Rebel's Blade (The Aermian Feuds Book 1)

by Frost Kay

  “Have you nothing to say?” Tehl asked, lifting a brow.

  The massive warrior took a step forward and spoke, his deep, accented voice rumbling across the river. “What would you have me say? I was rather enjoying the little show. Don’t stop on our account.”

  ‘Don’t stop on our account.’ That statement alone revealed quite a bit. They were unconcerned with his treatment of their captive kin. So why were they here? Tehl’s mind ran several scenarios but none seemed to fit.

  His brother cleared his throat. “I wasn’t aware it was a show we put on.” Sam turned and addressed the captured warriors. “You hear that? They care nothing for you. Your own brethren would stand by while you die and enjoy it.”

  “In death there is honor,” was her short reply.

  His brother cocked his head, studying the female Scythian and Tehl wondered what he was about. Sam sauntered over to cup her chin, tilting her face first to the left, then to the right.

  “Women—always more emotional creatures. You can’t even beat it out of them,” he spoke just loud enough for his words to carry across the river. “Isn’t she beautiful, brother? And so exotic! Look at those cheekbones and plush lips. She could make a man very happy.” Sam’s gaze skated down her leather breastplate and rested on her flared hips. “And those hips!” Sam whistled. “Perfect for having children. Maybe I should take her as my layman.”

  Foreign curses and growled threats erupted around them.

  Tehl grinned to himself. Leave it to Sam. His brother was playing on the enemy’s purist beliefs, for Scythians were sickened more by ‘mixed breeding’, as they called it, than by death. The man had a devious mind.

  Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

  “I think she could bear you many strong sons,” he agreed in a casual tone, as though speaking of the weather. “You and I both know you’d benefit from a few spare heirs.”

  Finally, the large warrior spoke up. “These men do not concern me, but they chose to cross the Mort Wall and have broken our law. They are now criminals, so I leave their lives in your hands, but we deal differently with our women. Give her to me, and we will depart from Aermia.”

  Lies. “You mean to tell me the warlord of Scythia had no knowledge of this attack?” Tehl asked, his voice hard.

  “This was not sanctioned.”

  Tehl didn’t believe him for one second; they’d been pillaging Aermian lands for months and it was not the work of a ragtag band of thieves either. Each attack had been executed with military precision. Obviously, they weren’t simply thieves and murderers, but liars as well.

  “I think not.” Sam’s smile was frosty. “The woman is mine now. I will release the other warriors, and if they make it across the river tied up, they’re yours to deal with.”

  Samuel nodded to his men, and, brusquely, the Elite hefted up the warriors one by one, pushing them into the flowing water. The first immediately sank without resurfacing. The other three labored across, and the first to reach the bank struggled to his feet only to be struck with an arrow to the chest. Tehl’s breath whistled out of him as the other two met the same fate.

  “Well that’s one way to deal with disobedience,” Sam remarked, disinterestedly.

  The warrior shrugged a shoulder. “If they were caught, they’re not worthy, anyway. However, it is in your best interest to release the girl so I suggest you do so.”

  Sam shook his head with an arrogant smile.

  The warrior nodded curtly. “So be it.”

  They melted back into the forest as silently as they had appeared. He scrutinized them as they disappeared, the warrior’s parting words ringing in Tehl’s head. They bore a note of finality, of warning: tonight’s actions would bring consequences. But what was done, was done. They’d have to deal with whatever came of it later.

  Sam squatted next to him, facing the woman. “You’re important; care to enlighten me as to why?” he asked.

  She set her jaw and stared through his brother.

  “Yeah, I figured as much.” Sam looked to Sethen and Garreth. “She is now your responsibility. Make sure she is not harmed and cannot escape.” His brother turned back to the woman and trailed a finger down her cheek. “How do you fit into the puzzle, my dear?”

  The Scythian woman jerked her face away and continued to ignore him.

