AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had valued the dead over the living and my best friend had paid the price.
Hoping to escape the guilt, I urged Cherny to race across the sky.
Alexei had hated flying. In all the years we’d known each other, only once did he ride with me. We snuck out of the Tower, only ten years old, and rashly stole a griffon from the stables. Only through the Wishmaker’s boon did we pick one of the few that allowed strangers close. In the sky, Alexei had clung to me in terror while I laughed with the wind, the magic barely under my command. On land, he had always been the wild one.
Cherny’s familiar warmth anchored me as I blinked away tears behind the flying goggles. The last time we spoke, Alexei begged me to set aside revenge and do something for my city. I was not the leader he imagined, but for once, my father had ordered me to do something worthwhile. I would find out who was behind the missing food. Whatever happened on the Day of the Dead, thepeople would have their celebration. If I could not honor my friend’s bones and Spirit, I would honor his wishes.
Once, my ancestors ruled the steppes, flying above or riding across, never settling for long, until one day the greatest war chief, Herebov, fell in love with Ealhswip, the last divine ruler of Tal, and founded the monarchy. Watching the unbroken horizon, I wished my ancestors had never left their nomadic life. Soaring through the frigid clouds brought calm to my anger and hurt, confusion and longing for a future I had for a moment thought possible.
We flew over the grasslands, searching for the farmsteads considered too inconsequential to be marked on maps, free to sell their wares to all while owing allegiance to none. It meant no one protected them when the bandits came, but that did not change that Tal was dependent on them to feed its ever-growing populace.
The further we ventured from the mountains, the drier it got. We followed the thinning arms of the Taliell but only spotted wild animals until I saw our goal after two bells of flying—a cluster of three large dwellings surrounded by animal enclosures.
With a square blue flag, I signaled to land away from the cattle that dotted the grass like woolen clouds. Griffons could go up to a three-day without food but would hunt if allowed. No point in alienating the proud locals by killing their livestock—if any remained.
Yahontov touched down next to me on his brown-speckled griffon, the three other riders following. Despite his size, he had used all his savings as a third-born son to purchase the mount. I understood the wish to fly no matter what others told you was suitable, onlytoo well.
Yahontov had been stationed at the same keep I’d been exiled to, and though we had not interacted beyond sparring and patrols, I had remembered his quiet, steady approach when selecting a personal guard. So far, he had not disappointed, despite my suspicion that he might be on the Roja’s payroll. I had demanded he swear his loyalty to me and only me—that did not mean I would have brought him last night if I’d had a choice. Tal was a melting pot about to tip. Even without being recognized, many would have attacked me for my coin. Returning to the palace, I’d made sure he knew if he reported Tempest, the undead would be the least of his problems.
It was true she had betrayed me. That I could not look at her, nor look away. And equally impossible to deny that if anyone touched a hair on her head, I would skin them alive.
I shook my head to focus on the present, and released the hook that connected me to the harness while flying. To see above the swaying grass, I rose and balanced on top of my saddle. Besides the grazing animals, nothing moved.
Yahontov nodded toward the farmstead.
“Seems peaceful.”
“Too peaceful,” I muttered. “There’s no one there.”
He sniffed the air. “Nothing burned.”
I opened myself to the wind. Out here, there was little to impede it and despite being careful since overexerting myself in Lowtown, its whispers blew through me.
Those who streamed into Tal said bandits had burned their farms and fields. But tales twisted as they moved from mouth to mouth, and none could be found for more questions. Perhaps people had exaggerated abandoning their farms due to drought or other causes.But…
“Don’t trust anything,” I said. “The scouts should be waiting.”
Yahontov leapt into the tall grass and only the white-painted leather cap showed his progress. None of us wore anything stronger than bones and leather—the weight would wear out the griffons. My buckled armor fit like a second skin, I could close each strap in my sleep, and still I felt exposed. In a battle down here, bandits on horses or Vsadnik with bows would have the advantage.
Could Tempest shoot an arrow as well as she threw me across the room?
Probably not based on what she had shown me, but due to my anger and betrayal, I found myself second-guessing every assumption. She had been a contradiction as a princess—elegant and alluring, strong and wild. Beautiful without effort. Powerful and fragile. Her cheeks smoother than any silk, her hands rough with callouses. At least those made sense for someone raised in Lowtown. But the rest? How did someone so poor gain the bearing of a princess?
Despite the joy of riding Cherny again and the need to see what the scouts discovered, I longed for tonight. When I was with her, I never knew what would come next.
The grass divided and Yahontov returned followed by a shorter woman in white bone helmet. I had Cherny moving toward the buildings before they reached me.
Koshka—a willowy female rider and scout even more daring than I in the sky—wearing armor embellished with sigiled bones, jogged easily beside me when she drew parallel. If there had been danger, she would have already informed me. No point in delaying. The rest of the five-rider team followed.
“Report,” I said, despite having read an update beforeleaving.
“Seems abandoned, just like the others.” She whistled for her own griffon. It dove straight down, as daring as its rider. She was in the saddle before all four feet touched the ground. During the last three-day, I had interacted with her enough to know she did a thorough job, was not easily rattled, and cared little for ceremony. Having qualified for the Bone Guard, I trusted her skill and loyalty more than most others.
“Any signs of disruption?” I asked as we moved closer.
“None.” She tilted her head, her cat-like movements reflecting the predator whose bones she had bonded. “The cattle seem uncared for, the house undisturbed. We couldn’t find any recent human traces, but the farm could hold a much larger herd. There is blood by one of the barns.”
Feeling my unease, Cherny sped up. There was no reason to slaughter a lot of livestock in the middle of summer, even I knew that. While there were two harvests a year, and the lack of produce delivered to Tal by midsummer had triggered my father’s orders, the cattle market did not happen until the Day of the Dead and the start of fall. Slaughtering the animals traditionally fed the festival as the first of each herd was gifted to the Goddess and people by the crown.
