Flight of the Five Swans
Feathered Chapter 27

Raia

On thethird morning, Raia was packing up her few belongings to begin walking againwhen she realized that something was different. She stiffened, glancing around the clearing nervously. There, Ayden was kicking dirt over thecampfire in an attempt to extinguish the still glowing coals. That couldn’t be counted as out of theordinary. There were no odd sounds inthe vicinity—not anything she couldhear, at least. And if there wereanything nearby, Raia was certain that her sisters would have made a fuss longbefore she would have sensed it, anyway. But they remained oblivious to any disturbances, scratching at theground and snatching up weeds in their beaks. So what was the problem?

Then it hither.

Her gaze swept over the swanswandering the campsite and she counted them mentally. One,two, three, four...

Raia’s mouth dropped open inhorror. Where was Cliodne?

She dropped her pouch and spunaround, looking wildly in all directions for any sign of her fifth sister. Why were the other swans not as worried asshe was by Cliodne’s disappearance? Hadthey really not noticed? Or didn’t theyeven care? Panic filled her chest. Wherewas she?

“Looking for something?”

Ayden’s voice sounded amused, andRaia turned to face him with her face filled with anger. Did hereplace her panic funny? Then shefollowed his gaze, and her legs buckled under her in relief.

There was Cliodne, perched on thesaddle of Ayden’s horse and looking for all the world as though she had alwaysbeen there. Raia nearly cried at thesight of her. Her worry had been brief,but intense nevertheless.

Ayden stood with his hands on hiships. His lips quirked to the side as heregarded the swan with an expression that was highly amused. He glanced back at Raia.

“I think at least one of yourbodyguards might be warming up to me, don’t you think?” He commented with a small laugh.

Raia’s smile was faint, and hermind was racing. She knew her sistersbetter than anyone. While she knew thatAyden spoke the truth in regards to how they—and she—were slowly coming to trust him, she could also read betweenthe lines, and knew that Cliodne’s choice of perch was anything butcoincidental. She recognized thecolossal hint that her sister was trying to send her, and had to admit toexperiencing profound relief at this evidence of her elder sister’s blessing.

Raia picked up the pouch she’ddropped and walked over to the horse, stopping only when she’d drawn level withUndertow’s stirrups. Cliodne tilted herwhite head to look down from her perch on the saddle, and then jumpedgracefully down to the ground, fluttering her wings to keep balance. Raia turned to look at where Ayden stoodwatching her with a bemused expression on his face. She touched the saddle lightly with one hand,and then placed the other on her own chest.

Ayden looked puzzled for a moment,but then comprehension dawned in his eyes.

“We’d reach the castlemid-afternoon if we rode. On foot, itwould take another couple of days.” Hetold her. Raia nodded, and then pattedthe saddle decisively. She—they—would ride.

For a moment, Raia thought thatAyden looked almost disappointed at the idea, but his expression quicklycleared. He smiled at her just ascheerfully as ever, and walked to stand beside the mount as well. He looked apprehensive, and Raia suspectedthat he was expecting her swan sisters—or more accurately, Thaleia—to attack him at any moment for daring to approach so closeto her. But that morning, Ayden remainedunscathed.

Ayden stepped right up beside Raiaand for the first time, she realized how tall he was. He wasn’t a giant by any stretch of the word,but Raia still had to crane her neck back a bit in order to hold his gaze. She hadn’t noticed before, but his eyes werea rather lovely shade of cocoa brown. There was an unreadable expression in their depths as he looked at her—acurious expression, as though a puzzling revelation had only just occurred tohim in that moment. Raia felt a strangefluttering sensation deep in her chest that she couldn’t remember everexperiencing before.

Ayden tilted his head towards thehorse. “Shall I help you up?” he askedher, his voice soft. Raia felt a momentof indecision, then of panic. Was hesimply talking about giving her a leg up, or was he planning on lifting her intothe saddle, as some of the Kyorian guards had occasionally done? Truth be told, Raia was not certain of beingable to handle the latter option; she felt a nervous fear at the idea of Aydencarrying her, even if it were only tolift her onto the horse’s back.

She shook her head, smilingslightly in an attempt to lighten her refusal of his offer. Again, Raia thought she caught a look ofdisappointment cross Ayden’s face. Shedismissed the idea, and made to mount up onto the horse. Mounting Undertow on her own was an easiertask than what she was expecting, as the ripped state of her dress preventedher skirts from becoming tangled around her legs. Once she was firmly settled in the saddle,Ayden mounted as well to sit behind her on the horse’s back. He reached his hands to either side of her totake the reins, encircling her body with his arms. Raia felt her face heat slightly at theirproximity. To her, he smelled not of theforest of which she was becoming quite tired, but rather of the smell of theleather armor he always wore. She had toadmit that she found the scent quite pleasant. Her face heated even more, if that was possible. It felt as though she had stuck her faceclose to a campfire.

Ayden kicked the horse first into atrot, and then into a slow, lumbering canter. Raia gripped the horse tightly with her knees. She was unused to the sensation of ridingwith her feet hanging loosely by the horse’s side, rather than resting in thestirrups. She glanced behind her andpast Ayden’s face, so close to her own, craning her neck to watch hersisters. The swans rose into the airwith joyful honks, flapping their wings eagerly as they lifted higher andhigher into the sky. Raia had a moment’spanic. What if they should leave, justfly off and disappear from her sight, never to be seen again? What would she do then?

