(Completed) Seraphina [The Lost Queen Series: Book #1]

Chapter 12

"Make haste or wait..."
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"Caspian we need to warn everyone on this side. The wind is pushing it our way. Go ride ahead to the Inn and tavern, I'll go to the other village near here!" He nodded before storming down the path. This is bad... "Shade, I need you to run as fast as you can!" I steered him slightly towards the west as he quickly flew through the plains.

Glancing at the forest it was completely engulfed by the fire as the grass burned as well. Despite the little rain we got it didn't quench the fires hunger at all! If this keeps up the land will be turned to ruins like the Barletta Kingdom! I heard yelling ahead just as I spotted the village. I watched horsemen enter with torches as the houses went up in flames.

"Shade stop!" They didn't notice me as people began to run out of the village. The horseman didn't hesitate to slaughter them as they tried to escape. I couldn't do anything but watch the devastation seeing as there were at least 8 horsemen. They didn't loot anything however but there isn't much to take at this time of year.

One man kept his torch but as they began to leave he tossed it into the grass, sparking another fire. Time seemed to stretch as slowly moved closer to see if there were any survivors. The sight that greeted me made my stomach jolt. All the bodies were beheaded, including children and women.

This wasn't the work of bandits... At least they leave the woman and children alive to sell. Turning away I noticed something shimmer from where the horsemen came from. It wasn't close to the fire so I quickly jumped off Shade who began to panic. I quickly snatched it off the ground before jumping on his back as he calmed down a little.

Tapping his flank with my boots lightly he jolted forwards. The smoke and fire seemed to change as the wind pushed it west instead of south. As we raced through the plains a forest came into view along with the large tavern and stable. I could see a group of horses standing outside the stable. They had armor on them which meant they served the knights.

I doubt the knights have a good view of me... Quickly I guided Shade into the trees before we could be spotted. There were far too many of them to be here because of the fire... If you wanted to warn someone then they would send a lone rider. This seemed like a search of some sorts. Shade snorted as he caught his breath.

Lucky with the sun fading Shade blended in a bit better with the trees. Looking at the shiny thing in my hand I noticed that it was the Theron crest except slightly different. Looking at my sword it had the same crest except it was made of gold. My guess is that this was a royal crest but Caspian would be the one to know that.

As the light mixed with the black smoke in the sky an eerie feeling settled over the forest. It didn't feel like someone was watching me but... Looking around I noticed that the only sound was Shade's loud heartbeat. Patting him made it calm down a little but the silence was odd. I doubt any animals would still be here due to how close the fire came.

Yelling broke the silence as I got off Shade. I stayed in the shadows behind a tree as the men put up paper onto the wooden post before going to the other buildings. Caspian stood beside a woman at the tavern while Erron walked down over to the trees near me. He didn't enter the forest as he leaned up against a tree.

"What happened to the village?" He whispered as he looked down at the ground. A knight standing idly suddenly walked towards him with a smile on his face. "Hmm? Can I help you with anything?" I was completely hidden by the tree so it was impossible for him to spot me.

"Who are you talking to over here?" What a noisy man... "Since you're supposed to be guarding the prince I found it odd for you to suddenly leave his side to stand over here just to chat with a tree..."