• 12.2 •

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Liro mounted her horse with little hesitation, and up in the saddle, she considered taking the mare and riding it deep into the woods. Hunting for her sisters without anyone to hinder her. But as Kier slapped the rear of her horse, she came spiralling back to reality.

She couldn't do that. Not without putting a target on her back.

Not without Kier and Tyras hunting for her, the orders of their monarchs pushing them onwards.

Not without them finding her, and shoving hideous words at her before they ended it all.

Liro repressed a shudder.

"You ride for the first day, I'll watch the parcels, and then we'll switch," Kier said, pulling himself into the wagon behind her.

Liro had watched earlier in the morning with fascination as the stableboy had connected the wagon to her horse with clips made of metal and straps of leather. If she oversaw every aspect of their travel, then nothing would go wrong.

Nothing could go wrong.

"Fine," Liro said, tightening her grip on the reins and digging her heels in. "You'll go first on the way back. I'm not going to do triple of what you are."

Kier grunted. "Fair."

"And don't go rooting through my things," she snapped, her eyes bright and wild. She was filled with a nervous anticipation, and at this point, as she wanted to do was set off.

Liro could feel a Kier's eyes on the back of her head, filled with confusion.

"What would I do with ladies dresses?" he asked, sounding entirely fed up.

"It's not my business what you might decide to do with ladies dresses," she quipped. "But I do know that unless they've been fitted for you, they are nothing you are intended to have contact with."

Kier repressed a scowl. "As you wish."

The matter settled, Liro barely waited for Kier to sit before she snapped the reins of the horse. She heard the slight thud against the wood as he lost his footing momentarily, before regaining himself and sitting down.

She hadn't the faintest idea what they were supposed to talk about during the longest hours of their journey. Furthermore, the Queen had never mentioned to her where they were to bring the ... problem they were solving.

It was safest for her to assume that Kier knew. They couldn't have left without one of them obtaining such information, and if it wasn't her, then it had to be him.

So as much as she wanted to put her faith in Kier, and as much as she wanted to let her shoulders relax while she rode her horse, she couldn't.

Her sisters had been cruel and cunning, and yet they had shared every drop of information with her up until the moment that they had betrayed her. Kier had been brutally honest about his dislike for her, and she could only think about how it had happened the same way last time.

Secrets. Lies. 

Not that she hadn't told her fair share, though the realization still stung whenever she looked back on it.

Kier was going to make a move on her, on this very trip. On the way there, or when they were due to return, she wasn't sure. He was skilled enough to make it look like she may have even been killed in a struggle with their target. And what was more, was that the Queen wouldn't care.

In fact, she would perhaps be the most pleased with the outcome. Killing two birds with one stone, as the phrase went. Liro had struggled with the sayings that seemed to roll off of tongues in the mortal realm, but this was one that she understood without any prompting.

LIRO || completedWhere stories live. Discover now