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Chapter 27
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Flight of the cardinal Chapter 28
The ride to the baron’s estate had been short, and they had welcomed us inside a vast manor. A footman took our coats and showed us to a lavish room where sumptuous curtains draped the tall windows surrounding us, and the sofas had gilded wooden frames that exuded wealth. I wondered if the entire house had furniture like the ones we were in the presence of. Multiple paintings were hanging in the room. Most seemed like family portraits. While we waited, I passed the time by looking at them. The biggest one was a man with dark blond hair, thinning lightly at the top. His dark honey-brown eyes were severe and made me feel like they were scolding me. I surmised that this was Baron Mallard. He didn’t look familiar, which slowed down the blood pumping through my veins. I was nervous about meeting anyone who had ties to Osprey. My past experiences had been awful. The same man was in multiple paintings, often accompanied by a small girl. She was stunning, with beautiful blond hair, pink
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 29
Xander POV I wandered through Baron Mallard’s guest house in the early hours of the morning. My feet kept bringing me back to Ida’s room. But I dared not go inside, although I terribly wanted to. I knew I had crossed the line when she slapped me in the carriage ride from the baron’s manor. I had tried to explain to Ida why it was necessary to do what I did, but I knew my actions stunned her. She had refused to look at me—to let me touch her. I wanted to howl in grief. From the moment he saw Ida, that bastard Mallard was all over her—then blatantly insulted me. He still held a grudge against my refusal of his daughter years ago. Beatrice had moved on since then and had married into a wealthy family. I thought we had been past this. How could I have explained why his daughter would never have been enough for me without mentioning I was a Lycan shifter? Beatrice was nothing compared to Ida. Nothing. I hated the persona I had created while doing my duties as heir to High Hill and it
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 30
I had been on horseback for the better part of the morning. Leaving the city of Maple had been a rather tedious affair. We had gone through the forest to avoid roadblocks. There wasn’t a clear path, so we needed to go on foot, holding our horses’ reins. We were now going to Perch to meet with the rebel leaders. Gideon had offered to accompany me and serve as a liaison between the leaders and myself. Xander would stay behind while conducting his investigation and meet us in Perch once his business in Maple was concluded.I had felt it was better to leave the city since it was under the watch of Mr. Hawk. If his ability was as good as Diana’s, I feared that if I slipped up, I would get caught, or worse, Xander would somehow expose himself while trying to protect me. I saw Xander act on impulse at the baron’s manor. I was a liability to him in that situation. Not to mention that the baron’s men had kept a close eye on us since our arrival in his district.I had the distinct feeling th
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 31
Silas took my hand, held my waist, and led me to an underground tunnel under the ruined castle. I tried to remove my hand from his, but his gentle grip was firm. I didn’t like that he was touching me so intimately, and I didn’t know if he knew I was mated to a shifter. He looked human, so he wouldn’t have been able to smell it on me. Diana followed closely behind, shooting me worried looks. I thought she also felt Xander would disapprove of another man touching me like this. The tunnel spilled into an underground area. It smelled of earth and stale air. The casemate and undercroft remained intact and seemed big enough to house the rebellion leaders and a small other portion of rebels. Still, I understood why most of them went throughout the kingdom searching for lodging and work—it could not accommodate everyone. “I’ll show you to your room. You must be exhausted from travelling so much. There’s a hot spring in the forest near the castle. It’s well hidden. I’ll bring you there onc
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 32
Diana had not returned to our room until I had been fast asleep. I had pinched my thighs to stay awake until her arrival, but I was too exhausted. Whatever had happened with my hand had left me feeling drained. Had I done it? I had focused my energy on my broken hand but had never been gifted with healing magic. Was it because the hot spring was a supernatural conduit that I could heal myself? Or was it the water that had magical properties, as Silas had said? I didn’t know the answer to that. But when I woke the following day and noticed Diana sleeping on the other side of the bed, I pounced on her and shook her hard. She looked at me through sleepy eyes, and I recounted the night’s event. Once I was done, she sat straight up and inspected my hand with intrigue. “Have you tried to use magic with your hand?” I frowned at her question. No, I hadn’t thought of trying. I pulled the sleeves from my shirt up and swirled my wrist, concentrating on creating a surge of magical current a
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 33
There was an uncomfortable silence after the words were said. “She can’t!” Shouted Gideon, outraged. “She’s mated to Lord Alexander.” “Impossible. The princess is a wielder, and it is known that wielders do not have shifter mates! It goes against all laws of balance.” Interjected Count Robin. He almost seemed insulted. Gideon growled at the small man. “She is. I can smell it on her.” They looked at me curiously and took that as my cue to unbutton my shirt and show them Xander’s moon crescent mark on my shoulder. The leaders were silent, looking at each other, then taking steps back to discuss. Silas looked at my mark with an angry red face and said nothing. The rebel leaders must have thought they would pick the pieces up right where the uprising had left them—me being mated changed everything. “Alexander Kestrel is the bastard son of the most powerful lord under the Usurper’s command. We need a strong leader to help rule over Airedah when the princess becomes queen, not some l
