She lightly tapped her sword against his, stepping forward with her movement. Again she attacked and again he defended her gentle hit. She stepped back, inviting him to come at her. After a moment of uncertain hesitation, he swung the sword at her hip and she blocked it.
They continued on for another half hour, laughing as their gentle taps struck arms and legs. All too soon though Caden was breathing heavily and the color began to drain from his cheeks. She put the swords away and sat down with him behind a large stone pillar to catch her breath. She was about to suggest that they go back to his room when the large wooden door opened and two men entered the room. Since she didn’t know if she was supposed to be there or not, she cautiously looked around the pillar, her eyes widening as she caught sight of Faolan and a much larger man as they walked into the large practice circle she and Caden had been in moments before. They were both dressed the same in loose drawstring pants. Both were bare from the waist up and neither of them were wearing shoes. Isabelle took a moment to look over Faolan’s smooth muscles as he bounced on the balls of his feet and stretched his arms before Caden pulled her back down beside him.
She shot him a quick glare before pressing her fingers to his lips. He nodded in understanding and peered around the pillar. She looked with him, curiosity winning over her need to stay hidden as Faolan and the other man began to slowly circle each other. Faolan stayed upright, moving lightly on his feet as he rolled his neck. To watch him was like watching a dance. On the other hand, the man he was circling appeared to be more like a bear in his movements. He wasn’t lithe or graceful like her husband was, but Isabelle felt a chill of fear at just the man’s large size and obvious brute strength. Faolan though looked relaxed, a small smile playing at his lips.
“Shall we practice then or would you prefer to continue circling each other?” he asked.
The man nodded, a toothy grin showing between his thin lips. He charged quickly, swinging his meaty arms with each step. Faolan ducked easily and what he couldn’t avoid, he managed to block with seemingly little effort despite his smaller size.
“You fight well for a child,” the man said.
“Thanks, Boris,” Faolan replied, landing a punch to the man’s ribs. “That means a lot coming from an uncivilized brute like you.”
“Yeah, well maybe you’re becoming too civilized,” he snapped, barely missing Faolan’s cheek as he held his sore ribs.
“Oh? And how does one become too civilized?”
Boris grinned at him. “Marry a human whore.”
Faolan stopped, straightening up to his full height to stare the larger man in the eyes. “Leave her out of this. You wanted to practice so let’s practice. This is not the time nor the place to start insulting my wife.”
Isabelle smiled at his words and the fierce wave of protectiveness that she heard behind them. Beside her, Caden tugged on her sleeve, bringing her attention back to him. She smiled brightly at him, unable to do more than that while they were trying to remain hidden. He smiled warily back at her and turned to continue watching them.
“Careful, Faolan, people might think that you like her,” he chided.
“So?”
“You’re weak, Faolan. Pathetic. You couldn’t even fight to get your own mate. Your daddy had to get one for you,” Boris sneered.
“Anything else?” Faolan asked, his voice deadly ice.
Isabelle shrank back at just hearing that tone. Unfortunately Boris wasn’t so smart.
“Yeah. Tell your dad to step down and let us take over the mountains. At least we wouldn’t have allowed a human whore to dirty up our blood.”
Isabelle sucked in a sharp breath as she fought the tears that pricked her eyes. Caden squeezed her hand, his eyes dark with worry. She shook her head, brushing off his concerns with a half smile. He frowned at her, clearly not fooled. After a few tense moments of silence, she stuck her head around to see the two men.
Faolan continued to stare down Boris. As the silence stretched, the larger man began to fidget. He opened his mouth, but what he had wanted to say Isabelle had no idea because in the next instant Faolan’s lithe body had shifted from a beautiful statue to a graceful but deadly arc of power as he slammed into the other man. Too slowly to be effective, the other man reacted, punching him and kicking him where he could. But Faolan stayed close to his body, giving him no room to maneuver his bulky frame as Faolan delivered blow after powerful blow. In moments, the man lay bloody and beaten beneath him. Faolan’s torso shone with both sweat and blood as he stared down at the larger man.
Isabelle trembled as she watched her husband. It wasn’t his brutal power or the perfection of his deadly dance that frightened her most. It wasn’t even the sight of all that blood covering those beautiful muscles her fingers still remembered caressing. What had her shaking was the look in his dark eyes. She had expected the fury behind that gaze. But she had not been prepared for the deadly intent swimming in that beautiful gaze. She had no doubt he could have killed him and would have, too, without any hesitation. Beside her, Caden had not moved. She was thankful he had been spared from seeing the fighting as she had. He looked up curiously at her, but she had no words to describe what she was feeling or what had happened.
The sound of clapping distracted her from her dark musings. She turned to see Thadius enter the room, a large grin stretching over his face. He came to stand in front of Faolan, looking down at the badly beaten Boris.
“Are you still alive?” he asked him. Boris nodded and dropped his gaze. “Finish him.”
Faolan met his father’s eyes and shook his head. “He is beaten. Our honor has been restored and he has been punished. There is no reason to kill him.”
Thadius’s expression instantly turned dark. “He is not beaten. He is merely subdued. Kill him now. He has insulted your wife and our clan. He insulted our family. He will not be allowed to live.”
