Amaskan's Blood, Raven Oak [read me a book .TXT] 📗

green clothing to camouflage her movements. While the forest held shadows, her white clothes were too bright. As Adelei moved, Ida tried unsuccessfully to regain control of her horse as the beast continued stepping away from her.

The mare reared, stomping around in the underbrush and making quite the racket. Ida gave the mare conflicting signals with the words she spoke, and the chaos provided cover. The distraction worked as Adelei stepped behind the hidden foe crouched behind a bush.

His knocked arrow wavered as it followed Ida’s movements, but it ceased its path when Adelei’s dagger touched his throat. “Drop the bow and arrow,” she whispered.

The foe did both readily enough and stood at her urging. Adelei guided him out into the clearing where Ida’s mount instantly settled. Ida approached them both, her hand on her sword’s hilt. “Are you alone?” Adelei asked as she peered out into the trees.

When the man didn’t answer, a trickle of blood appeared at his throat in warning. “I’m alone.”

“Good. Who was your target?”

Beads of sweat popped up across his forehead and rolled down a freshly shaved cheek. Ida’s six foot two inch frame leaned over him, her grin harsh and nightmarish on its own, and his throat convulsed as he swallowed hard. “I believe we asked ya a question, son,” Ida hissed.

“I was—I was ta look for a companion. A warrior bein’ brought in from outKingdom.”

So I was the target. But he thought Ida was the warrior. She glanced at Ida who nodded. She, too, caught his mistake.

“Who sent you?” Adelei asked and pushed the knife a smidge closer to his flesh. Instead of answering, the man lunged forward, shoving his neck deeper into her blade. The arterial crimson sprayed out and coated the leaves at his feet. Adelei pulled the knife away and released the man to the forest floor.

It wasn’t soon enough. The attacker bled out in the dirt and leaves.

“Damn.” As he breathed his last breath, Adelei’s hands shuffled through pockets along his body. She was careful and tried to shield probing fingers from poisoned bits that could stick her. Well acquainted with such techniques, Adelei avoided his wrists and waist until she stripped him of his clothes and weapons.

Ida stood guard, her eyes never leaving the forest. On the inside of his right ankle, Adelei found what she’d been both hoping for and praying against—a small triangle burned into the skin. It was red and puffy from recent marking.

“He’s Tribor.”

The former captain wrenched her gaze away from the trees and at the new tattoo. “Gods be with us,” she whispered.

Adelei dragged his body by the arms away from the clearing and into a patch of thick underbrush where she covered it with twigs and leaves. Ida kicked up dirt to cover all traces of his blood. It wasn’t the quickest or cleanest way to cover evidence, but it was all they had.

“We dare not stop now. We must reach the city of Menoir before nightfall,” said Adelei as she cleaned her knife on some of the leaves from the forest floor.

“That’s a day’s travel at a steady pace. If we push the horses, we could make it by sunset.” Once they were both astride, both forced their mounts forward at a gallop.

They already knew where they were. No need to hide their horses’ passage at that point. If they didn’t reach the walls of a city by nightfall, one of them might not make it there at all.

“You have more experience with the Tribor than me, being closer to Shad. What do you know of them?” she called out to Ida as they brushed past the trees.

“Assassins. Not Amaskans—no morals, no creed outside their worship of Itova, the Death Goddess. They’re hired thugs who’ll do any job, no matter how dirty.” The warrior spit on the ground. “It’s rumored they hail from Shad.”

“So nothing the Amaskans didn’t already know. Damn, I was hoping you knew something more.”

Ida shook her head. “I wish. Might make your job simpler.”

“If the Shadians support the Tribor, they may be behind the assassination attempts on the princess. But why not just cancel the wedding and declare war? Why the pretense of a treaty?” A deer up ahead fled from their horses’ hooves as they passed, and Adelei ducked beneath a tree branch that came close to smacking her in the face. “Ida, if the princess dies after the wedding, who gets the crown?” Ida cocked an eye brow and tilted her head. “No,” Adelei answered the unspoken question, “No, I don’t want it. Assuming that, who would get it if the royal line is exterminated?”

“The prince would rule on behalf of any children ’til they were of age. If there are no children, the treaty states the prince would rule, and upon his death, our country would return to the Alexandrian bloodline if he begot no heirs. Some cousin or another would take the crown.”

So they need the marriage to put the prince in line for taking over the crown. Once there, he could attempt to change the laws any way he saw fit—after all, with my sister and father out of the picture, who would be left to stop him?

Following Adelei’s line of thought, Ida called out, “The people of Alexander would never stand by and allow a Shadian to wrest away control of the crown.”

“They may not have a choice if the Shadian army invades. They can’t be too obvious about it—so they’ll use their pet Tribor to kill off the royal family. Nothing but a bunch of murderers.” In this case, the term was accurate. The Tribor didn’t take sides; they killed indiscriminately.

They even kill children. We’re in trouble. Not that Adelei couldn’t take on a Tribor or two, but she was willing to bet she would be outnumbered. And racing for safety with her back to the enemy. The thought sent a shiver through her, and Adelei leaned closer to the saddle to minimize herself as a moving target.

The two women