Read Online The Hidden Realm: Book 04 - Ennodius by A. Giannetti - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: A. Giannetti
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ring of mounted men who guarded it. She made no noise, and to anyone who cast his eyes in her direction, she was just one more shadow in the darkness. When she neared the horse herd, many of the horses stopped grazing as she approached, standing with their sculpted heads raised and their half moon ears swiveled forward as they tracked her progress through the darkness. Their great eyes saw her clearly, for the horses of the Tarsi saw almost as well in the dark as Anthea. Delicate nostrils flared as they drank in the familiar scent of the princess. One of them walked out of the herd, greeting Anthea with a soft, low-pitched nicker.
Anthea smiled in the darkness.
“Were you expecting me somehow Portia?” she asked softly, as she stroked the sleek neck of her black mare.
After slipping the bridle over Portia’s head, she sprang onto her back with a supple leap, urging her toward the north at a slow walk. There were guards around the horse herd, but they paid no attention to the mare as she moved past them, for Anthea had slipped down onto Portia’s left side, holding on with supple strength by her right hand and her right heel, so that she was out of sight of the guards.
Once she was a safe distance out onto the plain, Anthea resumed her seat on Portia’s back, urging her into a gallop. As her mare raced over the thick turf covering the ground, Anthea delighted in the feel of the mare’s lithe muscles and the cool night air streaming against her face. Neither her isolation in the vast plains around her, nor the thought of the great predators that roamed the night around her made any impression on her cool courage. Confidently, she urged Portia toward the entrance to the Troll Wood.
When the cleft in the foothills which marked the location of the canyon that held Dymiter’s abandoned abode loomed up before her, Anthea slowed Portia to a walk, searching the edge of the wood that filled the canyon’s entrance for the hidden entrance to the track that led north through the forest.
A steady beat of hooves suddenly came through the night behind her, growing louder as the rider drew closer. Anthea whirled Portia around, fearlessly drawing her sword with a harsh whisper of steel against hard leather. A single horseman approached through the darkness that was no barrier to her night wise eyes. She recognized her brother Dacien at once as he reined Mylachen up before her.
“What are you doing here, Dacien,” she asked quietly as she sheathed her sword.
“The poison which entered my veins during the battle against the Goblins at the Scissura still troubles me at times, especially at night,” replied Dacien. “When I left my bed for a glass of wine to ease the fire in my veins, I saw you slip through the tent wall. I sometimes go for a stroll at night, so the door guards paid me no mind when I left the tent. You disappeared like a wraith into the night, but I guessed that you might have gone for a ride on Portia, so I asked Mylachen to follow you, for he is as keen as any hound once he has a scent. He brought me here,” explained Dacien, affectionately stroking his stallion’s sleek neck with his right hand.
“Thank you for not giving me away, “said Anthea warmly.
“I hoped to persuade you to return before anyone discovered that you were missing,” replied Dacien quietly. “It is the height of foolishness, Anthea, to leave the camp at night by yourself with a traitor still undiscovered in our ranks.”
“I have something that I must do tonight,” said Anthea dismissively, “no matter what the risk.”
“Let it wait until morning,” pleaded Dacien. “We can return here with a suitable escort under the friendly light of the sun.”
“Sun or darkness, they are all the same to me now,” replied Anthea indifferently. “As for an escort, I neither need nor desire one. What I came to do, I will do alone.”
Dacien sighed at his sister’s reply although, in truth, he had expected no less. From past
Anthea smiled in the darkness.
“Were you expecting me somehow Portia?” she asked softly, as she stroked the sleek neck of her black mare.
After slipping the bridle over Portia’s head, she sprang onto her back with a supple leap, urging her toward the north at a slow walk. There were guards around the horse herd, but they paid no attention to the mare as she moved past them, for Anthea had slipped down onto Portia’s left side, holding on with supple strength by her right hand and her right heel, so that she was out of sight of the guards.
Once she was a safe distance out onto the plain, Anthea resumed her seat on Portia’s back, urging her into a gallop. As her mare raced over the thick turf covering the ground, Anthea delighted in the feel of the mare’s lithe muscles and the cool night air streaming against her face. Neither her isolation in the vast plains around her, nor the thought of the great predators that roamed the night around her made any impression on her cool courage. Confidently, she urged Portia toward the entrance to the Troll Wood.
When the cleft in the foothills which marked the location of the canyon that held Dymiter’s abandoned abode loomed up before her, Anthea slowed Portia to a walk, searching the edge of the wood that filled the canyon’s entrance for the hidden entrance to the track that led north through the forest.
A steady beat of hooves suddenly came through the night behind her, growing louder as the rider drew closer. Anthea whirled Portia around, fearlessly drawing her sword with a harsh whisper of steel against hard leather. A single horseman approached through the darkness that was no barrier to her night wise eyes. She recognized her brother Dacien at once as he reined Mylachen up before her.
“What are you doing here, Dacien,” she asked quietly as she sheathed her sword.
“The poison which entered my veins during the battle against the Goblins at the Scissura still troubles me at times, especially at night,” replied Dacien. “When I left my bed for a glass of wine to ease the fire in my veins, I saw you slip through the tent wall. I sometimes go for a stroll at night, so the door guards paid me no mind when I left the tent. You disappeared like a wraith into the night, but I guessed that you might have gone for a ride on Portia, so I asked Mylachen to follow you, for he is as keen as any hound once he has a scent. He brought me here,” explained Dacien, affectionately stroking his stallion’s sleek neck with his right hand.
“Thank you for not giving me away, “said Anthea warmly.
“I hoped to persuade you to return before anyone discovered that you were missing,” replied Dacien quietly. “It is the height of foolishness, Anthea, to leave the camp at night by yourself with a traitor still undiscovered in our ranks.”
“I have something that I must do tonight,” said Anthea dismissively, “no matter what the risk.”
“Let it wait until morning,” pleaded Dacien. “We can return here with a suitable escort under the friendly light of the sun.”
“Sun or darkness, they are all the same to me now,” replied Anthea indifferently. “As for an escort, I neither need nor desire one. What I came to do, I will do alone.”
Dacien sighed at his sister’s reply although, in truth, he had expected no less. From past
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