by Sara Gaines
“No!” I fought against my own bindings as Tallak grabbed my elbow to force me to stand. “Let her live! Let her go and I’ll revoke my right of noble blood!”
I stood eye to eye with Kahira. She already looked so broken. Her face was swollen, covered in dried blood from the wound to her head. And yet, as distorted as her angular features were, every inch of her face showed disbelief.
“Aleana, you can’t.” My heart sank as I saw the tears forming in Kahira’s eyes.
I looked away, toward the man and woman who had taken everything from me, unable to bear the emotion on Kahira’s face.
“Tallak, you can still get what you want from me, but when you’re done, I’ll deny my nobility. Use my death to prove the permanence of your new power with Zoriah.”
The Halvarian king chuckled deeply. “It really is a shame you’re going to die. You might have actually made a good queen.”
Kahira struggled against Dalric’s grasp.
“No, Aleana—”
Tallak interrupted Kahira’s objections. “Dalric, get her out of here. Throw her somewhere outside the walls. Just make sure she’s alive when you do it.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
The wicked grin Dalric flashed toward me promised that although Kahira would live, it would be painful. I held back my tears, telling myself she would at least be able to keep her life. Kahira was obviously going to put up a fight, as if I would have expected anything else. Eventually Dalric was able to get a good enough hold on her to force her from the room.
“As for you, Aleana”—Tallak’s voice rang out clear, despite Kahira’s shouts of protest—“I believe a room overlooking the gallows will be most suitable.”
I remained silent, my eyes locking with Kahira’s one last time before the door slammed and she was gone.
Chapter 20
THE door opened slightly to allow my morning meal to be placed on the floor. The services to my room ran like clockwork. Breakfast came several hours after the sun was up, delayed just enough so that my stomach was growling by the time it arrived. Lunch would come four hours later, and I would eat my dinner at dusk. A single word was never spoken, and I no longer sought compassion in the eyes of the servants. My death meant nothing to them.
Looking at the plate containing my breakfast, I thought to myself how disgusting I would have found—how disgusting I did find—the oatmeal several weeks prior. At least I was thankful to be given a room with all the amenities expected in a palace, instead of being thrown in the dungeon. Eating slowly, I settled into the routine I had created over the two days since I had been imprisoned. It wasn’t much, but eating only to spend the rest of the day sitting at the window allowed me to watch the citizens of Seyna run to and from each of their duties. The large gallows stationed below my window served as a reminder that the people I studied would never be my subjects. I would never be their queen.
I was going to die. Two days had given me time to accept such a finality. Everything I had ever dreamed of was gone, and I no longer cared that my death would bring my betrayers satisfaction. My life for Kahira’s. Even my life for Ori’s. Yes, I could accept my death.
Lost within a numbness that settles over you once you understand life is no longer yours, it was dusk before I knew it. I had a day to live. One last day, and it would be spent in the very room that had held me captive since I entered Seyna. As if to remind me exactly how much time remained in my life, I heard a noise outside my door signaling the arrival of my dinner. As usual, it was right on time.
I turned from the window when I didn’t hear the door close. The numbness that had controlled my body vanished, and tears pooled at the corners of my eyes.
“No, no, you can’t….” After almost three days of silence, my own voice grated against my ears.
“I wasn’t going to leave you.” Kahira crossed the room quickly, pulling me from the window sill and into her arms.
I buried my face into her neck when her arms wrapped around me, my tears falling freely as I tried to decide whether or not to be angry with her for once again risking her life. I’d never forgive myself if they killed her too. “Why are you here? You’ll get yourself killed!”
She stepped back and our eyes briefly connected before she pressed our lips together.
“Aleana, I couldn’t leave you.”
I pulled her body back to mine.
“I was a fool, Kahira. I should have known….”
Her still bruised cheek gently rested against my head. “No, you had no way of knowing Tallak had betrayed you.”
“He didn’t just betray me.” I felt the anger building within, drying the tears from my eyes. “He betrayed our people!”
“Aleana, don’t give up yet. We need to get you out of here. It won’t take long before someone realizes you’re gone. The stables are near one of the servants’ exits. I cleared the way as I came in, but we need to move.”
I pulled away from her and nodded. “They’ll close the city gates as soon as Tallak and Zoriah find out I’m missing. Even then, we’ll be followed.”
