The Witch's Retribution

Chapter 7

"Should you be traveling, Milady? You did fall pretty hard during the tournament." Lily glanced back at Owen as she tugged on the saddle's straps, the horse giving an impatient snort as she took her time with the simple task. She caught the hint of a smug smile on the other knight's face before it fell away with real concern. "Seriously, you look awful."

The courtyard was just waking up for the day, the sun a dim circle on the horizon, so there was no one to see the halfhearted glare she gave her companion. "I know I look awful; you don't have to point it out."

"If you're ill, you really shouldn't be traveling. Does our prince know about this?"

"I--" She had left her and Liam's bed early enough that he was still fast asleep, his arms curled around one of his pillows. It would be a little while longer before Xan woke him, the two of them falling into their steady routine they had perfected over the years. Lily couldn't remember the last time she had witnessed their early morning banter. She usually welcomed dawn at the top of the turrets, fighting back both the uneasy twisting in her stomach and the restlessness that kept her awake. "I'm not ill."

"It's not surprising if you are." Owen's boots scuffed the dusty ground like he was purposely dragging his feet. A few servants passed them as he whispered. "There's some sort of outbreak in the outer villages, and even a few here have caught it, including Garrett."

"An outbreak?" She had inquired about the senior knight nearly a week ago when his absence from the tournament brought forth concern from both herself and the other knights, but the outbreak was news to her.

"Yeah. I don't know much about it, but I hear it's claimed a few lives already."

Owen's bare arm accidentally brushed hers, and the sudden warmth made her all too aware of the chill descending on them. With whatever was happening in Pierake, an outbreak was the last thing they needed. It could simply be idle rumors from late nights at the tavern, but if there was some sort of illness spreading through the kingdom, it might explain what was happening to her. She had been ill before, of course, but nothing more serious than a quick cold that always vanished before morning. What she experienced now seemed more serious, more concerning.

"Am I late?" A soft voice brought her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Andrew walking towards them, holding the reins of two horses--one the color of mud and the other of chestnut.

"No, no." Lily waved Owen away, and he stepped away from her, his cheerful smile expelling the serious air around them.

He clapped a heavy hand on Andrew's back, nearly knocking the slighter man over. Being nearly a head shorter, Andrew had to look up to glare at the older knight. "Thanks for bringing me my horse," Owen said, "although that is what the servants are for."

Andrew thrust the reins of the chestnut horse into Owen's hand. "In case you've forgotten, we're not royalty. The servants are busy with other things."

Owen opened his mouth to reply before his eyes caught a movement on the edge of the courtyard. "Lily."

Lily's eyes caught the shape of a woman walking towards them, a black horse following obediently behind her. Though Lily herself and the other two knights wore only the simplest of tunics and pants, the dark-skinned woman was dressed in an armored skirt and a leather tunic over her chainmail. Worn armor boots snaked up her long legs with two knives strapped to the inside of each thigh. Her left arm was bandaged neatly, though she moved as if the injury was not even there. No longer covered in blood and dust, the woman shone with beauty, the kind most women found themselves envious over.

Brilliant golden eyes flicked from one knight to the other, her inky hair cascading down her shoulders as she held her head high. "My name is Aisha." She said, her rough accent showing through a lot more clearly now. "I'll be accompanying you to Railark."