Betrayed

by Ifeanyi Esimai

  “Nuju, you look intense,” said Princess Bonetta. She seemed to appear from nowhere with a big smile on her face. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.” She cocked her head and looked at me a little longer. “Anything wrong?”

  I leaned close and whispered. “Mama Rikki came to my room as I was dressing up.”

  Bonetta drew back and frowned. “Mama Rikki? What for?” She leaned in again.

  “She said I should get the team ready and leave at once for the quest.”

  Bonetta inhaled, her nostrils flared. “But you are scheduled to leave in a week. Did she say why?”

  I shook my head. “She only said something was about to happen to prevent us from starting.”

  Bonetta’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “She didn’t say.”

  “Have you told anyone else? Did you tell Segun?”

  I glanced around. “Not yet. I plan to tell the other volunteers and see what they think.”

  Bonetta took a deep breath, and her body shuddered as she exhaled. “We have to speed things up. Once the king presents you and the team to everyone, we should all meet in my apartment and come up with a plan.”

  Bonetta left, and I walked to where Kiki and the rest were.

  “Where have you been?” asked Tokunbo. “We’ve been looking for you. Prince Segun has been asking after you.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Over there,” said Ifeoma, pointing to our right. “He’s waving us over.”

  Prince Segun and Prince Taka stood side by side. Segun was not smiling, but Taka was all smiles. I hesitated for a second, then jerked my head in their direction. We all started towards them.

  “Where have you been?” hissed Prince Segun into my ear as soon as I was close enough.

  “Changing. Where were you since you came back from the oracle? I’d been looking all over for you.” I was annoyed by the attitude his voice had taken.

  Segun glanced at me, then looked ahead.

  “Mama Rikki came to see me in my room,” I whispered.

  Segun shot me a look. “What did she—”

  “Brother,” said Taka, interrupting Segun and nodding toward the king at the opposite end of the room. “I don’t want to steal your glory, but I’ll go stand with the king when he receives you.” He left and walked towards the king.

  “Alright, let’s go to the others in the back,” said Prince Segun. “We’ll walk up together when Father introduces us.”

  Segun and I walked to the back and joined Ifeoma, Tokunbo, and Kiki. Bayo was there, too. He smiled at me and I smiled back. I wondered what he had been up to. Moments later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked over and stretched to collect a golden rectangular box with intricate designs of floating “l”s pushed into my face.

  “The king's gift! The king's gift,” a voice muttered.

  I remembered Enitan had mentioned a gift. I took it, nudged Prince Segun, and thrust the box towards him.

  His eyebrows shut up as he reached for the box.

  “The king's gift,” I said.

  Prince Segun nodded and took the box.

  “My nobles, ladies and gentlemen,” said King Kenzi. “It gives me great pleasure to present to you a young man after my very own heart. A man who stares danger in the face and pokes a finger in its eye. A young man who volunteered with a group of the finest from all over the kingdom to retrieve the Eternity stones and bring back magic.” He raised his fist in the air. “Come, my son.”

  Prince Segun handed the box to me and, with a big smile on his face, started the walk to King Kenzi. It seemed like the longest walk I’d ever done. When we got to the king, Prince Segun stepped forward and lay flat in front of the king. The rest of us bowed our heads.

  The king tapped Segun on the back, and he sprang to his feet. “I’ll never forget the day we welcomed you to the palace,” said King Kenzi. “It seems just yesterday I watched you crawl, then walk and run. Now you’re staring danger in the face in place of your sister. Very noble. I’m proud of you, son.”

  “Conqueror of nations!” shouted Prince Segun, singing praises to his Father. “The King of the soil! Today is a day of great joy. Once again, the gods have blessed us with a good harvest, and as we honor them, we know that more and better things are coming our way.” Segun paused and looked around. “To thank you for the opportunity you’ve given to find the stones and bring back magic, I present you with this gift.”

  Segun motioned me forward. He took the box from me and handed it to the king.

  King Kenzi beamed from ear to ear. “Thank you, Prince Segun. May you find what you seek. May you have a thousand children.”

  The crowd roared with laughter. King Kenzi took the box and shook it. “What's in it?”

  Segun turned to me, eyebrows raised. I shrugged and shook my head.

  “Father… it's… it's a surprise,” stammered Segun.

  I didn’t know what was in it. I shook my head and searched the crowd for Enitan or whoever gave it to me.

  “Can I guess?” asked the king. He cracked the lid and slipped his hand inside. He chuckled like a little child. “What could it be? What could it be?” sang the king. “Sweets? Chocolate-coated kola nuts?”

  Everyone’s attention in the room was drawn to the box. You could slice the tension in the air with a knife.

  “It’s dry and cold at the same time,” said the king, smiling. He shut one eye and licked his lips. The king narrowed his eyes, grimaced, and then screamed.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I’d once, maybe more than once at the butcher’s, seen a goat tied up and placed on the ground, ready for the butcher to slit its throat. The way the goats screamed as if they knew what was coming was the same sound I heard the king making.

  King Kenzi dropped to his knees. “My hand! My hand!”

  Prince Segun rushed to him. “Father, what is it?”

  The gift box clattered to the floor and fell open. It was empty, apart from red stains inside it. What was happening to the king, then? The crowd gasped. I looked up and froze. Attached to the king's palm was a black snake, about two inches long, its fangs embedded in the king’s hand.

  “Ahhh!” screamed the king.

