The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(61)
“That is, if the townsfolk don’t run us off for being in the proximity of magic,” Sativola added.
“Oh they won’t,” Ealasaid said happily. “We have much to share with you too.”
With his horse’s reins in hand, Kai, Anna, and Sativola followed Ealasaid down the dirt road leading into the burgh. A few townsfolk remained outside their homes, watching the newcomers curiously, but to Kai’s surprise, no one accused them of Faie mischief, nor did anyone try to chase them off.
He caught up to Ealasaid’s side where she walked beside Maarav. “Am I to understand that the people here do not fear magic?”
“Quite the opposite,” Ealasaid replied. “The Alderman has welcomed magic users to protect the burgh. Although,” she rolled her eyes at Maarav, “someone demands I keep my skills hidden.”
Maarav rolled his eyes back. “You’ll thank me for it later.”
Kai observed the exchange curiously. He had definitely not forgotten the encounter with the assassins and their relation to Maarav, but he was also not going to turn down the friends who’d just saved his hide.
“We have a room at the inn,” Ealasaid explained. “You can stable your horses there, and then tell us where the others are.”
“Well that’s a simple answer,” Anna cut in. “We don’t know.”
“What?” Ealasaid gasped, suddenly halting.
Anna smirked and continued walking. Soon Ealasaid caught up, eager for an explanation.
Kai sighed and caught up himself. “Just know you were lucky to part from us when you did,” he muttered, leaning close to Ealasaid’s shoulder to prevent eavesdropping. “We ran afoul of Aos Sí, a Faie Queen, and now even more frightening pursuers are on our trail.”
Anna snorted. “The latter part is thanks to Kai.” She glared at him.
He scowled. “You would have done the same for me.”
She laughed. “If you say so. Now let’s find some fine wine, and agree to never leave civilization again.”
“I’m with ye on that one,” Sativola agreed.
Kai gripped the locket beneath his shirt with his free hand, wishing he could agree with them. Would the Cavari still wait outside of Garenoch now that they’d seen he wasn’t actually Finn, but a man with her blood, wearing her locket? They’d pursued them, sure, but now that they were within the town, would the Cavari not set their sights back on Finn?
The scent of baking bread hit him, making his stomach growl, but he feared he could not enjoy it. He couldn’t let those fearsome riders seek out Finn instead. He needed a new plan.
Chapter Fourteen
Bedelia was not sure how much longer her legs would carry her. The heavy chains wrapped around her upper body, securing her arms, had fatigued her more than her injuries and restless nights spent in the cell with Iseult. They at least had left the deeper snow behind, though the ground was still icy. Around them lay numerous corpses, their frozen blood staining the ground in slick pools.
“An Fiach,” Iseult muttered, his shoulder close to Bedelia’s.
She nodded. She’d recognize the uniforms anywhere. Were these the same men from Port Ainfean, the ones who pursued Finn and Kai? Given their location, it would make sense, especially since Oighear now possessed Naoki. These men likely captured her when she protected Finn’s escape from the port town.
Their Aos Sí minders, on horseback while Bedelia and Iseult walked, cleared their throats in warning. Bedelia instantly moved forward, closer to the corpses, not wanting to incite another lashing. Her back was still damp with blood from the last. She looked down at the dead men’s faces, most frozen in horror, or with blank open stares, their eyes iced over. She pitied them. Perhaps in some ways they’d been her enemies, but no one deserved to die in a battle they had no chance of winning. These men had been soldiers, and they’d been slaughtered like defenseless lambs.
Iseult reached her side once more, putting some distance between themselves and their captors. Oighear had dismounted with Naoki’s leather cord in hand to let the little dragon sniff around. She’d layered a fluffy white fur cloak over her shimmering dress, though she didn’t seem to truly feel the cold created by her own magic.
Bedelia turned her gaze away from Oighear and frowned down at the nearest corpse, its dark brown uniform soaked through with blood. “These are the men who attempted to delay us in Port Ainfean,” she suggested, wanting to make sure Iseult had drawn the same conclusions as she. “That’s why they had Naoki.”
He nodded, observing their surroundings rather than the corpses.
“But doesn’t that mean Naoki was leading them to Oighear’s compound?” Bedelia whispered. “If she was following Finn’s scent, that’s where she’d go. So we’ll just be backtracking.”
“These men are far west of our previous trail,” he muttered. He gestured to the frozen hoof prints in the mud, several paces behind where the battle started. “If they continued on in the direction they were heading, they would have missed the compound entirely.”
“I don’t understand then,” she whispered. “Were they not tracking Finn after all?”
She watched his expression as he stared coldly down at a corpse. Dried blood formed a messy pattern down his hairline, and she knew there was more on his back. She wasn’t the only one who’d sustained beatings and lashes.