The moment between dreaming and waking, a moment of near non-existence, seemed to linger on indefinitely before Ashea finally awoke. She tried to survey her surroundings, which was next to impossible, since it was almost pitch black. As her eyes adjusted, a faint sliver of light seemed to shine into the room. Staring at that small bit of sun made her eyes burn and head ache.
“How do you feel?” she heard Kade ask from the darkness.
She couldn’t help but let out a groan as she tried to sit up, making an effort not to look anywhere near the light.
“Miserable,” she answered. “What’s going on? What happened?”
A dark figure moved closer before kneeling and placing a cup in her hands. She took a cautionary sip, and after discovering it was water drank it greedily.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked.
She rubbed her eyes. The little bit of light seemed to be more irritating than it should have been. “We made it to Naiara’s safe house. I went to go get some water. Then…” She raked her fingers through her hair, trying to remember what had happened next. It was there, something important, something… “That bitch!” she exclaimed. “There was a Hunter at the river. She used some sort of smoke bomb. I can’t…I can’t remember what it was.”
“It was datura. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for almost two days,” he told her.
“What?” It made sense now, at least partly. It explained the amnesia and the light sensitivity. She supposed she should consider herself lucky she wasn’t blind from it, even temporarily. But there was still something else that puzzled her. “How am I still alive?” she asked.
Datura was a nasty herb that could cause powerful hallucinations that left its victims in a delirium until their heart gave out. It was also temperamental with the effects lasting anywhere from several hours to several days before it killed. The only people who knew the cure were Paladai Daktari, and neither Kade nor Naiara were Daktari.
“Zeru brought you back to the house kicking and screaming. You tried to attack Naiara and Jarin, but we managed to subdue you long enough for me to find Feron.”
That would have been a long trek back to the compound, even by drak. It didn’t surprise her that Kade would have done it to save her.
“You also missed a fight with the Hunters. They paid us a visit last night, no doubt to finish what your attacker started. I dealt with them, but I doubt it’s the last we’ll see of them.”
“So what do we do now that they know you’re out in the open?” she asked.
“Have a little faith,” he said, a smirk in his voice. “I have a plan, thanks to some provided help from the Hunters.”
“What do you have planned?” she asked warily.
“You’ll see soon enough. Here,” he said and tossed something at her. She felt around on the bed and found a piece of cloth large enough for a blindfold. “Your eyes won’t be able to handle the light for a few more days at best. Come on. I’m sure you must be starved.”
Much as she didn’t like the idea of being such an invalid, she didn’t have much of a choice. As if to make her hurry up, her stomach began to growl loudly. Groaning, she tied the cloth around her eyes and reached out for Kade. He lent her an arm and guided her out of the room into the common area.
She could smell wood burning in the fireplace, food being cooked over the flame. She couldn’t make out the different smells, but whatever it was smelled heavenly to her aching stomach.
“Oh, thank the gods,” Naiara greeted. “It’s good to see you up and about. Come have some breakfast.”
Kade helped her toward the table as she fumbled about with a stool to sit down. She stumbled, barely landing on the seat as she tried to right herself. The next few days of blindness was going to be a bit more difficult than she thought.
“Here you are. I saved you some food from these animals,” Naiara said, the sound of a plate sliding across the table. Now that the food was closer, it smelled even more delicious than before. She groped around until someone put a utensil in her hands before attempting to scoop something from the plate to her mouth. The first attempt sent most of whatever it was into her lap. The second was more successful with only a few pieces falling off. If it was going to be this difficult eating every time, she was going to have a serious problem.
“Where’s Jarin?” she asked between messy bites. She didn’t hear any other movement in the room besides Naiara, and she would have thought if he was standing somewhere watching, he would have said something by now.
“He’s outside with Feron tending the horses,” Kade supplied.
“So when do I get to hear about this plan of yours?” That was the only thing she really cared about. He had mentioned something about the Hunters providing help, which was ludicrous. There was a hidden meaning, but she didn’t feel like trying to figure it out at the moment. She was still trying to figure out how to eat without making a huge mess.
“You’re not going to like it, my dear,” Naiara said cautiously.
