One True Love

by Linda Kage

  I watched him passively before shaking my head. “You really do hate us, don’t you? Tell me something, soldier? What did Donnelly ever do to you?”

  “Oh, so you claim Donnelly blood, do you, when you have one of those pussy-assed High Cliff marks? Or are all the Donnelleans getting them now, shoving it in the faces of the other realms how you’re all cozied up in bed together?”

  “You resent the Donnelly, High Cliff alliance,” I realized.

  “You’re fucking right we resent it,” he shouted, the veins in his neck and forehead popping as he roared out his anger. When he surged toward me, one of my soldiers caught him from behind, keeping him in place. “We were Donnelly’s closest neighbor. Not High Cliff.”

  “You mean, aside from Blair, Lowden, and Near Shore,” I said, purposely picking at his temper.

  But he ignored that, ranting on. “We should’ve been chosen. High Cliff is practically all the way across the Outer Realms from here. And if that wasn’t enough of a slap in the face, you Donnelly bastards jacked up our price for clear rock like we were some kind of enemy. You did this. Not us.”

  I shook my head, confused, certain Caulder hadn’t raised any tariffs recently, but the soldier roared, “Don’t you dare fucking deny it, you fucker. I know! I’m the one who learned from the people of Realm Tipton that you’re charging them far less than you’re charging us, and they live farther away from you than anyone. So, why? Why, damn you?”

  I just stared at him, baffled.

  Insulted that I wouldn’t answer, he spit at me and thrashed against the guard holding him to no avail.

  I was really getting tired of all the spit.

  “How dare you ask me why,” he screamed, “when you’re the ones who started this. You claimed war the moment you turned your back on our offer for an alliance and then upped your prices. You monsters are the ones to blame.”

  I almost felt bad for the idiotic Far Shore loyalist. He honestly thought Donnelly had wronged him. He was a true patriot to his homeland.

  But he never should’ve taken Vienne’s daughter. That was the last mistake he’d ever make.

  Stepping toward him, I murmured, “You’re going to die, regardless. You know that, right? No man can steal a child from his mother for any reason and expect to get away with it.”

  His breathing picked up and his limbs began to tremble, but he met my gaze with a bravery I almost respected.

  Yeah, he understood.

  “But,” I went on. “It’s up to you whether I do it fast or slow. So what else of consequence do you think you can tell me that might inspire some mercy from me, soldier?”

  He stared at me a moment before saying, “I can tell you that the handful of us who got in never would’ve breached the castle walls to even reach the babe without help from the inside. You have a traitor in your midst.”

  I shuddered out a furious breath and gnashed my teeth, wondering if finally I was going to learn the name of the dark magic bearer. “Who?”

  The man merely began to laugh. “Oh, no,” he said. “No. I think it’ll give me pleasure to die knowing you’re clueless as to who betrayed you.” Shaking his head, he grinned and added, “Right under your noses.”

  Nodding in acceptance because I hadn’t thought such significant information would be so easily attained, I gazed off toward the setting sun. “Fair enough,” I murmured. “Can you at least tell me how you breached the castle walls?”

  Because if the opening to Vienne’s secret tunnel under the moat had been compromised, we were all screwed.

  He shrugged. “Sure, I can tell you that. We came in right through the front gate, hid under the wagons that rolled in from the market. No one was the wiser. You really ought to have your gate guards check under there from here on out.”

  “Duly noted,” I murmured. “Thanks.”

  Smiling my gratitude, I slid the blade of my dagger quickly across his throat.

  Gasping for breath, he reached up to stanch the flow of blood that gushed from the cut. Eyes bulging, he gaped at me in astonished betrayal.

  “Don’t worry, mate,” I told him encouragingly as I patted the side of his shoulder. “You’ll be dead before you hit the ground. That’s quick and merciful enough for you, isn’t it?”

  His eyes locked up with the dull, death stare, and the soldier who’d been holding him let go so he could topple face-first toward the forest floor.

