Minstrel's Serenade (26 page)

The captain stood as lookout, staring toward Scalehaven with determination set in his shoulders. He chewed on the end of a pipe, sending puffs of smoke into the air. Danika passed him unnoticed. She climbed the slick steps to the lower deck. All the rigging lay abandoned and the boat creaked with the pull of the current. The minstrels’ song from their sister ship gave the night a haunted air.

One figure stood on the stern, watching the distant horizon from whence they came. The tall proud stance and the square shoulders were a permanent fixture in her memory.

Bron.

She should know by now he never slept on the eve of battle.

She longed to go to him and have him hold her in his strong arms. She could use his comfort at such a dark time, but her logical mind screamed for her to sneak back to the cabin. He could not give her what she sought. Or should not. Yet Danika stayed, her feet firmly planted on the deck as if a force beyond her control held her still.

“A foreboding night, is it not, Princess?” Bron’s voice wafted back to her and she stiffened.

How could he know? She’d walked as silent as a ghost.

Bron turned, and the glow of the lava from the horizon behind her illuminated his square features and wide lips in an evocative glow. “I can smell your perfume on the wind.” His lips curled. “Never spray strawberry mist before sneaking up on a foe.”

Danika grinned and teased him with a narrowing of her eyes. “Are you a foe?”

“Only to my own inclinations.” He shifted his gaze to the wake of their boat.

“Of what do you speak?” Danika stepped toward him, aware of her thin sheet covering her bare breasts. She pulled the fabric tighter against her body so the wind didn’t steal it away, leaving her naked. She wouldn’t want that.

“I would see Ebonvale live on in health and prosperity. Yet, I would sacrifice anything to ensure your safety, Princess.”

“You are my bodyguard. You swore to my father to protect me. What harm is there in that?”

“That is not all.” Bron’s hands tightened on the rail. “I also swore my undying loyalty to Ebonvale.”

“There’s no harm in that either.” Danika touched his arm. The armor felt cold to her fingers and she longed to feel the warmth of his skin.

“If I had to choose between the two, I’d choose you, Princess.”

“You won’t have to choose. Protecting me is protecting Ebonvale, for I am the only direct heir to the throne.”

“In all this, there is one thing I failed to protect you and Ebonvale against.”

“What threatens us both? The wyverns?”

“No.” He placed his hand on his breastplate where filigreed patterns of roses bloomed. “My heart.”

Danika’s heart sped and her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She’d been waiting for this moment for so long. A dizzying joy spread throughout her. She took his hand, hoping for some reaction. His fingers lay unmoving in her grasp.

“I had to tell you before the battle. I could not die without you knowing.”

She squeezed his hand and held his palm to her heart, his fingers grazing her left breast, alighting fire inside her. “You are not going to die. I will not let them harm you.”

With his other hand, he trailed a finger along her cheek, and she melted at his fleeting touch. Bron took both hands away and stepped back. “This is where I have failed, Princess. You must let me go. You and Valorian must live to see Ebonvale rebuild.”

Danika breathed in to object and Bron brought his finger to her lips, silencing her. “I know what rests on your lips, and I urge you not to say it. I failed to protect both our hearts.”

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “You failed at nothing.”

“If you are lost in battle, or if you are not united with Valorian, I have failed at everything I’ve sworn to do. You must keep both yourself and Valorian alive at all costs.”

Danika crossed her arms and looked away, her eyes stinging with more tears. “No. I cannot. If something happens to you…I fear I cannot live without you.”

Bron put both hands on her shoulders. His gaze implored. “You will and you must. I cannot have another day like today, where you desert the House of Song for your bodyguard. I beg you. If you do nothing for me ever again, do this one thing.” He bent his head, pressing his forehead against hers. He opened his mouth as if to kiss her, then drew back.

Danika shook her head, unable to speak. Everything she wanted stood before her. Bron’s feelings were true and matched hers. Yet, she could not have him. The truth tore her apart.

He released her. “I expect no less, Princess.”

Before she could form a response he turned away, leaving her alone on the stern with Scalehaven’s hot breath breathing down her throat, threatening to take away the one man she loved.