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 34
Diana recounted her conversation with Xander while staying at the baron’s guest house. She explained she thought of a hypothesis explaining how magic wielders came to this world. She thought they originated from the Faiths themselves, mixed with human blood—something that was not meant to be created. I pondered over her words. It still didn’t explain what the old man had said. He had clearly gone mad throughout the years. “I don’t understand why he called me Aeternum or mentioned I had to find a binder. What in Faith’s name is a binder?” I shrugged exasperatedly, slouching inelegantly on the library chair. “I can’t speak for the Aeternum part. The poor man looks half delusional, but I think he is right about you being bound. I noticed your vibrations were muffled when you used your magic; not all of it can come through. We need to find the person who did this to unbind you. But why would someone bind you? Most importantly, binding magic has been lost for hundreds of years. Who woul
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 35
***Warning: Sensitive subject/trigger ahead*** I trained with Diana and Gideon’s help for days. I had progressed considerably with defensive stances and attacking spells. I was happy with the new techniques Diana had found and translated from one book. It brought me back to when I was studying with Otis. The thought of my old magic teacher cramped my heart. We had set up a training area in the library. We placed all the tables and chairs on the sides and sparred in the middle. No one came in here, so it made for a perfect hiding spot from the rebellion leaders. I had been avoiding them. Lord Heron and Count Robin still agreed I should marry Silas, whereas Lord Junco and another Lord named Swallow seemed to have mixed feelings about it. As for Silas Starling, I had not seen or heard from him since our initial meeting with the leaders. I was beginning to think he was angry at me—or angry about this unforeseen situation between Xander and me. Their pressure to marry fueled my irritat
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The whip cracked in the air. I felt the leather strings touch my lower back, and as Shrike pulled, I could feel my skin lift and tear. Once the hooks were out, I was flung back near the post. I stopped breathing and tried to control the pain. I had not expected that. “The show is for my personal amusement, as well as to install fear in your mind. Fear in the body is no fun, but fear in the mind, now that is entertaining. Regarding the reasons why I am doing this… let’s just say it’s simply to pass the time until the king arrives, and then we get down to the nitty-gritty.” I felt the leather touch the inside of my ribs. Again, the skin pulled as the hooks receded. Shrike inflicted four more hits, but those had been higher on my back, where my skin was thicker. It pained me less than the previous ones, but I still had to muffle a cry. I started sweating from the pain and noticed that my feet and knees were slipping in the small pool of blood that was accumulating under me. At this rat
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 48 - End
Xander POV When Ida and Diana left the house, I suddenly wanted to tell them not to attend the meeting. My Lycan and I had a bad feeling about all this, mainly with Ida smelling different. Diana had said she was fine, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t. Something in the past few weeks had definitely changed in her. Even Gideon had mentioned it to me. But we both were at a loss to figure out what it was. I couldn’t believe that two prime shifters couldn’t tell what was wrong with her. Leo came out of the house and looked at me, almost pleading with me to take him with us. I ruffled his hair and smiled. “Keep Nimu in the house and ensure everything is ready when we return. The horses must be fed properly if we are to leave in the morning.” Leo’s face turned bitter as he realized he would not be coming with us. He was still young, and I didn’t know what would happen on our outing. It was safer for him to stay indoors with the old wielder. He begrudgingly returned ins
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 47
I closed my eyes and searched for what could unlock the memory orb. I let my energy wander through the glass sphere, pulling some of the power from it. I slowed my breathing and listened to the vibration passing through my fingers and flowing in me. I imagined it looking like a series of small strings tied taut inside the orb—protecting its content like a package needing to be unwrapped. I didn’t quite know what to do, so I whispered an unlocking incantation and felt my magic tug at the invisible strings that resided within. It didn’t want to open. I tried a different approach; I would force the strings and break them. I gathered as much energy as I could muster. My body heated up, and the memory orb became hot as well. I needed to control my power, or it could shatter the delicate magic that created the small spherical storage. Sweat dripped from my forehead, gliding down my side temples and lining the base of my neck. I needed to create a balance between high force and a gentle
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 46
