After all of the pain Thandor had inflicted upon Caderyn and his family, he couldn't help but snarl as they neared the sprawling fort upon the border. Pelagia had suggested that they bypass the keep entirely, to avoid both the toll and the unnecessary attention, but Tessandra had warned them against it.
Slipping past might have saved time but could have created dangers for them later in the journey. If Thandor's knights learned of a band of armed travelers slipping across the duchy without authorization, a manhunt could ensue.
On the slim chance that someone might note her resemblance to Thandor, Melisent had disguised herself with Tessandra's aid. Playing the part of a traveling healer who had been wounded during the assault on Everard's keep, she'd bound her lustrous curls into a tidy bun, then wrapped a bandage from her jaw to her forehead, obscuring much of her face. She also wore a ragged piece of fabric as a shawl customary to Tsannori women, which further helped mask her striking features. Completing the ruse was the posture she adopted; as they approached the border keep, she hunched over a little in the saddle, as if aching with pain from her lingering injuries. Even if someone knew Thandor's face intimately, they likely wouldn't be able to guess she was his daughter.
The whole façade was enough to make it hard for Caderyn himself to recognize her. Were it not for her pale gray eyes, she could have slipped past in a crowd without him knowing.
Despite the strength of her disguise, tension still gripped his heart as they passed through the toll keep. Green-cloaked Jadewall men-at-arms greeted them warmly, accepting the coins for the toll and handing over the requisite writs of passage. Upon hearing that Caderyn was returning home after his long pilgrimage, several of the men even murmured prayers to the saints, thanking them for protecting him on the journey.
Caderyn almost burst into laughter at their prayers. The liege of those lands had turned the pilgrimage into a hellish trek, directly and indirectly causing the deaths of many good men. After all, Duke Thandor's own cousin had put Caderyn's mentor Delwin to death and Thandor's agents had ambushed the pilgrims in Ravenmark.
Rather than laugh derisively or growl with rage, Caderyn merely thanked the men for their prayers and led his companions through the gate. Though there was a large town just past the fort, bustling with merchants and travelers, they dared not take the unnecessary risk of staying in such a crowded place.
Instead they rode right on past the delights of the town, keeping to the main road. The tension lightened as they left the border keep behind, but after the losses suffered against Marco's band of brigands, few were in a bantering mood.
That changed in the afternoon as they crossed a narrow stone bridge and Pelagia looked to Melisent.
"So what's the story behind your wounds? You'll need a good lie if anyone pesters you about it."
"I met a very nasty redheaded knight who punched me in the face after I slept with her lover," Melisent said, her voice calm and precise, as if she was speaking the very truth.
Laughter erupted from Caderyn and his companions for the first time since they'd left Tsannor. It was also the first time Melisent had openly acknowledged her affections for Caderyn, though it was an open secret among his companions.
"That won't work," Pelagia said with a shake of her head. "Because if someone did strike you like that, Caderyn would have to fight them in a duel."
Her brown eyes turned to Caderyn and she gave him a sly wink.
"It wouldn't be honorable to challenge a wounded woman," he replied.
"Melisent says the wound is as good as new," he shot back.
"
Nearly
as good as new," Melisent said with a faint grin. "I would advise you not to risk it just for the sake of a silly duel."
"What
other
activities are approved for Pelagia, hmm?" Tessandra asked, her green eyes sparkling.
"Certain...vigorous activities should still be avoided, at least for a few more days, just to be safe."
Pelagia huffed, glaring at the verdant countryside. Brief as the banter had been, it had been a much-needed diversion after the bloodshed in Tsannor. As his amusement faded, Caderyn couldn't help but glance over his shoulder, thinking of the dead they'd left behind.
His gaze swung back to the sprawling farmlands, scattered villages, and mills of Jadewall. The first few times he'd journeyed through those lands, he'd admired the idyllic countryside, the cozy little villages, and the verdant forests. Now all he could think of was war. His mind churned with tactics and strategies, devising the best ways to assail each town and bridge, the ideal routes with which to flank the larger keeps...
