Heir Apparent

Chapter 9

Jade

When Sybilla answered the door, she was just finishing braiding her red hair into a knot on top of her head. She surveyed my arms, full of lavender fabric and smiled. "Good. I wasn't sure if I could trust him with the coin or not."

I dropped the pile of cloth onto the rope bed, staring down at it. I hadn't worn a dress for any length of time since I began my squirehood when I was a child. My mother had never pushed me to wear them unless a proper event called for it, and even then, she let me change the moment everything was over. I supposed Aeron had a point, however. People would be expecting me to be clad like a knight, trousers and all. Dressed in a soft, delicate colored dress would be the last thing they'd be expecting.

"Aeron said we had to hurry." I told the dress on the bed.

Sybilla stilled. "Then we better. Leave nothing behind. Shove the clothes in my pack."

Turning, I looked at her. "I've spent my life on the run, Sybilla."

"I know," her face softened, "it just helps to say it outloud. Will you need help?"

I wanted to say yes, but I didn't. The help I wanted came wrapped up in a head of mousy brown hair and a gentle but strong spirit. Thea would be somewhere in the Capital, I suspected, with her father and siblings, waiting out the war.

"Right. Hurry then." She shut the door behind her when I said nothing more.

The sound knocked me out of my stupor. Merien would have scolded me for being so indulgent in my thoughts. He would have stood at the closed door, pushing me to hurry more, reminding me with each passing second that I could cost someone their life.

I yanked off the jerkin and tunic, balling it up and shoving it into Sybilla's pack. The dagger, I hastily untied and retied to the proper belt Aeron had bought for me. Sliding the old trousers off and pulling on the new, they were a far better fit, though a bit too short to stuff into my boots. Luckily, the dress I slipped over my head brushed just above the floor. It was too big in the bust and waist, but my knight-shaped arms made the sleeves a bit tighter than most wore them. Even with the belt and dagger around my waist, I knew I looked less like the general I prized myself to be, and more like a country girl I had spent my childhood pretending to be.

Sweeping up the blanket from the corner of the room, I shoved it into the pack and shouldered it. It was time to run again.

I wasted no time in finding my way down the stairs, though it felt weird to have so much fabric swirling around me. Sybilla met me at the base, snatching her pack from my shoulder and looping it over her own. "Let's go."

We were steps away from the door when we heard it: a scream. A high pitched scream of a child. Sybilla grabbed my arm, but I pulled it away from her roughly, heading toward the door rather than away from it. In a smooth motion, I drew the dagger from my waist, relishing the feeling of using my wrist again.

"Jade. No."

I didn't so much as look back at her when I flug open the door. "I'm not walking away."

Aeron was already in the middle of the square, a child hauled over his shoulder and moving quickly toward the inn. We locked eyes as I passed him, and I could already see the objection written in them. However, he was otherwise occupied with the child and I used that to head straight toward the commotion.

I stopped dead in my tracks three steps later. Standing in the middle of the square was a tall, lanky archer. His bow was aimed squarely at my chest, not a hint of recognition in his eyes. "Xavi?"