Dark One Rising(59)

“If I could’ve just slipped further into Isamar, it might have saved me.”

“You are safe now, more so than if you had made it to Isamar. The towns are spread out far, and there is nothing between them but leagues of sand, and the heat can be unbearable.You may have been walking through the dunes a long time before you found a town, if you made it to one at all. The Isamarians are also very leery of strangers. They are a nomadic people, and they tend to be rough and uncivilized. You may have been considered a threat. It matters little anyway. You didn’t make it across the border. You were still in Aaralyn when you came to my campsite.”

She looked at him with surprise. “I thought I crossed over the border. Isamar is just over the river.”

“Yes, but you came out on the same side as you started. You never actually went across the river.”

She scowled, so he tried to make her feel better.

“That bump on the head would’ve made anyone delirious and create confusion. In your state it would have been difficult to orient yourself in the right direction. Don’t berate yourself. You were very smart to jump into the river to escape. You should be proud of yourself for surviving the fall. Most people would not have. They would’ve drowned.”

She lightened a bit at his words. She knew how to take care of herself, but maybe she was a bit too optimistic about just how well. “I have been taught a lot, but I guess I still need a little help.”

“We all do sometimes. I consider myself a great tracker, but you managed to slip by me more than once. I had to ask your friend Garreth which direction you were headed, and even then, you managed to evade me. I never thought to look for you at the river.”

A fear suddenly overtook her. “Is Conor alright? I had to leave him behind when that creature came after me. I didn’t want to, but he insisted.”

“He’s fine, Princess. He’s a resilient boy. He was shaken up but unharmed. The wraith and Fallon’s men left him alone. He was the reason I found out what was following you.”

“Why did they leave him alone?”

“A wraith belongs to whatever master calls him from the depths. He will only do what they are told and are relentless in their tasks. His goal was finding you, period. No one else mattered to him.”

She was relieved, but only for the moment. “Why are we going to Azlyn?”

“King Dainard has agreed to hide you in the Keep. Your brother thought it would be a safe place for you where Fallon and his men would not think to look. They will eventually figure it out, but for now, it’s the best option.”

She thought about that for a moment, then recalled in her memory stories about King Dainard and his escapades when it came to partying and women. It may be safe from Fallon’s spies, but would it be safe from a rogue who seems to have a hypnotizing effect on women? She certainly didn’t want to feel trapped under his protection. It would be no different than being trapped under Fallon’s hand.

“Are you sure that I’ll be safe at Drydon Keep?”

“It’s formidable. It can and will withstand a great deal of pressure. It can hold back an army’s attack, and the king has troops that are equal to Fallon’s.”

That’s not what she meant, but didn’t say so. They rode alongside each other but said nothing else. As the up and down motion of her horse’s steps lulled her, she had a chance to think about things. Fallon was after her for marriage. He was powerful, and now, hearing the stories of the people and Alekzand’rs’ account of the creature that followed her, she was sure he had to be evil. A marriage would gain him nothing except more land and power over it. Her father was not himself, but Kevaan would make sure Fallon didn’t gain what he wanted. She understood that he wanted her in order to connect the two realms, but if he was as powerful and evil as everyone thought, why would he need a marriage. He could just overthrow her father and take the province for himself. The army that was under her father was almost as large as Fallon’s, but if he could use dark forces, that would put her father’s army at a disadvantage. The people were looking to her father and Kevaan to protect them, but she was becoming more sure that they couldn’t. Things would happen, and when it did, she would be in the middle. But why?

She was jerked out of her musings by Alekzand’rs’ horse butting up to hers. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him.

“Are you up to riding hard, Princess, because we need to run.”

“Why?”

She followed his gaze behind them and saw a group of at least ten men on horseback, the mud flying into the air with every hoof beat. They had black tabards and the green gryphon of the Rommel house, and they were gaining on them fast.