“Let’s worry about you getting out of here first.”
Her fingers slid between mine as she pulled me toward the hallway. Stepping over the two unconscious guards who had been stationed outside my door, it was as if something within me awoke. While I had thought it was impossible, I felt a small flicker of hope course through me.
Kahira pulled a blade from one of the soldiers, fastening the scabbard around her waist. I released her hand, unwilling to interfere with her movement. As we silently crept through the halls, my hand floated to her back. She looked over her shoulder at me and flashed a smile. Seeing that, and feeling the warmth of her body against my palm, the spark of hope I felt earlier ignited.
Miraculously, we made it out of the palace without incident, but our luck quickly ran out when we reached the stables. It was clear there was no way to avoid the single stable hand present. Hesitating only for an instant, Kahira charged the man. Hearing her approach, he quickly turned, only to be met with Kahira’s fist, crumpling to the ground before he could utter a single cry for help.
Storing his body in one of the stalls, Kahira tucked two gold coins into the man’s pocket. Seeing my confused expression, she shrugged slightly.
“He wasn’t the first I have had to attack since we were captured.”
The way she spoke told me he was the first victim she actually felt remorse for.
Forgetting the unconscious man, Kahira tore through the stables, searching for the last remnant of her previous life—Taewin. I followed her as quickly as I could, already trying to find a suitable way to comfort her if the horse was nowhere to be found. The happy cry that filled my ears told me I wouldn’t have to worry. Taewin was there. When I finally caught up with her, I found Kahira’s arms wrapped around her horse’s neck, and even with the amount of danger we were in, I couldn’t help but smile. Kahira had already lost so much in her life, and it was clear Kahira had feared she had lost Taewin as well as Enza.
I began to ready the gray mare next to Taewin’s stall, and the noise must have refocused Kahira, for she was soon hauling Taewin’s saddle onto his back.
The first cry of alarm was heard from the castle as Kahira and I climbed onto our horses.
“Ready?” The question fell heavily from my lips, meaning so much more than I intended.
She smirked as she nodded, spurring Taewin forward. My horse followed quickly, racing through the streets as we made our way to Seyna’s northern gate. The excitement pulsing through my veins drowned out the panic I subconsciously knew I should be feeling. It was only when the gate came into view that my confidence faltered. Ahead, a line of soldiers blocked the city’s exit as a few men struggled to close the gates. I never slowed my horse as I shouted.
“Kahira?”
As if she only looked back to make sure I still followed her, Kahira kicked her heels into Taewin again, somehow urging the horse to go even faster. I followed su
it, knowing I would rather be speared by one of the soldiers than give up when I was so close to escape. When Kahira reached the wall of soldiers, the only sound I heard was the yelp of a man as he dove out of the way. With the way cleared, Kahira and I crashed through the gates, hearing the shouts of men behind us as they scrambled to follow our trail.
We managed to put an impressive amount of distance between us and the city before Kahira and I saw the soldiers riding out of the very gate we had escaped from. Now riding at Kahira’s side, I noticed Kahira had seen the men as well.
“If we can get to the river, we might be able to lose them.” I barely heard Kahira over the thunderous sound of our horses’ hooves. “And if we can’t, well….”
I didn’t miss the worried look that flashed through Kahira’s eyes as she examined the blade at her hip. Glancing over my shoulder again, I watched as the five men riding toward us left a cloud of dust in their wake. I shook my head and was thankful to see the trees lining the riverbank in the distance, knowing there was nothing I could say to the woman beside me.
By the time I could see the smooth surface of the shallow Halvar River, it was clear our pursuers were gaining on us. Our horses were tiring, and when the cool water of the river splashed against my skin as we rode into it, I knew a fight was inevitable. The excited shouts I heard told me the men following us had realized it as well.
“Over here!”
Kahira suddenly veered off, and as soon as she did, I understood why. A small offshoot of the river was flanked by thick brush, meaning there was no way the soldiers readying their attack could completely surround us. We would be trapped, but Kahira, as exhausted as she was, would stand a better chance against the men, who wouldn’t even have enough room to fight from horseback.