  I stepped over his dead body, already pointing at a nearby soldier who was gaping at the man I’d just killed.

  “You,” I barked, singling him out. “Get my top commanders sent to me right away and start warning the others to suit up and gather their weapons. We’re going to war.”

  At first, the man could only gape.

  I clapped my hands and shouted, “Do it now, please!”

  “Y-yes, sir.” He stumbled backward away from me before scrambling around so he could race off and do my bidding.

  “Shit,” I said under my breath as I ran my hands through my hair. We were going to fucking war. This was not how I wanted to end my day.

  Chapter 38

  Urban

  Within the hour, I had every soldier decked out in armor, chain mail, and weapons. Their steel helmets gleamed in the fading sunlight as they stood in perfectly formed lines just inside the main castle bailey.

  Vienne had been furious when I’d reported everything the Far Shore soldier had told me about the reason for Anniston’s kidnapping.

  “Clear rock?” she had shrieked, tucking her newly returned daughter protectively close to her. “My child was stolen because they were upset over the fucking price of clear rock? Those bastards.”

  She rarely ever cursed. It was kind of hot when she did. Made me want to snatch her against my chest and kiss the fuck out of her.

  But, yeah. A neighboring kingdom was about to invade, so… Maybe later. In only my dreams, of course.

  Vienne and her baby were now inside the keep, safe and sound from all the activities that were about to take place out here. And I had an army to lead into fucking battle.

  “Archers to the towers,” I shouted. “Swordsmen on the ground with me.” I pointed my sword forward and started to move, my army marching in tandem with me. But as I progressed forward, Brentley, Caulder, and Soren hurried from the keep to join the fray, striding to my side.

  I paused to frown at them, causing the entire army to halt behind me, a couple stumbling into the backs of others.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I scowled at the idiot royals who didn’t have a single piece of chain mail or armor protecting their entire bodies. “You’re not coming with us,” I said, because it looked a hell of a lot like they were trying to come with us.

  “This is my kingdom too,” Caulder argued.

  “Then you should’ve trained with us every day we were out in the back bailey practicing for this very battle. You’ll only be in the way, and I don’t have the manpower to spare to protect you. Go back inside with the women.”

  Hell, I’d rather they send the women out here in their places; I was sure Allera had at least seen a battle before.

  Glowering, the king drew his sword from its scabbard and held it out toward my neck. “I don’t carry this around for looks, Prince. All three of us Donnelly men were trained together by the finest swordsman in the kingdom. We can take care of ourselves.”

  I narrowed my eyes before pressing a finger against the flat of his blade and pushing it away from my throat. “Fine,” I muttered. “Just don’t question my orders. You put me in charge of your army for a reason. Because I know my way around a battlefield. So let me do my job without having to stop and explain why I’m doing everything I do. Explaining will only cost us time…and lives.”

  Caulder glanced toward Soren and Brentley, who both nodded. Then he turned back to me. “We’ll follow your leadership without question. Everyone here wants what’s best for the kingdom.”

  I bowed my head, relenting. “Then let’s go.” />
  So, we marched.

  Once we were outside the walls, and the gate was lifted behind us, sealing the castle closed, I could see our enemy marching determinedly our way from the sand. They had to be overheated and dehydrated after walking however many days it had taken them to get here, which should give us an advantage.

  I put one arm in the air, the signal to the archers waiting on the wall to pay attention for my next command. Then I held the other arm holding my sword out away from my side to alert the ground troops to watch for their next move.

  Then we waited.

  When the Far Shore army moved within range, close enough for me to tell they looked like damn savages, I crinkled my eyebrows in disbelief. The soldiers who’d kidnapped Anniston had blended in to match us, but these men… They wore nothing but loose, skirt-like leather pants that fell to mid-thigh, sandals with bands crisscrossing up to their knees, no tunics whatsoever, and fur instead of metal protection. What was worse, their weapons consisted of wooden staffs and spears, a couple battle axes, and that was it. I blinked, faltering, because it almost seemed inhumane to kill such primitive idiots. But then they shouted out their battle cry in unison and charged, sprinting headlong in our direction.

