Autumn Dawn (Fate's Intent Book 11)

by Bowles, April

  I quickly pulled down the cloth and it fell to the floor, revealing Seth’s armor. In that moment, everyone knew why they were here and got excited.

  Seth was speechless but walked to me nonetheless while looking up. He had every right to be stunned even by his own design because it turned out amazing. I wasn’t too sad that he wouldn’t be wearing Seni’s traditional armor because everyone would have known who he was while wearing this.

  Some of the silver was tinted dark blue with two-tone arm braces and shoulder armor of the dark blue and traditional silver color. The breast plate and protective boots were of the solid dark blue with silver stallion markings and it came with a matching solid dark blue cape lined in silver, an outfit fit for a Prince.

  “Better than you imagined, isn’t it?”

  “Most definitely.”

  I looked over at Adele and nodded at her to present the next set.

  “Cadence.” She took a hold of the cloth ready to show her. “This is yours.”

  She ripped it off and revealed Cadence’s armor. She was excited of course and didn’t think twice about getting closer. Now, these Assassin ones were much different than functional armor. In fact, we were once told that they were mainly for distraction purposes because it was hardly enough to protect them.

  The metal was tinted a vivid light purple and the stiffened leather pieces were brown. Leather layers molded over her breasts in a scooped fashion with an almost tear shaped metal piece cradling them and extending up between them to connect to her leather collar. The same shaped metal piece was attached just under that and stretched down onto her waist guard that was made up of leather layers. It had matching shin guards with it, brown boots and purple pants, surely something that would be noticed.

  We all smiled at her reaction and I looked over to Darius and nodded.

  “Dirk.” He stood in front of his covered armor and took a hold of the cloth. “I hope you’re ready for this.”

  “I am.”

  “Good because you better be.”

  He pulled down the cloth and revealed Dirk’s armor. He was so impressed as he looked upon it that he couldn’t say a word right off.

  The metal on his was tinted red to match his hair with everything else looking just as Seth’s with only the color difference. It came with red protective boots and a red cape with a rigid torn look at the bottom like it had been burnt by his fire.

  “It’s perfect.”

  We smiled and I looked over at Ruby and nodded. She stepped up in front of Lana’s armor and looked at her with a smile. “Lana.”

  Lana was just as excited and merely held her hands tightly together in front of her in anticipation. “Oh, just show me!”

  Ruby continued to smile and grabbed a hold of the cloth, pulling it off. Lana was so excited when she saw it that she fell to her knees with impressed joy. Her metal was tinted a shade of white and the stiffened leather pieces were red. Her breastplate was the focal point. White molded metal in the shape of the female form attached to her leather collar and came down over the left breast and angled down to her right side where it attached to her waist guard. Her right breast would be covered by red leather layered pieces as well as the right half of her waist guard while a white plate sat on her left hip. It had matching shin guards, red boots worn all the way up to her thighs and white pants.

  “I don’t believe it.” She was just gawking at it while covering her mouth. Naomi helped her to her feet and she approached it, touching the glass with the same expression.

  I looked over at Troy with a nod and he stepped in front of Bryce’s armor. “Bryce. I think you’re going to like this.”

  He pulled off the cloth and Bryce’s mouth dropped, a typical reaction. His was tinted to a brilliant green shade but still looked like Seth’s and Dirk’s so everyone would know they were a team.

  Bryce continued to look at it as he walked to his father and Troy patted his back. “You did well.”

  “Seth did you mean. I didn’t give much input.”

  “The shoulder design was yours.” Seth said.

  “Does it matter?” Dirk asked. “It’s fucking awesome.”

  I smiled and looked over at Jaylyn and nodded for the very last time. She stepped in front of Naomi’s armor and looked at her as she took the cloth. “Naomi. You think you’re ready or should we wait a little longer?”

  “No! Please just show me!”

  “All right.”

  She pulled off the cloth and revealed Naomi’s armor. The metal was tinted a bright pink and the leather was black. Her short breastplate, just enough to cover her breasts, was mostly made up of black leather layered pieces but there was a pink metal strip between them as well as on the sides that came up and attached to a metal collar. A simple chain crisscrossed from her breastplate down to her waist guard. It had two molded metal pieces that sat high on her hips with a leather band connecting them. It also had matching shin guards, black boots and pink pants.

  Naomi ran to Jaylyn and looked up. “This is so amazing!”

  We let them stand there for a moment and take in the excitement of their gifts.

  “We’re all glad you find them to be suitable.” I said. “But you must remember that the time you will have to wear them will not be the time for fun. War is upon us in the coming weeks and you all must be prepared for the fight ahead. We will have your gifts moved to your rooms throughout the day but for now you must manage to both rest and practice your skills for the remaining of the countdown.”

  They nodded and I was glad they understood that war wasn’t something to be excited about. We all had to be ready and they took my advice. For the next few days we all needed to get some practicing in.

