Tanith & Shaw (The Fealty of Firstborns Series Book 1)

by H. V. Rosemarie

  She felt his hand on the back of her blouse before she could turn around, only just realizing that the wind was able to reach her and embrace her too well because her shirt had come untucked. “Hey!” Tanith swatted his hand away quickly, but she knew he’d seen the marks that rose a few inches higher than her waistband. The ones that would never quite heal all the way.

  His brown eyes fixed themselves over her shoulder, his form carefully still. “He did it to her too.” It wasn’t a question, and Kent wasn’t keen to answer as he lowered his head, staring at the deck intently and in shame.

  Tanith knew he’d always partially blamed himself, but just as she opened her mouth to defend him, Shaw slipped by.

  “You let him do it to others?” he snarled. “You left her alone with him?”

  “Wait!”

  Tanith couldn’t stop him from grabbing his brother’s shirt, pulling him closer, and dragging him to the side of the boat. There was split second where Kent snapped his head up in surprise, where Tanith reached for him, and where the others hollered for Shaw to calm down, but he didn’t.

  He lifted Kent by the front of his shirt and the side of his belt, tossing him over the edge of the boat and into the water with little effort. She heard the splash before her feet had the chance to unglue themselves, racing for the edge and leaning over the side.

  Again, she felt Shaw’s hand at her back, barely there, but a caution against falling in. She smacked it away again as Kent’s head popped up between the waves and relief budded in her chest.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, turning on Shaw and jabbing her finger into his chest. “That’s your brother.” She faced Hisrele. “Stop the boat!”

  “No can do,” the dark-skinned man answered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We can’t stop. It’s a straight shot and the wind is on our side. Kent’s going to have to make his own way.”

  “But we aren’t even halfway to the island!”

  Shaw shrugged, watching his brother’s head disappear further into the distance. “Then he’ll have to swim home. Don’t worry. He can make it.”

  Tanith gaped at his blatant disregard. “This is your fault.”

  “What is?”

  “This! You threw Kent overboard!”

  Shaw paused for a moment; brows wrinkled in confusion. “Right… You didn’t miss that part, did you?”

  She looked at him as though he had three heads. “Do you even care?”

  He had the audacity to smile. “You realize I did it on purpose, right? He deserved it too. He should have known better than to let anyone near our father. Especially you.”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to toss him off the boat. You’re the one that isn’t even supposed to be here.”

  “Yet, I am. Do you have a problem with that?”

  He crossed his arms, and, at that moment, Tanith hated him. Hated his stupid male pride. Hated the way he played judge and jury after only half a conversation. She wanted him to have a taste of his own medicine, so she grabbed him tightly, the same way he grabbed Kent as she threw her weight to the side, attempting to force him over the edge of the boat.

  Sadly, she wasn’t strong enough.

  Shaw chuckled—actually chuckled as she grunted with effort before scooping her up, his hands under her knees as he held her over the edge. She yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. If she was going down, she was taking him with her.

  The water rushed beneath her, and she knew this soulless man would drop her without a moment of hesitation. She and Kent would both have to swim home, but he didn’t let go. He merely smirked down at her as Ward called from the starport. “Should we be worrying about this guy tossing us all overboard?”

  Tanith decided it would be the smart thing for them to prepare for Shaw’s next impulsive action. “I swear to the Ghods, I will drag you down and use you as a raft,” she warned, watching Shaw’s eyes twinkle with humor and delight.

  “You didn’t think I’d really drop you, did you?”

  She nearly hummed in that sarcastic way of hers. “I don’t know. Something about being dangled overboard makes it seem that way, doesn’t it?”

  “It’s called an attitude check, sweetheart, and you were in dire need of one,” he answered before pulling her back over.

  Her knees nearly buckled when her feet were on the deck again, fighting the urge to kick him in the balls. It was a small boat, so there wasn’t anywhere for her to run, and she wouldn’t put it beneath him to actually toss her over. Surprisingly, her anger subsided quickly as sadness replaced it.

