The Redwood Rebel (The Redwood War Book 1) (7 page)

‘You’re being incredibly rude,’ she informed him. ‘I understand you trying to ascertain my honesty, but there’s no need for you to look further than that.’

Naomi was almost knocked back by the wave of surprise that came from the dragon, but felt him immediately pull back. He eyed her almost lazily for a moment, then the faint echo of deep, warm amusement nudged at her mind. It was over very quickly, but even the shadow of it was enough to prickle her annoyance.

‘No offence, but while you’re laughing your scales off, you’re actually bleeding to death.’ She crossed her arms even as his eyes bore into her. For a moment they were at a stand-off, eyes locked, each battling for dominance. Naomi’s eyes began to sting and she was sure she would have to blink, when the dragon shifted in pain and winced. The blood was pouring from his gaping wound now, pooling on the grass and being absorbed into the ground. She felt overwhelmed by concern and winced along with him.

‘Let me help you,’ she coaxed. ‘I don’t want to leave you like this.’

The dragon sighed and there was a soft warmth to the magic that brushed past her as she felt his acceptance. Naomi realised how tense she had become while waiting for his answer. It was an odd sensation, but she didn’t have time to question her peculiar empathy for him.

‘My camp is nearby,’ she told him, taking a step back. ‘I have supplies, and I’ll need a few herbs I can-’

‘No!’
he roared, knocking the breath out of her with his vehemence.

Hands over her ears, despite it making absolutely no difference to the ringing his bellow had left in its wake, she snapped back before she could stop herself. ‘When you’ve quite finished!’

The dragon made no reaction to her annoyance, eyes boring angrily into her. She had no idea what she had supposedly done to warrant such a violent reaction and was quickly losing patience.

‘You will not leave,’
he hissed.
‘You will stay.’

‘Look, either you want my help or you don’t. I haven’t got any way to help you like this, and I can’t tarry here,’ she paused, fleetingly concerned by how much she should say. ‘I’m being hunted myself.’

He sighed quietly.
‘I know.’

He seemed to suddenly relax, but her initial relief at his apparent understanding dissolved when she realised he was looking at something behind her. In one smooth motion she had taken the hunting dagger from its sheath at her hip, turned, and fallen into a defensive position. In the few seconds it took, she saw three Korenian soldiers standing with bows aimed directly at her. Before she could even consider her chances, from the corner of her eye she saw more movement and realised they were surrounded. Glancing at the dragon, she felt his smugness wash unpleasantly through her mind. Apparently only she was surrounded.

‘Surrender your weapons.’

He was so sure she would do it, this dragon from Koren who she had only wanted to help. Naomi gripped the blade tightly and scowled. She should have known better. Koren was allied with Adrienne now, and their soldiers were some of the best in all of Ilios. They were clever, using the harpies to draw her out like that.

‘Submit!’

She couldn’t take out all of these archers. She was tired, at the very edges of her strength, and despite her bow being across her back, it might as well have been leagues beneath the Southern Ocean for all the good it was now. The thought of her dark cell twisted her gut. Raising her chin in defiance, she lifted the blade to her own throat. They would not take her alive this time.

‘No!’

A surge of terror that was not her own tore through her body, and the ground seemed to move beneath her boots. There was an eruption of heated magic from the dragon and the knife was torn from her hands by an unseen force. Naomi and all of the archers were knocked to the ground, and she was sure she was dead, certain he had just incinerated her and the forest with his fire breath. She tried to shield her face from the burning temperature, but she couldn’t move.

Then it stopped. The heat was gone, the magic withered away, and not a sound could be heard. She wasn’t entirely certain the dragon hadn’t somehow blown her ears out with his careless power, until a few leaves rustled in the faint breeze of the early morning. She blinked, then looked hesitantly to the dragon.

Except the dragon wasn’t there. Instead, there was a man. A Korenian man. Despite his injuries, he was struggling up to his feet, and she tried again to move. Magic she recognised held her down, and she smothered a bellow of outrage that fought to free itself from her mouth. He looked at her then, his face twisted in apparent fury and those same yellow eyes flashing dangerously.

One of the soldiers rushed forward to offer support as he stumbled slightly, but he was waved aside even as the scent of heated magic filled the air like crushed mint and citrus. As his hand passed over his upper body, she saw how he straightened and knew he had healed his wounds. From her sprawled position on the grass, she couldn’t see all of the other soldiers, but the few within her sight were now standing to attention. A sickening suspicion turned her stomach over.

