Oath of Deception

by Jennifer Anne Davis

  “Then what do you call this?” Ari demanded, her voice hard.

  “These cells are clean and available. The rooms over there,” the soldier pointed to the other side of the building, “are the soldiers’ barracks. I’m leaving the door open. You can rest in here while we send a messenger to the palace letting the royal family know you’ve arrived. I’ll be right over there if you need anything.” He pointed at one of the desks.

  There was a single cot in the cell. It appeared clean so Savenek sat on it, leaning against the wall.

  Ari huffed and took a seat next to him, folding her arms across her chest. “Your sibling?” she whispered.

  He smiled sardonically and tilted his head to the side to see her. “I didn’t want them to separate us or for you to be in any danger. It was either sister or wife.” He chuckled. “And I didn’t think you’d want to play the role of my doting wife.”

  “It would have been more realistic,” she huffed. “I could have been angry or upset with you and no one would have questioned it.”

  Savenek chuckled and looked forward again. Closing his eyes, he tried to take advantage of this time and rest. However, all he could think about was Ari. She seemed young to be sent on such an important mission. Although, she couldn’t be any younger than he was. He heard someone come in from outside, so he opened his eyes.

  “Take this to King Theon,” the soldier sitting at the desk said.

  “Yes, sir.” The messenger nodded and left.

  “Why are you here?” Savenek whispered to Ari.

  She turned her head, facing him, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

  “These men are speaking the same language we are. I have no trouble understanding them. Why is an interpreter needed?” While several of the kingdoms had their own distinct languages, it was known that the royal families could speak the common language in order to communicate with one another.

  “We’re at the Emperion and Apethaga border. Of course these men are going to speak the common language clearly. As we travel farther into Apethaga, you’ll start to hear slight shifts—longer vowels, variations on some of our words, especially among the lower class. When we reach the palace, you’ll hear the Apethaga language spoken among the affluent and upper class. I’m not certain who we’ll be negotiating with, but I am here to ensure there is no language barrier or miscommunications.”

  Satisfied, he closed his eyes again.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, patting his thigh. “I’ve communicated with people from Apethaga before. I know how to mimic their accent and can participate in conversations, no matter how quickly they speak. You have nothing to be concerned about.”

  He eyed Ari, trying to keep his voice even as he said, “I’m very good at what I do, too. However, that doesn’t prevent me from worrying. In fact, it helps.” Worrying kept him on his toes, alert, and contemplating what could go wrong. It allowed him to come up with contingency plans.

  Even though Ari had withdrawn her hand, he could still feel where she’d touched him. Right there on his thigh. It was a good thing she was wearing those unappealing boy clothes. He’d only ever seen Hana in dresses accentuating her curves. He just had to keep reminding himself that he liked Hana because being around this quick-witted woman who was sitting next to him, touching him, and who was far too skinny for his liking, made him forget all about Hana—which made no sense at all.

  “You look tired,” Ari commented.

  Probably because he hadn’t been sleeping well. Even though they’d been taking turns sleeping while the other person stayed awake, he’d been so afraid of an assassin showing up that he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in over a week.

  “Why don’t you sleep while you can,” Ari suggested. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

  Since Savenek felt relatively safe here in this prison cell, he closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Ari shook Savenek awake. “Someone’s here,” she whispered.

  He peeled his eyelids open and stretched.

  Three soldiers were conferring with a man holding a piece of paper. One of them nodded and approached the cell. “King Theon and Queen Elesseni are honored you are here in Apethaga. They have sent their personal guard to escort you to the palace.”

  While Savenek had fallen into a blissfully deep sleep, he hadn’t slept long enough for a messenger to travel to the palace and back. According to the map, the journey should be about a week each way. Unless the Apethaga royal family already had plans in place for when the Emperions arrived. That seemed a more likely scenario.

  Ari and Savenek exited the guard station. Outside, a dozen soldiers stood at attention waiting for them. One stepped forward. While everyone else’s uniform consisted of purple pants and a lavender tunic with a moon eclipsing a sun embroidered on the front, this soldier wore solid purple with a crown on this tunic.

  “Ven and Aryam,” he said, giving each of them a single nod of his head in greeting. “Welcome to Apethaga. I have been entrusted with delivering you safely to the royal palace.” He withdrew a container the size of his hand and removed its cap. “I must ask that the both of you take a drink from this.”

  “What is it?” Ari asked, taking an involuntary step closer to Savenek.

  Savenek could smell the potent foxpaint berries from where he stood. Once swallowed, the berries would slow a person’s heart rate until he or she fell asleep. The only way a person could be woken up again was by ingesting the leaves of the same plant.

  “It’s an elixir that will make traveling to the palace much easier,” the soldier answered.

  Savenek snorted. “I know what it is.” He wrapped an arm around Ari’s shoulders and said, “How do we know you’ll wake us?”

  The man smiled. “Either you take a sip of this now—and we will wake you once we arrive at the palace—or you leave Apethaga. Immediately. The choice is yours.”

  The berries must have been crushed and mixed with something to turn it into liquid form. Water would dilute the effect and make administering the tonic more manageable. “How long will the journey take? We won’t last long without water,” Savenek said.