  * * *

  Tehl blinked, having been pulled from the previous night’s memory by the snapping of a branch. Looking up, he saw the fiery woman from the silo pushing through the tall grass. She reached where he was sitting, and she slumped onto a nearby fallen log. The girl pulled his blade from a sheath at her waist and held it out to him.

  “No, keep it.” he muttered, returning his attention to the village. She neither spoke nor made a move to leave. Curious, Tehl glanced at her from the corner of his eye, only to catch her staring at him.

  “What?” he asked, irritated by the intrusion; he’d been enjoying the silence.

  “Thank you. I mean, for the blade… I have never owned anything so fine.” She opened her mouth to continue before closing it again. After a pause, she sucked in a deep breath, continuing, “Look. I am sorry for the way I spoke to you last night, my lord. Had I had known it was the crown prince to whom I spoke I would have shown more respect.” She again paused. “No, that’s a lie. I’d have spoken the same way, but I have been informed there could be dire consequences if I don’t apologize, so…” she trailed off and shrugged.

  His lips twitched at her rather blunt confession.

  “There will be no punishment, Jasmine. You were upset and angry.” He allowed his amusement to bleed into his voice as he spoke. “The Crown can spare you, this time at least.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and her breath whooshed out. “Oh. Good then. I… I have to think about more than myself now.”

  He remembered the two small children clinging to her the night before. “You lost your husband?” He winced at how tactless that sounded.

  Sorrow shrouded her features. “No.” She shook her head. “I lost my brother and his wife, my only living relatives. So their twins are mine now.”

  “How old are they?”

  “They just turned two years. I doubt they will remember anything of their parents when they’re grown, only my stories of them.”

  Tehl sympathized; he of all people knew how painful it was to lose family. She pushed her dark brown hair from her face with a watery smile. His eyes narrowed as he scanned her face, realization dawning. Her skin hardly creased, even when smiling. She must be very young. Not much younger than himself. “Exactly how old are you? Your face, it’s smooth: you can’t be over twenty years.”

  “Has anyone ever told you how blunt you are?” He shrugged, and she sniggered. “I will be nineteen years next week.”

  She was too young to raise babes alone. How would they survive the winter? Did she even have a place to live? Tehl decided he would arrange matters so that the little family would be taken care of. As he thought, he turned his gaze back to Silva, making a mental list of all the things the villagers would need to rebuild. The remaining farmers and his Elite were already working to clean up the damage. As usual, Sam stood in the middle of it, heading the efforts. His brother looked up and caught his eye. He handed off his shovel and strode their way.

  It was time to get to work. Tehl stood stiffly and offered a hand to Jasmine.

  “Thank you, my lord.” Taking his hand, she stood, groaning and rolling her neck. She spared him a glance and a quick smile before focusing on Sam’s approaching figure. “Quite the old pair we make.”

  Sam’s smile widened as he glanced from his brother to Jasmine, eyes lighting up at the sight of her. “And who might this lovely woman be?” Sam flirted with a wink.

  Her soft smile dissolved into a scowl.

  Samuel took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I am happy to make your acquaintance, fair lady. I am Commander Samuel of the Elite. And you are?”

  Jasmine jerked her hand from his and
wiped it on her skirt, disgusted, muttering something about slobber. Tehl smirked at his brother’s odd expression. He couldn’t tell if Sam was amused or offended by her reaction.

  “It’s not that easy to scrub me from your skin, my lady,” Samuel teased. Jasmine simply raised her eyes and glared.

  Her temper rose, and Tehl’s smile widened. Jasmine would put Sam in his place, he could tell. And boy, did she not disappoint.

  “I would appreciate it if you kept your hands, and lips, to yourself. Please refrain from touching my person in any way,” Jasmine fumed. “I am sure this comes as a shock, but not all women appreciate your kind of attention.”

  Well, that was a first. He’d never seen Sam shot down. One point to Jasmine.

  Sam brushed it off though, dismissing Jasmine. “We relocated the people of Silva because of the burned homes. I plan on leaving a few Elite here until the Guard arrives to help with rebuilding. The Mort Wall has weakened, it’d be prudent to establish a post here; thus, Silva will always be protected.”

