We had to start riding again at midnight through a secret route provided by Helene so as to make it to the capital before Ulric regroup to attack again. The dark forest wrapped us in shadows as we rode swiftly under the starry sky. The hidden moon pyed hide-and-seek with the clouds, sending quick fshes of light on our rushed journey.
It was just me, Helene and the knights. Vojnka had woken up shortly before midnight and I had told her to take the sves and meet with the main group to return together. Not knowing how to ride a horse I had to ride with Helene. Settled behind her, arms tightly around her waist as we sped past trees.
"We are been followed" she said, though loud it was reduced to somewhat of a whisper by the thundering hooves and the rush of the wind.
I gnced back and caught a glimpse of four knights swiftly turning their horses without slowing down. As they vanished among the trees, I shifted my attention back to the path ahead, my grip on Helene instinctively tightened.
"Ulric?" I asked.
"No" she replied. "Probably bandits, I'm not sure."
And we continued riding.
The Drakorian horses, as I had noticed, were specifically bred and trained for long distances which gives them an insane level of endurance but these horses now have been going fast for two days already and I think it has something to do with the concoction Helene had poured into their drinks, and so in the dawn of the third day, the capital was within sights.
In the soft embrace of the morning dawn, perched upon the Green-guardian mountain ridge, the capital city y spread out before us like a slumbering giant. The first light of day cast a gentle, rose-tinted hue on the city's silhouette, giving it an ethereal quality.
From this distance, the city's details were shrouded in a misty veil, leaving only the outline of its towering walls and the faint glimmers of rooftops catching the early sun. The distant chatter and muted commotion of life below reached our ears, a blend of distant voices intermingling with the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
The horses, breathing heavily, appeared unsettled by the halt as if they yearned to keep moving.
"Always easy to see how beautiful this city once was," Helene murmured, her gaze fixed upon the distant expanse of the city below. Her voice carried a wistful undertone, as if unraveling the tapestry of time. In that lingering silence, her eyes traced the outlines of spires and arches, now weathered by the years.
With a gentle nudge to the side of the horse, as if released from an age-old spell, they surged forward, their hooves devouring the hillside beneath them. We will arrive at the capital gates under 30 minutes at this rate.
┌─────── ??? ───────┐
"I told you that bitch was no good" Marta said.
Ulric ignored her, a flicker of fme consumed the little parchment he had just read and watched as the passing wind carried away it's ashes. There had been no sightings of the king. He had not traveled with the main group and he didn't take any of the known secret routes. Helene must have led him through a path even he doesn't know. The betrayal was unsettling, not because he didn't expect it, he always expect betrayal, but he doesn't know why she did it. She knows he has most of the awakened on his side yet she side with the king?
The carriage's wheels jolted as they collided with a hidden rock, causing an abrupt bounce. The sudden motion roused young Dyn from his slumber, nestled on his mother's p. He stared at the son that should be his but looks nothing like him, or his mother.
"Did you send word to Aleksander?" he asked his wife about about their son, who was at the academy.
"Yes" she replied, stroking the hair of her child to make him go back to sleep. "He has no problem not coming to the capital for now"
Ulric acknowledged the information with a slight nod, his attention then returning to the world outside the window. This was not how he imagined everything would go, but all is not lost yet. All he needs now is the final confirmation about the whereabout of the old monster, and then the real war begins.