“You both could walk into a trap,” Xander repeated as I dressed in one of my fancier dresses. If I were to leave the house, I thought it best to look respectable. Diana had also dressed nicely. We had chosen these attires to fit better in the crowd. One look at us, and they wouldn’t spare a second glance since we were just another wealthy family staying in the city. My hands were on the poster from the bed, and Diana was cinching up my corset. Each time she tightened a lacing, it constricted my chest and made me take a laboured breath. Why did they have to make those things so tight? Diana pulled on another set of strings, and I almost fainted from the tightness. “Oh, might have overdone it. Sorry, Ida. Let me loosen this a bit,” Diana mumbled as she saw my face pale. Xander growled and sat on the end of the bed, forcing me to look at him. “Stop pretending you can’t hear me! You shouldn’t be going anywhere, Ida. You still smell funny,” he said exasperatingly. “Diana, have you lo
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 45
After days of not hearing anything from Denis, we assumed he had no intentions of aiding us, so we prepared to leave the city. Diana had been a mess since she found out her brother was still alive and had not answered her note. “Do you think he read the message you gave him?” Diana asked me for what seemed like the hundredth time. We had had this discussion on more than one occasion, and I answered each time in the same manner. “I don’t know. I only know Denis took it and placed it in his front pocket. Will you tell me what was on that piece of paper I gave him?” Diana bit her lip while she continued folding some of our clothes. She kept the message secret, not wanting us to know what she had written. It had caused quite a commotion with Xander, who feared that Diana would betray and sell us out to her brother. I understood his annoyance, but I also understood the secretiveness Diana was keeping. The Chickadees had knowledge that no one else possessed concerning the contents of
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 44
After Diana’s name left Denis’s lips, he rapidly collected himself and cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry. I mistook you for someone I knew long ago. Please forgive my misobservation. Allow me to help you. That was quite a tumble you almost had.” Denis gingerly got up and made his way to help Diana with the mess the fallen tray had left. “Please, let me take care of it, Sir,” I interjected, stepping before Diana. Whatever had happened, Diana still seemed a little shaken by the event. She straightened and mumbled, “It’s fine,” then gathered the broken porcelain. I didn’t think my friend almost fell; her path was clear, and Diana had an extremely sure footing from being a maid for such a long time. I thought she let the tray slip by sheer shock. If this man knew her, and she knew him, and they both acted like they didn’t know each other, I thought it best to separate them before the guards became suspicious. I glanced at Xander, who took the hint and asked the curator questions abou
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 43
No one came to get us for three days. Xander’s patience had thinned to the point where he was becoming irritable. None of us dared to leave the house except Diana, who was human. She went out for food and supplies, then returned and left again if we required something else. Gideon, Nimu, Leo, Xander, and I had preferred staying indoors, peering through the windows. We were now in the city where red was forbidden. Looking at the citizens walking past the house, I saw none with red hair. I dyed mine brown to ensure the redness wouldn’t attract unwanted questions. I thought it more prudent for when we would need to go to the Arcane Library. I wasn’t planning on wearing the enormous hat again. I thought it was over the top for the gowns I had in the small chest we had brought. We were lucky that Lady Lucia had left some of her crinolines and petticoats here from her last visit. We hadn’t had enough space to bring my own, and I wanted to dress according to being engaged to a lord. This
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 42
We had eaten early that morning and packed enough food to last the rest of our journey. Cardinal City was a little less than a day away. Once there, we would go to the Kestrel’s house they owned and used when they were summoned to court. Our horses were fresh and ready to haul us to our final destination. I dreaded our arrival at my old home. The beautiful childhood I had in Cardinal City was now tainted by the events during the uprising. Cardinal City sat atop a mountain. The steep rocky mountainsides protected it, and the only way in or out was through the thick, dark forest that lined it from the south. It reminded me of a peninsula, except air surrounded it, and the city was high above the clouds. It was technically a stronghold. The northern, eastern, and western sides had fortified and patrolled walls that blended with the jagged rocks of the mountain that descended to the ocean, while the ramparts served as the first line of protection for the castle and its inner city. The
Flight of the cardinal Chapter 41
On the morning we left Starling Castle, we met Gideon and Leo on horseback while we were half a day’s ride from Perch. Xander had been right about us meeting them on our way out. Gideon seemed anxious at seeing us this early in the morning, but when Diana and Xander explained what had happened, Gideon had also fallen into a sour mood. I was happy to see little Leo again, and he was a great distraction from the others’ brooding attitude. He sat in between Gideon’s legs, holding the horse’s mane. His eyes lit up at the sight of me, and I pressed my horse closer to Gideon’s, gesturing Leo to come and sit on my horse for a while. I didn’t know if they had used the forest path to leave the city of Maple, but I knew their horse must have been tired of holding up all that extra weight. They even brought back a tiny chest with some of my nicer clothes. I thought it was a friendly gesture on Gideon’s part, but it was pointless since riding on horseback with a gown was tough. I preferred keep
