Chapter 30

I had been on horseback for the better part of the morning. Leaving the city of Maple had been a rather tedious affair. We had gone through the forest to avoid the roadblocks. There wasn’t a clear path, so we needed to go on foot, holding our horses’ reins. We were now making our way to Perch to meet with the rebel leaders. Gideon had offered to accompany me and serve as a liaison between the leaders and myself. He had assigned one of his men to stay with Xander while conducting his investigation. Xander would then meet us in Perch once his business in Maple was concluded.

I had felt it was better to leave the city since it was under the watch of Mr. Hawk. If his ability was as good as Diana’s, I feared that if I slipped up, I would get caught, or worse, that Xander would somehow expose himself while trying to protect me. I saw him act on impulse at the baron’s manor. I was a liability to him in that situation. Not to mention that the baron’s men had kept a close eye on us since our arrival in his district.

I had had the distinct feeling that some men were keeping tabs on us. They had watched where Xander had moved our small party in the city.

In Maple, there had been a building where they had rooms to let. We had only taken one room, and we all slept together. There was no point in taking multiple rooms since Diana and I headed off to Perch the following morning. Xander and Leo could keep the room for themselves after we left.

I wore riding pants and a blouse, protected by a thick woollen cloak. The snow-covered hood was over my head, hiding my face so I could pass for a random strider amongst the people folk of that town. No one even cared to glance my way. The disguise had been perfect for blending in.

The detour in the forest had us go up in the mountains. Gideon had said that it was longer, but at least we wouldn’t get stopped by the patrols. The air had been colder the further we climbed up the steep walls of the mountainside. I was glad to have put a double pair of socks in the leather boots I was wearing, or else my feet would have been frozen in the deep snow that covered the frozen ground.

The horse they gave me was a lovely gelding with brown and white spots. My horse was gentle when riding and wasn’t afraid as I steered it under thick bushes or tree branches. It had a sure footing, which helped me go back on the horse once we were up the mountain. The uneven terrain of the cliffs made me nervous. If my horse lost its balance, it would be a long and killing plunge towards the rocky bottom.

We had finally reached a clearing and stopped to let the horses graze a bit. I help mine by sliding my foot over the snow, allowing the grass beneath the snow bed to stick out.

“We’re halfway out of the forest, Ida. It shouldn’t take too long before we can reach the road that will lead us to Perch.” Gideon said as he passed me the water skin.

“Will we be able to reach Starling Castle by nightfall?” I glanced towards Diana, who had been having a hard time with her horse. The animal was easily frightened and had caused us much pain during the cliff pass. They had eventually tied the horse to Gideon’s and blindfolded it so it could follow without distractions or throwing Diana off its back. Her gun powder-coloured mare was now calmly eating beside mine.

“Yes. We should be out of the forest by the start of the afternoon, and if we make good time, we should be within the confines of Starling Castle before darkness falls.”
“Perfect.” I hated the idea of riding in pitch-black surroundings. The moon had waxed, but it still offered little light at night.

Once we had replenished our bellies with water and dried jerky, we continued our way down from the mountain. The weather was warmer near the bottom, and it made my cloak soak up all the water from the melting snow on my shoulders. I hoped the climate would keep being hot since my blouse was also becoming wet. At least the wool kept the heat close to my body.

It had been a long time since I rode on a horse. My thighs chafed from the saddle. My butt was numb, and my knees hurt from trying to keep myself steady while we descended the rocky wall.

We hit a dirt path, wide enough for a single form, which eventually spilled on a nice open road. I guessed that this was the way to Perch. We moved at a nice pace. We were lucky that the snow had melted, and the route was clear, or else this journey would have been longer.

When the sun went down, another group of riders met us. I could see their black forms advancing towards us. I looked at Diana and Gideon with apprehension. Was it a patrol? I couldn’t quite discern how many they were, but they were rapidly progressing.

Diana and I lifted our hoods up and covered ourselves as best we could with our heads down.

Once the distance closed between us, they halted.

“Look at the sky,” hailed one man.

“And you’ll see the red-winged cardinal fly.” Replied Gideon in acknowledgment.

There were a few whispers between the group before the man that shouted to us moved his horse beside Gideon and offered him his hand. He had a wide grin on his face when Gideon pulled the man into an embrace.

“Long time no see, my friend! I hoped you fared well while I was gone?” Gideon bellowed at the rider.

“We’ve been keeping busy, but I sure missed you bringing us trouble with the crown. It’s been too long.” The man laughed in reply.

