“She was trying to escape,” the hooded male guard said. “Bring her to the sniffers. I can smell her magic from here.”
My stomach tightened. What? He could? I’d never displayed magic in my entire life. How was he able to tell such a thing? My mother said that my magic had been capped at birth, but now I wondered if it had slowly been opening up.
“Yes, my king,” Regina responded with a head bow and I froze, going stock still.
My king?
With his identity ousted, he pulled back the hood and I gazed upon his face.
King Drae Valdren.
I’d seen a painting of him that one time in Jade City but not up close. Not like this.
His jaw was stronger and nose sharper up close. His green eyes pierced through me with a quizzical gaze. His long black hair was braided and tied up, as well as shaved on the sides—the typical hairstyle of all the Drayken warriors.
“Your Highness.” I bowed my head and did an awkward curtsy at the same time, unsure what the protocol was. I’d just told him things I would not have mentioned had I known who he was.
Kill me now and feed me to the cougarins.
I was torn between my mother’s warning not to allow the sniffers to access me, and Regina and the king staring at me like they would breathe fire over me if I ran.
“I wasn’t running off, I was going on a hunting trip,” I told him as I raised my head.
A slight grin graced his lips for a half a second but then it was gone. “Sure you were.”
Regina sheathed her sword but her eyes did not cease their glowing. Opening her arm wide, she indicated I walk back into the village.
I nodded, stepping past the both of them, praying to the Maker that I wasn’t about to meet my end.
Maybe my mother had been misinformed, maybe the king smelled magic on me because he was the king and he could smell even the smallest amounts but it wouldn’t be enough to actually attract the sniffers. And if they did smell some magic on me, so what? Ninety percent of this village had magic—we were magical mutts. None of us were purebred like the king would be looking for.
Right?
Now I wasn’t sure. Was the highborn woman who’d birthed me really full-blooded?
I hoped not. For my sake, I hoped she’d snuck into Nightfall City and bedded a human man. I walked back into my village clutching the straps of my pack with white knuckles.
If anyone ever detected this magic in her child, that child would be killed.
My mother’s story of the highborn was looping in my mind. Maybe my mother was wrong. Maybe the woman was a raider and had stolen highborn clothing to appear as a noble. Then she’d taken drugs and made the whole story up.
“Why were you sneaking out?” Regina asked me, and I startled a little because I’d forgotten she was behind me.
“I was going hunting,” I pressed.
“Sure. The other girls in Grim Hollow ran off hunting too,” she said with a smile. “You pregnant? Got a boyfriend?”
My cheeks reddened at her insinuation.
“No, I just… I don’t want marriage and I like my life here.” There was truth in that, and so if she had the same abilities as her king, she would smell it. I did want marriage. Kids too. But not with a stranger and not for duty. I wanted to marry for love.
I peered back to see her smiling. “I don’t fancy marriage either,” she whispered. “Hard to find a man who will fall for a woman stronger than him.”
That caused a grin to grace my lips and I instantly liked her, letting my guard down. I knew I would like her based on the stories and gossip that came through town about her, but especially now that I’d met her.
“Arwen!” My mother’s shocked, slightly high-pitched shriek came from the alley.
I spun, my eyes widening. “It turns out that hunting trip will have to wait. I need to be inspected by the sniffers first,” I told her.
The alarm on her face was apparent to me but I hoped not Regina. “Oh. Well, let me accompany you, then.” She reached out her hand to take my pack and I unloaded it, grateful not to have the weight of it any longer.
My mind spun with what she must be thinking. She’d truly acted in fear for my life just a moment ago. I knew she must be freaking out about this. But maybe it would be okay. The sniffers would do their thing, leave all of the magicless women in Cinder Village behind, and be back on their way.
I wondered what anyone from the village would think about the king hiding just outside these gates. Why didn’t he come in? We’d never had a visit from the royal family before. Not as long as I had been alive. The people of Cinder would be honored to meet him and the fact that he hid outside caused anger to unfurl in my gut.