Eros

Crowned in Crimson - 46

Vanessa instructed the Overseers by Julian's order, and by nightfall, they had all left the mansion. Only she and Evon Sandfist remained to await the king.

She could see the venom in that man's eyes whenever they laid on her. It bothered her a little. Growing up and training amongst the children of the Warhawk, there were many boys who never dealt well with losing to a girl. But with Kaelen and Nair on her side, all they could do to her was glare.

At the midday to follow, Julian's entourage arrived. There were no carriages, no servants, and not even a dozen men.

There were five horsemen, clad in plate armor as red and as dark as blood spilled from slashed guts. Their mounts were a breed Vanessa never seen before, giant warhorses with black hides, and eyes that gaped and bulged out of their sockets, pupil-less and bloodshot.

Gleaming claymores rested in chains across the riders' broad backs, and shields that were larger than their torsos were loosely bound to the flank of the beasts they rode, ready for an instant draw.

Crimson cloaks shielded them from the sun, swathing their shoulders and hooding their heads. The only thing she could glimpse at their shaded visages was the mouth-cover of their helms: carved in the shape of bared, wolfish fangs.

A chill licked up her nape, erecting invisible hairs on her skin. What, by the damned gods, are they?

"The Bloodfiends of Veramor." Evon said, he must've seen the look on her face as she watched them approach. "Never heard of them?"

Of course she did, but always believed the rumors to be nothing but a part of the wave of pride that washed Veramor after winning back the Twin Cities. The stories said the king was gifted eleven warhorses by a ruler of a distant, western land. Blood Destriers, they were called, and it was said that once a rider mixes his blood with theirs, they will answer to none but him, and forever share one another's eyesight.

Eleven soldiers were chosen, heroes of the Civil War and of the War of the Twin Cities. Nobody knew what oath they swore, but it was said they had no will but the will of the king. They did not drink, smoke, bed or even speak. Many claimed they had forfeited their own birth names. Bound to the Blood Destriers, these oathsworn became the Bloodfiends, the chosens of the king, the elite warriors of Veramor.

Then she saw him. He rode on a white stallion amidst the Bloodfiends, his back straight and reins held in one hand. A shawl wrapped his shoulders, baring the toned and sunkissed flesh of his chest and stomach. Beneath the cloth's rim, peeked out the black eye.

He pulled at the reins and stopped before her, the sunlight shining in his golden hair and amber eyes. Her heart fluttered in her breast.

She and Evon joined the entourage, and soon, they were at the border. Aurum was a small realm that bordered with Veramor, Anerock and Nashair. Its location, and the rich mines that were in its mountains, made it the most tempting conquest a ruler could have. If they weren't on an alliance with the Conqueror's Nasharian Empire, that is.

The wall loomed before them as a symbol of gold's power, so tall and bulky it could rival the ancient, great wall of the Barren Lands. The guards at the grand, twin-towered gate moved forward and tensed as the entourage of Bloodfiends approached.

Julian trotted forward. "I am Julian, king of Veramor. Remove yourself from our path, Barion expects me."

The guards rushed to his command. Evidently, none of them was happy to stand in the way of the entourage's terrifying horsemen. As soon as they passed through the gate, the Bloodfiends flanked the king and heaved their broad shields. Vanessa scanned every rooftop and balcony in sight.