  Troy, Darius and myself got up extra early on this morning and went outside to loosen up. We met in the court yard in our traditional shirtless attire and picked up a wooden stick. We stood in a circle facing each other and began a three way training session. Darius and Troy both swung at me to start it and I had to block both of their attacks at once. We continued to play two on one and Darius and Troy tried to weaken me but my skills were too great and they couldn’t break me.

  “I see you admire my skill.”

  “Uh oh. We’re not the only ones that admire your skill.” I was about to turn around and look to where Troy glanced but he swung at me to get my attention back on him. “Don’t look.”

  “Well, who is it?”

  “It’s the girls.”

  “Which girls?”

  I watched Darius secretly glance up to see who Troy was talking about as he swung at me while answering. “Not our girls.”

  “Why are they watching us?”

  “Why do you think?”

  “No way.” I said, blocking a hit. “That’s crazy.”

  Darius smiled. “Why is that so crazy? It says we still got it.”

  “Yeah, they’re young enough to be our children, you know and one of them actually might be yours.”

  I said it lowly but it was enough to get Darius to change his thought pattern. “Don’t say that. I was merely trying to bask in the compliment.”

  “That’s enough of this.” I stopped, lowering my stick. “We better put some clothes on before they start getting any ideas. We’ll continue this later.”

  Darius and Troy nodded and I turned around to glance up for the first time. Cadence was looking at me but neither Naomi or Lana had their focus on us, they were both speaking quietly to Cadence. I didn’t know why and honestly, I didn’t think of any kind of logical reason.

  Chapter 36

  Cadence

  He was so amazing. I was out on the balcony by myself until Troy, Darius and Zayden came out to the courtyard below and were fighting each other. The way Zayden moved while he was being attacked from both sides was just incredible. I was beginning to get this strange feeling while watching.

  “There you are.” Naomi walked out onto the balcony with Lana like they’ve been looking for me.

  “What
are you doing out here?” Lana asked.

  “Nothing.” I may have snatched at the question and it only made them look down to see what I was seeing.

  “Oh, I see. You call this nothing?”

  “Cadence, you’re checking out their fathers?” Naomi wondered. “How long have you been out here?”

  “Not that long. I was out here first anyway. They just started.”

  “Well, I can see why you were watching.” Lana said.

  I looked back down and watched them with a sigh, leaning on the stone railing. “I know. Would you just look at him? Adele is so lucky.”

  “Are you crushing on Zayden because I thought you were watching them for their talent?”

  “Well, do you blame me? There’s just something about him that’s sucking me in.”

  “I see what you mean. They all are pretty good looking for older guys but maybe we should leave.” Lana said. “We have their sons and they are exactly like them but our age which makes it more appropriate.”

  “I know and I love Seth but something seems different about Zayden.”

  “Maybe it’s just the rush of an older man.” Naomi replied in a wishful whisper.

  “That could be true.” Lana agreed. “Just imagine all the experience they have.”

  I couldn’t even believe this was being talked about and I groaned to the terrible truth in all of this. “Please don’t tempt me. I don’t want to have these feelings.”

  “Then maybe you should try your best to stay away from him for a while until you’re over this.” Naomi said. “You wouldn’t want to make a move on him and have him turn you down because that would be embarrassing.”

  “Not to mention what Adele would do.” Lana added. “She and Zayden are soul mates.”

  “I know. I wouldn’t want to ruin what they have just to fulfill a stupid fantasy. Can we keep this just between us? I wouldn’t want Seth to find out.”

  “No problem.” Naomi said. “We should go.”

  I nodded but looked back down one last time and saw Zayden turn around. He looked up at me for the longest second of my life before he bent down to grab his shirt. He put it on and followed Darius and Troy back inside. My heart was throbbing hard and I tried to get myself to pull away.

  I spent most of that day trying my best to avoid Zayden. For the most part it worked but there were a few close calls and I’m sure he started to realize I was acting strange since he saw me watching him that morning. I dreaded when he would try to ask me something and I’d stumble to say anything. This feeling was the worst.

  Chapter 37

  Zayden: Day 4

  It was late in the evening. The moon lit up the night sky and I was relaxing in one of the smaller pools of the bathhouse. I didn’t have any fires lit. I let the moon illuminate the waters and my sight easily helped. I laid in peace for about ten minutes until I heard someone enter.

  It was Cadence, wearing nothing but a silver silk robe. She walked right passed me and walked over to one of the lanterns. She didn’t even notice I was here while she lit the lantern and let her hair down. She ran her fingers through it a couple times then was about to take her robe off. I couldn’t stay quiet anymore and cleared my throat. Cadence’s eyes popped open and she looked behind her.

  “Your majesty! I’m so sorry.” She pulled up her robe over her shoulders. “I had no idea anyone was in here!”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  “And I really didn’t expect to see you in here. Don’t you have your own bathhouse?”

  “Doesn’t Seth?”

