Chapter Nine: The Journey North
The sun was just peering over the horizon when Caelin and Liam reached the final gate that separated Corus from the surrounding countryside. For most of the half hour ride, the darkened city had been slumbering peacefully in the last moments of the night. Only a few farmers were out readying their wares for the morning farmers' market. The guards at the gates were tired but alert as they approached. Caelin half expected them to say something as the horses moved through the gates, but apparently two youths on expensive horses didn't appear threatening enough to involve questioning. Of course, it also helped that they were both wearing hoods to conceal their appearances; it would not bode well if the guards recognized their prince sneaking out of his own city.
A huge weight passed from Caelin's shoulders the moment Diamond stepped through the gate. The worst was over. It had taken everything Caelin had inside to leave the palace; the best memories of her life were there, and she knew that even though her intentions were honorable, she was betraying the people that had sheltered and welcomed her into their midst. In all likelihood, she would never return to her home again.
Caelin looked over at Liam once they were farther away from the gates and he motioned for her to move out. She did so, lurching at first as Diamond stepped smoothly into a canter, but eventually regaining her balance as her muscles remembered how to ride again. Who would have thought being kidnapped would help me learn how to ride? she thought ironically. However, Diamond was a much smoother ride than Lear's ill-tempered gelding had been.
Caelin glanced over at Liam, riding abreast to her on the hard packed dirt road. She almost expected him to try and talk to her, but he didn't seem inclined to make conversation. In one way she was glad, because she still wasn't sure what she would say to him, but perversely, she was upset that he wasn't making an attempt to get back on her good side. A cloud of misery descended, and she wondered if, through her actions, her friendship with Liam was irrevocably damaged. Putting aside all thoughts of her attraction and possible feelings for him, Liam was a close friend, and she didn't want to lose that closeness. Am I destined to lose everyone I'm close to before this is over? she wondered morosely.
To distract herself from such distressing thoughts, Caelin concentrated on the surrounding countryside. Most of the land around the city was filled with farms. It took a great number of specialized farms to provide enough food for the immense population of the city. By now, the light was growing steadier and brighter, and even though the late winter air was chilly, the promise of a mild day could be felt in the beams of warmth penetrating the land. With the light came families of farmers beginning their day's work. Entire families were preparing the fields, taking advantage of the good weather to get the land ready to plant crops for the spring. Later that day, the children would be required to go into the city for school, a requirement Thayet had instated when she became queen. Until then, though, they ran about as free as birds, streaked with cold mud and completely carefree.
Spring. Caelin smiled slightly. Spring was supposed to be a time of happiness and hope, but for Tortall, spring meant the beginning of a possibly brutal war. The lives of the children she saw in front of her would be irrevocably altered by the coming war. Perhaps they would lose a parent, or a sibling. Maybe even they would fall prey to the army that would be descending on the city. For Caelin, spring had always meant spring-cleaning, her birthday on the first day of the new season, and the possibility of receiving a new book from Lady Seldina. This year she had retained hopes of having an actual birthday celebration with her friends. Nothing extravagant, of course, just an afternoon spent with her friends without worries or stress. Now, spring meant danger, uncertainty, and most probably death.
"We should probably keep pressing hard for the first week and sleep outdoors, just in case my father decides to send someone after us. I doubt he will, but I've learned never to underestimate him. Once we get farther away from the city we should be able to stop for the night at inns." Caelin jumped in surprise when Liam's voice cut through the silence in the morning air. His face was so closely guarded Caelin couldn't tell what he was thinking. Even his eyes were a murky gray.
"Whatever you think is best," Caelin answered, trusting Liam's judgment. After all, he had spent four years under the tutelage of the Knight Commander of the King's Own. "Don't worry about me falling behind though, because I won't." Caelin wouldn't be able to stand it if Liam insisted on treating her like a delicate flower. Just because she wasn't a knight or warrior didn't mean she couldn't keep up with him.
Liam's mouth quirked into a quick smile, which he just as quickly suppressed, but Caelin felt slightly encouraged by the glimmer of emotion. So he wasn't as unfeeling as he was pretending to be. "I would never do that," he replied.
"Good." They lapsed into silence once again, but Caelin felt slightly more cheerful as they continued down the road towards the unknown.
"We'll need to send word to the northern lords immediately. They'll have to evacuate their holdings and bring their people south, or else they'll be slaughtered. Neal, see that word is sent out. Numair, have your mages had any luck scrying?" King Jonathan's voice was weary as he began the enormous task of organizing his forces. Already he had sent out the call to muster all local militias and messengers recalling all the companies of the King's Own and the knights on patrol. Tortall would need all the help she could get in facing her dangerous adversary.
"Nothing, your highness," Numair answered formally, bowing to the dignity of the meeting and knowing that it wasn't the time for addressing the king as the old friend that he was. "Caelin's assessment of the missing children seems to be more and more likely. As far as I can tell, that's the only way those mages could have that much power to hide all their troops."