  Outdated warfare or not, they’d kill us all if we just stood here like dumbasses, so I balled my hand I was holding above my head into a fist.

  Instantly, a volley of arrows spewed past my head, many of them striking the unprotected enemies rushing toward us. Their front line collapsed, some cut down with instant death blows, others diving forward and hunkering behind their fallen comrades to take cover.

  I swung my sword forward from at my side, and my ground troops engaged. Just as the first wave was nearly upon them, the soldiers I had hiding in the woods came streaming out from the trees, converging on them from either side, some wrapping around from behind, until we had them fully surrounded.

  By their stunned, unorganized, scrambling reaction, they must not have been expecting Donnelly to know how to fight. We had the upper hand from the beginning; it almost felt unfair how badly we commenced to trounce them. But what stunned me most was the swordsmanship of the three royal Donnelly men. Caulder slew three men while both Brentley and Soren took out one a piece as soon as the battle lines merged.

  I was so busy lifting my eyebrows with an impressed nod that I almost missed the battle axe swinging at my own head. Cursing, I ducked just in time and gutted the idiot as his axe sliced across the air above me. Then I took out four more soldiers who’d been trying to box me in.

  We were winning easily. At least five to ten Far Shore soldiers fell to every one of ours. This battle would be ours in no time. Many of theirs retreated, even as their commanders shouted for them to hold their positions. The Donnellean army took out half of Far Shore’s army—the ones who remained to fight and didn’t run off, anyway—in a matter of minutes.

  Adrenaline pumped through my bloodstream. This was working. We were driving them back.

  I’d just beheaded some poor unfortunate soul when my mark suddenly screamed out in terror.

  Vienne.

  She wasn’t just scared, she was in grave danger, terrified for her life.

  I had to get to her. Now.

  “Keep driving them back,” I yelled to Brentley, who was the closest to me. “They’ll surrender soon. And when they do, round up the prisoners into chains before they can change their mind and try to keep fighting.”

  “What?” he cried, glancing at me as he wiped at a thin trail of blood that poured from a cut on his forehead. “Where do you think you’re going? We’re in the middle of a fucking battle here, mate!”

  “I have to get back to the castle,” was all I said before I took off running toward the trees away from him. “You’re doing fine.”

  “Urban!” he yelled, incredulously.

  But I wasn’t going to be dissuaded from my new goal. Vienne was in trouble.

  It would take too long to order them to lower the gate. Besides, I didn’t want to risk the castle in case Far Shore surprised us and managed to get the upper hand, so I veered toward the secret passage.

  I scrambled through the tunnel in the dark. It felt as if it took me forever to cross under the moat and explode into the wine cellar, but it was probably only a matter of minutes.

  Following the tug of fear from my mark, I ran headlong down the halls until I reached the Red Chambers where Vienne was.

  Two men had her pinned to the floor, one holding down her arms while the other sat on top of her, spreading her legs apart as he lifted the skirt of her dress toward her waist.

  “Hey!” I shouted, pure rage shooting through my bloodstream.

  These two were going to die painfully. I was going to make damn sure of it.

  They startled at my voice, and the dead man holding Vienne’s wrists immediately let go so he could spring to his feet and come at me. But the first bastard didn’t appear as if he was going to stop with his part of the rape. Worried I wouldn’t get to her in time since I had to go through the dick advancing on me first, I met Vienne’s eyes from across the room.

  As soon as her gaze clashed with mine, showing me all the terror I could feel from her, I nodded and knelt to the floor, freeing my dagger from its hiding place. Then I slid it across the marble, hilt-first, in her direction.

