Leon rolled his shoulders and got into a fighting stance. His eyes narrow and his tip lip curled. Elijah was going to regret this. Merrick clapped his hand together once more and Eli engaged. He jabbed forward, aiming for Leon’s abdomen, to which the blonde turned and elbowed him in the face.
“That’s it.”
Smiling, Leon blocked another of Elijah’s attacks but was too slow at countering and Eli dodged it with ease. The two of them went back and forth like this for three more parry’s before Eli caught Leon dropping his left side and kicked him. Leon went down onto one knee and swung the sword around his head, forcing Eli to jump back. He then stood up with speed and tackled him to the ground. Finding himself with a blade at his throat, he let his sword go.
“You win,” Elijah panted.
“Good.” Merrick smiled before walking over to Gianna and Sahab. “Just remember, while you might not need as much as a refresher than I thought you’d need, you do still need to practice. Practice with each other so you are always prepared. I’d recommend training every other day, to keep you at your best.”
Elijah picked up his sword and put it back on the rack. He stretched his neck as he walked and then leant against the fence. I could do with a nap.
“You all look a little tense. How about we do something to liven you up?” Eli cocked his head at his uncle’s words. “Do you know how to catch fish?” Merrick raised an eyebrow as they nodded. “Let’s go then.”
The walk down to the river was short. It was only a few feet away from the edge of the training area for the soldiers. There was a slight breeze coming down the stream, as the water flowed and splashed up the banks. Elijah caught the scent of his favourite flowers, Aevole. They sometimes bore berries that were sweet to taste. Their juices also stained your fingers blue if you weren’t careful.
“You alright, Elijah?” Gianna asked.
“Hmm,” he turned at the sound of his friend’s voice. “Oh, yes, I can smell the Aevole.” She frowned and shrugged.
“You always had a good nose.” Merrick laughed and nodded his head. “I don’t expect they’ll have any berries, but we might get lucky.”
“It’s too early in the season, isn’t it?”
“Can one of you explain what this Aeviolee is, please?” Gianna asked, pronouncing it wrong.
“It’s a river flower with berries. Very moreish, but will also make you sick if you eat too many,” Elijah explained, pointing the flowers out to her.
“Hey, look!” Sahab exclaimed as he gestured to the water. “There’s some fish in there.”
“Well, I wouldn’t bring you to a river to fish, if there were none to catch,” Merrick said. Leon scoffed, before sitting down by the side of the river.
“What are we using to catch them?” Elijah looked around, noticing no fishing equipment anywhere.
“Our hands.” Merrick’s explanation concerned Elijah. He had never heard of anyone catching a fish with their hands. Let alone being asked to do it himself.
“You cannot be serious?” Gianna frowned. “How do you catch a fish with your hands? They’re slimy.”
“Watch and learn, with this skill no matter where you are, you’ll always be able to eat.”
“Not sure why we need to learn that,” Leon mumbled, crossing his arms.
“Listen, if the castle is attacked, and you run, how are you going to feed yourself?” His three friends looked at the floor. Merrick was right. He didn’t have to teach such a harsh lesson, though.
“So, how do we do this?” Elijah asked, wanting this to be over soon.
“First thing to start with is getting into the river,” Merrick started and he walked into the middle of the stream. “It’s sometimes easier if you block the river so the fish have to jump over, but you don’t always need to do that.” Merrick bent his knees a little as a fish swam through the clear water. He jabbed his hand into the water and pulled out the fish in his hand.
“How?” The words barely escaped Elijah’s mouth.
“Woah,” Sahab said at the same time.
“It’s only a bit of fun,” Merrick said as he looked up with a smile. “Come on, get in and grab some fish. Loosen up a little.”
With a look to one another, Elijah smirked and ran into the water after Sahab. Gianna quickly joined them, and before long, all four of them were in the water laughing at how stupid this idea was.
After a few childish actions of splashing, and throwing algae at one another, all four of them took it seriously. Elijah caught one fish, but another slipped out of his hands, and after five attempts to catch it, Eli let it go. Sahab and Gianna didn’t catch any and Leon had five.
“Well, we all know who the best one to be stuck on the run with is.” Gianna winked at Leon. Shooting back an unimpressed look, Leon turned and stomped out of the river.
“Or not.” She turned to Elijah and shrugged.
“Excuse me!” A man appeared from the direction of the training arena. “King Roderick requires your presence.”
“All of us?” Merrick’s expression darkened.
“You, Master Merrick, and the Princess’ Elite, yes.”
“So, all of us, thanks for clarifying,” Gianna muttered. “We should clean up.” Elijah chuckled and nudged her arm.
“The king, now,” snapped the messenger as he turned to leave.
Elijah looked from Sahab to Gianna and followed the messenger back up to the Castle. Merrick and Leon in front of them.
“I wonder what the King wants with us,” Sahab asked, his voice laced with concern. “The messenger seems pretty urgent about it.”
“Maybe there’s been another attack, or some news on the Agents of Cyran?”
