A Shade of Vampire 37: An Empire of Stones(37)

I agreed. If there was an island holding oversized birds in the ocean, then it would have been reported by now. Instead, the creatures had gone unnoticed by everyone but that small boy…which meant that they could come and go in secret. And a portal was the most efficient way to do that.

“Let’s return to The Shade. We need more witches for this one—trying to locate a portal in the North Atlantic Ocean isn’t going to be easy.”





Ruby





I didn’t let up on the pace as I traveled the single road to Queen Trina’s kingdom. The forests and meadows rushed past me in a blur, and I hung on for dear life as the bull-horse’s brute strength cantered along.

Part of me still wished that I was with Varga, making my way back to Hazel and Benedict and Hellswan castle. But I also knew that I couldn’t live with myself if I ignored the multiple warnings I’d had about Queen Trina, and stood by doing nothing while Ash got further and further entwined in her kingdom.

Hazel would understand; she would do the same thing for Tejus—I knew she would. But it still didn’t make me feel much better. I did wonder why Tejus hadn’t confronted the queen. If both he and Varga were wary of her, and Trina had already crossed a line by trying to undermine Tejus in the trials, why hadn’t they done more to stop her? Was it something to do with her and Tejus’s romantic history? It seemed like a poor excuse to me. The only conclusion I could come to was that they were trying to avoid an all-out war between the two kingdoms…but if that was the case, then it seemed strange to me that most of the ministers seemed to remain on courteous terms with the queen, from what I’d seen at the trials.

It was baffling.

And my butt was starting to hurt. I could see the Seraq palace in the distance, and figured that I was probably okay to slow down to a trot. The bull-horse was panting heavily now anyway, and the last thing I wanted was for it to collapse on the ground, only miles from the relative safety of Ash.

I relaxed my hold on the reins as we moved at a steadier pace. My body was in agony from the ride, and I flexed my arms and hands, trying to shake out the tension. We turned a bend in the road, bringing us onto more arid land, with bushes and rocks rather than the thick forests that had surrounded me for most of the journey. It was warmer here too—the sun shone down brightly, a far cry from the gloom of Hellswan. I was starting to almost enjoy the ride when a carriage clattered up the road behind me.

Before I could start to canter again, remembering Varga’s warning, the carriage was almost level with my bull-horse. I recognized the insignia on the body of the carriage—it was the same decoration as the carriage I’d ridden out of Queen Trina’s kingdom.

“It appears you are back already, human.” Queen Trina smiled from the window of the carriage, her copious amounts of gold jewelry gleaming in the sunlight.

Damn.

I had no idea what to do. Instinctively, I wanted to continue galloping toward the palace, racing to reach Ash, but I also knew that I had to keep the woman in the dark. Ash wouldn’t just leave the kingdom on a few words of warning from Commander Varga, or the suspicions I had—he’d heard them and ignored them already. Which meant I would need to stay with him, living in the palace until I had gathered enough concrete evidence for Ash to believe me when I said she was up to no good.

“Hello, your highness.” I nodded back to her, taking the decision to make polite small talk until she got bored and hurried off to her home. “I’m just visiting Ash.”

“You left yesterday. I hope the fires didn’t trouble you too much—terrible tragedy for the Hellswan kingdom.”

“I managed to escape them. I stayed at the Memenion kingdom.” I stated.

Her eyes lit up briefly, and her smile became wider.

“How interesting,” she mused. “Though I am so very glad you’ve chosen to return here, Ruby. Ash has been missing you.”

I wondered where Ash was. Two ministers drove the carriage, leaving Queen Trina in the compartment. I sincerely hoped he was still back in the palace, and I wouldn’t be left alone when I arrived.

“Thank you, your Highness,” I murmured, hoping the conversation would now come to a close.

“That creature looks rather uncomfortable to ride. They’re not really made for creatures of your size, I suppose. Why not join me in here? There’s plenty of space.”

No, thanks.

“Thank you,” I replied as graciously as I could. “But I need to stay with the horse—it doesn’t belong to me. I can’t just abandon it.”

“Well, of course not!” she replied gaily. “One of my ministers will ride it back to the palace while you and I enjoy a more leisurely experience.”