The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) (6 page)

Cygnus presented himself as a suitor to her father, Lord Zachariah of Roseberry, King Maximilian's youngest brother, but he was refused and they were separated. Many scorned him after that, thinking him foolish for even requesting marriage into the royal family, but he had known what the outcome would be. He had planned it all so carefully, and Adrienne’s subsequent broken heart was fuel for yet more fear and anger with her position and her family. Dislike had turned to hatred, and hatred into loathing. They wrote secretly with the help of the network of spies and allies he had been working hard to collect during his time at court, and then the Pirate Wars began. The King’s army was scattered throughout the coastal towns, leaving Chloris Castle weak and defenceless. Cygnus had ridden out with his own force to the fief of Roseberry, murdered Lord Zachariah, and filled the role of dashing hero in Adrienne’s eyes as he liberated her.

Then, with her as lady of the fief, they had combined their forces and attacked Chloris. It had been far too easy to lay siege upon the Royal Castle of the Redwoods, to kill everyone who opposed them, and place Adrienne upon the throne as undisputed ruler. There had been no scaling of walls, no battering of gates; they had simply walked in and taken what they wanted. From there, their army of sell-swords, freed prisoners, and any who would swear allegiance to Cygnus went from fief to fief, murdering and burning, taking the country by force.

There were pockets of resistance--of course there were--and Adrienne foolishly wished to marry Cygnus and change the law to make herself Queen. He had eventually used her fear against her, to persuade her that a marriage to a King, thus making her legitimately Queen of Ffion, would stop any rebels who thought to overthrow her reign. Sick with greed and power, terrified to lose it all, she had agreed to his plan, on the promise they would wed once a decent amount of time had passed after King Arun was dead, and he would become her husband. This, of course, had fallen in with Cygnus’ plans beautifully.

Now, for the first time, his plans had been shaken. Adrienne, stupid female that she was, had blown their cover, and now King Arun was out there, ready to spill the secret and ruin all of his hard work. He must be stopped if there was to be any chance of salvaging his plan. For now, he had to reassure the fool grasping the front of his clothes of his devotion and superior intelligence. She must always believe she needed him.

‘My love, my Queen, forgive me,’ he looked down at her hysterical face, forcing his own into a mask of pain and regret. ‘I knew that he would not harm you, his foolish honour keeping him from such an act as the murder of a defenceless woman and Queen of a neighbouring country, but I was also paralysed by my fear of losing you. Had I attacked King Arun, Lord Rayan would have finished us both.’

He watched the realisation dawn in her pale eyes. A lie was so much easier to hide when offered with a grain of truth. Lord Rayan was indeed a worthy adversary, and Cygnus knew well enough that while his magic was strong, he would not have been able to finish them both. There was certainly no reason for him to risk his own life. He also knew that the act of violence against women was culturally abhorrent in Koren. No matter how angry the young King was, he would never have hurt her. Adrienne had been perfectly safe.

‘Oh, Cygnus!’ she cried, burying her face in his shoulder and embracing him. ‘Whatever will we do?’

He held her in return, rubbing comfortingly at the small of her back. ‘We shall continue as planned, my Queen. We shall tell the people that you were here with him last night, but that he was taken ill this morning and is being rushed back to Koren. It’s unfortunate that the fever will kill him before he reaches his ship, and all those who travel with him.’

‘But how? We are trapped here. There will be talk.’

‘You are inconsolable with worry for your new husband, my Queen,’ Cygnus smirked. ‘And once we are free, I will summon the harpies to hunt them down.’

The mad glee in her eyes as she looked up at him then was reassurance enough that he had again won this round.

