Being on the road this time was much different than the long carriage ride from Briar Hollow. Layala wasn’t trapped in a carriage. She rode Midnight and was given a sword, and her daggers and throwing star back. The ground shuddered with the steady march of a battalion of five hundred and sixty. Armor and weapons glinted in the sunlight. Layala swiped at her eyes when dust billowed up from the stamp of horse hooves. All around her, wagons full of supplies creaked and groaned. In the front and back, soldiers held the blue and white flags of Palenor. The air around her was tense; no one had to say it, but they were all nervous and angry. Bogg’s Landing was a small swampy town closest to the Void. A couple hundred elves lived there, among other creatures such as centaurs, gnomes, sprites, and a handful of rogue dwarven families who left the mountains, or at least this is what Thane told her the night before. But Doonafell was what worried Thane. She saw it in his eyes. Thousands of elves lived in the southernmost city. If the pale ones got to them, not only could it be a massacre, but they could turn a vast number into the horrible creatures.
Layala, Thane, Fennan, Sunshine, Piper, and to Layala’s dismay, Talon, rode in the center protection of the troop. Talon whined to Thane all morning, insisting she go since they’d ridiculed her for never having seen a pale one. Tifapine hid in the folds of the bag strapped behind the saddle. Apparently whining worked because Layala gave into her protests as well.
“This is so amazing.” Tif poked her head out enough to see everything. “Look at all the jumbos. And the gleaming weapons and uniforms and wow, it’s like a painting.”
After what happened the day before, Layala was nervous about being surrounded by so many elves. But the soldiers were different from the common folk. When she mounted Midnight and rode up beside Thane, the males in their gleaming uniforms all dropped to one knee. Not a single one dared step forward. Either they feared Thane or respected her, perhaps both.
Now as they rode out together, already hours on the road, her uneasiness faded. No one bothered with her. There was enough on their minds, like the possibility of dying in battle, being eaten by a pale one, or worst of all, turning into one. Many of the soldiers joked with each other, and carried on conversations about menial things, no doubt to take their minds off the worst. Thane and Fennan were to her right and they both started laughing so hard they almost fell off their horses. She was sad she missed the joke.
“It is pretty amazing,” Layala agreed. “You should come out of that bag and sit where you can see better.”
“Nope, nope, nope,” Tif said, dipping back in. “Too many, too many. And if I fell off the horse it would surely be my end. I’d, at the very least, break every last bone in my body and then you’d have to kill me out of pity and bury me in the middle of this orange poppy field. Although it is a beautiful and poetic place to be laid to rest, I’m too young to die. And you’d never forgive yourself for it, and I can’t have that on my conscience even in the afterlife.”
“I think you’d get a few bruises and be just fine,” Layala retorted. “And no one here wants to hurt you. The High King knows you live in my room. I didn’t even have to tell him.”
“I don’t believe it. If he knew he’d have thumped me with a broom and whooshed me out a window where my tiny broken body would have been left to rot. The guards would walk by as if I was nothing but trash if they didn’t point and laugh at my demise. I don’t know what would be worse.”
Layala sighed. Such a dramatic little thing. “Tifapine, King Thane and the rest of us elves have more important things to worry about. And the king doesn’t hate gnomes. This is some made-up notion you have in your head. Certainly no one would laugh if you fell out a window. How morbid.”
“Mama told me high elves have no love for gnomes and I believe it.”
Yet she chose to live in Castle Dredwich and had dreams of being an elven lady’s maid. Rolling her eyes, Layala said, “What I can’t believe is that you were brave enough to cut off an elf’s ear, but you won’t even come out in the open, when you know I will protect you.”
Tif peeked up a little. Her red hat and brown curls moved in the gentle breeze. “That was under the cover of darkness. I was an assassin in the night, using but the meager light of the moon to guide me. It’s high noon. The sun is enough to blind a gnome at this time,” she hissed. “I might very well wither away under the harsh rays before any other elves notice me.”
“You’re impossible,” Layala drawled.
“We notice you, gnome,” Piper said from Layala’s left. Her rich brown horse nickered as if to agree with her.
Tif gasped and slammed the bag over her head.
“She talks a lot for one so small,” Piper said, running her hand over her thick red braid. “But I suppose her size doesn’t mean much in regards to that.”
“She could talk to a wall for quite some time I think.”
