Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,19

and his mother and the man missing from their lives. I looked away from the house as Wolfe entered it, fighting to keep my composure as images of Syracen flashed through my mind. Images that were always followed by my parents’ horrified faces as they died, of my little brother lifeless at my feet.

“Miss Rogan, are you all right?” Lieutenant Chaeron asked.

I threw him a brittle smile. I liked Chaeron. A few years ago, I had asked him to stop calling me my lady like everyone else did. He began addressing me as Miss Rogan instead and for that, he held my affection.

I was about to reassure him when the door to Wolfe’s home opened and he appeared there with a short woman at his side. He turned and kissed her cheek. She smiled warmly up at him before she waved to the Guard.

“Safe trip, good men!” she called softly.

“Thank you, my lady!” some of the men returned. She smiled prettily, still very attractive, not even a hint of gray in her chestnut tresses. Her eyes traveled over our entourage and finally found me. Vikomtesa Stovia stiffened and paled at the sight of me. She turned to Wolfe to whisper at him and he shook his head, muttering a reply. She nodded, but when she looked at me again, I could have sworn there was fear in her eyes.

Seeming to shake herself, she dragged her gaze from me to Chaeron. “Lieutenant Chaeron, take care of my Wolfe, won’t you?”

Lieutenant Chaeron grinned. “Of course, my lady!”

Wolfe grimaced before he patted his mother’s hand in reassurance and bounced down the stone steps to mount his horse with an ease and agility that made me envious.

I looked away sharply, shaken by Vikomtesa Stovia, even more so by her reaction to me … as if I were the one to be feared, not them.

As soon as we were out of the city, Wolfe pushed us at a fast pace. When we could, we skirted villages; when we couldn’t, we slowed so as not to cause suspicion. I hated those moments, having to wave to the villagers like I was royalty, when in truth I was a farm girl just like many of the Sabithians. Once we were out of the village and onto the main trade roads, Wolfe hurried on and we followed suit. My body ached three hours in, my bottom numb in the saddle. I tried not to show my discomfort. We wouldn’t stop today as we had a late start. We would be riding on until nightfall.

Lieutenant Chaeron seemed to sense my ever-growing discomfort and talked to me about his family. We shared stories of farm life and I realized how similar the people in Vasterya seemed to those in Sabithia. But not once did I ever mention my family by name, and Chaeron didn’t pry. Everyone knew my sad tale. Everyone knew I didn’t talk about my sad tale. Instead, the lieutenant made me laugh as he spoke of his younger sister and her comical attempts to catch the man of her dreams.

“Donal is from coal mining country in the northeast of Sabithia,” the lieutenant said. “Quiet, reserved people. He moved to Laerth to live with cousins, start a new life in farming. He wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming attention of my sister.”

I laughed as he described her outrageous tactics to win Donal.

“She succeeded, though?” I asked.

Lieutenant Chaeron snorted. “Kirsta had him wed in under two months. They’ve been married three years now and have two children, more to come, I suspect.”

From his stories I gathered his entire family was close. It was what I’d always imagined my own would have been like had we been given the chance to grow with one another. I swallowed my grief and encouraged him to tell me more about his own wife and children.

As night fell, we crossed the River Silvera, and a while later, the River Sabith, and as we passed through a small patch of woodland, we saw lights twinkling in the distance between the trees. Coming out of the woods, I swatted at another insect that had decided my skin was a tasty treat. Not even twenty-four hours in and already I was irritated by the realities of travel.

“Sabith Town.” Wolfe halted his horse, turning to us as he pointed at the large town in the distance. “We’ll rest here for the night.”

I swear I almost swooned in relief. And I was not a swooner. I grinned at the lieutenant,