Cara's Twelve

by Chantel Seabrook

  Cara looked at Callion, his eyes dark and pleading. Without words she knew what he wanted her to do.

  He had already accepted his fate.

  She shook her head fervently.

  Callion was more than a friend. More than a brother. He was her anchor. The only person who truly knew her, not as the heir to the Elbian throne, but who she was before all the madness had started. Before she was forced to choose between the lives of those she loved and the good of her country.

  Edmund's fist tightened in her hair. “Make your decision.”

  “I'm sorry Callion.”

  Callion smiled sadly and bowed his head in acknowledgement.

  “Stupid girl,” Edmund hissed, as he thrust her aside and pulled his dagger from its sheath. Rounding on Callion, Edmund grabbed him by the jaw and thrust his head back, so that his blade was positioned over Callion's throat.

  “Last chance princess. His fate is in your hands.”

  Callion's gaze never left hers, and for a moment she hesitated, wishing more than anything that things could be different.

  “You will never be king Edmund. The people of Elbia are tired of being oppressed by a cruel and heartless monarch. I would rather die than be responsible for allowing you to take the throne.”

  “Then his blood and all that follows is on your hands.”

  In a single movement, Edmund's dagger cut a deep and even line across Callion's throat.

  Callion's eyes went wide and his mouth opened in a silent scream as blood poured in waves from the open wound.

  When Edmund let go of him, Callion fell forward.

  Cara scrambled to him and struggled to turn him on his back, but the chains that bound him made it difficult.

  Cradling his face in her hands, she watched as the life drained from his eyes, and stroked his hair, oblivious to the blood that soaked her garments.

  “I believe,” she whispered, knowing it was what he needed to hear. “She's here Callion. Annul. You were right. You were always right.”

  His eyes were already glazed as he twitched and grimaced in her arms. Cara held his fading gaze, and she saw forgiveness in his eyes as he took his last breath.

  Cara didn't look up as Edmund's shadow fell over her.

  “You killed him,” he taunted. “You think you're so good, but you're no different than Birkita. You let your friend die. For what? No matter what you do, I will win. You will be my wife, and I will be king. It's your choice how many people have to die before it happens.”

  Cara flinched as the door slammed shut and she was left alone, cradling Callion's body.

  What had she done?

  Edmund was right. She was just as responsible for Callion's death then if she had wielded the knife herself.

  She didn't know how much time passed before she was able to move. Her legs and hands were numb, Callion's blood had started to thicken and clot, and his body was cold as she pulled herself away from him.

  Feeling boneless and beyond weary, she crawled into a ball on the edge of her bed, and swore to Annul that she would kill Edmund if it was the last thing she did.

  * * *

  Tahdaon pulled his blade from the guard's corpse that he had just killed, and silently motioned for Finn to follow him. Disguised as Hellstrom soldiers, they had managed to gain access to the castle without being detected.

  Finn and Efy had arrived a few days after her disappearance, and when they had learned that she was gone, it was all Tahdaon could do to convince Finn not to send his father's army to the slaughter in order to rescue her.

  It had been Tahdaon's first instinct as well, to take what men he had and go after her, but he knew that Edmund would expect them to attack.

  In the end he had convinced Finn that their best chance at rescuing Cara was to disguise themselves as Edmund's men, and enter the castle under the cover of darkness. So far his plan had worked. Only two guards separated them from the room Edmund was keeping her in.

  Tahdaon glanced at Finn and nodded.

  Stepping out of the shadows, Tahdaon saw the men tense and then relax as they noted his armor with the Hellstrom insignia.

  “You're early,” one of the guards said, as they approached. “Not that I mind. The stench is enough to make you sick. Not sure what Edmund is thinking leaving the body to rot in there.”

  Tahdaon went cold. They couldn't be too late. Edmund wouldn't have killed her. He needed her alive, and yet the man's words cut through him like a knife.

  Without a second thought, Tahdaon cut the man down, and turned on the second guard. “Open the door.”

