Sovereign - The Dark Sorcerers: Book 2

Chapter 11: The Sound of Sirens on a Salty Breeze

Rowan

Five days into our journey to the Capital, the gusts of winds had become stronger and carried salty tears straight from the ocean in the West. They swept in our faces and mixed with the sweat trickling down our foreheads, cooling down our heated skin, bronzed by the relentless summer sun. Sometimes, when all was quiet and our immediate surroundings were devoid of any sign of human life, the soft, alluring Singing of a Siren tempted our ears. Fortunately, their Songs were too weakened by distance to be of actual harm.

Our company counted twelve people in total: the Elite team under my command, which consisted of Gale, Rissy, Anthony, Cecile and myself; General Waters and his second-in-command, Lieutenant general Tanner; my mother, whose former residency in Vallinstra would provide us with necessary inside information, according to the General; Ellie and Larry; and two colonels from different military academies who had been summoned to the King's emergency war council as well.

The Dwarfs, who had passed the basic trials for admission into our travel party, seemed profoundly impressed by the presence of so many high-ranked army officers. Especially Ellie flitted from one soldier to the next, hearing them out about their daily tasks in their respective military departments and their experiences on the battlefield. The majority of the soldiers loved to be the center of attention and to tell her about that long scar on their forearm or the enemy who had been the former owner of the saber attached to their weapon belt.

I rode next to Gale most of the time, since Rissy only talked to me when it was absolutely essential. Her short-sightedness bothered me more than ever. She had met the discovery of Kenna and I's relationship with nothing but skepticism and a lack of understanding, her prejudice against Dark Sorcerers overruling any form of empathy. Her rancorous attitude hurt, but not so much that I was prepared to make the first move in reconciling with her. For once, I understood how Kenna must have felt about the general negativity toward Dark Sorcerers.

Had I made her feel bad about herself too?

That question haunted my thoughts day and night. I remembered that she had been reluctant to tell me about her growing powers at first, because she had feared that I wouldn't understand. The guilt about her misplaced trust in me still pained me, to the point where my stomach twisted itself into a thousand knots. She had confided in me at last, yes, but I had betrayed her. I had left her. In the beginning, I had even meant to kill her if it ever came to that, although my frozen heart had never stood a chance against the mischievous twinkle in her beautiful eyes.

By the time I had realized what she truly meant to me, it had already been too late.

"You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" Gale's Western accent snapped me back to reality. I met his gaze, my brow somewhere between raised and quirked. He chuckled, his blue eyes sparkling with contagious amusement. "There's this sad look in your eyes when she's on your mind. I've never seen it on you before."

I inhaled a sharp breath, suppressing my irritation because he had seen right through me, as always. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I know, mate. Just know that you can."

I forced a smile on my lips, but even I knew that it looked far from genuine. While my face creased back into its usual cool expression, I recalled Amelia's parting words to me, Now you can put that smug grin onto your face again, big brother. If my plan works, you'll be reunited with your Sorceress soon enough.

Right. Remember the plan. Focus on more important matters in the meantime.

"How long are you and Rissy going to keep ignoring each other?" Gale asked. His fingers fumbled with the reins of his gray horse, a sign that he was worried about the continued silence between his two best friends.