Midnight Moon (The Bleeding Crown Book 1)

Chapter 10 - Forgotten Names

"So..." Neyerith drawled, spinning and strolling backwards to face the two women as they walked. "What takes two such lovely ladies to Beyall?"

Veanna glanced at Tia and saw the Outlander's eyes darken. She answered quickly before the silence could drag out. "I'm going home."

"Ah." He nodded, pausing as though pondering her answer.

Her heart clenched - she didn't enjoy him talking, but his silence was more disturbing.

Neyerith didn't seem to notice her discomfort, his eyes on his feet as he side-stepped a puddle. "How does someone from Beyall come to be all the way out here?"

"She is not at home," Tia answered bluntly through gritted teeth.

His eyes flicked up, his eyebrows raising a fraction. "What a thrilling tale. One thing doesn't sit quite right, though..."

Veanna started to wish she had left her hood up. It had been years since the former Lord was banished from court, but it would only take one memory of her face for everything to be taken from her again. He couldn't have prepared an ambush already, even if he had recognised her, but perhaps he was biding his time, or leading them straight to some criminal's den...

Neyerith's face broke into an already familiar and infuriating grin. "Women so gorgeous are never found this far south. And believe me, I've sampled a fair few." He winked, and Veanna shuddered. She didn't voice her repulsion, trying to slow her thudding heart that urged her to run.

Tia, however, made a loud noise of disgust. "Stop the meaningless, degrading flattery," she snapped icily, "It will get you nowhere."

Instead of dimming his smile, Neyerith turned its brightness to her. "But that's just part of my charming personality."

"Are you going to be this difficult all the way to Beyall?" Veanna interjected, her lip curling.

"Difficult?" he echoed, his eyes widening innocently despite that incessant grin. "I prefer to see myself as suave and winning."

Tia's eyes narrowed. "You are unsuccessful on both counts."

Neyerith's gaze glinted in response to the challenge. "Give it time," was his only answer, but his eyes lingered for an uncomfortably long time on Tia before he turned to face forward.

***

Veanna shifted and turned on her bedroll, unable to relax no matter how she lay. Every other evening, she had fallen asleep easily despite her discomfort, but now her exhausted body refused to rest. It wasn't the cold or the hard ground that bothered her tonight: Neyerith slept little more than a dozen feet away. Tia had firmly insisted that he set up his own shelter separately, despite his offers to the contrary, but Veanna wouldn't be comfortable until miles separated them.

She gave up on sleep and sat up, pushing back hair that had come loose from the braid in her fidgeting. Beside her, Tia sat with her eyes trained on Neyerith's shelter across the remains of their campfire. Her scabbard lay over her lap, her fingers drumming noiselessly on the sword's hilt.

"Is there no one else who could guide us?" Veanna murmured, looking past her guardian to the second shelter too.

"The innkeeper was adamant that few would be able to take us to Beyall," Tia replied just as quietly, tension pulling at her mouth.

Veanna pursed her lips, smoothing out the blanket across her knees. The moonlight crept through cracks in the clouds which had thickened overhead during the afternoon, and she could make out just enough of the blanket to trace fraying lines through the fabric.

Tia looked down at her, then held up a finger before rising from under their canvas shelter. She trod silently past the fire, inspecting Neyerith before returning, apparently satisfied he was asleep. She sank back onto her bedroll and continued in low tones, "The man I spoke with was not certain we would even find someone to take us all the way to the capital." She inclined her head towards Veanna. "Would you rather we found a new guide in another town?"

Veanna rubbed her forehead. "No," she admitted reluctantly, "The fewer people we involve, the better. Besides, you've already paid him a lot of money."

To her surprise, Tia snorted. "I would have no qualms fighting him to take it back." Either to emphasise her point or as a reflex, her hand lowered affectionately to her scabbard.

Veanna smiled, but it faded almost immediately. "That might be a bad idea; he's not some common criminal."

"What do you mean?" Tia whispered sharply.

"He was once a member of court," she replied quietly, praying Tia had been right that Neyerith was asleep.

Tia's head snapped to her, her fingers flexing and clenching as her jaw tightened. "The court? Will he recognise you?" Her intent gaze was silver in the moonlight, her whole body tensing.

Veanna shook her head, shifting under her blanket. "I shouldn't think so. It was a long time ago, and he has no reason to realise who I am. But we should probably be on our guard, just in case something clicks."

Tia nodded. "Dismissing his service now may raise suspicions." She turned back to his shelter. "How does a member of court come to be in a border town? Does he not have his own lands?"

"He did, but he was banished years ago. I don't know what for - some kind of treason, I think - but after his fall from grace, he lost his lands and his title. He was a lord the last time I saw him. Now..." She glanced back over at the man lying on the forest floor and thought of the grubby inn where they found him. A fall from grace, indeed.

Tia glanced at the sky, not for the first time, and Veanna noticed the heaviness in the air signalling imminent rain. "You should sleep," the Outlander murmured.

Veanna obediently curled back up under her blanket, grateful for the canvas shielding her from the environment and for Tia shielding her from danger. A light breeze stirred her hair, carrying damp scents through the night.

The weather had never bothered her greatly before, sheltered by her palace and provided with every comfort. During the fiercest of storms, the deepest of blizzards, the harshest of heatwaves, she had been protected and at ease. Even when travelling, she could afford to bring almost any luxury she desired.

Now, she was exposed to the elements without even a proper tent for the toughest season of all. Now, she lived like one of her own people.

As the first raindrops fell, Veanna felt a chill on her cheeks and tucked herself farther under the blanket. She wondered whether this rhythmic patter was what ordinary people heard as they drifted to sleep. Unless the rain was angled against her bedroom window, Veanna had scarcely noticed the noise as she rested cocooned within the palace walls.

Tonight, she was no longer a sheltered princess, but a common woman, enduring the challenges her people faced daily.

And she wasn't certain she was good enough to meet them.