  The guard's eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth opened and closed without making a sound. Fear at what he would find behind the door, and frustrated by the guard's hesitation, Tahdaon ran his blade through the man's throat and pushed the body aside.

  As he reached out to remove the bolt from the door, he jerked as Finn placed a heavy hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked over his shoulder, his own icy fear mirrored in Finn's expression.

  Finn let his hand fall and nodded toward the door. “We need to be prepared for the worst.”

  The words sent a chill through his body.

  Taking a deep breath he pushed the door open. The smell of death hit him like a stone wall.

  A body, molted and swollen in death, lay in the center of the room, surrounded by blackened dried blood. Maggots crawled across the rotting flesh, and flies swarmed, filling the room with a sickening noise.

  Tahdaon's stomach heaved at the sight, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow.

  It didn't take Tahdaon long to realize that it was the body of a man. He breathed a sigh of relief as his brain registered that the decaying corpse wasn't Cara.

  “She's not here,” Finn growled under his breath, relief and frustration evident in his voice.

  The smell was overpowering. Covering his nose and mouth with his arm, Tahdaon looked around the room which appeared to be empty.

  They were about to leave when he saw her.

  Huddled in the corner of the room, her skin was ashen, her hands and feet caked with dry blood. Her dark hair hung in knots around her face, and the eyes that stared back at him were haunted and unseeing.

  “Cara?” he said gently as he approached. She didn't react when he reached out and brushed back the hair from her face.

  Dark purple bruises rimmed her eyes, and her lips were dry and crusted with blood.

  “Cara, it's me. Tahdaon. Finn's here too. We're going to get you out of here.”

  She looked at him then, and for an instant he saw recognition in her eyes, but her expression was tormented.

  “You shouldn't be here,” she muttered, barely coherent. “He'll kill you if he finds you here.”

  “Cara, listen to me. We're going to get you out here, but I need your help. Can you walk?”

  Cara shook her head, her eyes once again glazed over, and repeated monotonously, “You shouldn't be here.”

  Tahdaon looked up at Finn for help, and stood, moving out of the way, as Finn knelt beside her.

  “Sweetheart, look at me,” Finn said. “We have to leave, before someone realizes we're here.”

  “You're going to have to carry her,” Tahdaon said through clenched teeth. Every part of him wanted to find Edmund and tear his beating heart from his chest for what he had done to her, but he knew that now wasn't the time. They had to get her out of the castle before anyone found the trail of bodies they had left in their wake. “We have to go, now.”

  Finn let out an elongated breath and whispered something that only Cara could here. She nodded once, and allowed Finn to pick her up, but Tahdaon saw the animalistic fear that distorted her features as she clung to Finn. She bit her lip so hard, that fresh blood oozed from a newly opened wound.

  As they crossed the room, her eyes locked on the corpse, and she let out a low guttural moan.

  Tahdaon still didn't know who the corpse had been, but it was clear by her reaction that it had been someone she knew
well.

  Finn continued to whisper softly in her ear, and Cara turned her head away, burying her face in Finn's chest.

  “Let's go,” Tahdaon ordered.

  By some miracle they made their way through the castle halls and servants' corridors undetected.

  Efy and Osker were waiting for them just beyond the city walls, hidden in the shadows of the forest. The moon was at its zenith when Tahdaon and Finn met up with them.

  Osker's eyebrows shot up in question as they approached, but neither he nor Efy spoke as Tahdaon mounted his horse and Finn lifted Cara into his arms. She had lost consciousness soon after they had left the castle and lay weightless in his arms.

  They rode for hours without stopping or speaking, and the sun was just rising over the horizon as they approached Peat Harbor.

  The small port town that lay just north of the Dalglieshan and Hellstrom border was just beginning to wake as they dismounted their horses and quickly made their way up the gangplank towards a large fishing vessel.

  “Good luck brother,” Osker said to Tahdaon, before turning to speak with the captain, and then heading back down the plank.