  It skidded right into her hand as she reached out her arm. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the handle, she swung it up and buried the blade just under her attacker’s chin until the end thrust out through the crown of his head.

  Reassured she was taking care of herself, I finally stood from my crouched position to come up in a twirl, putting all my strength behind my swing so I could cut my own attacker, who was bearing down on me with a spear, in half when I whirled to face him. Surprise lit his features before his severed torso began to slide off the bottom half of his body and both parts thumped dully to the floor in separate pieces.

  “Vienne,” I called, racing past the bisected corpse to get to her.

  With a teeth-gritted grunt, she heaved the dead man on top of her off and immediately set about batting at her skirt into place to cover her exposed legs as she sat up. Breathing hard, she gaped at me from brown eyes glazed with trauma.

  “Are you okay?”

  I reached out to help her up, and she took my hand, nodding.

  “Yeah. Thanks for the dagger.” She sounded out of breath.

  Once she was standing, I smoothed her hair tenderly out of her eyes, but a red mark on her cheek made me swear under my breath. No one bruised my one true love. No one even thought about raping her. I wished I could kill the two bastards for this all over again.

  “Damn,” I cursed myself. “I should’ve given you your own dagger ages ago.”

  “Well, there’s no need now,” she told me on a shaky laugh as she hugged mine to her chest. “As I plan to just keep this one for the rest of my life.”

  With a surprised chuckle, I bowed before her. “That would be my honor, my lady.”

  She looked up into my eyes as I straightened, and we shared a moment, just looking at each other, relieved the other had survived. She seemed rattled but still solid enough to keep herself together and going. That was more than I could’ve hoped for. My relief must’ve echoed through her because before I knew it, we merged together in the same instant for a hard, fast kiss.

  “Thank God you’re okay,” we said in unison.

  Then, we pulled apart, me asking, “Where’s Anniston, Allera, and the others?” just as she said, “We need to go help the others.”

  We shared an amused smile before she took my hand, urging me to follow. Then she yanked us from the room in a full sprint. “They were this way.”

  I followed her from the Red Chambers and into a side hall.

  “Why aren’t you on the battlefield,” she managed to ask over her shoulder.

  “They were doing fine; didn’t need me.”

  She glanced around again. “You felt me in distres
s and abandoned them, did you?”

  I shrugged. “We were winning. Frankly, it was getting boring out there.”

  With a roll of her eyes, she faced forward again and tightened her grip on my hand. “In here,” she said, steering me toward the open door of the Blue Chambers where a man’s scream flowed out to greet us.

  Worried, we rushed inside together, only to skid to a halt side by side, shocked to see what we found.

  In one corner of the room, Yasmin, Nicolette, who was holding a swaddled bundle to her chest, and a maid huddled together as they watched Allera in the center of the room where she stood, placing her foot in the middle of a Far Shore soldier’s chest, so she could gain enough leverage to pull the sword free of his throat that she’d just impaled him with. Two more Far Shore soldiers lay slain around her while three dead Donnelly guards were slumped lifeless near each entrance.

  Pushing the dead Far Shore soldier to the floor with her foot as she freed her weapon, Allera huffed out a breath and swept a sweat-clogged piece of dark hair out of her eyes, only succeeding in smearing blood across her cheek. Then she turned to us.

  “I’ve got these three,” she panted, half out of breath. “And I assume you pair took out the other one. So, then, where are the rest of our boys? Is Brentley—”

  But before she could even finish the question, her husband’s voice carried down the hall and into the room.

  “Here,” he ordered. “Carry him in here. And have a care. Gently now.”

  I exchanged a questioning frown with Vienne before we hurried to the door together and out of the room, to find the hall packed full with soldiers and servants. The crowd was so thick it was impossible to tell who the group of men was carrying into the dining hall. Brentley urged them to go quickly, declining the offer of a healer as he went.

  “What the hell?” I said, striding forward.

  Why was everyone back inside the castle, not out on the battlefield?

  “Brentley?”