Castle Town 2 by Anya Merchant

Author:Anya Merchant [Merchant, Anya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0BJL91BPL
Published: 2022-11-10T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

The trip back to camp had been easier than Koa had expected, even navigating most of the way by glow lamp. The prospect of spending another night out in the wild, potentially with a trio of princes hunting him, simply hadn’t appealed, especially against the allure of making it back to his mother and Petra and a warm fire.

The juvenile winged hookhorn, which he carried first under his arm, and then with its head poking out of his pack, was also a major consideration. It issued tiny, heartbreaking whines that almost made him forget how the beasts had nearly torn him limb from limb initially.

He had no idea what he was going to do with it. Simply reopening a rift into the Plains of Maltrus and pushing it through seemed like condemning it to almost certain death without other hookhorns to look after it. At least until it could fly, he would have to raise it himself if he wanted to ensure it stood a fair chance back in its home world.

The communal camp site seemed tense as he entered. A pair of guards he didn’t recognize stopped him on his way in, though they allowed him past as soon as they recognized his identity.

“There’s been an attack,” said one of them.

“An attack?” Koa folded his arms. “On who? Was anyone killed?”

“A few people. All of the underqueens and princes survived without harm, however, milord. You should head straight to your tent.”

“That’s the plan,” said Koa.

The hookhorn let out a little squeak, and the two guards shared a frown as they saw its head presumably looking around behind Koa’s, where it was still perched in his bag. He couldn’t stop himself from worrying, despite what the man had said. Who would attempt an attack against a gathering like this, with so many espers and guards, and expect anything resembling success?

He headed straight for his mother’s field, taking great care to walk quietly as he approached the flap. Mav, Verity and Reese were sleeping outside of it. Mav came awake for long enough to rub her eyes and recognize him with a nod but said nothing as he slipped into the tent.

Gods, it felt good to be back. Koa carefully took out the little hookhorn, which had fallen asleep at some point, and set it down on a loose pillow next to his bedroll. He was slightly worried that the little guy — or girl, he’d still not confirmed that point — might run off during the night. The deflated sigh the animal let out after he’d set it down did somewhat buoy his hopes.

He stripped off his own clothes as well, leaving just his underwear on, eager to warm up in bed. His body hummed with that feeling of anticipation after a long day, like an internal sigh of relaxation and relief.

He pulled back his quilt and flopped down… onto someone else. A tired groan came from underneath him and Koa palmed a breast as he pushed himself up.

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