Flower of Light Preview | Chapter 2

Flower of Light: The Eternal Stones 1 by Allison Wade.
This is just a small preview. The full book is available in ebook and print on Amazon.

Read Chapter 1 here.


2. Two Warriors

Month III, day 27

Dalswol was the name of the village in the language of the Empire. A few houses and some shops at the foot of the mountains south of the island, at a half-day walk from the Imperial City.

After landing on the west coast, the prince of Wedfall-lend, the Waterfall Kingdom, and the men escorting him, had stopped at the only inn. It was not the most luxurious of dwellings but, for one night, having a bed to rest their bones on would be more than enough, while they waited to be received at court with full honors.

In the common room, Prince Brayn Bluand held the head of the table. He had ordered almost all of the food and drink from the innkeeper’s pantry and didn’t fail to complain constantly about the poor quality and crude arrangement to which they were forced.

His men were agreeing with him, even though they didn’t shy away from eating and drinking.

At one side of the table, seated with the other knights of the guard, Sir Jonathan Silverhart seemed less cheerful than usual, as if he felt uncomfortable.

A strange feeling had crept over him since the beginning of the journey. He had brushed it aside as simple nervousness. It was his first official trip since he had been knighted and he didn’t want to make a bad impression, although he would have preferred to show his valor with the sword and not with fancy ceremonies in a palace. The fact that he had taken the place that had been his older brother’s sometimes made him feel a kind of tightness in the pit of his stomach.

“What’s the matter, Silverhart? Are you drunk already?” One of his comrades-in-arms nudged him, seeing that he had remained quiet for a while.

“I’m nowhere near tipsy, Berth,” he replied, shoving him back and then taking a sip from a mug.

“Let’s get him drunk off his ass so the prince won’t even let him into the court,” another said, pouring him more wine.

“They’ll send him to sleep with the horses,” laughed Berth.

“I told you, your sister is not my type,” responded Jonathan.

The knight looked at him sideways. “You’re not her type either, you’re so short she can’t even see you.”

 “You may be taller than me, but I can still kick your ass,” snapped Jonathan, slightly piqued.

“Oh yeah, you want to show me?” asked the other with a teasing grin.

Jonathan cracked his knuckles. “Anytime, even right now. Shall we go outside?”

But another knight stepped in. “This is no time for foolishness. Let’s try not to create a disturbance.” Sir Greystone’s stern look was enough for Berth to desist.

“Fine. Let’s put it off until after the Council.”

Greystone turned to Jonathan. “And you, calm yourself down. Stop drinking and go clear your head somewhere.”

Jonathan huffed and walked toward the exit. “I didn’t drink that much,” he muttered to himself. “I’m perfectly sober.”

He crossed the threshold and was surprised by the redness of the sunset sky.

Again, that inexplicable feeling.

He started roaming around the silent streets.

The last passersby were returning home before curfew, the shops were closing. His attention was caught by a figure moving furtively.

She was dressed like a hunter. Bow on her shoulder, she was carrying two mountain hares tied by the hind legs. Nothing unusual about that. She was probably taking the game to the local butcher. What was strange, and would have escaped the casual observer, was the short sword sticking out of her side, between the folds of her cloak, and the hood pulled down over her head, as if she were trying to hide. And the way she walked.

Jonathan had learned at his own expense that, for someone like him, paying attention to the most insignificant details could mean the difference between life and death. During the years he had grown up without his older brother, he had honed his observation skills along with the art of the sword. He also had a not-so-healthy tendency to meddle in matters that didn’t concern him and get in trouble.

Therefore, he began to follow the mysterious figure.

He saw her turning into a side street and he sped up to not lose sight of her. With each step, he was increasingly convinced that she was a woman.

The instant he stepped into the alley, he found himself pushed against a wall, a blade’s edge pressed on his neck. The surprise didn’t even give him time to react.

Blond hair combed in a braid, delicate features, and deep blue eyes stared at him, very close to his face. “Who are you? Why were you following me?”