Small fish scampered out of the way as Kahira and I brought our horses to a quick halt. Dismounting and feeling the water immediately seep into my boots, I turned to look at the woman next to me. I tried to keep the worry from my expression, but as I heard the soldiers coming closer, Kahira squeezed my hand, and I knew I wasn’t nearly as convincing as I had hoped. Then, stepping in front of me, Kahira unsheathed her sword and turned to face the men who dropped from their own horses. Without realizing it, I had reached for the blade that was now missing from my belt. Frustrated that there was nothing I could do, I glared at the leering soldiers closing on us.
Kahira didn’t wait for the lead soldier to fully draw his blade before she attacked. The man was able to raise his sword to parry the thrust Kahira had aimed at his chest, but was unable to stop Kahira from grabbing the knife hanging from his belt and lodging it in his neck. Kicking the man back into his companions, Kahira was now visibly more comfortable with two blades in her hands.
Obviously angered by how quickly Kahira had dispatched their friend, two of the men stepped forward into the narrow space. Kahira, with energy I thought was long gone, dodged several blows while dealing out shallow wounds with the knife in her left hand. The men were growing more frustrated, and Kahira was quick to turn that against them, redirecting one man’s blade toward another soldier and landing a fatal blow. Using the distraction, Kahira drove her own sword into the stomach of the nearest man. Breathing heavily, she stepped forward to take on the remaining two men.
I hesitantly stepped closer to the fight, my muscles tense. I flinched when Kahira’s sword was knocked from her hand and sent flying toward me. Before I could react to the splash of bloody water that sprayed across my face, Kahira’s fist landed against one of her attacker’s jaws. The man collapsed, but the blood that dripped from Kahira’s knuckles meant she had clipped the man’s helmet as well. Still, with a knife in her undamaged hand, she faced the last soldier. However, with the sounds of fighting, Kahira was unaware that the man she thought was unconscious was climbing to his feet—a blade in his hand.
The glint of Kahira’s sword caught my eye as the sun hit the metal through the water. Too afraid to distract Kahira by shouting, I sank my hand into the water and grabbed the hilt of the sword, determined not to let the man bury his knife in Kahira’s back. I rushed forward, my movements masked by the loud splashing of boots through shallow water. Raising the blade above my head, I swung downward with as much strength as I could. The sword lodged into the crease between the man’s neck and shoulder as he raised his arm to strike Kahira.
The soldier twitched slightly as he fell into the water at my feet, pulling the sword from my grasp. My first kill. Horrified, I watched the water run red as the man’s blood flowed into the river, and only then did I realize it had grown far too quiet. Looking up, I saw Kahira standing before me, her labored breaths mixing with the quiet whisper of the river.
I said nothing, only throwing myself into her arms. We stood like that, each too afraid to acknowledge that we had actually done the impossible. I knew it was only a momentary reprieve, for Tallak and Zoriah would surely send out more soldiers to find us, but Kahira and I had at least escaped Seyna. When Kahira’s breathing leveled out, I finally spoke.
“We won’t be safe here.”
“We can go north.” I felt Kahira’s breath against my ear, causing me to pull her even closer. “There is a family there who knows me and will give us a place to stay.”
I pulled back to look Kahira in the eyes. “You don’t have to do this….”
My breath caught as she offered me a smile that spread into her green eyes. “I never had to.”
I leaned up to the slightly taller woman and kissed her. An inadequate thank-you for all she had done, but one I had no other way of expressing.
Finally separating, Kahira and I stripped the soldiers’ bodies of anything that might be useful as we traveled toward the northern territories. As well stocked as we could be, and with new weapons strapped to our bodies, Kahira and I climbed onto our horses.
“Aleana?”
I looked to Kahira, my brow creasing, and was met with a proud smile I was not expecting.
“Thanks for saving my life.”
Immediately urging Taewin back toward the main part of the river, Kahira missed the blush that crept across my face. As I watched her, Kahira’s previous words echoed in my mind.
Don’t give up yet.
I kicked my heels into the horse I now rode. No, I wasn’t giving up. I had failed, but only for now.
About the Author
While growing up in Kentucky, SARA GAINES could never find books she could identify with and get lost in. So, rather than hoping for them, she eventually decided to write the stories she always wanted to read.
Until she graduated from Oberlin College in 2012, she found time to write between practices and classes. Since then, she moved to Kunshan, China where she now finds time to write between meetings and trying new food.
Contact Sara through any of the following methods:
E-mail [email protected]
Twitter: @Sara_D_Gaines
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraDGaines
Website: saragaines.com
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