All the noise from merriment and singing, was clearly scaring Huntra. When Ky first walked up, he cowed away. He backed up as if afraid Ky would pick him up and take him into the midst of the bustle. To ease his apprehension she said, “Let’s go, boy. Come on while everyone is distracted.”
Her plan was working out much better than she hoped. With such little planning, and not thinking it through to the end, leaving during the feast was perfect. No one would notice her running off. Huntra was glad to get away from the square. He turned and hunched low like he was prowling while hurrying to get as far away as possible.
Ky hurried to keep up with him. They passed house after deserted house. Ky knew they were making great leeway when the music grew faint. Huntra didn’t slow down, and she was thankful he understood they needed to get out unseen.
It wasn’t long before Ky realized he was taking her to edge of the village. Huntra passed many more dwellings before proceeding under a tall archway heading into a tunnel. Ky peeked back over her shoulder, seeing the beautiful dome and prayed she was making the right decision.
CHAPTER NINE
Ky followed Huntra for what felt like miles, as they walked the smooth floor of the straight tunnel that seemed endless. “Huntra, you did it. Good boy,” Ky whispered her approval when she saw the end, and the faint glow of the moon. She hurried along, until they were out in the open air. Ky slowed almost to a halt when she first glimpsed outside. They exited an enormous carved, but fake, castle that blended into the face of the mountain. A large stone courtyard guarded the counterfeit fortress. It appeared a battle once took place within the courtyard, because skeletons lay on the ground in grotesque positions. Armor still attached to some of the bodies. Ky half expected them to get up and walk, frighten her, or not let her escape, but that didn’t happen. Huntra continued cautiously. He was still as small as a housecat, but she was starting to wish he would get bigger and bounce her onto his back.
“Are you going somewhere?”
Ky startled and spun around. Cobaaron was leaning against a large pillar with crossed arms and watching them inch across the courtyard. He looked mildly amused. “You couldn’t have been that serious about leaving if you were planning to walk out the front door. But then you’re following a dimwitted cat,” Huntra hissed. “Well, I don’t blame him. You probably weren’t very specific in telling him how to leave, now were you?”
“Are you going to let me go?”
“No,” he replied. He pushed off the pillar, and then took a few leisure steps. He picked up a sword from a skeleton. “Why would I let you leave, Ky?”
“You wanted to ditch me before we left Gem City.” She gulped as he walked toward her as he held the sword hostilely. “Why are you stopping me now?”
“That isn’t true,” he confessed. He pointed the tip of the sword at her neck. Ky inhaled fearfully. He was so quick she hadn’t seen him move, and instantly the blade was so close her neck she could feel cold emitting from the iron. She couldn’t believe he was holding a sword to her throat. He was going to kill her, when before he wouldn’t even lift a hand to hit her.
He didn’t even look remorseful. It made her furious that he could feel so little. So, this was the ruthless Cobaaron, and what he was like without a bond pulling him; he was as cold as the iron in his hand.
“Do it then. Kill me. If this world is as cruel as you are, what is the point? Take me out of it,” Ky said, sounding calm and detached because at the moment she truly felt defeated. Usually, she never gave up, but she was as good as dead the moment she arrived in her new world. She was no longer ignorantly optimistic; she had no chance against a man who killed thirty men with their own weapons. If he was going to kill her, he best do it quick. Cobaaron stared at her, tilting his head. Huntra hissed.
“You don’t mean that,” Cobaaron uttered. He shook his head, refusing to believe her.
“Don’t I?” Ky yelled.
Cobaaron used the tip of the sword to point at something by her feet, as he demanded, “Pick it up.” Cobaaron backed away when she didn’t move. “Ky, I should never have to ask you to do something twice. If you respect me at all, and I demand it, you need to listen to me.” This time he stepped toward her with one long stride. He was so close she could feel his warm breath against her cold skin. With his foot, he kicked up a second sword off the ground. He caught it, and then forced the sword into her hand. He then slowly backed up. “Are you angry?” he asked her.
