Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Aela’s POV

My mate has been training me relentlessly ever since to help with my control while we continued our journey through different lands. This is our third time back in the areas once protected by Redland in the last few years. He has shown me places in the world I have always wanted to visit. But I have been able to visit these places as a vagabond, and it's everything I’ve imagined. No meeting with dignitaries, and my escort doesn’t mind detours into shady markets and back alleys. Everything I’ve ever dreamed about doing on the few trips I have taken as Crown Princess.

I’ve also spent countless hours watching how he weaves his spells, and they are totally on another level than anything I have ever witnessed before. His knowledge is better than any of my tutors in court and could probably rival Lana in her magic theory.

After getting the connection to the spirit swords in the vault. I was able to unlock the ability to utilize my reserve fully. Elemental manipulation and simple spells are easy enough, but I still have to use the connection from my swords to use any spell. It's an inconvenience, but I’m glad I’m still able to reach my potential. With my training on control, I no longer fear incinerating everything around me.

I have gained so much knowledge and experience since the Hou Ndour attack. Even though I have traveled with my mate for so long, no one ever calls him by name. He’s called dark child or dark one by the people who know him and fiend or demon from the words of my mother. But I do know he was orphaned and abandoned when he was six-year-old in a severely sickly state. My father accepted him as a brother and seems to be the person he was the closest to while my mate was in childhood. When my mother and father met, she must have recognized him as the missing child of her friend, and that’s where the fights between my father and mother seemed to originate.

Traveling through all the different lands has given me many opportunities to use my abilities gained from my lineage. For example, I’ve been able to decipher and watch people weave spells all my life. But now, I’ve gained more insight into how different spells are textured. Everyone seems to have a similar building formation, and they are often related to their style of culture. However, no one is like my mate, though. His tendrils are unique, and after so many years, I can now predict their movements when we are traveling through different situations.

I’m still plagued with questions about the differences I have learned since I started traveling with my mate. The biggest one is what led to Redland collaring all the lupines, and I wonder if that is why Lana is so harsh towards Lupines.

I still spend my dreams playing in the snow with my wolf form on the top of the mountain. It becomes home to me when my mind is restless and I need the added serenity. Sadly, I still haven’t seen the children again. I often wonder if that was truly a possibility or if it was just a trick being played on me. I have so much I have to do before I can truly think about the care of a child at this moment.

After the owlbear, we stayed in the White Forest because we were able to train against bandits and low-life mercenaries. The real-life training was good because I was able to utilize my wolf abilities to fight against tens and even a hundred men at a time. Each time, my coach was right there, allowing me to be challenged but always there to save me when I pushed my boundaries too far.

We tried to follow the elusive “owlbear” but never seemed to get close to its tracks. My mate believes he had escaped probably to a Hou Ndour base because he could smell warm saltwater through the portal he opened. Anywhere we searched for clues seemed like a lost cause.

My mind returns to the people around us as we reach the center of a village in the former Redland territory in the North Ridge Mountains, a Hou Ndour troop is causing and uproar pulling girls onto a stage and having their men bid on them. My thoughts and emotions swirl almost out of control from outrage and injustice. I concentrate on my mate, who has ignored the scene completely, but my eyes will not lead away from the men on the stage.

I observe that the commanding officer is laughing, joking, and groping the women. I cringe to hide the growl as I see his men repeating his actions with no reservations for decency in public. I have to do something for them. I cast a strong weave ward around myself to try to make myself less detectable. It's flawed, but I’m wearing one of my mate’s enchanted cloaks it will assist in my weaknesses. I walk to the stage through the Hou Ndour Regime. I’m able to get close to the officer without anyone noticing my presence. I remove the commanding officer’s sword from the hilt, and in one fluid motion, I swing the blade across his neck and his head rolls. I drop his sword and walk away without anyone lifting a finger against me. My tutor has taught me well, and he didn’t even wait for me. He’s already walking out of the small village. I ran to catch up and followed behind him. My little victory promptly pushed to the back of my mind because, in all honesty, another officer would just delay a few days before starting those grotesque auctions again.

It's still a small victory, and my wolf is happy. It will buy time for a few girls to have some reprieve while the position remains open. I smile proudly as I keep the hood pulled over my head because I’m still a wanted criminal in these parts.

We are already a good mile down the road when footfalls of one man rushing towards us, “Wait! Please, listen to me for a second. I am leading a group to liberate this village from the Hou Ndours. We have succeeded with the last two attempts in nearby villages, and my band has gotten larger. We could use a swordsman like you.”

A part of me wants to join because I haven’t practiced against trained groups in several months and would love to see my improvement. Nevertheless, my mate just keeps walking as if I should ignore him too. I shrug with the cloak, hiding my physical features, and I continue following my mate when I hear, “There is a bend in the river to the south. We are camped there tonight, and we will have a strategy meeting at dusk.”

