Page 27 of Warrior Princess (Blood Weaver Trilogy #3)

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M e, Ronan, and Shiro were swept along with the throng of frightened attendees and escaped through the shattered window. We bolted out of the palace grounds, past the gates, and raced back into town, away from the chaos that had overtaken Eldwain’s royal family.

Ronan kept a tight grip on my hand as we navigated the crowded streets, scanning our surroundings for danger. The air was thick with tension, and the buzzing crowd painted a picture of confusion and fear.

I tugged his hand. “I need to make sure Marcel and my parents made it out okay.”

“We'll find them, Leila,” Ronan assured me, his voice steady despite the chaos. “Let’s get to the inn first. We’ll regroup with the others and then figure out our next move.”

Shiro, ever watchful, led the way with his keen senses alert to any disturbances, gliding with a predator’s grace through the throng.

The familiar sight of the inn was a small relief in the midst of turmoil. The innkeeper recognized us immediately and hurriedly ushered us inside, casting anxious glances over his shoulder. Inside, the inn's common room was abuzz with patrons seeking refuge and clamoring for news. We quickly made our way up the stairs to our room to plan our next steps.

“I'll go back out and look for Marcel and your parents.” Ronan reached for the sword on his belt, which I thought he'd left behind at the palace since weapons were not allowed inside. Leave it to Ronan to find a way to stay armed. “Stay here with Shiro. It’s not safe for you to go back out there.”

I hesitated, torn between the urge to find my family and the desire to keep Ronan safe with me. “Be careful,” I finally said, my voice thick with worry.

“I always am.” Offering a small, reassuring smile, he turned to Shiro. “Keep her safe.”

Shiro nodded, his eyes serious. “You can count on me.”

Spearing me with one last look, Ronan disappeared down the stairs and back into the maelstrom outside. I moved to the window and watched the chaos unfold in the streets below, my heart heavy with concern for my family and Ronan.

Shiro came to stand beside me, his presence comforting. “He’ll find them.” His words were confident, tinged with the power of a god. “Ronan is resourceful, and he won’t let anything happen to them— or to you.”

“I’m worried about him, too. He’s only one man, Shiro. He’s not invincible.”

Shiro gave a reassuring smile. “Very true, but demon blood runs through his veins… my blood. He’ll be fine.”

I nodded, trying to draw strength from his assurance. We watched together as Ronan crossed the street and was lost in the crowd.

Time crawled at a sloth’s pace. To fill the hours, I paced the room while Shiro watched me go back and forth.

“He’ll be fine… they’ll be fine,” he said for the umpteenth time.

But my mind had already conjured a hundred different fates that certainly must have befallen them. “It’s nightfall and they’re still not back! Something’s wrong. We should go search for them.”

Shiro shook his head. “It’s not safe out there for you. Caelan has just slaughtered his family so he could take over Eldwain. If he sees you, it’s game over. You’re what he needs to overtake Valoria. He’s high on power and would undoubtedly do something reckless, like force me to kill him.”

I knew he was right. Caelan was volatile. He was a completely different person today. I’d only seen that crazed look on his face two times, when he shot those arrows at me at the cliffs of the Central Plains, and when he tortured me in the dungeons when he thought I was Leila. And even then, his craziness was relatively mild. Nothing like today. Today he was just… insane. The memory made me shiver.

The doorknob jiggled an instant before the door opened and Ronan walked in… alone.

I hurried toward him as he shut the door behind him. “Where are they?”

“They’re safe and already on their way to Valoria.” He pulled me into his arms. “I ran into Mykal, who told me he was keeping tabs on them. He’s going to send them a message to meet us in Marsten. You have nothing to worry about.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and rested my forehead on his chest, feeling his chest heave up and down in a steady rhythm. “Thank the goddess.”

Ronan brushed my hair back and cradled my head. “I also saw my father; he’s preparing to leave tonight, and I told him we’d leave with him. I don’t think it’s safe for you to remain in Eldwain.”

I nodded. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here as soon as possible.”

Less than an hour later, we were back on the road, crossing the Eldwain border into the Central Plains. With just a few hours until we reached Marsten, I couldn’t contain my excitement for being reunited with my family after the harrowing ordeal we’d just witnessed.

We hadn’t told Chief Aryan about our plan to stop in Marsten, so as we neared the town, Ronan called out to him to stop. Chief Aryan peered over his shoulder at his son with a raised brow. “We need to stay the night in Marsten.”

Chief Aryan pulled the reins of his horse and spun it to face Ronan. “Why? We need to put as many miles as possible between us and Eldwain. Especially with her in tow.” He nodded toward me with a sour expression.

