Sword of Rage: Reigning Kingdoms, Book 1 by Jennifer Anne Davis

Author:Jennifer Anne Davis [Davis, Jennifer Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reign Publishing
Published: 2021-03-15T18:30:00+00:00

Ackley

Ackley and Harley had been traveling on the same dirt road all afternoon since breaking away from the army. The scenery gradually changed from dense forestry to low rolling hills, making Ackley feel exposed. Once in a while he thought he saw something in the distance, only to realize it was a burned house or village. At one point, he thought he saw a person on horseback. When he pointed it out to Harley, the rider was gone.

Harley led the way so he didn’t have to worry about her lagging behind or falling without him knowing. Not once did she complain or ask to rest. He thought Harley would have at least tried to make small talk as they traveled. She was a woman after all. He hadn’t been around one so silent before. Not even Gytha was this quiet. And it wasn’t like Harley had problems talking to men. He saw her speaking with Ledger on several occasions. It was just Ackley then. Regardless, he liked knowing who he was working with. Surprises were never a good thing. And he found Harley a hard woman to read.

He considered saying something. Maybe if he spoke first, she would warm up to him and be more comfortable. However, since they’d be traveling together for several days, he decided not to force conversation. It would come. Eventually. Besides, he was never one to fill the silence just because. It would only come off as being inauthentic. And there was as much to be learned from the refusal to speak as there was from speaking.

That night, he found a cluster of boulders that provided some cover. They laid their bedrolls out, then ate a small meal. Since it was just the two of them, a fire was too dangerous to risk.

Harley snuggled under her blanket. Ackley wished he hadn’t woken so early this morning to accompany Owen to that town. It would make staying up all night watching over Harley that much more difficult. But he hadn’t wanted to miss the chance to meet with those civilians who used to work at the castle. He needed to hear their accounts of what happened during the takeover to see if it aligned with what Harley had said. While he hadn’t found any inconsistencies, what these servants reported seeing was a hundred times worse than what Harley let on.

He glanced at Harley, finding her already asleep. Her mouth was slightly parted, her hair spread out around her head. She never wore it pulled back like Gytha. Since it was so thick and long, it seemed to always be a tangled mess. He suspected it wasn’t normally that way. She was probably used to wearing fancy dresses and having her hair impeccably done. Traveling with an army didn’t afford her those luxuries. But it did afford him the opportunity to watch her from afar.

Her behavior came across prim and proper, always the perfect lady, even dressed as a commoner. However, there were moments when her eyes flashed with anger, hurt, and fire.

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