I don’t turn my head, but his presence isn’t so repulsive, and he didn’t boast about being unstoppable. He was logical and expressed what he was recruiting for his party. A sign of a good leader. I have already been thinking about how I would liberate my country, and I am certain I should remove the Hou Ndour from our towns, then track the queen and have the Lions of Turmac help encourage her release.

Disappointedly, my mate continued without acknowledging the recruiter, and after turning into the forest, I waited until we were far from anyone, “I want to go. He seems charismatic enough to form an army to take back the capital.”

My mate stops without speaking a word. After all this time I’ve been able to judge his moods through little nuances, but this silence concerns me. Something in me is dreading his words, and because of this I’m not certain if he’s angry or sad. Maybe both? My heart halts when his silence is broken with just a few words. “I’ve postponed my own agenda for long enough.”

My mouth drops and recognizes we are going our separate ways. I’m shocked for a moment. He’s not telling me not to go, but he definitely will not be following me. He’s leaving to return to his own business.

He knows many people in the world, and they live in peculiar places. Knowing he worked with Bellarn spy network wouldn’t surprise me. But, even the lion in the desert was asking him for something, and he refused because he was training me. He’s been completely focused on me the last few years, and he’s been secretive or completely negligent to his own country and work.

I can’t help the whimper, which escapes me. I truly feel like there isn’t much more he can teach me until I can master what he’s been teaching me. I need more practice. I need more opportunities to learn. But he’s my mate and aren’t we fated to be together?

I turn back towards the village and start walking away from my mate and away from the one thing which holds my heart. I look back, and he’s already gone without even saying goodbye. But then, he probably doesn’t like the word. It takes me a good hour to find the river camp, and I wait for nightfall before I approach the camp.

There are about thirty men all looking rugged. The man from earlier is youthful with a short beard, cropped brown hair, and stormy grey eyes. He steps out of the largest tent with a brilliant smile. “You came!”

“You invited a Shadow imposter, Ethan?” An older man walks up to him. “How can we trust someone cloaked and hooded. He could be an assassin.”

“He’s the one who killed Lieutenant Hinsley, and he’s the one who will stand guard with me tonight. I trust him.” He says to the older man who just mumbles angrily. “I’m glad you came. I won’t tell you everything. Tonight, though, be my bodyguard, and we can work on building trust.”

Then he walks into his tent, grabbing a jacket, then yells, “Move out!”

I follow Ethan as he heads back into the village. His men scatter to different directions, but I stay on his command and follow him closely, keeping my cloak to hide my face.

The Hou Ndours have taken over the regent house. Ethan stands between the house and the makeshift barracks. We are there for a good hour and everything is quiet. I find a perch to sit still while we wait.

Every once in a while, Ethan’s eyes slowly slide up to my position, and then he bites his lips. I can feel his anxious nervous intentions to ask questions, but because I’m not really want him to know, I am a female, and worst case; he realizes I’m the wanted princess. I’ll just play mute and hope he understands.

The alarm bells ring from inside the house waking up the barracks. Ethan cusses lightly to himself and scans the regent’s house. “They need more time.”

The soldiers are rushing our way. He unsheathes his sword, and now I think he’s the mad one. One against fifty. That is if I wasn’t here.

I unsheathed both my swords, and he chuckled, “Double swords? You have no defense, do you?”

‘Well, he’s not much of a mage. He would know we were well defended. I wonder how much can be perceived by us and how.’ My wolf whispers but showing she’s ready for the incoming onslaught.

Arrows come flying at us, and with one swoosh, I deflect them all. Ethan just grins like a lunatic and he prepares for the charge. He steps forward as the ranks reach us. He shows some formal skills. Surprisingly because he had to have been trained at one of the academies in the capital.

I focus on my string of targets and move quickly, decisively, and commit to every s***h to kill. Ethan is struggling to defend himself from multiple attackers when I jump next to him and push the crowd near him away. I then rip my blades into them one-by-one. The last of the guards started running in the opposite direction, and I prepared for the chase. Ethan shakes his head to stay.

He glances back at the house where his men are moving a group of prisoners through the back gate. I hear the pull of a bowstring and search the area and can already hear the wind whistling when the archer discharges the arrow flying straight at his mark. I slide in front of Ethan and grasp the arrow in the air, and keeping its momentum, I fling the arrow back at the archer.

The croak of a man with a crushed windpipe is all we can hear. I smirk but try to keep my focus on Ethan’s silent commands. However, he’s staring off at the distance of where the archer would be with his jaw dropped. With a quick shake of his head, his attention returns to a rapid survey of the bodies at our feet. His jaw dropping even farther down in astonishment.

The yells of his men snap him out of his stupor, and he nods at me, “Come on. We are the tail.”