Piper chuckled. “Interesting friend you’ve made.” Piper looked directly at the bag. “We ladies need to stick together, even the small ones. There aren’t many of us here.”
Tif’s eyes gleamed in the shadows as she slowly moved the bag open. “I think we are the only three.” Her head emerged fully, and she smiled at Piper. “I’m Tifapine, but my friend calls me Tif.”
“Piper.”
Layala noticed they were surrounded by mostly males, but such was to be expected when it came to the military. So few she-elves wanted to fight and they weren’t expected to. She wasn’t even sure if many of them trained in self-defense or not. Layala did but she had reason to. What would she have done if her parents were never murdered, and she didn’t have magic? Would she be like Talon, playing dress-up and trying to attract male attentions? Would she have learned to sing or spend her days painting? She liked to think she would grow and scavenge for magical plants like she did with Aunt Evalyn. “Don’t forget about Princess Talon,” Layala murmured. The princess was talking to Fennan, staring at him like he was the only male out there. It annoyed Layala that they acted like nothing happened. Like the evil wench hadn’t caused a mob to surround her the day before. “How did you become a soldier anyway, Piper?”
“My parents have been friends with the Athayels for centuries. When I was young, they brought me to play with Talon. But I grew bored playing with dolls and didn’t have an interest in gossiping or walking around in pretty dresses in hopes of catching someone’s eye when we became teens. So, I started watching the boys spar and fight outside.” She grew a smile. “After a few weeks of spectating and never saying a word to any of them, Thane dragged me over and shoved me in the fighting ring with Fennan. I was in a dress and my hair was styled like a lady and I knew if my mother saw she’d faint. But then Thane tossed a sword at my feet and said, ‘let’s see what you’ve got.’
“I expected them to jeer and make fun of me, but the group of both young and older males simply watched. And when I bent down and picked up the sword, they started to cheer me on and even started shouting instructions. Obviously, Fen took it easy on me because I had no training, but I loved it. And every day I went back for more.”
“That sounds like me,” Layala said. “Although, many of the human men ridiculed me relentlessly at first, especially about my ears, but some took special care to see that I learned. The guard master Hanzen took me under his wing so to speak. He had an eye for my Aunt Evalyn. He became like a father to me in many ways. Protective and a guide. He showed me how to be lethal.” Layala’s eyes dropped down to the saddle horn. She’d trained all those years with one thing in mind; kill the royal family when they came for her and now, she rode beside them.
“I can’t imagine living among humans,” Piper said with a shudder. “No offense.”
Her mind dipped back to slinging mud at Novak, Forrest and Ren when they were children and then jumping into the river to wash the grime off. The three boys would always dunk each other and Layala would laugh. Aunt Evalyn always said it was unfortunate that the only kids close to her age in Briar Hollow were boys and she was fighting in the mud and used sticks as swords rather than playing with dolls, although she had dolls of her own. “I’ve had a good life with them. Even if there have been some tragedies.”
Thane cleared his throat and bumped his leg into Layala’s. “I need to go and talk with some of my soldiers but when we stop tonight, I have a surprise for you,” he said, teeth gleaming in the sun from his big smile.
Her stomach did a little flip. She had no idea if that was good or bad. Eyes narrowing, Layala asked, “What kind of surprise?”
“One I think you’ll enjoy.”
When the stars and moon were the only light, the battalion stopped and set up camp. One side of the terrain, in the not too far distance, were the Ranaheim Mountains rising high with snow-capped tops, and on the other side of the road were open flat fields of crops as far as the eye could see. The distance held torchlights and homes. Piper said it was a town named Bendbrook.
Within their camp, fires roared with roasting meats that made Layala’s mouth water. Once horses were secured and tents were set up, lines formed for food. The sound of many elves talking at once filled the space. They laughed, some shouted, one man danced with some unique footwork while his spectators jeered and threw things at him. Layala thought he was a good dancer and didn’t understand the food throwing. She bit into an apple while sitting on a log next to a fire. Some of the soldiers walked by watching her, whispering as they passed. One worked up the nerve to wave at her, she returned the gesture.
“They don’t know how to act around you because you’re their High King’s mate,” Piper said, taking a seat beside her. “They don’t know if they should bow to you or stay as far away as possible, but they will fight to the death for you.”
“Because I’m his mate or because I’m me?”
“Both, I think,” Piper answered. “But you have no idea how much these elves respect and admire Thane.”
