Ardent by Florian Armas

Author:Florian Armas [Armas, Florian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-12T22:00:00+00:00

***

The same day I arrived home, in Severin, a courier came with a short letter from Jara: ‘Please come; Fate has smiled on us.’

“What is so pressing?” I asked the courier.

“I am just a courier,” he laughed.

“Read this,” Jara said the moment I entered her office, and I realized with a start that she looked almost happy. “No,” she grabbed the letter from my hand. “It’s too long. Aunt Agatha decided to make Saliné her heir. She has only one condition, to see Saliné and Vio before signing the papers to pass Valeni to Saliné.”

“Congratulation,” I said. “What has this to do with me?”

“Who do you think our Lead Protector will be? You will have three weeks to take Saliné back.”

“I doubt it.”

“You can’t refuse me.” Jara smiled, and placed her hands on my shoulders. “You can’t.”

“No, I can’t,” I shrugged; their safety was indeed mine to protect. “I will be your Lead Protector, but don’t ask me anything else. When do we leave?”

“In a week. We need a bit of reshuffling of our wardrobes.”

“Nothing I can help with,” I said and left the room.

I made plans for leaving, trying to stay as much as possible away from Severin castle. Like for the previous embassy that I led to Deva, I asked for Vlaicu, Ban and the same other two guards. Mohor accepted with no complaints, but I got only one of them. The second guard had died in Mehadia, the year before, and Vlaicu had to replace him. Jara’s and Saliné’s wardrobe was ready faster than I expected. Not that I could understand their need for new things. No one in Valeni would know that one dress or another had already been already worn … once, at I don’t know which party in Severin.

It was the day before our departure, and I decided to see Jara for the final preparations. There is always at least one thing which doesn’t go as planned. From the window of my bedroom, I saw Garland riding through the forest behind my house toward the small path going west to meet the main road to Leyona. It was early morning, and he must have left Severin at dawn. There were not many who knew about that small path through the forest, mostly just locals, and he was a stranger, who had come to Severin just two months ago, when Mohor tried to replenish his guards lost in last year’s war. I considered Garland being a good choice. He was skilled with the sword and resembled more a Knight than a soldier. His mind was as quick as his sword. Once, I heard Vlaicu say that in time Garland will be promoted, and Vlaicu was not an easy man to impress.

What is Garland doing here? Instinctively, my hand touched the Wing Talisman. It vibrated in my hand, and the feel that something was wrong grew inside me. I ran down the stairs. My horse was ready, and Severin could wait.

“I go over the hill,” I told Vlad, who was entering the house.

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