Iron Breakers: The Floodgates (Iron Breakers Book 3)

by Zaya Feli

  For a moment, they were both quiet, watching white, fluffy clouds blow slowly by, stained a faint pink by the rising sun. Then Anik raised his hand to his shoulder, resting it where Ren knew his scar was hidden beneath his shirt. “I promised I'd tell you what happened.”

  “You know you don't have to,” Ren said. Behind them, the camp was waking and Ren wished it would wait a little longer so he could have more time with Anik in the tall grass.

  “I want to,” Anik said, releasing a breath. He lowered his hand and gazed up at the sky, eyes narrowed against the growing brightness.

  Ren rolled onto his side to face him.

  “You know some of the beginning,” Anik said. “Skarlan soldiers stationed in the south made our lives miserable. My father passed away from illness when I was twelve and left my mother with me and my twin sisters.”

  Ren listened closely. It wasn't the way he had thought the story would begin.

  “I trained wild horses for the village and earned some coin, but it wasn't like the rest of Filisa had much to give. We managed for a number of years, but mother began to struggle. She wouldn't say anything, but I could see how thin she was. How hard she worked. I was eighteen. Skarlan soldiers rode into Filisa and told us there'd be a substantial amount of money for anyone who completed a year of service working for the king in Iskaal, and even though I hated the king and his men with every fibre of my being, I didn't know what else to do.” He raised a hand, rubbing his eyes before he continued. “I worked my ass off in the mill, breaking rock and building fortifications for the king. I was ten months into my service, so close to a sum of money that would feed my family for years to come, maybe even until my sisters were old enough to start working in the fields.”

  Ren frowned, realising where the story was going.

  “I was working in the yard with a team to assemble a massive piece of scaffolding. A load-bearing beam splintered under the weight of the platform and slipped out of position.” He raised his hand to his shoulder, squeezing the muscle. “It speared my shoulder. Straight through. Nailed me to the wall.”

  Ren swallowed, stomach turning. He reached out and took Anik's hand and Anik squeezed it in return.

  “It took three men to saw through the beam and get me out. Took them nearly three hours. I spent five days in bed shivering from blood loss and when I had finally recovered enough to stand up and walk around, Halvard sent his soldiers to kick me out of the city.”

  “What?” Ren asked, eyes widening. “What about your pay?”

  Anik laughed bitterly. “I didn't complete my service and I wasn't well enough to go back to work. The contract is for a year, not a day less. Halvard's men kicked me out on my ass without a single silver coin and told me to find my own way back home.”

  “No fucking wonder you joined the rebellion,” Ren murmured, pushing himself up. “So your tattoo – the first man you killed...”

  Anik sat up next to him. “I returned to the Lowlands full of anger. As soon as I was well enough to fight, I took up arms. Valkon and Cainon were already leading small raids on Skarlan supply wagons further to the north. I joined them. Then, as more and more people joined our fight, we started going for bigger fish.”

  “The grain raids?” Ren asked. He'd heard the Lowlanders mention them more than once.

  Anik nodded. “That was the first raid I led. A tower built by the Skarlans near the edge of our village, stocked with food and grain for the soldiers overseeing the Lowlanders working in the fields. It was our biggest bounty yet, but not our last.” Anik smiled at the memory, but then his smile faded. “A lot of the Skarlans I killed were just boys. Younger than me. They didn't deserve to die, for being brainwashed by men who forced them to hurt people, but it was them or us. You know? At least they had the option to leave. We couldn't do that.”

  “If you tried to leave, to cross the border into Frayne...” Ren sighed and closed his eyes. The full scope of the hopelessness Anik and his people were facing made itself clearer than ever. “Shit. I'm sorry. No wonder you wanted nothing to do with me when we met.”

  “I didn't have the best experience with authority figures,” Anik agreed.

  “And I didn't make it any easier,” Ren said, running a hand through his hair. He had tried to command Anik just like the people who had hurt him. No wonder Anik had wanted to be anywhere else. He sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I've been thinking about what you said. About what Evalyne said.”

