Fire and Fantasy: A Limited Edition Collection of Urban and Epic Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  In only a few short weeks, his revenge would be complete, and Dreach-Sciene would never be the same.

  Seventeen

  Nights under the stars were becoming more of an annoyance than an adventure. Being forced to rise with the sun was downright torture. Davi groaned as he slowly opened one eye and then slammed it shut again as the blast of light made him wince.

  It was another chilly morning, but by late afternoon, he knew it would seem as if the seasons had changed as heat would beat down upon them.

  A rustling noise jolted him from his waking fog and he jumped up, lunging for his sword, only to find a raccoon rummaging through his packs.

  “Oh, save me, Davion,” Rissa mocked from where she sat with her back up against a tree. Her bow rested lazily on her bent knee and an arrow twirled between her fingers. “It’s such a scary beast.”

  Davi straightened out of his fighting stance and shot her a scowl before taking a step forward. Raccoon would be a nice change of pace for breakfast. The animal’s head snapped up, ringed in black, and started to bolt. Before it got too far, an arrow struck its side and it collapsed.

  Davi turned to glare at Rissa, but his annoyance didn’t last long as she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

  “You couldn’t let me get that?” He laughed.

  She shrugged. “The arrow slipped.”

  Pacing towards the downed raccoon, Davi crouched and examined the arrow. Straight through the head, protecting any meat. “Some slip.”

  Looking behind him, he took in the still sleeping forms of the rest of their group and then straightened up and stepped towards Trystan. He nudged him with his foot. “Oi, Trystan, wake up.”

  Trystan jerked awake. “Did I oversleep? Is it time to saddle the horses?”

  “It’s still quite early. I killed a raccoon for breakfast.”

  “Yeah,” Rissa scoffed. “The great Davion killed it. Don’t mind the arrow sticking from its head.”

  Davi sent her a wink before turning his attention back to her brother. “Ri and I are going to look for water. You get some meat from that thing.”

  Without waiting for agreement, he went to Rissa and pulled her to her feet. Leaning close, he spoke lowly. “I need your assistance, princess.”

  A smile formed on her perfect lips; lips Davi couldn’t wait to kiss.

  She followed him away from the others. “Is this the way to the river?”

  “We have plenty of water still in our packs.” He laughed. “Something it will probably only take your brother minutes to realize.”

  “Davi.” She slugged him in the shoulder.

  “I like when you fight with me.” He spun and gripped her waist with both his hands.

  Her breath stuttered on release.

  He loved the effect he had on her. Everything else about her was so familiar. Every laugh. Every movement. Every scent. Everything that was Rissa was engraved in his heart and had been since he was a child. He hadn’t realized it then, but now he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

  When he kissed her, all the uncertainty that had always existed in his life fell away. His past was steeped in mystery, but she made him believe the past wasn’t worth dwelling upon. It didn’t have to be a part of him. He could choose to be better than his origins, whatever they were. He didn’t have a lick of information about his parents, but they’d left him orphaned.

  It was the girl right in front of him and her father and brother that mattered. They were his family.

  Davi found a soft place on the ground for them to sit and just be together. Rissa shifted closer and pressed her body against his desperately. He knew the feeling. He was just as desperate for her. He brushed her red locks away from her neck and followed his fingers with his lips, teasing and tasting her skin.

  Her fingers clung to the fabric of his shirt, pressing into the muscles beneath.

  When his lips met hers again, he found her waiting. She’d always been waiting for him. An insane desire to erase the last few years rose up in him. If she’d told him how she felt sooner, would he have felt the same?

  No. The answer was like a barrier rising up between them, forcing them apart. He’d always loved Rissa, but he hadn’t been in love with her. Not until …

  That night stayed frozen in his mind. The night of the ball. She’d been shrouded in a cloak of darkness underneath the dead tree in the desolate garden. Tears streamed down her face and when she told him she was to be married, regret sliced through his heart, sharper than any sword.

  Only she had the power to mend it.

  She loved him.

  There were very few times in his life where he’d felt love, but it radiated from her. A beacon. How had he not seen it?

  “Davi,” she said.

  “Huh?” He looked down into her confused face.

  “I didn’t give you permission to stop kissing me.”

  His lip quirked up. “Princess, I don’t ever want to stop kissing you.”

  “Promise?”

  His mouth tried to form the words, but he knew what her promise meant. What it meant to all of them. The closer they got to Isenore, the more fear radiated from their group.

  That’s what made him make the promise with her brother.

  In that moment, he’d known. Even if they got into Dreach-Dhoun, there was very little hope of getting out.

  He wanted more than anything to tell her what he and Trystan promised each other. He wanted to make the same pact with her. But she wasn’t her brother. She had unending hope, unwavering belief in them, in Dreach-Sciene. It was what made her so special. She radiated light when all anyone else felt was darkness.

  “I love you.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “That is the only promise I can make.”

  Eighteen

  Alixa felt guilty for delaying their journey, but a part of her knew the rest of them needed the rest just as much. By the time they’d gotten back in their saddles, they were all faring better after the much-needed food and sleep.

