Faith United

[Breaker]

Hours later I sauntered homeward through the forest, my mind already back on McKinley. She would be setting the table for dinner, her auburn hair framing her face as it swayed to and fro with the daintiness of her steps. My little bird. I didn’t know what was more surprising… the way she’d taken to being chained up in bed, or how much I had enjoyed it as well. I wondered if she would want to try the Thaynebinder again that evening, and rubbed the adamantine bracer on my forearm.

Footsteps and heavy breathing interrupted the steady sounds of the forest behind me. Twigs snapped and grass stirred. I pivoted, turning to face the running man.

It was the man I’d saved from the noose. I could still see the mark the rope had left, angry and red around his neck. It might be a permanent scar. His eyes looked wild and he fell on his knees as he spotted me, gasping and wheezing. Even at a casual stroll I moved as fast as most humans could run.

“Lord Breaker!” He gasped. “You must - listen - the deserters. They mean-” he collapsed forward on the ground and dry-heaved twice. He mustered a breath and pulled his body back upright. “They mean to take your woman.”

“McKinley Parish?” I whispered. Suddenly I was in front of the kneeling man, pulling him to his feet by the collar of his jacket. “McKinley Parish?”

“I - th-th-think so my lord,” he gasped, clutching at his bruised neck.

“Why would they take her? Where did they take her?” My voice was a guttural growl.

“They’re following your own order my lord,” the hapless man said, clinging to the bracer on my forearm for support. “Don’t you remember? It was some weeks ago, late at night. You called a small group of us together and told us that if you ever went against your own commands, we should throw your lover in the sea. If Am’aleh does not spare her life, it is to be taken as a sign you have become possessed by evil forces.”

“Where are they taking her?” I demanded, my mind racing around the details the man had shared.

“We have some boats in the port of Gisela,” he said, catching his breath and supporting his own weight. I released his collar and he straightened it. “I believe they mean to take her out to sea and leave her for the sharks, or the waves. Your orders were quite specific.”

How could this be?

“Why did you not tell me when I saved your life?” My hazel gaze seized him as powerfully as the noose had snared his neck.

“I was afraid,” he said, hanging his head in shame. “With the other soldiers around, I felt certain someone would kill me for breaking oath. But you needed to know. I knew there was something different about you that night. You were possessed, weren’t you?”

“I was… my lady is testing me.” I nodded to the soldier. “Thank you for playing your part.” And then I sprinted off in the direction of Gisela.