Chapter Six

Naomi moved silently between the trees, bow and arrow at the ready as she stalked her prey. She could hear the rustle of dewy grass against the big feet of the rabbits, and knew that without the aid of traps, her best hope was stealth. Quietly, she puffed her newly-cut hair out of her face, having shorn it to a much more manageable length with her dagger and leaving it to just brush past her shoulders. She had set up camp in the boughs of a large tree that she had decided to use as her resting place for the day, the night’s travel wearing down her strength far too quickly. Although she couldn't set a fire until later this evening, she had gathered some fruit to hold her over until dusk, when she would be able to more safely cook.

It hadn't been a difficult decision to travel all night and sleep through the day. It was by far the most sensible choice, despite how tired she now was. She had put a fair amount of distance between herself and the soldiers who had tried to chase her down yesterday morning. Sleeping up in a tree through the day meant anyone who might be looking for her would simply pass beneath. It hadn't taken much effort on her part to use her childhood knowledge to create a sleeping platform in the tree with branches and foliage to lay on. It had filled her with a sense of nostalgia and given her exhausted body a chance to rest.

Her horse was tethered a little distance away, but close enough that she could check on it from her small encampment. It was a shame she was unable to hide the creature as she once might have done when she had the use of her magic, but other people made do this way, and she would too. The horse was a godsend, in all honesty. It was unsurprising that her body had failed so quickly, given her living conditions the past few years. Without the horse to carry her, she would still be very close to Chloris.

For a moment she wondered whether Cygnus had meant to truly keep his word, or if the guards had orders to execute her at the city gates. It seemed the most likely, but part of her was still curious. Again, she turned over his choice of only two guards, feeling somehow that it was wrong, and played the scene out in her head until it began to ache.

Stepping carefully between the few damp, fallen leaves, she ignored the chill that seeped into her bones. Naomi had been cold all night, but although she could easily blame the cool spring weather, she knew it was more than that. The strange seizure that had brought her to her knees yesterday was also giving her pause. At the time she had suspected illness, or maybe poison. It wouldn’t surprise her that Cygnus would try to end her that way, and would explain the lack of guards. The more time passed, however, the more Naomi began to believe it was something far worse. She knew the feeling of magic, and now she was certain she was under some sort of spell. Cygnus had told her she would be watched, and now she felt deep concern that he had meant it in a very literal way.

She had no magic of her own to check or try to repel it, and worrying didn’t help anyone. For now, all she could do was concentrate on getting her strength back and staying alive as she steadily made her way South, towards the port of Pearpetal.

Releasing a slow breath, Naomi at last spotted the rabbits, and silently, she pulled her bowstring taut, taking aim. She was about to release, when an almighty shriek split through the quiet early morning of the forest, causing the rabbits to scatter. Naomi instantly looked up, her arrow taking new aim up towards the canopy of trees, and for a fraction of a second she was frozen in horror as a creature from a nightmare pelted down at her.

Forcing herself back into movement, Naomi fired the arrow at the monster, but wings spread wide, it wheeled around and caught the projectile with ease. With a speed and movement remembered from times past, Naomi reached back into the quiver and pulled a second arrow. Rolling out of the way as the winged creature soared past her, talons outstretched, she nocked the arrow and again took aim.  The beast shrieked and cackled, and Naomi watched it down the length of her arrow. Its body was that of a large bird, the colouring and build of a hawk, but its head was that of a beautiful woman. She had no hair, only more feathers that ran sleekly from her crown and down her back to meet with the rest. Naomi hadn't seen such a creature before, but she had heard of them and their vicious natures, their thirst for blood. She also knew that Lord Cygnus kept the majority of harpies nesting at his home fief of Appleby in the North, safe roosting in exchange for fealty.

She expected it to make another dive for her, but a great, ground shaking roar caused both her and the harpy to turn their attention back up to the sky. A dragon? Surely not? How could Adrienne or Cygnus have ever won their stoic loyalty after Ffion was in such a state, and ruled by one who had behaved so dishonourably? The very thought of it made Naomi furious. There was no way it could be hunting her; it must be after the harpy.