  The soldier took a step closer until he was only two feet away. “I am not here to convince you of anything. Take the elixir or leave.”

  “May I speak with my brother for a moment?” Ari asked.

  “Of course. But only for a moment. We haven’t got all day.”

  Ari pulled Savenek over to the side of the guard station. “What do you think?” she whispered.

  “As long as they administer the antidote, we should be fine.”

  “What if they don’t?”

  “Think logically,” he said. “Why would they go through all this trouble, then turn around and not wake us up? If they wanted us dead, they would have killed us by now. The only logical explanation is that they want us asleep in order to transport us to the palace. They probably don’t want us to know how to get there.”

  “You think we should take the elixir?” She looked at him, her eyes alight with worry.

  He wanted to reach out and comfort her but refrained from doing so. “Yes. If we don’t, we fail our mission.” Which meant they would fail their kingdom, and that wasn’t an option.

  She nodded and followed him back over to the soldiers.

  “Sorry about that,” Savenek said. “We’re ready to take the elixir and be on our way.”

  The soldier poured it into a cup. “Drink this,” he said, handing it to Ari first.

  With a shaking hand, she reached out and took it. She looked at Savenek as she drank the contents, cringing. Another soldier came up behind her. When her eyes rolled back and her legs gave out, the man caught her, gently setting her on the ground.

  “Your turn.” The man took the cup from Ari’s hand and refilled it, handing it to Savenek.

  “Bottoms up.” Savenek took the cup and chugged the contents. The liquid burned his throat, his chest tightened, and his legs became heavy. His eyelids f
luttered closed and darkness engulfed him. He could still hear voices, felt his body being lifted off the ground, and then everything went silent.

  Savenek’s head pounded. He opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t. He closed them tightly again. It was too bright. Even with his eyes shut, he felt the sun penetrating through his eyelids. His arms and legs tingled. Everything hurt.

  A hand touched his arm and his eyes flew open again, squinting against the light. He found himself lying on a soft bed, a young woman with exquisitely dark skin and hair sitting next to him.

  She smiled. Her lips were a deep shade of purple, making her teeth appear snow-white. She said something, but he couldn’t understand the words.

  “What?” he asked. Was she speaking his language or not?

  She tilted her beautiful head to the side, watching him. Beads had been strung throughout her thick, black hair. Her silky, teal dress hugged her curvy body like water. And her skin. She was showing a lot of it. Not only did she have a low neckline that scooped just above her breasts, but her arms were bare. She smelled like jasmine. Her eyebrows drew together as she leaned closer, examining him.

  Her hair fell forward, tickling his face. He reached up and pushed it behind her shoulder, touching her soft skin in the process. Was this a dream?

  “Do you speak the common language?” she asked, running the words together. He almost didn’t understand her.

  “Yes,” he replied. His voice sounded strange to his ears. His throat was parched and he desperately wanted some water to drink.

  “You are finally awake,” she said with a coy smile.

  He remembered Ari and flew upright, searching for her. He was in a large room decorated with paintings framed in gold, statues of animals perched on pedestals, and half a dozen windows along one wall. A warm breeze blew into the room via the open glass doors that led to a balcony. In the distance, he could see a lake surrounded by green rolling hills and lush vegetation. No sign of Ari anywhere.

  Savenek looked back at the young woman. “Where am I?”

  “Apethaga’s royal palace,” she responded.

  “And you are?” His arms and legs stopped tingling and the light bothered him less than it had at first.

  “I am not supposed to be here.” She winked. “I snuck in because I was curious. One of the servants said you are very handsome. I must go before anyone finds me here.” She stood and glided out of the room.

  That had to have been Princess Lareissa. She was the youngest of the four royal children and at fifteen years of age, had already managed to gain the reputation of being wild and unruly.

  Savenek swung his legs over the side of the bed. He needed to find Ari. Had they taken her to another room? Was she okay? His head still throbbed and he wanted a cup of water for his parched mouth. The air felt sticky and hot. He stood on shaky legs. How long had he been asleep?

  Wanting to find Ari, he went over to the door. The handle wouldn’t budge. He ran his fingers through his hair and started pacing. He could easily pick the lock; however, that wouldn’t be a smart move right now. He had to calm down and assume his undercover role of Ari’s brother. Most likely, she was in a room similar to this one, waking up at this very moment.

  Why was he so worried about her? Why did his heart feel like it was beating too fast? Why did the thought of someone hurting her make him want to punch something? He’d just met the woman. He shouldn’t care so much. Putting his hands on his hips, he took a deep breath. Ari was from Emperion and worked for the empress, like Savenek did. He respected her role and dedication. That had to be it. It wasn’t as if he actually had personal feelings for her. He was in love with Hana. And Ari wasn’t even his type. Sure, she had a cute smile. When she smiled. Which wasn’t very often.

  How long would he be locked in this room? He needed food and water. Was this how Apethaga usually treated dignitaries from other kingdoms? When would the negotiations start? Right away? Or would he have to attend some court functions before they got down to business? It would be best if Ari played the role of the negotiator. It would allow him more freedom to observe what was going on at court and play the part of the overprotective brother. Having Ari be the negotiator would also ensure she was viewed as an authority figure and give her prestige. That way no one would mess with her.

