Damn it - I totally forgot to get some water. Jasper’s mouth was as dry as the Sahara as he reentered the marketplace. Pausing at the edge of the fallen gates, he chewed absentmindedly on the side of his mouth in a vain attempt to jumpstart some saliva as his gaze swept over the crowd in search of his friends.
It didn’t take him long to find Ihra; her blonde hair stood out starkly against the sea of black and brown heads, and he jogged her way.
“Ihra.” He spoke softly, not wanting to attract the attention of the soldiers, who would likely be unhappy to know he'd just been consorting with the enemy. When she didn't respond, he spoke her name again, grabbing her elbow.
She whirled around with a scowl that dissolved when she saw him. “Oh, it’s just you.” Her eyes were rimmed with exhaustion and bloodshot from the smoke, but she offered him a lop-sided smile. “Where did you disappear to?”
“Oh, you know, I had a date - moonlight bridge, a sea of bodies, all very romantic,” he replied dryly.
Her brows furrowed in confusion. “A date? With whom?”
The soldiers around them did not appear to be paying attention to their conversation, but Jasper decided it was better not to risk it. He nodded his head to a nearby alley that stood abandoned. “Let’s talk there.”
He waited until they were well out of earshot of the soldiers before he stopped. “After the battle, I was dying of thirst and the barracks were empty,” he explained, “but the guard told them the towers on the bridge would have water, so I headed to the closest one. On my way, I was stopped by a woman.”
“One of the enemy?” Ihra guessed.
“Not just one of them,” Jasper snorted. “The enemy. Apparently, our attack on the commanders missed the head honcho, or former head honcho, if her story is to be believed. Claims her uncle is the king of Stryn and was trying to sabotage there. Asked us to take her to the emperor.”
“That’s quite the story,” Ihra said, wrinkling her nose. “Do you believe her?”
“Surprisingly? Yes.” He raised a hand, wiggling his fingers as he continued. “I cast Scales of Justice while talking with her. She told a few half-truths, I think, but the bulk of what she said was true. I don’t think she’s lying about her identity or what her uncle will do to her.”
He paused, remembering the delicate dress she’d worn and the dramatic way that she’d revealed her presence, and amended his words slightly. “That doesn’t mean we should wholeheartedly trust her. I get the sense that she’s manipulative, cunning even - I guess, unlike Tsia, she learned something about court intrigue - but I don’t think this is a trick to harm us.”
“You want to help her, don’t you?” Ihra asked, with a trickle of amusement in her tone.
“I guess?” Jasper sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not like we owe her anything - she was our enemy, after all, but, then again, it’s not like we had much stakes in this battle. I don’t have any grudge against the people of Stryn,” he said with a shrug. “What do you think?”
Ihra studied his face in silence for a moment, before finally nodding her head. “If you think she’s worth helping, I trust your judgment. But how are you going to convince Tsia?”
Jasper offered her a sheepish grin. “I was hoping you could convince her. You know, with a little girl talk?”
Ihra rolled her eyes. “I’m not the one she likes,” she reminded him.
“Please,” he pleaded, and, with an exaggerated sight, she caved. “Fine. I’ll talk to her.”
----------------------------------------
“Who’s a good boy,” Ihra crooned as she leaned out of her saddle to pat Keresh’s neck. The stag responded enthusiastically, pausing in the trail as he rubbed his head against her hand, and she slipped him a treat before nudging him forward.
Now that the rains of the previous week had passed, the harsh sun beat down on her relentlessly, and she adjusted her hat in a vain attempt to protect her from its heat, before returning her gaze to the woman riding in front of her.
Nissilât. Ihra wasn’t sure what to make of their new tag-a-long.
As she had promised, Ihra had interceded with Tsia on Jasper’s behalf, but it had proved their fears had been unwarranted. Although they’d both expected the princess to be resolutely opposed to helping their former adversary - a member of the Stryn royal family, no less, even if Nissilât was on the outs with her family - the opposite had proven true.
As soon as Tsia had heard of Nissilât’s situation, she’d practically insisted they help her, with far more enthusiasm than either Jasper or herself felt toward the woman. It turned out that the bonds between royalty trumped the long-standing conflict between their two provinces. Evidently, they were even related, a third cousin once removed, or something like that; the idea of keeping track of ‘family’ with such a distant relation struck Ihra as nonsense, but the princess felt differently. To her surprise, the two had quickly bonded, and even now, were merrily chatting.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
She felt vaguely irritated as she watched them talk, and looked away.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“What?” Jasper met her with an easy grin as she swiveled to face him.
“You look a little peeved,” he said.
“I’m not,” and he laughed at her curt reply.
“Of course not - how could I possibly think you were upset?”
She scowled silently, and Jasper leaned over to pat her on the shoulder. “What’s got you down?” he pressed.
Her eyes drifted back to the pair in front of them, who were still engrossed in their conversation. “Just wondering if we made the right decision,” she finally replied.
“About Nissilât?” Jasper shrugged. “She seems alright to me. I haven’t noticed her doing anything shady, and every time I’ve used Scales of Justice she’s been telling the truth. Or at least, the usual amount of truth,” he added with a chuckle. “Everybody lies sometimes, but she seems okay.”
