We finally arrive at Frostfire. Throughout the journey, the king has been in a foul mood, and Celestia and I are clueless as to why. We land in a snowy clearing deep within the forest. Our Skyreaper touches down gracefully, followed by the rest of the fleet.
"Daegon, set up my tent, now," Caspian orders, jumping off the Skyreaper. Two guards assist Celestia and me as we disembark.
Daegon, the leader of the king's guard, nods and gets to work, grabbing the bags that were being thrown down.
"What's been bothering you, Cas?" Celestia asks her twin brother.
"Nothing. Fuck, Cel, just leave me alone," he snaps, pushing past us and disappearing into the crowd.
"He's under a lot of stress," I reassure Celestia, though we both know something else is going on. Caspian has been in a sour mood for days.
"Let's go set up our tent away from him," Celestia suggests with an eye roll, grabbing some bags from the Skyreaper. I follow her, and we make our way to a quiet spot amidst the trees.
"I like the peace and quiet before a battle," Celestia confesses as we start setting up our shared tent.
"I doubt we'll get much of that once the battle starts," I say, trying to hide my fear. What if I don't fare well in my first battle?
Celestia senses my worry and says, "You'll do great. Every warrior feels scared before their first battle, but I believe in your training these past few months. You are a badass, Kyla, don't doubt yourself."
"Thanks," I reply quietly, cautiously optimistic. We finish setting up the tent in silence. At first glance, it appeared to be a small tent, but as we stepped inside to arrange our bedding, I couldn't help but notice that the interior was surprisingly spacious, reminiscent of Celestia's grand bedchambers in the palace. It was a relief to have enough room for each of us to have our own space. I didn't want to complicate our friendship with any further intimacy.
Celestia retrieves a small satchel and canteen from one of the bags. "I brought us a light dinner so we can avoid dining with the men tonight. It's rare to see women involved in war and they will be drunk. They have their whores but I still try and avoid them the first night of camp. Men will fuck anything when they get too drunk and ready for battle."
"Men are disgusting," I say making a face. "And in my time, women aren't allowed to be in a war at all," It is a pity that the history books never mention what an amazing warrior Celestia is. Instead, they paint her as a mass murderer. A crazy woman.
"Don't get me wrong, it's still looked down upon, but not every woman is meant to be a housewife," she explains, taking a gulp from the canteen before handing it to me.
I eagerly take a sip, feeling the burning sensation of the alcohol soothing my parched throat. "Definitely not you," I say, smiling at her.
"No, not me," she replies, returning the smile. We enjoy a modest dinner of berries and jerky before we retire to bed, completely exhausted from our long journey.
The next morning, we wake at sunrise and quickly dress in our training gear. With the battle still days away, I know that I need to make the most of every practice opportunity.
As we step outside the tent, we're surprised to see Caspian engaged in a sparring session with one of our soldiers. I watch in awe as the king effortlessly blocks and dodges every attack. His sword moves with such speed that it's almost impossible to track. He delivers several powerful blows to the soldier's weapon before finally knocking him down.
"I hope you're better in battle than against your king," Caspian says, extending a hand to help the soldier up.
The soldier bows and walks away, likely to tend to his wounds.
YOU ARE READING
The Blood King
FantasyI don't want her blood staining my conscience, Caspian!" I yell at the king, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and sorrow. "It's not on your hands, Kyla! It's on mine! When I discovered she had poisoned you, I could have personally beheaded her...