Thane walked among the soldiers like he was simply one of them and not their High King. He stopped and talked with different groups, making sure everyone had what they needed. Before they left, she believed he would ride away from them while on the move, and sit in his tent and only allow visitors of high rank. Maybe it wasn’t just his skill that made it so he’d never personally lost a battle. He made them feel like they couldn’t lose. She heard some of the things he said, “With soldiers like you we’ll tear them apart” or “The pale ones will shit themselves when they see the Ravens coming. They always do.”
Layala turned to Piper. “What are the Ravens?”
“That’s what we are.” She gestured all around with her hands. “This particular group of soldiers was hand chosen by Thane to fight for him when he goes south. We come in when the enemy has gotten too bold and needs to be reminded that this is our land, and they can’t have it.”
Layala smiled at Piper’s obvious pride. “Why Ravens?”
“Ravens are an omen of death,” Tif said, climbing up on the log and sitting between Piper and Layala. “Quite a clever name in my opinion. Although I think plain old ‘death bringers’ or ‘blood letters’ would have been better. No misunderstanding that.”
Layala chuckled. “True. And I’m glad you finally emerged from the bag.”
“Well, it’s dark now so no one will notice me except the two of you.” She patted both Layala’s and Piper’s thighs.
A couple servants brought over plates of food and even a small one for Tif. The gnome jumped to her feet and scrambled behind Layala’s back where her nails dug into the skin as she clung on to hide. The servants left the plate on her spot on the log. “I told you we see you, gnome,” Piper said and then bit into her roll.
Twisting around and pawing at the gnome, Layala said, “And get off me.” She finally caught her leg and dragged her out from behind and sat her on the log. “They brought you food. Now eat.”
“Oh, well, it does look rather delicious. I suppose I can eat a little.” Tif grabbed the roll which was half as big as her and chomped into it, tearing a piece so large, Layala thought it would take her several minutes to get down. She ate it in seconds.
When Thane’s looming shadow cast from the crackling fire fell on them, Tif squeaked, knocked her plate into the dirt and darted into the shadows behind the log. Layala rolled her eyes and then stood as did Piper.
“Would you like to sit, sire?” Piper asked, waving a hand at the log.
“For a moment, while you two finish eating.” He sat down in between Layala and Piper where Tif had been. Layala leaned back and searched the shadows, but the tiny gnome scuttled off somewhere.
“So, you said you have a surprise for me,” Layala said, and then took a bite of the salty meat. It was juicy and flavorful, and only a few bites filled her belly. She wondered if they added something to it to make it more satiating. After all, there were a lot of elves to feed.
“I do.”
“And what is it?” Layala set her plate aside. “You’ve kept me waiting all day to find out. Not very polite, High King.”
He turned his head with a pointed stare and a growing smirk. “You want to speak to me on the topic of politeness?” Piper snickered on his other side.
“I’ve been very polite,” Layala said and couldn’t hold back her smile at the obvious lie. “Down right cordial, even. Probably the sweetest elf you’ve ever met I’d wager.”
Thane laughed and slapped his leg. “Hmm, are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?”
“I’m fond of a good wager but not in games I know I’ll lose.” Layala stood and stretched her arms over her head. “Like cards. I’m terrible at any game to do with cards.”
Thane rose to his full height. “Perhaps you’ll get to play a different game. Come on.” He led them through the camp; soldiers nodded, said their greetings, and a few stopped to shake his hand. Layala smiled and tried to look amiable. Some of these elves wouldn’t come home after they fought the pale ones and she wanted to be as kind as possible. Loud cheering from somewhere nearby and small groups of elves heading toward a huge orange light pushed Layala to her toes to see better. What could be going on over there?
“Is that the surprise?” Layala asked. “What are they doing? Fighting trolls?”
Thane chuckled. “No trolls but fighting…”
Layala’s heart picked up a little speed and a zing of energy coursed through her veins. When they stepped around the last tent, they came upon a large circle of elves cheering on a pair fighting in the middle. They grappled on the ground, rolling and grunting like animals.
Thane put a hand on her back and pushed them through the soldiers, who moved once they saw who approached, until they reached the front. “You said you knew how to fight. I want to see for myself.”
“You want me to fight with your soldiers?” Layala asked, staring at the pair now punching each other in the face.
“Only if you want to. I thought you might want to train since you haven’t for a while.”
