Page 13 of Kingdom of Spirits
“Lady Tahlia, I must insist you hold your tongue.”
“On your?—”
Fara and Remus, Marius’s squire, rounded the corner and nearly mowed them down.
“Apologies, sir, lady!” Remus bowed low.
Fara’s purple face flushed. She grimaced and curtseyed repeatedly. She thought Mist Knights walked around constantly on the verge of murder. Courage wasn’t her strength. But loyalty was and Tahlia couldn’t have become a dragon rider without her.
“All is well.” Marius lifted a hand, dismissing their apologies.
“We were at the stables working and heard you were called to see the commander, so we wanted to check if you needed us to do anything or to accompany you,” Remus said.
Marius glanced at Tahlia, who shrugged. “Walk with us,” he said, facing Remus and Fara again. “We’ll see if the commander requires specific actions.”
The males dropped back to discuss the plan Titus had suggested yesterday concerning the upcoming pirate raids in the north.
Fara popped her knuckles and looked at Tahlia, the whites of her eyes showing all around her slitted irises. “How was the tavern? Please only tell me the good parts. And slow down and let me do something with this hair of yours.”
“The tavern was good. Except for a few grouches.”
Braiding and pinning Tahlia’s locks. Fara bent close to her ear. “Are you still certain you want to be a Mist Knight? Because I truly believe we could open up a vicious Leatherworker shop in town.”
“Exactly how could making purses and satchels be vicious?”
Fara patted Tahlia’s finished braid, then came up beside Tahlia. “We would slay the competition.”
Tahlia snorted. “Not literally?”
“No, you blood-thirsty miscreant. With our high-quality skills.”
Tahlia tilted her head and clicked her tongue. “Skills neither of us have.”
“We will have them.”
“I’m not giving up dragons for arts and crafts, Fara.”
“Come on. It’s cozy in town. Less wind. Fewer things that want to eat you.”
“Bluewing doesn’t want to eat us,” Tahlia said, thinking of yet another possible name for her Seabreak dragon.
Fara wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think that’s the name. Did you ask her about Stormwave?” She meant had Tahlia asked the dragon. The Seabreak did have a way to communicate with Tahlia. Because they were almost fully bonded, just a head nod or a snort could tell Tahlia what the Seabreak was thinking.
“She didn’t go for it.”
Fara narrowed her eyes. “Maybe your dragon should try to be less picky.”
Tahlia leaned closer to Fara and whispered, “I’m not sure what this little meeting will entail.”
“Maybe he uncovered information about who poisoned you?” Fara glanced at Tahlia as they kept on down the corridor where the sunrise was just beginning to cast pink and orange over the windowsills, the walls, and the floor. Fara’s pupils were fully slitted because her blood was almost completely Fae, like Marius. Tahlia’s were not quite the same shape because she was half-human. During the competition to become a Mist Knight, that human blood had resulted in someone poisoning her and had landed her in front of the execution dragon to be roasted. Thankfully, she had come through after a twist-turn of events.
“I would love it if the commander had some information.” An uneasy feeling crawled through Tahlia’s stomach. She wanted to find out, but if it hadn’t been a competitor who was now long gone, off the mountain, then the poisoner was still here.
The corridor opened into the keep’s foyer. The home to the Order of the Mist Knights was more mountain than hand-built structure. Towers rose from rough stone and massive crystals—some as clear as a summer day and others of rosy pink,sage green, ocean blue, gold, and indigo—crowned the castle at various entrances and balconies.
The stained glass and crystals scattered light across the foyer’s tapestries and wide stone steps. The rose-hued crystals had given Marius and Tahlia some delightful trouble toward the end of the competition. An earthquake in the valley had activated them. Since Marius and Tahlia had a natural attraction to one another, the crystals’ mating magic, which was usually reserved for dragons, had poured over Tahlia and Marius, bringing them together more quickly than was normal.
Tahlia didn’t regret it one bit.