“I don’t care. So, no. I’m wondering what you’re waiting for. Either you aren’t going to kill me, or you’re toying with me. Which is it?”
Cobaaron unexpectedly lunged. He swung the sword violently toward her. Yet he hit her with the broad edge of the sword, first at her ribs, then her leg, and finally he tapped her neck. She flinched, and her heart pounded. He was toying with her.
He swiftly circled her, as the blunt edge of the blade dragged across her jugular vein. He suddenly had her arm behind her back, as he was pressing his body into her so she couldn’t move.
“You’re not even attempting to fight me,” he growled, and then pushed her away. She stumbled to the floor, painfully crashing into armor and dry bones. She hated that he was making her imminent death a game.
Ky didn’t look back; she got up, and ran for the outer gate of the courtyard. She sprinted as hard as she could, knowing how incredibly fast he was. There was no way she would make it, unless by a miracle. “Where are you going?” he called after her and laughed. Within a second, he captured her.
Huntra pounced for Cobaaron, but he was too fast. The moment he saw Huntra spring, Cobaaron ducked. Then he easily mounted Huntra, who immediately bulked up. “Tell your dog to leave.” Cobaaron told Ky while poised to drive the sword into the back of his skull.
“No!” Ky screamed. Huntra was her only friend she had in this cruel world, and Cobaaron wasn’t about to kill him if she could help it. “No, please! He is all I have! Huntra, I’m okay. Wait for me at the outer gate. Leave us be. I’m okay, boy,” she lied with a shaky voice. But she was as good as dead, and she didn’t want Huntra to die needlessly. She forced a smile as he began to shrink. “Good boy.” Soon he was so small that Cobaaron towered over him. Huntra backed up, heading toward the outer gate, but he watched Ky guardedly. “If I die, you run far away from Cobaaron.”
“Don’t worry, Princess, I hate cats. They aren’t even good meat.” Ky glowered when he grinned. “Are you angry?” he asked for a second time.
“Of course I am! It’s a stupid question!” she shouted. He slowly approached her again. A playful smile grew across his face, which only angered her more. He clearly liked scaring and upsetting her; it was sick.
“Don’t be. You’ll never beat me if you’re consumed with anger. Focus.” He swung his blade, and Ky managed to block it with her sword, but the force knocked her down and her weapon went flying. He swiftly advanced. His sword stilled when it was inches from her heart. Ky scrambled while crawling backward, but he walked after her with his weapon extended. Her hands crunched brittle bones that broke under her weight. “You should never let go of a weapon, unless you mean to. And you’re wrong if you think I’ll hand you another.”
She continued to crawl in reverse. Then her hands felt the smooth handle of a sword. She grasped it, and quickly knocked the blade point away from her heart. What she’d mistaken for a sword was a brittle bone. It snapped in two when it came in contact with Cobaaron’s sword. She had just enough time to roll away. She was going to stand, but in an instant Cobaaron was towering over her once again, with sword ready.
“What went wrong?” he asked her. When she didn’t answer, but continued to breathe heavily, he said, “You should never expose your back unless they’re already dead.”
“Kill me. Do it!” she yelled. “I’m not getting out of this courtyard or escaping from a man who killed a pack of night wolves. My skill will never challenge you enough to amuse.”
Cobaaron backed away. “Get up.”
Ky stood. Filled with anger, she screamed and tossed the bone at him. Without thinking she swept her foot, kicking the back of his knees. He buckled, and fell onto his back. But a second later, he swiftly rolled into an inverted summersault before flipping onto his feet. The single fluid motion made her realize once again no matter what she did, dying that night would be one of them.
In a second, his sword was pointing to her heart. “Pick up the spear,” he commanded her. Ky glanced down, seeing a broken spear on the ground. She hurriedly picked it up. And she got an idea. If she could slowly make her way to Huntra, she could jump on his back, and possibly run far from Cobaaron. If Huntra grew large enough, surely Cobaaron couldn’t catch him. The impossible plan was better than nothing.
