The Blood of Kings & Queens by Marcus Lee

Author:Marcus Lee [Lee, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XI

Garet grimaced as he stepped from the saddle and arched his back. Dralen dismounted alongside him, groaning, and they shared a wry smile.

‘By the gods. My arse feels like it’s been ridden by my two horses, not the other way around,’ Dralen muttered.

Garet shook his head in despair but silently couldn’t help but agree. Whilst both were decent enough horsemen, it had been many years since either had ridden, and Garet hurt in places he hadn’t in a long time.

Not that the horses weren’t suffering from being pushed hard too, but Garet was somewhat unsympathetic to their plight. They had belonged to those bloody assassins, and whilst they were, of course, blameless, Garet found it hard to forgive them for their part in Serina’s abduction.

They held the reins of the four mounts as they walked down a short track jutting off the trade road toward a farmhouse Dralen had pointed out. A gate barred their way, so they hitched the horses to a railing.

The main house was a shabby affair. The gently glowing light emanating through its windows in the early dusk strangely did little to alleviate its overall unwelcoming visage. Likely it wasn’t used to many visitors beyond the farmers who worked the fields and the neighbouring inhabitants of a small village that was built next to a lake just south of their position.

The horses whinnied nervously as Wolfy and Scar bounded over but had gotten sufficiently used to their canine travel companions that they didn’t rear in terror or try to bolt.

‘Where’s Serina?’ Garet asked, and they set to sniffing the ground, trying to pick up her scent. After a few minutes, they returned, whining sadly.

‘Damnit,’ Garet growled. ‘They haven’t had her scent since Northtown, and no one we’ve met today has seen riders with a girl either. What if Janos was wrong? Maybe we should backtrack, leave the road and just keep riding until the wolves pick up the trail,’ he said, reaching for the reins again.

Dralen shook his head.

‘Listen, Garet. I might joke around, but I know how important this is to you. Nevertheless, we have to keep our strength up. You, me, and those damned dogs. We need to eat, or we’ll be in no fit state to face Serina’s captors when we catch them. That food you stuffed in your pack is almost all gone, and I have some money. So, let’s find whoever owns this place and see if we can buy some dinner and something for the road while we’re here. Then we’ll decide which way to head.’

Garet sighed and looked to the sky before turning his gaze back to Dralen.

‘I hate it when you’re right, so let’s make it quick. There’s another two hours of good riding to be had till sunset!’

‘I hope whoever owns this place has some ale. We’ll sleep better later after a good drink,’ Dralen laughed.

‘I don’t drink anymore.’

‘So I understand, but I do, so let’s go and meet the owners.’

Garet stomped toward the farmhouse entrance, Wolfy and Scar at his heels.

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