‘My King,’ the first guard muttered, bowing and taking a step backwards.

The old title “Dragon King” suddenly took on a whole new meaning as her hunch was confirmed. She looked back at the man who had been so gentle in the darkness and found it far easier to recognise the dragon instead. His long, curling hair was tied into a slim, neat braid down his back, reminiscent of the interesting spines that had adorned his neck, so black that it shone blue in the early morning light as his scales had done. For a second she remembered how it had felt under her fingers, then angrily shoved the memory away.

‘How dare you try to harm yourself in such a way,’ he growled as he stood over her. ‘After all that has passed, all you have put me through, you owe me better than that.’

Naomi said nothing. She was exhausted and furious at being restrained like this. She felt him push at her mind again and fought against the magic. ‘Stop it!’

He motioned into the wood to the waiting soldiers, ignoring her protest. ‘Her camp is over that way. Up the large oak her horse is tethered to. Retrieve her supplies and come back so we can make our way to the others.’

She glared up at him, snarling quietly as she used all of her strength to try and get free. Her breathing became laboured as she fought as hard as she could.

‘You’re tired,’ he said, and the now familiar magic reached back into her. Her vision swam and she knew she was about to lose consciousness as he firmly commanded. ‘Sleep.’

Chapter Seven

The darkness pressed down on her from all sides, pushing her into a huddled position on the cold, dirty floor. She couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. It was smothering her, choking her. She clenched her fists so tightly that her long, unkempt nails dug into her palms. The pain helped, but not enough. There were screams from the torture chamber above, sounds of agony and pleas for death. Sounds no living person should make. She curled up tighter and began to rock back and forth. It didn’t help. She could not see. She could not breathe. A silent scream tore from her dry and bleeding lips.

‘Hush, hush now. You’re safe here, I promise. Calm down…’

The nightmare melted away and Naomi’s eyes snapped open as she came back to the present. She was heaving even as a beautiful Korenian woman smoothed her hair from her sweaty brow and muttered comfortingly to her. The woman nodded in encouragement as she tried to get her breathing back under control.

‘There, that’s right,’ she soothed gently. ‘You’re alright. Just breathe, that’s it.’

‘Where am I?’ Naomi gasped, the old memory of her imprisonment fresh and painful in the light of day. ‘Who are you?’

The woman smiled, sympathy and understanding in her large brown eyes. ‘My name is Esta, I’m a friend. You’re at our camp and well protected, I swear it. No one will harm you here.’

‘Esta?’ She turned the name over in her memory, but there was nothing. Her body was shaking and she was covered in sweat, her eyes and chest burning painfully. She felt ill.

‘It’s alright. Here, drink this.’ Esta offered her a cup, holding it steady even after Naomi had taken it in her own weak and quaking hands. The water was crisp and cool, going a long way to relieving the pain in her chest and the churning in her gut. She nodded her thanks as she finished and the woman smiled.

She had never seen a woman with such a beautiful face before. She was like a doll, her eyes glowing out from a visage of perfect complexion, thick brows, long lashes and full lips. Her hair was a dark red, shining like mahogany and tied in a simple tail at the base of her neck. Naomi couldn’t help but envy the strong bone structure, and the height that was obvious even from her seated position beside the bed.

‘You’ve had a difficult time,’ the woman smiled sadly. ‘Arun is waiting to speak to you, but he can wait until you’re feeling stronger, I think. Are you hungry?’

‘I haven’t eaten properly for a while.’ Naomi admitted evasively, her voice regaining a little surety. She remembered the King and the harpies and being captured and magically compelled into losing consciousness. This was not the awakening she had expected.

Looking curiously around, she could see she was inside a tent. It was quite a big tent, round in shape with a thick wooden pole in the centre to hold it up. There were large rugs laid almost haphazardly across the floor, in varying colours and patterns, with a few bits and pieces of furniture scattered about. There was an ornate metal bathtub on the far side of where Naomi lay on a soft, big pallet under heavy silk sheets and furs, and a desk and chair covered in papers and a few books.

‘I thought so.’ Lady Esta looked pleased and with a wave of her hand, used magic to summon a tray to the small table beside where she sat. The delicious smell of food and good cha filled her nose. There was fresh bread and thick, herby-smelling broth that made her empty stomach ache. The other woman smiled happily with herself.

‘Do you need help sitting?’