He must have been around my age, maybe a couple of years older at the most. He had a kind face with eyes in a surprisingly deep, clear blue that reminded me of the ocean. I thought they were stunning.

“Silas,” Gideon turned toward me, “may I present her royal highness, Princess Cressida Cardinal.”

The man—Silas, looked at me with his mouth open. His blue eyes went wide. The silence was unsettling. Even the breeze passing through the trees had stopped. He dismounted his horse, placed a knee to the ground, and bowed his head.

“Milady, it is an honour to meet you.”

Many of the men followed suit, making me blush. I had not felt this conscious of myself in weeks. I removed my hood and tilted my head in respect to their show of regard.

“Please, call me Ida.”

Silas looked over at Gideon, who shrugged. He had fought long and hard to call me by what he felt was my proper title, but he eventually resigned and called me by my preferred name each time I met him with resistance. I wasn’t ready to embody Cressida just yet. I still wanted the safety of being Ida.

Diana had presented herself as my servant maid. I sent her an irritated look since it wasn’t true. I was about to interject, but she placed a hand on my forearm and shook her head. I pressed close to Diana, making our horses walk side by side.

“I don’t know what they want with you, so if they think I’m your maid, they’ll let me stay with you.” She whispered as Silas’s men flanked us to continue toward our destination.

I was happy she didn’t want to leave me alone, but she had the same concerned look Xander had given me before we departed, and it made me worry. Meeting with the rebellion also left me with an anxious feeling. I, too, didn’t know what they wanted from me, and I feared that they may want to keep me within their grasp, like a bird locked in its cage.

As we continued our way, my thoughts went to Xander. Since the baron incident, we had not genuinely spoken, and I regretted leaving him without a proper farewell. I knew he felt awful about what had happened at the baron’s house. He had kept his distance, and it had made me more miserable than I cared to admit. I could feel his tornado of emotions through our bond. It enhanced tenfold ever since I had marked him. Since the connection was now stronger, I kept being hit by waves of anxiousness and anguish in the likes I had never sensed in the past, ultimately leaving me in a sour mood. I felt guilty for making him feel this way, but I had not found the time to let him know that all was forgiven with his early departure in the morning or his late arrival during the night.

His investigation with Mr. Hawk for the rebel warehouse took all his spare time. I was sure that Xander knew precisely where it was, and he simply wanted to make a good show for his and Hawk’s report. It was driving me crazy to be this far from him. However, I held on to the feel of his heartbeat through our mate bond and hoped he would return by my side in a few short days once they concluded their business. I just wished everything went smoothly. Goosebumps raised the hairs on my arms just thinking about the hunter. His cold, almost lifeless stare still haunted my mind.

I rode my horse up a hill, and once at the top, a vast valley lay before me. In the center of it stood a massive pile of rubble. The stones were inside a wide moat, and you could see some telltale signs of old stone walls still standing, but the entirety of what was once Starling Castle was a crumpled mess on the ground. Everything had been destroyed. The outside village was in the same decrepit state and looked burned down and abandoned. Some charred skeletal remains were still somewhat visible beneath fallen walls, but snow, vines and odd patches of frozen grass had covered most of them. The others must have been taken by wild beasts over the years. The sight of it all made me want to cry. The valley was desolated.

I knew Cardinal Castle had been lightly sacked during the uprising. It comforted me to know that it still stood since the Usurper sat on my father’s throne, but seeing all this destruction made me ask myself if the citizens of Cardinal city had suffered the same fate as the ones we were passing through.

I wiped the tears gliding down my face and held my head high while taking in the sadness and fear, and anger that had seeped through the grass and snow-covered dirt.

“Starling Castle was very loyal to your father. There was even talk of marrying the Starling heir to you, Princess.” Silas’s voice was sullen.

I had known that my father had intended to wed me to the son of a lord, but it was the first time I learned to whom. There was a pang in my heart. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“They were attacked almost simultaneously as Cardinal city. Every lord loyal to King Cardinal suffered an attack and was killed that day. Osprey’s army came here during the night and burned everyone in their homes. Those who could escape hid in the castle but were crushed when the catapults brought down the outside walls. The others that survived the first blast died soon after when the castle collapsed.” Silas whispered sadly. “The few that made it to the underground tunnels could flee near the coast.” He pointed at the extensive mountain range in the far distance. “The tunnels lead to the other side of that mountain there.”

“You speak as though you were there.”

“I was,” he replied grimly, “I am Silas Starling, son of the late Duke Starling.”

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you are enjoying this novel. Thanks for taking the time to read it!