I knew I wasn’t his favorite person, but you would think he’d be more appreciative after all I’d done for the Crimson Clan.

“ She has a name,” Ronan bit out. “And Leila needs to see her family. They’re meeting us in Marsten.”

Chief Aryan rolled his eyes and turned his horse back around to continue forward. “That is of no concern to us. If she wants to go to Marsten by herself, that’s fine, but the rest of us will keep going until we reach Lomewood. The closer we are to the Grasslands, the better.”

Shiro cleared his throat, his face calm and impassive. “I must object, Aryan. Leila has done much for the Crimson Clan. The least we can do is escort her there and back to the Grasslands safely. I’m sure you would agree.” Shiro smirked knowingly.

Though he refused to turn around, the chief grunted and nodded in agreement, angling his horse toward Marsten.

Before long, we arrived in the small town. Our procession trotted through the streets until we reached an inn on the outskirts of town, where Mykal said my family would be waiting. I dismounted and peered around, but I didn’t have to wait long.

Marcellus came running out of the inn, shouting my name. “Thank the goddess you’re okay!”

I hugged him fiercely. “Same to you, brother.”

“Mother and Father are resting upstairs. Come.” He took my wrist and attempted to pull me inside.

“Wait.” I looked around. Chief Aryan and his warriors had gone ahead to one of the town’s inns and were waiting for us there. Shiro and Ronan stood beside me, scanning the area for hidden threats. “I need to tell you something.”

Marcel furrowed his brow. “What is it?”

I leaned and whispered in his ear. “First, Father whispered in my ear and told me I was right. Is he talking about Mother poisoning him?”

Marcel’s frown deepened. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about that, but I fed him the prescription you wrote for him, along with your blood. I had a healer from outside the palace come see him and he said he’s doing much better.” Marcel ran a hand through his short hair. “I’ve also been preparing his food, so she hasn’t had a chance to poison him again.”

I nodded and gave a relieved sigh. “Good. That’s good. But there’s something else. I met with Princess Avery a few days ago and she mentioned mother’s first born… Do you remember hearing about the stillborn she had before me?”

Saddened, Marcellus dropped his gaze. “Yes, but she doesn’t like talking much about it.” He looked behind me to where Ronan and Shiro were quietly observing the area.

“Well, brace yourself. It wasn’t a stillborn… and it was a silver-haired baby!”

Shock leached the color from my brother’s face. “What? How? From Ellyndor or Eldwain?”

“Eldwain,” I said. “And according to the midwife we tracked down, that child is very much alive.”

Marcellus shook his head as if trying to force it to make sense. “While I believe you, I still can’t imagine Mother having an affair.”

I squeezed his hands. “There’s no other explanation. Didn’t you find it odd how distraught she was during the funeral? She was crying as if it was her own husband who died!”

Marcel frowned. “What are you saying, Lyanna?”

I took a deep breath, knowing my next words would blow his mind. “I think she had an affair with King Alwyn. Avery showed me letter Mother wrote to him. It all makes sense now.”

Marcel’s mouth fell open as he absorbed all the information I was throwing at him. Though the word “Impossible,” flew past his lips, I could tell he was coming to the same realization I had.

“You can’t let on that you know.” I gripped his arm, jerking his attention back to me. “Promise me, Marcel. We can’t let her know we’ve discovered her secret. Not until we know the whole truth.”

Marcellus nodded. “Of course… Do you still want to come upstairs?”

I nodded and turned to Ronan. “Can you do me a favor?”

My Crimson Clan warrior nodded resolutely. “Anything.”

“Can you go to Stella’s Fabric Shop and send a message to Avery? I want to make sure she’s okay.” Worry for the princess gnawed at my insides, particularly since I hadn’t seen her in the melee.

“Of course.” Ronan turned to Shiro. “Will you stay with her?”

When Shiro nodded, Ronan placed a tender kiss on my forehead and left to find the shop. That left me, Marcellus, and Shiro to head upstairs in the inn. The innkeeper gave us a slight nod as we passed him on the way to the second floor.

Each step of the creaky wooden stairs echoed above the din of the gathered crowd, magnifying the pall that had descended. The dim corridor was lit by sparse candles casting long, flickering shadows that eerily danced against the peeling wallpaper. It felt as if the secrets we now harbored were seeping into the very walls of this place, imbuing it with a sense of foreboding.

Once at the top of the stairs, Marcellus led us down the narrow hallway to a door at the far end. He paused with his hand resting on the doorknob and turned to me. “Are you ready?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

I nodded and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. The thought of seeing my parents under such strained circumstances was daunting. I was not just their daughter returning home; I was the bearer of dark revelations which could unravel the fragile threads of our family.