  Shaw’s keen sense picked up on it immediately. “What is it?”

  She crossed her arms, refusing to look him in the eye. He was a jerk, no matter how attractive his dimples were. “Kent and I promised to enter and return from the island together. You made us break that promise.”

  The eldest prince sighed, looking regretful for the first time. “I’m sorry, okay? At least he won’t have to come to the island now. He can wait for us to return to Ellesmere, and you don’t need to worry about anything happening to him.”

  She glared at him then. “Are you dense? Now he gets to worry about me and face your father after never even making it to the island. He’ll be shamed and branded a coward. Even if he tells them what happened, they’ll all think he jumped overboard.”

  Shaw ran a hand over his face. “I’ll confirm his story when I get back. It’s going to be fine.”

  “If you come back,” she corrected. “In case you forgot, there’s only a fifty-percent chance.”

  He scoffed, looking towards the nearing island. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in his gaze as he welcomed the mass of land covered in green. They were at the halfway point now, and there was no going back. “Something tells me we’re going to be just fine.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “Ekko and Ward, lower the sails. Shaw, prepare to lower the anchor,” Hisrele demanded as they neared their destination.

  “What should I do?” Tanith asked, feeling all but useless as the rest of them scrambled to finish their jobs.

  “Put half of our rations and supplies on the paddleboats. The rest will remain out here in case of emergency.”

  She nodded and went straight for the barrels, opening the first lid to see stacks of cheese, fruits, and bread. She wondered how long it would take for the wild animals to get ahold of it all. Surely the birds would try, though she doubted there would be any rats on the just cleaned boat.

  “We never decided whether or not we’d split into teams. There’s a lot of island to cover by the looks of it,” Ardeen called to no one in particular.

  “There’s presumed to be at least seventy miles of island,” Ekko told them as he worked on the sails. “Our ancestors who returned never gave an exact estimate. They never even gave specific details as to where they already looked. They were too confused by the illusions.”

  Tanith placed a week’s worth of rations in the four paddleboats. There were two on each side, and she leaned over the edge to secure the last sack closed so nothing would tumble out when they dropped. “More work for us, then. I think we should stay together. It’ll be safer that way. Less likely that we’ll succumb to the mirages.”

  “I agree,” Hisrele told them, and the next moment, the boat stalled. It was like they hit a wall, and Tanith nearly tumbled overboard. She would have if Shaw hadn’t been there to pull her back. They both hit the deck, her spine against the wood and Shaw over top as the entire boat shook, the build groaning as a warped blue field of solid wind passed over them. It was thick for a moment, like stepping through half-dried glue before everything went back to normal.

  Shaw got to his feet, holding out a hand for Tanith that she dutifully ignored, rising and brushing herself off. “Don’t expect a thank you.”

  “Holy Ghods,” Ward muttered.

  All eyes turned to him, or rather to the island. It was no longer the undeveloped green image they’d
seen offshore, once covered in flora. It was something else. Something… civilized.

  “Are those castles?” Ardeen asked in awe.

  At least they were seeing the same illusions. Tanith took it as a good sign. Everything was so far off, miles probably, but there was a city—more than one by the looks of it, and those small specks in the distance could have only been palaces, glittering beneath the glorious sun.

  “These are the tricks they were talking about,” she told them. “Convincing, hm? I suppose that was a barrier we passed through. The separation between reality and falsities.”

  “Lower the anchor,” Hisrele demanded, and Shaw was quick to comply.

  “How do we know when to leave if we can’t find the Sight?” Ekko wondered, absentmindedly running one of his spotted fingers over a brown patch of skin on his arm. He was no doubt nervous like the rest of them. Afraid and eager to begin all at the same time.

  “I’d give it three days,” Ward decided for them. “We should come back if we haven’t found it, or at least a clue as to where it might be by then.”

  “That’s not enough time,” Tanith answered.

  “I’d say six days,” Ardeen suggested.

