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

oozed out into the street, and she steered Midnight around many bodies too preoccupied to notice the massive beast alongside them.

She kept her eyes forward and while she studied her new home, she tried not to think about how many people lived in a city this large.

Another pass through the second set of city walls saw a shift in both decoration and poverty level. People lined the dirt road, selling anything from food and clothing, to sex and herbs that would send the mind away from the body. Here the people noticed their passage. They had little choice in the narrow, overcrowded streets.

But even here, the people fought over every notch and penny spent on goods. Fierce bargainers crowded near every booth, and Adelei had to fight Midnight’s nerves as they passed. It wasn’t until after they passed the third and final inner city walls that she relaxed her grip on the reins and allowed herself to take notice of the change in the city.

If going through the second walls had been a change, this was a complete metamorphosis. Two-story homes of brick rather than wood lined the now cobbled street, and the people moved about with upper-class airs, gloved hands pointing as servants manhandled the merchandise sold by street corner vendors. Handsomely dressed men or mothers escorted young women who carried finely woven baskets or bags as they shopped.

Here among the rich, Ida was noticed and as quickly dismissed. “Could you imagine, Cordelia? Riding such an ugly beast as that and like a man no less.” one elderly woman muttered, a scowl marring her face.

The young woman ignored her mother and reached out a hand to touch Adelei’s leg. “Look at the white of it, Mother. It’s so bright and soft. Like kittens.”

The mother guided her charge away by the shoulders, and Adelei chuckled at the woman’s chagrin. “Is white so rare in Alexander?”

“The minerals used to lighten the fabric aren’t easily available in these parts. ’Course, you’ll see it with nobility, but not so much among the commoners. I’m a bit surprised she treated ya as such. To them, ya appear of noble birth so to be rude and risk your displeasure could have dire consequences for them.”

The clicking of Midnight’s hooves as they trotted through the city bore a certain rhythmic lull, and Adelei relaxed in the saddle. The castle loomed overhead, a quarter of a mile away at the most, and from this distance the castle wore its age with less grace. The six-hundred-year-old bricks bore pocks and nicks from countless battles over the centuries. High up, windows scattered across the grey walls, but no matter how much Adelei searched, no one stood looking down on her. She doubted she’d be able to see anyone anyway from this distance.

The calm held until the castle walls were close enough to touch, and as they rode through the fifteen-foot-high archway that led to the castle grounds proper, Adelei’s stomach clenched and churned, making the apple she’d had around noon sour in her belly.

Ida smiled gently at her, but there was little she could do to prepare Adelei for the reunion with her family. Another stop to identify themselves to more guards, and they passed on. “It’s good to see the guards asking even you to identify yourself. Most city guards would look at your coin and wave you on through, never mind that you could have stolen it.”

“Anyone who snatched this would’ve had to kill me. If that was the case, I’d say they earned it.” The women led their horses across an open courtyard and toward the massive stables to their right. “After the war, security was much greater a concern. We could tighten it up, or open ourselves up for attack all over again.”

Over a dozen people ran in some form of mild panic as items and decorations were carried to and from various parts of the castle. Adelei imaged the chaos inside was something to behold, though she’d rather not encounter it. It would only get worse as the wedding approached.

Sweat trickled down the small of her back beneath the white silk. Despite their distance from the desert, the heat outside left Adelei sweltering beneath her cloak. In the forest’s cool shade, she’d needed the warmth, but here the direct sun tried to melt the skin from her bones. Adelei tugged at the corner of her hood and wished she could remove it.

A stablehand awaited their approach, eyes wide at the sight of Midnight. Even calm as the boy was with Adelei by his side, the horse towered over him. Ida handed her mare to the lad, but Midnight stayed firmly in Adelei’s control as she followed the stablehand into the stables. He indicated with a shaking finger which stall she should take.

While large enough for maybe a small pony, the stall was too small for a horse, and it was dwarfed in comparison to Midnight. He’d spend the entire time bumping his shoulders against the sides. He’d be unable to turn around to drink or eat. Every stall was occupied as wedding guests arrived well in advance of the wedding. One of the larger stalls further down held a pony of only twelve hands. Adelei leaned across the stall’s door and spied his saddle slung across a shelf in the stall’s rear. A well-polished, clean saddle embellished with purple ribbon. That was a royal horse if ever she saw one.

“Stay,” she told Midnight, who settled into a guard-like position. Adelei approached the pony, and he sniffed her outstretched fingers that reached over the gate. His breath tickled her fingertips, and she smiled. When she opened the gate, he nuzzled her shoulder as she hoisted his saddle up with both hands.

She led the pony to the smaller stall next to Ida’s own mare, and set his gear down beside him. The stablehand rushed over, his face pale as his words ran in a fountainous rush. “You can’t touch Hero. Please, just put—put ’em back.”

He stepped