The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(44)

She really was a dangerous creature, one Iseult could stand to be more wary of. Looking at her brimming with weapons, he desperately wanted to know whatever she had nearly divulged to him, but it would have to wait. Nodding in her direction, he turned and ushered Kai and Finn toward the door.

To evade An Fiach, they would need to ride away from the main road, near the area where the Blood Forest had initially resided. He had no idea what they might find there, but hopefully it was something less deadly than a meeting with An Fiach.



Kai’s horse danced beneath him. He kept a firm hold on his reins, else the creature was likely to bolt. Everything had happened so quickly. From Anna announcing An Fiach was on its way, to the thundering of approaching horses, to their narrow escape down a back street of the small burgh. They could only hope the remaining townsfolk would not give them away too quickly, and it would take An Fiach time to pick up their trail. If they kept moving, and perhaps found a few streams to cross, they might just escape.

Finn glanced warily around at their expansive, rocky surroundings from her perch behind Iseult in the saddle. Kai knew if they continued on in the same direction, they would reach a more densely forested region, cut in half by a wide river. Following that river upstream would eventually lead to the old border of the Blood Forest. Fortunately, they would turn south well before they reached that point, as long as An Fiach didn’t follow them too far into the wilds.

He sighed and scanned their surroundings, giving his horse’s reins another tug. The yellow grass swayed in the breeze, growing sparse around black, scraggly trees and large clusters of rocks. The rocky terrain would likely make tracking them almost as difficult as a large stream bed would, but he still could not help his nerves.

He patted his heels against his horse’s sides, urging it forward. Continuing in that direction, they’d reach a large valley. If they instead moved south, there was no saying what they might find. The area was densely forested.

Anna, Sativola, and Bedelia followed his lead. He glanced back toward Iseult and Finn, just as Iseult hissed, “Halt!”

Trusting Iseult’s judgement, Kai instantly obeyed. A moment later, he realized what had caused the alarm. They were approaching the entrance to a wide canyon, bordered by rolling hills on either side. In the distance was a rocky escarpment, dotted along its top edge with the silhouettes of riders. He hadn’t noticed them at first with the odd angle of the sun. It was only as the clouds shifted that the riders became visible. They’d chosen their position wisely. Any looking toward them would have been staring straight into the bright sun, while the riders had it at their back.

It was clear by the riders’ stances they had not yet seen his party. They all peered outward across the ravine, as if expecting someone from the North, while their party approached from the West.

Silently, Kai followed Anna’s example and turned his horse around, slowly retreating to where the hills of the valley would conceal them. Once being sighted was no longer a danger, they trotted their horses toward the distant tree line. Once there, they gathered in a small circle.

“Not An Fiach,” Iseult muttered.

“Nor assassins dressed in black,” Anna added.

“Their armor seemed strange, didn’t it?” Finn cut in. “It was difficult to see, but their helmets appeared oddly shaped.”

Kai nodded. “I can’t help but wonder . . . ” he trailed off, allowing his gaze to linger on Finn.

“The alleged Faie Queen?” she gasped, suddenly catching on to his meaning.

The Merrow girl in Ainfean had said someone claiming to be the Faie Queen was forcing the Faie to rally toward her cause. Could the riders they’d just seen have been something less than human? Indeed, they had seemed otherworldly, standing perfectly still in a straight line, elongated helmets glinting dully in the sun.

Everyone turned their gazes to Anna.

“I can’t see everything!” she snapped. “My thoughts feel . . . jumbled. Like there’s too much energy around for me to decipher.”

Sativola nodded thoughtfully, though he knew very little of Anna’s visions..

Anna turned her glare to him. “Don’t pretend to know what’s going on,” she growled.

Sativola frowned. “Finn can melt men’s flesh and call the earth up to do her bidding, and either ye or she brought Kai back from the dead. I don’t need to know just what’s going on to accept that I’m out of my depth, and to accept that ye can somehow see the future, or something like it.”

Anna’s glare was softened by shock, then the barest hint of a smile. “I knew there was a reason I hired you,” she mused.

“We should move on,” Iseult interrupted. “It does not matter who the riders are, we already know of many who pursue us. We’ll keep to the trees and make for Garenoch.”

They moved on, but the conversation continued.

“What’s this about a Faie Queen?” Sativola whispered, leaning toward Kai as they rode. “Didn’t the death of the last queen happen centuries ago?”

Kai nodded. “It may just be a rumor, and if it’s not, it’s just another concern on the long list of many. Perhaps this new queen is responsible for what happened in Migris. Anna believes someone powerful was controlling the Faie who attacked there.”

“Well then I’d say this Faie Queen is everyone’s concern,” Sativola countered. “And a primary one at that.”