Marcellus opened the door and we stepped into a modestly furnished room. The curtains were drawn, the room illuminated in somber twilight. My mother, Queen Derinda, sat by the window, her silhouette outlined against the dim light. Beside her, my father, King Malik, rested in an armchair. His features were gaunt, but his eyes were alert.

“Lyanna, my child.” While weak, my father’s voice was filled with warmth as he extended a trembling hand towards me.

I moved quickly to his side and took his hand in mine, feeling the frailty of his grip. “Father,” I whispered, my throat tight with emotion. “I've missed you.”

“And I, you,” he replied, squeezing my hand. My mother remained silent, her eyes fixed on the floor, a stark contrast to her usual poised, regal demeanor.

“Were you hurt during the massacre?” I looked him up and down for any injury.

My father shook his head. “No, not at all. Marcellus broke a window and got us out as quickly as possible.” He looked at his son with pride shimmering in his eyes.

I looked behind me to where Marcel stood and smiled proudly at him. “He’ll make a fine king one day.”

Marcellus blushed and chuckled, his gaze dropping shyly to the floor before meeting mine again. “I only did what any son would do for his family,” he said modestly.

Father nodded, a small smile playing at his lips. “Indeed, he acted with the courage and quick-thinking befitting a leader. We were lucky to escape unharmed, thanks to his actions.”

Mother finally spoke, her voice eerily composed. “The whole ordeal was terrifying. To think that such violence could occur at a time of mourning...” Her words trailed off as she shook her head, pretending to be disturbed by the memory. But the emotion didn’t reach her eyes. If anything, her upper lip twitched, and I wondered whether she wanted to smile at the memory instead.

“It’s a tragedy… a whole family was massacred.” I directed my icy tone at my mother. “Now a tyrant is on the Eldwain throne. Caelan is a menace to every nation in Asteria.”

My mother rolled her eyes and looked away like a petulant child, peering out the window through a slit in the curtains.

“You don’t believe it?” I challenged her.

My father cleared his throat and squeezed my hand. “Lyanna…”

My mother’s emotionless demeanor finally cracked. She whirled around to face us, her face painted in fury. “A tyrant? You mean a king ! If you’re lucky, he’ll still accept you as his queen.”

The room fell into silence as my mother’s true colors were revealed. She’d always liked Caelan more than any other friends we’d ever had. He was invited to every family celebration, and when in Valoria, always ate with us as part of the family.

My eyes narrowed as I watched my mother, my eyes slowly growing wider and wider as realization dawned.

She loved Caelan… like a son .

King Alwyn was there the night she was in labor…

“No!” I stumbled backward, only to have Shiro catch me.

“Leila? Are you okay?” he whispered in my ear.

But my gaze never left my mother. I swallowed deeply, not wanting to reveal to her what I’d just learned. “I’m fine.” I met my father and brother’s startled eyes and gave a slight nod. “Apologies; I just lost my balance.”

Shiro was obviously skeptical of my flimsy excuse. “It’s okay. Why don’t we wait downstairs for Ronan?” He continued to hold my shoulder as if worried that if he let go, I would collapse.

Marcel was also unconvinced, if the deep furrow in his brows was any indication. “Lyanna? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I gritted between my teeth. “Promise. I’m just going to get some air.”

Shiro slowly escorted me toward the door, but before we reached it, the wood splintered and the door was hurled off its hinges, revealing the last person I ever thought I’d see.

We stumbled backward from the force. “Orion!”

Orion grimaced and stepped into the room, followed by a horde of Eldwain soldiers. His gaze never left mine. “Lyanna, you need to come with me.”

In a blink, the room was filled with soldiers surrounding us on all sides, poised and ready in case we made a move. I looked around the room, trying to assess the best course of action.

“What is going on, Orion? Since when have you been working with Eldwain? Better yet, how long have you been working for Caelan ?” I didn’t bother hiding the disdain dripping from my words.

He scowled. “It doesn’t matter. King Caelan requests your presence in Eldwain.” Orion stepped closer and reached for my arm when Shiro glided in front of me to block him. Orion frowned. “You don’t want to get the Crimson Clan involved, friend . Step aside.”

Shiro chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong, fae . Leila is under the protection of the Crimson Clan. If she doesn’t want to go with you, she won’t. It’s that simple.”

Orion sized Shiro up and down, finally noticing the bristly white fox tail behind him. “You’re the demon fox!” He gasped as realization dawned on him. “H-How?”

I peeled the scarf away from my neck, revealing the slashed scar across it. Everyone in the room gasped.