Again Faolan shook his head no. “I do not wish to murder him, Father.”
Thadius growled at him before raising his hand. Faolan didn’t blink as his father backhanded him, snapping his head to the side as a dark blossom began to form over his cheek. “Kill him or I will kill you both. I will not have disobedience in my clan,” the man said with deadly intent.
“No! No! Please don’t, Sire. I beg forgiveness,” the man at their feet gurgled as blood seeped from his lips.
“Silence!” Thadius yelled at him. “Do it now, Faolan. No more stalling.”
Faolan closed his eyes momentarily, his expression grim. After a moment, he nodded and bent down next to Boris. With his legs soaked in the man’s blood, Faolan gently ran a hand through the man’s matted hair. Without a word spoken, Faolan brought his hands to the man’s large neck and twisted it in one fatal motion that sent a chilling crack through the large room. He breathed deeply before pressing his fingers to the man’s eyes, closing his eyelids on the world forever. After a moment, Faolan rose steadily to his feet.
“Do not disobey me again, boy. Do it again and I will take your head,” Thadius warned him.
Faolan nodded, gave his father a bow and silently left the room.
Isabelle saw Thadius look down at the mangled body at his feet. With a small smile, he kicked the body over. “You died like a human. Weak and pathetic. Begging for your life. I always knew you were a coward. Why else would I invite you here for my son to kill you?” He left the room with his grin still in place.
Once they were alone again, Isabelle released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She stood up, her legs wobbly and unsteady beneath her. Beside her Caden, too, rose.
“Izzy?” he whispered.
She gulped as they both continued to stare at the body mere feet from them.
“Yes, Caden?” she whispered back.
“I wanna go back to bed now.”
She nodded and, out of habit, picked him up, pulling him against her, comforting them both. Tears pricked her eyes, but she could n
ot cry in front of him. She would not frighten him more than he already was. There was no one in the halls as she walked dazedly back to their chambers. There Kylin was waiting for them, vials of medicine in his hands for Caden to drink. He berated her after checking Caden over and noticing that he had been overworked and was fatigued. She didn’t even hear his lecture. Caden was laid in bed and she slumped down to the floor beside him, oblivious to anything but the feel of his cool cheek beneath her fingertips.
Kylin stared at her, worry and concern darkening his wrinkled eyes. “Tell me what happened.”
Isabelle shook her head no. She was waiting for the numbness to kick in. Certainly it should have done so by now.
“Faolan murdered someone,” Caden answered for her.
A chill went through her at having the horrible event voiced allowed. Her husband had killed someone. With his bare hands. It was too gruesome to be real and yet she couldn’t get the sight of that man’s body with its bloody wounds and badly broken neck out of her mind.
Kylin nodded as if the news was neither new nor extremely important to him. “And so why are you two here looking like the world is going to end tonight?”
“How can you be so nonchalant about this?” Isabelle growled at him.
He gave her a droll stare. “He is a Draconian prince. There are no peace treaties here, no council to discuss the final outcome of a prisoner. There is only power and pride and whoever has the power has the pride. Furthermore, there is safety. Thadius has one son, Faolan. And that one son is married to you, a human. I don’t know why Thadius insisted that you marry his son and I certainly don’t know why you are to have a baby with him. But doing so opened him up to attack. Faolan must be strong and he must be ruthless right now. If not, then you, Caden, and everyone else here are in danger of dying.”
“Why?” Isabelle whispered.
Kylin sighed and slumped wearily into the nearest chair, which happened to be little more than a stone bench and seemed very uncomfortable. “Someone really should have explained this to you by now. Those tutors I’m sure you had should have taught you about the Draconians. Damn them for being so blind. These mountains that we are in are easy to defend and are right on the edge of the Phaedran Empire, making for easy hunting in the nearby fields and forests. A large clan could easily thrive here with enough shelter and food to sustain everyone without any problem. But instead of a large clan there’s Thadius and his last remaining son to defend this entire mountain territory. It’s not easy and his hold is tenuous at best, but they do what they have to and I suggest that you never forget that.”
Isabelle stared up at him, understanding what he was saying as it slowly sunk in beneath the shock that she was in. “If someone else did take over though wouldn’t they just take Thadius and Faolan into the clan? Thadius couldn’t be the leader of course but—”
“Don’t be naive, Isabelle. I know that you aren’t as stupid as you sound,” Kylin snapped at her, even as she flushed a bright pink. “They would be executed, as would anyone else living in their territory or seemingly loyal to them. A clan would come in, kill everyone they could find, then take over the mountain. In the breeding season, they would mate with as many females as possible, have lots of hopefully male offspring and then raise up the next generation of warriors. That is the kind of life you’re in now. Your husband is a warrior prince. He’s the clan’s only warrior prince. All of Thadius’s power and pride rests on his shoulders. Whatever the reason Faolan killed this man, it was to protect everyone in this mountain. You, Caden, me and your future child included. Don’t you dare give him grief for doing his duty to protect you and everything else that is his. Accept what he is now or face only heartache down the road because it will definitely get worse for you if you can’t handle him doing even the most basic of his duties to his clan.”
