I pull away from her, my hand slipping into hers as I turn us both towards the scowling prince in question. My breath catches at the ire roiling in the depths of his eyes.
Cerson leans closer to me to murmur in the Seelie common tongue, her tone still light enough to hide her deviousness, “The Exalted is going to have a lot to say about him… and to him… and at him while he’s swinging a fist at his head. Well, if he’s lucky it’ll be a fist and not his sword.”
Pressing a hand over my eyes, I take a deep breath to center myself and put aside the very real complications heading our way. “Prince Soren, this is Cerson Crane; a very dear friend of mine who seems to have lost her manners on the long journey here. Hopefully she finds them again soon.”
Cerson shrugs, her dimples still flashing. “Don’t count on it, Æfanya. If centuries in the Seelie Court didn’t cure my insolence, nothing will.”
I heave out a sigh. “I know you’ve met Prince Gideon already, this is Prince Gage and the Briarfrost soldiers escorting us back to Yregar.”
She smiles at them as well. “What luck, I was just heading there myself! The path is overrun with vile creatures, it slowed me down a little but I won’t leave any of their stink behind.”
Gideon frowns, glancing around. “Is your camp nearby? We’ll escort you there first, then get back to the path.”
“No camp; I just finished up a small task for my Æfanyaand I came here to meet with you all to make the last of the journey back to Yregar… they’re eager to have you both back there.”
Gage looks alarmed. “No horse? You’ve just been walking around the kingdom, on your own, without an escort or a sword or…anything?”
Cerson smiles up at him with the same warmth she offers everyone, the one that often finds male’s in trouble. They mistake it for an invitation; the Seelie Court learned that lesson in a very violent way. The soldiers all shift on their feet, the first sign of nervousness I’ve seen out of them on our journey and I don’t need to open my mind connection with Soren to feel the tension filling him, wary instantly in response to their discomfit.
“I was a child when my coven left the Southern Lands, I’ve missed it greatly. The song of the forests has welcomed me home and guided me to where I needed to be.”
Soren doesn’t know what to make of this and Gage is just as perplexed. Gideon, having met Cerson already, is enjoying their confusion as much as I am but Cerson’s fingers squeeze mine gently as she catches my attention again.
“I went to the Ravenswyrd, Æfanya. It welcomed me home, just as you said it would. Just like Pem said.”
The tears in her words are as thick as my own and I lift her hand to clasp it in both of mine. “Of course it did; it welcomes all its children home… even if they don’t bear the coven’s name.”
She chuckles, blowing out a breath and tipping her head back to watch the flurries of snow dancing above our heads. “It was just as perfect as you both told me. I slept under the stars there, lulled to sleep by its’ song, and I woke up with a peace in my heart I’ve never felt before.”
She’s a Favored Child?
I startle as Soren’s voice sounds in my mind and I smile at Cerson to cover the slip.Cerson is married to mybrother. She can’t become a Ravenswyrd witch because of her responsibilities to her own coven but the forest knows where her heart lies. It would never greet my brother’s mate without the warmest welcome.
I squeeze her hand again, taking a step back towards my horse intent on leading her with me. “It’s not so far to go; even after the long journey here, Northern Star will happily carry us both.”
Soren is out of his saddle and catching my wrist before I can take a second step. “You’re riding with me.”
Cerson’s eyes widen as he takes hold of my hips, forcing me to drop her hand or risk dragging her along with me as he lifts me onto Nightspark’s back. I have no idea how he plans on climbing into the saddle in front of me but he then turns back to Cerson and inclines his head to her respectfully. She’s stunned by the action, enough that she allows him to help her onto Northern Star without contest. It’s a distinctly respectful act, as though he’s seeing to the wellbeing of a high-born princess, and I feel a flutter in my chest.
Once he’s sure Cerson is settled and confident on my horse, Soren climbs onto the saddle behind me as though I’m a child, taking up the reins and clicking his tongue to get his beast moving again as though he hasn’t been a demanding ogre about it all. Prince Gideon, fighting a grin and losing, calls out commands for the soldiers to take their positions again while Gage blinks at us all in shock.
When we comeacross out first live war band of raving foot soldiers, Prince Gideon’s soldiers are swift and brutal in killingthem before we get close enough for me to catch the blood-rot scent of them. I’m not surprised when they burn the corpses with their magic, only that they’re so swift to do so. Each of the males are paired off, moving seamlessly together to deal with the witches and turn them to ash before their poison can sink its teeth into the land.
Frozen as it is, the dirt is solid even after the skirmish and Gage waits until the last witch is dead before he climbs down from his own horse to check the ashes carefully. Cerson watches him keenly, the soft beauty of her face hiding its edge, but when the goblin prince glances up at his brother before bowing to Soren and me, she’s visibly pleased with his words.
“There’s no damage; a small sacrifice will ease the fears but there’s no damage to see to.”
One of the soldiers cuts his palm without waiting for a command, the harsh syllables of the goblin tongue masking some of his respectful tones but the prayer is a strong one. The land drinks his blood and his power voraciously, as hungry for goblin blood as it is for all fae folk though it’s been far longer since this stretch of the kingdom tasted it.
As we move off once more, Gideon changes the battalion's formation with ease until one battalion is riding defensively and the other is ready to pursue any of more Kharl Balzog’s soldiers we come across. Cerson rides alongside Nightspark and though Gideon takes the lead position, his horse is only a stride ahead of us. Gage does the same behind us until Soren and I are surrounded at all angles. It doesn't sit well with me and though I don't complain about it out loud, Soren still shakes his head at me.
“I know nothing of the magic of those witches siding with the regent wield; if he sends them after us intent on dragging you back to him, there’s no telling what lengths they’ll go to.”
Cerson glances between him and Gideon, her smile still dimpling her cheeks. “My Æfanyawould never accept such protections without causing a fuss.”
Soren's arms don't change from where they are around me and his voice comes out too harsh to be called a drawl, but it heats my blood in the same way. “She can fuss all she likes, the trip to Yregar will pass like this regardless.”
We walk in silence, but Cerson only lasts a minute before she moves Northern Star closer to us, declaring brightly in the Unseelie common tongue, “I like him.”
