She wanted out of the house, but she didn’t dare leave without her mother. There was nowhere for her to go. Unfaithful. Another word that didn’t make sense to her. She didn’t understand why her father was so angry. And even more frightening was the way his eyes had looked at her. There was nothing left in them of the man she had grown to know as her father. He looked evil to her. She believed he would have hurt her if she hadn’t gotten away.
“Mommy!”
Strange noises were coming from the hallway. She wanted to go to her mother but she was too afraid to move. Her mother would come for her. And when she did, they would leave. Her mother would make sure she was safe.
At the sight of her mother limping around the corner from the hall, her heart jumped in her chest. Tears streamed down her mother’s face as she swept Leyna up into her arms, giving no pause to look back over her shoulder while pushing her way through the front door. From somewhere deep inside the house, she could still hear the sound of Damir’s voice screaming at her to come back. Leyna knew they would never go back, though. The look on her mother’s face was all she needed to know that home was not home anymore. With the rush of fear and confusion all coming together in her tiny head, she started to cry. It seemed the only thing left to do as her mother continued running into the night, leaving everything behind them.
“Leyna.” Thade’s voice cut into her reverie, her body shuddering as she was drawn from the frightening images in her mind. “I need you to be a little more attentive than this before I leave you to watch over the Prince.”
Drawing in a sharp breath, she blinked in surprise at Thade, her head finally clearing to bring her back to the present. “I am sorry… I was –”
Around her, she could see the sky had darkened. Night had come while she was lost in the depths of her own thoughts, completely unaware of the bustle of soldiers moving around them to set up camp. She expected to see disappointment in Thade’s eyes, but all that was visible was a deep concern peering hard into her own. Seeing the uncertainty in her gaze, he held out his hand to her from where he stood beside her horse, gesturing for her to climb down. “Come. I think we need to talk.”
With Thade’s help, she lowered herself back down to her feet, glancing hesitantly around the clearing. She recognized where they were, judging it to be another day’s journey away from the city. By the lack of ready tents, she determined that she hadn’t been lost in her thoughts for too long, the men only having had enough time to start spacing the ground to set up. “There is nowhere for us to speak. Perhaps we can have a meeting after we get to Siscal. I think for now I should focus on helping to get the tents set up.”
“Tents are no longer your job. Come with me.”
Leyna sighed heavily, knowing it was futile to argue with him. Following him through the clearing, he led her to the line of trees along the other side of the path, guiding into a small forest. Moving into the cover of the branches and weeds, he leaned up against the trunk of a large tree, looking her over curiously as she opened the cover of her helmet to reveal her face.
“I am sorry. The Prince spoke a name that I recognized and I just – one thought led to another and I somehow lost myself in my own head. It will not happen again.”
“The names of the Evantine family? You know of Iden?”
Leyna paused. She wasn’t sure how to answer his question. To acknowledge her relation was a sure way to lead her into admitting everything. “I know of him, yes. But I really would rather not talk about him.”
“I get the impression you are hiding something from me.”
“Impression? Captain, with all due respect, I think we have established quite firmly that I have my secrets. All I can do is assure you that none of them will hinder my ability to perform the duties you assign to me.” There was nothing else she could say to him. Now was not the time to disclose the details of her life. It was too great of a risk that someone would overhear them through the trees. She didn’t trust the soldiers to mind their own business. She could just imagine the whispers already circulating at having seen Thade lead her off into the woods alone.
“I really wish you would tell me what is troubling you,” he whispered, shaking his head dejectedly. She hated to see him like that, knowing it was her fault that he worried so much about her. It was just more stress for him on top of everything else he already had to focus on for the war.
Quietly, she lowered her eyes to the ground, opening her mouth to speak but quickly closing it once again. The sound of footsteps rang clearly to her ears from the path. She could tell by Thade’s tensing muscles that he had heard them as well, his eyes staring hard into the darkness to see who was approaching. “Identify yourself.”
“Well, Captain, I do hate to intrude,” Enaes’s voice rang confidently through the shadows. “I thought I heard a woman’s voice out here. I did not realize that you were entertaining company.”
“Your Highness, I thought you would be remaining at the camp with the rest of the unit. It is not safe for you to be wandering about.” Thade’s voice revealed a hint of discomfort at Enaes’s presence. With a purposeful step forward, he moved in front of Leyna, blocking her from view.
In a frantic motion, she closed the face cover of her helmet, covering her features under the metal. Fidgeting nervously, she tried to arrange herself in a solid stance, not wanting to appear too casual with Thade. Enaes’s opinion of her was still very important in order to keep his suspicions at bay.
“I was going to, but I thought it strange that you were sneaking off. Is there anything I should be aware of?”
Thade shook his head, his posture relaxing as Leyna moved back up to his side. “We thought we heard something so we felt it best to investigate before we all retired for the night. Everything appears to be in order, however. Lieutenant, you are excused to return to set up camp.”
Although her heart was racing, she was thankful for Enaes’s intrusion. He conveniently had distracted Thade from her. She knew it would only be a matter of time before he approached again, but until then, she was safe.
