AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thirteen
Baine
Within minutes of me feigning sleep, Rosalie rested against my shoulder and dozed off. It wasn’t until she curled into my arm and her chest rose and fell that I opened my eyes.If I hadn’t pretended to sleep the girl would have fussed and moved about until the both of us were more than uncomfortable.
And I did not mind her resting in my arms.
“You know Demious will take her,” Enola said from the front. “How he hasn’t sensed her power already is surprising. The man is getting distracted in his old age.”
“The collars dampen the prospects’ abilities.” I traced a finger around the jeweled choker on Rosalie’s neck.
“Well, he’ll learn once he finds out what the crone tried to do.”
“He won’t.”
Enola peered over her shoulder at me. I could only make out the side of her face from this angle, but I could tell she wasn’t going to let the conversation drop. “And why won’t he?”
“I’ve offered Rosalie a way out. She doesn’t need to marry him. Her debt will be paid.”
“Since when do you care about us lowly humans?”
Rosalie nuzzled against my shirt. A low whistling noise came out of her mouth as she snored. “I care about you.”
“Oh, do you?” Enola’s voice pitched up and I could tell she was smiling. “I’m flattered.”
“Why are you so interested in what happens to this woman?” I asked.
“Because you are, of course. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you interested in much of anything.”
There were many things that interested me, but my wants died many years ago. My life became a weapon, used when needed. Nothing else seemed to matter and I was fine with it, until this human crashed into my life.
Holding Rosalie in my arms, I realized the danger she stirred in my heart. A need to protect. If I could save her from a life of servitude, I would. The reason why didn’t matter.
Lord Demious saved me, and out of duty and honor I served him and would continue to do so until he passed into the Never. Rosalie wasn’t here out of loyalty, but a debt that needed to be paid and a home that needed saving.
If I hadn’t seen the glow on her face the day those ash raptors plucked her off the grass and into the sky, I may not have believed her desire to save her farm and her firehawks. I may not have known the human woman long, but I understood her need to protect things that mattered, like I once did a long time ago.
Often, I had asked myself if I regretted my decision to save the human children. Was it worth being exiled from my kind? Was it worth losing my home and family? In all the years I’d been in Farrow’s Gate my answer remained the same: yes.
Once, Lord Demious had offered to relieve me of my services, but I refused. I had no home to go to, and no desire to do anything else but fight. Until now.
“Dark clouds ahead,” Enola said. “Need to speed it up or we’ll get stuck in the storm.”
Shifting my body to the right, I turned. Across the plains and windy dirt road, gray clouds hovered in the distance, blasts of lightning crackled within their dark mists. Our destination swerved left of the storm, but at the rate we were moving we would meet those clouds head on.
“Can your goat go any faster?”
With a quirk to her lip, Enola said, “This is a Moonlake goat. He may be as fast as you. Hold on!”
With a tap of the reins and a yell, Enola urged the goat forward. Keeping one arm around Rosalie, I grabbed the edge of the cart. The wooden cart bounced along the road, hitting every rock and bramble with a thud. Rosalie squeaked awake, eyes wide with fear, and gripped the front of my shirt.
“What’s going on?” She gazed around us, searching for the threat that had awoken her from sleep.
“Storm,” I said over the thundering.
Slipping out of my grip, she turned and pulled herself closer to the side of the cart. “What are rainstorms like in Farrow’s Gate?”
The cart bounced, jostling us on top of each other. Untangling myself from Rosalie’s arms, I slid to squeeze next to her as best as I could. “Depends on the weather.”
