by B. T. Narro
“I have strong feelings for you, too, Kat.”
She let go of my hand. “Maybe it’s better if we don’t talk. It’s only making this worse.”
“All right, let me try to help you instead because I like you.” My mind was a bog, though.
I had come here for a specific reason that hadn’t seemed to have been mentioned, but I couldn’t remember what it was. Maybe Kataleya knew. She was smart.
“Wasn’t I supposed to be doing something?”
“Not that I know of.”
“What were we just talking about?”
“You were going to try to help me somehow because I have strong feelings for you but my future is with Trevor.”
“Oh. Let’s think of a solution,” I suggested.
“Yes! A solution! That sounds wonderful. What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
She made fists as she groaned. Then she suddenly stopped and looked to have a great idea.
“We just have to stop having feelings for each other!”
“Um, that seems impossible because you are so beautiful, smart, and talented.”
“Wait. I think we’re onto something. Tell me the opposite of that, right now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Please! It will make everything easier.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
It was easy to remember my three compliments because I thought of them each time I looked at her.
“I don’t really feel this, but I’m saying it because you want me to say it. You are ugly, stupid, and…what’s the opposite of talented?”
We thought for a while before she came up with a couple of words. “Inept…incompetent. No wait. God, why did I not think of this earlier? Untalented!”
We burst into laughter.
“I like your laugh,” I told her.
“Thank you. I like your smile.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “I like how you look, especially without clothes.”
“Thank you! I like how you look, especially without clothes.”
I started to motion that I would take off my shirt. “Do you want me to?” I asked.
“I want you to, but please don’t.”
It was silent as I let go of my shirt.
“How can you not do something that you want to right now?” I wondered.
“Because I have a lot of willpower, Jon.”
“It didn’t seem like you had a lot of willpower earlier today,” I commented.
“That was a choice.”
“You said it was a mistake at the time.”
“I said that as an excuse. I made a choice. And now I’m making another choice to keep my clothes on.”
I stood up from the bed. “I’m starting to feel sad. I don’t like this.”
She crawled toward me. “I don’t want to make you feel sad. I’m very sorry.”
It did feel better when she took my hand, but then it just hurt more as I realized it was done out of pity.
I stepped away.
“I think I know another solution,” she said. “You should pursue another girl. How about Aliana?”
“Are you just saying that so Trevor won’t be interested in her?”
“No, she’s very beautiful. I thought you might go well together.”
“We go well together.” I gestured at Kataleya.
She let down her head. “I know.”
“I think I’m going to leave now,” I said. I had been feeling a lot better before I entered her room.
I started to walk toward her door.
“Jon, wait.” She got up from her bed. “Now that you desire to tell me the truth no matter what, I’m going to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you regret what we did?”
I had to think about that one. I wasn’t sure if I could give her an accurate answer, considering that trying to connect one thought to another while looking for meaning felt as hard as casting a spell right now.
I could only say what seemed to be true. “I will never regret that. I would put up with years of pain just for the short time we spent in my bed.” This did feel accurate, now that I heard the words come out of my mouth, but they also made me sound foolish. “I know how that makes me sound, but it’s the truth.”
She came up to me, put her head on my shoulder, and gently wrapped her arms around me.
I rested my head on top of hers as I embraced her. I could feel that this might be the last time we held each other like this.
“I don’t regret it, either,” she whispered.
It felt so good to hold her. I breathed in the scent of her hair and felt every part of me relax.
She slowly leaned away to look into my eyes. “Kiss me one last time,” she said.
But as I leaned in, the door to her room swung open. She jumped away from me as the king entered.
“We were just going to kiss one last time,” she told him quickly. “There’s not going to be anything between us anymore.”
He seemed a little shocked as his gaze darted between us. “That’s none of my business, Kataleya. I have not issued any rules against relationships.”
“I know, but we’re not in one,” Kataleya insisted. “We won’t be.”
Now I was sad again.
The king lifted his palm. “It’s fine, Kataleya. I need to ask you a few questions. Do you want to be honest with me?”
“Yes, of course! I’m happy to answer any questions and finally put to rest that no one in my family, including myself, has ever done anything to harm you or anyone in this castle.”
The king smiled. “I hope you know that I was always skeptical of the idea that your family could be working with Cason. I just had to take precautions in case I was wrong.”
“I completely understand, sire.” She lowered her head.
“Have these precautions done any irreparable damage with your family?”
“I wouldn’t say irreparable, but it did hurt.”
He nodded solemnly. “I will make it up to the Yorns.”
“Thank you. Do you have any idea who it might be from your questioning tonight?”
“I’m going to keep that to myself for now. Is there anything else you would like to add before I leave?”
“I know it’s not Jon. I know it’s not Charlie. I suppose it could be anyone else. I still suspect Barrett, even though you said it can’t be him. Somebody planted the callring in my room.”