As he had guessed, she was a woman. Also quite young, no more than a late teen. Jonathan swallowed. “I-I mean no harm.” He raised his hands in surrender.

“I don’t believe you,” she stated coldly.

“I-I am… Sir Jonathan Silverhart of the Waterfall Kingdom… You can see my coat of arms if you take your blade off my throat.”

“The Waterfall…?” The girl appeared surprised for a moment and loosened her grip.

Jonathan took the opportunity to parry with his right bracer as he grabbed her wrist with his left hand, forcing her to lower her blade and pivot, finding herself with the knight behind her back, firmly grasping her, and immobilizing her other arm as well. “I’m not the type to hurt a woman, but I don’t like having a weapon pointed at me. If you promise to stay put, I’ll let you go.”

She stiffened, tightened her lips, and then closed her eyes to concentrate.

Jonathan felt a strange energy around them, the air becoming charged. It was only a moment, then the girl let out a sigh and everything returned to normal. “Fine,” she murmured in a low voice.

The knight let her go so that she could again turn toward him. He pointed to the surcoat that covered his breastplate, light blue and gray, embroidered with wavy lines that resembled flowing water. “See, I’m part of Prince Brayn Bluand’s escort. We’re on our way to the Imperial City. I’m not a criminal. What about you?”

She stopped to stare at his chest. “Are you here for the High Council?”

“That’s right.”

The girl looked up to his face. “Why were you following me?”

He ran a hand through his blond hair. “I saw you lurking around at this time of night… I thought you were in trouble.”

“I just wanted to sell the hares…”

“Are you from around here? What’s your name?” asked Jonathan, showing off his best smile.

“I… I have to go,” the girl replied, quickly sliding her weapon back into its sheath and setting off at a brisk pace toward the main street.

But suddenly, she stopped and began to retreat.

Three dark, large figures had just entered the same alley.

Food,” hissed one, sniffing the air.

Dressed in hides decorated with feathers and bones of their prey, long tails sweeping the ground, they were not hard to recognize.

“Oh, no, they followed me here,” murmured the blond girl, quickly drawing her bow.

Jonathan saw them, too, and realized that the situation was about to become unpleasant. Those beasts were dangerous, they would snap at the first sign of hostility, and the girl was already shooting at them.

The arrow hit the first one in the chest, causing him to bend on one knee, but it was not enough to put him down.

The other two moved, as the girl quickly nocked a second arrow.

“Damn it.” Jonathan drew his sword and went after her.

The second arrow missed, the lizard was too close, and the huntress had to back away, dropping her bow and reaching for her sword. The lizard swept it away from her hand with a mace swing.

Instead of moving, the girl was suddenly frozen in front of the enemy, which appeared to have every intention of smashing her head in.

Jonathan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away, so the sharp metal passed just short of her face and crashed into the wall of a house.

The girl turned to look at him, rather displeased. On her right cheek shone a strange red symbol. It looked like a star, with five points, slightly rounded, like the petals of a flower. The knight was pretty sure there was nothing on that fair skin until moments before.

“What are you doing? I was about to…” she began, but Jonathan didn’t let her finish. He pushed her aside and raised his sword to parry an attack from the second lizard. Strong, yes, and as fast as they needed to be, but their technique with weapons left much to be desired.

It was enough to rotate his wrist slightly to sweep the lizard man’s hunting sword out of the way and open his guard completely. From there, the knight had plenty of time to slice through his opponent’s shoulder and chest with a counterattack.

The beast made a guttural sound and dropped like a rock.

Jonathan turned to engage the third one, but the creature had already gone past him and was about to reach the girl. The knight didn’t have much time to think about it, as the first, the one hit by the arrow, had gotten up and was running toward him.

First of all, watch your back. Jonathan raised his blade horizontally to block, but the lizard man, instead of reaching him and striking, suddenly froze, opening his yellow reptilian eyes wide, then collapsed to the ground with a gasp.

Jonathan stared at him in bewilderment, then noticed the arrow with green and yellow fletching that stuck out of his back like a grotesque ornament.