“How bad could it be?” she asked warily, which in hind sight was a stupid question. It was Kade. Imagine the worst plan possible. It couldn’t hold a candle to the ideas Kade usually came up with.
“Stop being so melodramatic. Going by horse is not the worst idea,” Kade said.
By horse? That was his plan?
“You’re going to waste time by going on horseback? How do you plan to do that? Jarin is the only one who came by horse. Are you planning to double us up?”
She realized now what he had meant about getting help from the Hunters. He must have taken the horses from the Hunters after killing them. That explained the how. But the why…
“We don’t have much of a choice. The Hunters are looking for Paladai on draks. They won’t expect us to be on horseback. It won’t make the journey much slower since we already had one person on horseback before,” Kade explained.
“That’s all well and good, but you’re forgetting our tattoos, our cloaks. One look and it won’t matter what we’re riding,” she pointed out.
“That’s why we’ll be travelling in disguise. We wear nothing that shows who or what we are,” he replied.
Something seemed to twist in her gut. She knew he was right. It was something the entire Order should have been doing since going into hiding, but it just never seemed right. They shouldn’t have to hide what they were. They did great things, saved many lives. They should be proud to display their colors, their tattoos, to ride their draks without a care. But they couldn’t. If they were going to have a chance at making it through to the capital without another incident, they would have to hide like common criminals.
There was nothing she could say, so she stayed silent and nodded her agreement. She was almost grateful she had to wear the blindfold. Otherwise, Kade would only have to look in her eyes to see she hated the idea. He had to be hating it just as much. Kade was always proud to show his tattoo and his drak, not strictly for vanity, but for pride in what he was and what the Paladai stood for.
“Naiara will help you dress, and after the horses are ready, we’ll head out,” Kade said and walked away from the table, most likely to put on his first real shirt in…well, she didn’t know if he had ever worn a real shirt in his entire life.
It was an hour later by the time she had finished her meal and managed to get into the clothes Naiara had provided. She was even less excited about it now than before. She had put Ashea in a dress. A real dress. Something she had never done and vowed she would never do. The short skirt she wore on a semi regular basis was the closest thing to an exception since she could still easily move in it. The ankle length hem of the dress added more fabric, which meant more weight. Which meant less maneuverability. Which meant it was a pain in her ass.
She had tried pleading for a pair of pants but was quickly shot down. Apparently real ladies didn’t go around in pants. Real ladies were out of their minds. How were you supposed to be able to run with any decent speed in something like this? You couldn’t, that’s how. Which meant it was a man’s invention. Wouldn’t actually want a woman to be able to get away from you. Stupid men.
To compound it all she now had to ride on the back of a slow, smelly horse. Their movements were so much more jarring than that of a drak, and more noisy. Worse yet, she was only permitted to carry a small knife at her ankle. Ladies weren’t supposed to carry weapons either. No bow, no quiver, not even her father’s sword. She tried convincing Kade to allow the sword to be attached to her saddle, but he refused and said he would hold on to it. For the first time, she felt truly naked.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Naiara brought Ashea outside and led her to the beast she would be riding for the next five days to the capital. She had offered to help her mount, but Ashea shooed her off. She might still be blind, but she wasn’t a complete invalid. She could figure out how to get on one smelly animal. Or so she thought.
It should have been simple. She found the saddle and tried to put her foot through the stirrup. And missed. Several times. Giving up on that tactic, she tried gripping the back of the saddle and reached down for the stirrup to hold it in place for her foot. That was even less successful. The last rider must have been shorter or the straps not readjusted, because the stirrup was too high up and became awkward trying to get her foot up without the skirt getting in her way.
Someone seemed to finally notice and silently pushed her aside. She could hear the sound of buckles and straps being adjusted before the man finally spoke. “Let me help you,” Jarin said and grabbed her hand.
She immediately pulled away. “I don’t need your help,” she snarled.
“Well, you need someone’s help,” he pointed out snidely. “Not that watching you hasn’t been entertaining, but we need to get going. So stop being so damn stubborn.”
If he didn’t have a point, she would have argued and made him go away, ask him to let Feron or Kade, anyone else help her. She let out a growl before holding out her hand for him. He guided her right hand to the back of the saddle and her left to his shoulder. He then slid his hand down to her left foot before lifting it up and guiding it into the stirrup.
