A Gift Freely Given (The Tahaerin Chronicles Book 1)

by J. Ellen Ross

  Ostravans’ training prepared them for dueling, not fighting in a melee staged on city streets. In an incident like this, they were meant to observe and report, not get themselves murdered. To her left, Ani saw a dark alley behind a cooper’s shed. Scrambling over discarded barrel halves and piles of wooden planks, she found handholds enough to pull herself up to the roof. From here, she could watch the skirmish.

  The city guard outnumbered the mercenaries, but they hesitated, unsure what to do as they stared. Then, the swop-swords fell on them and Ani cursed. She could not stand by and do nothing while everything went to hell.

  Racing to the edge of the roof, she hung and dropped off. Her first target grappled with a young man, his back to her. Simple enough, she thought. Her rapier thrust took the mercenary in the back, not deep enough to kill, but enough to cause him to disengage from the boy. As he reached behind him, he arched his back and threw his head up, exposing his throat.

  Ani leapt, thrusting the poniard in her left hand into the side of the man’s neck, following him to the ground as he fell, scrabbling at his throat. Pulling it back, she turned and looked for her next target. Another mercenary collapsed, howling in pain as she sliced the back of his knee open. Then the city soldiers recovered, overpowering their remaining enemies.

  “Where’s your captain?” Ani demanded as the last swop-sword fell.

  They gaped at her, unsure what to make of this redheaded woman dressed in men’s clothes.

  “I’m from the castle and I just helped you kill these five. Where is your captain?” She shouted, realizing these were just children, some no more than sixteen.

  A boy stared at her wide eyed before shaking his head and saying, “He’s dead. They’re all dead. In the barracks, we found him dead and just started this way.” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

  Of course, Ani thought. Of course, he was. Because the mercenaries in the streets were heading to the gates to take control of the city. Because everything had gone wrong tonight.

  “All right then,” she said, coming to a quick decision. She could not get into the keep yet, but she could kill. “For tonight, I’m your captain. There are bands of swop-swords roaming the streets, as you found. They’re organized professionals, but they’re spread thin. So, we’re going to be smart and move slowly. I’ll be your eyes and help from behind. How does that sound?”

  Eight boys nodded at her, eager for a fight and happy to have a leader.

  “Good,” Ani said. “Let’s go hunting.” They started down the narrow street steering them towards the southern gate. She would try to keep the mercenaries from taking over the city. Once they ran out of targets, she would bring her little army back to the keep and see what damage they could do there.

  ***

  “I’m sorry for manhandling you, Highness,” Jan said. He and Eli had checked the room for anything they could use. Cases for instruments and the musicians’ packs accounted for nearly everything. They all looked out the windows and saw the soldiers below, herding terrified gentry out a side gate and killing her men. No escape that way.

  “Don’t be. I would be in the way.” Leisha tried to sound calm, but inside she wanted to scream in rage, wanted to fight and most of all she wanted Jan or Eli to tell her Zaraki would live. Her hands shook as she paced the room, until the sound of her dress sweeping the floor threatened to drive her mad. Would she feel it if he died? Would she know the moment it happened?

  This could not be happening. She had just found him.

  “Highness,” Eli said. “They’ll come from the castle for us. There are more than enough soldiers there to retake the keep.” Leisha knew this was not going to end that way. Staval would kill her well before her men could get in.

  The sounds of fighting coming from below ceased, and just like that the waiting ended. Leisha stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room, smoothing the worried frown from her face. Clasping her hands in front of her, she knew she would meet her enemy head-on, not cowed or broken. If Zaraki was still alive, she would find a way to free them. If he was dead, well, things would go differently. She ordered Eli to open the door.

  “Highness?”

  “They’ll just break it down otherwise,” she explained and nodded at the door again.

  Eli hesitated but knew she was right. He turned the key in the lock and stepped back. In a moment, the door opened and there stood Staval—her treacherous, treasonous uncle. He strode into the room on a wave of arrogant triumph, with eight soldiers following him. As he looked her over, he noted the two men to each side, armed and prepared to defend her. He pointed at Jan and Eli.

