Sky and Storm ( Warriors of Vis #1)(35)

It had been clear to Storm someone had wanted him and most of his army away from Vis. The city could hold out for weeks, so he had time to go back and defend it. Still, he’d decided to leave the very next day, the Montes representatives offering the better part of their armies to join him.

Eagle’s arrival only hours before his planned departure hadn’t sat well with Storm. He knew his elite riders as well as he knew himself, Eagle wouldn’t have wasted a trip for no good reason. Storm’s best bet was to wait it out, hold his position until Eagle was healed enough to awake and share his news.

The healer had tried to send Storm away, but after a few grunts and a drawn sword he’d left Storm alone. He’d tried sitting quietly and waiting, but that hadn’t worked at all. Pacing wasn’t much better, but at least it meant more than mimicking a statue while Storm’s eyes and ears tracked every breath.

Storm had put tremendous effort into enticing the best healers to come and practice in Vis. He’d set up a proper school, just as big and well-funded as the Military Academy. Builders, inventors, scholars, he’d made sure they all found Vis to be the homeland of learning and advancements. His father and his dreadful wife had dismissed it as a waste of money, but Storm had used all his persuasion and strength to show them how better warfare, a chance to save wounded soldiers, and knowledge of those they were conquering would help them spend more in time.

“Storm.”

He leapt to Eagle’s side, taking the wounded man’s hand in his. “I am here.”

“Sky,” Eagle whispered then moaned in pain.

“What happened to Sky?”

Only ragged breaths and grunts came out of Eagle’s mouth. Storm cursed under his breath and left him, going to find the healer. Eagle was no use to him if he was in too much pain to even speak. If the medicine put him to sleep again, then so be it. A few hours of waiting would make no difference.

The moans stopped once the healer got Eagle to drink some concoction he’d made. Storm crinkled his nose at the pungent scent. They worked though, so Storm never complained.

“Storm, where are you?” Eagle’s voice was stronger, despite his eyes being firmly shut.

“Here, Eagle. I am here.” Storm took his friend’s hand in his. “You got yourself hurt again.”

“Sky, they have Sky!”

Everything around Storm faded, until complete darkness surrounded him.

“Who?”

“Don’t… know. Infiltrated the castle. Near throne room.”

“Your highness,” the healer said, placing a reassuring hand between Storm’s shoulders. “Please don’t break his hand.”

Storm wanted to lash out at the meddling healer. Yet the words triggered something. The room, the bed with Eagle lying in it, the hand Storm was gripping and squeezing, they all came into sudden focus. Storm weakened his hold on Eagle and took a deep breath.

“When?”

“Late at night. After you left. Forgive me. I tried.”

“Do you know who?”

“No. I killed some of them. Sky too. He fought.”

Storm placed his hand on Eagle’s forehead and held it there. “You did well, soldier. Now rest. We’re leaving in a few hours.”

Storm rushed out of the tent, and the moment the cooler air outside hit his face, he shouted one word. “Riders!”

They knew, his elites, they knew he needed them. Birds would be sent, riders would spread through the lands of Vis, and by the time Storm’s army was moving, information would start reaching them.

Wherever Sky was, Storm would find him. He’d find his husband, bring him back, then kill everyone who’d touched him.

“Where to, my Dragon?” said one of his elites.

“We’re heading to Vis.”

***

There was little word on what had happened to Sky. To Storm’s dismay, the least detailed report had come from Vis. His home had been eerie lacking in details of a kidnapping that had happened on its premises.

In times of war, Vis was an impenetrable fortress. In times of peace, when rules were lax and guards got complacent, it was easy enough to breach by a spy or two. A group of trained men, fighting their way out of the castle with Sky bound? That was far more difficult. Were they able to move about undetected? What did that say about Vis’s security?

Vis’s own network of trackers and spies had been set in motion. They’d found clues to where the abductors had fled to, but other information was lacking. As they’d be heading the opposite way of the Montes, passing close by the castle, Storm had decided to stop in Vis. They’d get more supplies, exchange the most exhausted horses, then decide who stayed in Vis and who followed Storm in his search for Sky.

The Montes leaders and their generals banished themselves to the back of Storm’s army. They felt they’d lost their honor, after been used to distract their liege, while his husband was being attacked. They’d chosen their families over someone else’s. Despite his anger and pain, Storm knew they were wrong. They hadn’t known. They’d protected the innocents being threatened in the moment. He’d let them punish themselves until they reached Vis. After that, a few formations of their best fighters would have to suck it up and join Storm. The spies all agreed, the kidnappers had headed into the Dark Mountains. Storm’s riders were excellent, but they’d never match the Montes’ skill at tracking and fighting on rocky mountain terrain.