Such thoughts occupied his mind until they made camp for the evening on the edges of a large forest. As Melisent unwrapped Pelagia's bandages, she asked Tessandra and Caderyn to forage for some bitter-flower: a yellow plant known to grow in those woods, useful in the crafting of herbal remedies.
Together, he and the bard wandered within the shadows of the great trees, using the fading light of the sun to guide their way.
"It's been too long since we've had a moment to ourselves," Tessandra said, smiling at him over her shoulder as she knelt to collect a bundle of flowers.
"I know," he said with a sigh, sitting down on a mossy boulder to rest his legs. "And I'm...sorry. I admit even after all of my escapades I have never had anything quite like this. Multiple lovers at once in a single night? Of course. But juggling the affections of three women while also worrying about a pilgrimage and a conspiracy..."
"It's new to me as well, Caderyn," she said, setting down the bushel of flowers and joining him on the boulder.
She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.
"To be quite honest, when we first met I thought it was merely going to be a one-time tryst. I certainly never expected to stay at your side for long, or to meet Pelagia. Or to have my heart nearly broken by her wounds..."
Tessandra shuddered and closed her eyes, causing Caderyn to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight against him. After another sigh and shudder, Tessandra relaxed, turning her lips to nuzzle against his cheek.
"I don't think Melisent actually needed any more bitter-flower," Tessandra said with one of her soft, musical little giggles. "Her pack is full of it. I daresay she probably sent us out here so we could finally have some time to ourselves."
Caderyn smiled at those words and at the realization that the bard was likely right. His heart fluttered, feeling quite fortunate to have been blessed with the affections of such a strange and wondrous woman. For the moment, however, he pushed thoughts of Melisent from his mind and turned to rest his forehead against Tessandra's.
"I know you said that when this is all over, you wanted my family to commission you to write the official songs for my family. Can I commission another one from you?"
After another giggle, she flitted her tongue against his.
"That depends on the subject matter, of course. I only write noble, chivalrous songs. Nothing wicked or debauched."
Chuckling, he gave her another quick kiss, then brushed his fingers over her soft cheeks.
"Do you remember on the night when we first made love, when we talked while tossing stones in the river? Just a simple, idle little activity to pass the time?"
Another soft, musical burst of laughter wafted through the forest.
"I recall getting up to far more than just skipping stones that night, Caderyn."
He gave her lower lip a gentle bite as 'punishment' for teasing him.
"I am no poet or bard, but surely there's some imagery there, yes? The little stones hitting the river, sending ripples through the water, changing the reflections, creating new images and patterns. Each little splash creating little fragments and echoes of what we would share."
Her fingers brushed over his scarred cheek, then rose to toy with his blonde curls.
"I think I can work with that. A warm but bittersweet song about two wayward souls meeting in the night, and seeing fragments of their journey in the water. I might leave out some of the more sordid and scandalous details, however. Notably the fact that one of the lovers in question was
supposed
to be on a pilgrimage of penance, not chasing after women."
As his eyes remained locked with hers, Caderyn reached for the buttons of her vest.
"And what other details will you include in this song?" he murmured, peeling the vest from her slender body. "Will you sing of how your hips rocked so perfectly against mine?"
"I usually don't include such wanton lyrics in my songs," Tessandra said, her breath hitching as he leaned in to brush his lips over her left nipple, then the right.
"Will your song tell of an evening when you and I made love in the woods?" Caderyn continued. "When I splayed you out upon a boulder and licked you until you wept?"
After placing his cloak upon the mossy boulder, he shoved her down onto it, then knelt to tug off her boots.
"Perhaps," Tessandra murmured, reaching down to undo her belt. "But I also might sing of how you bent me over the boulder and fucked me until my cries scared off every bird in the forest."
As he peeled off her other boot, she shimmied the trousers down her thighs, leaving her clad in nothing but a pair of silken smallclothes. Her slender hips trembled beneath the cool air and his touch.
Rising, Caderyn pressed his lips to her neck for a slow, gentle kiss while he slid the silk down her shivering thighs. With delicate reverence, he placed them atop the pile of her clothes, before sinking to his knees once more.