Naomi shook her head and tried to smile back, although it had been so long since she’d been in polite society, and she was sure she had only grimaced. Lady Esta didn’t seem to mind, however, and waited patiently for her to prop herself up in the bed, the pillows supporting her back even as her arms shook at the exertion. When she was ready, Lady Esta took the pot of cha from the tray, placing it on the table with two pretty little glasses, and passed the food over into Naomi’s lap. While the other woman delicately poured the two hot beverages, Naomi wondered if she should be concerned about poison, but quickly dismissed the notion. If this woman had wanted her dead, she wouldn’t have waited for her to wake.

As she ate the food carefully, knowing that after so long living on small rations could make her ill, she turned the events leading up to this over in her mind. King Arun had been hunting her, that much was obvious, and with her current treatment being taken into consideration, it seemed unlikely to be on Cygnus or Adrienne’s orders. Did he know about her part in the awful deception? It seemed the most likely choice, but that didn’t explain why she hadn’t been executed or imprisoned yet. Perhaps he didn’t know exactly what her part had been? If he had discovered the plot against him, it made sense that the harpies of Appleby had been sent out to find him, or even her.

Adrienne could not have war with Koren. Despite the circumstances, Naomi knew herself that such a thing could never be allowed to happen. She had only fought for a year in the Pirate Wars against the Korenians, but she knew with the state of things in Ffion, the malnourished people and sorry excuse for soldiers, there would be nothing left of her country but a wasteland of ash and death.

It made sense that they would try and put an end to the Dragon King’s life before he could report the act of treason against him. But where did she fit into all of this? Perhaps to save themselves, Adrienne and Cygnus had offered her up as a scapegoat? That was likely, but still didn’t account for her gentle treatment and comfortable surroundings. Perhaps it was some sort of trick?

It didn’t take long for her shrunken stomach to become full after so long of eating very little, but Lady Esta looked understanding and took the tray away without comment. Offering her a glass of cha, Naomi accepted it and tried again to smile politely. She would get the hang of it eventually.

‘Thank you,’ she said, breathing in the earthy scent of the drink appreciatively. ‘I feel much better.’

‘I’m glad,’ the other woman’s smile became dazzling, then shy. ‘You look better. When Arun brought you back to camp, we were all terrified for you. I’ve never seen him so afraid.’

Naomi frowned in confusion. ‘Why? What was wrong with him?’

‘Forgive me, but you’re clearly unwell,’ Lady Esta looked embarrassed to say this, ducking her head slightly. Naomi felt a real smile tugging at her mouth at this reaction, completely aware of how she must appear. She took stock of the white cotton sleeping chemise she was now wearing, and supposed Lady Esta had seen the worst of her condition. She was about to address the other woman’s discomfort at the admission, when Lady Esta hesitantly took her hand and looked sorrowfully back at her. ‘He said you tried to take your own life.’

Grimacing at the bemusement this caused her chaotic thoughts, Naomi looked uncomfortably down at the hand that held hers. She had, but it had been the result of a split second of blind panic. She was glad she had been stopped, no matter the circumstances. Ffion needed her alive, and it had been selfish of her not to put the suffering people first.

She shrugged. ‘What difference does that make?’

It was Lady Esta’s turn to look confused, then shocked. Her hand tightened fractionally on Naomi’s for a second, and there was a touch of horror in her expression. Naomi knew suicide was seen by most cultures as an atrocity, but in Tsumetai it was a perfectly honourable way for a warrior to meet their end when there was no way out. She knew her mixed blood was obvious, but supposed the radically different approaches to the subject somehow negated her own upbringing.

‘Don’t you know?’ Lady Esta whispered. ‘Has no one explained?’

‘Explained what?’ Naomi shook her head. There was a rustle of heavy fabric then, and the entrance to the tent was thrown aside. King Arun walked in quite carelessly, then apparently seeing the serious expressions of the two women, stopped in his tracks, brows furrowing.

‘What’s going on here?’ he asked, looking suspiciously at Naomi. She could only quirk an eyebrow in silent disapproval, the turned her attention back to Lady Esta. The woman wasn’t looking at her any more, but had instead turned those troubled eyes on the King. She did not release Naomi’s hand.

‘She doesn’t know, Arun. She doesn’t know anything.’

The distrust left his face, and his own expression softened slightly. He nodded, his brow furrowing as he responded. ‘I’ll take care of it.’