The king nodded. "Where is Caelin? I know Lord Wyldon and Lord Raoul wanted to ask her about where she thought the troops were located on the map. I thought she was going to come to the meeting this morning?" In actuality, the meeting had been going on nonstop throughout the night, except for a two-hour break. That break was now three hours gone, and the council had been working steadily throughout the entire morning.
"So did I," Numair answered with a frown. "Maybe she just slept in; she did have some rather ill effects from the web spell. She was unconscious for a minute." Numair stood up briefly to tell a servant to go wake Caelin and have her come to the meeting.
The discussion continued rapidly right where it had left off, but not without order. The king kept a firm control over the topics being discussed, making sure everyone stayed on topic to the problems at hand and weren't distracted by minute details. Several minutes later, the servant returned looking nervous and carrying a carefully folded letter. The servant slipped into the room and walked over to the king. "Sire, Lady Caelin was not in her room, and most of her belongings are missing. There was a letter."
Jonathan's eyes narrowed and he snatched the letter away from the servant, for once forgetting his manners. In the background, Numair swore fluently and violently as Jon read the letter.
To his Royal Highness, King Jonathan of Conté:
I have come to the decision that I am the only person with the ability to rescue the stolen children from the Copper Isles mages. I know this may sound pretentious and arrogant, since I am mostly untrained, but I still believe this may be the only way to break the mages' power. With the children, they are invincible, but if I can rescue the children, the mages will lose their source of power and the army will reappear. Tell Numair to stop swearing, because he knows that I'm right.
I wanted to go through this venture on my own, but unfortunately, your son Liam learned of my plans to go alone to the City of the Gods. He insisted on coming with me, to make sure I reached the city safely and help me in any way that he can. I hope you will not hold Liam to blame for leaving when he is needed, but if we succeed, he will have done his kingdom a great service.
Do not worry about what will become of me if I am discovered. I have made plans to assure that if I am found out, I will not be used to augment the Copper Isles power. I have enclosed all I can remember of the conversation between Lord Nassor and Prince Moranice, along with my representation of the maps in the room.
Respectfully, Caelin of Harowyn.
The king snarled and threw the letter down in disgust, his blue eyes bright with anger and annoyance. "Stupid girl! I don't have the men to send after her to drag her back from this suicidal mission. She has no idea what she's getting into. And taking my son with her!" Here Jon's face became even more haggard and drawn. "Why would he go along with this folly?"
The question was rhetorical, but despite the king's wrath, Numair said slowly, "It may not be as crazy as you think. It probably won't work, but Caelin is the only one that even has a chance of rescuing the children. She can work it from the inside; she lets herself be captured, sets the children free from the inside, and disables the mages in one brilliant stroke. You son saw the chance of success in the plan. I don't think Liam would go off scatterbrained into a suicide mission just because he cares for Caelin. The Contés are known to do crazy things for love," Numair added dryly, "but even he isn't that irresponsible."
The king glared at the tall mage, but eventually he sagged and shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing we can do about it now. We have too much else to worry about. I just hope your student knows what she's doing. The kingdom is depending on it."
Caelin, Liam! There's trouble. Baron's mind call shattered the quiet, late afternoon like a sheet of ice splintering into a thousand tiny fragments. Both Liam and Caelin jerked in surprise and pulled the horses to a halt, looking up to the sky to pinpoint the familiar form of the phoenix returning from his scouting. About a minute later, a tiny speck in the sky slowly took shape and crystallized into the elegant bird. He plummeted from the sky like a bolt of lightning and landed heavily on Caelin's shoulder. She slumped under the sudden weight at first, but straightened up as soon as her back adjusted to the extra burden.
"What is it?" Liam demanded, looking worried as he waited anxiously for Baron's answer.
Bandits, the immortal replied immediately, his strange golden eyes filled with a very human-like concern. Four of them. They look like they're convicts that have escaped from work detail. They must have picked up your trail a while ago, because they're practically on top of you.
Caelin bit back a moan of dismay. In the week they had been traveling north, somehow Caelin and Liam had managed to avoid any trouble; in fact, Caelin had been stunned at how easy the trip was going. The most bothersome aspect was the fact that everywhere they went, they passed people from the north traveling south to escape the forthcoming war. They constantly had to fight with people trying to convince them to turn around and 'save yourselves, children, save yourselves.'
"Is there any chance of drawing away from them? The horses are fast, they could outrun convicts on foot."
"Not on this path," Liam answered tersely, his eyes narrowing to slits as he wheeled his chestnut gelding, Teasel, around the way they had just come. "They'll get faster and farther on foot than we can hope to ride on this terrain, but we can't leave the horses behind. We need the supplies or else we won't make it to the city. Caelin, listen to me. I want you to ride up the path and stay just in sight of me. Use whatever spells you need to, I don't really care, but find some way to take out one of the convicts. I'll take care of the other three."
"I won't just run away like a coward," Caelin spat back, burning with anger when she realized Liam meant to send her away. "If you're going to stay and fight, I'll stay and fight."
