In all his life, Prince Mikhail had never wanted to kill a living thing as much as he wanted to kill that creature in the woods. Such a foul thing should not exist in the world, and yet... he could not.
It was almost as if the creature knew that he could not. It had laughed at him and in its horrible mimicry of mankind had used the old tongue to call him 'suhbraht'.
Brother... the thing had called him brother.
It disappeared after that. It did not flee in fear, even after Mikhail had drawn his sword, but simply stepped back into the shadows, still clutching its meal and still laughing.
He had to get to the capitol and quickly. Even the Emperor would find such a thing alarming. The ancient ones were supposed to control their underlings. They were not supposed to leave the mountains. They were not supposed to hunt so close to the towns. They had never, to his knowledge, been able to use human language before.
Something had changed. First Chelblade, and now a creature within a half day's ride from Pirchburg-- there must be a reason for such boldness. The ancient ones were not careless beings. Such a thing had never happened before.
Mikhail rode hard once again, cutting across the southern highland plateau, heading straight for the capitol. His troops could stay in Napolanva. They would be needed in the north again soon.
The Princess would also be in Napolanva, and it had been his decision to bring her there, to the north. He had actually convinced himself that she would be safer if he kept her close. It was nothing but hubris. He could keep nothing and no one safe. He was the danger.
'Brother' it had called him.
The creatures would have to be dealt with immediately, but so would the Princess. He had found every excuse to keep her close. If there were an afterlife, Queen Ora would be cursing him as a traitor from it.
It was time he kept his promise. He did not
need an ally in Frem to send her to. Not when he could simply order Ilya to take her there and keep her safe for the rest of his life.
Ilya would hate him for it. The Princess would hate him for it. Yes, they would both hate him... in comfort and safety.
It is what he should have done the day the girl from the brothel arrived at Bludston. He was always going to lose the Princess, but he hadn't wanted to lose Ilya as well.
Mikhail continued to ride as the sun rose high in the sky, and the shadow of his horse stretched long across the frozen plain.
The thought that his brother might already know that the creatures were traveling far from the mountains did not occur to him until late in the afternoon.
In fact, he had been ordered to Chelblade to dispatch of the villagers and leave no witnesses, not to drive back the monsters. The Emperor's order had been very carefully worded. He had been commanded to find and kill those who had caused devastation to the village and turned their swords against the Empire. The people had burned the village to the ground themselves in an effort to chase away the creatures so that they could flee. When he'd found them, the villagers were traveling toward the northern border after cutting down two Unarian border guards who had tried to stop them.
That the Emperor had given such an order, meant that he had already learned of what had occurred in the far north, when even those in the town of Pirchburg, which was far closer to Chelblade, had not. That he even had the foresight to spread rumors of the Duke of Yevin and his rebels in the north, could mean that he planned to use the reputation of his nemesis as cover for the ancient ones.
His brother had always feared the ancient ones... unlike their father.
If the Emperor refused to lift his order to have no dealings with the ancient ones .. or worse, commanded him and his troops away from the north, Pirchburg might soon suffer the same fate as Chelblade. Pirchburg, however, was far too large and well-known to be dispensed of in the same manner as Chelblade.
What was the Emperor's plan? Mikhail's head throbbed. In some ways, the war had been a relief. The distance it had put between him and his brother meant that he did not constantly have to try and stay one step ahead of the Emperor's order. That he did not have to spend long hours trying to ascertain what his brother was thinking and what he would do next.
It was well past midnight when Mikhail finally descended the plateau and entered the first town south of the Highlands.
It was not an area of the Empire he was familiar with, and he did not know the name of it. There was no outpost for him to trade horses at, and all the houses were dark and silent.
He considered stealing a horse, but decided it would take too long. He stopped only long enough to water his animal at a public trough and allow it some rest while he quickly ate dried meat and fruit from his saddle pack.
Ilya would, perhaps, grow concerned after so many days of not receiving word. He would have to send a rider to Napolanva at the next outpost and assure Ilya that he would soon return. He could not risk his aide riding north again, not while such creatures as the one he had seen still roamed the highlands.
Mikhail mounted his tired horse and continued on. He had been successful for many hours in keeping thoughts of the Princess from his head, but he was exhausted now, and unnerved by what he had seen, and his will was weakening.
Thoughts of her were often a torture, stoking a thirst in him that he could not quench, but at times, they were also a comfort.
If he thought of her sleeping... and she would be sleeping at that time... in a bed at the Napolanva Inn.... he could picture her clearly. She would be curled up under the blanket like a child, hugging herself to conserve the small amount of heat her fragile body made. If he lifted the blanket and laid down beside her, she would not wake. Even when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her small cold body against his own, she would not wake, but she would warm.
All the tension and stiffness would slowly disappear as she nestled unknowingly against his side, her small cold fingers curling against his stomach as she tried to pull his warmth even closer. Even asleep, she would smile, and he would lay very still, as still as if he were dead, because in that moment, and only in that moment, she wanted him there. She wanted to be close him. He could make her feel safe and warm, even if it were only for the short time she slept.
"I want to love you... the Gods forgive me, I do..." she whispered.
Mikhail shook his head, dismissing the image of her just as those wide blue-green eyes opened to gaze into his own.
Foolish girl to say such a thing!
He had to send her to Frem while he still had the strength to fight himself. There were only so many times you could tempt a man dying of thirst in the desert with a cold glass of water.
Already, that part of him that wanted her whispered that he now knew for certain that she would not meet the same end as his mother. Whatever the Emperor might order him to do to her, her blood was stronger than the blood of the Krovbond. He had proof of it.
Yet if he refused the Emperor's order, then his brother would finally know that he was not loyal, and all of his careful work of many years would unravel before the Emperor's suspicious probing.
He must never give his brother a reason to suspect.
It was late in the afternoon the following day when Prince Mikhail finally reached an outpost. He was so exhausted that he almost fell from the saddle getting down. His horse was sweating and stiff with fatigue.
Two soldiers came running at his approach and recognizing him bowed immediately.
"I need a fresh horse and a map of the roads between here and the Capitol. What is this outpost?" he snapped.
The two soldiers exchanged shocked glances.
"Where are we? How many days ride from the capitol? Mikhail repeated impatiently.
"M-my Prince, this is Dahlfall in the region of Yevin. You are still many days ride from Torobirk. The shortest route is four days hard ride by the merchant's road," one of them answered.
"And how far to Napolanva?" he demanded.
"Two days," the first soldier answered him quickly.
"Very good. I will need to send a rider to Napolanva with a message for my men there. I will need to--"
"My Prince, your men are no longer in Napolanva," the second soldier interrupted him, and then horrified by his own rudeness, the man quickly bowed his head again.
"What... do you mean?" Mikhail asked slowly.
"Sir Ilya, your second in command has sent messages to all outposts south of the Highlands. He searches for your--"
"What do you mean my men are no longer in Napolanva?" Mikhail growled, as a cold feeling of terror began to rise in his gut.
"The Emperor has sent for the prisoner from Vezda. Sir Ilya and your men have left Napolvana to escort the Vezdan girl to the Emperor's court in Torobirk."
Mikhail staggered back a few steps as his hands curled unbidden into fists. It was rage that filled him now. Rage that hardened his weary limbs and banished any need of rest.
While the ancient ones sent their creatures to feed on his own people, the Emperor was still only thinking about his heir, about how to distract Mikhail long enough to take the girl from him. The last daughter of House Eosin...
"Bring me a fresh horse and provisions, and be quick about it, or I swear your heads will decorate the gates of Torobirk in far less than four days," he threatened.
His plans... had changed.