Page 57 of Of Shadows and Blood

Cedric nods slowly. “Of course I do. But being the ruler of the middle kingdom has not been so easy.”

“How do you mean?”

“Politics, borders, cleaning up an ancestry of contention.” He winks.

I finish the cup, now feeling looser than I anticipated. “Well, let’s go out again next week,” I mumble as I step away from the fence.

Cedric watches me with amusement in his eyes as I make my way over to the barrel of ale by the house. “You wish to know my people?”

I’m humming the unfamiliar tune the musicians are strumming as I fill the cup. “Why shouldn’t I? After all, I am one of them.”

“I will aim to make it happen,” Cedric replies.

A loud burst of laughter comes from the back door of the cottage as a group exits. Two of them are clothed in deep, ruby red. A glow follows them, as if their shadows are lighter by the moon. The doting men lean into each other before parting to welcome their guests.

The ground vibrates below us. Setting down my drink, I look around to find the source. Behind us, a trio of riders gallop up to the cottage.

“Your Highness,” one of them, a guard, says as he slides off his steed in front of Cedric. Bowing, the soldier reaches for a rolled parchment and hands it to Cedric. The king takes the missive and reads through it. My vision is blurred or else I would try to read it over his shoulder.

A few moments pass as Cedric reads it, his brows furrowing. “Liv, you are to ride back with my men,” Cedric says, handing the parchment back to the rider. “You three see to it that she travels safely back to the castle. Has Garreth been advised?”

Cedric grabs my hand and begins to lead me to the horse his rider came on. I pull back on it, stopping us.

“What’s going on?” I ask, not moving.

Cedric searches my face. “Take her back.”

“What? No, Cedric. Tell me what’s happening.”

A few heads from the party have turned towards us. As quickly as they realize who is in attendance, the crowd lowers into an unsteady bow. Cedric curses under his breath, pulling on me again. I follow, not wanting to become another spectacle.

“Duresden requests our audience,” Cedric breathes, stress coating his tongue. “I won’t give them what they want. They want to guarantee you’re alive because you’ve been out of the public eye for too long. Not to mention that you are a conflict of interest and I need to see that you are protected. Someone leaked this information. Please, go with them. Please.”

A conflict of what?

Cedric grabs me by my waist and lifts me onto a horse despite my protests.

“Wait,” I hush, grabbing his hand. Cedric stops and looks up to me.

“Why can’t I come with?”

Cedric releases a breath, shaking his head. “I can’t risk that. Stay at the cottage, you’ll be safe there.” And with that, Cedric lets me go and the rider mounts behind me. We begin to turn back to the forest when Cedric gives a terse nod before blitzing into the trees.

The musicians quietly begin where they left off and idle chatter grows as we leave the revelry and head back to the castle.

Chapter 14

Allied kingdoms are a fickle task, just as allied relationships. Mutual agreements that do not fare well in every season. The sun is unforgiving.

My dress has a loose golden thread. My fingers pick at the shining fray and give it a tug. Seated in a small, dark hall lit with only a few of those torches that never burn down, I shift in my seat impatiently when a voice booms.

“That doesn’t explain her attachment to a life she has never lived,” Cedric argues. The cess who met with me this morning have been explaining the curse again, even though they themselves barely understand it. I begin to pluck feathers from a tufted pillow now. The guards deposited me here after Cedric was called to deal with the missive.

And is still dealing with it now.

It’s late but the castle is awake. Their words are clear from the hall, my hearing crisper. “We are working to uncover what her psyche created during her time asleep, but for now, she needs to convalesce. Lady Liv needs rest,” another retorts – Henry.

That is an issue sometimes.