Rise of the Dark Queen

Chapter 4

I awoke with a start to a bright morning sun. Again, as was beginning to be my new normal, I was disoriented and had to gather my thoughts. I was rescued, we must be in the village. I looked to my surroundings. I was in a clean bed in a small and stark room wearing a white nightgown. My fever seems to have passed. I checked my shoulder and my arm, the healer gave me quite a few stitches. That was going to leave one nasty scar. It was pink and angry but it was just a dull throb instead of excruciating pain. I let out a breath of relief, there seemed to be no sign of infection. I felt much better but still weak from my ordeal.

Just then the door opened, the stout woman who must be the healer walked in.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good, good, you were in quite the bad way when they brought you in, you poor thing. That angry man with the scar was quite worried about you. Had to hold open your mouth to make you choke down the medicine. You barely even stirred.” She clucked with sympathy in her voice. “That beastie of yours caused quite the stir when he came prancing in next to you, thought he might take an arm off that man you were with when we wouldn’t let him inside with you. He seems quite attached.” She trailed off nervously.

“Where is he, is he ok? No one hurt him?” I asked worriedly.

“Don’t you fret there missy, he calmed down and they managed to get him in the stables, can’t say the horses or the people here are too pleased about it, but seems you two can’t be separated.” She finished with a brow raised.

“Ah, um, yes we are close, he won’t hurt anyone here with me around.” I stated weakly. She raised both her brows at that statement. No doubt picking up on the subtext.

“Well enough chit chat, I’ll get you some breakfast and get you cleaned up and dressed. I tried to clean you up best I could but you’d probably like a real bath after what you went through. Everyone is appalled at what those men did. Such a shame the kings own men stooped so low. Terrible thing dearie, terrible.”

My brows rose up to my hairline. “So everyone knows? Why? How long have I been asleep?” I stated with shock and confusion.

“ Oh it’s quite the scandal, don’t you worry missy, it’s all been sorted by the general himself. That gruff companion of yours told him everything and it seems they are old friends, he took his word on what happened, especially given the evidence. Never did believe those rotten soldiers when they came in here crying about a beast when it’s clear as day I was treating them for dagger wounds. Told the general so myself.” She stated proudly. “Yes he was none too pleased, none to pleased indeed. Seemed awful curious about you though. Not every day a lady can get one over on a whole squad of men and survive 2 days in the wilds alone. Not every day indeed.” She mused.

“Well I, uh, had help from my wolf friend. Without him surely I’d be dead.”

“Ah, yes, so it seems. That also got the general interested, very interested. Don’t you fret, you are in no trouble. He just wishes to speak to you and hear your side of the story for himself. Ah, I wouldn’t mind having him interested in me one bit.” She said with a sly smile. “He is quite the intimidating man but he’s as beautiful as he is scary.” She stated mater of factly. I arched a brow and cleared my throat. Nothing to worry about, just some scary general who was a war legend who wanted to talk to me. I shifted uneasy at the prospect.

“Now now, enough gossip, let’s not keep the general waiting.”

Once I was bathed, dressed and fed the healer led me out of the room and into a small living area. Tiberius was standing there, waiting for me.

“I’ll take her from here. Thanks for all your help.” He stated then turned to leave. Gruff as ever. I rolled my eyes internally.

“Thank you.” I said, turning to the kind woman.

“Don’t you fret over it dear. Was no problem.” She said with a cheerful smile. “Be sure to take it easy for a while and come back to see me or another healer in a couple weeks to take those stitches out dearie.” I nodded as made my way out the door into the street.

My grumpy protector stood waiting for me, then immediately began to lead me to wherever the general wanted to meet me.

“Come on girl, best not to keep Stryker waiting.” He said shortly. He seemed agitated. It was making me anxious. I have no idea why the general was so keen on meeting me and taking my story again from my own lips, but who was I to argue. I swallowed down my nerves as we made our way to what seemed like a training area near a large stable house. As we approached I noticed two men guarding the stable with hard expressions on their face. They looked to Tiberius and dipped their heads into a respectful nod, he grunted and returned the motion.

“General Stryker will be here soon, he instructed us to let the girl pass and see the beast. He seems agitated and might benefit from her presence.” One of the guards stated, cutting a glance towards me.

I stepped towards the entrance and they stood aside, letting me pass. As I entered I heard soft growls. I followed the sound to the end of the stable, the last stall housed my wolf. The horses seemed spooked, likely unhappy with their new stall mate. He paced as his shadows swirled agitatedly around him. He stopped and turned as I approached, letting out a soft whine. I opened the gate wide, leaving it open as I entered in. Immediately his shadows calmed as he came close and pressed his head to mine. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, lacing my fingers into his fur.

“It’s ok Vendix, I’m here, I’m ok now. You’ve done good. Thank you for behaving.” I said softly. My anxiety seemed to slip away as I embraced my wolf, his presence reassuring me, and mine having a similar effect on him. His ears perked and he pulled his head away from me suddenly, whipping his head towards the entrance of the stables, barring his teeth. Without facing whoever just entered I spoke with a soft but firm voice, “easy boy, no one here will hurt me here, we are safe. Relax.” He calmed and lowered his ears, letting out a soft whine.