As he removed her hand from his shoulder to the pommel of the saddle, she couldn’t help but wonder why he was helping her, especially after the fight they had in the forest days ago. The only reason she could think of was Kade had made him do it. She could easily believe Kade threatening him and making him her personal helper.
Jarin made her take several hops to get lined up with the saddle, his hands on her waist for support and guidance. There was a small urge to slap him away, but his touch was warm and gentle, something she hadn’t expected. As much as she wanted to remove him, a small part of her was enjoying it. No. She couldn’t start thinking like that. She couldn’t start liking anything about him. That would only make her job harder.
“Ready?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Yes,” she responded quickly and pulled herself up and over to sit in the saddle. When she was situated, she noticed the left stirrup was too far down and the right was too far up. Jarin seemed to notice and started adjusting the left one until her foot sat snuggly in the stirrup. He then moved and adjusted the right one to the same height.
“Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” There was a distinct smugness in his voice, and she could almost swear he was smirking at her.
“Try to remember, errand boy, I can kick you in the teeth from this height,” she replied. He just chuckled. Choosing to ignore him, she groped around for the reins. The only problem was there were none. “Where are the reins?”
“You won’t be needing them. Since you can’t guide your horse, you’ll be tied to Jarin’s,” came Kade’s voice.
“What?” she exclaimed. “Why?”
“Because I said so. Let’s go.” With that her horse started moving forward, leaving her only the option of holding on to its coarse mane. The gods must have some sick sense of humor–or justice, depending on how you looked at it–since not that long ago Jarin had been the one blindfolded. Ashea was sure Jarin was secretly laughing about the whole thing.
They traveled for several hours before they were forced to stop and let the horses rest. As if getting on the horse wasn’t hard enough, getting back down was just as difficult. The ground was farther away than she had estimated, which nearly left Ashea flat on the ground. Unfortunately, Jarin was there and caught her with a pained grunt. She would rather have landed on her back than in his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she ground out, shoving him off. “I’m blind, not an invalid, so stop treating me like some child.”
“When you stop acting like one, I will.”
She swung out to slap him. And hit thin air. Cursing, she stomped off, which was only mildly successful as she tripped over roots and rocks. Who did he think he was? Whether or not Kade had assigned him as her caretaker, she didn’t want him anywhere near her. For all she knew he was just waiting for the perfect moment to take advantage of her handicap.
But he hadn’t. Not so far, anyway. If anything, he had been the most helpful. He didn’t try pushing or throwing her around, and he didn’t leave her to figure things out like Kade. She knew Kade meant no harm in his actions, but that hardly made them more helpful. Jarin had made sure one of them was touching the other so she would know where he was. He was gentle but firm enough to guide her. It was…nice. Which was one more reason not to trust him. The more reliance she put on him, the easier it would be for him to betray her.
When the horses were watered and rested, they all prepared to move out. She could tell he wasn’t happy about it, but Jarin was dutifully waiting and ready for her. He helped her mount the same way he had before, but as he went to readjust the stirrup, he stopped, his body tense enough that it was palpable in the air. Ashea heard the sound of twigs and leaves crunching beneath hoof and foot, the sounds of a creaky wagon intermingling.
Jarin’s hand moved slowly under her skirt to rest on her leg above the handle of her knife. If she could have kicked him off, she would have, but he saw enemies she couldn’t. For the time being, his hand would have to stay.
“Good day, strangers,” a friendly male voice said, though his accent made it difficult to place as Dacian or Avarian.
“Good day,” Kade responded just as friendly. They didn’t sound like an enemy. There was no hint of deceit in the man’s voice, but Jarin kept his hand firmly on her leg. Something must have looked wrong with the man for him to still be on edge as he was.
“Where are ye heading?” the stranger asked.
“To Wolfram Keep,” Kade lied.
“That’s quite a trip. And a dangerous one fer such a small group.”
“We’re armed. I doubt we’ll see much trouble.”
“Yer weapons will do little good against a Paladai and those monsters they ride. They’ll rip ye to ribbons before ye can blink.”
