Delusions of Loyalty (The Braykith Series Book 2)

by Jennifer R. Kenny

  “Is the crown going to help?” Evangeline asked, the tree’s branches slipping and sliding over the glass and keeping her attention better than Glais was.

  “We are, but I need to do some investigations first.” He told her, following her gaze to see what she was staring at. The brushing of trees against their window unnerved him, and Glais gestured to the door. “Would you like tea?” he asked. Evangeline seemed at peace with the foliage. However, Glais had been raised on dead lands

  Evangeline nodded, leading the way out to their sitting area. “Why would there be an investigation?”

  Glais was slow to follow her, glad to be rid of the scratchy sound of tree limbs against the ancient windows. Taking advantage of the situation, Glais was sure to use the tea as more distractions so he could do his best to not turn this conversation into the desperate attempt of redemption he wanted to make. Glais took his time setting up the kettle over the fire. “Quite a few people have asked me the same thing actually. Since the first villagers came to consult my father and gained some traction with him, more have approached the castle. Since he left, even more have been asking to see me.”

  “Citizens are continuing to disappear?” Evangeline asked, frowning at the idea of how unsafe the locals must feel in this very moment while she was being guarded here in the castle.

  “Not everyone is that honest. Investigations have come to show that some have sent loved ones into hiding. Others are just creating family members out of thin air and deciding they too are missing, and now the crown owes them coin to cover their debts.” Glais heard the windows rattle, and he turned to look at them, but his gaze was not enough. He had an eerie feeling that the wind was not looking for him but only saw him as another obstacle for its real target.

  He took the kettle from the fire carefully but set it aside instead of pouring the water. His focus was on Evangeline, and the strange look on her face as the window blew open.

  Evangeline had never felt such an urge before. There had always been an attachment to the earth, something that had been subconsciously directing her choices since she was a child, but this was different. Her wandering feet would always find a way to keep her outside, but now it seemed that everything was compelling her to seek refuge in the trees. Before this moment, Evangeline had felt in control of herself and had considered this impulsive feeling to be nothing more than a strange little habit. Now she stood in her room with her eyes wide and gripping the back of the chair with all she had to keep from walking out the doors.

  Glais slammed the windows closed, cutting off the flow of the wind that was attacking her. Nothing else in the room seemed to be disturbed by the force except for his wife, but Glais could not question that now. Just as he managed to get the windows closed, instantly the door appeared to open on its own accord. Now, the intruding breeze seemed to be dragging at Evangeline instead of pushing her. Glais had barely managed two steps away from the windows when they suddenly opened again, and a storm of the elements seemed to be galloping through their space with only a single target in mind. The wind acted without mercy, dragging at Evangeline viciously, as she struggled to remain where she was.

  Invisible barbs seemed to stick to her clothes and a strong gust suddenly hit against Evangeline’s back with such force that she stumbled forward from the sudden assault. “Glais?” she called out his name because there was no one else that she could call for. Her hand reached out for him, and when his hand found hers, the wind did not stop. It only doubled its efforts to gain her momentum.

  “We should follow it,” Glais said, suddenly inspired and finding no other solution within grasp. Glais could feel the panic rise as Evangeline’s hand slipped into his.

  “Follow it?” Evangeline repeated back to him, hoping she had heard wrong, and yet the look on his face told her that indeed he had suggested such a thing. She tried to keep eye contact with Glais, but the wind caught up what was left of her hair and forced it over her eyes. She brushed it away angrily, turning on the spot to tame her locks and the wind only stopped its assault when she was facing the door. “Glais, it is just the wind.”

  “It is the trees.” He pointed out the window as if to show off his point, but it was a careless gesture because what else could it be but the trees calling to her by the only means of communication they had. He could see it in her eyes, in the bare moments, they managed to make contact, that she had already made the connections he was saying. Evangeline often was thinking things that she would never say out loud, understanding networks that scared her because they were not what she had been lead to believe.

  Glais was at a loss on how to comfort her but realised this was not a moment where she needed support. Evangeline needed his confidence. Never had the trees appeared so wild and menacing. Since she had arrived, the grounds had responded to her mere presence. Evangeline needed to believe they would call on her for support when they felt the desire for it.

  Glais crossed the space between them and grabbed her by the shoulders. She jumped at his intimate touch, and Glais tried to ignore it. It seemed that he was tightly in tune with her every mannerism these days. It was hard to watch her when she had her guard down. He cleared his throat. “You never had a teacher, not like I had my father, Evangeline. Before my mother gave you the news, no one had even mentioned the words dryad to you before.”

  Evangeline nodded, looking to the open door, feeling the wind tighten around her and pull at her clothes. Glais ignored them as they tried to get between them and separate them. Evangeline looked up at him. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.” She told him.

  “I know.” Glais took a calming breath, trying to encourage Evangeline to do the same. Panic always hurt in situations like these. “You need to calm down Evangeline. In my experience, control is harder whenever you lose focus. Please, Evangeline, focus on me.” He looked at her, breathing calming until finally, her heart began to settle. The wind picked up around them, but Evangeline did not seem to notice. Glais smiled, and she smiled back. “The first lesson is to trust the curse because fear will only hurt you.”

