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“Well, come on,” I muttered, waving Soren forward. “We have a traitor to catch.”
Soren scurried to follow as I marched from the Throne Room.
Three hours later, he, twelve other guards, and I—dressed as common folk—loitered inconspicuously outside the home of the Lowden woman of magic who planned to meet her secret source from the castle anytime now. Around us, other villagers filled the area, unaware of our status, while Soren remained plastered to my side, micromanaging every move I made as I pretended to dig a rock out of the hoof of the horse I’d brought with me.
I swear, if he nit-picked one more thing I did, I’d backhand
the asshole.
“How much more time?” he grumbled, glancing around as he shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. “And why don’t you have that damn rock out of its hoof yet?”
I ground my teeth together, declined to tell him there was no fucking rock, and kept my gaze on the entrance of the cottage door. “I just told you twenty seconds ago… Anytime now.”
“Well, then where the hell is he? Why isn’t anyone—”
“Shh,” I hissed, slapping him quiet when a cloaked figure strode cautiously along the path through villagers, winding his way toward the Lowden woman’s cottage. Though many people were milling about, this one stood out. “I think that may be him.”
But no sooner than I spoke the words than my mark started to buzz with awareness.
What the hell? Why was Vienne suddenly so close? I glanced around for her, forgetting about the cloaked figure and wondering how she’d gotten within range before I’d noticed her—probably because of Soren’s moaning and complaining in my ear, distracting me the entire time.
But I couldn’t spot her anywhere.
Damn, this couldn’t be good. I didn’t want her here when we captured the bearer of dark magic. It would no doubt turn dangerous. She could get hurt.
But where the fuck was she?
Closing my eyes momentarily, I tracked her until I could pinpoint a better location. But when I opened my lashes, all I saw was the slightly stooped shoulders of the hooded figure who was still stealthily making his way toward the—
“Son of a bitch!” I hissed in realization as I gaped, unable to believe my eyes.
She’d disguised herself well. I never would’ve known it was her—or even a woman—under that cloak from the way she carried herself.
“What?” Soren demanded next to me. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t we apprehending him already?”
I shook my head, thinking fast, my brain spinning and then sputtering short. “I just want to make sure it’s him first,” I muttered, needing to save her from the clutches of the men around me who were determined to catch the bearer of dark magic.
“Of course it’s him!” Soren blustered. “He’s headed straight for the cottage, and there! He just looked right at the door. That’s definitely our man. Are we waiting until he goes inside first, so we’ll have him surrounded? That’s actually a good idea. Trap him in a small space.”
Fuck, no. I didn’t want her surrounded and trapped so it’d be impossible for her to escape. The safest bet for her to get away was now, out here in the open.
Moving quickly, I leaped from my spot near a bakery where I’d been fiddling with the horse.
“Halt!” I yelled, unsheathing my sword and holding it up in the air, pointed in her direction. “In the name of the king, we apprehend you for questioning.”
Women screamed, villagers scattered, and chaos reigned. Loaves of bread and other baked goods went flying.
“What the hell?” Soren muttered from behind me as he scrambled to unsheathe his own sword but fumbled in his haste as pastries beaned him in the head. All the other men waiting nearby were similarly surprised by my unexpected move. No one could immediately jump in to catch her, giving Vienne just enough time to escape, which she took, immediately springing away and darting through scrambling people before she disappeared between two cottages.
“You, you, and you four,” I ordered, pointing my sword at the quickest, most agile men on my team along with Soren. “Apprehend the Lowden woman and keep her detained for questioning. The rest of you, help me catch that cloak.”
Nodding, everyone took off to fulfill their assigned duties without question, and I dove headlong after Vienne, following the pull from my mark. When I realized a couple of my men were following me, I pointed them off in different directions than I was going, saying we needed to split up, until soon, I was the only one on her trail.
She was slick, I’ll give her that. I barely kept a portion of her cloak in sight, and if I hadn’t had my mark telling me where to go, I would’ve lost her long ago between all the mayhem, people, and buildings. She took a zigzagging path which impressed me. I would’ve been proud of her ability to escape if I weren’t so damned confused about what she was doing out here in the first place, meeting with people of magic in secret like this.
When she entered the woods to the west of the castle, I frowned, wondering where the hell she was going. The drawbridge to let her back inside was clear on the other side of—what the hell?
I’d stayed far enough back to ensure that she didn’t know she was being followed, but I’d still been able to keep the barest of visuals. Once she passed between two trees and around a thick shrub into a small clearing, however, she disappeared completely.