  Osker had secured the vessel, but he wouldn't be travelling north to Muir with them. As Viceroy of Dalgliesh his responsibilities lay in Drumna.

  “Take her below deck,” Tahdaon ordered. Cara stirred and mumbled under her breath, as he shifted her into Finn's arms. “Get her cleaned up and see if you can get her to eat something.”

  “What the hell did he do to her?” Efy asked, when Finn had disappeared below deck.

  Tahdaon shook his head. He couldn't bear to think about what Edmund had done to her. “She'll talk when she's able. Leave it alone for now. Go see if you can find something clean for her to wear.”

  Tahdaon placed his hands on the rail of the ship and shifted his weight as the gangplank was released and the boat set sail.

  He didn't know how long he had stood there, but by the time Finn found him, Peat Harbor was a small speck on the horizon.

  “How is she?” Tahdaon asked, as Finn came to stand next to him.

  “Sleeping,” Finn sighed, his voice weary with unspent emotion. “She wouldn't eat. I'm not sure she even knows where she is. Efy's with her now.”

  “She's safe now,” Tahdaon said, unable to shake the pain that tightened his chest. He cursed and raked his hands over his face. “I should never have taken her to Drumna. I should have gone straight to Muir.”

  Finn straightened and turned, leaning against the ship's railing. Neither agreeing with nor denying Tahdaon's statement of guilt, he asked, “Do you know whose body was in her room?”

  “She mumbled Callion's name a few times in her sleep. I can only assume by the way she reacted that it was him.”

  Finn swore again.

  “Edmund will send troops to Drumna when he realizes that Cara is gone.”

  “You're worried that Osker won't be able to hold them off.”

  “You saw the numbers he had in Knowl. Osker may be able to hold them off for a few months, but not even Drumna could withstand an attack of that size.”

  “We need to stay on schedule if our plan is to work.”

  “I know,” Tahdaon sighed.

  He knew Finn was right, but it didn't stop him from worrying about his family, about the innocent people that made Drumna their home.

  The only way they would defeat Ballack and Edmund's army was to wait until the remaining southern army could regroup and move north. Helfrich had sent word that he would arrive with reinforcements, but with winter coming, they wouldn't reach Dalgliesh until early spring.

  Edmund wouldn't go down without a fight, but then neither would Tahdaon. He would have his revenge. For Cara. For his mother. For the people of Dalgliesh. Edmund and Ballack would pay for what they had done.

  “We've done all we can do for now,” Finn assured, placing his hand on Tahdaon's shoulder.

  “And Cara? You saw what Edmund did to her.”

  Finn squeezed his shoulder and released him. “She's safe. The bruises will heal. Give her time.”

  “I'm more worried about her mind. If Edmund's anything like his father then…”

  Tahdaon's voice cracked with emotion, and Finn averted his eyes as if he understood Tahdaon's meaning.

  Silence drifted between them.

  Finally Finn spoke, “Come below deck and have something to eat. We'll deal with things as they come. For now, there's nothing else for us to do.”

  Tahdaon nodded and looked out at the fading Elbian coastline before following Finn below deck.

  He wasn't as confident as Finn in Cara's recovery. The look in her eyes when she first saw him continued to haunt him. Whatever Edmund had done had broken her, and Tahdaon knew that it would take more than time to heal whatever wounds Edmund had inflicted.

  Chapter 30

  It was the rocking of the ship that woke her. The sound of waves crashing against the wooden vessel that carried them. Rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hand, she groaned as nausea gripped her. Two weeks aboard the ship and her stomach still hadn't adjusted to the constant motion.

  Cara froze as she heard the door to her small cabin creak open.

  “You're awake,” Finn said, as he entered caring a tray of food.

  The smell made her recoil and stomach twist painfully.

  Shivering and lightheaded, Cara sat up slowly. Shaking her head, she pushed the food away.

  “You have to eat something,” he insisted, putting the tray down and helping her position the pillows behind her back.