"D'you want to get killed, then?" He demanded, staring back into her defiant eyes. "I'm not asking you to just leave me to my fate, I'm asking you to have sense and play to your own talents. You can't do anything with a weapon, but you are a powerful mage. Use your magic instead of putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
Caelin understood Liam's point, and was acutely embarrassed of her outburst, but there was no time for apologies. Without another word, she wheeled Diamond around and set out at a slow trot, cursing the rocky road and mostly frozen ground that prevented their escape. Baron flew overhead, keeping quiet, but obviously prepared to defend her in any way he could, if for some reason Liam was defeated by the convicts.
Once Caelin was a fair distance away, she turned back and watched as Liam set his gelding slightly farther up the road, to keep him from the convicts, and readied himself for battle. Even from far away, she could see the tenseness in his muscles and imagined the iron constitution in his gray eyes as he waited for the enemy to appear. This was nothing like the way he had appeared at the tournament a lifetime ago; now, Liam was fighting for his life.
The minutes drifted by slowly, and a sense of impending doom filled Caelin's heart. She was as tense as Liam looked, her hands clenched by her sides and her eyes staring into the distance. When the convicts finally appeared, though, time shifted gears sharply and started moving at a breathtaking pace.
From what Caelin could tell, the convicts were completely surprised to find Liam ready and waiting for them, but as soon as they realized how young he was, how inexperienced he looked, they visibly gained in confidence. All four drew their swords and other assorted weaponry. Soon they were bristling with an outfit of swords, axes, and knives. Liam, to her eyes, looked small and poorly prepared with only his slim, softly shining blade.
The four convicts rushed Liam at the same time, and Caelin knew it was her moment to act. Swiftly she reached for a thread of blue light and gripped it tightly. She shaped the spell with her mind and thrust out a tendril of power at one of the convicts. It was achingly difficult to keep from using a more deadly spell, but memories of the smell of charred flesh and the sight of freshly killed bodies effectively dampened her power. The result of her spell hitting the convict was as if he had been rapped smartly on the head. His eyes rolled back and he dropped like a lead weight, landing in a crumpled heap on the hard, stony ground.
Caelin experienced a wave of elation, but it was quickly dampened when she turned her attention to Liam. One of the convicts was down, a heavy gash across the leg preventing him from rising again. However, the other two convicts appeared to be enraged by their comrade's injury, and were pressing a double attack on Liam. The smaller convict was bristling with knives, while the larger one carried an impressive battleaxe. They worked like a well-trained team; the first man would make a feint with his knives, or throw one, and while Liam was defending himself from the attack, the other would swoop in with his battleaxe, aiming crippling blows at the prince's arms and legs. Liam wielded his own sword with a fury of blocks and sharp reposts, scoring shallow cuts on both opponents, but not having the time or energy to make an end to the fight. Caelin burned to use a spell to take out one of the convicts, but she couldn't risk the spell flying out of control and taking out Liam instead.
She was forced to watch in growing horror as Liam stumbled slightly on one of the many rocks in the path and lost his balance. The smaller convict immediately lunged at Liam, grappling him tightly as he dragged them both to the ground. They rolled around for several minutes, neither gaining the advantage. Caelin was shaking in fear when the bigger man finally stiffened and crumpled on top of Liam. Liam shoved the convict off with apparent difficulty and faced the final convict. The man, however, seemed to have a different idea. He took one look at his companion on the ground and backed off of Liam, turning to flee. Caelin jumped into motion and sent out the spell for the second time, grinning in satisfaction as the convict dropped like a stone.
Caelin turned Diamond and trotted back over to Liam, who was standing with his back to her. When she was close enough, she crowed in delight, "That was great! You were amazing! Did you see how that last guy just dropped?" She forgot the fact that she and Liam were still on uncertain terms, too riled up from the fight to care about necessities. However, when Liam didn't respond, or even turn around, Caelin wondered if he was going to keep freezing her out of his life. For the past week, he had only spoken to her when it was absolutely necessary, preferring to keep to himself and ride in silence.
He's hurt. Baron's succinct words stopped Caelin's train of thought in an instant, and she paled in fear.
Caelin jumped off of Diamond's back, left the mare standing on the path, hoping she would have the sense not to run off, and ran around to face Liam. He unsuccessfully tried to turn away from her, but Caelin caught sight of a deep gash running from his upper chest all the way across his stomach and ending at his left hip. The wound was bleeding profusely and his shirt was ripped into tatters, with various other nicks and cuts left from the convict's many knives. "Liam! By the Goddess, are you all right?"
"It's only a scratch," he attempted to joke, but Caelin could see him grimace as he spoke, and the blood dripping slowly down to the ground said otherwise.
"Right," she muttered sarcastically, her mind whirling in panic as she wondered how she was going to help her companion. She wished she had listened more to Lianne talk about her healing lessons, but she'd only been interested in her own magic before. Now she was going to pay for her single mindedness with a vengeance. Wasn't this exactly what her teachers had been trying to prevent by teaching the students all together? "What are we going to do?" Caelin asked desperately, ripping off her traveling cloak and pushing it against the wound, at least knowing that the most important step was to stop the bleeding. "Should we try to find an inn?"
