Read Online Blood Storm by Rhiannon Hart - Free Book Online
Authors: Rhiannon Hart
Tags: Fiction
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finger.
I don’t know what made me do it. An impulse, or curiosity. I put the finger in my mouth. His blood tasted like he smelled, like distilled Rodden.
His eyes widened. ‘What the hell? Why did you do that?’
My face flamed as I realised what I’d done. I let my hair fall in front of my eyes as I tested the sharpness of the blade. Scraping it across his check, I avoided his incredulous look. I tried to concentrate but the taste of his blood was heavy on my tongue. Was I getting a taste for human blood? But it wasn’tthirst that made me lick my finger. It was curiosity. A Rodden-specific curiosity. I wondered what it would be like to bite him. Not in a killing way – more like the way Leap sometimes bit me when he got playful. Testing my reaction, my ability to fight back. Horrified by the image that was forming in my mind, I squashed my thoughts before he could overhear them.
But I couldn’t suppress one thought: that I liked the way he tasted.
I hadn’t had much practice at shaving so Rodden’s face ended up looking rather scrappy. I gave him back the knife without a word and found I couldn’t look him in the eye as we packed up camp and mounted our horses. Once we were on the open road I was glad to ride behind him, out of his sight.
By midday the hot sun had burnt away my embarrassment and most of the strange, fluttery feeling I got whenever the image of grappling with Rodden entered my mind. We began the descent into Jefsgord. The city sat on the curving coastline, fortified by wooden palisades. There was very little farmland, the scrub extending right up to the defences in places. The dock, even seen from the far side, was prodigious. Ships’ masts sprouted from the water like a forest of masts and ropes. Clouds of gullswheeled over the boats though we couldn’t yet hear their screaming cries.
I pulled up next to Rodden. ‘Is it safe, do you think? What if that harming got ahead of us and warned all his buddies in the town?’
‘Jefsgord isn’t like Ercan. I know the captain of the guard here. He’s good at his job and the harming presence will have been kept to a minimum. We’ll go straight to him, and then down to the dock to find a trade-ship for the crossing to Pol.’
I was relieved to see archers atop the city gate, attentive as those in the capital.
Inside the guardhouse, Captain Helmsrid greeted Rodden like an old friend and they shook hands warmly. I waited to be introduced as his sister, but to my surprise Rodden said, ‘This is Princess Lilith’s younger sister, Zeraphina of the House of Amentia.’
The captain took in my black hair and icy eyes. Griffin was perched on my arm and Leap was already sniffing under the man’s desk. ‘I see,’ he said, and I rather thought he did. He bowed. ‘Your Highness.’
I bobbed, feeling odd acting so formally after spending the night lying on dirt. I sat down, hoping they would get things over with quickly so we could get down to the dock. We’d be safe once we were on board, I was sure.
But Rodden launched into an explanation of what had happened in Ercan.
‘Why didn’t it kill you outright?’ the captain asked, turning to me.
‘I think it wanted to make certain who I was first.’ I remembered the jabbing black tentacles and shuddered.
Helmsrid looked grim. ‘We’ll post extra guards. My men reported brants in the sky last night, something we haven’t seen in months. Here’s the body count from the last report.’ He passed a sheet of paper to Rodden. ‘Three exsanguinations: two terminal cases in a hospice and one destitute, made to look as if they had died in their sleep.’
‘Anything else to report?’
Helmsrid shook his head. ‘Where are you going from here; back to Xallentaria?’
‘No, by trade-ship to Pol.’
Helmsrid frowned. ‘Then there is something I should mention. It could be nothing, but . . . I was drinking with a sea captain last night and he mentioned the inordinate number of ships missing in
I don’t know what made me do it. An impulse, or curiosity. I put the finger in my mouth. His blood tasted like he smelled, like distilled Rodden.
His eyes widened. ‘What the hell? Why did you do that?’
My face flamed as I realised what I’d done. I let my hair fall in front of my eyes as I tested the sharpness of the blade. Scraping it across his check, I avoided his incredulous look. I tried to concentrate but the taste of his blood was heavy on my tongue. Was I getting a taste for human blood? But it wasn’tthirst that made me lick my finger. It was curiosity. A Rodden-specific curiosity. I wondered what it would be like to bite him. Not in a killing way – more like the way Leap sometimes bit me when he got playful. Testing my reaction, my ability to fight back. Horrified by the image that was forming in my mind, I squashed my thoughts before he could overhear them.
But I couldn’t suppress one thought: that I liked the way he tasted.
I hadn’t had much practice at shaving so Rodden’s face ended up looking rather scrappy. I gave him back the knife without a word and found I couldn’t look him in the eye as we packed up camp and mounted our horses. Once we were on the open road I was glad to ride behind him, out of his sight.
By midday the hot sun had burnt away my embarrassment and most of the strange, fluttery feeling I got whenever the image of grappling with Rodden entered my mind. We began the descent into Jefsgord. The city sat on the curving coastline, fortified by wooden palisades. There was very little farmland, the scrub extending right up to the defences in places. The dock, even seen from the far side, was prodigious. Ships’ masts sprouted from the water like a forest of masts and ropes. Clouds of gullswheeled over the boats though we couldn’t yet hear their screaming cries.
I pulled up next to Rodden. ‘Is it safe, do you think? What if that harming got ahead of us and warned all his buddies in the town?’
‘Jefsgord isn’t like Ercan. I know the captain of the guard here. He’s good at his job and the harming presence will have been kept to a minimum. We’ll go straight to him, and then down to the dock to find a trade-ship for the crossing to Pol.’
I was relieved to see archers atop the city gate, attentive as those in the capital.
Inside the guardhouse, Captain Helmsrid greeted Rodden like an old friend and they shook hands warmly. I waited to be introduced as his sister, but to my surprise Rodden said, ‘This is Princess Lilith’s younger sister, Zeraphina of the House of Amentia.’
The captain took in my black hair and icy eyes. Griffin was perched on my arm and Leap was already sniffing under the man’s desk. ‘I see,’ he said, and I rather thought he did. He bowed. ‘Your Highness.’
I bobbed, feeling odd acting so formally after spending the night lying on dirt. I sat down, hoping they would get things over with quickly so we could get down to the dock. We’d be safe once we were on board, I was sure.
But Rodden launched into an explanation of what had happened in Ercan.
‘Why didn’t it kill you outright?’ the captain asked, turning to me.
‘I think it wanted to make certain who I was first.’ I remembered the jabbing black tentacles and shuddered.
Helmsrid looked grim. ‘We’ll post extra guards. My men reported brants in the sky last night, something we haven’t seen in months. Here’s the body count from the last report.’ He passed a sheet of paper to Rodden. ‘Three exsanguinations: two terminal cases in a hospice and one destitute, made to look as if they had died in their sleep.’
‘Anything else to report?’
Helmsrid shook his head. ‘Where are you going from here; back to Xallentaria?’
‘No, by trade-ship to Pol.’
Helmsrid frowned. ‘Then there is something I should mention. It could be nothing, but . . . I was drinking with a sea captain last night and he mentioned the inordinate number of ships missing in
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