He looked up, trying to follow the trajectory of the shot. At the end of the alley towered the silhouette of a big, dark-skinned man holding a large war bow in his left hand.

Jonathan saw him nock another arrow and take aim at the reptile behind him.

“The girl…” muttered the knight, turning back quickly. The final lizard man had grabbed her and was keeping her trapped in his scaly arms. “Let her go if you don’t want to end up like your companions,” threatened Jonathan, pointing his sword.

The reptile didn’t seem particularly intimidated. He merely backed down the alley, showing his sharp teeth, signaling that he could plunge them into her neck whenever he wanted.

The girl barely moved in his grip. Again, that symbol on her cheek shone in the dark. Was it… magic?

She closed her eyes for a moment and gritted her teeth.

This time, it was the lizard man’s expression that changed, turning into pure terror.

Geyrah!” shouted the girl, and both were engulfed in flames.

The lizard man let her go, screaming in pain and trying to run away, but the intense heat stunned him, causing him to fall to the ground.

Jonathan stood speechless, staring at that body consumed by fire, while the girl, totally unharmed, ran to retrieve her sword and bow. Then she reached the knight and grabbed his arm. “Let’s get out of here before more come.”

Jonathan snapped back and followed her, in the direction of the dark-skinned archer, who was also astonished by the scene.

The girl stopped for a moment to make sure that no one had followed them, then let out a sigh and looked at the two strangers. “Two warriors… Brown as earth, fair as light…” she murmured.

“What the heck happened back there? Who are you? Some kind of witch?” asked Jonathan.

“I… it was nothing… I was hunting outside the village and found a group of Hagwiz. I thought I had lost them, but apparently, I was wrong…” She touched her side, but her prey was not there anymore, probably burned along with the lizard. “I could have used that money for the trip,” she huffed.

“Do you need help? Where are you headed?” asked Jonathan, while the archer returned to the lizard man he had killed, to retrieve his arrow.

“I’m just passing through… But… thank you for your help.” She made a deep, grateful bow.

Jonathan scratched his head in puzzlement, then turned back to the stranger. “By the way, thank you too, I don’t know where you came from, but it was certainly needed.”

The man held out a hand to him. “Krisantha Wasa,” he said in a deep voice.

“What?”

“Krisantha Wasa, it’s my name. I come from the Forests Kingdom. You can call me Kris.”

“Jonathan Silverhart from the Waterfall Kingdom,” replied the knight, relieved to find that he spoke the language of the Empire. “You’re a long way from home.”

“I’m here for the High Council.”

“I figured as much. Same goes for me.” Jonathan said, then shifted his attention to the girl. “And you… you still haven’t told us your name.”

“Kyra,” she replied, inspecting the street apprehensively. “Please don’t tell anyone what you have seen… I’d better go now.”

“Wait, do you want me to escort you?” the knight offered.

She shook her head and started to walk away, but at the last moment stopped, turning back. “You are headed for the Imperial Court, right?”

Jonathan nodded. “We will be there tomorrow.”

Kyra bit her lip as if she were thinking about something. “You will meet the Emperor?”

“Not directly… I’m just part of the prince’s escort,” Jonathan replied.

“The same goes for me,” Kris echoed him.

She nodded. “Will you pass through here again after the Council?”

“Most likely,” said Jonathan.

“I’ll be waiting for you, then,” she concluded.

“Not that I mind… but why should you wait for us?”

She looked at his gray eyes with a half-smile. “To see if the prophecy came true.” Then, without giving them time to reply, she started running into the night, disappearing from their sight.

Jonathan shrugged and looked at the man of the Forests.

“Strange night,” commented Kris.

“Strange, indeed.” Jonathan observed Kris’ weapon. “Is that a war bow? It doesn’t look very comfortable to carry around.”

Kris nodded, “I’m here to represent our archers, it’s more of a ceremonial thing… I didn’t want to leave it unattended at the inn, but I didn’t think I would actually need it on the streets of a village, in a time of peace.”

