BY: MELISSA COLLINS
Copyright © 2014 Melissa Collins
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0692269118
ISBN 13: 9780692269114
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014947823
Myatheira Press, Owosso MI
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CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
A soft spring breeze blew through Kaori’s hair, the rustle of leaves echoing across the empty woods. Shadows danced along the pathway from the dim light of the setting sun which filtered down through the trees overhead. She’d intended to be home long before daylight began to dwindle. Somehow the time slipped past her notice. Not that she was surprised. It was a habit of hers to lose herself in the peace and quiet of nature.
Her parents would be worried. By now their guests would have departed for their own homes, making Kaori’s absence from the large estate more noticeable. And she was still more than a mile from home. The sun’s light would be long gone before she reached the front door.
Heaving a sigh, she trudged along the leaf-strewn path toward the road, her footing already hindered by the lack of natural light. She couldn’t keep to the trees for much longer. Although the road was more treacherous at night, it didn’t compare to the danger of losing herself in the forest, left at the mercy of the wildlife, praying the predators lying in wait of their dinner wouldn’t take notice of her presence. A few bandits hardly seemed threatening next to the sharpened teeth of a wild cat.
When she reached the gravel roadway a sigh of relief escaped her to find the light somewhat brighter without the canopy of leaves to hinder it. Good. She had a little longer before her path was completely cloaked in shadows. The only thing she dreaded now was the distance. Whenever her parents entertained guests at their home, she was required to occupy herself elsewhere. Frustration over the absurdity of her parents tended to cloud her judgment, causing her to walk aimlessly through the woods before she managed to collect her senses and slow her pace. As a Vor’shai, her body matured at a slower rate than the humans who frequented court. Her mother feared the human men would take advantage of her and create a scandal. Rather than trust Kaori to take care of herself, her parents preferred to keep her locked away from the public eye until they considered her an appropriate age. At the rate they progressed, she would be on her deathbed before they trusted her with anyone.
Irritably, she kicked at a stone with the toe of her slipper, listening to it skitter across the gravel. It wasn’t fair. Her brother was four years her junior and already one of the most popular men in Rothdara, yet here she was, wandering the country in the dark, alone, hidden from the eyes of the courtiers simply because she was a woman. Someday perhaps she would understand. Until then, she would continue to feel somewhat slighted by her parents.
Every noise caused her heart to skip, afraid of what lurked in the shadows. There was always gossip about thieves who preyed upon travelers at night. She was an absolute fool to be on the road so late. It would be too easy for a bandit to snatch her and run off before she had a chance to scream for help. If only she was allowed to carry a sword. Then she wouldn’t have to worry. Her gender, as usual, was the problem. Girls were disallowed from learning the ways of the blade. It wasn’t appropriate for a lady of standing to dabble in the art of combat. The Emperor felt it ruined their femininity. Kaori’s opinion, however, differed significantly. But it wasn’t her place to argue. The Emperor made the rules; and as far as anyone else need know, she followed them.
Smiling in spite of herself she clenched her fists at her sides, prepared in case the need arose to strike. What her parents didn’t know was that she’d watched from hiding over the years while her brother and his friends trained in various forms of combat. Unbeknownst to them, their practice helped teach her how to throw a punch while she listened and observed from the sidelines. Her only concern was whether she was strong enough to perform the technique with the same efficiency as her brother. Throwing a few strikes into the empty air when no one was looking certainly was nothing like the real thing. Her hope was that she wouldn’t have a need to test her ability. At least not tonight.
A sudden clatter of horse’s hooves marching along the road sounded from some where in the distance, distracting Kaori from her scattered thoughts as her pulse began to race in fearful anticipation. The animals approached at a steady pace, accompanied by a distinct crunch from the wheels of a carriage pulled along behind. “Praise Sarid,” she mumbled quietly to herself. No bandit would be so conspicuous as to utilize a carriage. Whoever it was had to be a reputable member of local society. If that was so, they might be more easily persuaded to escort her home. It couldn’t hurt to try. The longer she stayed on the road, the more she tempted her own fate.
Cautious of the fact that the dim light would hinder the horseman’s sight, she took a step back, safely settling herself along the side of the road. The last thing she wanted was to risk getting struck by the carriage because of her own stupidity. Squinting, she peered into the distance, a smile forming on her lips. Despite her lack of experience in society, she knew enough to recognize the emblem worn on the horseman’s chest. Military. Luck was with her after all. A soldier wouldn’t think to turn her away and leave her stranded in the dark.
Anxiously, she waved her arm toward the man, hoping to catch his attention. It seemed to work, the horses slowing their pace, drawing the carriage to a halting stop in front of her. “Milady. What are you doing out here by yourself ?”
