Blood Oath (The Darkest Drae Book 1)(7)

—Girl from Harvest Zone Seven Escapes Invincible Drae—

—Lord Irrik and the Skill-less Peasant Who Outsmarted Him—

—Soap Queen Defeats Drae in the Realm’s Most Epic Battle of Wits—

I’d work on it.

My bedroom door swung open, and my meticulous mother stood before me. With a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagged as she greeted me. “Ryn.”

“Hey, Mum.” I smiled and waved at her, trying to look nonchalant. Drak, my hands still shook. I tucked them behind me. I might want to gloat to Arnik about my escape from Lord Irrik, but my mother was so earnest with her warnings I didn’t want to risk her wrath.

Her face, illuminated by a lantern, swung into view. Her eyes were wide. “I was worried.”

I pulled up short and said, “You don’t worry.”

She gave a tight smile. “Lord Irrik is patrolling. You shouldn’t be out when he is, Ryn. No one should. I’ll have to remind Dyter to keep you if the Drae is about.”

Dyter was in trrrrouble. “Do you think the king’s Drae is here for more than patrolling?”

She shifted her eyes to the window, saying slowly, “Whatever the reason, they’ve tripled the king’s presence in Zone Seven. It isn’t good.” She frowned and continued, “I’m not sure I want you going back to Dyter’s until they’re gone. Not with him having those meetings there.”

“But they could be here for months,” I protested. “Besides, I’m skill-less Ryn. Everyone knows that.” And the rebel leader is coming tomorrow night. I was smart enough not to tell her that.

My quip made her smile, but she pursed her lips and shook her head. She placed the lantern down and came to sit next to me. “You’re anything but skill-less, baby.”

“Young lady,” I corrected. “We agreed.”

“My young lady-baby,” she replied.

We smiled at each other.

Her gaze dropped to where my feet were pulled up tight against my body on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

Everyone knew Lord Irrik could hide under beds at night, or anywhere else that was dark, and if my feet were off the bed, he would drag me underneath and I’d die a slow, horrible death.

“The Drae were once our saviors. They kept us safe from invasion. They were a loyal and honorable race.”

Mum had told me stories of the Drae since I was a baby. But they were myths, bedtime stories with lessons mixed in. The Drae were supposedly peacekeepers, self-sacrificing, generous with their skills, and did their best to serve humanity. But the emperor, who was also Drae, was greedy and tried to force them to join his war. He betrayed his own kind, having them slaughtered for their refusal to help him rule the world.

“Don’t forget the Drae boy,” she said with a quirk of her lips, referencing one such story of self-sacrifice. She then smoothed her expression and said, “We should go work some of the gardens in Harvest Zone Two.”

The opposite side of the kingdom. We’d be gone for at least two weeks. “Right,” I drew out. I did not want to miss my only chance to meet Cal. “And I’m coming?”

“I got a message from Bratrik. Their crops are failing. They need our help.”

I shook my head. “Your help, not mine.”

“Fourteen children died last week. There are dozens of gardens to visit. You know I can’t do it all on my own. Who else would haul dirt?” she asked with a smirk.

The tension in the room dissipated, and just like that, mother erased my disappointment. I’d help the children. Of course, I would.

“Funny,” I chirped, resigned to my fate. “We’ll see who’s laughing when I’m soap queen of Verald. I won’t be hauling your dirt then.”

She laughed, and the sound was my absolute favorite. It was delighted and youthful and carefree, and it lifted my mood to match hers. Another talent of my mother’s.

“When will we leave for Zone Two?” I yawned.

“I’ll need a day to make ready, so two days. Why?”

Yes! Thank the moons she was such a planner. “I need to ready my entourage; that’s why.”

“Al’right, soap queen,” she said with a grin. “It’s time for bed.” She swept up her lantern and blew me a kiss. “Goodnight, lady-baby.”

“Night, Mum.”

I kicked off my boots and held my breath as they fell into the danger zone off the bed. Faster than your eyes can track, with talons that can fell a tree in one swoop. I didn’t dare change into my nightclothes and leave the safety of bed island. Snuggling under the quilt, the adrenaline of the day waned and my eyes grew heavy. I was hovering just barely on the edges of consciousness when my mother’s next words drifted to me from the doorway. “I checked under the bed earlier. You’ll always be safe.”





4





“Hey, lady-baby, I need you to take a delivery to Arnik’s mother this morning, and one to Talryna in the Money Coil. I forgot there are three orders to fill, and I need to stop by Pru’s.” Mum set a basket on the table next to me and ran her hand over my long, cinnamon-colored hair. The table was set with two plates, two forks, and two glasses filled with honeyed milk. Someone must’ve paid Mum with it.