Chapter 19
1190 Words
19
Spiros slowed his pace and strode down the hill toward them. I hurried up to his side. We were just in time to hear the more nuanced parts of the conversation.
“We would rather die than be given your assistance!” one of the skull-attired gentleman growled. He stood in the circle of armed men and glared at Cayden and Xander.
Cayden stepped forward. “But we-” The soldiers stepped closer to them and drew their swords.
Xander set his hand on Cayden’s shoulder and swept his gaze over the tense crowd. “We only request an explanation for your troubles. That is all.”
“That’s too much!” the leader snapped.
By now Spiros and I stood thirty feet off. The captain had his hand on the butt of his sword. Xander’s eyes flickered to us, and he gently shook his head.
I narrowed my eyes, rolled up my sleeves and marched up to the line of solders that surrounded my dragon lord and his companion. “A lady is coming through!” I yelled.
The men, being trained far longer in etiquette than in military commands, hurriedly parted, and I stomped into the circle. Both the leader and Xander glared at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back. “What the hell’s going on?”
Xander stepped toward me. “Miriam, please-” I held up my hand.
“Oh no, no ‘Miriam, please go away.’ You get into my problems then I’m getting into your problems, and this-” I pointed at the leader and his men, “-this is a lot of problems.”
The leader narrowed his eyes at me. “We are not the ones who are trespassing.” His eyes flickered to Xander and he pursed his lips. “The offense is worse for those who are not human.”
“So how do I fit into this trespassing rules?” I challenged him.
The man sneered at me and spat on the ground. “Anyone who willingly cavorts with dragons is no human to us.”
I put my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes. “So you’re going to what? Hit an unarmed girl?” The men around me glanced at each other. Some shifted uneasily from foot to foot.
The leader straightened and lifted his chin in the air. “We do not harm women, even those who forsake their own kind.”
“Then how about we drop all this trespass stuff and you just tell us what’s wrong,” I suggested.
He frowned at me. “Our problems are our own. Do not interfere.”
I opened my mouth, but Xander set a heavy hand on my shoulder. I whipped my head around, but the dark look in his green eyes told me a snarky reply wouldn’t be appreciated.
Xander drew me back behind him so he was between the leader and me. “We apologize for the trespass, and swear it will not happen again.”
The human sneered at him and nodded at the open path behind us. “Then leave, but be warned I will report this blasphemy to King Cathal and he will decide for himself what is to be done with you lot.”
Xander bowed his head. “We will abide by his verdict.”
Xander turned me around and the men grudgingly parted to allow the three of us to exit from the uncomfortable circle. Spiros attached himself to our little group, and together the four of us returned to the path.
We had gone fifty feet when I tried to shrug off Xander’s stubborn hand. The hand stuck to my shoulder. “I’m not going to wander off.”
Xander looked ahead, but spoke to Spiros who was behind us with Cayden. “Have they followed us?”
Spiros nodded his head. “Yes, but at a great distance.”
“Then it cannot be helped.” Xander stopped and turned to face our group. My shoulder was released along with my scolding. “You should have remained in the palace.”
I frowned. “We’re in this together, remember?”
“I do not wish for you to step into trouble of my making,” he insisted.
I snorted. “You’re starting to sound like those guys back there. Do you really think them telling us to shove off is going to help them solve their problem?” Xander pursed his lips. I leaned toward him and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
My dragon lord sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “No, and unfortunately it will not help us, either.”
Cayden closed his eyes and shook his head. “I do not wish to start a war between our people, but I cannot see any way to free ourselves from that fate.”
“There is another matter that may need our attention, Xander,” Spiros spoke up.
Xander arched an eyebrow. “What is that?”
“The Bestia Draconis sought to stop Miriam and me from reaching the meadow,” he explained.
I looked around at the dragon men. “And speaking of that, does anybody happen to know what Suta Vacuum means?”
“Suta Varunanam,” Spiros corrected me.
I jerked my thumb at him. “What he said.”
Xander whipped his head to me and narrowed his eyes. His expression was tense and his words came out as a sharp demand. “Where did you hear those words?”
“That red dragon guy said that to me,” I revealed. Xander stared straight ahead and pursed his lips. My eyebrows crashed down. “So what’s it mean?”
He shook himself from his thoughts looked back to me. “The words mean the Bestia Draconis have learned of your fae lineage, and they wish for us to know they have such knowledge.”
“But what does it mean?” I insisted.
“The title is in the ancient language of my dragon ancestors and roughly translates to ‘Child of Varuna,’” he explained.
I blinked at him. “And that means?”
“A child of water, as you are a child of Mare Fae.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why didn’t he just say that?”
“The ancient tongue of dragons has long been abandoned, and only those of noble lineage bother to learn its intricacies. Thus he used the old language to relay the message directly to me,” he surmised.
“Knowing what they know, do you believe they may harm Miriam?” Cayden wondered.
Xander pursed his lips and shook his head. “I do not know. The Mare Fae are a rare breed, and one born with a human parent is even less common. Whatever plans they may have, we will have to meet them as they come without any foreknowledge.”
I raised my hand. “Hello? I’m still standing here with you guys. And speaking of that, too-” I looked to Xander. “How’d you guys know how to get to the Sacred Grove?”
Xander arched an eyebrow. “How did you come to learn its name?”
I jerked my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the city. “A girl named Roisin told me. She also led me here. Well, until someone-” I glanced at Spiros with narrowed eyes, “-scared her off.”
He shook his head. “It was not I who frightened her. She wished to avoid the humans.”
I snorted. “Why’d she want to avoid humans when she is one?”
“Do you believe she would help us learn of the troubles here?” Xander asked me.
I shrugged. “Maybe. She helped me already.”
Xander looked to Spiros. “Can you track where she went?”
The experienced captain nodded. “Yes, but without prior knowledge of the island and with your wings as they are we will be forced to track on foot.”
My dragon lord gave a nod. “Then we must do so. Lead on.”
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