After blood leaked out of one elf’s nose and the other had a split above his eye, an abnormally tall elf stepped in and called the match. The pair shook hands and walked out of the circle with their arms around each other’s shoulders, throwing compliments about how great the other was. Layala rubbed the back of her now sweaty neck. She missed training with the men in Briar Hollow and most of them stopped being a challenge for her years ago, but stepping in the middle of a ring with the High King’s hand-picked fighters was a little intimidating. Another pair stepped in the circle and bowed to each other then pulled out swords.
“Um, couldn’t you and I train somewhere a little more private?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “You want to tumble around in the dirt alone with me? I’m intrigued.”
“And what if I did?” She knew exactly what he inferred.
“I don’t think you’re ready.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
He chuckled. “If you want to spar with me, Layala, you have to earn that privilege. I don’t step in there for just anyone.”
She faced him and put a hand on her hip. “And here I thought you’d be jumping at the chance. I’m hardly ‘just anyone’. I’m your mate that you seemingly can’t stop thinking about.”
His eyes narrowed. “Now you’re admitting it?”
“Sounded like it, didn’t it? Although I still haven’t seen you on your knees.” She wanted to get under his skin for once and it appeared to be working.
He flashed white teeth. “You’re teasing me. Who is this new Layala?”
“I’ve always been this Layala. You just had to work to get past my hard outer shell.” She laughed when he rolled his eyes.
“I bet you can’t take one of my soldiers, let alone me.” He paused briefly. “It would be a repeat of what happened in my bed, although I must say I didn’t mind you on top of me, even if you had a knife at my throat.”
Flashbacks of that night warmed her cheeks. “I’m sure you didn’t. But what are the stakes? Because I’m fully willing to take that bet.” If Thane wanted to test her, so be it. A thrill went through her at the thought. She’d win this no matter what.
“Oh, let’s do something fun.” He paused. “If you lose, I’ll ask you a question and you have to tell me. If you win, you can ask me anything and I’ll answer. And not something trivial. Something real.”
What did he want to know? It didn’t matter anyway. She wouldn’t lose. “Fine. Do I get to choose my opponent?” Nervousness and excitement ran through her equally. She started thinking of what she wanted to ask him. What deep dark secret might he have?
“I daresay you’d have to since I doubt any of my soldiers would volunteer to spar against Layala Lightbringer.”
The two fighters’ swords rang and clanked. They grunted and groaned when they pushed against one another. A musty, sweaty odor was like a cloud with all the soldiers gathered so close in the warm summer air. Watching them carefully for weaknesses, Layala didn’t catch many. The two were well matched and didn’t leave many openings to strike. She glanced around the ring at who she might choose. Every one of them was taller and broader than her. They’d also have elven strength and although she’d never sparred against an elven male, she assumed they were stronger than human men. Thane certainly was but he was different.
Piper would be a good match, size wise, but Layala wanted to prove a point to Thane and picking her would be predictable. “And do we choose if we want to use weapons or not?”
“Yes,” Thane answered. “If weapons are used then the fight is stopped when one gets the other in a life-ending position. If it’s hand-to-hand then it’s stopped by him,” he pointed to the tallest elf there who stood off to the side with his arms crossed. “We don’t do this to hurt each other; it’s to test and refine skills, and keep the soldiers in shape, and to get their minds off the coming battle. It also builds bonds.”
She would definitely choose a weapon. Although she could fight hand-to-hand well enough it would be risky and she didn’t want to get punched in the face, even if she thought none of them would dare. “When do you train?”
“Most mornings right as the sun comes up.”
“And you’ve never asked me if I wanted to join?”
His green eyes sparkled in the orange firelight. “To be fair, you don’t seem to like or want my invitations.”
“Well, I would like to join you.”
“Alright,” he said, and she could tell he was trying not to smile.
The crowd around them burst into a cheer as the match was called. “I knew it!” someone nearby shouted. “You owe me a bottle of wine when we get back.”
Layala’s eyes snapped to the ring as the two shook hands. She missed who won. Thane put a hand on her back and guided her forward. Everyone fell silent. Their breathing, the night insects chirping, the crackling fire seemed loud now. A few whispered about what was about to happen. Thane stopped them in the center and said, “Layala is sparring next. She will choose her opponent.”
