AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
Thank You
Alaina’s Map
Behind the Book
About the Author
DEDICATED TO
Doris Lee Crumpacker
1938-2018
My Mom.
She was more than I ever deserved
and the best person I knew.
I wish everyone could experience a mom like her.
Chapter 1
Urban
Rain hadn’t visited this region in quite some time, proof evident in the brown, wilted cacti and dead flowering plants we passed. Sandy travel dust coated us all, weighing us down with a weary kind of plod that made our journey feel even longer than the three weeks it had taken to reach this point. Even our horses had given up on twitching their tails in an effort to remove flies from their hides.
Our path was paved with dry, cracked earth, and what emaciated cattle we saw lay in the shaded nooks of exhausted boulders as they panted with their dehydrated tongues lolling. It made me miss home even more. Nothing could compare to the vast expanse of rolling, green-carpeted hills, turbulent blue seas, succulent fruit trees, and the white-washed cliffs I’d grown up exploring. This dry, barren wasteland did nothing whatsoever to change my mind, either.
I couldn’t believe I’d agreed to come to this place with my sister.
And stay.
Forever.
I must’ve lost my damn mind.
With a sigh, I capped the canteen I’d just taken a swig from and tucked it back into the pouch of my horse’s satchel. Under me, the thirsty beast snorted as if he could smell the fresh liquid, meaning I probably needed to halt the caravan soon so we could water the animals again, even though stopping would delay our trip even longer.
Which made my mood grow grimmer.
“Ready to turn back yet?” I asked, wiping sweat off my brow with the back of my wrist before I sent a telling glance to my right, where my sister rested her own heat-glistened face in the window of her carriage. “Go home and forget this desert?”
“And risk starting a war?” Her fatigued gaze slid drowsily my way. “I think not. The marriage alliance has already been signed, Brother. It’s a done deal.”
“Nah.” I sent her a wink and mischievous grin, even though the juices in my stomach boiled every time I was reminded how she’d been sold off into marriage like some kind of meaningless broodmare. “We’ll just send Cousin Agnes in your stead. She’d love the adventure, and they’d never know the difference.”
“Father would. He’d disinherit us both if we returned home now.”
I stopped arguing with a muttered grunt, because Father. Pfft. That old windbag put more importance on honor and respect than he did his own children, which had proven terribly unfortunate for me on more than one occasion. Like now. Because Father, the great and mighty ruler of High Cliff, had spent the entirety of our kingdom’s coffers on fighting a war, all for a little honor and respect.