Giving a sharp salute, she pushed through the trees, making sure not to look Enaes in the eye while passing. All she could think about was getting back to camp and into the privacy of her tent. She could worry about Enaes again after she’d had some sleep.
The rooftops of the city were a welcome sight to Leyna. She couldn’t wait to get off her horse and stretch her legs. Throughout the trip, Enaes had controlled the conversations, rambling on and on to Thade about the intricacies of court life. Thade’s responses led Leyna to believe he was just as anxious to be back to the city as she was.
Upon approaching the city line, General Matias was awaiting them, his accompanying unit at the ready behind him. “Captain. Prince. I hope your journey was uneventful.”
“Too uneventful,” Enaes grumbled. “It was dreadfully dull and the unit is lacking in its number of female soldiers, so the scenery left a lot to be desired.”
“We brought a minimal group of men back with us. Our female population of the unit was left behind in Velorum,” Thade stated calmly, motioning for Leyna to position herself closer to Enaes. She did as she was instructed, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead.
It was frustrating to her that she was so limited in her actions. Everything she did had to be done just right to avoid appearing too feminine while speaking was completely out of the question. She had barely spoken in over two days and it made her want to scream out the frustrations she was holding inside.
Silently she continued alongside the men, in awe over the number of citizens gathered on the streets to see the arrival of the Prince. They pushed and prodded through the crowd, craning their necks to see his face. He was enjoying every minute of it. His hand was raised in a graceful wave, giving his most charming smile to every woman that caught his eye. Despite the night they had spent on the road, his black hair was perfectly smoothed back, tucked behind his sharply pointed ears. He looked like he had just stepped out of
the palace doors rather than arriving after a half week of travel on the road.
“Queen Nesperiti regrets that she is unable to attend this meeting, but Lord Dhiren will be present to discuss the views of Siscal,” Matias explained, ignoring the growing crowd around them. “Quarters will be arranged for you so that you will be comfortable, however long you plan to remain in our city.”
Up ahead, Leyna could see the Siscal palace coming into view, looking in the distance at the other end of the main street. She had never been inside it before. The thought of even being close to it made her heart race excitedly. She wondered if the others felt the same or if it was merely her childish imagination making the experience bigger than it really was.
As they moved in closer to the palace, she was vaguely aware of Enaes saying something to Matias, but his words were nothing more than noise to her ears. The walls of the Siscalian Queen’s home were tall and sturdy, surrounded by a heavy iron gate around the front. Guards were stationed at both sides of the entrance, calling out orders for them to be let through. Two other men from inside rushed to the gate, removing the lock, and opening it up for them to pass.
The courtyard was extravagant in design. Every line of flowers around the central point was perfectly spaced and weeded, the soil moist from where the groundskeeper had just been by to water them. At a break in the path, a guard called for them to dismount, ushering their horses over to a post a short distance down the left fork.
Leyna’s fidgeting was harder to conceal without the distraction of keeping control of her horse. All the nervous energy inside her filtered throughout her body, senses alert and ready for anything. It seemed unlikely any attacks would be able to get through the palace gates, but it was still an open area. It would be too dangerous to assume they were in the clear of danger.
Taking her place at Enaes’s left side, she stood proudly, her chin thrust outward despite the heavy weight of the helmet on her head. Thade had taken up his position to Enaes’s right, conversing quietly with Matias while they waited for Lord Dhiren to arrive. She was surprised he was not there already to greet them. It was bad form to make the royalty of an allied people wait.
She tried to block out the sounds of the voices around her. Joining in on the discussions would be detrimental to her, so she found it best to refrain from even tempting herself to offer her opinion. It allowed her a better position from which to observe the grounds.
It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was high in the sky, unobstructed by clouds. A gentle breeze wafted through the courtyard, carrying with it a soft warmth that she had missed while in Velorum. Temperatures were sure to drop within the coming weeks, but for now it was absolutely perfect. She only wished she could remove the metal from her head to feel the wind on her face.
The clear sky allowed Leyna to take in the details around her, noting every tiny shadow and color of the landscape. Something moving in the distance caught her attention, a wave of darkness following the object along its path. Quickly it ducked behind a large stone pillar near the side yard gate, disappearing from view.
She strained her eyes to see where the figure had gone. There was no trace of it anywhere; leaving her concerned that she’d imagined it. It seemed unlikely anything could have simply vanished into thin air. After several long moments, she saw the shadow again. But it couldn’t be. It was coming from the same location where the first had appeared from. This one moved in closer before disappearing behind another pillar, setting her nerves on edge even more than they already were.
Sanarik. The figure had resembled the body structure of the Sanarik people. The mannerisms were even more fitting, stealthily maneuvering along the palace grounds. From atop the pillar where the first had disappeared, she could make out the vague outline of a bow tilted sideways over the surface, concealing it almost entirely from view. If she hadn’t seen the figure take cover there, she wouldn’t have noticed it against the dark stone.