Ashea wanted to speak out, tell the man what an ignorant fool he was. The Paladai had never attacked an innocent soul before. It was they who protected the people. They weren’t the monsters. She wanted to shout all that and more at him. But she couldn’t, not if Kade had any plans of keeping this man from suspecting them as anything but simple travelers.
“I was under the impression Paladai were supposed to be protectors,” Kade said smoothly. “All the stories I heard were of how the Paladai guard the roads, keep people safe from thieves and such.”
“Maybe the Avarian Paladai are, but all the Dacians and many in the Lurraren Forest are no better than marauders. I was there when a group of three attacked the caravan. I barely escaped with my life. I still have a scar on my chest from the man’s drak. Look for yerself.”
Her stomach churned. If he was telling the truth and the scars were real, then maybe Jarin hadn’t been exaggerating. Maybe he did have a reason to hate them. But if all this was true, why would Kade know nothing about it? Had the Paladai really dispersed so far they could no longer be controlled? Or did Kade know and do nothing about it?
“I’m sorry for your trouble. I had no idea.” There was something genuine in Kade’s voice, a sadness she couldn’t remember ever hearing before. It had to be true. Kade would know if the scars were from a drak paw. Even so, she still couldn’t believe it.
“It’s all right. Ye couldn’t have known. Perhaps we could strike a bargain. Wolfram Keep is farther than we planned to travel, but ye’re welcome to travel with us to Anchor Ridge. Maybe with ye three in the group, ye will be more of a deterrent.”
“Give us a moment,” Kade said and started moving toward Ashea and Jarin.
“What do we do?” she asked in a low voice.
“It may be more suspicious to refuse them than to accept,” Kade offered.
“I don’t trust them. We should keep moving. They’ll only slow us down anyway,” Jarin said.
“You have no say in this,” Kade snapped at him. “The man isn’t wrong. With Ashea incapacitated as she is, we’ll be more vulnerable. Traveling in this group could keep us safe long enough for her to recover. It’s up to you, Ashea. What do you think?”
What did she think? What was she supposed to think? She didn’t know who these people were and had no way of judging them without seeing them. And, unfortunately, both of them had a valid concern. Who was she to say one was more important over another? Logically, it would be wise to travel with them as one large group until she was fit enough to function on her own. However, these people were Paladai haters. If they found out who Kade was, they could easily turn on them or try to send Hunters after them. Anchor Ridge was approximately two days away. They could easily keep their secret for that amount of time. But in a caravan, they would be moving slower, and a two day trip could become much longer. Time was not something they had in abundance. If Jarin was missing for too long, King Ari might start to suspect something was wrong. There was no telling what could happen after that.
“Jarin is right. We’re moving slow enough as it is. As safe as it might be, it could cause us more trouble in the long run. I say we keep moving,” Ashea finally said.
“Very well,” Kade said and began to walk away. “Your offer is kind, but I’m afraid we are in a great hurry,” he said to the man.
“As ye wish. Safe travels, stranger.”
Jarin finally removed his hand from her leg and quickly fixed the stirrup before rushing off to his horse. Kade had them moving at a near break neck speed to attempt reaching the next safe house before dark. Ashea knew it was next to impossible to make such a trip on horseback, but they still had to try, futile though it was.
They eventually had to stop and make camp at the first good source of water they could find, a small lake not far off the trail. Instead of trying to dismount by herself, she waited for Jarin to help her down. She hadn’t really wanted to, but it was either that or try falling on her face again.
“It’s not so hard to accept help, now is it?” Jarin said smugly when he finally released her.
“Don’t push your luck. It’s almost dark enough for me to take this stupid blindfold off, and then we’ll see how easy it is for you to avoid getting hit,” she threatened.
He chuckled warmly and led her to where Kade was setting up a campfire to let her sit down while he tended the horses. As she sat there, she couldn’t help but wonder about Jarin. One moment he seemed cold and distant but the next he would be warm and humorous–at least to himself. She couldn’t understand it. But then she thought of Kade, how protective he was. Was he just trying to put on a face while Kade watched and turned back when he thought Kade wouldn’t notice? She couldn’t be sure without Kade to say otherwise, and so far he hadn’t said much of anything. Only time, and maybe a little snooping, would tell.