"We just passed through a town a little while ago, and the farther north we get the fewer towns there'll be," Liam replied through clenched teeth. "We're going to have to push on as much as we can today, stop for the night, and then try to find somewhere tomorrow."
"Can you ride?" Caelin countered, not sure if Liam was even capable of standing for much longer. He looked younger and much more fragile with his pinched white face under the shock of black hair.
"I'll be fine," he replied, but as she helped him onto Teasel, he swayed in the saddle and was forced to grip the front tightly with both hands. When she protested, he gritted his teeth and yelled at her to get moving.
Caelin tried not to be offended the anger in his tone, knowing that he was in pain and taking it out on her. They rode slowly, making sure the horses didn't lame themselves on the rocks, and, unspoken, making sure Liam would be able to ride.
They made it about a half-mile down the twisting road before Liam finally admitted that he couldn't go on any longer. Caelin cursed the Black God and jumped off of the accommodating Diamond to rush over and support the prince with her body weight. Somehow, she managed to help him off of Teasel and settled him off the side of the road while she picketed the horses and set up a campfire.
The light was dwindling steadily by the time Caelin had the fire roaring and had set up a shield to keep unwanted visitors from finding them. Liam remained quiet the entire time, not even uttering a word of complaint, or of protest. She wasn't sure that was a good thing though. Liam was not one to sit quietly when things weren't going his way, if only because of his princely upbringing.
Once the shield was set, Caelin pawed through their packs until she found a canteen of water and bandages and brought them over to the tree Liam was propped up against. Luckily, Liam still seemed to be conscious as she said, "We've got to get a bandage on that wound, or else it'll get infected. I think."
"You're right," Liam confirmed, first pulling away Caelin's cloak, which was stained with blood, and then his tattered shirt. At any other time, this would have taken Caelin's breath away, but as it was, she could only stare in horror at the deep gash. It was only bleeding sluggishly now, but Caelin had no way of telling if that was a good sign or a bad one. Silently grateful that she wasn't squeamish about blood, Caelin first cleaned the wounds out with water and then unwrapped the bandages and rewrapped them tightly up Liam's torso, making sure they were snug, but not so tight that he couldn't breathe. For his part, Liam was an excellent patient, only making remarks to help her bandage properly, since he at least had seen wounds while acting as Sir Raoul's squire and knew how to take care of them.
Once the wound was properly bound, Caelin brought Liam a new shirt and set out their bedrolls. Caelin assumed Liam would want to sleep and try to recover his strength, but the prince, as always, acted in his own unique way and remained sitting up, his eyes trained on her as she finished readying the camp for the night. One good thing about using spells on the road was her ability to keep the camp warm; it wouldn't do to have Liam freeze during the night in the late winter air.
Caelin was just returning to her bedroll when she realized that Liam was still awake, and that he was staring at her intensely. "What?" She asked nervously, not quite sure what to make of his actions. Lately, she felt like she didn't know Liam at all. "Do you need something?"
"No," he said simply, infuriatingly.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Watching."
"Why?"
"Because I want to."
"And you're planning to do this all night?" Caelin shot back sarcastically, hiding her unease with a barbed remark.
"Well, it sure beats thinking about the fiery pain running up my side," he responded dryly. Caelin felt slightly contrite as he continued, "You know, this is the most we've talked all week. If I'd known all it took was getting a gash in the side, I would have picked one up before now."
"You think it's my fault we haven't been talking?" Caelin demanded, shocked. "I thought you didn't want to talk to me?"
"Where would you get that idea? You're the one that should be mad at me. I was evil. Horrible. Awful. I slept with one of Tortall's greatest enemies. Worst of all, I hurt you. I thought you didn't want to talk to me, weren't sure if our relationship would ever be fixed. So I thought I'd give you time, let you decide if you were going to forgive me."
Caelin shook her head in amazement. "And I thought you were mad at me because I overreacted to the spell. I know you didn't mean what you said, I was just upset." She paused. "You didn't mean them, did you?"
"Never. Isn't it obvious that I care about you?" He lifted his wrist and revealed the phoenix bracelet on his wrist. "I think this is the only thing that kept me from being chopped in two today."
"You practically are chopped in half anyway," Caelin grumbled, but she felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her chest. Just seeing Liam's trademark smile, instead of a blank face devoid of emotion, was enough to lift her spirits.
"I'll be good as new in a few days. Come here." Liam motioned for Caelin to come over and sit with him on his bedroll. She did so hesitantly, not sure what exactly the prince was thinking. As soon as she sat, he wrapped one strong arm around her waist and drew her against his right side, which was the only part of him that wasn't wounded. The warmth of his body and the closeness between them sent Caelin's heart racing in erratic patterns. Beneath the warm layers of clothes, her skin tingled in awareness.
She turned her head slightly to face him in the darkness, and before she knew it, his face descended and their lips met for the second time. The first kiss they had shared had been brief, only a flash of the fire that ignited when they met again. The world spun in circles as his lips caressed hers, mimicking the motion of his fingers stroking her cheek. She couldn't even describe what she felt, how she felt. She only knew that she was happier than she had ever been in her life before. Eventually Liam pulled up, breathing heavily. "I guess kissing isn't the greatest activity to engage in when you're wounded," he laughed quietly, "but then, I can't seem to stop." This time when his lips descended they were more demanding, searching and seeking for answers. Caelin didn't know how to answer, but it seemed to her that Liam found the answer he was looking for. He pulled up again, and sighed in contentment. "At the risk of sounding like a very bad romance novel, I've been wanting to do that for a while."
