Page 7 of A Hunt Bound in Blood
“As fascinating as this is, I have a job to prepare for, so I’ll leave you to it,” the other man said. He gave me a small bow and retreated, and as soon as the doors closed behind him, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Cammon’s gaze might have been curious, but no real interest lurked behind the red, and I understood as clearly as if he’d voiced it that he had no more desire to speak with me than I did to remain in his presence.
“His Majesty is in need of assistance,” I forced myself to say. “You’ve heard about his betrothed?”
Cammon’s eyes narrowed. “Poisoned, wasn’t she?”
“Cursed. Either way, she’s comatose and fading. The royal healers believe she doesn’t have more than a month or so left. As you can imagine, King Evaniel is distraught.”
He sucked in his cheeks in an effort to hide his smile. “Is he really? I can’t imagine your emotionless leader distraught.”
I could admit my choice of adjective was inaccurate, just as Cammon’s was in his choice of emotionless. The king of Golthwaine wasn’t one to emote outwardly, it was true, but he hid his thoughts behind a glaze of contempt, not neutrality.
“Be that as it may, he’s determined to save her. I happen to have a way to do it.” I allowed my pride to come through my statement. I wanted him to taste it, to know I would be in charge of this mission.
That eyebrow of his quirked higher, taunting me to snatch a pair of tweezers to pluck it one feathery hair at a time. “If you already have the answer, why do you need me?”
I tongued my canine tooth, a vampiric habit even when my fangs weren’t elongated, and swallowed the foulness of my next confession. “I know where the means exists. I’m not currently in possession of it.”
A curling smile rose to match the eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“It’s an amulet. Enchanted to heal even the most dire of cases according to the notes of the mage who created it.”
I did my best to bury all the ifs and maybes, but it was impossible to leave them out completely. The nature of my research didn’t lend itself to absolutes despite the certainty I’d tried to show His Majesty.
Cammon slouched deeper in his chair and rested his entwined fingers across his stomach. The shift teased open the neckline of his shirt, revealing more sun-kissed skin, and displayed to better advantage his muscle-hardened chest. I kept my eyes on his face and raised the guards around myself even higher.
“Where exactly is this supposed cure, then?”
I ignored the patronizing wording of his question and wrapped myself in the confidence of my findings as I pulled a map out of my satchel, the result of years of labour.
“All my notes point to this region in northeastern Golthwaine. Not far from Blue Harbour.”
I stretched the heavy parchment out on the desk, and Cammon dropped his legs to the floor to lean forward. The first hint of interest flickered in his expression as he surveyed the expanse of the country, from the forests that surrounded the city of Golth, the jagged mountains that cut through the east, and the winding coast that lined the Never Sea to the north. All places I’d never been or imagined I would ever go.
The thought of embarking on this journey tugged harshly on my nerves, but I shushed the anxiety. I would have my books and maps to guide me. After all I’d read about the world, how scary could facing it in person be?
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone that way,” Cammon said, jerking me out of my ruminations. “Not too bad by ship. A week at most depending on weather.”
“It would be,” I agreed, “if we could travel by ship.”
He looked up at me, pinning me with the intensity of his stare. “Oh?”
I quietly cleared my throat but pulled my shoulders back so he didn’t take the cough as a sign of unease. “The information I have about this amulet comes from a centuries-old journal and a few previous researchers’ notes. They’re not complete. I have good reason to believe the amulet exists and that its resting place is near the harbour, but in order to locate it, I need to follow the path mentioned in the journal. According to the entries, Mage Tersey created signposts—landmarks—to guide him back to his artifact should he ever need it again.”
More judgement leached into Cammon’s eyes, and I gritted my teeth. This was one reason among so many that I hadn’t wanted to seek anyone’s help. We didn’t have time for me to convince this demon that my deductions were based on more hours of research than he’d probably put into anything in his life.
I was more than able to take this on by myself. I had found the reference to the amulet in the old texts. I had done the research about where it might be found. I had compiled all the information and maps needed to track the amulet down. All I needed to do now was follow the trail, solve the clues, and find the damned thing.
“You have an idea on where these signposts will take you?” he asked.
Not wanting to waste my breath explaining the details when I knew he’d dismiss them anyway, I pointed to the notations I’d spent countless nights making on the map.
“These purple marks are where I suspect the first few signposts to be. The blue ones are based on vague references in the notes where more might be. As long as I’m able to interpret the directions on each signpost, we should be able to discover each subsequent one with relative ease.”
I hoped so, anyway. Princess Brynna didn’t have time for us to fail.
Cammon set the tips of his long, solid fingers on the first mark.
“This is quite the journey.” He slid those fingers across the length of the parchment, not lingering over any of my notes. “You’ll pass through ogre territory, shifter territory, and right through dragon territory.”