Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,29
cheery, “Good morning.”
“Lady Rogan.” Wolfe urged his horse toward me from the front of our cavalcade. He nodded a dismissal at the lieutenant who left my side to mount his own horse, Snowstorm. Together they sidled away from Wolfe and I, giving us privacy.
I frowned against the morning sun, wishing I was more inclined to wearing bonnets. But they annoyed me—I liked to be aware of my surroundings, and bonnets cut off too much of my peripheral vision.
“Captain Stovia,” I mumbled, hoping I wasn’t in for some kind of lecture. This could end in a screaming match. A weary one, but I’d give it my best effort.
The sunlight brightened his eyes to a golden aquamarine as they washed over me. “Are you all right, Lady Rogan? After last evening, I mean?” His mouth twisted in consternation as we both remembered Krill’s appalling behavior.
I nodded, suppressing a yawn. “Yes, Captain, I’m quite well. Grof Krill explained his unseemly behavior last night and apologized.”
Wolfe stiffened at the news. “Oh, he did, did he? And what exactly did he tell you?”
I shrugged. “He was trying to ingratiate himself to me. He wanted to use my magic to find someone.”
“That piece of …” Wolfe pressed his lips together in fury as he glared bloody murder at Krill’s mansion. For a moment, he appeared ready to dismount and head inside. The man really took his duties too seriously. My amused smirk turned into a yawn as Wolfe growled at the building, “How dare he abuse a lady’s feelings in such a manner.”
“I assure you I knew from the start that he was up to something, Captain. I’m not the sort of woman men make fools of themselves over.”
Wolfe’s head whipped toward me, his expression slack with disbelief. We stared at one another a moment before he seemed to shake himself. With a snort of derision, the captain gathered his reins and turned his horse forward. “And yet so many of them do.”
Too tired to argue with his nonsensical comment, I stayed silent as Wolfe trotted to lead our procession. I acknowledged Lieutenant Chaeron with a tremulous smile as he returned to my side; I fought against the rhythmic sway of Midnight’s movements as we followed the captain.
I barely remember leaving Peza. Everything was a blur as I battled to keep my eyes open, my body tense so it didn’t fall asleep. The city disappeared behind us and the land grew quiet, our small army passing farms off the beaten track. I was lulled by the peace and began to give in to my body’s need for respite. Feeling nauseated with the exhaustion, I struggled to keep my head up. We couldn’t waste any more time after stopping at Peza. Every time my eyes slid shut for brief moments, Haydyn’s smiling, beautiful, serene face danced across the blackness of my lids, and sparks of aching pain shot out of my heart and across my chest. I snapped my eyes open and gripped the reins harder, determined to go as fast as Wolfe was leading.
My body was in total disagreement. Perhaps three, maybe four hours into our journey, all I was aware of was the heat of the sun burning through my dress, the distant sounds of the clip-clopping of horses’ hooves, and the soldiers’ murmured chatter that resembled insects buzzing around my head.
And suddenly I was lying outside in the grass by the cliffs of Sabithia. It was a hot summer’s day and my mind lazily drifted into slumber.
“Miss Rogan,” I heard a voice call in the distance. My eyes popped open at the happy sound and I stood up. I gazed behind me to see Haydyn approach and was shocked to find her all alone. She was barefoot like me as she walked through the cool grass.
“Your Highness,” I teased. “I missed you.”
Haydyn took my hand. “I missed you too.”
We grinned at one another and then turned to stare out at the calm sea stretching away from the cliff edge.
“That water looks wonderful,” I whispered.
“You know today it looks calm enough to swim in.”
“We’re too high up.”
“Be adventurous, Rogan.”
Frowning, I took a step closer to the edge, the drop at least a hundred feet. “It would kill us.”
“Not today.” Haydyn shook her head. “Trust me.”
Heart pounding at the thought, I gripped her hand tighter. “Together? On three?”
She laughed, exhilarated. “One. Two. Three!”
“Miss Rogan!”
And then I was falling.
Blissfully falling.
Everything ached.
I did not want to open my eyes but a strange feeling of disorientation forced me to.