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The horses began snorting and pulling at their leads, stomping at the ground as they tried to get free and escape. But the anchored hovair held them securely in place. There was no way they wouldn’t be hurt.
Rochelle sucked in a breath, knowing she couldn’t get around Aric and all the way to the other side of the surging magic fast enough to defend the horses. If she’d been paying better attention, she might have been able to put up some kind of barrier without getting closer.Maybe…
Aric sighed and lifted a hand, palm out. The invisible turbulence in the air around them settled in an instant as light poured from his palm in a wide, encompassing sphere. In the blink of an eye, he engulfed Harald’s violent attack. In the next second, the nearly blinding cone of light snapped out altogether, taking the crackling, electric fire with it.
The silence carried Harald’s choked stutter with ease.
Rochelle dashed behind Aric, not bothering to say a word, and went straight to the unnecessarily petrified horses. They’d been spared any injury, thankfully, but it was clear they were still upset. She hadn’t spent much time around horses in her old life by any means, but they were innocent animals who hadn’t deserved to be caught up in someone else’s bruised ego. She approached calmly, whispering to them as they stared at her with widened eyes.
“How dare you,” Harald finally said. “How dare you try to keep me from conferring with my King!”
“The same king you disparaged this morning?” Aric asked. “The same king who long ago authorized me to do what needed to be done?”
Rochelle stroked her hand gently down the nearest mare’s silken mane and kept her back to the men. The other mare stretched her neck out, as if seeking attention, so Rochelle laid her free hand on the horse’s snout and rubbed. At least they’d calmed.Too bad the nobles aren’t so reasonable.
“You don’t get to make demands of King Jensen’s time,” Aric said. “If you wish to speak to him, you’ll wait for him to fit you in.” Aric paused just for a beat, but his tone changed with his next words. “I haven’t known him to often make time for prisoners.”
“Prisoners?” Harald spat the word. “You travel with a Zryn and you accuse us—”
A pulse of Aric’s magic silenced Harald’s critical words.
Rochelle watched the horses’ eyes follow something she couldn’t see without physically turning, but they didn’t react in any other way.
A soft footstep alerted her to a presence just out of sight before Aric spoke again, quieter. “How are the horses?”
Slightly startled by the question, Rochelle adjusted to face his closer position and saw him with hands in his pockets. “They’re calmed,” she said. “I don’t see any burns.” He should know that, of course.
He offered her a smile, reached out, and stroked his fingers between one of the mare’s eyes. “Good. I’m going to have to take these two in. I’m afraid Awora authorities won’t have the backbone to hold a Lamont, let alone a Captain.”
She stared at him for a second, then turned entirely and found herself staring at the bound and seemingly slumbering forms of Harald and Lennart Lamont. They were tied back-to-back and sitting on their butts on the cobblestone street.
“They’ll be fine,” Aric said. “I put them to sleep to keep myself from killing him. Seemed the best for all of us.”
Her lips twitched at his admission and she faced him again. “How can I help? I am your assistant, after all.” Sometimes she didn’t know what came over her when she said things like that. They both knew he’d been lying about that, but it seemed fun to see how he’d react.
A smirk lifted his lips and he chuckled. “If you’re that eager to help, why don’t you call Darnel for me and ask him to prepare the Royal Knights to receive a pair of high-profile traitors. An investigation will need to be launched eventually, but it’s possible they’re only really guilty of disobeying me and by extension royal order. And trying to flee before they were caught.”
Rochelle nodded. She’d been around Aric long enough to learn that disobeying royal order was in itself a scandalous crime that, depending on the greater situation, could lead to substantial repercussions. So she didn’t question why he took it seriously.
“I’m just going to sift through their bags until I find the book I need,” Aric said. He started toward the piece of luggage that had been forgotten on the ground, near the steps to the hovair.
Rochelle dug her Connector Stone from her pocket and paused as one of the mares nuzzled her arm. “What about these mares?” The question was past her lips before she could give it any thought at all.
The sound of a zipper echoed through the early evening air. “They’re probably property of the Lamont family,” Aric said. “All Lamont assets will most likely be seized until the extent of their loyalty or lack thereof can be determined.”
Something in her clenched and Rochelle reached out with her free hand to pet each mare’s snout once more. “But they’re just horses. Surely they’re innocent.” She could only hope thatseizeddidn’t meanneglected. Her hand tightened for a moment around the stone she still needed to use, and she pushed out a breath before releasing her grip and channeling her magic into the smooth rock. “Darnel Rey,” she said as the Connector Stone lifted into the air.
Chapter Nine
Rochelle had the most inappropriate inclination to laugh at the visible frustration marring Aric’s handsome features. The Lamont hovair, and the pair of mares still attached to it, had been carted away by Awora patrolman. The vacation house had been locked and would remain so until some designated inspector arrived. All that was left was getting the noblemen themselves properly into custody before they woke—and that, it seemed, was the reason for Aric’s upset. She did her best to bite back her amusement, containing it to a smile, and laid a hand on his nearest forearm. “Everything’s ready. You don’t need to worry about me.”
His stare snapped to her, igniting a sizzle deep inside. “This shouldn’t take me more than half an hour,” he said.
She swallowed and said a small prayer that her voice wouldn’t betray her. “But…?”
“Awora is less forgiving after dark. Especially to those who’ve never visited before.”
Rochelle gave his arm a squeeze. “I’ll be fine. I can find my way to Tora’s from here.”