* * * *

Dawn came swiftly and Danika rushed back to her cabin to change before the other soldiers spotted her roaming the decks in her sheet. Some icon of hope she’d represent looking like a wreck of a woman who’d just lost her only love. She doubted Helena ever looked so worn and despairing.

As she reached for her armor, something in the air changed. Danika froze, listening.

Silence.

The minstrels had ended their song, which could mean only one thing. They were too close to Scalehaven to risk the wyverns overhearing. She doubted the same vile chord would stall the fiery beasts. Unlike their distant leviathan cousins, the wyverns were too clever for a single sound to hearten their retreat. No doubt, the minstrels plotted which new tune to employ as she donned her armor.

Suddenly, she missed their twisted song. Without the sour turns of sound, she felt unprotected, naked to the wyverns’ threat. Danika washed the tears from her face and secured her helmet. Hopefully, they’d come up with something soon.

The deck bustled with activity when she reemerged in her armor. Soldiers packed travel bags and unloaded crates full of swords and spears. Some sharpened their weapons on a gray whetstone brought up from the belly of the ship. The first volcano in a chain of smaller islands towered over them, casting an ominous shadow on their ship. The air reeked of sulfur and exotic incense, making her nostrils itch. Some soldiers and many members of the crew had handkerchiefs tied around their mouths.

She dug into her travel bag and pulled out one of her mother’s old silken scarves. She’d brought the fabric for good luck, and as a reminder to contact Sybil when she returned. She tied the delicate, pink fabric around the lower half of her face. Would she return?

The captain pulled the ship into an alcove, hidden by the northern volcano’s ridge. They’d risk too much to travel straight to the lair of the She-Beast. Instead, they had to cross three islands and a desolate wasteland using the volcano’s treacherous ridges for cover.

The ship dropped anchor beside a slab of lava rock, as black as coal and as sharp as a blade where a chunk had broken off and fallen into the sea. The crew dropped rope ladders to the outcropping and the captain gave the gesture to disembark.

Scalehaven had come too soon, like a slap in the face after a long dream. Danika had busied herself with thoughts of Valorian and Bron. She hadn’t mentally prepared for the trek and subsequent battle to come. Now she had no time for pondering her fate.

The crew of both ships stayed behind as the soldiers and minstrels climbed to shore. They’d wait five days for their return. If no sign of either army showed, they’d sail to Brimmore’s Bay empty-handed and hide in the corners of Ebonvale when the wyverns’ heat bathed the land. The thought sent shivers down Danika’s back.

She took one last look at the stern, where Bron had opened his heart to her, then asked her to give it back. Could she follow his demand and stay with Valorian? Her father would beckon her to follow Bron’s wisdom. Her mother, on the other hand, would plea for her to follow her own wild heart.

Who did Danika take after most? Only time would tell.

She descended the ladder, following the troops as they carved a path through the molten-backed rocks. Bron kept his distance, leading the way. The minstrels followed behind the last of the army. They’d exchanged their finery for the armor she’d brought from Ebonvale’s smithy, and if it wasn’t for the instruments on their backs, she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

“Have you stayed behind to walk with me and the minstrels, my lady?” Dressed in full armor, Valorian stood before her in a vision of gorgeous knightliness. The armor brought out his willowy arms and legs and the smooth curves of the breastplate complimented his river stone muscles underneath. Where Bron was lumbering, Valorian was swift.

She’d do as Bron asked. Stay with Valorian.

“I have.” She swallowed hard. “I will see that our union adheres during battle.”

Valorian smiled and bowed. “You are most welcome.”

Danika nodded and walked beside him. The lava rock felt hard and uneven under her feet. After walking on a boat three days, the firmness and solidity made her legs feel like ribbons. “I trust your minstrels have composed a song to enable our victory.”

Valorian followed her, offering his hand whenever the terrain allowed. “Yes. We have studied the chordal patterns affecting the leviathan and drawn a new, more insidious drone for the wyverns.” His voice grew deeply menacing. “We call it the Song of Power.”

The title inspired awe. “What will this song accomplish?”

“Hopefully, our song will calm the fire in their bellies and send them into a comatose sleep.”