  Hisrele moved out from around the wheel to join them. “Two weeks.”

  “Are you mad?” Ward asked. “The Sight isn’t worth our lives!”

  “Says you.”

  “Let’s worry about that later. We need to start making ground,” Shaw told them. “Two of us will have to share our paddleboats. I’ll take Tanith.”

  “I should take her,” Ward corrected, stepping forward. “I wouldn’t toss her overboard.”

  “Neither would I,” Shaw countered, his eyes narrowed.

  “That’s not what it looked like earlier.”

  Ardeen stepped between them. “Tanith and I should go together since we’re the only girls. Both of you can ride together and work yourselves out.”

  Tanith smiled and followed Ardeen to the first boat, helping her lower it as the others loaded onto theirs. Shaw tried to get away without Ward, but the prince of Xeres jumped on last minute, all but shoving the paddles in Shaw’s hands.

  “Those two are pieces of work, aren’t they?” Ardeen muttered. Tanith was the one to paddle, and she was quick to nod in agreement. “You have no idea. Shaw’s been back from the dead for less than an hour and he’s already a pain in the ass. I imagine it’s only going to get worse from here.”

  The other princess hummed. “Agreed. He is cute, though. Tragically so. It’s a shame he’s crazy or I’d take my chances.”

  “Aren’t you engaged?” Tanith wondered. She could have sworn she’d heard the news earlier in the year, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on whether it was Ardeen or her younger sister, Zofia, who was to be wed.

  “Betrothed,” she corrected. “My father’s idea. His name is Gintry, and he’s from Ograboden.”

  “Not a prince?” Tanith asked in surprise. Such arrangements were few and far between after so many had failed, and as far as she knew, no other royal child in the six kingdoms was promised, let alone to someone of a lower social standing.

  She shook her head. “No, he isn’t, but even if this isn’t a love match, it’s a good opportunity.”

  “How so?” she wondered.

  Ardeen sighed. “He’ll be a duke when he inherits his father’s estate, but his family is held in very high regard. They have connections. Enough for us to garner an invitation to their inner circle when the time comes.”

  Tanith could never imagine an arranged marriage. Loveless, she said, but sometimes, love followed. “Is he at least attractive?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Ardeen admitted, a pitiful laugh tumbling past her lips. “He’s the same age as me, and they say he’s well-rounded. Respectful and prudent in his studies.”

  “Follow your gut,” is all Tanith could say. “It won’t lead you astray.”

  She received a doubtful grunt in response. “You say that now at the very worst time. Something tells me this island will make all of my senses betray me before we’re finished with our mission.”

  “Then let’s hope for the best.”

  They left their paddleboats in the sand, far enough away from the water that the high tide wouldn’t swallow them up again. Ekko was the last to join them, and they began discussing which ground to cover before nightfall.

  “If we go towards the highest peak, there should be caves and hideouts for us to rest in when it’s dark,” Hisrele noted, the undesignated leader of the group.

  “Or we could go straight for the city,” Ardeen suggested. “All we have to do is ask someone.”

  There was a sudden round of disagreements before Tanith rolled her eyes. “Did you just suggest to four men that we should ask for directions?”

  “It’s a plausible idea.”

  “It’s a ridiculous idea,” Ward countered. “They’re just illusions. We should avoid them.”

  “That would be the obvious answer,” Ardeen agreed. “Which is why our ancestors would have done just that.”

  “So?”

  “So, they’ve all failed!”

  Tanith crossed her arms. “She has a point.”

  “This isn’t a game of logic or strategy,” Hisrele started. “This is a hunt and the Sight is our prey. We need to move—”

  Tanith heard the whistle before she saw it, the pitch of a very real object cutting through the wind as it soared past her, finding a home in Hisrele’s skull. She gasped at the wet thunk, the spatter of blood across her cheek, the sand before the giant’s eyes went wide and he fell to his knees. He was face down on the ground, dead by the time the rest of them scrambled for cover.