But as always, the swan sistersseemed to be drawn to accompany Raia, and kept pace above her as the horsecantered on. Though they were notactually traveling at Undertow’s top speed, Raia marveled at how quickly theywere covering ground. After weeks ofwalking at a snail’s pace—or rather, a swan’space—riding on horseback seemed to positively swallow the ground underneaththem. Her body adjusted easily to therhythmic motion of the horse, and she welcomed the refreshingly brisk breezethat caressed her face. Raia felt a bitsheepish. Had she not been sosuspicious, they could have been riding like this several days ago, andprobably would have already reached the Hiallan palace by then.

Raia looked up at her sistersflying far above them. The swans werecertainly enjoying this change in their routine as well; they swooped in largeloop-the-loops, wove in and out of the clouds, and dive-bombed each other inplay. Raia smiled at the sight. She suspected that the endless walking hadbeen much harder on her sisters than it had been for her. Theyhad been capable of flying without being able to capitalize on their ability—atleast, not while there had still been a risk of being spotted, and subsequentlyrecaptured by Soran’s men. Now, theywere free to spread their wings and fly as they wished. Their joy in this newfound freedom waspalpable, and Raia’s heart lightened at the sight.

The only downside that Raia foundwas that she could no longer knit while they traveled—not that she didn’t try,of course. But however smooth the rhythmof the horse’s movements appeared to be, her hands were still jostled a littletoo much for her to adequately control the motions of her needles. After her third dropped stitch on the samerow, Raia gave up all attempts. Shetucked away the unfinished shawl, and tried to simply enjoy the ride in thefresh morning air.

Raia picked up her knitting againwhen the group stopped for their midday meal, which consisted of dried jerkyonce more. Even after three days ofeating the same fare, she still relished the taste of the protein. Ayden, however, seemed more than apathetic asto the flavor, and Raia suspected that he was already dreaming of the momentwhen he would again be able to taste fresh food. She was surprised, therefore, when heappeared reticent to continue on their way immediately after they finishedeating.

“Might as well let your bodyguardseat a bit longer,” he told Raia, his voice casual. He leaned his back up against a tree andstretched his legs out straight in front of him. Raia glanced at her sisters with raisedeyebrows. All but one—Thaleia—hadalready finished foraging for their lunch, and were nestled on the ground. Callia and Petra sat grooming their featherswith their beaks, while Eurielle had her head tucked under her wing, and lookedin serious danger of falling asleep then and there. Ayden followed her gaze, and then looked at herwith a sheepish expression.

“Or we could get going now.” He admitted, sitting upright and then risingto his feet in one smooth motion. Heheld out a hand to Raia and, slightly surprised, she took it. Once on her feet, she busied her hands—andher eyes—by stuffing her knitting away once more, eager to avoid Ayden’s gaze.

Ayden adjusted the stirrups onUndertow’s saddle while Raia herded together her swan sisters. Eurielle, she had to nudge awake with herfoot. In a matter of moments, all six princesses—swanand human—were awake and ready totravel on. Already mounted, Ayden heldout his hand and pulled Raia up into the saddle in front of him. The swans lifted around them into the air,and the party was off once more.

The sun wasstill high in the sky when they crested the last hill and Ayden brought thehorse to a stop. Raia caught her breathin amazement. Sprawled before them was ahuge city, full of buildings with spiky roofs and winding streets crowded withmoving figures. In the center of thecity was an enormous palace with a domed roof made of what looked like solid gold. Theroof was dazzling in the afternoon sun. Light sparkled off the exterior and for a moment, Raia was blinded bythe reflection in her eyes.

The Hiallanpalace. It had to be.

At any given moment, Raia expectedAyden to stop the horse to let her off, so that he could continue on his waytowards his home while she walked on to the palace. However, this was not the case. Ayden kept them riding at a slow walk rightdown the main thoroughfare, as if he were intending on escorting Raia to thepalace personally. Raia had no voicewith which to tell him that this was unnecessary—kind of him, certainly, butunnecessary.

Fingerspointed as they rode the horse into the city. Raia was not surprised that they were drawing so much attention; afterall, her sisters still lingered above them, following Raia like trainedbirds. She had a feeling that very fewpeople in the world—let alone in Hiall—had ever seen a party that was composedalmost entirely of swans.

Raia was slightly surprised, however, by theattention that Ayden seemed to be attracting from these same people. Many of the citizens that they passed smiledbroadly at the sight of him, waving to him in a friendly greeting, and sometimesblowing a kiss. Ayden returned many ofthese gestures good-naturedly, and Raia could only assume that he was verywell-known—and well-liked—in his home city, as nearly everyone seemed torecognize him.

“Good to see you, Your Highness!”

Raia startedat the shout and her eyes scanned the crowds of people for the person who hadrecognized her. Yet she saw no familiarfaces. Then she realized that the shouthad been directed not at her, but at Ayden.

Your Highness?

Raia lookedback over her shoulder at Ayden, her shock registering clearly on herface. Ayden caught her gaze and smiled.

“You neverasked.” He told her, his voice soundinga bit mischievous. Her look turnedstern, Ayden’s lips quirked to the side a bit as he remembered her apparentmuteness. “Oh. Right.”

Raia turnedto face forward once more, but her eyes saw nothing of the city streets beforeher. Ayden was royalty? But that wasn’t possible. From everything she’d heard, the Hiallanroyal family had always been similar to her own; Queen Therese and the kingconsort had only ever had daughters—three of them, to be precise. All three were much older than Raia and herown sisters, and as of six months ago, noneof the three had yet been married.

As theyneared the palace, Raia’s gaze fixed on the crest of arms emblazoned in gold onthe palace gates. It looked nothing likethe pictures of the Hiallan crest that she’d seen in books; instead of theHiallan pine tree, the crest depicted a rearing steed, surrounded by spiky oceanwaves. Raia’s eyes widened, and hermouth fell open in horror. Sherecognized that emblem, and she knew exactly what it meant. They weren’t in Hiall.

They were in Ithcar.