“What about Pearson?” I offered. “He’s shown that he can get into the keep even with the door locked. He probably could’ve found his way into Kataleya’s unlocked room.”
“No, someone has been working against us for some time now,” the king answered confidently. “Someone within the castle. Now I must be leaving. I would like to question a few of the nobles I’ve brought here about some other matters.”
“Sire, may I request something?” Kataleya asked.
“What is it?”
“Can you please not tell anyone about me and Jon?”
“Why is that? I think the two of you look nice together.”
“Thank you, sire!” I said quickly.
“No, don’t encourage it, please,” she told the king.
He shrugged. “I will leave you two to sort this out amongst yourselves, and I promise not to speak of it to anyone.”
He walked out and closed the door after him.
I was starting to feel more like myself, some of my inhibitions returning. I was a little embarrassed the king had found out we were involved with each other in some fashion, even if he didn’t know all the details.
Kataleya sat on the bed, looking distressed. “I’m just realizing that Trevor is going to be very suspicious of me. He’ll realize we were all on truth serum, and he’ll suspect that’s why I ran away.”
It was past time that I took my leave. I didn’t want to hear any more about Trevor, and especially nothing else about why Kataleya and I could not be together. It was time to st
art accepting it and move on.
“I’m going to do something for both of us,” I said. “I’m going to make a promise.”
Her gaze lifted from the floor.
“I promise you right now that I’m not going to pursue you any longer.”
“I appreciate that more than I can express. I will talk you up to Aliana.”
“Please don’t,” I said. “I need some time.”
“All right. Friends, then?”
I still wasn’t sure I could be friends with a girl who made me feel the way Kataleya did, but it was better than trying to push her away.
I nodded.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
I had a bit of a headache the next morning, but all in all, I didn’t feel too bad. Today would be Cason’s execution, but first I had to fetch the krepps from the docks.
I looked forward to Cason’s death. I knew it was a gruesome thought, but I was furious with Cason. He had killed Calvin along with many others, and he continued to be a threat as long as he drew breath.
Although the thought of his execution never fully left my mind, I was curious to see the kreppen ship. I wanted to find out how it might differ from our ships.
I was a little disappointed when I arrived at the docks as the creatures disembarked from a vessel that seemed no different than the type of large ship I had seen before.
Grufaeragar was the only krepp I’d ever come in contact with. I would hate to misidentify him as one of the other krepps, or worse, not identify Grufaeragar at all, but there were a few who looked just like I remembered him to look.
“Jon!” shouted one of larger krepps as he barreled toward me.
I was relieved at first, but then I was filled with fear as he didn’t slow down. I flinched as he picked me up with incredible strength, throwing me into the air.
Fortunately I had practice being tossed around, so I landed on my feet. I tried to put on a smile through my fear.
“It’s good to see you, Grufaeragar.”
His scaly face resembled that of a lizard, just like the rest of the krepps, but Grufaeragar was as bald as a rock. There were a few females among the group of male krepps, all with black hair that fell to their shoulders. Some of the male krepps had black hair as well, but there was more variety to the way they wore it. Most of them had a clump of loose hair that looked like silly little wigs, as if the lizard creatures were trying to pose as men. The hair of others looked a little more natural to me, just thick enough to stand up as it covered their lizard head.
The female krepps were smaller but still large, most likely outweighing me even though my eye level was higher than theirs. They stood with a hunch, like the males, and their two legs were bent slightly in what seemed to be a relaxed position.
There were different tints to their golden lizard eyes, all with a black line down the middle. Some were bordering on orange, while others were closer to red. Some were brighter, others more dull. Grufaeragar’s were some of the brightest.
They all sported leather clothing, though Grufaeragar was shirtless, his bulging muscles in clear view. Most of the outfits chosen by these creatures showed a lot of skin, including the women krepps. They all had old leather shirts, some brown but most black. Most of the material looked sturdy enough to stop an unsharpened knife. They covered their chests, where subtle curves were evident. The muscle tone of these females made them appear nearly as formidable as the larger males, especially with the sharp claws at the ends of their five fingers and five toes on each hand and foot.
“We get human ship,” Grufaeragar told me as he pointed at the large vessel.
Oh, so this isn’t a kreppen ship.
“Very fast,” he continued. “Humans build well. Weak but smart. Like woman krepp.” Then he pointed at one of the females, who was talking with another. “She is my mate. Shorila. Sha, sha, Shorila!”
The female approached with a big-mouthed smile that might’ve looked friendly if it wasn’t for her sharp teeth.
“Shorila knows common tongue almost good for me,” Grufaeragar said. “We are best!”
I offered my hand to Shorila. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice, yes. Meet you, yes.” She shook my hand with a firm grip, her claws lightly digging into my skin.
“I’m Jon,” I said.