  “I can kill them now, or you can send them down to the cells below.”

  Staval wanted her isolated and scared, but he would let them live for now. “Go with him, both of you,” Leisha said. “There’s no point in dying here. He won’t kill me yet.”

  Both men struggled with her command. She knew about Zaraki’s order to protect her, even against her own wishes. She had always known. Go. He needs me alive, and I won’t watch you both die in front of me, she told each of them.

  They threw down their swords in disgust and Leisha let out her pent up breath, glad for one less thing to worry about. Now, she had to figure out how to save the new little family she had only just realized she needed.

  Staval grinned as his men led her bodyguards away. “Do you need to be bound, niece? Or is the threat to your lover enough to keep you biddable?”

  In his thoughts, Leisha saw Zaraki as her uncle had left him in the hall below—alive. She nearly lost her poise, wanting to sink to her knees and weep in relief. But she would not give him the satisfaction.

  Instead, she asked, “What do you expect me to do? Fight you with my hands? Jump out a window, perhaps?”

  Staval shrugged, but it annoyed him. “So long as you behave, I’ll spare you the indignity. Once my men retrieve the commoner you’ve taken to bed, we’ll talk.” He wanted her terrified; even a bit of begging would please him at this point.

  “There’s nothing to talk about, Staval. You won’t let me live.”

  She reminded him of his sister, dismissive and disdainful. Just like Shola, she remained haughty, chin raised, even when faced with death. Well, he had humbled her mother eventually; now it would be the daughter. “What about your lover? What if his life hangs in the balance? Perhaps you’re willing to bargain?”

  “Don’t you listen to any of your spies?” she asked, her lips curling into a sneer. “I read your mind, Staval. I know you have no intention of releasing him.”

  “Fine,” he hissed, wondering if derision was the only way she knew to express herself. “Fine. Stand here and await your fate.”

  Leisha held her ground, watching every movement the men in the room made. Concentrating hard, she listened to the cacophony of their minds, trying to tease out distinct thoughts from all the chaos and noise. Far from trained men, these hired thugs would be no match for her soldiers. They had planned this attack for months, but something accelerated the timeline. Accepting this invitation, she thought. One of the men worried their plans had changed too quickly and they were not prepared for this.

  The door opened and two men dragged Zaraki’s limp form into the room. Numerous bruises and cuts covered his body, and his face was streaked with blood. Inside, she wanted to rage at this mistreatment. Panic edged into her mind and seeing him this way broke her heart knowing they targeted him because of her. But she would not break down or beg for his life. She would find a way out of this and then her uncle would pay.

  Another man entered the room, and Leisha felt a cold sweat break out along her neck. Tall and broad shouldered, with close-cropped hair, she knew him. She recognized the color and feel of his thoughts—from the Tumult in Otokar, from the assassination attempt at the parade and from the day outside the castle wall. Breathing hard, he seemed uninjured. This, finally, was Fellnin, and she felt the danger radiating around him. A careless killer, she read his though
ts and saw what he had done.

  When he looked at her, his eyes roamed over her body before settling on her face. Then Leisha saw the promise Staval made to him and she trembled. What could she do against his violence?

  “Leave it there,” Staval said and motioned to a spot along the wall. The men holding Zaraki up tossed him to the floor. He moaned and tried to curl himself into a ball while her uncle turned to speak to Fellnin.

  Leisha’s eyes narrowed as she probed Zaraki’s mind. He hurt and she cringed, feeling the whorls of pain twisting in his mind. It made her want to shy away and let him be as his hurt threatened to consume her. They had no time for sentiment and she needed to be ruthless.

  Zaraki, listen to me. Zaraki. She prodded him to pay attention to her and not his pain. I need you. Don’t open your eyes. Just listen to me. I’ll hear your answers. Are you badly hurt?

  His thoughts came slow and muddled. They should have practiced this before.

  Her eyes never left Staval. Zaraki, are your injuries severe? She could feel him taking a mental inventory.