There was no light in his eyes. Although she couldn’t clearly make out the features of his face, she saw enough to know the man was human. An outline of his head showed the rounded tips of his ears, light blond hair framing his square jaw down to his shoulders. He sounded older. Middle-aged. An experienced soldier. “I was lost in the woods,” she lied, not wanting to admit the truth. The man would think her more helpless and in need of assistance if he wasn’t aware she’d come this far of her own volition. His help wasn’t required to find her way home. It was simply preferred.
From where she stood, another clattering of hooves could be heard along the road behind the carriage, the lean bodies of three more horses taking shape alongside it. Their riders bore similar uniforms to that worn by the first male, indicating their rank within the military. One of the men broke apart from the rest, directing his horse closer to where Kaori stood, staring down at her with a questioning gaze. Golden stripes encircled the right bicep of his sleeve, denoting his higher status from the others. His gaze was scrutinizing, looking Kaori over closely, nodding with seeming approval at what he saw. “Garin,” he called to the man on the carriage, his tone authoritative. Stern. “See the Chamberlain back to town. We will take care of the lady and meet up wit
h you there.”
The Chamberlain? Her heart leapt in her chest to think that a man of such importance was inside the carriage. One of the Emperor’s most trusted confidants. “Please, I do not wish to intrude,” she argued, suddenly unsure about her plan. Separating the guards from their charge seemed unwise. If anything happened to the Chamberlain while the soldiers were preoccupied, the blame would fall on her. She refused to live with that guilt for the rest of her life.
“Nonsense,” the male in front of her smiled. “It is our duty to protect. I cannot very well leave you out here alone.”
With a crack of the whip the man on the carriage set the horses into motion once again, the crunch of gravel filling the air around them as it disappeared into the distance. Kaori was baffled by the commanding officer’s decision to send the carriage away. If his intent was to see her returned home, it made more sense to offer her a seat inside the coach. It was presumptuous of him to assume she was at all familiar with how to ride a horse – and even more so for him to think she would be willing to do so while dressed in the delicate garments she wore.
Adding to her confusion, the male dismounted his horse, staring down the road after the carriage. It was light enough for her to see his face but too dark to decipher his expression. Not all of the lines were visible which would tell whether he was concerned about letting the Chamberlain continue without a guard beyond that of the driver.
When his feet touched the ground his height was the first thing she noted. He was at least half a foot taller than her, if not more, towering above her on the side of the road. Through his uniform she could tell by the broadness of his shoulders and the thickness of his sleeves that he was well-built. Strong. Seasoned from whatever training the soldiers endured.
“I am curious what a woman like yourself is doing out in the woods without an escort.”
Drawn from her thoughts, she stared at the man, unsure of how to respond. He would think her parents neglectful for letting her roam about so freely. She didn’t want to risk them getting into trouble over her inability to monitor how far she wandered. “I wanted to take in some air. It is my own fault, really.”
“Do you live around here?”
“Within a few miles, I believe.”
“Does anyone know where you are?”
“They do not, sir.”
She was becoming increasingly uneasy. There was something about the way the man looked at her which made her skin crawl. As if he could see straight through the fabric of her gown. Every passing minute she found herself wishing she’d just let the carriage pass her by. “Ellias,” he snapped his fingers toward one of the other men. “You and Meron see to this young lady. I must return to His Grace.”
The man who answered to the name Ellias swung his leg over the back of his horse, landing on the gravel with a slight crunch of his boots against the loose stones. With long strides the commanding officer made his way to stand before the man, his lips hovering close to Ellias’s ear, the words spoken between them lost on the wind. Casting Kaori one final glance, he returned to his horse, quickly positioning himself on the saddle once again.
Averting his eyes, the man rode off down the road after the carriage, kicking up a cloud of dried dirt behind him. Something wasn’t right. These men were behaving oddly and she wasn’t comfortable being around them any longer. “I think I will be alright to find my way home from here,” she stammered, her feet sliding backward, attempting to place more distance between her and Ellias. “The area is beginning to look more familiar. My home is not far…”
“It is no trouble,” Ellias smirked. His tan skin looked almost brown in the dim light. He lacked the height of his commanding officer though his eyes still looked down upon her from where he stood, slowly making his way closer. With every step he took, Kaori moved back, glancing over her shoulder nervously toward the entrance of the woods only a few feet away. She couldn’t go much further. Although the road was certainly not safe, she couldn’t risk allowing these men anywhere near her while under the cover of the trees.
Meron wasn’t far behind Ellias, calmly beckoning Kaori forward. “Why do you move away? We are not going to hurt you.”
“I… I think it would be best if… if I found my own way.”