"The feeling is mutual," she said with a laugh, still breathless and lightheaded. Giddy. Silence descended on the night, and Caelin would have been perfectly content except for a question nagging at her heart. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but it was something that needed to be answered. "What are we?" She found herself blurting out. Immediately she wished she could rip her tongue out, but the damage was already done. Liam seemed to stiffen, but his voice was relatively calm as he answered,
"What do you want us to be?"
"That's hardly fair, I asked first. It's about time we got this straightened out."
"Fine. I think you're brave, intelligent, beautiful, amazing, wonderful...I could go on. But I'm not sure what we are, or what we can ever be. I know I don't care about rank, but it's expected that I'm going to have to make an alliance marriage. Roald did, Kally did, and my father's already working on negotiations for Lianne. People have already approached him with potential matches for me. He waited until I earned my shield, but now...I anticipate that once this war is over he'll expect me to marry for the good of the kingdom. With the way things are going now, who I marry and the alliance it brings could be crucial."
Caelin was silent. Somehow in the deep recesses of her mind, she had known what Liam's answer would be. There was really no other answer to be found. He was a prince, and he had his duty. She was only a commoner, even if she was a mage. He needed to marry for the good of his kingdom, and she would never be considered a proper match for him. Still, it hurt; more than she thought was possible. "So what are you saying?" She asked, needing to have all the answers at once. "Are we destined to just be friends, then?"
"It doesn't have to be that way," Liam answered quietly, unsure of how she would respond. "There are...ways of getting around arranged marriages. It's commonly known that most couples resulting from arranged marriages have other...arrangements."
Caelin froze and her eyes spit fire as she demanded, "Please tell me you aren't suggesting that I become your mistress. You have to know that I would never do that. Ever."
"But it could work," Liam pleaded, feeling her start to pull away. "I know it isn't ideal, but wouldn't it be worth it? So we could be together?"
"What, always feeling like I'm the one that came in second? The one who always gets set aside? The one you hide in shame, while you parade your real wife around like a porcelain doll? Setting aside my studies just to be your toy? How can you claim to care about me if you expect me to subject myself to that?"
"Oh, so I suppose I should just ignore my duty because you're too afraid of a few sacrifices? Don't be so selfish. I've spent my entire life serving my kingdom. I deserve to have some happiness. Is that too much to ask out of you?" Liam pleaded, not knowing that his words echoed the same ones his father had spoken many years ago.
Caelin clenched her jaw in anger and refrained from smacking Liam, if only because he was wounded. "Don't you ever say I haven't sacrificed myself for this kingdom. I'm risking my life and my happiness, which is more than you can say. At least if the plan goes wrong you'll be well away from any potential danger." With that, Caelin wrenched away from Liam and stalked over to her bedroll, settling into it and lying on her side so she didn't have to face the angry prince. She was shaking in rage, and she imagined Liam was just as furious with her. A tear dripped slowly down her cheek, and she felt weak and drained from the series of emotions she had experienced in such a short period of time. Fear, worry, the heights of happiness, and the depths of misery.
"We'll stop here for the night."
The quiet, clipped words broke the silence of the darkening night. Caelin jumped, the unexpected words startling her out of a haze of thoughts. She avoided looking at Liam and nodded, trusting that he didn't care whether or not she agreed with him. For the first time since they had arrived in the medium sized town, Caelin looked up and surveyed her surroundings.
Whitehedge was a moderately large town located in a mountainous, rocky region of Tortall. The town itself was made up mostly of houses filled with shepherding families. Whitehedge was renowned throughout Tortall and the surrounding Kingdoms for producing superior woolen products. Besides shepherd families, cloth makers, seamstresses, and merchants also resided in the town for the sole purpose of making profit from the Whitehedge sheep. Then, too, there were the many taverns that were the sole entertainment for the people in the isolated town and the refuge for the traders who passed through the mountains to buy Whitehedge goods from the source.
Liam had stopped in front of a large, bustling inn that was already rapidly filling up with customers. Caelin was slightly surprised, since she assumed Liam would want to avoid any unnecessary attention, but then, she supposed he wouldn't want to spend the entire night not speaking to her. It seemed like the rest of their journey would follow along on that vein as it was.
Caelin suppressed a sigh of discontent and dismounted. As she took hold of Diamond's reins and prepared to lead the mare to the inn's stable, she couldn't help but watch and make sure Liam dismounted without any trouble. Three days had passed since the convicts' attack, and although the wound hadn't been infected yet, Caelin knew it still caused him pain. Of course, he didn't tell her that, but while he was studiously ignoring her, she could watch him without fear of detection. She noticed the faint whiteness to his face, the way he cringed when he moved the wrong way or too quickly. They were lucky they'd reached Whitehedge when they had, because Caelin was doubtful that he could have gone on for another day.