Her body stiffened, her hand lowering to the sword at her waist. Enaes continued to talk idly with the others, paying her no attention as she took a step forward, shifting in closer to him. Another bow took shape against the top of the pillar near the second figure. They must have found some means of climbing the gate. She knew their bodies weren’t tall enough to reach their current position without some assistance.
Slowly the bows edged around the top, sliding over along the sides of the stone, still almost perfectly concealed. Time felt like it was crawling though she knew it was passing in a blur, her head racing with the image of what she was witnessing. Tracing the aim of the arrows with her eyes, she found them to be pointed more to her right, bypassing the Prince. Thade. They formed a perfect line to where the Captain stood in plain view of the weapons.
Her sword was drawn before she had a chance to call out a warning to the others. She could hear the snap of the bow string releasing the arrows, covering the short distance between Leyna and the Sanarik with startling speed. Knowing there wasn’t enough time to cut off the attack, she shifted her weight, positioning herself between the archers and Thade, subconsciously aware of Enaes’s voice shouting something from behind her.
Each arrow struck with a force unlike anything she had experienced before. Two. Three. Four. Where had the others come from? There wasn’t time to think about it. The impact sent her toppling backward, her sword slipping from her hand as a searing pain shot through the right side of her chest, radiating all the way down into her fingers. The second struck her left arm, tearing through the leather of her armor to sink into the flesh of her bicep. A third came unexpectedly, piercing into her right side. A loud clang radiated from the fourth, the tip of the arrow smacking into her helmet, deflecting it harmlessly off to the side where she had been standing before.
Through the pain, she experienced a moment of panic at the feeling of her helmet pulling from her head under the force. My face. Enaes will see me. The foolishness of the thought would have caused her to laugh if the pain hadn’t been so great. They were under attack. The last thing the Prince would be focused on was her face.
Her body never hit the ground. She had been anticipating the jarring force of the fall, but it never came. The courtyard blurred into a mass of colors in her peripheral vision, making it difficult to see anything that was going on. Swords could be heard scraping the sides of their scabbards from the other soldiers, preparing themselves for the battle. Hands groped at her body, preventing her from falling. Someone was shouting her name. More hands were on her now. Her feet no longer touched the ground, the feeling of movement cutting through her confused senses. She was being carried somewhere. Everything hurt too much to care.
It burned. She had never felt a wound burn so much as these. It was like acid pouring over her skin and every movement caused by those carrying her only made it worse. Someone screamed. It didn’t register in her head that it was her. She couldn’t help the cries which escaped her. The pain was intensifying with every passing second until she didn’t think she could take it any longer. She prayed for unconsciousness to overtake her but it refused, leaving her in agony, unable to escape it.
“Help me get her on the table. We need to get these arrows out.”
It sounded like Thade. She wanted to argue with them, to beg them to leave the arrows alone. It hurt too much already. If they tried to remove them, it would only exacerbate the wounds. She couldn’t take much more.
Feminine hands placed a cool wet cloth over her forehead. Although it did nothing to ease the pain, it brought the room into slight focus, allowing her to make out the walls around her. She was inside the palace. The decorations were much too fine in quality to be anywhere else. Golden vases filled with colorful wildflowers adorned every wall, their fresh scent reaching Leyna’s nostrils even through the distraction of the pain.
Thade was leaning over her, his features creased in concentration. He had a hold of the arrow in her chest, gripping it tightly in his hands. His free hand was pressed flat against her sternum, br
acing her body to the table she was lying on. With a precise movement, he pulled the arrow from her skin, the sound of her screams echoing off the walls of the room around them.
“Captain, she looks far too young to be in this predicament…”
“Your Highness, I mean no disrespect, but now is not the time to be questioning my soldiers,” Thade replied sternly, moving swiftly down to the arrow lodged in her side. The ease with which he had removed the one from her chest was comforting to her. It hadn’t extended too deeply into her, its progress hindered by the heavy leather of her armor.
The agonizing pain shot through her abdomen unexpectedly, her breath catching in her throat before she could scream any more. Enaes was continuing to argue, his voice rising in an accusatory tone. “Why did you hide her identity from me? Is there some reason why I could not know who you were placing at my side to trust my life to?”
In a fluid motion, Thade grabbed onto Enaes’s hand, pressing it down against a towel that had been placed over the wound in Leyna’s chest. “She just saved your life, so I suggest you focus on returning the favor and leave your questions for another time.”
Return the favor. Was she dying? It felt a lot like what she imagined death to be. Absolutely miserable. Even with the arrows removed from her chest and side, the pain wouldn’t abate. Her left arm felt completely numb. The arrow had lodged itself deeply into the bone. She didn’t have to look at it to know it was broken. Through the pain she racked her memory to figure out where the other arrows had come from. There had been two figures. Each one would have had to have a partner with them to boost them up to the top of the pillar. While she had been distracted with the ones up top, she had missed the two arming their weapons from below. A horrible oversight on her part. If there had been any more of them, they would all be dead right now.
A nurse was at her side, applying pressure to the wound near her abdomen. All Leyna could think about was getting back out to the others. She had to help them fight. The pain was making her delusional. “My sword. I need my sword.”
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 14