In a swift motion Ellias grabbed Kaori’s wrist, her eyes staring down at the man’s fingers as if they were a serpent’s teeth piercing her flesh. There was no gentleness to the gesture. Pain shot through her arm as Ellias’s hand clenched tighter over the bone, her face contorting in an agonized grimace. “I insist you let us help you –”
“I did not give you permission to touch me,” she spat through gritted teeth. The behavior of these men was appalling. They were men of uniform! Highly respected by everyone in Carpaen and its surrounding territories. What gave them the right to think they could put their hands on her?
“We don’t need permission to touch you,” Ellias sneered.
She stared at the man, mouth agape at the harshness of his words. These men were supposed to protect her! Instead they pushed her closer to the woods, paying little attention to her cries of protest. The world around her began to spin, her mind running rampant with the horrible things these men were capable of doing if she gave them a chance. She had to do something. Soldiers or not, she couldn’t let them treat her this way. She was the daughter of a nobleman. Rank required they show her more respect than this. “Unhand me this instant!”
Ellias’s arm shot out with incredible speed, cupping his hand over Kaori’s mouth to quickly silence her. With a hard shove he pressed her back against the trunk of a wide tree at the entrance to the woods, the pressure of his body holding her in place. She tried to scream. The sound came as nothing more than a muffled whimper under his palm. Her heart raced. Never in her life had she been this frightened. The stress was beyond anything she could comprehend, nearly causing her to faint from anxiety. But she couldn’t let that happen. She needed to keep control of her senses. There had to be a way out of this.
Her hand. Ellias had control of her right wrist but the left remained free. If she could just get enough power to deliver a sufficient strike to his head, she might be able to break his hold. Muscles tensed, she brought her left arm upward with all the strength she could manage, feeling her palm connect with the side of Ellias’s face. A pathetic strike. Not enough to rock his solid stance, accomplishing nothing beyond stoking his temper.
Meron was to them before she had time to recoil her left arm, the hands of both men grasping at her to hold her still. She struggled against them, unwilling to give up without a fight. They would find her more than they bargained for if they thought she would simply lie back and let them take advantage of her. She may be a woman but she was no weakling.
White specks of light filled her vision as the back of Ellias’s hand came across her left cheek with a powerful smack. She’d never been struck before. The sensation was unusual. Painful. One she never wanted to feel again. It sent her head reeling, the sight of the trees becoming nothing more than blurred shapes and shadows. Reflexively, she brought her knee up, feeling it slam hard into Ellias’s groin, a loud grunt escaping him at the sudden impact. Distracted, he released his hold on her wrist, granting her more freedom to defend against the two men. Recalling the techniques she learned from watching her brother, she balled up her fist, crying out as her knuckles met with Ellias’s nose, a sickening crack echoing through the trees. For a moment she felt a wave of panicked guilt at the possibility of having injured him. It faded almost as fast as it arose, replaced by an overwhelming hope that the man would be disfigured the rest of his life for his heinous actions.
Lost in the desperation of her wild attacks she was only vaguely aware of a fourth figure entering the fray. In her distress she paid little attention to anything other than the men assaulting her, screaming loudly at them as she watched Ellias suddenly scramble to his feet from where he’d fallen, his steps hasty, retreating toward his horse to mount it quickly before setting off
down the road. The unknown figure was still there, positioned in front of Meron, a strong shove sending Kaori’s assailant stumbling out onto the gravel. She lost sight of him as the unknown male drew closer, the muscular shape of his upper body filling her vision, blocking the road from view. Terror-stricken, she brought her right fist up again, striking the man solidly in the face over his left eye. He flinched, seeming surprised by the blow though making no attempt to retaliate.
Gasping for breath she wobbled, unsteady on her feet. Adrenaline was the only thing which prevented her from falling to the ground in exhaustion. Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions she’d never experienced before. For the first time since Ellias advanced upon her, she was able to think clearly, realizing the extent of the danger she was in. The initial stages of shock were already beginning to take over, making her oblivious to the voice speaking through the ever thickening darkness.
“Milady, are you injured? Are you alright?”
What was he saying? The words jumbled together, incoherent. She didn’t want to talk to this man. Why couldn’t he just walk away?
Her hand hurt. The throbbing was constant, tingling across her knuckles. With a grimace she clutched at it with her other hand, feeling a warm, wet, sticky substance along the skin. Blood. How was she going to explain this to her parents? And her face – her left cheek ached, the eye feeling as if it might explode from the pressure building under the surface. She couldn’t let her parents see her like this. They would ask too many questions… and what would she tell them? No one would believe the truth. The men were soldiers. Far above such accusations.
Slowly the world began to cease its constant spinning, allowing her to regain some semblance of composure. Think. She had to come up with something. What if you do not go home? No. That wasn’t an option. There was nowhere for her to go. The townspeople were too friendly. They would take her in for the night only to escort her home in the morning, leaving her with even more questions to answer as to why she didn’t return on her own.
The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Four: In the Beginning Page 1