A small, pixie faced boy met them as they entered the stable and took the horses from them before directing them to the inn's entrance, where they would meet the innkeeper and negotiate prices for the night's lodging. As soon as they entered, Caelin was buffeted by the smell of smoke and alcohol and the noise coming from the inn's many customers. From the sounds of the bawdy song being sung, Caelin guessed that the inn would hardly be a restful place to spend the night.
The innkeeper was a large, red-faced man with a belly that wobbled as he walked and a shaggy gray beard. However, his small, dark eyes were shrewd as he gazed at them, trying to assess their status and whether or not they would be able to properly pay him. "Good evening. What can I do for ye?" His voice was deep and the thick mountain accent made it difficult, though not impossible, to understand him.
"We'd like two rooms for the night, tonight's dinner, and breakfast in the morning. Also, stabling for our two horses."
"Aye, that's well, but we've only one room f'the night. All filled up."
Liam stiffened and his voice was hard as he pressed, "Are you sure? Surely you have two extra rooms." Caelin whispered a swift prayer to the Goddess, knowing that sharing a room with Liam would be intolerable.
Apparently the Goddess had other worries, because the innkeeper shrugged and answered, "No sir, nothin' but the one. Two coppers f'the meals, five fer th'room. Pay five now, four come mornin'."
Liam muttered something about extortion under his breath as he dug out the requisite number of coins, though really, for a prince it was nothing, and then asked casually, "Do you know where I could find a healer?"
The innkeeper's eyes lit up in curiosity, but apparently he knew better than to pry, because he simply replied, "You've luck to ye, lad. M'wife's the midwife and healer. Won't find any better," he added with a touch of pride in his voice. "I'll send her up to th'room in a minute. Garet," he suddenly roared, his voice almost shaking the foundations of the inn. Seconds later, another small boy ran up, his cheeks pink from the heat of the inn's common room. "Show them to the empty room and then fetch th'bags from Landi. Don't dawdle none, either." With that, the innkeeper headed back into the common room.
The small boy led them to the room hastily, experience having taught him not to delay when the innkeeper ordered him to perform a task. He left them with a clumsy bow, returned through several trips with their many packs, and then disappeared, all without saying a word.
Caelin looked around the room for lack of something better to do, and noted thankfully that it seemed to be free of any infestations or dirt. From experience back in Harowyn, Caelin knew that inns tended to have quite a few hygienic problems. While Caelin was busy surveying the room, Liam stripped of his shirt in preparation for the healer's arrival. Caelin was exceedingly glad when a sharp knock on the door heralded her arrival.
The healer turned out to be a plump, matronly looking woman with a forceful, motherly personality. From her more common accent, she had probably been raised near Corus. As soon as Caelin ushered her in, she turned sharp eyes to Liam and clucked over his wound. "Now, that's a nasty one indeed. Young people these days. Just how did you get that, young sir? Never mind, I'm sure it's none of my business. But if you don't mind me saying, you ought to be more careful. You won't be able to protect your young lady here if you aren't careful." The woman quieted and turned her attention to Liam's wound. Several minutes later, she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and said, "Well, how's that then?"
Liam looked down at his chest and seemed pleased by what he saw; there was still a visible mark on his chest and down to his hip, but the wound was closed and surrounded by new pink skin. Eventually the wound would fade to only a faint scar. Liam sighed gratefully and said, "It feels wonderful. I thank you, lady. What do you charge?"
The old woman looked at Liam thoughtfully, and then shook her head. "Nothing for you, lad. Just take care of your young lady there. It would be a shame to lose one like her." With that, she excused herself and left the room. For a minute Caelin and Liam sat in the room, the woman's words echoing in their head, before Liam abruptly stood up from the bed and headed out of the room, probably for the common room downstairs. Caelin stared after him angrily, feeling as if he should have said something to her, but then she made a decision.
"I'm not going to spend the rest of this trip tiptoeing around him. If Liam wants to be difficult about this, than let him, but he's not going to ruin my night." With that, Caelin left the room with every intention of having an entertaining, enjoyable night.
"Where did you say you were from?" Caelin had to shout above the raucous yells pervading the inn's common room as she focused on the dark man standing in front of her. He was a few years older than she was and the darkest person she had every seen in her life. His skin was brown, practically bordering on black. Everything about him screamed foreigner, but Caelin had seen enough people from the Copper Isles to know that he wasn't one of the enemy.
"Carthak," the man, Hansi, answered with an easy grin. "I'm here on an official buying trip for the emperor. He's interested in bringing Whitehedge sheep back to Carthak and seeing if they'll thrive."
The emperor. Caelin thought back to her studies, and recalled that the emperor of Carthak was Kaddar, a staunch Tortallan ally, and Kalasin's husband. Daine had told Caelin stories about her time in Carthak, including tales of the very young emperor who, rumor had it, although Daine had never admitted it, would have been willing to make Daine an empress.