“Jon, yes.”
“Was it a hard trip on the boat?” I asked.
“Hard trip, yes. On boat, yes.”
“Her common tongue very good!” Grufaeragar said proudly. “Most pretty and most smart krepp! Mine!”
Her accent was a little bit better than his but still prevalent. Like Grufaeragar, she spoke mostly from her stomach. If my ears were paper and the words of these krepps were quills for writing, it felt like they would poke holes rather than scribble anything down.
I wasn’t so sure her common tongue was actually that good, however. She wore the same constant smile as if she might not understand anything we said.
As long as Grufaeragar understood me, I was sure he would explain everything to the rest of them. But before I told him about the execution, I needed to know a few things.
A number of city guards stood around the group loosely, trying not to look aggressive, no doubt. The krepps seemed fascinated with the small buildings around, as they chattered in their deep tongue.
“Do the rest of the krepps know any common tongue?” I asked.
“Some,” Grufaeragar answered.
“Some, yes,” his mate mimicked.
I didn’t know if that meant some of them knew a little or they all knew some. Time was against us, though. On to other matters.
“Do you remember the dark mages from the last time you were here?” I asked.
“I remember. Cheap magic. Try kill me but lose.” He thumped his chest with his fist.
“Yes, lose!” Shorila echoed.
“We have been fighting them since you left,” I said. “We captured one of their leaders. Today we are going to execute him.”
Grufaeragar looked confused, while his mate continued to smile.
“Execute,” I explained. “We are going to announce his crimes and remove his head with an ax.”
“We watch!” Grufaeragar said with enthusiasm.
“Yes, watch!” Shorila echoed.
“It’s going to happen soon,” I explained. “But there is some concern that dark mages might try to rescue him. I can explain the rest as we go to the castle. Did you bring goods for trading?”
“Good trade?” Grufaeragar asked.
“Things,” I specified. “Did you bring things to trade with us?”
“Yes, things.” Shorila answered for Grufaeragar, making me wonder if she did in fact understand after all.
I honestly couldn’t tell.
“We very excite,” Grufaeragar said. “Also feast. Feast, yes?”
“Feast!” Shorila echoed.
“I’m sure there will be a feast in your honor. In all of your honor,” I announced to the krepps who seemed to be listening.
I didn’t know if they understood everything I’d said or just the word honor, but their reaction was terrifying. They all hissed loudly with grins on their faces.
Once I reminded myself that these powerful creatures were allies, my fear quickly turned into pride. Perhaps their arrival wasn’t so untimely after all.
We might finally be ready for whatever the dark mages had planned, if anything.
*****
During the trip back, I explained to Grufaeragar everything that had happened regarding Cason and the dark mages, though I did leave out Pearson and the thieving of the king’s gold. I wasn’t sure his majesty would appreciate me divulging this to the krepps.
Most of the townspeople we passed stared at the krepps with wonder, not with the same aggression that I once saw on the faces of men when I last escorted Grufaeragar through the capital. I supposed word had gotten around since his last visit that we were now allies.
We arrived back at the castle without a hit
ch, the king and his retinue of guards waiting for us in the courtyard, most of them my peers.
“Human king! Good see you!” shouted Grufaeragar.
“It’s good to see you as well, Grufaeragar.” The king wore a cautious smile.
The other krepps seemed content to let Grufaeragar speak for them as they halted to stay behind. He walked the rest of the way to shake hands with Nykal. I passed the two of them and took my spot beside Michael as we stood near the king.
“Anything interesting happen last night?” I whispered.
“Do you mean with Eden?”
It was exactly what I meant.
He glanced her way. She noticed and gave him a wink.
“I guess that answers my question,” I said.
Michael was grinning ear to ear.
The king was asking Grufaeragar, “Did Jon explain that we will soon execute a very bad man who has killed many of our allies?”
“He explain. Who kill him?”
“There is no honor for us in taking off the man’s head when he cannot fight back,” the king explained. “He will be executed by a trained executioner.”
“I execute him. I take honor.”
The king made a face. “I would rather you and the other krepps keep guard during the execution. There may be enemies who try to save Cason.” He gestured at the great hall. “Let’s discuss this as you feast. There is plenty of food for everyone.”
“Feast!” Grufaeragar shouted, and all the krepps hissed.
*****
It was a lively meal, the krepps voracious eaters. After they’d marveled—first at the great hall, secondly at the dining hall, and thirdly at the taste of the food on their plates—they’d eaten so noisily that it was almost impossible to focus on my own meal.
Eventually, it was time for the execution. The king had gone through the plan with us by then. All of us seemed a little uneasy about the krepps being here, but they were allies. These dangerous, rowdy creatures were allies. I had to remind myself of this frequently because they seemed to live in their own world even here in the castle. They chattered in their own language as they mostly seemed unaware of us.