Orion’s face lost most of its pearly sheen as shock set in. “You… you died ?”

I nodded. “Yes. So you’re the one who shouldn’t get involved. Shiro is no ordinary man.”

Orion's eyes narrowed, a mix of fear and defiance flickering across his face. “No matter.” His voice regained some of its earlier confidence. “King Caelan's orders are clear. You will come with us, willingly or not.”

Shiro's stance hardened, his eyes glinting dangerously. “Over my dead body.” His growl was deep and formidable, echoing with an unearthly timbre that vibrated through the room. Without warning, Shiro's form began to shift and grow. His body elongated, fur sprouting rapidly as his face pushed outward into a snout. Within moments, the man who once stood as my protector was gone, replaced by an enormous white fox with fur that glowed faintly in the dim light.

The soldiers hesitated, their discipline faltering in the face of this supernatural transformation. But Orion, with a hardened resolve, shouted, “Kill him!”

The soldiers surged forward with their swords drawn, but they were no match for Shiro the demon fox in his true form. With a snarl, he leaped into their midst, a blur of white fur and flashing teeth. Soldiers were tossed aside as if they were mere rag dolls, their armor clanging loudly against the wooden floorboards.

Shiro moved with a grace and ferocity that belied his size, each swipe of his massive paws sending another soldier sprawling. The air was filled with the sounds of battle—metal clashing, men shouting, and the deep, resonant growls of the demon fox.

Orion, realizing the futility of his men's efforts, drew his own sword, a finely crafted blade that shimmered with a light all its own. He advanced on Shiro, dodging a swipe of the giant fox's paw, and managed to land a shallow cut along Shiro's flank. The fox yelped but quickly retaliated, knocking Orion back with a powerful blow from his front paw.

As the chaos unfolded, I backed against a wall, watching as Shiro defended me with primal ferocity. Marcellus managed to grab a discarded sword from the floor and clambered to stand by Shiro's side, fighting off any soldiers who got too close.

Finally, with most of his men down or retreating, Orion glared at us. The once-unflappable fae was panting heavily and blood dripped from a gash on his cheek. “King Caelan will not be so easily thwarted! You will come with us, or we all die here together.”

I frowned as I stared at someone I once considered a friend. “What happened to you, Orion? You didn’t used to be like this. Didn’t you promise Sir Edric to protect me?”

Orion blew out a breath. “I did. And this is me keeping that promise. Caelan will keep you safe.”

I shook my head and grimaced. “No he won’t. Look at what he did at his own father’s funeral!”

“This is Ellyndor’s duty, Lyanna. You don’t understand yet, but you will, so please…” He stretched out a hand to me. “Come with me.”

I stared at his hand intently, trying to remember all my interactions with Orion through the years. Secrets he already knew and didn’t reveal. He knew I was the lost princess since the moment I met him. He knew Sir Edric and vowed to him that he would take care of me. But… I never saw Orion and Caelan anywhere together. Whenever I was in danger from Caelan and needed a rescuer, Orion was never anywhere to be found. I should have realized sooner than now that they were somehow involved with each other.

Orion's eyes held a desperate plea, but beneath it, I saw the resignation of a man cornered by his own choices. He was no longer the friend I remembered, but a pawn in a much larger game—one I was unwilling to play.

“Never,” I finally said, my voice firm.

Realizing I wouldn't be swayed, Orion's expression hardened. “Then I'm sorry, Lyanna.” He raised his hand to signal his soldiers.

Before they could advance, Shiro acted. His body morphed rapidly back into his human form. Grabbing a chair, Shiro smashed through the window, glass shattering around us like rain. He turned back to me just as swiftly, grabbing my hand. “We need to leave, now !”

I attempted to dig in my heels. I couldn’t leave my father and Marcellus behind. “No! My family!”

“Your family is not who Caelan wants!” Shiro growled and tossed me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes. Without a second thought, he jumped out of the window, landing onto the ground below with the grace of a cat.

Orion shouted my name and rushed to the window we’d just vaulted from. “Hurry! Catch them!” he ordered the soldiers, who stood there dumbfounded.

Shiro bolted from the inn with me over his shoulder, carrying me away from the chaos. I slapped his back and begged him to stop, but he ignored me, intent on finding a safe place.

He set a relentless pace, his feet seeming to barely touch the ground as we darted through a warren of narrow alleyways. The chilly night air whipped my cheeks, but all thoughts of my discomfort vanished when I heard the distant shouts of soldiers trying to coordinate a pursuit. Every shout and command felt like a vice tightening around my heart. But Shiro didn’t slow down, not even to catch his breath.