The hush of the soldiers was eerie as the hundreds of eyes stared. Her gaze swept across them. She could almost hear their thoughts of “Don’t pick me” from the worried looks. The only ones that made eye contact with her were Sunshine and Piper. “Aldrich,” Layala said using Sunshine’s real name. The soldiers let out an “Ooooo” as he stepped forward, grinning.
When he reached them, he stuck out his hand and Layala shook it. “It’s an honor to be chosen,” he said. A look passed between Thane and Sunshine. She wished she knew what they were silently communicating.
“I choose swords.”
Aldrich nodded and pulled his weapon from the holster on his back and stepped away swinging it around to warm up. Layala gripped her sword’s leather-bound handle and tugged it loose. Thane backed her up a few steps. “If at any time you—”
“Don’t placate me.” Layala stared him in the face. “You’ll be consoling your friend soon.”
Thane smiled. “Confident. I like that.” Once he was to the side, Layala marched at Sunshine with determination. She wasn’t simply proving herself to win a bet or to show Thane she could fight. This was to verify to the Ravens she could contend with them, the High King’s hand-picked warriors. Her breaths moved in and out in steady trained motion. Her grip on her sword tightened as she brought it up and stepped to the side with a quick strike. Aldrich blocked it but his blade came dangerously close to his face, and his grin dropped. He may have thought this would be easy, that he would toy with her a while so as not to embarrass her, but she was by no means someone to be toyed with. He underestimated her strength. She swung again with her elven speed, the clink of their blades slamming against one another echoed off the Ranaheim mountainside. Then again and again, they circled, striking, blocking over and over, high and low. He favored his right side heavily.
Sweat beaded on her brow. Her steady heart was a calming sound as it pounded in her ears. They hit again but this time they pushed in a battle of strength. Her arms and legs screamed with the effort, and she sidestepped when he overpowered her but used the momentum and shoved him in the back.
The circle of elves started shouting, some for Aldrich, some for Layala. “You’re allowing a female to best you!?” one of them yelled.
“Knock his ass into the dirt!” Piper bellowed.
He turned around and came at her with quick strikes. She blocked everything he threw at her, then dropped low and swung her leg out. It caught his foot and he stumbled backward into the elves behind him but didn’t fall. Damn it. They shoved him forward and Layala struck with a downward hack and again at his ribs and it got through, smacking into him hard. She expected him to block it and didn’t pull back enough and it cut into his side. He cried out; she jerked her sword back and dropped it. The clang of it reverberated loudly in the silence.
She gushed, “I’m so sorry.”
Holding his side, Aldrich slid his sword up to her neck, the cold metal like ice against her flesh. “Don’t ever drop your sword.”
In her haste to see if she’d hurt him badly, she did the one thing she never should have, but this wasn’t a real fight. Against a pale one she never would drop her sword. “How bad are you hurt? I don’t care about who won right now.”
Aldrich’s face blanched white and he put his arm around her, forcing her to bear much of his weight. “I’m fine. It’s a scratch.”
“I don’t think so,” Layala murmured. After he broke his leg not long ago against the pale ones, she felt bad to hurt him again, even if magical plants could heal him quick enough.
Others ran forward and surrounded them, shouting about the outcome. “Layala won with that blow. The fight would have been stopped,” one soldier argued.
“No, she dropped her sword before it was called,” another argued.
“We all know who was going to win either way,” Piper barked. “Layala.”
Thane stepped in and tugged at the fabric of Aldrich’s top. “It’s not that deep, but get him to the medical tent.”
Aldrich pulled his arm from Layala and took a few slow steps into the grasps of Fennan and Piper.
“Sire, who won?” a stout blond elf asked.
He gave Layala an apologetic look. “According to the rules, Aldrich since Layala dropped her sword and he put his blade to her neck before it was called.”
A bunch of the elves booed. “She whipped his ass. He was on the defense the whole time,” someone in the crowd shouted.
“She’s as skilled as any of us,” another said.
“Layala Fightbringer,” the fire-haired Leif shouted, and many laughed. He put his arm casually around her shoulders. “You think she’s a Raven, boys?”
“Caw, Caw!” Then they roared with cheers. The chorus of deep voices all around made Layala’s arm hairs stand on end. She was accepted into the group and didn’t know how much she wanted that until right then.
Thane smiled at her with pride. “I think she is.” Then Thane lightly shoved him in the chest and pulled Layala to his side. “Now back off. She’s mine.”
Layala rolled her eyes as everyone laughed.
