Tribal Queen Book 1

Chapter 14

Zu kept looking for Reyn, the ceremony time was getting closer, and yet she was nowhere to be found. A scout came running to him, panting and covered in dirt and sweat.

"Zu, master Zu! I heard a rumor that she is being held by a tribe to the south of us. The one where they refuse to come to court!"

Zu's eyes flashed dark. "Who told you?"

The scout drank a glass of water, then continued. "I overheard two of the village girls talking about the 'white-haired murderer' as they walked along the river. When I asked them what had happened, they took off in the direction of that village."

Zu informed the council of what he had been told, then he gathered a group of skilled warriors to go find their queen. He left a few guards to make sure Hunter stayed safe in his room. Hunter hesitated but allowed them to shut him up in the Royal bedchambers, unaware that Reyn was missing. Zu didn't want to spread panic until there was a need for it.

Willow was allowed entrance into the bedchamber, she told the guards that she would take charge of keeping Hunter calm and act as a trusted servant for him. Zu nodded giving her permission to be there, then he left. At least the guards could keep both Willow and Hunter safe now at the same time. And he trusted in the fear that Willow had from making the queen angry to keep her from touching Hunter again. The thought had crossed his mind once or twice if he was being honest with himself. Would she be able to remain faithful?

Zu and his men charged out through the main gates of the city, and guards posted there along with some of the stronger servants pushed them closed. They would attempt to remain safe while most of the armed guards went to bring Reyn back in one piece. Zu and his men charged into the village, sending men and women running in every direction. Zu then saw a man who looked exactly like the person who almost destroyed their realm. He felt like he had just seen the ghost of Tau.

The man spoke to Zu as if he knew him, "Ah Zu, you have come for your queen, have you? I fear you are too late. Between the star metal and the sun, I can only imagine she is close to death."

Zu charged at him and his sword hit him across the chest plate. Lau looked at the large dent left by the brute. He pulled off the damaged chest plate and tossed the star metal blade between his hands. Zu had never heard of star metal before, but that doesn't mean that the iridescent metal of that blade wasn't what Lau said it was. Zu hit the man again in the chest, but a sharp pain ripped through him. The star metal blade pierced his chest plate and cut into him just below the rib cage. His men grabbed him and started to carry him back to the city where Vai could tend to his wound and try to save his life.

"The... Queen... Find her!" And then Zu blacked out from the pain. The guards not carrying their leader back to the city took off in the direction of the old slave crosses. Reyn had ordered them all taken down or burned. But a few still remained. They knew the exact location of these because they would patrol the area making sure no one was being tortured. They saw her from a distance, hanging from a wooden cross high above the ground. The men pushed the cross over, catching it before it hit the ground and laying it down gently. They pressed a hand to her neck to check for a pulse, and it was faint... but it was there.

"Thank the Goddess. Now get her off of there and back to Vai!" One of the men said he was an officer of the guards, directly below Zu in rank.

Back at the palace while all of this was going on, Willow was attempting to teach Hunter about what to expect from the bonding ceremony. Hunter's eyes went wide when she told him about the last step. Vai would follow Hunter and Reyn into a tent near the large bonfire where she would be present while Hunter and Reyn joined their bodies together. Once they reached the highest pleasure and both had their release Vai would say a blessing prayer and ask the gods that Reyn conceive a child.