Isabelle could only stare at him. She wasn’t sure whether she should cry at the absurdity of it all or feel relieved at the knowledge that Faolan only murdered someone to protect her. She chose instead to lean back against the bed Caden was resting in and let a cold numbness flow through her body.
“Your brother is asleep. You should rest, too,” Kylin said before walking away.
She continued to sit quietly by her brother’s side until she heard the door close firmly behind him. She took a deep breath and rose unsteadily to her feet.
The door to Caden’s bedroom slowly opened to reveal Zorin leaning casually against the frame. His face was bland, only his eyes showing any emotion and the mix of feelings swirling in his onyx eyes caused a chill to race down her spine.
“Your brother?” he whispered, his breath hot against the bare skin of her neck once she reached him.
Isabelle closed the door to her brother’s room before turning toward him and offering him a slight nod.
“What makes him so ill?” Zorin continued.
She fidgeted slightly under his intense gaze. “It’s late. You shouldn’t be here.”
“That would be true if anyone would actually know or care that I was here. Your husband—” he obviously didn’t miss the way she shuddered at the mention of Faolan. “Ah. I knew I smelled you in the training room after that little scuffle.”
“Little scuffle?” she gasped. “He murdered someone!”
“Izzy?” Caden called.
She opened the door and quickly went to his side, getting down on her knees next to him. However, she was surprised that Zorin followed her.
“I wanted to say something.”
She nodded. “Forget about it,” she replied, her voice a breathy whisper.
“No. I understand why he did it. I really do.”
Isabelle shook her head and dragged trembling hands over her face. “Murder is not acceptable. You know this.”
“In Nuer it isn’t. We have guards and jails and courts there. But here it’s different,” Caden replied. “Here Kylin is right, there is only power and strength. They’re like wild animals. It’s exciting, Izzy.”
She stared at him. “It is not exciting, Caden!” she said, incredulous.
“I’m going back to sleep. You think about it, Izzy,” Caden said with a yawn.
“Think about what? My husband is a murderer. You aren’t in the least bit afraid?”
He shook his head. “He’s willing to kill to protect you. That makes him good in my book.”
Behind her, Zorin made a noise of agreement. She shot him a glare and, after rolling his eyes, he left them.
She humphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well I don’t agree.”
Caden shrugged and burrowed into his blankets until just the top of his hair was showing.
Isabelle sighed and rose to her feet. Sshe let herself out, intending to wander the halls for a while as her thoughts cleared.
After an hour of wandering, she came back to their rooms. She slipped quietly inside, her mind still dazed until she saw Faolan leaning against the side of the wide opening, staring up into the sky. He turned slightly toward her, gave her a brief nod and then turned away.
He had bathed and changed his clothes. She hoped that he had burned what he had been wearing, but knew it wasn’t her place to ask. As she stared at him, seeing the lost look in his eyes, she knew Caden and Kylin had been right. Her husband was not the monster she had wanted to believe him to be.
She came to stand behind him, gently brushing her fingers against the back of his shoulder. He shuddered under her light touch, pulling away.
“I’m sorry, just dealing with something right now,” he said in explanation.
She nodded. He felt grief and remorse for what he had done. It was clearly evident on his beautiful features. He was not dancing in joy at having taken a life. He was no happier about it than she was happy about knowing he had done it. In fact, she was sure that he felt worse than she did. Suddenly she wanted to laugh or at the very least giggle. Instead she merely nodded and pressed her forehead to his shoulder in a sign of sil
ent support before moving away to give him his space.
Chapter Ten
The next day Thadius had told her it was time to meet with Lysander. She and Faolan had not spoken since she had returned to their rooms the day before. He had continued to be withdrawn and she had no intention of pushing him to speak to her. Instead she had vowed never to bring up the incident to him. Perhaps Caden did know more than she gave him credit for. She had gone without question to the hall where Thadius told her to wait for Lysander. It had only been a few minutes before she knew something had been watching her.
Isabelle turned slowly at the sound of something large landing just behind her. She took a few deep breaths and faced him, her eyes instantly falling to the stone floor under the dragon’s intense gaze. “Thank you for meeting with me, sir,” she said softly, her voice forcibly controlled as she struggled to put respect for the beast into every word.
“Thadius requested it,” Lysander replied gruffly. His massive head came toward her, his wide nostrils flaring as he looked her over. “Get on with it,” he snapped impatiently. “It’s almost sunset.”
Isabelle’s curiosity was piqued and all of the words she had been prepared to say to him went out the window. “Oh?” she asked. “Does something happen at sundown?”
“We hunt,” he replied simply. Then, seeming to consider her for a moment, he asked, “How much do you know of your husband’s nightly exploits?”
Isabelle blinked rapidly, her eyes narrowing at him. She didn’t like being caught off guard by this dumb beast. “What of it?” she asked quickly.
“You should look outside your window at night sometime. You might just be in for a shock,” he replied smugly, his armor plated lips curling wickedly as he teased her.
Isabelle flushed angrily. “Nothing he does could shock me.” She thought she sounded confident at least. She said nothing of the day before and refused to think on it.
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