  “I am not cursed,” Evangeline insisted.

  “Evangeline, my point is you should be more open to what the world is trying to tell you.” Glais was forced to pause as the wind grew more insistent against them. Glais moved her towards the door, and he instantly felt the difference in the pressure. Evangeline pulled her hair out of her face and noticed the eerie calm in the corridors. She looked at Glais for advice, but he had no words that Evangeline was ready to hear. Someday she might, and Glais hoped that Evangeline would learn to trust him, but their relationship never seemed to be in the right place. He grabbed her hand, tugging her gently until Evangeline followed after him.

  She took a few hurried steps to catch up to his stride, so she no longer felt like she was being dragged down the corridors of the castle. “Where can we hide?” Evangeline asked, looking to the left, and over her shoulder but she could not think of any place that was safe for her. There was no place in Braykith for Evangeline, and there was no Crimah either. Lucky that her hand was in Glais’, because Evangeline almost fell over at his answer.

  “We are not going to hide.” He stopped when she suddenly pulled her hand loose with an unexpected tug, and she stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Evangeline, please, it is obvious they were trying to get you outside. They will not stop looking for you. I fear that if you continue to reject them, then it will grow dangerous for all concerned.” He paused but she did not interrupt him. “Those trees that grow closest to our rooms will be the liveliest. If there is to be a place safe for dryad’s, it will be there.”

  She stared at him and his calm exterior only made her panic more. “But whatever could they need me for?”

  He could hear her heartbeat rise, the sound of deafening and tempting the curse that he kept buried inside his own chest. He gave a short puff of breath, blowing away the taste of her mounting blood pressure from the air. “I cannot be certain, but somethin
g is clearly calling for you, Evangeline.”

  “What is calling me?” Evangeline asked.

  Glais knew she didn’t want to hear, but he had to say it. “Whatever is inside of you, whatever they left behind is something they can make contact with. You need to answer them. They will never stop otherwise.” Glais knew all too well just how that could feel. “The sooner you do this, the better.” He added gently.

  Evangeline bit her bottom lip, looking back towards their bedroom and the stairs, but there was no escaping the truth that Glais was saying. “Will you come with me?” she asked, surprised that he was the one she felt that she needed right now. If was only as an afterthought that she considered Thomas at all, and instantly dismissed him from her thoughts.

  “Of course,” He bowed and offered her his hand as a gentleman should. There was a moment of hesitation, Evangeline wondering if this was a good idea, but a window suddenly blew open, and she grabbed Glais before the barb-like wind could catch her again. He smiled, but she didn’t smile back. Evangeline said nothing as they walked through the castle and Glais could think of nothing to say.

  The walk was fast, and there was a chill to the night that had nothing to do with the weather. The attack in their room could not compare to the electricity in the open air now. While the wind was pulling Evangeline forward and encouraging her every step, Glais felt suffocated by it. It was only holding Evangeline’s hand that he managed to stay standing at all. She had asked him to come, and he would not let her down when she needed his support.

  Coughing, trying to work past the blockage in his throat, Glais followed Evangeline now around the castle and towards the gathering of trees. The closer they came to the location, the wind seemed to lose its pursuit of her. Glais would never believe the urgency is gone, but it was proof that he had been correct. The tugging and pushing sensation they had been experiencing almost seemed like a dream as they walked through the eerie night. The torches were out, and the guards were minimal, making the gardens seem dangerous in a way that Glais had never felt before.

  He was not accustomed to feeling scared by the world. He was the scary one. The curse that ran through his bloodline made him the monster in the dark, but there was something new in the night now. Something that Glais did not know and the curse was confused with. It excited and chilled him, and Glais was more confused by that emotion then he had ever felt before. When meeting Evangeline, he had never imagined her to be more than a girl, but this proved how little he knew of her. Perhaps he had underestimated her influences.

  “The night feels alive,” Evangeline whispered, and Glais nodded. He could no longer speak. The suffocation was fading the closer they got to the trees, but that other emotion was rising. Glais had no word for it, and he would be happier if he never had to feel it again. The trees shadows crossed them, and Evangeline dropped his hand as she dashed forward. Uncertain if it was her decision to act or not, Glais took off after her.

  Instinctively, she pressed her hand against the bark of the tree, and there was a distinct ripple that started from her palm. Evangeline pulled her hand back quickly, and couldn’t be certain if she had imagined the suction or not. Looking at her hand, she saw nothing but she couldn’t lose the sensation that remained. Wiping her palm on the back of her dress didn’t help, but Evangeline could not stop herself from doing it.

  From the tree came the Dryad. Evangeline and Glais both recognised Alisma’s weakened state and noticed that she did not look as good as the last time they spoke. “Evangeline, I am sorry for the distress, but you need to know,” Alisma spoke, her voice sounding faded as she struggled to keep her form.

  “Alisma, please.” Evangeline gasped, reaching out for the dryad, but Glais stopped her. Evangeline looked at her arm where he had grabbed her, but Glais did not loosen his grip. Evangeline looked at him. She finally had to submit since Glais was the only one who understood a little on how to deal with the supernatural. That had been her motivation when she had asked him to come with her. It would be foolish not to take his advice now. “What happened to you Alisma?”

