Page 22 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

I pushed the food around my plate, only able to eat about a quarter of it. Lord Morgunn sat at the head of the table, rigid and regularly casting dark looks my way. The topic was still my failed betrothal.

At one point, Ulmar joined in the conversation.

He suggested that I visit the king and convince him to change his mind.

My uncle seriously considered that but said the king had already been quite clear in his refusal, so they must think of an alternative.

Several names were bandied about by the two of them as they speculated what to do next while I cringed at each option.

Why couldn’t they let it go for a while?

To my relief, the servants finally removed our plates and brought out dessert.

Lord Morgunn took one look at the large slice of snapper berry pie they served him, and his ice-blue eyes blessedly softened with contentment.

Some years were better than others for harvesting.

Last year, it didn’t grow enough fruit to make a pie, but the nameless gods smiled upon me this spring.

Perhaps they did it to compensate for all the awful things they were putting me through.

As Lord Morgunn took his first bite, he let out a moan of pleasure. “Aella, the berries this season are especially sweet. Excellent work.”

“Thank you, uncle,” I said with a relieved smile.

Part of me wanted to preen at his rare compliment, but the other part wished he’d choke on the berries.

Was I a terrible niece for that? Then again, I hadn’t protested when the king and Darrow contemplated how to kill my uncle within the bounds of Zadrya’s laws, so I had already begun heading down a dark path.

I'd gladly walk it if it got me free of the madman .

Taking a bite and letting the flavor burst over my tongue, I could understand the reason for his compliment. That finicky, wrathful bush had produced the best berries yet since I planted it five years ago. It was almost worth the blooms always trying to eat my fingers.

My uncle looked at Rynn. “How is your training coming along?”

“Good.” She pushed a piece of her pie around the plate with her fork. “I can already heal small wounds with no trouble.”

“Briauna told me that she’s developing her skills faster than most and will be a real asset for us,” I added. Lord Morgunn would be kinder to his niece if he saw her as a vital resource—well, as kind as he was capable, anyway.

He nodded. “Good. Too many soldiers must endure days of pain, waiting on a healer to help them after a battle. Some end up permanently disfigured because they didn’t receive treatment quickly enough. If we can reduce those numbers, we will have more who can resume their duties.”

While my uncle had a point, he didn’t have to be so callous about it.

Briauna wasn’t our only healer, but she was the best and handled the most grievous wounds.

The trouble was that such work took a lot of energy from her.

She could only handle a few serious injuries before needing a break for a few hours.

The others could help, but none of them were nearly as proficient at repairing internal organs or shattered bones.

Often, a soldier would be left with permanent disabilities if they didn’t receive treatment within the first day or two before the damage began to set.

High fae could heal reasonably fast on their own and even better with help, but lesser fae were much slower.

They made up the bulk of our fighting force.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes as everyone ate their pie.

After dessert, I walked Rynn to her room.

I didn’t tell her I’d be away for most of the night since she’d only worry.

She knew the bare minimum details about my deal with Darrow, and I wanted to keep it that way.

It was a price I happily paid to see her alive and well.

Once back in my room, I still had an hour before I’d need to leave.

Dinner was always late and ran longer than most of us liked.

On the other hand, it had helped pass the time.

I changed out of my dress and switched to a dark tunic and pants, adding a knife just in case.

Darrow didn’t tell me precisely where we’d be going in his note, but he’d said the location was remote and to wear something practical.

In other words, there was a chance we could run into trouble.

I only hoped I wasn’t aiding in something that could hurt Therress somehow.

As time drew near, I hurried through the secret passage and then opened a portal to the same location I had used to reach Durelle.

Darrow had told me that would be our standard meeting point unless circumstances required a different one.

He probably didn’t want me to see any more of his land than necessary.

Ironic, considering I should be living there as his wife.

It was by contract only, though. It was doubtful our marriage would ever be anything traditional, even once it was public knowledge.

While I had no interest in deepening our relationship, it still hurt to think I’d never experience what it was like to have a real husband who slept next to me each night and made love to me.