  “I'm not hungry,” she whispered, licking her dry, cracked lips.

  Finn sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand in his. She didn't pull away, but her whole body tensed, and she knew Finn felt it. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't shake the darkness that consumed her. His touch only reminded her of everything she lost.

  Finn blew out a frustrated breath. “You can't keep doing this. You're starving yourself.”

  Cara turned her head and closed her eyes. “You don't understand.”

  “Then help me understand.” Finn placed his hand on her cheek and made her look at him. “Tell me what happened. Let me help you.”

  Tears welled in her eyes at the kindness in his voice. Kindness she knew she didn't deserve. If he knew what she had done, what she had allowed Edmund to do, he would never look at her the same way again. His sympathy made her guilt so much worse.

  Soon they would reach Muir, and she would have to face Reyn. How was she going to tell him that she allowed Edmund to murder his brother? That she was forced to watch as his body decomposed before her, all the while knowing that she could have prevented his death.

  Cara closed her eyes and shook her head fervently as memories assaulted her mind. Callion was dead because of her, and for what? Edmund had already won. Even if he didn't have her hand in marriage, his father and Birkita would find some way to convince the people that he was the rightful heir of Elbia.

  Callion had died for nothing.

  Part of her resented Finn and Tahdaon for rescuing her. She didn't want to flee north like a coward. She wanted Edmund's head. Even if it cost her life, she wanted revenge for what he had done. The closer they got to Muir, the further they were from Edmund, and the further she was from enacting her vengeance. If she had the strength, she would have ordered them to return to Dalgliesh. Her mind fought a constant battle of living for retaliation, or giving up completely. At the moment it seemed as if despair would triumph.

  Finn sighed and brushed her hair away from her forehead. “I know he hurt you, but I won't let you give up like this.”

  Cara felt something break inside her, as if all the bitterness and anger that she had bottled inside suddenly burst free.

  “Hurt me?” A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Do you think I care what Edmund did to me? It's what I did. What I allowed Edmund to do. And for what?”

  Finn stroked her arms as her entire body began to tremble.r />
  “Whatever it was, you had no choice.”

  “Choice?” Cara looked at him hard, and when she spoke she could hear the hysteria in her voice. “Edmund gave me a choice. Either marry him, or watch my friend die. I could have saved Callion, but I chose not to. So you're wrong. Callion's blood is on my hands.”

  It was the first time she had admitted it out loud, and the full acceptance of what she had done hit her hard.

  Finn held her as she wept. Her body convulsed in spasms of guilt and anguish. He rocked her until her sobs quieted and she had calmed.

  “How can I live when Callion is dead because of me?” Her lips still trembled and tears soaked Finn's tunic, but her breathing had quieted.

  “You did what you had to do,” Finn murmured against her hair. He tightened his grip on her when she tried to push away. “Callion knew you loved him, but he also believed in you, in your goodness and in your ability to rule Elbia. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself. None of this is your fault.”

  A knock at the cabin door made Cara flinch.

  “Sorry to intrude,” Tahdaon said from the doorway, his dark brows drawn down in a frown as he looked between them. “The captain's informed me that we will be making landfall within a few hours. We need to prepare to depart the ship.”

  Cara sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks as Finn straightened and released her. When he stood, he placed the food in her lap and ordered her to eat.

  “I'll be up in a moment,” Finn told Tahdaon, giving him a look that told him he needed a few more minutes alone with her.

  Cara saw a muscle in Tahdaon's jaw twitch and his eyes darken before he turned and walked out of the room.

  Cara sighed. It seemed that he had reverted back to aloof indifference, not that she deserved anything more, but his anger still hurt her.

  “He's worried about you,” Finn said, his expression watchful and knowing.

  Breaking off a piece of the bread, he forced a piece into her hand.

  She shrugged. She couldn't deal with Tahdaon's moodiness at the moment. If he wanted to stay mad at her then that was his problem. She didn't have the strength to fight with him.