  “This is the danger of attempting to live in Braykith,” Alisma answered. “Please, think nothing of it, but Eva you must come with me.”

  “Come with you?” Evangeline looked back to Glais, but he had nothing to offer her, and she understood the emotion. She felt stunned and confused as well. “What do you mean to go with you?”

  Alisma paused as if she needed to catch her breath, or an ugly pain had caught her off guard. “Eva, please, time is short. Glais, your father, is being attacked in the woods, not far from here but it is not going well.”

  Glais looked at the dryad suddenly. “My father?”

  “Yes. I have come to warn you,” Alisma lowered her eyes, looking down at her hands but the bad news was not going to be easier to give. “Prince Glais, I am not certain if you will be able to get there in time but Evangeline can appear instantly. I am hoping she recognises the location.”

  Glais held up his hand. “My father has travelled to Braykith often.” He interjected.

  “I am sure, but the new foliage has steered him off his usual course.” Alisma shook her head. “Please, we have little time.” She beckoned for Evangeline to approach her. “We must hurry.” She told Evangeline again.

  Evangeline nodded and let go of Glais’ hand, stepping in closer to Alisma. “How does this work?”

  “In truth, I am not certain if it will work. I am hoping that you have enough Dryad in your blood to make it possible.” Alisma reached for her, and when they touched Alisma seemed to shimmer before her eyes, but Evangeline no longer felt present. Evangeline could feel the suction between them. The draw she had felt for so many years when she was alone in the gardens was intense now, and Evangeline had the unmistakeable feeling of being swept away.

  Before she could register her journey, she felt a sudden stop and a hand on her shoulder kept her from falling forward. Evangeline blinked, but it did not help the world come into a better focus She rubbed at her eyes, straining against the thick fog that seemed to have settled over everything but regardless of what she tried, Evangeline’s vision remained blurry. There was a sense of movement within the field of vision, but the individual action was hard to focus on. Evangeline felt pressure building on the sides of her head, and she tried to cry out for help, but her voice was stolen from her.

  Hush Evangeline. Came the voice of Alisma from inside her own head. It echoed around her skull, but there was no mistaking the sound as a memory or being implanted. Evangeline was suddenly aware that Alisma wasn’t in her head, but rather Evangeline was inside hers. You will be fine. Just stop fighting it, and let yourself see.

  Being told to be calm was not something Evangeline would ever be happy to hear, but she tried. She stopped trying to stretch out to create her own space and just saw the world through the eyes of the dryad. Once Evangeline stopped fighting to see the actions, the blurry movements came into focus. Staying determined was hard, and more than once the fog would resettle and the faces would be lost to her, and the process would need to begin again.

  Evangeline felt panicked, followed by a soothing feeling as if someone was stroking her hair. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the light touch and gentle tugging that came with having her hair brushed by loving fingers. It was something her mother had often done while Evangeline was growing up, and it had always relaxed her. The sudden feeling of being close to her mother gave her more relief than any other act she could have experienced. “Mother?” she asked, but her question was ignored. Instead, the scene before her cleared further with every blink.

  The trail was lost in darkness, but fires pocketed through the clearing between the trees. Straining to make out the shapes as they became clearer, there was a sudden shift in their position and Evangeline saw they were closer than before. Sorry, this is harder to stay present than I had guessed. Alisma apologised in her head, but Evangeline did not think much of it. The scene before her took her breath away
.

  Men lay dead on the ground, crumpled in the confusion as horses reared in the abruptness of the attack. Evangeline was sure that the rebellion had never been this overbearing, but this was clear proof of the opposite. They were using nature against the men of Braykith, hiding and ducking between trees with such reckless ease that she wondered if they were part dryad themselves.

  In the middle of it was Quintus. His body was hunched over, sword held in two hands but he was steady on his feet. His hair was slicked back with sweat and blood smeared over his face. Evangeline blinked against the mirage, but it only proved the image was real. She had never seen a man so savage, and the glint in his eyes as he moved into the fray gave her shivers. The odds were against him, but Quintus was caught up in the moment. The option to fight or flee had come and gone long ago, and Quintus believed this was a fight he could win. Even as the bodies of his men lay at his feet, Quintus felt invincible.

  Evangeline turned her head away, closing her eyes as a desperate cry rose into the night. The Braykith men were trying to gather and attempting to form some kind of defence around the king, but Christof was better trained in the current conditions. The soldiers in black should have been no match, but the rebels had cut down their numbers before the soldiers knew better. And again, they had used the King’s arrogance against him. They knew he would not wait for his warriors to be prepared. Somehow they had known everything, and now the King’s life was in the balance.

  “Alisma, take me home,” Evangeline said, but there was no change in her position. She opened her eyes, watching as young men died, as Quintus took someone by the neck and used his free hand to hook under the man’s open mouth. Holding the front of his face, Quintus tore the man’s jaw in half before throwing the body away. Scared by the display of strength, Evangeline looked into his face and instantly knew only one thing as true. There was no reasoning with him.