I arrived on the other side and found only Jax waiting for me, along with his horse that grazed on a patch of grass. The strong elf with shoulder-length brown hair, square jaw, and condescending eyes glared at me as I approached him.

When I last saw Darrow’s friend, we didn’t say a word to each other. Mostly, he’d just given me menacing looks that were not dissimilar to now. I had the distinct impression he disapproved of my marriage, and trying to win him over would be an unwinnable battle.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, forcing an even tone in my voice.

He leaned his back against a tree and crossed a leg. “They’ll be here in a couple of hours once you’ve regained your strength. No sense in everyone coming and all of us having to sit with you.”

Lovely. Jax wasn’t even trying to cover his disdain, but I wouldn’t sink to his level. “Fine.”

I found a tree a short distance away, sat, and relaxed against it.

Here, I thought Darrow would be ready and waiting with sarcastic remarks, but instead, he didn’t want to see me until it was necessary.

He’d sent his anti-social friend instead.

I was more than a little annoyed, considering we’d been married for nine days, and he was already avoiding me even when he requested my services.

If I complained about it, though, he’d sarcastically ask if I missed him.

Tired after a long day working in the garden, followed by a tense meal and verbal battles with my uncle, my eyelids drifted shut. I desperately needed a nap. Jax appeared awake and alert. If anything dangerous showed up, he could deal with it. That made it even harder to resist.

I spread my senses to be sure there weren’t any threatening creatures.

All I picked up were small, harmless fae animals.

Safe enough. Despite being in enemy territory with a man who hated me, I drifted to sleep.

I hadn’t been getting much rest at night lately and couldn’t help it.

The druid side of me felt more at ease with nature, making it relaxing.

Sometime later, the sound of hoofbeats stirred me awake. I slowly rose and dusted off my pants. Darrow, Faina, Loden, and several others rode toward us. All of them wore expressionless masks.

That was fine. If they wanted to keep this cold and impersonal, I could do the same. After all, this was a business transaction. My husband held up his end of the deal, and now it was my turn to do the same. Of course, polite discourse was unnecessary when we were still enemies in every other way.

Darrow rode up to me and handed me a small sheet of paper, along with a bag of holmium dust. “That should be everything you need. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I said, staring at the paper with the symbol sequence and avoiding his gaze. I’d seen him when he came up the road and immediately remembered how his looks alone could make my heart race. Of course, he didn’t have the same reaction toward me. It was all a game to him.

I moved to the portal. Darrow's rune sequence wasn’t on my list, so I had no idea where we were going or what to expect.

I wanted to ask what all this was about, but I knew they wouldn’t tell me.

Their closed expressions said as much. All I’d heard before was that this place was very difficult for anyone else with my gift to reach.

I took a deep breath and drew upon my power until my skin tingled with the surge.

Then, I sent the ray of light toward the runes and began channeling .

It was like hitting a wall. My chest tightened, and sharp pain drilled through my head as I slowly chanted the words to start the process.

Wherever they wanted to go, it resisted my efforts.

I could feel all their gazes on me as I pushed harder and mentally worked my way through complex wards and protection spells unlike any I’d ever encountered.

Sweat beaded my brows after several minutes passed, then my hands began to shake, but finally, I made the connection.

A blue miasma appeared before me.

“I can’t believe she did it,” Loden murmured.

Someone grunted. “Guess Darrow won the bet on this one.”

I stood back and gestured for them to go ahead, not bothering to look their way.

There was no feeling of triumph when I had no idea what I’d just done beyond allowing them to reach a difficult location.

They rode their horses through the ring, with Jax picking up the rear after he’d mounted his. I’d be the only one on foot.

Once they were clear, I braced myself and followed them.

Travel took longer than usual and felt like nearly twenty seconds.

When I came out, I discovered we were in a dark forest, and an unwelcome sensation crawled across my skin.

Somewhere nearby, I heard waves crashing against the shore, and the scent of saltwater filled my nose.

We were either on a coast or an island, but nothing looked familiar.

I’d never visited a place that felt more ominous than this.