"And where is a lovely lass such as yourself from? Your hair is as golden as the sun on a bright morning and your eyes more beautiful than the lotus flowers of my home. One such as yourself would be considered a goddess in Carthak."
Caelin blushed a cheerful red, and even though she didn't put much store in Hansi's words, it was nice to hear someone complement her. Liam had never spoken to her in such a poetic way. She frowned and looked across the room to where Liam was sitting at a small table, but hardly alone. No less than five serving girls were crowded around his table, flirting outrageously. Every time one of them left to deliver a drink, another would take the vacated space. It was making Caelin sick.
"Harowyn," she replied with a flirtatious smile, deciding to beat Liam at his own game. "But I've been living in Corus recently. It's a wonderful city."
"Would that I could show you the delights of Carthak, lady," Hansi answered smoothly. "The beaches are magnificent, the countryside breathtaking, the cities beyond anything you could ever imagine...some day, you must promise to come visit me and let me show you my beautiful empire."
"Of course," Caelin replied with a laugh, knowing she would probably never have the chance to travel to the famed empire, but enjoying the game nonetheless.
Hansi continued to describe his homeland in great detail, and then started asking questions about her life, which she answered without hesitation. From the corner of her eye, she could see Liam, and knew he was paying no attention to her, but somehow she felt like she had to continue talking to Hansi anyway, if only to prove a point to herself; she could live without Liam just as well as he could live without her.
"Would you like to walk outside with me, Keeper of my Heart? The air is warm tonight."
Caelin hesitated. Innocent flirtation was one thing, but going for a walk in the dark of night with an absolute stranger? She had more sense than that. Despite her misgivings, her mind was made up when she saw one of the serving girls lean in for a kiss from Liam. She could hardly believe he had moved on so quickly, and the sight left a burning sensation inside her that became all consuming.
"I would love too," she answered Hansi with another charming smile. The dark man grinned in positive delight and led her outside the common room. Caelin smirked in Liam's general direction when the prince happened to tear himself away from his serving girl and notice her departure. There, she thought vindictively, that should get his attention.
Caelin followed Hansi into the cold night air and wondered briefly where the Carthaki would be taking her. They walked together for several minutes, continuing their pleasant discussion from inside, and Caelin felt more at ease. "Will you come to the stable with me, Flower? I must check my horses and see if they've been well cared for."
Caelin agreed, thinking that she could check on Diamond and Teasel while Hansi checked his horses. As they stepped into the dimly lit barn, she had no warning before Hansi's fist connected with her head and his hand clamped tightly over her mouth. For a moment her vision swirled, but soon she regained control and struggled violently against the large man, trying not to panic, but feeling the familiar threads work their way up her stomach and towards her throat.
Not again, she thought desperately as she tried to pry his hand off her mouth. I won't let them take me again. The magic was waiting for her to call it, raging against the shields that restrained it from wreaking havoc on Hansi. It would be so easy, so painless to call upon it to destroy him. All it took was a slight pull...
Blood. Smoke. Melted weapons. The stench of death.
Caelin wordlessly cried out and shoved her magic behind an impenetrable shield. She would not kill again. She couldn't.
While she struggled with her inner need to fight back, she became aware that Hansi was speaking to her in a low voice, but no less smooth and polished than before. "Now, now, Lotus Blossom, don't struggle. I wouldn't want to ruin your beautiful face. With hair as blond and eyes as blue as yours, you'll fetch a pretty price on the market. Although I must admit, it will be a shame to give you up...ah well, such is business. Up you go."
Hansi swung Caelin onto the back of one of his horses and held her firmly on the animal until he led it outside. While he was explaining his plans to sell her, Hansi had bound her ankles and wrists together and both gagged and blindfolded her with a wide strip of cloth. Desperately Caelin tried to regain the freedom of her arms and legs, but the bonds were tight. Hansi mounted the horse and urged it forward, down the road and away from the inn.
Caelin had only one last hope. With all her mental strength, she sent a call to Baron, out hunting in the mountains. Faintly, from very far away, she 'heard' an answering call. She could only hope that Baron was able to warn Liam in time.
If the mountainous road had seemed bumpy before, it was now twice as uncomfortable being slung over the back of the horse and not properly riding. To keep from panicking and losing hope, Caelin instead berated herself over her complete stupidity. It was easier to remain angry with herself than contemplate what her future and Tortall's future would be like if Hansi had his way.
They had been riding for twenty minutes when hoof beats sounded on the road. Hansi urged his mount to higher speeds, but carrying two people and supplies, the overloaded horse didn't have the physical ability to move any faster. The sounds came closer and closer until they passed by and stopped in front of them. Hansi wrenched his mount to a halt and peered through the darkness to the shape in front of him.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"I suggest you put my friend down now." Liam's voice was deadly poisonous, filled with malice and tightly controlled fury.
"She's mine. If you want her, you'll have to take her from me."
Caelin found herself flying through the air as Hansi launched her from his horse's side and she landed on the hard ground with a thud. Groaning, she squirmed feebly and listened to the fight raging just a few feet away from her. Both men were silent, only the sounds of their grunts, heaving breathing, and feet moving across the ground revealed that anything was disturbing the night.