  “Yeah?” Anik cocked his head to the side.

  “I don't want to be king.”

  “Ren...”

  Ren stopped him with a raised hand. “At least, not the way the kings have ruled before. Not the way Halvard is king. I don't think any one person is supposed to have that much power. I mean, look at what happened. Two nations are reeling from one man's mad grab for power.” He huffed and shook his head. “What you said last night about the soldiers. What they're fighting for. They're laying down their lives for a cause they don't believe in. They're forced to follow rulers they didn't choose. Nothing gives me the right to command them just because I was born to a queen, just like no child deserves to be made a slave because their parent was one.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Anik asked. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

  “I want the people to choose who they want to follow. I want to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again.” He met Anik's eyes, and the intensity in them reflected the passion Ren felt. His surety. “Evalyne is right. We need to unite our nations. We need to give our people the peace they deserve.”

  Anik smiled, the pride in his eyes enough to make Ren avert his gaze, but Anik caught his chin between two fingers and tilted his head back. “I knew you could do it.”

  There was something else. An unspoken truth, an insistent darkness that Ren had been able to ignore once, but now couldn't avoid. A memory flashed behind his eyes. His hand on a bow, blood, choked gasps of pain. He blinked to clear his head. He hadn't meant for it to happen.

  “There's something you should know about me,” Ren said, stomach clenching.

  Anik tilted his head. “Oh?”

  “My lord.”

  Anik dropped his hand. Ren hesitated, glancing from Anik to the soldier striding towards them from the camp. “I-”

  “My lord!”

  “What?” Ren snapped over his shoulder.

  The man stopped, startled.

  Ren saw the unease in the soldier's eyes and softened his voice. “What is it?”

  “Her Highness would like to speak with you about the riding formations before we break camp, my lord,” the soldier said.

  Ren sighed and nodded. “Thank you.”

  “We should eat, too,” Anik said, getting to his feet. He grabbed his boots and offered Ren a hand. “What did you want to tell me?”

  Ren shook his head. “It can wait.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Aleria lay just beyond the trees. Ren knew these woods well. He had hunted wild boar and pheasant in them since he was young. Not deer. The deer in Aleria's forests were protected; killing one would result in a substantial fine. If ever the court craved venison, they'd import it from the surrounding areas, although the royal family as a rule didn't eat it. It was bad luck.

  Ren rolled his shoulders, wincing when the right one gave a slight twinge of pain. It wasn't as bad as it had been, though. Ilias had removed the stitches last night and Jayce had declared that it was healing well. The last scabs were coming off, giving way to the darker, uneven scar underneath. In almost the same place Ren's own arrow had penetrated when...

  Ren closed his eyes. He knew he should tell Anik. Anik deserved to know after all the painful truths he had shared with Ren. The right moment simply hadn't come up.

  “Homesick?”

  Ren turned.

  Anik came towards him, scaling the large, uneven rocks that lined the stream bed.

  “A little,” Ren said, before correcting himself. “A lot.�
�

  “I have something that can take your mind off it,” Anik said.

  A spark of desire shot through Ren.

  Anik must have noticed, because he tilted his head to hide the mischievous expression Ren was convinced was designed to get him hot and bothered. “Don't get excited. You might hate it. Come on.” He waved to Ren and turned around, making his way down the cliffs.

  Ren found himself silently cursing Anik on the way around the edge of the camp, wondering why Anik had to be so effortlessly attractive. His thoughts came to an abrupt stop, however, when they reached a clearing on the other side of camp.

  Sakai, Anik's dark stallion, grazed in the clearing, tethered to a stake by a long lead. The horse raised its head when they approached, regarding Ren warily before lowering it to graze once more.

  “Come on,” Anik said, waving Ren closer as he approached the stallion.

  “I don't think he likes me much,” Ren said, following slowly. Sakai raised his head again, paying closer attention. “He followed me out of Llyne, but when I tried to make friends with him afterwards, he wouldn't have it.”