Turning her aim back to the wheeling creature, she fired and missed. The harpy screeched again and shot up above the canopy in answer to a second roar. Naomi cursed, then unable to see what was happening above the forest cover, made a quick decision. She ran for a nearby tree. Bow slung across her back, she made short work of the branches, but soon found herself out of breath.  Her arms began to ache. She grit her teeth and ignored it, blowing her hair out of her face even as it stuck to her sweaty brow. She had been climbing trees her whole life; she wasn’t about to stop now. It felt even more important to prove to herself she was still capable than actually seeing what this dragon was up to.

At last, muscles burning, she broke the forest canopy. She was blinded for a moment by the bright sunlight, and scrubbed at her eyes frustratedly. The noise of the dragon and the harpy battered her ears, and at last she could see. The scene unfolding before her in the vast, blue sky was heart-stopping, and Naomi found herself instinctively reaching for her bow once again.

There was a dragon, but it was small. Well, it was much bigger than her, but small for a dragon, at least. Perhaps only a hatchling? The sun glanced off its scales, all different sizes and making a most unusual swirling pattern, revealing it to be black in colour, which was another oddity. Ffionite dragons had large, uniform scales, usually in the shape of various leafs, depending on their lineage, and their colours changed with the seasons of the trees they shared their appearance with.  They were also large, heavily-horned beasts that walked on their back legs. This dragon, however, seemed to have front legs as well, reminding Naomi of some sort of winged, wild cat. It had an almost blue sheen to it, and its sleek form, odd scales, and lack of spines made her realise this creature wasn’t a local.

She had seen the great, serpentine dragons of Tsumetai, and knew that they were different in each country. She had yet to see a dragon from Koren, and that this creature might be one filled her with awe. It was fast, making it difficult to really assess, and the scream of a harpy interrupted her deep wonder of the beast.

There was more than one of the harpies now, and looking around swiftly, she counted four. One harpy was a difficulty for her, just as four was apparently proving too much for the small dragon. Even as it snapped its sharp jaws at one and evaded another, there was always the third and fourth swooping in to attack. It was struggling, and she could see even from here that it was wounded. Foreign dragon or not, she wasn’t about to sit here and watch it turned into harpy fodder.

Nocking another arrow, she lowered herself to hide as much as she could from the sharp eyes that might find her. Naomi took careful aim and fired. She hit the largest harpy as it wheeled around to attack the waning dragon, and it screeched in pain as the projectile buried itself deep in its shoulder. Naomi didn’t wait for it to get its bearings, or for the other two to realise what was going on, before she fired again and hit another in the flank. Another angry shriek, and Naomi shot again.

Flapping without any coordination, the harpies began to squawk oddly. Waiting until none were looking her way, and hoping the wind wouldn’t carry her scent towards them, she fired another arrow, narrowly missing the base of a skull. The dragon, now collecting himself, took advantage of the confusion and with a mighty bellow, grabbed the nearest winged beast with its sharp jaws and shook it violently. He dropped the dead mess of feathers and flesh and it plummeted lifelessly to the forest ground. The harpies scattered. Another cry, fear and pain heavy in the sound, they all but collided in their haste to escape. The dragon roared, victorious, in response.

Naomi smiled slightly and moved to climb back down to the ground once more, when the sky exploded into flames. She gasped in shock at the intense heat as the dragon, head thrown back, blew a great column of fire into the light blue sky. For a moment she almost regretted her decision to help, as with one slight turn of its head, the forest would be on fire. A Ffionite dragon would only burn the forest under extreme circumstances, usually to flush away some blight or other. Their respect for their home and the creatures they cohabited with was too great. This dragon, however, was unpredictable, and there was little she could do. She had never seen a dragon behave this way before, and couldn’t be sure it would understand her if she tried to communicate. Such action could only make things worse.

