All Chapters of The Herbalist Horizon Beyond The Northern Winds : Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The Crown Prince's private study smelled of crushed rose and amber wax, thick enough to coat the back of the throat. Lady Elowen Rose didn't notice. She was watching the parchment she'd just slammed onto the mahogany desk, willing it to sign itself. "Sign it," she said, arms folded over silk sleeves. Crown Prince Cassian — her cousin, her childhood partner-in-crime, currently the most exhausted man in the empire — stared at the document with a twitching eyelid. He leaned back in his high-backed chair, pushed his copper spectacles up his nose, and read the first line twice, as if it might improve on a third pass. "Elowen." His voice had the particular weariness of a man who'd had this argument before and lost it every time. "This is an official royal decree declaring you mentally unfit for high society. On the grounds of 'incurable, chaotic insanity.'" "Correct. I need your seal before noon." "You want me to declare my

The carriage rattled over cobblestone until the capital's glittering rooftops disappeared behind the hills. Elowen rested her chin on her hand and watched the scenery blur past, a sharp, satisfied smile on her lips. By now her absence had surely been discovered. She hadn't said goodbye in person — just two sealed letters, one on her father's desk, one on her mother's vanity, and a shorter note slipped to Cassian by palace messenger, half-apology for leaving him to face Aunt Evelyn alone, half-promise of a postcard. He's going to curse my name for a week, she thought, almost fondly. And miss me for the rest of the year. Her father would rage through the halls for exactly one day. Her brother — born, unlike her, for ledgers and politics — would handle the estate without missing a step. Everyone would land on their feet. That was the beauty of a well-timed exit.

The walk down the mountain was livelier than the climb up. Kael and Gerald hauled the twitching Dr. Silas between them like a sack of wet grain, while Valerius kept pace beside Elowen, angling his shoulder against the worst of the wind without saying why. By the time they reached the church courtyard, the sky had gone violet and gold at the edges. Early risers were already drifting toward the square, murmuring at the sight of the town's own physician dumped face-down on the cobblestones. "Sister Beatrice! Magistrate Holtz!" Elowen's voice cut clean across the morning quiet. The church doors opened. Sister Beatrice came out first, the magistrate close behind, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Rose, child, what—" He stopped cold at the sight of Silas. "Dr. Silas? What happened to him?" "Your water demon, Magistrate." Elowen unrolled a hastily scrawled parchment — notes she'd made on t

Dawn painted Bellmere in rose and amber. Elowen slung her travel bag higher on her shoulder and took one last look at the town before stepping onto the stone bridge over the river — next stop, a merchant port far enough north to disappear into. Beside her, three tall men fell into step without a sound. "For a one-gold-coin investment," she said, adjusting her cloak, "you three are remarkably punctual. Most mercenaries would still be asleep." "When the employer pays in hard currency and witty commentary, my lady, we consider it a priority service." Valerius's mouth curved faintly. Hooves thundered from the far end of the bridge. A dark stallion skidded to a stop, blocking the road entirely, its rider soaked in sweat and breathing as hard as the horse. Elowen froze. "Cassian?" He yanked off his hood, glare already fixed on her, and lifted a heavy leather-bound book over his head like evidence at a trial. "You forgot