“That is quite the deadly animal you’ve bonded with.” I heard a rich strong voice sound from a few feet behind me.

I turned and my breath caught in my throat. He was the most beautiful and fierce man I had ever seen. He was tall with a strong, lithe build. His long, white blonde hair was pulled and tied by a leather band loosely at the base of his neck. His flawless skin was a golden tan, it seemed almost to glow with the light of the sun itself. His almond eyes were the most stunning shade of bright emerald green, set into a heart shaped face with sharp cheek bones. I’d never known a man could look so strong and stunning at the same time. He was dressed like a soldier, but his uniform was different, he had pins and badges that seemed to indicate a very high rank. This must be General Stryker. But he seemed much too young to be the famed general from the war that ended nearly 22 years ago. He couldn’t be more than 30. My brow pinched in confusion. This wasn’t possible, he would have been a small child during the war. Unless he aged unnaturally well, but there was only one type of people who were so long lived…

I sucked in a breath as realization dawned on me. The reason this man had such an ethereal appearance is because he was not a man at all, but a light elf. His ears were hidden under his hair, so I was unable to see the telltale point of them, but in my mind there was no doubt I was right. Seems the rumors of him not being human were not rumors at all. What was an elf doing as the general of a human army? His gaze was on Vendix, his brows drawn together in what seemed to be contemplation. When he heard my intake of breath his gaze slid over to me. Immediately his face relaxed and smoothed into a neutral expression.

His eyes traveled my body, coolly assessing me. Whatever his thoughts were as his eyes roamed over me, he kept them hidden behind his indifferent mask. I felt myself flush with both embarrassment and raw desire. I needed to gain some composure. I did not need to embarrass myself by acting like a swooning maiden in front of him. Things were going to get uncomfortable quickly if I continued to stare and not answer him. I straightened my spine and cleared my throat. His eyes finally moved to my face, I watched them widen slightly before he quickly composed his face back into a neutral expression.

“Ah, yes. I suppose he is.” I was unsure what else to say. I know my shadow wolf was a deadly dangerous creature but he was my friend, my protector, and to me he was nothing but sweet. How could I explain our connection without sounding like a mad woman? I had to try, I didn’t want anyone to run him off , or worse yet, kill him. I needed to convince the general he wouldn’t harm anyone. “He is protective, it’s true, but he won’t harm anyone while we are here, I promise. Please don’t hurt him, we can leave right away if it will ease your worries.”

His eyes bore into me as he slowly started walking towards me. My eyes were held captive in his gaze. My skin seemed to tingle as he drew nearer, he moved with the grace of a predator. I could feel Vendix tense next to me. I reached over and placed a hand on the back of his neck, he let out a quiet huff and relaxed slightly as I buried my fingers in to his fur. The general’s gaze broke with mine to follow the movement. He stopped a foot in front of me, eyes slowly traveling back to me. He reached out, placing a single finger under my chin and his thumb on my jaw. His touch was light, I felt my face heat and my skin tingled where his fingers made contact. I let out a soft breath as his eyes traveled over my face, seemingly searching for something.

He seemed to find what he was looking for, his hand dropped away and I felt a pang at the loss of his touch. His expression revealed nothing of his thoughts.

“As of this moment I have no plans to harm your unconventional companion, leaving will not be necessary. I do, however, have some questions for you. Come with me, we will talk somewhere more appropriate.” He turned and walked towards the entrance, pausing, he turned his head to look at me from over his shoulder. “Please secure your companion, I’ll wait for you outside.” He quickly exited.

I stood frozen for a moment before snapping out of my reverie. My anxiety returned as I looked at Vindex with apprehension. This was making less and less sense. Why did it seem like he was interested in more than what happened between me and his men? I didn’t seem to be in trouble but what else could he possibly want from me? I shook my head to clear my thoughts, I didn’t want to keep him waiting. I hurriedly closed the gate.

“I’ll be back boy, please behave and don’t scare anyone.” He huffed then flopped onto the ground. If wolves could roll their eyes I had a strong suspicion he would be doing it now. I narrowed my gaze at him then turned and walked quickly outside. The general and Tiberius seemed to be engaged in a serious discussion. Tiberius had a pinched expression on his face. They both grew quiet as I drew near.

“Come, let’s head to the meeting room for a private conversation.” The general said with a look to Tiberius and me. He turned and began walking at a brisk pace. Tiberius glowered and followed behind, I quickly fell into step next to him, leveling him with a questioning frown. He pointedly ignored me with a scowl on his face. My unease and confusion continued to grow as we neared a building close to the barracks that housed the soldiers. What in the hell was happening? We reached the building, general Stryker opened the door standing to the side to let us enter first. We walked in and he came in behind us, I heard him lock the door.