The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 67

"There is no way I am letting you name me Mildred," she sneered.

Shade's horse walked several paces ahead of hers. He spoke without looking back. "I thought we agreed. If you get to name me, then I get to name you."

Elysia hung her head. "Yes but Hunter is a much better name than Mildred. It makes me sound like an old, ugly hag."

"Hunter is what you name a child who has absolutely no aspirations of ever amounting to anything resembling athleticism. Hunters are scrawny boys whose mothers hoped one day they grow to be big and strong, but never did."

"That was oddly specific," Elysia commented from behind. She urged her horse faster to match Shade's pace. They had been traveling all day and their moods were reflectant on that.

"I'm hungry," Elysia complained, her stomach voicing its concern.

"How did you survive on your own? It's only been seven hours since your last meal."

Elysia glared at him. "How do you remember everything to the last detail? Why are you so specific with everything you say? Can't you talk normally for once?"

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

She sunk into her saddle. "Sorry, that was a little much. I can be mean when I'm hungry--I get that from my father." It was true, everyone at the castle always made sure the King's belly was nice and full before announcing any bad news or requesting important decisions from him.

"We're almost to the next village. We can stop there for food. Then we need to keep moving through the night. I was hoping to have traveled further than this."

Unfortunately, mother nature had different ideas. It started snowing as they pulled into the next village. By the time they finished eating at the local pub, the snow was starting to come down harder.

Shade sighed. "Great." He checked them into the nearest inn, which was almost at maximum capacity.

"Business has been good with the militia coming through," the innkeeper announced happily. He was a large, bald man. His face was oily but his smile was jolly. He seemed genuinely pleased with his recent successes.

"Are they heading north or south?" Elysia couldn't help the question from popping out of her mouth. If they were going south that could mean trouble for them later.

Shade cleared his throat, stepping in front of her to prevent any further slip ups. "My wife always feels safer when we travel with large groups."

The innkeeper seemed unaffected by the inquiry. Elysia was relieved her question had not raised any suspicion. Perhaps they were being too paranoid. After all, these were simple civilians; people going about their lives normally. Why would they be suspicious of a young couple traveling through?

The man rubbed his enlarged stomach thoughtfully. "I believes they was going south next. That's the rumor anyway."

Elysia's stomach dropped. Just what they needed. An entire army traveling alongside them. It worried her how close they were moving to the border. Hopefully King Alan was sending his own troops to the Lyran border in case Niebla decided to invade. 

Shade grabbed their belongings and moved them up to their room for the night. This room was even smaller than the previous inn's. There bed was small, barely enough room for two, and there was a small dresser in the corner. That was it; no chair for Shade to rest. 

Elysia took a seat on the bed while Shade peered out the window. "Looking for something?" she asked.

His gaze remained transfixed. "Remember when I said to keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention to yourself?"