Shadow Weaver (Back on Wattpad 2020!)

Chapter 30

Kel's safety is a candle of hope burning in the window of a dark house—a light in my being that cannot be extinguished. Not by the hard, exhausting pace of our journey south. Not by the Duke and Commander Fror's disapproval of my presence, as though I might endanger the troop at any moment. And not by the Prince's attentive kindness in front of the men and cold dismissal when we are away from watchful eyes.

For eight days we ride through valleys and huge oak forests, branches vibrant with baby green leaves. We pass rivers and waterfalls, and stop only to sleep and eat. The soldiers erect tents and establish camp within minutes. As though my presence is not awkward enough, I am further singled out by my separate sleeping quarters, which Tug and Brin take turns to guard under the star-bright sky.

On the nights Tug snores, wrapped in furs outside my tent, Jakut prowls and barely rests. He is determined to understand Tug's hold on me. I imagine he means to catch us doing something that will throw light on our little excursion in Lyndonia. But, by some mutual unspoken agreement, since the morning we left Kel, Tug and I have avoided all but the barest minimum of contact. He plays his role as protector to Lord Tersil's daughter, and I his charge, whose only interest lies in the Prince.

The days grow warmer, the nights shorter and the need for sleep leaves my body. Soon, the midnight sun will rise and hang in the sky for three moons. I try not to wonder if I will be around to see it fall beneath our world and plunge us into winter again.

For now, I am too busy tending to aches and sores from hours in a saddle, sketching maps of the Ruby Palace cobbled together from Duke Roarhil's boyhood memories; ruminating on how Jakut and I will convince the Ruby Court of our amorous charade, when he cannot stand to remain within throwing distance of me.

In front of the soldiers, our greatest challenge is pretending affection. But in the palace, Jakut will be surrounded by people he has lived alongside for years, people who cannot be bluffed as simply as the Duke and his army. He will have to face Lady Calmi, the girl he wished to marry despite his obligations to the Rudeashan princess. And Queen Usas, Tmàn born, raised as a warrior, educated as a battle strategist, will scrutinize his every move.

On the ninth day we pass through vast flat lands of fields worked by men, women and children. Jakut rides ahead with Commander Fror.

I use my time alone to mull over what I have gleaned from the Duke's memories concerning the Ruby Court. I also pick at the obscure ocean of the Prince's mind. Smudges of light and color. Echoes of sound. Nothing I can stitch together.

We gallop for two hours, pushing the horses harder than ever. I am beginning to wonder about this shift in our habitual riding pattern when the Duke slows to a trot and confers with Jakut and Fror. The Prince and Commander step their horses to the side of the troop, wait for us to pass, and rejoin at the rear. I glance back at Jakut and see two scouts break off to scan the horizon in our wake.

Tug draws his stallion up to my mare. Brin closes in on the other side. I send out my mind, searching for the reason for this palpable electric charge in the atmosphere. Skimming across the field workers, I sense nothing unusual until I try to enter one of their minds. My spine turns to ice. I raise the hood of my cloak and fold the velvety material around my upper body. It is late afternoon and the sun is warm on my side, but I am chilled through.

"Mirra?" Tug says.

"What is this place?"

"Lord Strik's castle lies twenty or thirty miles from here. These are his lands."

"There's something wrong with the field workers," I whisper.

"Wrong?"

"Their minds are like houses made from paper, like a mirage." We have been riding through similar fields since lunch, and I realize I haven't once seen a worker's memory surface in the mind-world. Nor have we passed through any villages. As though their ghost minds live in ghost bodies. Where do they all sleep?