The Veil of Trust by S Usher Evans

Author:S Usher Evans [Evans, S Usher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sun's Golden Ray Publishing
Published: 2019-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

After a quick stop at the weapons hut for knockout powder and a crossbow, I ran as fast as my feet could take me, a thousand different thoughts running through my mind. Mostly, that my movements weren't accompanied by the telltale whistles. We had no scouts in the trees, and so I had no idea what had been passing through my forest. Oh, but if we'd missed our one chance to catch the ond… All because I was too chicken to tell Jorad what to do.

I'd berate myself later; now, I needed to focus.

I arrived at the southern border, the dark open fields of Forcadel behind me. I shimmied up an old oak, resting in the branches and letting the foliage hide me. I settled in and waited, listening for the sound of hooves and carriages.

Instead, I got a pair of whistles. A shadow in the tree behind me, and one in front. Jax and Locke, just as I'd asked for. Finally, something had gone right.

The familiarity of this situation wasn't lost on me. Up in the trees, Locke in the next tree over, Jax whistling at me to pay attention. We'd all been here three years ago, the night I'd killed for the first time. It had been my first mission, and it had gone terribly wrong.

But as Nicolasa said, doing the wrong thing enough times taught me how to be different. I was confident that I could subdue whomever was in this carriage without killing them. I was confident in my aim. Confident in myself.

Jax's whistle echoed through the forest. Pay attention, idiot.

I cast him a look then readied the crossbow on the tree branch. I sent a silent prayer that there would be only a few guards, and we could resolve it without too much of a fight.

The sound of squeaking wheels reached my ears first, then the carriage made its appearance. There was one coachman on top with two large horses pulling what appeared to be a massive wagon. It could've been laden with ond, or it could've been filled with soldiers.

Jax whistled for me to prepare for my shot, and I caught his eye, nodding. With care, I aimed for the spot above the coachman's shoulder and released my arrow. The knockout powder did its job, and the man slumped over, even as the horses kept walking. Jax jumped from the tree to grab the reins, and Locke and I landed on the ground.

The carriage stopped and my heartbeat quickened as the door opened. I held up my crossbow. "Turn around and go back to Niemen. Your ond isn't wanted here anymore, and I doubt Queen Ariadna gave you permission to send it."

A familiar face popped out. "Brynna?"

I blinked. "Luard?"

The prince of Niemen—blond, handsome, tall, and mischievous—stepped out of the carriage, wearing a look of confusion. "You're the one accepting ond?"

"No?" I said. "You're the one bringing it to Beswick?"

"No?"

At that, we both grinned and walked toward each other. "Seems as though we had a similar mindset about these things," Luard said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.