  He wandered over to the open doors and stepped onto the stone balcony, marveling at the magnificent view. Warm air blew past him, billowing the curtains hanging next to the doors. Everything looked so elegant and serene. Just past the palace wall was a small town. The streets were orderly, arranged in straight lines. The structures were painted various vibrant colors. There were plants everywhere—in pots lining the streets, hanging from windows, and growing up the sides of buildings. His current surroundings stood in stark contrast to Emperor’s City where everything was sandy, brown, and dull. Not that Savenek minded how plain everything was back home. It was just what he knew, what was familiar. Here, the colors almost hurt his eyes.

  Past the town, nestled between the hills, was a large lake that glistened under the sunlight. A few boats were sailing on the water. Apethaga might be a kingdom known for making and selling weapons, but Savenek didn’t think any of the weapons were made here in this town. No manufacturing facilities could be seen, no sound of metal clanking could be heard, and no smoke rose in the distance. So where were the weapons manufactured? And where the hell was Ari?

  He balled his hands into fists, trying to remain calm. It was peaceful here, he would mimic that peacefulness. Breathe in, breathe out.

  In his peripheral vision, he caught movement from one of the other balconies. When he peered that way, no one was there. Someone was probably watching him. His skin crawled with that awareness. Forcing himself to smile, he strolled back inside, trying to appear relaxed and nonthreatening.

  His vision blurred, no doubt an aftereffect of the sleeping elixir. As he winced at the change in his vision, a thought occurred to him—what if Ari hadn’t survived the journey? She was so thin and scrawny that the elixir could have killed her. He rubbed his temples as a fire started to burn inside of him. He was on a mission and needed to remain in control. He couldn’t let his temper flare.

  Where the hell was she?

  Someone knocked on the door to his room. When he turned to answer it, the door flew open.

  A sentry stood framed in the doorway. A young woman squeezed around him, rushing inside Savenek’s room. “Brother,” she said, hugging him. “I was so worried about you.”

  Dumbfounded, Savenek wrapped his arms around her.

  She stepped away from him and faced the sentry. “Thank you for bringing me to my brother. Now leave us.” The sentry gave a curt nod and exited. When the door closed, she turned toward Savenek again. “Wipe that ridiculous expression off your face.”

  Ari’s brown hair cascaded around her shoulders and the silk dress she wore made her skin glow. Holy hell. She was beautiful.

  She glided over to the far end of the room and gracefully sat on one of the two sofas.

  Savenek couldn’t help but stare. When she’d had the boy’s clothes on, she’d looked frumpy. But now…

  “Honestly,” she said, “you’d think you’d never seen a woman before.” She patted the spot next to her.

  Trying to regain his wits, he went over and sat down, leaving some space between them. He couldn’t afford to be unnecessarily distracted on this mission.

  “I already feel indecently exposed,” she hissed. “So stop staring at me like that. I know I look ridiculous. But this is what they gave me to wear.”

  Women’s fashion was not Savenek’s forte; however, the getup Ari had on was stunning. It was unlike anything the women in Emperion wore. Two thin straps of light blue silk hung from her shoulders, expanding just above and covering her breasts. The silky fabric then came together around her stomach where it hung loosely to the floor. Her arms were bare, as was her neck and the area between her breasts. Her hair lay in soft waves down to he
r waist.

  The desire to reach out and brush her arm overwhelmed him. He scooted farther away from her on the sofa. Maybe the heat was getting to him. He tugged on the collar of his shirt, needing air. He reminded himself that Ari wasn’t his type. She was too skinny and boney. He wasn’t physically attracted to her. He wasn’t.

  “You need a bath,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “When did you wake up?”

  He cleared his throat, trying to appear calm and collected instead of completely rattled. “Twenty minutes ago. What about you?”

  “I woke up last night. When I saw you weren’t there, I started to worry. This morning, I insisted they let me see you.” She clasped her hands together, fidgeting.

  She’d been worried about him? Probably because if something went wrong, he was her best bet of making it out of here alive. It wasn’t as if she had feelings for him. They barely knew each other, and since the moment they’d met, her manner toward him had been rather terse.

  “Anyway, I’m staying in the adjacent bedchamber.” She pointed at a door Savenek had assumed led to a closet. “Take a bath, then we’ll talk.” Ari went over to the door. She unlocked it, propped it open, and exited his room.

  He peered after her through the doorway leading to her bedchamber. He swallowed and faced away from Ari’s room. What was wrong with him? Think of Hana, he told himself. But whenever he closed his eyes and tried to picture her, all he saw was Ari.

  After a nice, long bath, Savenek returned to his bedchamber where he found several outfits had been delivered for him. The colors were a bit bright for his taste. But hey, if Ari could wear Apethaga clothing, so could he. He pulled the pants on. They were light and soft, not offering much protection. Then again, it wasn’t as if he’d be fighting. Not yet, anyway. There wasn’t an undershirt, only a long-sleeved shirt. It didn’t have any ties to cinch the neck together. Was he supposed to leave it hanging open like that?