Ky tossed the spear to her other hand, and then didn’t waste any time lunging. He dodged, snatched the spear from her hand, immediately broke it in half and tossed both pieces back to her. “Try that. You’re better with closer contact. I can tell that already.” He didn’t give her any warning. He ran for her. At the last second, he lunged and thrust his blade toward her. It cut one of her dress straps. She watched him flip above her. He clutched onto her strap midair. Though he was fast, she kept his eyes on him as he spun and fell back down toward the earth. He had wrapped the strap around her neck. She pulled at it trying to keep the thick strand from chocking her. Cobaaron held her captive by her own dress. She struggled to free herself. A moment later, he let go of her. She ran, and the only explanation for her getting far was because he let her.
Ky ran as hard as she could, but she couldn’t see the exit. While fighting, she lost her direction. She didn’t risk stopping to look. It wasn’t until a tall wall blocked her that she finally slowed. Cobaaron was nowhere to be seen. Her heart was beating hard. She knew that couldn’t have been the end of his taunting. If he were finished with her, she’d be dead.
“Is this all part of your twisted idea of fun?” She knelt and picked up a shorter sword. Her heavy breaths were loud and she tried to quiet them. She searched the pillars, trying to find him. She weaved between the columns but there was no movement. Huntra stood by the huge gate. It was her only escape. Though the exit was far away, she had to try.
“That is right,” Ky heard from behind her. She spun around, and Cobaaron was standing behind her. Ky thrust her sword out, hoping to keep him at bay. While shaking with fear, her hand was unsteady. She walked backward heading for Huntra. Cobaaron no longer had anything in his hands, but Ky knew that he didn’t need a weapon to kill. The thought made her clutch her sword tighter. “That is the way out. You’re not far from it, but what will you do with freedom, assuming I let you go?”
“I’ll find a new home,” Ky said honestly.
“You’re not the first Star to run off. It’s not pretty. The three kings have scouts and traders that search for Stars like you to warm the lower regions. You wouldn’t last more than a week out there, and the nearest settlement, besides Gem City, is twice that distance.” Every step she took, he took a much larger one. He wasn’t at all concerned with her still holding up the short blade. “What are you running from anyway?”
“I don’t want to be forced into marriage,” she said.
“I know exactly how you feel,” he said.
“Don’t pretend to know how or what I feel. You’re cruel. I don’t think you have feelings at all, you psychopath!”
“I don’t know that word.” Cobaaron stared. He took another step toward her sword. The tip was so close to his heart she only had to lean forward. If she swiftly lunged, he may not have time to react. She couldn’t have been more wrong. When he took another step to her, she sprung for him but Cobaaron seized her wrist, whirled her around, pinning her arm across her chest and was behind her once again, while forcing her hand to let go of the sword. The weapon fell, clattering to the ground. He spun her to face her.
Ky shoved him hard, but he didn’t release her. “Just kill me!” she screamed. “Quit toying with me you barbaric monster. Just do it! I don’t care anymore! You’re not going to let me leave, but I cannot stay!”
She pushed him again, but when he didn’t strike her, Ky wrenched free, picked up the same sword, and held the blade while forcing the handle in Cobaaron’s fist. “Do it, you coward! I’m not afraid of you! I feel sorry for you. All you care about is fighting. It sickens me to see bloodshed, and you love it! You live only for war! I pity you!” He didn’t take the sword. “Do it!” she yelled again, and tried thrusting the handle into his hand again. “Kill me or let me go. What do you care? You have made it very clear that I’m nothing to you.”
Obviously he wasn’t going to take the sword, so she threw it to the ground by his feet. Then she turned her back on him, and called Huntra. “Grow Huntra. Let’s leave.”
“I did it,” Cobaaron said quietly.
Ky watched as Huntra hopped toward her avoiding the skeletons. “What did you do? Let me live? Or let me leave? Because I’m not as impressed with you as you are with yourself.”
“I did what you asked, Ky.”
“What? Let me go?” she snapped, and then fed up, she headed to the gate.