“And how do you manage such a thing?”

“We deduced a great many things from the mind of the leviathan as we tried our array of songs. Restlessness governed the beast’s movements. It had just woken from a long sleep and needed to feed. We believe, from the worm in the cave and from this recent meeting, these beasts have a hibernation cycle. Our song will instill in them the need to complete the cycle, the need for sleep.”

The ways of the minstrels made Danika’s mind dizzy, like one of her father’s wood puzzles she could not solve. “Is that what you told the leviathan?”

“No. The leviathan had primal inner fears of the oceans drying up and the world turning to barren soil. We simply showed her our vision.”

A thunderous clap silenced their conversation, and every soldier and minstrel turned his head to the sky. A flaming piece of the mountain sailed through the air above them like a meteorite. The burning ball of rock hit the sea, sizzling. A trail of white smoke rose up from the waters. Thank Helena and Horred their ships had already passed.

The troops resumed their walk, entering a canyon formed from a cataclysm cracking the earth in half. Danika followed. The soles of her feet burned and they’d just started their trek. “How could you fabricate such a lie?”

“We didn’t.” His scarred face turned sad. “We illuminated what the future may hold if our campaign isn’t successful.”

An icy chill shot across Danika’s shoulders and seized her heart. “You said you can see our victory.”

“I see many possibilities. Our victory is only one of countless paths.”

Danika yearned for Bron’s steadfast optimism. He’d tell her he knew in his heart they’d win. She drew her courage from his hope.

Movement distracted Danika from replying. A scout waved a yellow flag up ahead.

Bron’s voice echoed down the canyon. “Seek cover! Wyverns dive from the southern ridge.”

Panic shot through Danika’s limbs. The canyon was too narrow for them to backtrack in time. They were sitting ducks in a trap.

“Quickly.” Valorian pulled her to the rocky wall. They flattened in the canyon’s shadow. The rest of the army followed suit, stretching into a thin line. Every clink of armor echoed against the close walls, making Danika wince.

Shrieks came from the sky and Danika held her breath. She twisted her neck to gaze through the canyon crack above her head. Black shapes darted in the air, circling. Danika held onto the rock, pushing her back against the hard surface until it dug her armor into her skin. She hoped the crew had hidden the ships a safe distance away.

“Please, Helena, do not let them spot our transports.” Otherwise, this would be a one-way trip whether they triumphed or not. Only scraggly excuses for trees grew on Scalehaven. Nothing rose tall or wide enough to fashion into planks. Unless they sprouted wings from their backs, they were stranded without the carracks.

A soldier slipped, and his silver boot skidded into the light. Rocks tumbled down the canyon past Danika and Valorian. Danika squeezed her eyes shut.

Bron’s intense whisper rode the wind. “Do not move.”

If he moved, the glint of the silver would catch their eye for certain. As it was, his leg could pass for a large chunk of mica.

Movement in the canyon caused Danika to open her eyes. Bron slid down the incline in front of the line of soldiers, a hair’s breadth from the light. He carried a leather blanket the same hue as the lava rock.

Bron threw the blanket on the soldier’s leg, and the bright metal gleam disappeared. They waited until the last cries rang out in the sky above, then the soldier slowly moved his leg back into the shadow.

“That was close.” Danika breathed in relief. Valorian’s words came back to her.
Our victory is only one of countless paths.

Doubt clouded her mind. Their quest dangled by spider strands over an endless hole of oblivion.

How could they hide their progress all the way to the highest island peak?

Hope

By twilight, they’d reached the end of the first island. A thin peninsula of hardened lava jutted across the ocean’s expanse, almost reaching the second island, and the largest in the chain. Bron stood at the edge, contemplating the depth of the ocean between the two lands. Could they swim across?

His first in command approached him, standing beside him at the water’s edge, while the army rested under an overhanging cliff, dipping into their rations. “May I have a word, sir?”

Bron took off his helmet and ran a hand over the stubble on his head. “You are always welcome to speak freely, Mr. Fairhaven.”

Recktus nodded and followed Bron’s gaze off to the sea separating them from the next island. “The men are weary from the day’s trek.”