He laughed loudly. An infectious kind of laughter that made me grin. “Not what I thought you’d be thinking about in a time like this, but, my name is Kael Warner. Eldest and only son of Thelor Warner of Nafi, a small village on the west of the Final Fields.”
My eyes widened at that. “I didn’t know people lived there!”
“Aye, there’s not many of us, but we’re there.”
The Final Fields were a place that I would never want to visit. Rumors were that the grasses grew over seven feet tall, and the animals that lived within had their own routes mapped out, like a labyrinth. People who ventured in never came back out.
“And you’ve been in the fields?”
Kael threw his head back and laughed deeply. “A time or two, sure.”
“But I heard that it’s incredibly dangerous and practically a death wish!”
He shrugged. “When you grow up somewhere like that, it’s normal to you. Think of it like the ones who live near the coasts or a lake. They teach their children how to swim from infancy.”
“Yeah, or the royals who all know how to play the game from birth,” I murmured and then clamped my mouth shut.Fuck!My eyes darted to my guard to see if he was drawing out that wicked looking axe he’d used on that wolf. Plenty of people had met their death for less treasonous statements.
Kael wasn’t even looking at me as he snapped his fingers. “Exactly like that.”
My shoulders dropped as the fear of being harmed evaporated. Well, now that was interesting. Maybe I would be able to get more information out of him since he was being so open. We came to a small clearing in the forest that a trickling stream flowed through. “Thank the Goddess!” I shouted and dismounted. “I’m so thirsty.” Kael joined me as we drank our fill of the cool water. The horses were happier than we were to see water. We laughed as they splashed around, cooling themselves down.
Kael dropped down into the soft grass and lay back. “We have to get out of the woods before nightfall, but we can give them fifteen minutes to rest and still make it.”
A cold chill raced down my spine at the thought of being out here in the dark, and the echoes of howling wolves bounced around my head. He wouldn’t get a fight from me about getting out of here as quickly as possible. I lowered myself to the ground with more grace than I knew myself capable of. “So, do you know anything about the Roaring Isle? Or The Hunt?”
“Just about as much as anyone else, I reckon. I was only twelve during the last Recurrence, so this will be my first one since joining the guard.” He sat up and glanced over. “Are you worried about it?”
“Not worried, exactly. This is the farthest I’ve been from home before, and everything I know is what I was taught by my father or my teacher in school. Everything else is just town gossip, myths, legends… that sort of thing. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s made up. I don’t want to make a fool of myself.” I plucked a blade of grass and spun it between my fingers. Soon the weather would change and there wouldn’t be anything green left.
“Well, then I suppose we’ll find out together.”
Surprised, I dropped the grass and looked at him. “You’re going to the Isle, too?”
He smiled. “Of course. Not all, but many of the guards escorting the chosen women will travel with you for the entirety of the Recurrence. This detail is a special assignment for my unit to be stationed at the Keep on the Isle. It’s supposed to be a great honor.”
Goddess, forgive me, but I was even more thankful now for those wolves. A day and a half with those barbarians was more than enough. At least Kael was decent… for a royal guard. Clearly, I could’ve been much worse off.
“So, two more hours on the road?” I asked, sighing at his nod of affirmation. My ass was numb, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk tomorrow at this point. Perhaps they would let me stay in bed, and I wouldn’t have to subject myself to the bullshit fanfare quite yet. A girl could wish.
Kael and I reluctantly left the softness of the mossy bank and traded it for the supple leather of our saddles. The closer we got to the port, the more I began to feel nauseous. My plan, which had seemed so brilliant within the safety of my father’s home, now felt riddled with uncertainty. The small port town had quaint cottages and a tall lighthouse made of large stones. I eyed them curiously, wondering how people were able to create such a thing. Some of those stones were bigger than my horse.
I opened my mouth to ask Kael if he knew anything about the building process when the marina came into view. It worked out well that my mouth was already open in awe because the ship was docked, waiting. I thought the lighthouse was a marvel, but it didn’t come close to the sheer size and craftsmanship of this boat.
“Miss?” Kael asked, coming to a stop about five feet in front of where I’d unknowingly stopped my horse from moving further.
I was a teacher. Educated. We had boats in our village to use in the lakes for fishing. The beast I was looking at was a monstrosity.
“There’s no way I’m going on that.” His brows lifted at my statement. “Thank you, Kael Warner, for your assistance on this journey. I’ll just see myself back home.” I nudged my horse, but before we could get away from that unnaturally large sized boat that would surely decorate the bottom of the ocean in no time at all, Kael blocked our path.
“Miss Evie," he said, his face serious for only a moment before he burst with laughter. My cheeks grew hot as others passed us on the street. “Are you scared of the ship?”
“It’s one thing to hear about large boats but another thing entirely to see it. I can’t say drowning at sea has ever been at the top of my list of things to experience!” I whisper-shouted at him.
“Nobody will be drowning at sea. I’ve been on ships like this many times. It’s perfectly safe, my lady. Look around.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and did as he asked. There were a lot of women my age. Most of them were escorted by a group of guards. “The other women for The Hunt?”
“Aye. Well, a good amount of them. Some others will be traveling from the north port. The kings would not let all the potential wives aboard a death trap. They need you.”