  “That was no illusion!” Tanith yelled as arrows began raining down. They ducked behind the paddleboats, exposed and a few dozen yards from the tree line where the enemy was hidden. She didn’t even know who or what they were, whether they could be reasoned with or not. Probably not.

  “What do we do?” Ekko asked.

  There were seven—eight arrows in the sand before all went quiet and Tanith dared to answer. “Maybe we move.”

  “No!” Shaw barked. “We’re the prey now.”

  Battle cries sounded in the distance, the sound of rattling nearing with each moment before Tanith saw them exit the brush. Warriors—four of them, men with their bare golden chests painted in whirls of dark green and seashells clanking where they dangled off their battle skirts.

  “Well, we have to do something,” she decided. “They’re going to kill us.”

  “No,” Shaw said again, calmer that time as he reached beneath his cloak. There was no worry in his gaze, the clever man gone as he returned to the demeanor he projected when he wore his mask. “I can hold my own.”

  He popped out from behind his paddleboat, exposing a blue-silver metal rod that elongated into a full-length staff with two sharp ends as he darted towards the tree line. He was out of the way of the attackers as though wishing to disappear into safety, but he knew they’d intercept him. Knew he’d have to fight as he prepared to face them head-on.

  Tanith wasn’t going to wait for someone to slip by, so she popped up too, aware of the others on her tail. She reached for one of the knives at her side, thinking of the shredded wood panel behind her bedroom curtains. All that practice wasn’t for nothing.

  Rearing her arm back, she aimed and threw, watching her blade soar into the throat of an attacker before Ekko rushed by, metal in both hands as he helped Shaw fend off two others.

  For Ardeen and Ward, there was only one man left, his skin marred with burns and scars, and his chestnut hair braided all the way down his back. If he wasn’t an illusion, Tanith wondered whether or not the city was. Perhaps there were natives, but if the sudden ambush was any indication, they didn’t seem all too friendly.

  Ardeen jumped on the last man’s back, distracting him so Ward could ram his dagger through the savage man’s middle. A head rolled to Tanith’s right, courtesy of Ekko, and
Shaw took his time beating the limp man in the sand with his staff. He wasn’t moving, and blood painted the ground around the scene, but Shaw didn’t stop, grunting with effort as he abused the dead body, again, again, again.

  “Shaw,” Ekko called, stern in tone.

  The eldest royal of them all didn’t hear him, or perhaps he didn’t register the interruption.

  “Shaw!” Tanith clipped.

  With one last strike, the auburn-haired man pulled back, flicking a long strand out of his face and planting the sharp end of his rod in the sand. “They know we’re here. We’ll need to be careful. No fires at dark, and we should stay together.”

  “What do we do about Hisrele? We can’t just leave him in the sun to rot,” Tanith started, facing their fallen companion. He was the most dangerous-looking of them all; tall, dark, and born to kill. Their unofficial leader was dead, and they had two less royals than they started the day off with. She wasn’t impressed by the odds.

  “Even if we bury him, the birds will dig him back up. We can’t get him deep enough in the ground to rest peacefully, especially not on a time crunch,” Ward answered, retreating towards the ocean.

  Tanith watched him wash the blood from his blade, cringing slightly as the fact that such a beautiful piece of unmarred steel would soon rust from contact with the salt water.

  “Take his weapons,” Shaw ordered.

  Hesitantly, Ekko did just that, stripping the dead of anything useful as though they were at war. Maybe they were and hadn’t been told. “I think he’s only got the two. It’s a shame, but at least his death was honorable. Better than being lost among the bodies in his father’s army.”

  “I wouldn’t consider being left on a foreign island to be better,” Tanith corrected.

  “We don’t have time for compassion,” Ward budded in when he rejoined the group. “We have nine hours of daylight left and we should use every minute. Take a vote, now. Do we go right or left?”

  “Right,” Shaw answered without much thought.

  Ekko frowned, looking in the other direction. “Left.”

  “Towards the city,” Tanith answered. “Right.”