Elijah wanted to weigh in on the conversation, but he stayed quiet for a few moments to reflect. He was happy that he was part of this team, and thinking on it, Eli knew he was fortunate to be one of the Elites. Normally people would have to compete over a place in the guard, but the Royal Family had chosen him. He didn’t know if he could live up to the expectations that had been put on him, but he would try.
However, if the king was calling an emergency meeting, something had happened, Eli needed to know. “Whatever it is, the king needs us now,” Elijah said. “We had better not dawdle behind everyone.”
Nodding in agreement, the three of them quickened their pace to keep up with the two ahead of them.
Inside the meeting room, King Roderick was pacing from wall to wall. His shoulders were hunched, and he was picking his nails as he walked. Clearly something was not right. From what Elijah could see, there were small beads of sweat on the king’s brow, his crown not reaching down enough to cover them.
Merrick cleared his throat, and King Roderick turned around to face them.
“Good. I’m glad you came swiftly. There has been talk about a plan to attack the castle.”
“So soon? Why on earth would they do that?” Merrick stroked his chin.
“Only the Gods know. And I wish they would tell me,” King Roderick snapped.
“Roderick,” Merrick said sternly, with a look Elijah had seen before.
“Yes, yes, alright. Stop badgering me.” Roderick waved an arm around and a servant came rushing over. “You will believe me when you see this. It was delivered just now,” he continued handing a piece of paper to Merrick. Unable to stop his curiosity, Elijah stepped closer, looking at the note in Merrick’s hand. It had the same circular symbol as the one that has been delivered to his room. Except this one had lines drawn through it. He swallowed hard.
“Is that…?” He asked, voice askew.
“The symbol for the Agents of Cyran. You look like you’ve seen it before,” he said, turning to Elijah.
“I found one, or one similar to it anyway, in a note stuffed under a door,” Elijah lied. “I didn’t know what it was, so there was no reason to cause distress. Now,” he looked down as he spoke, “I wish I had brought it up.”
“It’s okay, Elijah,” Merrick said as he placed a hand o
n his shoulder, gripping tightly. “You didn’t know.”
“When did you find this note?” The king’s tone turned icy.
“The day before the attack…” Elijah felt them all shift their positions, his confession concerning them all.
“So, you knew about them?” Leon scowled.
“He literally just said he didn’t,” Gianna said, standing up for Elijah.
“Stop it.” Merrick frowned. The four of them looked to the floor.
“It doesn’t matter that Elijah found a note, he didn’t know what it was. What matters is how it got into the castle. They always seem to be one step ahead of us.”
“You still vet your guards, don’t you?” asked Merrick. “Make them prove their loyalty?” King Roderick nodded.
Leons voice broke the silence. “So, you think there is someone from this group, the Agents on Cyran, inside the castle?”
“Yes.”
Elijah’s heart dropped as his mind wandered to Sienna’s handmaiden Lilliana. She’d admitted it and wanted protecting, but now they were planning an attack. He needed to find out what was happening. “I think I know who it is.”
18
Confronting the Girl
When Elijah came to Adelith, he didn’t think he would end up following a pretty girl in the dead of night from the shadows. Nor did he think he’d end up as one of the princesses Elite Guards searching for a potential spy that was plotting to assassinate the prince. Well, him, not that he could tell anyone that.
He watched as Lilliana left the princesses’ room and made her way to the queen’s. Eli was unsure why a handmaiden to the princess would need to see the queen, but it wasn’t his job to question her role. She could ask Queen Valerie something for Sienna. Lilliana was dressed in black trousers, a long shirt with a belt around her middle and boots up to her knee. As she neared the queen’s quarters, she disappeared into the wall.
Slowly, Elijah crept up to the section of the wall where she disappeared. How on earth does she know about all these passageways? As his thoughts ended, two hands came out from the wall and grabbed him on the shoulders, pulling him into the passageway.
“Why are you following me?” Lilliana demanded, as she grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall.
“Uh, I could ask you the same question,” Elijah shot back. “Why do you keep showing me these random little access points around the castle?”
“I asked first.” She let go of his collar and crossed her arms.
“You’re such a child.” Eli rolled his eyes at her. “Because of this.” He produced the note with the Agents of Cyran symbol on it. “I’m not the only one who received a note like this. Now there is a threat of an attack on the castle because of this… missing prince, and I think you can tell me what is going on.”
“You’ll need to be more specific.” Lilliana leant herself up against the wall and the right side of her mouth listed into a smile.
“Fine,” Elijah said through gritted teeth. “Why did you put this note underneath my door when I first arrived?”
She cocked her head to the side. “You’re certain it was I that did so?” When he didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes and continued. “Yes, I put it there because I thought you were the prince everyone had been gossiping about. I was only a child, but I thought I recognised you. When you didn’t know what it was or react, I figured I’d got the wrong person.”
Eli shook his head. “You’re all mad.”
“I was wrong, I’m sorry to have got you caught up in this.” Her eyes looked at the paper. “If you had been him, you would have known it was a warning from The Master.”
“Come on. He really thinks he’s going to kill the prince and then show up like nothing happened?”
“I’d keep your voice down if I were you. You don’t know who is with him.”