  Tehl was about to reply when Jasmine muttered, “Because you did such an amazing job before…”

  Sam stiffened and gave the girl a cold look. “You know nothing of war, little girl. I suggest you gaze around your Scythian-free home before casting judgments.”

  Jasmine flushed with anger. “You know what I see? Loss. Loss of my family, my friends, and my life; and all because you didn’t protect us. Our homes were burned to the ground while we were beaten and starved. I lost every member of my family, save the twins, becoming a mother in one night. And you,” she seethed, “let the brutes responsible go free.”

  Samuel’s face softened. “They died. Nothing is more final than that. Those Scythians departed from this world; they can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

  “They should have suffered, just like the rest of us have. We will feel the effects of their attack for years.” She stepped forward and poked Samuel in the chest. “That is on you!”

  “What you’re feeling will also pass.” Sam’s gaze held compassion.

  She dropped her eyes and turned her back on him. Jasmine stepped forward and curtsied deeply. “Thank you for the gift, I won’t forget your kindness and help.” She pushed passed Sam and hustled toward the village square.

  Samuel frowned after her. “You never told me your name,” Sam shouted. His brother could never leave well enough alone.

  Jasmine peeked over her shoulder. “You don’t need it.”

  Tehl turned toward him, a smug grin plastered on his face. “You know what? I don’t think she liked you, Sam.”

  His brother was still watching the young woman walk away. He ran a frustrated hand through his blond curls but quickly shifted, sending a cocky smile his brother’s way. “She experienced something horrific. It wasn’t me.”

  Tehl glanced at the petite brunette now smiling at Jaxon. “No, that woman despises you. She didn’t act that way toward me or Jaxon.” He pointed out Jaxon smiling as Jasmine giggled.

  Sam’s face darkened as he spied the exchange. When he noticed Tehl’s interest, his face blanked. “She has horrible taste in men, especially if she had this remarkable specimen,” he said, motioning from his shoulder to his toes, “before her and still chose Jaxon.”

  He rolled his eyes at his little brother and shook his head. His eyes swept over the ruined village once more, the smile falling from his face, now sobered. “What happened last night…” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “Something was not right, Sam. No one has ever taken one of them prisoner. No one, Sam. It doesn’t feel right.”

  Sam nodded as Tehl spoke. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. We may have had the element of surprise but that doesn’t account for them laying their weapons down. Neither did they resist nor speak when we restrained them. I had been prepared for some kind of trap but then nothing happened. When we discovered the warriors across the river, I thought for sure they’d ambush us and that perhaps that was the plan all along.” His brother stared at the log behind him in thought. “Yet, all they did was stand there! It makes little sense. Who sits back and watches their kin get dragged away? Also, those warriors didn’t even care, and that is dangerous. Why would they only react to my taunt to their woman?” Sam paced as he continued to work through his thoughts. He covered his face with a hand and took a deep breath through his nose and paused. After a moment, he dropped his hand in frustration. “We’ve more questions now than we did prior!”

  Tehl waited for Sam to finish venting his frustration. Sam barked out a harsh laugh as he stabbed a finger Tehl’s way. “And the nerve! You and I both know those warriors weren’t rogue. Scythia sent them here for a purpose, I just don’t know why. Another damn piece of the puzzle missing,” Sam huffed.

  “We will figure it out,” Tehl replied, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “At least we have someone that might shed more light on the situation in Scythia. You got her to respond to you last night; you can do so again. But currently there are other pressing needs. These people need our immediate care and focus.”

  Sam sighed and nodded. “It would be best if we left two teams here for rebuilding and protection until the Guard arrive.” He eyed the surrounding destruction as they returned to the village.

  “What of their thane?” Tehl asked.

  “They have no protector or keep near. They have always reported to Sanee.”

  “What?” Tehl frowned. Without a thane, or a post, the people of Silva were left vulnerable. They needed the protection more than any other area as they were right on the Scythian border. Tehl glared at the destroyed homes; every time he felt he’d gotten his feet under him, something set him off balance again. “Gather those set to return with us and inform them we depart in half an hour.”