He tracked her gaze to the two women, and understanding dawned. “Wait, are you jealous?” he asked with amusement.
“I’m not jealous,” she protested. “It’s just..” She trailed off with a sigh. “You know Tsia and I didn’t exactly hit it off at first. We were just starting to become friendly in the last few months, but then Nissilât came in and they’re best friends immediately.”
“Well, they do have a lot in common,” Jasper pointed out. “Even if they were on opposite sides, they both grew up in a court with family they’re now estranged from. But, if it helps, I don’t think they’re really friends. There’s a pretty big age gap between the two, not to mention in life experience. I think Tsia sees her more as a role model and Nissilât, well,” he chuckled, “I think she’s sees Tsia as a tolerable annoyance.”
Perhaps it was petty, but Jasper’s words brought a flush of satisfaction to her heart. Maybe she had misjudged the relationship between the pair, but she was confident she wasn’t wrong on the other issue. “Maybe,” Ihra agreed, “but even if they aren’t besties, it’s obvious Nissilât doesn’t like me.”
This time, Jasper didn’t argue with her. “Yeah, about that,” he began, scratching his head awkwardly. “When we first talked, I got the sense that someone important to her had died that night, someone who was among the commanders. And I think we killed him.”
Ihra supposed that wasn’t terribly surprising; from what she’d gathered, Nissilât had served in the Stryn army for several decades, so she was bound to have made a few friends along the way, but that didn’t explain why the woman was so cold to her, specifically, unless… Her eyes widened as she made the connection. “You mean, you think I killed him,” she corrected him.
“Maybe?” he admitted with a wince. “I have noticed she kind of ignores you, but she hasn’t done anything that crossed a line, has she?”
Ihra shook her head. “No, like you said, she ignores me, but she hasn’t done anything.”
“Good. That’s what I thought, but I would hate to have missed something. You know,” Jasper added with a shrug. “Nothing says we have to keep her around. We agreed to protect her from Marīltu’s wrath-”
Ihra frowned as she remembered the commander’s anger when he’d learned they had captured the Stryn commander but weren’t willing to turn her over to him. Even though the city surely would have fallen without their intervention, they’d left on frosty terms. Not that it mattered - Ihra doubted they would ever return to the fortress city, but it was still a bridge she’d rather not have burned. Especially when it involved a man as good-looking as the commander.
“but once we reach Hargish, we should be far enough away from the city for her to make it safely on her own to the emperor,” Jasper continued.
“Well…” Ihra chewed on her lip as she contemplated what he’d said. It was true that they didn’t have to keep Nissilât around, but the woman hadn’t really done anything wrong. Especially if Jasper was right, and Ihra had killed her friend. Ihra doubted she would be able to even manage politeness to someone who had killed Jasper. “We’ve got a few days before we need to cross that bridge,” she finally replied. “But as long as she remains polite, I’m okay with letting her travel with us.”
“You sure?” Jasper asked skeptically, and she started to nod, when the conversation in front of them was interrupted by a thunderous roar.
The group had just rounded a corner on the imperial road cut through the jungle. Mountains bounded a narrow valley on either side, with thick vegetation continuing nearly three-quarters of the way up the steep slopes until the cold was too severe for the trees to survive. But they were not alone.
Their mounts reared as a dozen boulders smashed down the mountain, splintering trees like kindling as they headed toward the road. Ihra dug her spurs into Keres̆, and he bolted forward, racing against the approaching boulders. But as they surged forward, a small group emerged from the trees in front of them.
There were a dozen trolls at least - remnants of Gemlir’s forces, if the black armor they wore and the standard that fluttered above them was any indication. More troubling though were the three towering figures that accompanied, hulking beasts whose black armor was wholly natural, and whose sharp teeth and razor claws promised violence. Atrometos.
Keres̆ bucked as a wave of fear surged out from the Atrometos, and she barely clung on. “Calm down, boy,” she urged, rubbing his neck furtively as she tried to settle him down, casting a nervous glance at the boulders still racing toward them. A swarm of fiery orbs shot past her as Jasper caught up, and she managed to calm the stag down enough to continue.
“You take the trolls, I’ll take the big guys,” he called out.
“Got it.” As Keres̆ bounded forward again, she pulled her quiver free, and leaning around his shoulder lined up a shot. She was a damned good archer, but she wasn’t used to firing on stagback, and her first arrow flew a foot too high.
Her face screwed up as she drew another, and tried again, this time releasing just as Keres̆ jump reached its apogee. It flew true, threading the needle between the Gemlirian’s shield and his gauntleted arm to bury itself in the seam between his helmet and his hauberk. The armor was stained red as the troll staggered back, and she felt her piercing notch up.
Past the path of the falling rocks, she nudged Keres̆ to the side, circling around the trolls while she peppered them with arrows. In a matter of seconds, the Gemlirians fell beneath the combined assault of Ihra, Tsia, and Nissilât while Jasper occupied the Atrometos trio. But when she returned her attention to the Atrometos, she only saw two of them. Did Jasper already take one down?
Then Ihra screamed as claws sliced into her from behind, and the Atrometos dragged her out of the saddle.