Blood Runner: Book Three of the Empress Saga

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Enfri felt as if time had become like water held in her cupped hands. No matter how desperately she tried to cling to it, the days poured through her fingers. After it became apparent that Krayson had disappeared from camp, she'd had hopes that things might return to a semblance of normality. Enfri only needed to remember that the number of royal assassins in camp had tripled to remind her that 'normal' had been a relative term for her for a long while.

It was the Third of Rose when the army struck camp to return to its march. The Lord Corwyn's small but experienced force joined Enfri's, leaving a minimal garrison behind to secure the holding and supply lines. His alchemist son accompanied the Corwyn while the younger son, the Corwyn's wife, and his daughters accepted Enfri's invitation to reside at her estate until stability returned to the area.

Ban chose to take the army due north, crossing the Vladmir and skirting west of the Nadian Ridge. His other option of traveling further east along the river and into Callusmor posed too great a risk of running afoul of the Melcian Rangers. Enfri declined to turn back towards Altier Nashal. Though rescuing Kimpo was no longer believed possible, Enfri would not abandon the hidden Aleesh enclave. She couldn't allow them to fall prey to Elise or to the genocide that awaited should Cathis or Adeyemi learn of them. Her goal clear, the empress' legion continued north to Melcia.

The mighty kept to human or animal forms during the march, only rarely taking to the skies for patrols; it was better to keep as low a profile as possible while in one of the greater kingdoms. Enfri rode Spider while Jin rode Scorpion, Dashar's horse. The two Gaulatian warhorses appeared to recognize each other as both having been the crown prince's property at one time or another. For whatever reason, Scorpion regarded Spider as his superior. No one, however, was more pleased with their mount than Ban. He refused to say what it had cost him, but he'd convinced the previous owner to sell him Arnln, the white charger. Ban assured Enfri that he would have payed twice as much if he'd needed to.

After the Battle of Mount Vorti, as it was being recorded, the goblins no longer had a reason to stay with the army. Light Hoof was apologetic, sweetheart that he was, but Enfri understood that he couldn't very well drag his warriors to the other side of the Five Kingdoms for her. There was also the seemingly inevitable reality that staying with Enfri would throw the kith into conflict with the white-scented, their creators.

Ban and Rippling Moon were separated once again, and it was with a heavy heart that Enfri watched them say their farewells. Moon hugged Enfri goodbye, then Jin. She said that she would have preferred to remain with them, but her rocker of an elder brother forbade her from leaving the Lost Company Tribe, even for her red.

Far more surprising, though much less depressing, Enfri at last received an explanation for her wandering eye. It came as a profound relief to learn why she was getting hot under the bodice whenever Reyn spoke. A selkie! Who'd have guessed? Of course, Enfri was immediately filled with questions, but her first priority was to apologize for not doing away with all the horrible House Valdar heraldry in her estate sooner. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be confronted with bare-chested depictions of herself at every turn. Deebee seemed more surprised by the revelation than anyone, and she was often heard muttering to herself that she should've realized Reyn's nature at the first whiff.

At Reyn's request, what she was wouldn't become common knowledge, though Ban was brought in to hear what she had to say. He suggested that the highest ranking knights, the title-holding few he'd begun to call the Dragon Lords, be informed. Reyn was hesitant to agree, so Enfri asked for everyone's discretion for the time being.

What Jin thought about it all was hard to determine. On the one hand, she had a plausible explanation for Enfri's behavior. On the other, she seemed to have more deeply ingrained prejudices against shifters. Fortunately, Enfri was proven correct when she said Jin Algara wasn't a fool. Jin had no objection to Reyn continuing as Enfri's handmaiden and scribe. However, she was firmly-- one could say vehemently-- opposed to Pacifica's suggestion about how to immunize Enfri from Reyn's emotional influence.