Calm Before The Storm: Crimes Against The Crown book 1

Air

Of all my novels, this is still my favorite. I always return to this one.

Thank you for reading.

Love
NJ Kuhr
XOXO

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We made a splendid image as we rode through town. Lotus was back in her prime, her graceful gait ladylike and elegant.

I loved my new riding attire and sat straight in the saddle feeling both glamorous and feminine. I was going to have to thank the tailor for this one. Emory looked at me as if he wanted to thank him as well.

Our procession made its way out towards the east pass. The buildings and houses were soon left behind. The pass was thin. Tall cliffs rose above us on either side. We could only ride two abreast at its widest and single file for parts of it.

We passed the sentries who stood and bowed as our entourage continued forward. The four men waved additionally at Warin while they exchanged easy conversation. This pass was Warin's responsibility. I paid more attention remembering he traveled this path twice a day.

There were two platforms on either side of the cliff face. Each carved out of the mountain high above our heads. Laddered steps chiseled into the rocks to gain access. The sentries armed with short bows, crossbows and their swords. They faced an unbelievably tall gate pushed open. Each metal door flush against the cliff sides as we passed through one by one. There were chains that connected each gate to the platforms. The sentries could pull them closed and bar the trail back into the city.

The trail led single file for over a mile after the first gate. The defenses were well thought out. I didn't believe anyone could get past the sentries unnoticed let alone an army. They could keep back hundreds if not thousands in such a small space with few men to guard the gate.

As the pass opened up, Emory pulled Dante up beside me for the last few miles of the trail. It opened up into the hills of Cynthera.

There was a second gate though this one was much larger. It looked old but formidable. There were tall stone towers on either side that looked as if they had grown out of the mountain itself. A watchtower bridged the two. We rode our horses through an arched tunnel. Their hooves echoed around us before reaching the other side.

I looked up at a series of large heavy portcullises. They would drop to block the passage if any threats attempted to reach the city. They had crisscrossed metal bars. Lethal looking spikes hung above our heads as we passed underneath. I felt a subtle unease as I came below the largest one. Imagining how it would slam down on top of me if the guards were to release the latches, I cringed.

I inhaled when I was clear of the gate and back out into the open. Warin and Emory didn't seem bothered by it. Raised here they have passed beneath it hundreds of times but it had unsettled me. I didn't know how an army could get passed that gate let alone make it passed the sentries. It all seemed a bit redundant and excessive but then again it was all meant to secure the city. If redundant and excessive would keep enemies from reaching the city then by all means.

Lotus twitched her muscles at the tension. I gathered myself together and forced myself to relax rubbing her neck in comfort.

I wasn't expecting the hills. There were rolling hills covered in grass that was beginning to turn green in the warm spring air. Wild flowers bloomed here and there. Theodrid and Emmeline had stopped to look out over the view and we came up beside them.

I looked over at Theodrid, his expression proud and devout. "Cynthera." I said, pulling Lotus up to his right, Emmeline on his other side.

He turned to me smiling. "Cynthera." He agreed. His country. The land of his birth and the people he loved and cherished. This was his home. Not just the Keep or the city of Bryndury. Everything from the port with its ships down to the last handful of dirt was his home.