  “It's hard for him to trust people,” Anik said, stroking a hand over the scars on the stallion's side. “You have to learn to speak so he'll understand you.”

  “You're going to teach me how to speak horse?” Ren asked, extending his hand towards Sakai. The stallion only tossed his head and shifted behind Anik.

  Anik placed a hand on the lead to stop the horse from moving. “I'm going to teach you how to speak with your heart. Give me your hand.”

  Anik's skin was warm against Ren's. Stepping in close, Ren let Anik move his hand to the stallion's silky neck. Sakai watched Ren closely, posture stiff, but he didn't move away.

  “When he's nervous, you're calm,” Anik said, stepping up against Ren's back, flush against him. “You have to show him with every movement you make and every word you speak that you're here to help him, not hurt him.” His voice was soft in Ren's ear. He passed Ren's hand down Sakai's side, over his back, and down one of his legs. “Have confidence. Take control.”

  Anik stepped back, letting Ren go. The place where Anik's body had been pressed against Ren's felt cold. He shuddered, and he wasn't sure it was from the chill.

  The stallion turned its head to watch him, ears forward.

  “Go on,” Anik encouraged, wrapping his arms loosely over his chest, hands cupping his elbows. “Get to know him. Show him he doesn't need to fear you. Be his leader.”

  Ren tried to focus on what Anik told him. He raised his hand and stroked his palm along the muscular curve of the stallion's neck, trying his best to radiate calm and assurance. Control. It wasn't easy. He remembered what Lord Elgrin had said about the horse. It had killed a man. It was tall and strong, one of the largest horses in the army, only surpassed by the draft horses that pulled the wagons.

  “Take a hold of him,” Anik instructed.

  Ren glanced over his shoulder, swallowing. “He won't like it,” he said, reaching for the halter. Sakai raised his head, moving it out of Ren's reach.

  Anik laughed. “If you think he won't, he won't. Remember, you aren't just saying it with your voice, but with your body too. Try again.”

  Ren swallowed. He wrapped his hand around the lead and brought Sakai's head down, then slipped his fingers under the noseband. Sakai tugged back, side-stepping, but without any real force. Ren followed the stallion's movements and brought him to a halt.

  “Better,” Anik said, giving Ren a nod. He tossed Ren the other end of the lead and Ren faltered when he realised the horse was no longer tethered. The horse's safety rested in his untrained hands.

  “Take him for a walk,” Anik said.

  Ren walked. It was difficult to shed the tension in his body, the need to be prepared for when the stallion would inevitably rear up and tear free of his grip to gallop through the woods and never return. Instead, Ren focused on leading Sakai with every ounce of calm and confidence he could muster. Sakai followed as if it was the most natural thing in the world and Ren allowed himself a smile of pride at his victory. It was going better than he'd thought.

  “Last stage. Bring him in,” Anik said, waving Ren towards the centre of the clearing.

  Ren had a feeling he knew what was coming and it brought the nervousness back. “I don't think our newfound friendship goes as far as me sitting on his back,” Ren said hesitantly, patting Sakai on the neck.

  “What did I say about-”

  “Okay, okay,” Ren said..

  “I'll help you,” Anik said, stepping in close once more. “Grab hold.”

  Ren took a steadying breath, then twisted his fingers into the base of Sakai's mane, placing his other hand on the stallion's back.

  “One, two.” Anik's hands found his waist and lifted, helping spare his weak shoulder.

  Ren settled on the stallion's back with his heart in his throat. It seemed ready to leap out of his mouth when he felt Sakai twitch under him, backstepping nervously.

  Anik caught the horse's bridle. “You're tense, like a scared rabbit. Relax your body,” he encouraged, patting Ren on the thigh.

  “Exactly why are we doing this?” Ren asked, but did as he was told. Against all his instincts, he let himself relax, feet dangling. He loosened his death grip on Sakai's mane. Anik handed him the length of the tether once more and stepped into the middle of the clearing.