“No, Ky, you asked me to train you. You asked me to make you a warrior, a fighter. I sparred with you. At least, I’ll keep training you. You’re fast, Ky. Did you see it? You kept up with my movements when I jumped.” Ky stopped and stared. “I saw it. You were as fast as I. You’re untrained, that is all. With practice, you could be great.”
“Why did you do it?” she asked.
“Because I want you to stay,” he said, “with me, Ky. I want you to stay with me.”
“Stay with you?” Ky marched up to him and shoved him. “You wanted to abandon me on the way here.” She hit him in the chest. “You refused to have a Union Ceremony with me,” she punched his arm. “You were all over that singer—you kissed her.” She started hitting him with each word she yelled, “You…tried…to…kill…me!” She pushed him hard, and then asked, “What makes you think I want to be with you anymore? You yell at me all the time. You scare me!”
“Ky,” he spoke softly, as he pivoted so she wasn’t clobbering his gut. “All I ever wanted to do is protect you. I’ve known scores of warriors who never loved a woman longer than a day. I didn’t think I could care about you. Not until you were miles away and all I thought about was you. It didn’t get better with distance, it got worse; that is…I realized what I felt wasn’t simply our union once you were apart from me. You’re kind, Ky. You have a heart of a real woman. Women in this world think of only getting ‘pregnant,’ as you say. That isn’t you. You’re not cunning that way. You’re different, and unlike anyone I’ve ever met. You’re pure even among Stars.
“I was angry when I told my men that I wanted to get rid of you, but I never meant it. I came here to make sure you arrived safely. And I didn’t agree to the Union Ceremony because I didn’t know if you wanted me anymore. About the singer…I didn’t kiss her, but say the word, and I’ll never let another woman near me again. Truly, I let her kiss me, because I wanted you jealous; I would know you returned my feelings if you disliked it, but when you smiled at me when we danced. I thought you didn’t care.”
“Of course, I don’t want you kissing other women! You haven’t even kissed me.” Ky crossed her arms. She was livid, but she wanted to believe everything he said. As much as she tried to not, she always cared for him.
He smiled, evidently pleased she was jealous. “So, what are you going to do? Are you still going to leave?”
“I don’t know,” she snapped. “I’m too mad to think clearly.”
“Come back with me, Ky. I won’t leave until you make up your mind. If you choose to stay, I’ll try to be happy for you. If you choose to leave, I’ll try to let you go. If you choose to come with me...I’ll take care of you. You have my word.” He gave her only a moment to ponder before asking, “What are you going to do?”
“Well, I’m going to still be mad at you. You can’t ever scare me, Cob
aaron. When you yell, your size alone is intimidating. You can’t do that!” she huffed.
“I’ll try,” he said quickly. “I am trying.”
“And my cat goes everywhere with me. He’s mine; you can’t send him away, because you’re not a cat person. Even if he dislikes you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t like him either,” smiled Cobaaron.
“You’re such a smart aleck,” she mumbled, and couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ve been worse than that,” he said sounding guilty. “But in my defense this is all very new to me. I don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ll try to be soft-spoken.”
“I’ll leave when you leave. If anything, you can take me to another city where I don’t have to marry.”
He peered beyond the gate, sniffed the air, then said, “Come, Ky. Something is outside the gate. I think it’s listening.” He took her hand, called Huntra, and they hastily headed for the protection of the carved castle.
Cobaaron let go of her so he could listen and smell the air. “Something isn’t right. I’m going to send Octavos out to protect the castle tonight.” He repeated: “Something is definitely not right.”
CHAPTER TEN
“You should be excited; today is your Lighting Ceremony, and you’ll get special gifts. We celebrate your Shooting Star Festival with another feast tonight, too,” Oella said with a large grin when she entered Ky’s room the following morning. Ky was still asleep when Oella gushed over the day’s scheduled events. It startled her awake, and she only caught bits of what Oella was saying. Ky was surprised to see Huntra lying on her stomach. Oella held a tray laden with food. “You need to eat. I brought you a variety to see what you like. We’re in a hurry today. Cobaaron is asking you to join him in the study hall to train with some warriors. Our sparring room is under construction.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 12