“Then why don’t you enlighten me, after all you seem to enjoy showing me around here,” Elijah goaded. Lilliana didn’t seem affected by it, as she kicked herself away from the wall and started down the passageway.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“You’ll have to keep following me to find out,” she called behind her. “Can you keep up?” Frowning, Elijah picked up his speed to match hers and continued to follow. There were no stairs so far in this passageway, but the walls had changed from grey stone to a brownish colour which had water running down it and covered in moss. He got the feeling he had been here before.
As they got further in, a chilly breeze started up and the smell of grass hit Elijah’s nostrils and his stomach lurched. He had definitely been here before. Somehow, he knew they were about to get to an opening which would hold a garden with a small pond and lots of flowers growing. It was enclosed, the only entrance was the passageway they had come through.
His mind tried to show him visions again, pain growing in his head as the memories crept to the forefront of his mind. His mother had taken him here. Her secret garden escape. It looked a little different now. The grass up to his knees, no-one had cared for this place in a long time.
“H-how did you find this place?” He stuttered some words, stepping forward further. Scanning the view in front of him, his eyes never left the pond as Lilliana stepped up to his side.
“I have lived here for years. When I started searching for passageways in and out of the castle, I stumbled upon this one. Maevine knows them all too.” Lilliana turned her face to him. “She comes here once a week. I started doing the same. It’s so peaceful it’s easy to forget what is going on out there.”
Elijah took in the whole place. The pond used to have fish in it. I remember my mother giving them food. He stepped forward, closer to the water’s edge. A bench on the right. Closing his eyes, he took four steps to the right and sat down. The familiar feel of the wooden bench beneath him.
“It’s why they wanted me to be one of them. I’ve been here almost my whole life.” Lilliana put a hand over her mouth, but Elijah had heard what she said.
“So, your parents worked here? You used to play around the castle or something?” His questions were fast and direct, Eli wasn’t letting her leave without answers.
Lilliana pulled her lips together but crumbled when he repeated his questions. “Yes, my sister worked in the stables, she still does. A man recruited me; I don’t know his name, but if I saw him, I could tell you who he was. He took my mother and told me if I did what they asked, they would let her go. They asked me questions about the prince. As a kid I used to follow him and his friends around.” Lilliana’s words came out like water pouring out of a tap. Her lip was trembling, and her eyes refused to meet his.
“I’m sorry,” he said, letting out a breath and calming his emotions. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Did they let your mother go?”
She shook her head. “No, mother died, and they said the same thing would happen to Kenna if I stopped helping them.”
He tapped the bench beside him, and she took a seat. “You could help us stop them, you know.”
“How?” She shook her head. “This is the only place they don’t know about.”
Eli took her hands in his and turned to face her. “What can you tell me? When are they planning their attack? You can help us be ahead of them. You could save the prince.”
“Why do you care?” She pulled her hands away. “We all see how you look at her. If the prince was out of the picture, then the princess would be all yours.”
He stood up and took a deep breath. This girl knows what buttons to push. “I am not interested in the princess in that way. She will marry the prince,” he said, spinning on his heels. “Provided we can keep him alive long enough. Will you help?”
“I wish I could,” Lilliana whispered, looking up from the floor. “They haven’t told me anything. I went to town the day of the attack to meet one of them for instructions. They never came.”
“I saw you there.” He didn’t know why he said those words, but he wanted her to know. “I will make sure you are protected
, if you become a double agent and help us take them down. We will save your sister, keep her safe from the Agents of Cyran.” Lilliana frowned. He needed her to believe him. Bending down, he put one knee on the floor to steady himself. “Please, help me and I will help you.”
“How can I trust you?”
How could she trust me? I’ll have to offer her something. “My uncle and the king are best friends, and my uncle would do anything for me. I’ll figure something out to make sure you’re safe.”
She smiled. “Are you going to lie and tell them you love me?” A laugh escaped her lips and Eli couldn’t help but shake his head.
“I’ll do what I must. So, will you become an agent of the king?” He paused, expecting an answer. “This is your chance to be free of them. Please, trust me. I can protect you.”
“What if they find out? They’ll kill me, Elijah.” She put her hands to her head. This wasn’t a straightforward thing Elijah had just asked of her. He knew it would come as a shock.
“The king will protect you.”
“You don’t understand, the only way you leave the Agents of Cyran is if they kill you. I have no choice but to work for them. If they find out,” she stood up from the bench and started pacing, “that I am helping you…”
“How will they find out? If we meet here, in secret, at night, they will never know. I am not one of them.” He could see his attempts were not making a dent in her stance.
“I’ll get you a full pardon, all acts committed when you were working for them expunged. Gone, forever.”
Lilliana sighed. “Alright. But you get Kenna safe first, and then I will tell you what I know.”
“Deal. When’s your next meeting with the Agents of Cyran?”
“Tomorrow night, in the Tavern Inn, it’s two hours from here. They want to know what happened with Osmar.” Elijah’s mind raced over her words, heart stammering at the rush of information. She told him so easily. Perhaps she wanted to help him, or did she want to lure him in and complete her master’s wishes?
Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1) Page 13