  Taking a deep breath, Ren nudged Sakai with his heels and the stallion began to walk.

  “Tell me,” Anik said, turning slowly on the spot to follow their movements. “Why did your family keep lions in the castle dungeons?”

  Ren looked away from Sakai's neck. A distraction. He'd take it. “The lions were a gift,” he said. “They were given to us by Halvard as a sign of goodwill and friendship when my mother travelled to Iskaal and our nations entered the truce. We gave them Fraynean wild horses. They gave us the lions and...” He sighed. “And Niklas.” Ren hadn't allowed himself to think about Niklas. The betrayal still tore at his heart.

  Anik seemed to realise as much, because he didn't comment on it. “I wonder what happened to them after Halvard took Aleria.”

  “I don't know,” Ren said. He rocked with Sakai's gentle gait and stroked the stallion's neck. The walk was surprisingly pleasant. “Maybe they're still down there. I feel bad for them, now that I think about it. They used to scare the living daylights out of me.” He laughed. “I never thought how they must feel being locked in a dark cell for years.”

  “They've been down there since before you were born?” Anik asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. “How old do they get?”

  Ren nodded. “They were young when we got them. As far as I know, Isilghan lions can live up to thirty years.”

  Anik hummed, but didn't speak again.

  Ren turned Sakai towards the middle, walking him forward until the horse's nose grazed Anik's shoulder. “I think we might actually be making friends,” Ren said, smiling as he patted the horse's shoulder and slipped off its back.

  Anik laughed, stroking Sakai's nose and digging his hand into his pocket for a treat. He levelled the horse with a meaningful look as Sakai picked the treat from the palm of his hand. “I know Ren's cute, but don't fall for him too hard,” Anik told the horse.

  “Jealous?” Ren teased, winking at him.

  A Skarlan soldier came towards them from the camp, offering them a salute. Ren fought down a sigh. Every soldier in camp seemed bent on cutting his time with Anik short.

  “What is it, man?” Ren asked, schooling his expression to hide his impatience.

  “Her Highness has urgent news.”

  “We're on our way.”

  * * *

  “My father's scouts are circling our position.” Evalyne stood with her hands folded behind her back, surveying the stirring camp from one end of her tent.

  Ren scuffed the leg of the stool he sat on with the toe of his boot, resting an elbow on the table. He held a cup of wolfsblood tea in his
lap. It was the last dose. “Any messengers?”

  “Not yet.”

  “We should move out of the woods,” Anik said. His arms were crossed and he loomed behind Ren like a pillar of confidence. “We can be surrounded and surprised too easily in the dense vegetation. Being out in the open leaves us vulnerable to arrows, but at least we'll see the attacks coming.”

  “I agree.” Evalyne turned. “It's time to end this.”

  Suddenly, the reality of their situation washed over Ren. He had been preparing for this for weeks, yet now that it was here, he didn't feel ready. He nodded, turning and gesturing for the attention of one of the Skarlan guards on watch. “Go to the Frayneans. Find the man named Arvo and bring him here.”

  “Our water system expert?” Evalyne asked, taking a seat opposite Ren at the table.

  “Jayce found him last night among our newcomers,” Ren explained.

  “Does he know the safety of a thousand men relies on the information he can provide?”

  Ren smiled sadly. “It's probably best if he doesn't.”

  A few minutes later, the guard returned leading a much smaller man. He looked like a farmer, with rough hands and a weathered face, but his arms were strong. When the man's eyes fell on Ren, he dropped to his knees. “Your Highness.”

  “Please,” Ren said, raising a hand for him to rise. “'Lord' is my only title. Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the empty stool. “You're Arlo?”

  The man nodded, getting up to sit next to Ren. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, clearly uncomfortable in the company of so many people of high rank.

  “Do you know why you've been summoned, Arlo?” Ren asked, keeping his voice conversational.

  The tone seemed to ease the older man's worry. “I was told you needed to know about Aleria's watering system, my lord.”