Abruptly, the fire ceased, thankfully without so much as brushing the forest. Naomi sighed with relief, then noticed the dragon looking directly at her. She wasn’t all that surprised that it had located her, but before she could incline her head in respect, as was the usual greeting for dragons, its left wing faltered, causing it to snort in pain and jerk downwards. She saw a dark gash at the base of his shoulder, but didn’t get the chance to think further. The dragon began to lose height far too quickly, trying to save itself with its good wing, and tilting it to crash down through the thick canopy of trees below.

Naomi clasped the nearest branch to brace herself as the forest shook with the impact, then swung into action. Her waning strength almost forgotten, she climbed down the vast tree with ease, and landed lightly on her feet. The rabbits were long gone, and she could hear her horse whinnying from her nearby encampment. She began to run towards where the dragon had fallen, rubbing at her arms to try and dispel the strange tingling sensation that spread across her skin.

Truthfully, she should have been running the other direction. She should have gone back to her camp, collected her supplies and her horse, and gotten as far away as possible. If the dragon started a forest fire, she needed to get clear. Even if it didn’t, that little display was bound to draw attention, and that was something Naomi really didn’t want to get caught up by.

Still, there was something pulling her. It was almost instinctual, and she didn’t really question it. She felt a responsibility towards him. She’d helped chase the harpies away, and making sure he was alright afterwards seemed like a logical step. The dragon was only small, but it had hit the ground hard, and even though she had only been able to briefly glimpse his injuries, the fact that they were serious enough to take him out of the air was cause for concern. Perhaps she could calm him enough that he wouldn’t torch the woodland.

Soon she came to where the dragon lay, its breathing laboured and eyes closed. The uprooted trees around it still creaked, and the new clearing above them made Naomi more nervous than the scaled creature in its centre, as she prayed silently that the harpies wouldn’t return.

She could see the trail of destruction from the dragon’s fall, the grass and soil torn up in its wake. Dark blood poured from the wound on its back, which she could now see was so deep that a little bone was exposed. She could feel the warmth of the fire breather as she drew closer, her skin continuing to tingle oddly, raw magic dancing across her own body as it seemed to reflect from the sunlight on the blue-black scales.

Even as she crept closer cautiously, she looked with interest over his form. Her initial thought that he bore no spines was corrected as she noticed from his crown of black horns and narrow muzzle was a slim line of spines running all the way to the base of his neck, between his shoulder blades. They hadn’t been distinguishable from a distance, as instead of spiking out, as Ffionite dragons were prone to, they were tucked neatly into an almost plaited design. She could also tell that while he was a relatively young dragon, he was fully grown, and not a hatchling as she had first suspected. He was streamlined, but he was strong, and his body and wingspan were perfectly proportioned, despite the left one hanging uselessly at his side.

As she examined him at a safe distance, knowing how temperamental any injured creature could be, one of his eyes opened to look at her. It was a bright yellow with gold flecks exploding from the dark iris like sparks, making her blink in amazement at the sight. His eye closed again, and she felt an odd spasm of heated magic press down on her.

‘Thank the gods…’

It took a moment for Naomi to register that the dragon had spoken into her mind, surprised that he had been able to reach out despite her own lack of magic. Dragons, in her experience, could usually understand what was being spoken to them by any other creature, but for them to communicate back usually took magic from both parties. It had shaken her somehow, to hear like that. It had felt intrusive, but oddly comforting as well.

Taking a breath to steady herself, she held up her hands in a gesture of harmlessness. ‘You’re seriously wounded. I can help, if you’ll allow me?’

The dragon’s startling eyes opened once more, and he tilted his head to a different position where he rested so he could see her more clearly. Naomi was a master of keeping her expression neutral if she needed to, her voice too, but the churning emotions inside were a different matter. Dragons could sense your soul, and Naomi knew how broken she was, how dark a place her mind was. She tried to push her intentions forward, concentrate on her honest desire to be of help, but she still felt him somehow rummaging around in places she’d rather stayed private. For a while she grit her teeth and tried to bear with it, until the strain became too much.