  Ribs. A couple of cracked ribs. My head hurts.

  “I see he’s still among the living. Good.” Staval clapped his hands and motioned for his men to sit Zaraki up. He winced but opened his eyes. Leisha forced herself not to flinch at his pain, but she felt everything.

  “So, here we all are, finally. I’ve waited so long for this, Leisha. And now it’s here.” Staval sounded giddy.

  Looking down at Zaraki, he said, “I almost can’t decide if I should make you watch my men rape her. Or Leisha,” he said, turning eyes to her, “perhaps I’ll make you watch as I slit your lover’s throat. Either way, I just want to hear you beg.”

  “You should decide soon, uncle. Time is running out for you,” Leisha said, her voice cool, defiant. He would not kill Zaraki yet. They needed him alive to keep her quiet. “My soldiers will retake this keep. They outnumber you easily.”

  “Ah, but I let them know I have you alive and as a hostage. It appears they believe I’m going to negotiate, instead of burning you at the stake tomorrow as a whore.”

  He meant to shock and demoralize her, but she had already seen his plans. Tonight, he wanted Fellnin to break her spirit so that tomorrow, when Zaraki died, she would go to her own death, quiet and accepting. Leisha thought her uncle did not know her well at all. “A whore, is it? Since when is it prohibited for a queen to take a lover?”

  “You’ve shown remarkably poor decision-making recently, niece. First the foreign prince and then this?” He waved a hand at Zaraki. “Yet you reject all the marriage proposals from good families? You’re well into marriageable age and have no heirs. You’ve broken the vows you took at your coronation.” Staval saw her chin rise, insolence and fury written plain on her face. He hated it.

  “No one owns me and no one will dictate how I live my life. Least of all someone who slept with his sister.” Leisha drew out the last sentence, her voice full of contempt and scorn. One of the other mercenaries in the room tried to smother his laughter.

  Even here, with her life threatened, she still defied him. Staval’s rage burst forth in a torrent, and he rushed towards her, sword suddenly in hand. Just once, he wanted to see fear in her eyes, to see her cringe.

  Leisha read his intent and almost laughed in his face. She refused to move, knowing he wanted her alive for now. Behind him, though, Zaraki surged to his feet, bent on protecting her.

  No! she roared at him, demanding he obey her. Against his will, his legs bent and he sank to his knees. Panic flashed across his face, then Staval’s man crashed into him and he slumped to the side. Leisha felt a wave of relief wash over her, cursing and thinking she should have told him to stay quiet.

  Then, she blinked in astonishment at what she had done. In a moment of pure terror, she shaped his movements. She drove him to his knees. But how?

  Staval stopped inches from her, face contorted in fury. He raised his hand to strike her but then turned away. “Take them both to the cells and have your way with her, Fellnin. Humble her,” he spit. “Kill that one if she’s not compliant. Otherwise, we can kill them both in front of the town tomorrow.”

  Two men hoisted Zaraki between them again and dragged him out. Fellnin brushed a hand across her cheek and through her hair before reaching for her arm. “This way, my lady.” He smiled and nodded to the door.

  Leisha stared past him. She turned and followed the mercenaries, the very picture of obedience. Four of Staval’s men fell in behind them as they marched her down the stairs and through the keep to the cells below. As they walked, she considered what happened and what it meant. Wonder spread through her as hope ignited in her chest like a wildfire. I can control them.

  ***

  Fellnin shoved his prize in a filthy cell, causing her to stumble. He smiled as he shut and locked the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I finish up a few things. Then I’ll take my payment.” Whistling, he headed up the stairs and out to check on the men in the courtyard.

  Outside, he found the mercenary Staval insisted on putting in charge. “How is everything out here?” he asked.

  Caru grunted and pointed at a building resting against the curtain wall. “We’ve some of the queen’s men trapped in there. I don’t know how many. A few. What do you want done with them?”

  Fellnin rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t have time to worry about a few soldiers. If they come out, kill them. If they don’t, we’ll set it on fire in the morning. We don’t have enough men to have you all rushing in there and getting slaughtered by professionals. Right now, you just make sure you keep order here and keep the guard out. Right?”

