months ago, but that Zaltana stubbornness won out, and Esau had remained at the farmstead. And it appeared that he had practically lived in the glass hothouse and only spent the minimum amount of time on things like basic hygiene, sleeping and eating.
Then again, it was probably a good thing Esau hadn’t accompanied Leif. Considering he’d been ambushed, kidnapped, brainwashed and shot in the chest with a crossbow bolt, Leif thought his father had fared better, even with the malnutrition. Leif rubbed the scar on his chest, remembering the pain and the knowledge that he was dying. That he’d never hold his beautiful wife in his arms again. Then, from nowhere, Valek had appeared and saved his life. With magic! A month later, Leif still couldn’t get his mind to accept it. Valek, who’d been immune forever, and now...a magician of considerable strength. Weird.
Leif finished potting the plant and several more that Esau gave him, then stood. Stretching his back, he wiped the sweat from his face and headed toward the house to check on Mara. Ever since his near-death experience and seeing her a prisoner of Bruns, he grew nervous when he’d been separated from her for more than a few hours.
The trip to the Citadel was going to be tricky. He planned to let her ride his horse, Rusalka, with instructions to head back without waiting for them. It was safer for her, and she’d have a better chance of avoiding the patrols by traveling alone. The time apart would be torture for him, but it was much better than letting Bruns capture her again.
Mara was in the farmhouse’s large kitchen, cooking supper. He paused in the threshold and watched his wife. Honey-colored curls framed her heart-shaped face. She was gorgeous on the outside and equally as beautiful on the inside. He’d never met a sweeter soul. But he’d learned she wasn’t as soft as she appeared. Her run-in with Bruns had brought out her inner strength.
She spotted him hovering and flashed him a huge grin, her tawny-colored eyes shining with love. His heart melted at the sight, and he rushed to gather her close.
Mara nuzzled his neck. “You smell of earth and sweat.”
“Does my man-odor turn you on?”
She leaned back to meet his gaze. “You’ve been spending too much time with Janco.”
“I haven’t seen Janco in weeks,” he protested.
“Doesn’t matter. The damage is done,” she teased. “Go get cleaned up. Supper is almost ready, Man-Odor.”
“Come with me? Father is busy.”
“And let the roast dry out?”
“Yes.” Food had lost its appeal. Almost dying had a way of rearranging a person’s priorities.
“I won’t serve a meal that tastes like shoe leather.” She squeezed him. “We’ll have time later. This house has lots of bedrooms, and we’ll probably need to check on the horses sometime this evening.”
He laughed. “Is ‘check on the horses’ going to be our code?” Leif imagined a house full of kids and a future Leif announcing that Mommy and Daddy needed to “check on the horses” and would be back.
“You’ve no sense of romance.”
“That shouldn’t be a surprise.”
She shooed him away in mock disgust. Smiling, Leif cleaned up and helped her finish cooking dinner. He brought a tray of food outside for his father. After Esau ate, they loaded the wagon and watered the plants.
“Poor things.” Esau tsked. “Out in the cold. Maybe I should—”
“No. You’re not sleeping here with them. We’ll be on the road for—” he calculated “—sixteen days, if the weather cooperates. You’ll have plenty of time to coddle the plants. Tonight, you should get cleaned up and have a proper night’s sleep in a bed.”
But Esau fretted anyway, and Leif offered to put the tarp on that night instead of waiting until the morning. By the time he finished securing the fabric to Esau’s satisfaction, Leif really did have to check on the horses. He sent his father into the house with strict orders to wash up and go to bed, then headed to the barn.
He breathed in the comforting scent of hay, horses and manure. Rusalka greeted him with a soft nicker. He topped off her water bucket and added grain to her feed. Then he tended to the other two. Fisk had lent them a hardy sorrel quarter horse named Cider for Mara to ride, and who had also been trained to pull a wagon. Leif had traded in his father’s horse for a barrel-chested black draft horse named Kohl. The brute could probably handle the wagon on his own, but, due to the distance, Leif felt better with two.
Mara arrived just as he finished cleaning Kohl’s hooves.
“Come to check on the horses?” He leered.
She ignored him. “I tucked your father into bed, but I had to promise to tug on the fabric over the wagon to ensure it doesn’t come loose.”
“Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“’Cause you’re looking at your future. I’m going to turn into an obsessed old man who will demand that each bag of tea I make will have the exact same number of leaves while hair sprouts from my ears seemingly overnight.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at his right ear. “And how’s that different than now?”
He growled. Mara squealed and ran for it. He caught her easily and carried her to the piles of hay. “Time to check on the horses,” he whispered in her ear.
* * *
The next morning didn’t go as smoothly as Leif had imagined.
“No.” Mara crossed her arms, emphasizing her point.
Leif tried again. “But it’ll be dangerous.”
“No. Where you go, I go.” She climbed into the wagon and sat next to Esau, picking up the reins. “We’ll avoid populated areas and keep to the back roads. We’ll be fine.”
“Do you even know—”
“Leif Liana Zaltana, if you don’t mount Rusalka, I’m going to run you over.”
Esau covered his mouth but couldn’t quite stop a chuckle. Great. This was just great. Didn’t she know Leif wouldn’t survive if something terrible happened to her? However, her stern expression meant he’d have more luck convincing the Commander to welcome magicians into Ixia.
Leif bit back a childish retort. Instead, he said “Fine” in a peevish tone, then mounted Rusalka and took point. The wagon team followed him from the farmstead.
They stayed close to the Sunworth River and kept to the back roads. Making steady progress to the southwest, Leif decided to remain well north of Fulgor and skirt the edge of the Snake Forest until they crossed into Featherstone lands. A solid plan, until it started to rain.
They’d been traveling about eight days when the skies opened and sheets of rain turned the road into a quagmire, forcing them to go south to access the stone-covered ground of the well-traveled east-to-west route.
Blending in with the other miserable travelers was the one benefit of being on a popular route. However, the presence of more patrols was the downside. But with the three of them huddled under cloaks and the plants hidden by the tarp, no one paid them much attention.
Two rainy days later, they were just about past the outer limits of Fulgor when the scent of burnt sugar stung Leif’s nose. Magic. He tightened his grip on the reins but stayed still as the strong aroma swept over him. Rusalka jigged to the side, agitated by the sudden wave of magic. Leif kept his mental barrier firmly in place but was ready to build a null shield if they were attacked by a magician.
Nothing happened, and the scent disappeared. But just in case, Leif pressed on longer than normal, trying to get as far away from Fulgor as possible before they stopped for the night.
The next day dawned bright and beautiful. Too bad it didn’t