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An assassin for whoever is willing to pay the price for her services, Aerilynn Maeve Stormbringer lives alone. In a world full of chaos and cruelty, she has placed herself into a life of silence, speaking rarely or not at al...
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Millie slowed in exhaustion as we stopped for the night. Days and days of constant riding were hard on even the most resilient of horses. My pursuers had lost me a couple of hours after I left the Orange Rivers borders. Only about a days ride from the Guild of Shadows home base, I had decided Millie needed a well deserved rest.
The Guild of Shadows rested on the far side of the Air Spires, quite close to the Gem Desert. The Guild of Shadows resides within the city of Glendalee as a way for it to be better disguised. Nobody would believe the infamous home of assassins was in fact the foundations of a very rich, wise, and prosperous city. Every resource was available to the Guild because of its proximity to the Capital, the many institutions of the Air Spires, and the gem filled caves of the Gem Deserts.
Dropping down from the saddle, I took off Millie's bridle and let her graze in the nearby field. She wouldn't go far, she was too wise for that. Taking my sleeping mat and rolling it down on the soft earth, I sat down on it as I tried to start a fire with the twigs and leaves I had gathered. The leaves caught quickly and once the fire was stable I started off into the nearby woods.
I needed some sort of game for dinner, I couldn't stand to eat bread and cheese any longer. Pulling my dagger out of the sheath at my thigh, I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the forest around me. Fae had the natural ability of enhanced senses, but the ability to hear the heartbeat of their prey and detect the species of its origin took some time to master. Luckily, after my freedom from the Guild of Assassins, I'd had quite a lot of it. The fast, frantic beat of the many squirrels hearts around me reached my ears first. Then the songbirds similar beats. Turning my head to and fro I was finally able to hear the heartbeat of the animal I was hunting for. Opening my eyes once more, I picked up a stray pine cone and threw it in the general direction of my prey. The rabbit spooked easily and quicker than a flash my arm threw the knife into its head. A quick painless death, good.
Returning to my campfire with my game, I quickly skinned the rabbit and started roasting it in a spit. It took very little time to get it to cook. The warm, chewy meat was a blessing after the weeks and days that I had lived off bread and cheese. Millie, finally done with her grazing lay beside me as the sun finally set. No light remained after some time and as I lay back into the bedroll, I watched the stars that winked at me from above. A deep blue-black the sky appeared to be tonight, it reminded me of the depths of the little river that ran in between SilverHollow. It reminded me of the depths Brynn and I would swim in the heat of the summer. I was reluctant to admit it, but I missed Brynn, even if we were days apart. Sighing at my melancholy thoughts, I stirred the fire once more and settled into my mat. Sleep, as attractive as that thought was, is a long time coming.
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The morning sun reached my tired eyes first. It had taken me hours to fall asleep and the sunrise only gave me a couple hours of sleep after a long day of riding. Sighing, I pack up camp for the final time before I am finally able to sleep on a good bed instead of a hard mattress. Loading everything up on Millie, I hoist myself on her back. My sore muscles protest as we set off towards Glendalee.