“Welcome to the North. I can’t remember the last time I heard the word ‘peace’.”

“I’ve learned about some troubles in these parts,” Kris noted, his expression serious.

“But then again, without the war? I’d be unemployed.” Jonathan gave a dismissive smile. “You said you’re staying at the inn?”

“We just arrived, and I went out to scout the area while the rest of my delegation settled in for the night.”

“A very fortunate coincidence.”

“So it seems,” Kris replied, not entirely reassured.

Jonathan patted him on the back. “Then come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Maybe we should first notify the city guard about what happened.”

“I think we’ll find them at the inn licking my prince’s boots,” laughed Jonathan, walking down the silent street.

Kris followed him, continuing to look around puzzled.

* * *

“Kyra!” Yaf’s voice startled her.

The girl had just left the village and her heart was still pounding in her chest. “Yaf…” she tried to say, but the Fae interrupted her.

“What happened? I felt your power.”

“I was surprised by a group of lizards,” she replied, lowering her gaze.

“I can’t let you out of my sight for a moment. You’re already getting in trouble,” sighed Yaf. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I’m fine, two warriors helped me…” she began but then stopped, realizing what she had just said.

“You mean someone saw you using the fire? They saw your star?” Yaf crossed her arms.

“I’m sorry… but I had no other choice.”

The Fae huffed. “I sent you alone to the village because I didn’t want anyone to recognize me as a Fae and start asking questions, but this is even worse.”

“No one else saw us, I’m sure they won’t talk… and then I think… remember when you read my future?”

“I also remember telling you not to trust strangers.”

Kyra kept staring downward.

“Come,” the Fae continued. “I prepared a shelter for the night; we will take care of everything else tomorrow. Now rest, we have a good climb ahead of us.”

* * *

Outside the inn, Sir Silverhart and Kris Wasa found horses tied to the fence and a guard with a white and blue coat of arms.

“They came to welcome us at last,” Jonathan commented, showing the symbol on his chest.

The man let them pass. In the common room, at the table with Prince Brayn, now sat the Councilor of the Forests and another man neither of them knew.

Jonathan joined his companions. “What did I miss?”

“The southern Duke Gendon’s younger brother.” Sir Greystone pointed toward the brown-haired knight. “He’s come to escort us to the palace,” he shifted his gaze to the Forests man. “You are with Councilor Seiba, I suppose.”

Kris just nodded.

“Let’s go report back to the prince,” said Jonathan, as he headed to the table.

“Report on what?” asked Greystone, but neither of the two paid attention to him.

Jonathan approached the prince. “Your Highness, if I may speak,” he said in a formal tone.

“Oh, hello again,” replied Brayn Bluand. “Sir Silverhart. Where were you off to?”

“I was patrolling the area.”

“Silverhart is the last son of the Count of the Lakes,” Brayn continued, addressing the others, and ignoring his reply. “He’s still fresh, he just put on the shield,” he laughed and took a sip from his cup.

The Duke’s brother stood up as a sign of respect between peers. “Lorenz Gendon, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Jonathan reciprocated with a nod, but then came to the point. “We had an unfortunate incident.”

“What kind of incident?” asked Lorenz immediately.

“Some Hagwiz attacked us. You may find their bodies a few streets over,” said the knight with a hint of pride.

“Lizard men? Around here?” exclaimed the prince, in an outraged tone, turning to Gendon.

“I’ll catch up with the city guard,” he responded. “I just arrived from the Imperial City and am not informed of what is happening in this area.”

“Is everything good, Krisantha?” asked the Forests Councilor, an austere man with ebony skin and gray hair, wrapped in a yellow and green robe.

“It’s fine, Councilor Seiba,” Kris reassured him.

Prince Brayn imposed himself on the conversation. “If it’s just a few stinking animals, there’s no need to worry. We will leave this place in the morning. You may retire, Sir Silverhart,” he waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” replied Jonathan, not entirely convinced, but did as he was ordered.


Check out the full book on Amazon

Leave a Reply