Page 20

Chapter

Nineteen

T he group was quiet as they mounted their horses in the morning, the air filled with unspoken tension after last night. The gray light of dawn mirrored the dark ash mare Lessia had been given, and she stroked the horse’s warm neck before hoisting herself onto her back.

As Merrick gracefully swung his long leg over a massive black stallion beside her, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing a glare his way, even though he wouldn’t see it.

He’d insisted on escorting her when he stormed into her room this morning, making her nearly fall out of bed before she realized it was him.

Screaming at him to leave until she had time to dress, she’d started the day in a foul mood, and the cold snow that began falling as soon as they stepped outside did nothing to help it.

Grateful for the horse’s warm body, she leaned forward to soak up whatever heat she could as they rode out of Asker toward the dark forest.

She stole a glance at the grave-looking nominees riding through the dimly lit streets .

None of them had spoken to her when she’d entered the courtyard in the morning.

Not that it surprised her. But thoughts of Stellia had kept her up last night, and she wondered if it had been the same for them.

Lessia couldn’t put her finger on it, but her gut told her Stellia had spoken the truth when she said she knew nothing of her soldiers’ actions.

But why would her soldiers act without orders?

She shook her head as they passed her home. The windows in the warehouse were still dark, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat, thinking about how the people in there would soon wake up to Ardow’s freshly baked bread and Amalise’s awful morning singing.

What she wouldn’t do to be back there.

Lessia wrapped her fingers in the mare’s mane.

She couldn’t think about them right now.

She would be back there.

She would be back there and be free.

She only needed to get through the next few weeks, and she’d be right back in that warm, welcoming kitchen, listening to her friends’ bickering and hearing the soft tapping of feet as the children disobeyed the rules and came up to grab whatever sweets they could find.

Tearing her eyes away from her home, she focused on the woods ahead.

Blackwoods, the people of Ellow called it, and the name definitely rang true in the winter.

No light broke through the thick branches of the pines, and only the snow on the ground provided a glimmer of light.

“You’re Lessia, aren’t you?”

She sliced her gaze to the side, finding the nominee she hadn’t met yet urging his brown horse to fall in step with hers.

A black hood covered his blond hair, the cloak falling softly over the horse’s back, but she could still make out his familiar features, and she slitted her eyes as his blue ones surveyed her.

“Do I know you?” she asked when his eyes lingered a bit too long.

The man smiled at her, a knowing, secretive smile that made a chill creep over her shoulders. “I’ve seen you around. But I mostly deal with Ardow, although I’ve come to understand you’re the one who orders the goods all the way from Vastala.”

Lessia’s eyes widened, and she cast a glance ahead to where Merrick and the rest of the group rode.

Her Fae guard kept his gaze on the horses before him, but his head was tilted slightly.

He could hear every word.

Stroking her horse to buy herself some time, Lessia swore quietly.

The man was Venko Alkhal, the owner of the largest shipping company in Havlands.

And the shadiest.

They hadn’t had a choice but to enlist him to bring over the children from Vastala, as he didn’t mind carrying goods that couldn’t be declared.

Ardow had assured her his ships carried significantly more dangerous and illegal merchandise than a few orphan refugees and that Venko’s men were discreet.

But here he was, the insinuations in his voice as clear as the ice clinging to the trees around them.

Shifting her gaze back to him, she forced a smile. “What can I do for you, Venko? ”

He offered her a slow wink. “No need for those fake smiles you offer everyone else, Lessia. Don’t worry.” He flicked his eyes forward before bringing them back to hers. “Your secrets are safe with me.”

Well, now they definitely weren’t.

When she glanced ahead, tension lined Merrick’s shoulders, and she swallowed hard against the knot of worry that tightened in her gut.

But the Fae didn’t turn around; he only nudged his horse, creating more distance between them, until he reached Loche and Zaddock riding before him.

Frowning, she flicked her eyes to Venko once more.

“What do you need to keep it quiet?” she hissed sharply, praying the gust of wind that whipped through the trees would be enough to muffle her words.

A smile played on Venko’s lips as he responded, “I believe I need what you need, dear Lessia. We’re on the same side. You’ll do well to remember that.”

With a final long look at her, he drove his horse forward, falling in between her and Merrick.

Lessia ground her teeth as she stared at his back, anger swirling in her gut when he approached Merrick and the Fae shifted his horse to allow space for his brown mare.

Venko was going to be a problem.

