Threads of Emerald

Threads of Treachery: Chapter 18

The Amber Castle was perched on a lush green hill, overlooking the western city of Liana, an hour or so's ride from the Silver Cove we'd arrived at.

I hated the sound of the rocks crunching under the horses hooves, the dust that seemed to wrap around me as the hooves flattened the rocky path which led through a sparse forest. Every crunch, snap of a twig and I was back in that wagon again, the reek of piss and filth filling my nostrils.

Trees lined the road, branches creating an archway a few feet above where we perched on the Nymares, the magenta of the corncockles weaving through the thick green. Garlic and rosemary perfumed the air, pungent and sickly as its scent wrapped around me, tighter than the arms Orion held around my waist.

I'd asked him why I was riding with him. The older guard, Emric I'd found out his name was, and the driver were lingering a few feet ahead of us. The carriage abandoned on the shores of the cove. Wren was seated on the Nymare beside us, his eyes scanning the breaks in the trees for ambushes or attacks.

"I presumed you would want to ride on the Nymare, instead of the horses. But they take a little to get used to, they can be a bit unpredictable on your first ride. I also presumed you didn't want to ride with Wren", he chuckled slightly as the rocky path became smooth, crushed limestone.

I hadn't responded to him, preferring the silence and the sound of the wind hissing through the leaves.

Ethan's scream filling my ears, my throat, brushing against my skin.

The limestone path led directly into the little town. The town was slightly bigger than my hometown but where there were market stalls and a wide square, there were densely packed houses.

Tall, multi-story houses made of smooth grey stone, a square of well-manicured grass outside of each and balconies jutting out of the upper stories. Ivy snaked around the steel pillars of the balcony of the house on my right, messy and unruly. The ivy on the balcony to my left clipped and shaped into an elegant archway over its front.

A scintilla of ease filled my lungs as I beheld the town, the rows of houses interrupted by the occasional shop, restaurant or café. I spied jam tarts and lemon pies in the display of a café. The grey traded for light pastels, pink, blue, purple, as we rode for the castle that jutted high into the midday sun, casting a buttery glow over the towering oak trees that made the hill look like a giant bush.

A few people waved from their balconies, Orion offered grateful smiles and waves. A young boy, no older than seven, knelt to the floor, one hand on his heart, silver pooling in his chestnut brown eyes as Orion gave him a slight nod, thanking him for his dedication.

My chest lightened a little. Orion was loved by his people. He was not the person he had been an hour ago, who'd cut off the airways of the young woman and man, who'd slaughtered the young woman as her lover watched.

Still, his callused palms felt foreign against my damp skin. His hard chest no longer a comfort as I leant against it, but rather a wall of unyielding stone as we made the incline up the steep hill.

We passed through the towering black gates, the guards posted on the battlements bowing deeply. The guard and the driver veered to the left, Wren and Orion stopped dead in the centre of the courtyard.

The walls of the castle pressed in on me as I took in my surroundings. Dirt and dust a thick blanket over the gravel, withering plants and weeds growing through the cracks in the path, lit torches placed at regular increments around the wall that was cast in shadow by the position of the sun.

Orion dismounted behind me, landing easily on his feet despite the large drop from the Nymare. Strong hands gripped my waist as I swung my leg over and landed on my feet, slightly unsteady as I stepped out of Orion's grasp.