‘But Arun-!’ Lady Esta’s voice became high and aghast, but she was silenced immediately.

‘Out, Esta!’ he snapped, eyes blazing at the hapless woman.

Giving Naomi’s hand one final squeeze, Esta looked worriedly at her one last time, before releasing her and standing. Without another word, she curtsied respectfully to her King, then left them alone, her long skirts swishing softly as she went. Naomi couldn’t keep the mild disgust at his harshness to the poor woman from her face. She didn’t want to.

‘My teacher used to say that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat those they consider beneath them,’ she kept her voice steady and arched a brow. ‘Sire.’

He didn’t appear much more impressed with her than she was with him, but after looking her over, he chose instead to keep his silence. Walking across the tent, he stopped briefly at the large desk, apparently to check something, then over to where she lay. He was a handsome man, there was no denying it, but up close she could see he was short. He was taller than she was, unsurprisingly, but far shorter than the Lady Esta. She had surmised as much when they had lain together, but now seeing him properly and coupled with his compact form she was sure she could take him down if she needed to.

From the long, heavy brocade coat and the close-fitted pants he was wearing, she suspected he couldn’t be carrying a concealed weapon bigger than perhaps a small knife. He looked healthy enough, and she knew he was strong, in body as in magic, but there were tell-tale signs of exhaustion. This man was not well-rested, and that could only work to her advantage. He took up Esta’s seat at her bedside, and finally met her gaze again.

‘I’m glad to see you looking better,’ he said seriously. ‘The sleep obviously did you good.’

‘A natural sleep would have been healthier,’ she quipped. ‘But thank you for your concern. I’ll be on my way, if that’s all?’

The young King seemed to sag in on himself then. He rubbed his hands down his face and looked upwards as though praying for patience. ‘You very well know that isn’t all, and this will go a lot smoother if you would cooperate.’

Naomi knew he was right. She was clearly not a prisoner, so what harm would it do for her to hear him out? Perhaps all he wanted was an explanation, and considering her own abhorrence at her part in the deception, she did owe him that.

‘Very well,’ she agreed, sitting up a little straighter in the bed. ‘How may I be of service to you, King Arun?’

He looked startled by her sudden acceptance, then slightly uncomfortable. Leaning forwards, he laced his fingers together and something like a smile kicked at one corner of his mouth. ‘Just Arun, if you please.’

Naomi said nothing, the informality reminding her far too strongly of things that she had no wish to think about any more than she had to.

‘Forgive me, but I think it’s best to be direct,’ he said. ‘I know you were the substitute used by Princess Adrienne two nights ago. I know it was you in my wedding chamber.’

There was no point in denying it. An apology became lodged in her throat, stopped by the knowledge it was far too late and would sound hollow. She kept it to herself and nodded once. This reaction didn’t seem to please him, and Naomi almost felt the flash of anger her calmness evoked.

‘Are you sorry for your actions?’

She sighed heavily and looked away from the irritation she could see ticking away behind his eyes. ‘That is an incredibly complicated question.’

And it was. On the one hand she knew the virginity deal was important to Korenian culture, and she had essentially helped ruin that for him. On the other hand her freedom was priceless. Truly it wasn’t her problem, but she didn’t want to be any more disrespectful of his customs than she already had been. It was an unfortunate by-product of the situation, but she was sure that whoever he decided to marry after this fiasco wouldn’t be that concerned, not with the added bonus of being rich and powerful to boot. Maybe he would even be lucky enough to find someone that just loved him and didn’t care about any of that.

‘I am sorry for you,’ she admitted. ‘But I cannot regret the choice I made for myself.’

‘Do you even understand the damage your actions have caused?’ he growled, bringing her eyes back to him. She shrugged.

‘Honestly no, I don’t. Virginity isn’t a physical concept, not really, so I fail to see what difference it makes.’

Coming from a culture where so-called “purity” on the marriage bed wasn’t of any great importance, she was having a hard time swallowing any of this. All she could think was that he was lucky he was still alive to try again.

He looked at her in complete horror for a moment, then stood up quickly and began to pace. Naomi watched his erratic movements, wondering if she ought to explain her situation. It was none of his business, but maybe if he understood the choice she had faced, it might calm him somewhat. She quickly dismissed this idea. In truth, she had wronged him. No matter her reasons it would be nothing more than an excuse to him, and she didn’t want his pity
or
his censure. She would tell the stark truth and spare herself nothing.