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I sighed obnoxiously loud, just to irk him, and went back to my private thoughts.
The creaking of a wheel that was in desperate need of oil and the rhythmic clacking of horses’ shoes against the grassy, compacted ground provided the only sound for miles. Occasionally, a horse would nicker, coaxing the others to reply. At leasttheywere conversing. Not that I could say the same for my traveling companion and me.
Arkyn was still fully invested in his papers, even though the daylight was nearly gone. I marveled at how he managed to read in the dark. The wind outside started to pick up, gently pushing the carriage from side to side. I flicked aside the curtain, the moonlight tracing the silhouettes of the dark bottomed clouds looming up above.
“It’s going to storm,” Arkyn said as he tucked his papers away in his brown leather satchel that, too, supported the official emblem of the king. He flipped the flap over and buttoned it in place.
Another gust of wind slammed against the side of the carriage, causing it to teeter back and forth. I braced myself against the wall, waiting for the carriage to even out. Suddenly, a cracking noise sounded, followed by my side of the carriage dropping to the ground.
I fell into the corner, something hard walloping the back of my head. My fingers weaved into my hair, momentarily rubbing the hurt before I surveyed my hand. Despite the intensity of the ache, there was no blood.
Arkyn was by me faster than I could comprehend. He offered a hand. “Are you alright?”
I nodded in reply, taking his hand as I returned to my feet.
The door swung open, the wind nearly ripping it off. The ruddy face of the coachman looked frantic as he shouted above the roar of the wind, “Are you both okay?”
Arkyn looked at him, his face seemingly calm, considering the circumstances. “What happened?”
“The terrain, combined with these ungodly winds, is too rough on the carriage—must have caused the hub to bust off,” the coachmen replied, his hand on top of his cap, trying to keep it in place.
“Can you fix it?” Arkyn asked, brown eyes fixated on the coachman.
“No, my lord, I’ll need to take the wheel in for repairs,” he replied honestly.
“We cannot stay here for the night,” Arkyn said more to himself than us. “Unhook the horses. We will ride them the rest of the way.”
“In this wind?” I exclaimed, shaking my head.
“Would you prefer to stay here?” Arkyn asked, a red brow raising in challenge.
Another blast of wind slammed into the carriage, this one far worse than the others. He was right—we couldn’t stay here—but I couldn’t imagine riding out there either.
A glint of steel flashed in the darkness, and before I could react, a sword cleaved its way through the coachman’s chest. His head dropped down before it jerked back up, his eyes rounded at the corners, wide and filled with horror as blood sprayed from his mouth, speckling my seafoam dress red, red, red.
The sword was pulled out, leaving a gaping wound oozing with blood. He dropped to the ground, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
My mouth gaped . . . He was dead.
Arkyn grabbed me, shoving me behind him. He withdrew his sword from its sheath, revealing a sleek, thin blade. The elegant details painstakingly etched into the blade did not distract from how lethal it looked.
“Come out of the carriage. Nice and slow,” a gruff voice hollered from outside. Male.
“What’s going on?” I asked Arkyn.
He looked over his shoulder and placed his finger over his mouth, signaling me to be quiet.
“Oy, you got a woman in there! Bring her out for the boys to see,” the male voice said, his words accompanied by a few snickers. “You aren’t afraid of my little hounds, are you?” As if on cue, the wind began to die down. “There, you see, I can be a nice guy.”
“What do you want?” Arkyn called out, his voice firm, unyielding.
“Why don’t you come out and we’ll talk?” the man replied.
Arkyn turned to look at me. “Stay in here.”
“You can’t go out there alone. Who knows what you’ll be walking into,” I argued.
He grinned. “As much as I appreciate your concern, you are not to come out until I retrieve you. Do you understand?”