Nudging her horse, she followed them, but neither of the males spoke as they rode beside each other.

She was so focused on watching them that she hit a low-hanging branch.

A mass of snow fell over her, seeping inside her leathers and chilling her to the bone.

While she was brushing it off the cloak and trying to get out the snow that snaked its way into her leather tunic, a snort escaped someone ahead, and she snapped her head up .

The group had stopped, every single pair of eyes locked on her.

Except Merrick’s, of course.

His gaze remained on his knee, where his large hand rested, fingers drumming a slow rhythm. Brows pulling, fighting the blush that threatened to spread across her cheeks, she swept her gaze across the group.

She couldn’t figure out who had laughed, so Lessia made a smile slip across her lips, arching her brow. “Are we lost?”

Zaddock fought a grin as his eyes found hers. “No. The house you nominees are to stay in is right over there.”

He gestured toward a stone cottage ahead, and Lessia barely stopped a choked cry weaving its way up her throat at the boarded windows, the crumbling straw roof, and the worn stone.

She’d known their stay wouldn’t be comfortable, but that house would be freezing.

And dark.

“We will leave you now. We’ll stay in a house a short ride from here, together with a few guards.

As Frayson already informed you, you need only to blow the horn if you wish to leave, and we’ll come to escort you back to the capital.

Other than that, you’re to stay within walking distance of the house, and you may not have contact with your escort or anyone else until the two weeks are up.

If we find you do, you’ll be eliminated immediately.

” Zaddock shot a glance at Loche. “It happened in the last election, and it wasn’t pretty, so please spare us this year.

You may say your goodbyes, then your escort is to take your horse. ”

With that, Zaddock slipped off his horse, Loche and the rest dismounting a moment later.

A wave of murmurs rippled through the trees, joined by the crunching of boots and hooves on snow as horses traded hands. Venko was the only one who hadn’t brought an escort with him, and he shifted the reins of his horse to a castle guard waiting by a tall tree.

Lessia jumped off her warm horse as well, eyeing Merrick as he approached her, his gaze on his black boots as he reached out a hand for her horse.

Shifting the leather reins into his hand, she started to walk toward the cottage when he quietly said, “Wait.”

She turned around, and her eyes snagged on a gilded dagger in Merrick’s hand.

“You planning on killing me right here?” she purred, her magic vibrating inside her, ready if he made a single move.

Sighing, he flipped it so the sharp blade rested between his thumb and finger, offering her the hilt.

“Why are you giving me this?” Lessia slowly reached out and wrapped her gloved hand around the embellished hilt, the rubies lining it still glinting in the dim light.

It was a Fae dagger, and she swallowed as she remembered another one similar to this but decorated with glittering amber.

To mirror your eyes, her father said when he offered it to her on her twelfth birthday. She forced his own amber eyes out of her mind, burying the memory deep inside her, locking it up in that box she refused to open.

Merrick’s jaw ticked as if he could read her even without seeing her, and she schooled her features back to neutral as he responded.

“You’re staying with three men, and none of them will have your back. I was asked to keep you alive as long as possible, but I won’t be there to save you if they decide to eliminate you on their own. You can’t blow that horn, so you need to ensure you don’t have to.”

Releasing a breath, she realized he was right .

King Rioner had forbidden her to leave the election until he told her so, so even if she was injured, she couldn’t leave.

Not unless she wanted the blood oath to kill her instead.

Gripping the hilt tighter, she admitted, “I don’t know how to use this.”

She’d never been trained in fighting—had never had to resort to violence, since she could just use her gift to have people leave her be.

But she had to be careful here.

None of the men knew of her abilities, and if she was found to have used them on humans, they’d execute her immediately for breaking the treaty between Fae and humans.

The muscle in Merrick’s jaw twitched again. “You lived on the streets of Vastala for years, and you don’t know how to fight? I know you can use that sweet little tongue of yours, but what if someone sneaks up on you?”

She couldn’t stop the shudder that rippled through her body.

That’s exactly how she’d landed herself in the king’s dungeons.

She’d noticed the guard that followed her, and when he came after her, his intent clear in his eyes, she’d sweetly suggested he fall on his own sword.

But she hadn’t noticed the guard behind her until it was too late.

Zaddock called out it was time to leave, and Merrick shook his head. “Use the sharp end on your enemy. Good luck, Lessia.”

Chest thumping, she slipped the dagger inside her cloak and started walking through the deep snow toward the house.