  Over the next few days of constant travel, her mind drifted to Ella and Edric. The brother and sister had been her only friends. She didn’t know what had happened to them after her escape, but there was no use thinking about that. She had to believe they were okay.

  And now they were headed into Isenore for the first time since she’d left. Just the thought sent a chill through her and her chest tightened.

  A shaking breath escaped her lips, but it was only audible to her.

  That night she had to force her eyes shut, hoping sleep could close out their dire mission for a few hours.

  When they opened again, light streamed through the tree canopy, blocked only by Rissa standing over her with the offer of food.

  Alixa gnawed on the leftover meat as she laced up her boots. As they took off at a slow trot, they finally left the woods behind.

  Open land stretched out before them and they made care to veer out far from the nearby village and the lands that surrounded it. She had to enjoy the openness now because soon they’d have the mountains closing in around them – the mountains that had always served as her prison.

  The border into Isenore was unmarked and a few days after leaving the forests, they rode across it unknowingly. They’d seen the mountains for the past two days and as they rode closer, a foreboding feeling tightened Alixa’s chest.

  In that moment, she didn’t know why she’d insisted on accompanying the prince and princess on their journey.

  Then she did.

  It was for that moment. The moment she could look into the traitorous faces of her father and brother and prove to them that she was worth something in this world; that she would be the one to take them down.

  Dreach-Dhoun was an enemy. They’d killed her mother. They’d caused untold havoc. Anyone allied with them was also an enemy.

  She’d had a lot of time to think on their ride. There was not an ounce of love left in her heart for the man who called himself her father. Part of her worried there wasn�
��t any love at all inside of her. She was growing colder by the day, steeling herself for the confrontation that was to come.

  Shaking her head, she tapped her foot to her horse’s flanks and sped up to ride beside Avery. The sword-master wasn’t one for talking and that was exactly what Alixa needed. She acknowledged her presence with an abrupt nod, not taking her eyes from the horizon and the mountains that rose up before them.

  They were on the main trade roads now. There was no helping that. Gone were the less-traveled paths that meandered through Aldorwood. Isenore was laid out to avoid roads that let the enemy move unseen.

  They’d only met a few passing traders – all leaving Isenore. No trade was traveling the other way. They hadn’t stopped at any of the noble’s estates or villages they saw, despite their desire for a warm supper and a soft bed.

  Nothing and no one in Isenore could be trusted any longer.

  They made camp for the night near the base of the mountains, just off the road. As Rissa and Davi cooked some of their limited remaining supplies, Alixa stood looking up into the mountains. They were only a few days’ ride from her father’s estate.

  They would do everything they could to avoid it.

  It wasn’t the first time she wondered why a member of the Tri-Gard would hide so close to the enemy. Then she remembered that only twenty-years ago, the Tri-Gard had helped the enemy. They couldn’t be trusted. Was this Lonara working with her father?

  If she was, they were all doomed.

  With a sigh, she made her way back over to the fire and sat down beside Trystan.

  Huffing out a breath, she leaned forward against her knees. Her dark hair had broken free of its tie and hung forward to cover her face.

  “Alixa …” Trystan started.

  She laid down and turned away from him to avoid his worried gaze.

  Silence descended around the fire as the world around them grew darker. Alixa finished eating and laid back, throwing an arm across her eyes.

  Alixa would do anything to fall asleep, but the aches in her very bones and the dread in her heart kept her mind from easing into unconsciousness.

  The boys didn’t seem to have quite the same problem.

  Someone snored in their sleep and Alixa looked across the fire to see Rissa laughing silently at Davi. Seemed she wasn’t the only one with a restless mind.

  The sound of a snapping stick reached her ears before the soft clops of a horse’s hooves. She was up in an instant. Trystan shifted next to her but didn’t wake.

  Rissa was the only one who’d heard it too. She’d already retrieved her bow. Alixa crouched down next to where she’d laid her thin sword. It scraped against its sheath as she pulled it free.

  Rissa hurried to her side and nocked an arrow.

  A horse neighed as it came into view.

  “Stop right there,” Rissa yelled, aiming for the rider that was still cloaked in darkness.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Alixa said sternly. The horse stopped and they waited.

  Alixa took a step forward and tried to make out the person in the saddle. It was a man and he was slumped forward.

  Alixa gripped her sword tighter as he slid weakly from the saddle and stumbled forward.

  “Alixa?”

  She knew that voice.

  “Edric,” she gasped, dropping her sword.

  “Milady.” His shoulders slumped in relief and he lurched forward, stumbling to his knees.

  Alixa ran forward. “It’s okay, Rissa. Drop your bow.”

  Rissa lowered it reluctantly, a crease between her brows, as Alixa knelt down to look at the man before them.

  “It’s really you,” he cried, reaching a hand out slowly to touch her face. “You’re alive. When I’d heard in one of the villages that you’d passed through, I didn’t allow myself to hope.” His shoulders heaved. “I didn’t think you’d made it.”

  “Oh, Edric, but I did. Thanks to you and your sister.”

  “Ella …” He stopped when a fit of sobs overtook him.