  He just needed to check on the men at the gates and then he could go back to the pretty queen.

  ***

  Alone in her cell, Leisha began to panic as it dawned on her she had no idea how to repeat what she did in the little room above. What good did it do her if she could not remember?

  Zaraki, I need help. I need you to tell me what to do. Help me. I can control them, I think.

  He moaned as her insistent voice rattled in his head, cool and soothing, sympathetic but incessant.

  We’re running out of time. Help me. Help me save us. She listened to his thoughts. Constant pain. Everything hurt. Every breath lit a fire in his chest. Clawing his way back to consciousness took a monumental effort of will.

  Fellnin is going to come for me, Leisha said, knowing he would hear that.

  “No,” he shouted from the other cell. Dread and terror flared bright in his mind, smothering his pain. No, no. I won’t lose you. She heard him fight his way to his feet and saw his face in the cell across from her.

  Zaraki, listen to me. We have to live, both of us. Her thoughts, raw with fear now, came out in a jumble, and she knew she made little sense. I did something earlier to you, but I don’t know what.

  Staring at him across the way, she gave in to the terror she felt, if only for a few moments. Fellnin will be back soon. I’ll survive him, but promise you’ll stay with me. She felt panicked, knowing what Fellnin intended, knowing their salvation lay just out of reach and knowing she could save them both if she could just remember.

  He watched her from his cell, seeing her eyes open wide with fright. I love you. Of course I will. I promise.

  Turning away, Leisha ran her hands over her face, trying to concentrate. Forget your fear. Now think. Think, think, think, she chanted to herself. You just did it.

  A memory flashed in front of her eyes and she froze, forgetting to breathe. Tiny hands held a small, old book. She stood in the library in Arnost reading about mind readers and the things they once did. Why had she never thought of it?

  She remembered reading about how to paralyze someone—how to influence the parts of a mind that controlled breathing or heartbeats or muscles. But it had been so long ago and she had been very young. Most of the ideas in the book scared her then, but now she needed to remember before their time ran out. She tried to recall what she had don
e to Zaraki upstairs to make him stop moving.

  Footfalls sounded outside the cells and Leisha stepped to the back wall, heart hammering.

  A key scraped in the door to her prison. So soon.

  “Your uncle said he’s heard you’re a good fuck. But everyone has heard that after your tryst on the hillside. You should be more discreet.” Fellnin smirked as his face appeared in the little window.

  “No,” Zaraki shouted from across the hallway as the door opened. “Stay away from her. Fucking kill me and get it over with.”

  Fellnin turned to grin at him. “I told you, killing you isn’t what I’m here for. This,” he said, waving a ring of keys at Leisha’s cell. “This is payment for all my hard work and making you watch is icing on the cake.”

  Leisha forced her heart to slow and stilled her mind. Panic would make it harder for her to do this and she needed Fellnin calm as well. So, she did not shrink away and did nothing to alarm or arouse him further. She wished she had had more time to remember and prepare. The passages from the little book floated in front of her and she tried to pull them into some sort of order. I can stop him, she said, trying to calm Zaraki, but he was beyond hearing her.

  Fellnin looked her up and down with hungry, lust-filled eyes. As he stepped into the cell, he made a show of tugging off his belt and dropping it on the floor.

  She had to remember. Think. You just did it. One more step and she would try to take him.

  Without warning, he lunged forward, his hand lashing out to backhand her. Leisha fell to the ground, reeling from the blow. It hurt, and she had never known physical violence. Her vision swam, and she tasted blood where her teeth split her lip, but in the back of her mind something unfamiliar stirred.

  “I hate her staring at me like that, Zaraki. She’s certainly prettier than you deserve though I do like the petite ones.” Fellnin moved to loom over her. “At least try and look scared.”

  Leisha stumbled as he hoisted her back onto her feet.

  “I’m going to fuck her right here, so you can watch,” Fellnin said over his shoulder.