Knight of the Goddess: A Dark Fae Fantasy Romance (Blood of a Fae Book 4) by Briar Boleyn

Author:Briar Boleyn [Boleyn, Briar]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Starwater Press
Published: 2024-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21 - MORGAN

We left the coastal road the next day, turning inland to the west. As the sound of the sea gradually faded behind us, the landscape transformed. Rolling hills and sporadic clusters of small trees dotted the scenery.

The soil beneath our horses’ hooves changed from a sandy soil to a rockier mixture with patches of hardy grass.

As we moved along the road, abandoned farmsteads stood silent, their once-thriving fields now becoming overgrown with vegetation.

Had the people who lived in them fled before they could be taken? Or had the families who had once lived in these places already been swept away by my father and his cruel powers?

With each league we traveled, the air carried an increasing chill, reminding us of the colder realms that awaited us to the northwest. Far off in the distance lay the rugged peaks and mountain passes we would need to traverse before arriving at the Black Mountain.

I’d thought a lot about Rheged and its place as the host kingdom for my father’s secret court. Long ago, had Rheged been greedy? Had they invited my father and his people in, granting them secret sanctuary after being lured with promises of power and riches? Or had my father given them no other choice?

For how long, I wondered, had Rheged been little more than a puppet state? Ruled from behind the throne, quite literally, by the Black Mountain and Gorlois le Fay.

And for what purpose overall? To send Eskira spiraling into chaos. Kingdom against kingdom, until finally, after lands had been ruined and peoples destroyed, my father’s court would surface and take the entire continent as his prize.

It was a chilling vision of an all-too possible future.

One that awaited us if we failed.

Yet the self-doubt was equally agonizing. Was I doing the opposite of what my father expected by refusing to meet him again on the battlefield? Or was I playing right into his hands by bringing the sword and the grail into the heart of his dark territory?

I glanced around at the five riders accompanying me, and my eyes lit upon Lancelet.

She rode beside Guinevere. They were holding hands between their horses.

I smiled. Not an easy feat. But I admired the attempt, even though if they kept it up for much longer, their horses might become rather annoyed.

The looks between them were as muted and subtle as the two women could make them. But they were not invisible. Not to me.

Lancelet radiated a quiet joy. While Guinevere... Well, she was less readable. But she seemed happy. More relaxed than I had ever seen her. Not simply the superficial calm she always seemed to possess, but something that went below that tranquil surface.

I wondered now if the tranquility had been a mask she had been forced to wear all these long months, through her ordeal with my brother, the loss of Merlin, and then her great responsibility in overseeing the temple.

Was this the closest thing to a holiday she might ever have? I pursed my lips together.

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