Finally, when the sounds of our pursuers had faded, Shiro slowed to a stop in a darkened alley and gently placed me on my feet. “We have to keep moving.” He scanned the area for any sign of the soldiers and kept one hand on my shoulder to steady me. “They won’t stop until they have you.”

I straightened my dress and tried to regain my composure, thinking only of my father and Marcellus. “We can’t just leave them. We have to go back!”

Before Shiro could reply, a figure emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley. I tensed before realizing it was Ronan, his expression a mixture of relief and urgency.

His eyes were wide as he ran toward us. “There you are! I saw the commotion at the inn. What happened?”

“Orion turned on us,” I said quickly, the words tasting bitter. “He’s working with Caelan. He probably has been this whole time.”

Ronan’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. “I knew we couldn’t trust him.” He glanced around. “We need to get out of here now . Eldwain soldiers are marshaled nearby.”

We moved swiftly, blending into the shadows as we navigated Marsten’s labyrinthine streets. Avoiding the main roads, we slipped through lesser-known paths and back alleys. Shiro led the way, his heightened senses alert to any danger, while Ronan kept a protective arm around me, his gaze constantly scanning our surroundings.

After a tense and breathless journey, we arrived at a small, secluded park on the edge of town. It was deserted at this late hour, the only sound the rustling of leaves in the gentle night breeze. We paused to catch our breath under the cover of a large oak tree.

“Are you alright?” Ronan’s voice was soft as he brushed a stray lock of hair from my face.

I nodded and tried to steady my racing heart. “I’m fine, but we can’t just leave my family behind.”

Shiro, who had been surveying the park, turned to us. “They’ll be looking for any excuse to get you back, Leila. But for now, we need to focus on keeping you safe. Your family knows how to handle themselves—they’re not the targets here.”

“What if they use them to get to me? Caelan knows I’d do anything for them,” I whispered. “We can’t—”

“Shiro is right, Leila,” Ronan cut me off. “Marcellus will handle them. He’s a strong blood mage. He won’t let anything happen. But they’re not who Caelan wants. You are. We should have known Caelan wouldn’t forget about you.”

Caelan never once spared me a look when we were in Eldwain. He was so focused on his plan, I hoped he’d given up his foolish ideas about marrying me. I guess I was wrong.

“But—”

“I’ll go back to the inn,” Shiro volunteered. “I’ll take your family to safety.”

I nervously bit my lower lip and sighed, knowing that was the best I could hope for. “Thank you.”

With a nod, Shiro was gone, leaving Ronan and me alone in the park. I reached for Ronan’s hand. “Did you manage to send a message to Avery?”

Ronan nodded. “It’s sent. We just have to wait to hear back. But according to the girls at the fabric shop, Caelan escorted his sister out of the reception to safety. He doesn’t think she’s a threat and actually cares for her deeply.”

“He always protected her as kids, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he cares for her deeply.” I gasped and grabbed his shoulder. “By the goddess, in all the excitement, I forgot to tell you what I realized!”

“What?”

“I think I know who my mother’s first born child is!” I kept my voice hushed, looking around the park to make sure no one was around.

Ronan frowned. “Who?”

I gulped nervously, aware that once I said it out loud, I would have to face the consequences. “Caelan. At least I think so. My mother has always loved Caelan like he was one of her own. Maybe…”

Ronan’s frown deepened. “No. It’s not possible. Everyone knows Caelan’s mother is King Alwyn’s third concubine. Also, why would your mother push you to marry your own brother if that’s the case?”

“I… I don’t know. But I remember hearing rumors about the concubine Willemina when I was younger. That she was… sterile. Apparently, her pregnancy with Caelan took everyone by surprise. Also it’s strange that King Alwyn was in Valoria when my mother went into labor.”

Ronan shook his head. “I don’t know, Leila. If this is true… this would upend Asteria and give credence to Caelan’s claim on the throne.”

“We need proof.” I tried to think logically, though my mind raced with a million what-if scenarios. “Is there any way to trace lineages?”

Ronan bit his lip in contemplation. “The oldest person we know has been asleep for centuries. I can’t imagine anyone else knowing… unless we found someone from Ellyndor. Those fae live exceptionally long lives and we don’t know what they’re hiding in their lands.”

I scoffed and ran a hand through my hair. “Orion would know. I think he knows more than he lets on.”

“He probably does, but he can’t broadcast secrets about his people.” Ronan took my hand and gave a comforting squeeze.

“You’re right. He wouldn’t.”

He sighed. “We should head to the inn where my father is waiting. Shiro can find us there.”

We left the park hand in hand, looking over our shoulders to make sure no one followed us.