Finally, there came a shocked gasp, a moan, and the sound of a body falling limply to the ground. Immediately someone rushed over, and Caelin knew it was Liam as he undid her bonds and released the gag and the blindfold from her face. As her vision cleared and she looked up at his face, dark on one side and light from the moon reflected on the other, she saw limitless rage.
"Are you trying to bloody well get yourself killed?" Liam whispered roughly. "Do you have any sense at all? What were you doing with him? Why did you start talking to him in the first place? And for Mithros's sake, why didn't you use your magic to stop him? If you're this helpless in an emergency situation, we might as well turn around and head back to Corus, because you won't last a day in the City of the Gods."
Liam's condescending tone combined with the traumatic events of the night was enough to send Caelin over the edge. Roughly she pulled away from him and stood up abruptly. "I didn't want to kill him. That's why I didn't use my magic. I won't make the mistake again. But don't ever act like I'm making you come with me. You could turn back at any time. I would be perfectly happy if I never saw you again, Liam of Conté."
Caelin stalked back down the road to the inn, leaving the prince standing silent in the darkness. It took almost an hour for her to return, and she immediately headed up to her room after her arrival, not wanting any more confrontation for the night. Once she was safely tucked into her room, she collapsed onto the bed in despair, tears welling out of the corner of her eyes.
Maybe Liam's right, she thought desperately. How could I have been so careless? I risked my entire kingdom because of my own pathetic jealousy. How can I expect to save it all by myself? This is hopeless.
Caelin wasn't aware of the door slowly creaking open, or the person that padded softly into the room. She was so caught up in her misery that she didn't realize anyone was there until Liam sat gently onto the bed next to her. Immediately she tensed again, wondering if he was coming to deliver another lecture. Just what she needed at the moment.
"I'm sorry," was instead the soft whisper in the dark room. "I didn't mean to yell at you that much. I was just worried. That man, he was a Carthaki slave dealer. He was probably planning to sell you in the slave markets in Carthak. You would have been lost."
"Why do you care?" Caelin sniffled, hating herself for sounding so lost and forlorn. She was supposed to be strong. "You hate me."
"I suppose I haven't given you any reason to think otherwise the past few days, especially not with that scene in the inn tonight. But I don't hate you. I can't, and believe me, I wanted to, these past few days. It would have been so much easier." Caelin said nothing. His words were too good to be true. She didn't trust them. "I'm sorry for the things I said the other night. It was completely unfair of me to consider asking you to be my mistress, and for not appreciating what you've given up to help save Tortall. I just can't ever seem to get things right with you."
Caelin sighed, but she didn't flip over to face Liam either. Her voice was muffled as she said, "We were both wrong. But nothing has changed. We still have the same problems."
"Maybe those problems won't ever be solved. But do you want us to deny our feelings and what little happiness we can have for now? In all likelihood, we won't survive this anyway. You've said so yourself. No harm would come from our happiness, even if it is brief."
What Liam was proposing was...dangerous. If, miraculously, they both survived and Tortall managed to live to tell the tale, parting would be that much more painful if they shared a brief time together now. Her entire life, she would be tortured by the knowledge of what she was missing. And yet...happiness was not something she had known for a great amount of time in her life. She wouldn't let that chance slip away.
Finally, Caelin turned onto her back and regarded Liam solemnly. The prince looked nervous, awaiting her words with a troubled expression carved into his face. "You don't smile enough anymore." The statement was simple, and Caelin had no wish to elaborate any further. It was not a promise, it was not a declaration, it was a simple statement; but to Liam, it meant much more.
Slowly, a smile spread across his face and the anxious look disappeared from his green eyes. In one smooth motion he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Once again that spark flashed between them, igniting a maelstrom of feelings and sensations Caelin could never have imagined existed. She was like a leaf caught in the tempest of a violent storm, and yet she felt safer than she could behind the thickest of castle walls. She was lost and found in a matter of seconds.
The kiss was deep and filled with the withheld passions of the past few days. Caelin thought rather giddily that she could have kept kissing him all night and never gotten tired. However, the moment was interrupted when a smug voice interposed itself into both their minds. It's about time you two finally figured things out. I was afraid I would have to do something drastic.
Caelin laughed into Liam's mouth and then reluctantly pulled away. I'm glad you're satisfied, she responded to the phoenix.
You should be. As glad as I am that you've finally reached your senses, I'm going to have to break up the moment. You two need to sleep, because we have to leave early tomorrow. We've wasted too much time as it is.
Baron's solemn orders were disappointing, but as much as it hurt to admit, the phoenix was right. The hour was already late, and they had been planning to make an early start in the morning. Liam, too, was disappointed, and heaved an elaborate sigh of regret. Caelin laughed at him, and then shrieked when he reached out and pulled her close to his side on the bed. The contour of her body fit against him perfectly, as if they had been made for each other. Despite the fact that the most dangerous part of their mission was coming soon, and the knowledge that the happiness was short-lived, Caelin basked in the feelings of safety and content that were flowing through her veins, feelings that had been absent for far too long in her life.