" the general asked her.

"I need your help, General Marcellus," she replied.

The general looked at her in disbelief. "What's the problem?" he asked.

"Are you good at shooting a crossbow?" Amaya asked him.

"Very well," replied the general. "You don't know how to shoot?"

"I'm really a terrible shooter," Amaya said. "That's why I need your help, General."

The general took a crossbow from the armory and willingly followed Amaya into the gardens. Since they made peace with each other, the tension between them has disappeared. It helped that Amaya helped them win an important battle in the war. If it didn't happen, they would lose the whole war. General Marcellus was surprisingly nice to her despite the incident with the concubine Yazmin.

"I want you to shoot down that falcon, General," Amaya said, pointing at the bird circling among the clouds.

"Why?" wondered the general.

"I have my reasons," Amaya replied. "Now shoot."

The general eyed her suspiciously. "Does Prince Ciaran know about this?" he asked her.

"Prince Ciaran doesn't need to know everything," Amaya said.

General Marcellus lowered his crossbow and gave her a scolding look. He was silently telling her that he would not help her in her secret plans. Amaya crossed her arms over her chest and returned the same unyielding look.