  The snake wriggled. Bloody jagged flesh hung from where the rest of the body had been severed. Prince Segun tried to grab the snake but drew back when the snake wriggled its stump. A coldness traveled down my whole body. I felt like I was in a dream, but the surrounding voices were real. My hands flew to my chest; my entire body moved with each beat of my heart.

  Bonetta came closer, eyes bulging. “What… what's that?” She pointed at her father’s hand.

  “The gift Segun gave Father!” said Taka in a booming voice. “What type of son would give his own father a snake when he expected sweets?!” The pitch of his voice rose.

  “Do… do something,” stammered Bonetta. Her voice cracked. “It's killing him… help him.”

  “Prince Segun tried to murder the king,” yelled Prince Taka. “Seize him!”

  “No!” I screamed. My legs felt like jelly.

  “Seize Prince Segun!” another voice yelled.

  Seize Prince Segun, Why? I looked at Segun kneeling beside the king, his eyes wide, mouth open.

  King Kenzi foamed from the mouth and his body shook violently.

  “Father!” gasped Prince Segun.

  My breath came in gasps. This was a setup; we’d been set up. Was this what Mama Rikki was talking about?

  “Seize Prince Segun, he has assassinated the king,” said an unfamiliar voice.

  Segun's head jerked up at the last mention of his name. His eyes had that look I’d seen so many times in the eyes of animals before my arrow hit them—helplessness.

  A guard came to grab Prince Segun but hesitated. He seemed to realize the implication of what he was doing. His doubt sent me into action. If Segun goes down, we all go down. Anger boiled in me. I stepped forward and pushed the guard hard on the chest. He staggered backward and fe
ll.

  “What is happening?” asked Ifeoma, her voice on the verge of hysteria.

  “Help Segun up,” I said. “We have to get out of here.” Ifeoma, Kiki, and Tokunbo were behind me. We took advantage of the confusion. There were guards on every side of us. The guard I’d pushed down sprang to his feet and drew his sword. He rushed at me, and I knew this would change everything. If I engaged him, others would join. But I had to defend myself. I drew my sword and it waved violently in the air, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

  The guard smiled. “You can’t even hold the sword.” He swiveled and stepped closer.

  It was one thing to practice with a sword and a different ball game to face someone ready to kill you. A hand touched my shoulder, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I whirled. It was Bayo.

  “Get out of the way!” He pushed me aside.

  “No!” I shouted.

  An arrow whistled in the air and struck him in the chest. Segun was still on the floor, trying to help the king. He didn’t see his friend go down.

  I traced the direction the arrow had come from and saw the shooter loading another one. I reached for my rang and threw it with all my strength. Moments later, it twirled in the air, coming back to me. The shooter stood still, bow in hand. Did the rang miss? I caught it, ready to throw it at the guard again. A red line appeared on the guard’s neck, then became a torrent. The rang had cut a major vein.

  I yanked Segun from the king. “Segun, we have to go. Come with me.” I took the still confused Segun by the hand and pulled him towards the door. Some of the guards had gotten over the initial shock and came forward to engage us.

  “Prince Segun is getting away, stop him,” said a voice that sounded like Taka.

  “Don’t let them escape!” screamed the voice.

  It was Taka’s voice. I headed for the exit with Segun behind me. Some guards gave chase from the side as I pulled Segun through the doorway and dashed into the corridor. Kiki and the rest were trapped. It was the same corridor I’d strolled on with Taka a few hours ago. I thought we should go hide in the room Taka had taken me to. Several arrows zipped by and I knew we had to make alternate plans.

  I looked over the balcony. “The horses,” I gasped. We have to jump!”

  Segun hesitated.

  “Come on.” I peered over the corridor; the horses were still there. It was roughly a twelve-foot drop. I climbed over and jumped straight into the water trough.

  The horses, startled by my sudden appearance, started to neigh and move their heads and feet. I scrambled out of the water just as Segun landed with a big splash and caused the horses to jolt again. I got out of the trough, dripping wet, and grabbed the reins of the nearest horse. It protested and I prayed it wouldn’t bolt away.

  Guards pointed at us from above, and soon it was clear they would do what we did. Segun mounted one horse while I struggled for a few seconds to get on another.

  “We have to get out of the city,” said Segun. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly.

  Segun pulled out a dagger from his dashiki and cut the reigns of the other tethered horses, setting them free.

  “Ya! Ya!” Segun yelled and took off like the wind.

  The freed horses took off after him, and so did my own horse. A few weeks ago, I had come through the city gates earmarked for death. Now I was headed towards the same city gates with a prince accused of murdering his own father.

  NOTE TO THE READER

  Thank you for reading The Selection, Book 3 of the Harvest of Blood Series. If you have enjoyed this book, kindly leave a review. Reviews help me gain exposure and they can bring my books to the attention of other readers who may enjoy it.

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  Nuju’s adventures continues in Harvest of Blood Book 4

  MORE BOOKS BY IFEANYI ESIMAI

  Works of fiction inspired by the 2014 kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram. This Box set contains Sambisa Escape and One Thing After Another. (The Sequel) Click here to learn more

  Fantasy

  HARVEST OF BLOOD BOOK 1

  HARVEST OF BLOOD BOOK 2

  HARVEST OF BLOOD BOOK 3

  HARVEST OF BLOOD BOOK 4 -coming soon

  HARVEST OF BLOOD BOOK 5- coming soon