Chapter 72

Sep 05, 2023

Cassis had also been staring straight at me. After allowing the falcon to fly off, he began walking toward me.

“Didn’t I tell you to lie down and rest?” Despite the frigid outdoor air, his voice carried and it was far from cold.

I detected a trace of concern in his eyes, then they began to twinkle as if he was preparing to speak again, but I cut him off. “Please tell me where we are going and where we are now.”

The fact that he answered me without hesitation suggested that he wasn’t trying to be mysterious or hide anything. “We are currently in a region called Frederica, but after another half day’s ride, we should be completely clear of the high plains.”

I knew the region well enough, so I surmised that we were likely heading to the Pedelian stronghold. I had suspected as much since regaining my consciousness, but seeing it for myself was unsettling, nonetheless.

I addressed Cassis while gazing coolly at him. “So... Am I a hostage? Loot? Something like that?”

The Agrece compound had gone up in a raging fire. Its territory had been wracked by irreversible devastation. Even with my muddled memories, those images stood out sharper than thorns. The person who had been responsible for visiting the mansion in the midst of such calamity was Cassis, and the person who had opened the way to allow such a thing to happen was me.

I struggled to erase these two facts from my mind. Though, in truth, I didn’t especially regret how everything had played out. I had known Cassis might make a public appearance at the goodwill gathering, thus the possibility of a future attack on the Agreces by the Pedelians would be imminent.

In fact, it was that assumption that spurred my actions against Lante since I knew the Pedelian forces’ role would be crucial to ensuring the complete destruction of the Agrece territory. As I took in all the armored knights at Cassis’ side, I recognized that they were evidence my scheme had worked as I had envisioned.

The only part that was off was my being there as well. If it wasn’t already obvious, on the day I had planned to destroy my clan, I had also intended to disappear on my own.

“I demand to know for what purpose you’ve brought me here.”

Cassis looked at me without answering. At first, his eyes appeared to betray no emotion, but then I noticed a glint of... something. It had come and gone so quickly that there was no way for me to guess what it might mean. Then without warning, his hand was coming toward me. The warm touch of his fingertips gently gliding from over my eyebrow down past my cheek made the corners of my eyes quiver involuntarily. To this day I’m not sure why, but I felt my face actually harden at his gentle caress.

“Your fever’s up again.” He spoke calmly as everyone else stared at us. Cassis, however, seemed completely oblivious to their gawking. Taking his hand away from my face, he tilted his head backward to issue an order. “We’ll make camp here tonight, Isidore.”

“Will do, sir.” Isidore had been standing behind his master the entire time.

Then Cassis returned his attention to me. “Perhaps you’re so feverish that you don’t even notice the cold. You do realize that you aren’t appropriately dressed for this weather, don’t you?”

Had there been a scolding or chiding tone to his voice, I would have known how to respond in an instant.

“You haven’t changed a bit,” he continued. “You’re still as careless as ever with your own health.”

But all I could hear was genuine concern. Thus, I stood there speechless and unable to make a single retort. Then, before I could regain my wits, he was on me. Or to be precise, his cloak was.

He cinched it shut so tightly that not even a puff of wind could sneak through. As soon as the cloak was secure, he hoisted me off the ground as if it were the most natural thing to do despite all the onlookers and myself being stunned into silence. He held me as easily as might have handled a small bale of hay as he made his way straight for the carriage I had originally disembarked.

I was in such shock that I honestly couldn’t think of a single word to say. Once inside the carriage again, he laid me across the seats again, then grabbed the sable-lined blanket that had been covering me before I woke up to tuck me in again.

The softness and warmth seemed to make my head swim, so when I finally managed to speak again, my voice was rather faint. “Are you sure you don’t need to tie me up as well?”

Cassis took another glance at me, then answered, “So is that the sort of thing you’re into? I regret to inform you that I’m not, but if you insist... I’ll consider it in the future.” It was painfully obvious that he was twisting the meaning of my words in an attempt to make a joke, so I asked more pointedly a second time.

“What if I run away?”

“Then I’ll just have to retrieve you.”

For a moment, I was stumped and unable to comprehend what his exact purpose could be for detaining me. I’m sure most would expect an abductor to say “recapture” rather than “retrieve” after all.

Before continuing to speak, he placed his hand over my eyes. “Just stop worrying yourself with silly thoughts that will probably only make your fever worse.”

Right then I thought he must be telling the truth since his touch felt cool on my forehead.

After a moment, he added in a gentle whisper, “Don’t worry about anything. There’s nothing more for you to concern yourself with now.”

I couldn’t help noting that the rhythm of his voice seemed to serve as a soothing balm for the turmoil churning inside me. As the feeling that I could postpone worrying for the time being settled in, I began to relax. Thoughts of my mother and Jeremy, my curiosity as to what befell Lante and the rest of my extended family, and my overall interest in the fate of the Agrece clan and its people all seemed to fall silent at the sound of Cassis’ words.

Between the person sitting next to me and the number of knights outside of my carriage who belonged to the Blue clan, there was no denying that I was surrounded by enemies. Yet truth be told, I felt more at ease among them than I ever had been within my own home. As my consciousness began to drift, I thought how funny that was.

* * *

Knock, knock.

“Miss, are you awake?”

I had indeed already awoken. In truth, I was sort of amazed at myself, but not in a good way seeing as I had fallen into such a deep slumber despite my situation. This time, an unfamiliar voice was calling out to me. It was low and calm, but quite soft.

Since I was awake, I opened the carriage door. As soon as I did, I was met by a pair of navy-blue eyes under a head of olive-colored hair.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

As I hesitated to respond, I noticed the visitor’s expression relax a bit. It really was only a tiny bit, but it seemed to suggest relief at finding me awake. With such short hair and such a serious voice, it was hard to be sure when I first opened the carriage door, but there was no doubt that my newest visitor was a woman.

It wasn’t all that surprising that there was a female knight within Cassis’ troops. It was common practice in the Black clan to enlist capable women into the warrior ranks as well. What had caused my hesitation was something else entirely.

“If you’re hungry, I can prepare something for you.”

“Where’s Cassis?” I asked.

“He and Baron Winston are away at the moment. I, uh... I was told to check to see if you were awake and to bring you anything you might need.”

I didn’t recognize the name “Baron Winston” and wondered if he was Isidore. Of course, that was only a fleeting thought as it was hardly important. What seemed far more critical in that moment was where and how I stood with everyone there. Especially since one of Cassis’ underlings had to address me directly. I could sense she was unsure of what would be the best way to do so, and truthfully I was experiencing the same struggle in trying to determine what tone to take with someone who was his inferior.

“If you like, I can bring some food for you to eat here in the carriage. They’ve already begun to prepare it, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I decided not to bother with any formalities and answered in a casual tone since I had never spoken formally to anyone below my station before.

Honestly, I thought it would actually seem stranger if I had used a more formal tone with them when I didn’t even use one with their leader. Nor was I ever going to do so with Cassis Pedelian. Thankfully, the woman didn’t seem all that concerned with how I spoke to her. She nodded her head once, then closed the carriage door again.

Once again, I sat alone in the dark silence. The olive-haired woman’s unchanging expression and demeanor reminded me of Emily. The last time I had seen her was when I gave her the order to find my mother and get her to safety.

I seemed to have only just started to think of them when the carriage door opened once again. Just as she had said, the food must have been nearly ready when she had first come to check on me.