  “Yes, well, the guys are in there right now and I’ve chosen to not do this in front of them.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, Adele decided to go through our entire room and I needed to get out of there to somewhere that was quiet.”

  “I’m sorry, I’ll just go.”

  Cadence started to walk to the exit but all I could think about was when she was watching me and stopped her. “Wait.” She froze. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

  Cadence slowly turned around like she was nervous about this. “About, your majesty?”

  “You but there’s no need for formality here. You can use my name.”

  “Yes, your—I mean Zayden. What did you want to talk about?”

  “You’ve seemed distracted lately. Are you all right?”

  “Yes. I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

  “You can tell me you know. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

  “Oh, that’s quite all right, Zayden. It’s nothing I would want to share with you. Directly anyway.”

  I started to catch on and it was just how I feared. “I see. It’s all right you know. There’s no shame in what you’re feeling.”

  “What do you mean?” Her eyes got wide like she was afraid I knew.

  “I understand why you’ve been avoiding me but being distant isn’t the way to be rid of it. You must confront it head on or else your relationship with my son will be forever strained.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “It means you must accept it. Only by exposing your true feelings and realizing it’s just a phase, will you be rid of it.”

  “I feel weird talking to you about this, seeing how you’re the source of my problem but how can I stop?”

  I thought about it and climbed out of the pool. I wasn’t naked. I was wearing a pair of shorts but Cadence watched while I got a towel to dry off with.

  “Don’t you have any advice? You always have some kind of advice.”

  “This is a particularly special case because it involves me but the current circumstances say we shouldn’t discuss it in this manner. We can meet some time and discover your reasons for these feelings.”

  “Is that necessary?”

  “Unless you think you can do it on your own.”

  “No offence but I think I’d like to try that first.”

  “You’re choice.”

  She didn’t say anything else to me but she did leave. I was still a bit baffled by all of this. I know how long she’s been waiting to see Seth again, so why did she now start to have feelings towards me?

  I tried to forget about it and finished drying off so I could go upstairs to Adele. She was just coming out of the closet with a bunch of clothes folded over her arm. “There you are.”

  “I hope you’re done because I’d like to get some sleep tonight.” I said.

  She looked at me like she already knew something was wrong. “Are you all right?”

  I thought about telling her but decided not to. Cadence was embarrassed enough to know that I knew and I wouldn’t want it to somehow get to Seth. She was his and I never intend to do a thing about her childish phase.

  “I’m fine.” I finally said. “When did you plan to come to bed?”

  “How about now?” She set the clothes on a chair and came over to me, opening her silk robe and let it drop to the floor.

  I sat on the edge of the bed and welcomed her to get closer. “Now would be great.” I put my hands on her amazing body and pulled her even closer while she put her hands around my neck and started kissing me. This was what I wanted. I already knew that and I let her know it by giving her exactly what she wanted. It was always perfect and the sound of her praising me never seized to amaze. I’ve always enjoyed our time together and how peaceful she felt when she fell asleep in my arms.

  The next morning was Day 5 in our wait for war and I left Adele in bed asleep while I got dressed as quietly as I could. When I walked back out of the closet, I paused and looked at her sleeping. I smiled to how beautiful she looked but then I started to think about my conversation with Cadence last night. I knew there was going to be another one soon. Cadence’s way of getting over it was avoiding me but even she should know that couldn’t last forever without others noticing.

  I left the room and walked down to the dining hall where breakfast was prepared and I sat in peace and ate it alone. Even after I was finished, I sat in my chair and continued to th
ink about the night before and the things I needed to say that might help her.

  “You’re awake.” Troy and Darius walked in together and joined me at the table.

  “We didn’t think you were up yet.” Darius said. “We have quite a schedule going on today.”

  Troy sighed and held out a list. “Yeah. First, we’re going to the new construction site to oversee its progress and I hear it will be finished ahead of schedule which is good. Then you have a showing at the festival in the west city square. Then it’s off to the sculptor’s to be measured for that marble statue. Then we have a meeting with the General about the forward progress with the armies and inspect the new—”

  “Cancel it.” I said, feeling bored just when he was listing everything off. I had other things to focus on.

  “Cancel it?” Darius wondered.

  “All of it.”

  “Are you sure?” Troy asked.

  “Yes. I’m not in the mood for any of that today.”

  “Okay.” Troy said. “I’ll have it canceled.” He turned around and signal someone to come over. A servant entered and approached Troy. “Clear the King’s schedule for today. He’s feeling under the weather. We’ll reschedule at a later date.”

  “Yes, sir.” The servant replied as he turned and walked out with the list.

  “Are you all right, Zayden?” Darius asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Darius and Troy suspiciously looked at each other and I knew I was going to have to explain more than that.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Troy asked.

  I sighed to the question. “It’s Cadence.”

  “What about her?” Darius asked.

  “Remember when we saw them watching us the other morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “I spoke with her briefly about it and it seems she has an infatuation with me and it’s mildly distracting.”