  Sam nodded once and strode toward the Elite, already barking out orders. Tehl rolled his kinked neck. It was no wonder his father was driven mad after his mother died. Running a kingdom by yourself was difficult. He had a rebellion to deal with, a Midsummer Festival to plan, and Scythians breathing down his neck. Tehl sighed and straightened up. He could do this. He would do this. He just needed to take it one day at a time.

  Sixteen

  TEHL

  When the tall gray turrets came into view, Tehl breathed out a sigh of relief. Between his lack of sleep and hours of hard riding, he was sufficiently worn out. It seemed like he’d only blinked and they’d arrived at the inner courtyards. He rubbed his eyes hard. Had he fallen asleep? No, he didn’t think so, but he sure didn’t remember the last leg of their journey. Tehl brought Wraith to a halt and dropped to the ground. The moment his feet hit the dirt, he groaned—everything in his body seemed to ache. Ruefully, he stretched his lower extremities, chiding himself. He needed to ride more often. He’d been spending too much time in the city.

  Leaning against the saddle, he gingerly ran a hand down Wraith’s sweaty neck, whispering praise to the exhausted beast. Wraith cocked an ear, listening as his master spoke. Tehl stroked the downy nose softly and stumbled back a step as Wraith bumped him in the chest with it.

  “I know buddy, time to cool down, but don’t worry, afterward it’ll be oats and carrots for you.” Tehl could have sworn Wraith smiled in response. With a smile of his own, he gave a farewell pat to the horse as a young stable boy sporting an unruly mop of orange hair collected the reins and led him away.

  Tehl glanced back to the company and saw his brother discretely issuing instructions to Garreth and Jethro, after which two Elite came and collected the Scythian woman, no doubt carting her off to the dungeon.

  Returning to Tehl’s side, Sam gave him a brief report. “Everything is being taken care of, my lord. Supplies and men are already on their way to Silva. We’ll attempt to obtain whatever we can from the female warrior. I’ll update you in the morning with anything we learn over the course of tonight.”

  Tehl nodded. He was more than ready to rid himself of his armor and be done with this day.

  He returned to the castle. Th
e lanterns lining its interior walls scattered distorted shadows along the dimly lit corridors and illuminated a figure approaching him from the far end of the hall. It wasn’t until the figure neared that he noticed a familiar set of purple eyes. Gavriel. His cousin met him in the middle. Tehl clapped a hand on his cousin’s shoulder in greeting and motioned for him to follow.

  “Walk with me.” Together, they moved toward the royal wing. “How have the last two days gone? Have you survived court in my absence?”

  Gavriel grimaced. “Barely. I don’t envy you or your lot in life. I can’t fathom how you listen to your officials drone on about such droll things all day, nor the bickering nobles I had to dine with two nights in a row. Don’t even get me started on some of the crazy women…”

  Tehl smirked at the disturbed look Gav shot him. As he jogged up the stairs, he taunted, “What? You couldn’t handle all those ladies vying for your attention?”

  “If you could even call them ladies. Several bore a stronger resemblance to bloodhounds than women. I had to scrub twice to get the feeling of wandering hands off me.” He shuddered.

  Tehl barked out a laugh. “No need to worry, I won’t subject you to that again any time soon.” As they arrived at his chamber, Tehl turned his head, ready to bid Gavriel goodnight, but caught a whiff of himself. Oh boy, he stunk. “Sam and I will update you in the morning, and I’d appreciate a report from you as well, but for now I think a bath is my top priority.”

  The smile fell from Gav’s face. “Actually, there are things that require your attention immediately, as in tonight.”

  Tehl tensed. Turning back to his cousin, he inquired, “What does it pertain to?”

  “The rebel in the dungeon.”

  Tehl perked up. Perhaps the woman broke. He smiled. “Did she give you the information we need?”

  “No, but…”

  “Then it’s not important; if it can’t wait, speak with Sam. I have had a long day. We’ll speak in the morning.”