Dragon Knight-Commander (A Cullen Rutherford Shapeshifter Romance)

Chapter 5

The next day was clear and cold. By dusk there was little cloud cover and I received a message that the Commander required the Right Hand to be at the stables straight away.

I examined my appearance in the mirror. I'd trained hard most of the day with the daggers and spent the remainder in the hospital quarters, using my triangle hand to try and close up soldiers' wounds. Sometimes it worked. A trained mage was more efficient but when Cullen found out I could heal he encouraged me to practice. I looked tired and I wished I had some feminine clothes. They did exist in Thedas. I'd seen plenty of women wearing pretty dresses but because all I did was go out and slay demons or train with a bunch of men, it was leather leggings and thick, protective jackets for me. No wonder the Commander wasn't interested.

When I arrived, Cullen was waiting. He smiled and greeted me with, 'Right Hand.'

'Commander,' I said, smiling back.

Dennet who ran the stables, had given me the sweetest horse called Warrior Girl. She was a grey and therefore actually white, with a My Little Pony mane and a tail of silky, ribbony cream hair. I swung up into my saddle and led Warrior Girl to the bridge. I followed Cullen's lead and cantered after him along the mountain road to where it dipped sharply down towards the valley. The moon didn't provide much light so we let the horses pick their own route down.

'Commander, you know you were talking about Eden last night? Eden is also written about in a book from my time. It's written that Eden was a beautiful garden where all men came from. Adam and Eve. Are those names also in your history?'

'I studied Thedas History. Perhaps Eden does have those kings in their past. Tomorrow I'll take you to the library and we will explore the maps and books together.'

I smiled. Another date. Things were looking up. Or he was just being nice. Either way, any time spent with this new, lovely version of the Commander was something to look forward to. 'How long would it take to get to Eden from here?'

'Months and across a sea. And Cat, before you get any great ideas, you would not be welcome there. They would sniff out your magic and kill you before you made it into the port.'

Our horses reached the bottom of the mountain. We picked up some speed as Cullen led me through the sparse, snow-covered forest and around the mountain. We came to an abrupt stop. If Warrior suddenly halted, it usually meant darkspawn were about.

I looked at my hand. The triangle glowed. I held it up. We were surrounded by dozens of orange, glowing eyes.

Cullen jumped off his horse and drew his sword. He hacked away in the dark. I heard his sword meeting its objective, crunching through bone. They were probably those disgusting spiders the size of cows.

Warrior bucked up. I couldn't hold on and I landed on my side in a bush. She galloped away through the trees. I leapt to my feet and held my hand high. The triangle worked its usual magic. The spiders weren't moving. They let the Commander slaughter them to death.

I called out to Warrior.

'Are you alright? Did she get bitten?' shouted Cullen.

'I don't know.'

'She'll find her way back to Skyhold or she'll pick up our scent if she's lost. Can you see any more? Damn.' He grunted.

'I can't see anything. Are you alright?'

'Damn.' He said again. 'Bugger swiped my leg. How are your healing lessons coming along?

'Not good.'

He laughed and picked his way through the bloody carcasses. 'There's a clear spot the other side of these trees. We can stargaze from there. Up on my horse.'