Page 72 of Royal Hunt
I turned my head to the side and whispered to Ellis as I stared at one set of eyes in a doorway that belonged to a girl, a little, rugged girl like me. “You have to say something,” I nudged him.
“What?” He whispered back vehemently.
I twisted around painfully, my mouth open. Ellis beat me to it, turning the horse around and facing the accusing, fearful stares. The villagers that stood in the open had gathered in groups as if there was comfort and safety by being together.
“No one kidnaps my queen and gets away with it,” he uttered darkly.
Clearing my throat, I tried to subtly shake my head. A man near the front of one of the groups made a fist. Judging by his unnaturally red eyes, cheeks, and large, hard belly he e was well acquainted with the inn.
“However, I apologize for the damage,” Ellis continued, taking the hint. “My queen and I will be traveling to the Eastern Realm to broker a trade deal. When we return with food carts, yours will be the first village we stop at. Your supplies will come from the queen’s former household at her orders.”
My queen.
Though his words sent a thrill through me, they didn’t seem to entirely reassure the villagers, judging by the ugly looks on their faces.
Ellis turned the horse in the direction of the castle, but a young boy rushed up, lips tight in anger.
“And if you don’t come back? Then what?” he demanded in a high voice.
Ellis paused and turned. “Go to the castle. I have ordered them to feed anyone who shows up … as long as you don’t cause trouble.”
Ellis snapped the reins and we fled down the road back toward the castle, fleeing from the needs and the stares and the guilt, as well as the charred remnants of the inn.
“We need to ensure Viana hasn’t left yet,” Ellis informed me after we traveled in silence for a mile or so. “But I don’t think she was planning to go until nightfall. We will take care of your injuries, gather supplies, and travel together with her if needed.”
I wasn’t sure how he planned to heal me, but any plan was better than none at all.
The entire kingdom was depending on it.
Twenty Three
The ride back was torture, with every step the horse took sending jarring pain up my side and chest. I tried to hold it in, my body tense and unyielding as Ellis did his best to hold me still on the horse in front of him.
When we finally arrived back at the castle, it turned out that Viana hadn’t yet left with the fae prisoners, though not due to a lack of trying, to her utter disgust.
“Hurry up! You’re being slow on purpose! Oh, just give it to me!” Viana grabbed the reins from a wide-eyed stable boy and adjusted the horse herself. She saw us coming and scoffed. “Your stable boy doesn’t know how to properly tack a horse!”
Ellis scowled at her. “That’s because he’s been a stable boy for two days.”
Viana’s cheeks tinged with pink, but she tilted her nose up in the air.
“Where are the fae prisoners?” Ellis asked.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” I added on.
To Viana’s obvious amusement, Ellis and I glanced at each other as we both spoke at once. She arched an eyebrow at us.
“The fae prisoners are in the cage wagon. I haven’t left yet because it’s been utter chaos. I can’t find any help and no one will give me supplies.”
I opened my mouth to ask what chaos, but was cut off but a scream. A figure shot into the sky from just behind the castle, out of control on wings larger than the small body they were connected to. A boom followed from behind us in the opposite direction, and smoke steadily rose from the forest.
“I take it the heirs aren’t adjusting well to their new powers still,” Ellis commented wryly.
“Unlike others,” I couldn’t help but point out, shooting Viana a glare.
Ellis shot a look between us, warning us to behave. “Viana, Eve is injured. That idiot tried to kidnap her. I burned down a tavern. I need their village to be the first to receive exports.”
Viana huffed. “Very well. The barn, perhaps?”