  Alixa looked at him more closely, realizing how thin he was.

  “Edric,” she said softly. “When was the last time you ate.”

  He looked at her like he couldn’t remember, but didn’t get the chance to respond.

  “Who are you?” Trystan’s voice shook them. He’d awoken and was now regarding the newcomer in distrust, his sword in his hand.

  Alixa stood and turned to shoot Trystan a scowl for his tone. “Edric is a friend and he needs help.”

  Ignoring the Prince’s hostile suspicion, she helped Edric to his feet and led him to the fire. Davi, Brigg’s, and Avery were still sleeping.

  Rissa retrieved some bread, meat, and a skin of water from her saddle bag.

  Edric ate with a single-mindedness that shocked them and Alixa sat next to him, watching his every move. His once handsome face now had a dark scar running down the right side. His nose looked like it had been broken and left to heal on its own.

  His already lithe frame was thin, almost gaunt.

  The arms that used to show her every move of a sword, now shook as he ate. When he was finished, he leaned his head in his hands.

  “Edric,” Alixa said softly. “What happened to you?”

  A shiver ran through his body before he angled himself to look at her. Rissa and Trystan watched them, the latter with suspicion still bright in his eyes.

  “You father knew we helped you escape.” He blew out a breath. “I was out of the estate because I’d met you with the horse, but they caught Ella in the cellar.” Tears appeared in his eyes and he shuddered. “They … they …” He couldn’t say it.

  “No,” Alixa breathed. “No. No. No. My father had her executed, didn’t he?” She knew how her father dealt with people who betrayed him. He was a cruel man. Ella was only a young woman – not much older than she was. She was punished for her loyalty to Alixa.

  Edric started sobbing and Alixa pulled him into her arms as tears fell from her eyes. They clung to each other and rocked for a while before Edric spoke again.

  “When I returned to the palace, a friend of mine who was also a guard told me to run. Ella had been killed within minutes of being caught. She was already dead by the time I returned. So I ran. The soldiers….they caught me but I managed to fight them off and escape with my life. I’ve been hiding in the mountains since then, but it’s been so hard.” He wiped his face and looked at her. “Thank you for the food.”

  She smiled sadly and buried her face in his shoulder.

  “I’ve spent some time in the villages,” he said. “I’ve heard things.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Your father is making examples of his nobles. Most of them are still loyal to the King but keeping quiet about it. There was one who sent his son to join King Marcus’ army. The Duke had him dragged through the streets of the village near his estate. His feet were tied to a horse. By the time the horse reached the doors to the man’s estate house where his wife waited, he was dead.”

  Alixa gasped.

  “The son he sent was a friend of mine. Wren.” His face hardened. “He’s one of the best fighters I’ve seen. He’ll make them pay once the war starts.”

  “So Isenore is still loyal?” Trystan asked. “Except for the Duke, the people will fight for my father?”

  Edric looked up as if realizing for the first time that they weren’t alone.

  “Edric,” Alixa said. “Meet the Princess and Toha of Dreach-Sciene.”

  Stunned, Edric scrambled to his feet so he could drop into a bow.

  Amusement lit in Rissa’s eyes, but Trystan just waved him down impatiently.

  “Toha,” Edric said, taking his seat once again. “I am sorry I did not know you.”

  Alixa pushed away her irritation, but she felt too broken to deal with Trystan.

  And she was the reason the girl was dead. As if reading her mind, Edric wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. She didn’t miss the flash in Trystan’s eyes, but
she also didn’t care.

  Edric reported on everything in Isenore, but Alixa didn’t hear anything he said. The only thought that filled her mind was that her father was going to pay.

  She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she woke to the sound of Davi’s voice. He stood over the sleeping Edric, his hands on his hips.

  “Why Trystan,” he said. “You’ve changed your looks.”

  Alixa sat up and looked around, realizing Trystan wasn’t with them.

  Davi laughed at his own joke without a hint of suspicion in his voice. He wasn’t as naturally suspicious as the prince. Since getting to know him, Alixa marveled at his ability to trust people.

  She envied it.

  Davi tapped Edric with his foot. “Oi, you. I’m assuming you aren’t just Trystan in disguise. Our esteemed Toha has much bigger ears than you.”

  Edric sat and rubbed his eyes before looking up at Davi.

  “Thanks a lot, asshole,” Trystan said, appearing nearby. “My ears are just fine.”

  “Where were you?” Davi grinned.

  “Taking a piss. That a problem?”

  “Why do we have a stranger in our camp? I mean, he’s much too handsome. Makes me feel a bit inferior around the ladies.” He winked at Rissa who blushed furiously.

  “You have never once felt inferior around women.”

  “True.” He flashed his dimples.

  “This is Edric,” Alixa finally said. “And he’s coming with us.”

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Trystan looked like he wanted to argue. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and shrugging.

  “Fine,” he said.

  Alixa turned to Edric. “When I decided I wanted to come, he tried to leave me behind.”

  “That’s because you’re just a poor woman,” Rissa put in.

  Alixa nodded. “Trystan doesn’t like women.”

  “You mean …” Edric looked a bit surprised.