“I resent that remark. Of course, I am your friend. Doesn’t mean I am the only one who’s spotted you making googly eyes at her. It’s obvious that you like her. You tense up whenever she is mentioned.”
Scowling, Elijah looked away from Sahab and took a deep breath.
“I thought so.” Sahab crossed his arms.
“Fine, just stop mentioning it then. Please? I’ve been nothing but professional when it comes to the princess.”
Sahab nodded his head in response. “Sure, but I should let you know, Gianna has noticed it as well. She spoke to me-”
“Please tell me you didn’t mention this to Leon, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Sahab shook his head. The sound of the door opening made both of them stand to attention. Elijah avoided looking at Princess Sienna and instead let his eyes fall on her handmaidens. Maevine smiled as she passed, Lilliana and the other two looked to the floor.
Sienna stopped between them and sighed. Her shoulders dropped. She didn’t look happy about something, but it wasn’t Elijah’s place to ask.
“I’d like to go to the library before seeing Prince John,” she stated. It wasn’t a request, or a choice. Elijah nodded. Sahab was smiling, but Eli knew that was only because it meant they could sneak the maps back to Buisan. Eli’s hand moved to his jacket.
“Of course, Your Highness.” Sahab bowed his head. “Follow me.”
Elijah preferred to walk behind the princess. It played to his strengths, and his intuition was better when he could see who he was protecting. Having Sienna turn to look at him with flirtatious looks was a small win in his eyes. Two of her handmaidens accompanied them. A necessary need since her allergic reaction to the flowers. They both carried small bags full of medicine should the princess require any.
“Buisan,” Sienna said as they walked up to the table. “I came to return these books; do you have the next ones?”
Without saying anything, Buisan nodded and went over to the table he sat at every day. It was piled high with books and papers. Elijah stayed behind the Princess as she looked over more shelves of books while she waited. He noticed she favoured stories rather than books that told history, although she paused on one about dragon fables. Interesting.
“Here we are, Your Highness, four books as requested.” Buisan handed the pile of books to one of her handmaidens, Mary. She curtsied before leaving, stating she wanted to take them to her room.
“Thank you Buisan, I’m sure I’ll be back for more soon.” She smiled and whipped herself around to walk out of the door. Buisan bowed his head as she left and winked at Elijah. He frowned at Buisan and then stormed out after Sahab and the princess. He knows.
“Where exactly is this afternoon tea taking place?” Sienna asked once they were halfway down the corridor. “I hope it’s not in the gardens again.”
“I believe it’s on the balcony, Your Highness,” Sahab answered. That would be why the doors were closed. “The Prince wanted a space where you would both be safe. Minimal access.”
Of course he did. Elijah rolled his eyes. How could he allow any harm to come to himself, or his beloved? Eli quickly realised how childish he was being and shook the thoughts from his mind. It’s not like he could be with Sienna, anyway.
Maevine bumped shoulders with him, and he pulled his lips into a smile.
“Are you alright, Elijah? You’re very quiet.” He looked up, noticing they were all staring at him.
“Yes, Your Highness,” he responded. A gut reaction to whatever question Sienna had just asked him.
“I don’t really want to go today,” she confessed. He looked at her with stern eyes. Could he risk being so comfortable after his friend already had suspicions about Eli’s feelings towards Sienna? “Prince John is lovely but…”
“I’m sure this afternoon will change your mind, princess,” he said, using her less formal title. “Prince John is trying hard to make you happy.”
They stopped outside the doors to the main hall, and Sienna took a deep breath before sending her handmaidens away. Maevine squeezed Elijah’s shoulder as she left, Lilliana avoiding looking at him as she scurried off.
The doors to the main hall opened as they reached them, and that was the end of the conversation. Although Elijah wished he could have continued it in private. Inside was bare, due to no function taking place, but out on the balcony was a sight to make any woman swoon. Which is exactly what Sienna did.
Seeing the little lights, candles and flowers draped around the balcony doors, Sienna had a sharp intake of breath and started walking faster. Her hands reached out to the flowers, ones that wouldn’t poison her, and laughed at the butterflies floating around them.
“Princess, you look beautiful.” Prince John’s voice brought Elijah back to reality. He couldn’t look in awe at Sienna anymore, so took up his position at the balcony door. John’s words had made Elijah look deeper at Sienna; she looked beautiful. Her hair was down and curled, with two plaits around the crown of her head. The dress she wore, a light blue with golden accents and lace cuffs, made her eyes stand out and her figure obvious to anyone who looked long enough.
Elijah hadn’t looked too hard before because it wasn’t his place. But now, he wasn’t sure he could take his eyes off of her. Sahab cleared his throat, catching Elijah’s eyes. Quickly he readjusted his stance and turned away from Princess Sienna.
“Thank you, Prince John, I see you have already sampled the food,” she chuckled.
“I had a taster try it; can never be too careful.” Prince John looked cautious. He sucked his teeth as he waited for Sienna to sit down. “I would prefer if you didn’t get poisoned again.” His voice venomous as he directed his answer to her guards. Elijah tried his best not to scowl at the prince.
“They are just being protective, it’s their job.” She smiled, taking a seat at the table.
As Prince John moved to join her, Gianna and Leon appeared. “Apologies for being late,” they said in unison with a bow.
“Of course,” she said with a wave of her hand. Elijah didn’t like how happy she was. Not that he didn’t want her to be happy, just not with Prince John. Even as the name rang through his mind, he put a bitter twang on it.
“What would you like to try first, my love?” Prince John asked, as he poured tea for her. Leon walked over to the balcony edge and looked over, while Gianna took the other side of the door to Sahab, leaving Elijah to join Leon. He stood in the corner, allowing for a view of the balcony and the hallway through the open doors.
“I’m not even sure what we have here,” she replied, taking the cup of tea from him. She eyed up a few of the cakes, Eli remembered the sponges were her favourite. “Do any of them have jam in?”
“Yes,” breathed the prince. He grabbed a couple of cakes and placed them on a plate before sliding them over to her. “These ones, plus there is extra in the pot should you want some.” His cheeky, flirty tone of voice made Elijah’s stomach twist. He turned his head away. Prince John was not the man Sienna should be marrying. He’d accept any other form of royalty, but not this prince.
The afternoon tea wasn’t exactly what Elijah would call romantic, but Prince John did his best to flirt with Sienna at every chance he got. Laying on the complements thick. One sentence would be about how delicious the cakes tasted, and then he would throw in a comment about how blue Sienna’s eyes were. It made Eli sick listening to it. Why didn’t I take Gianna’s position in the doorway?
His wish was granted in the form of Merrick appearing. Calling him and Leon away from their posts on the balcony.
“What is it?” Leon asked as they got out of earshot. Elijah’s words failed him as his mind filled with unknown attack scenarios.
“We have received word that Agents of Cyran were spotted in the village, heading our way.” Merrick kept his voice hushed as to not startle the princess and prince. “I’m on my way to Queen Valerie’s chambers to make sure she is safe, and Jaxon is heading to King Roderick. We need t
o get them to safety as soon as possible.” Merrick frowned, his eyes looking hard at Leon. Before anyone had a chance to say anything further, a bell rang out.
Leon went to speak but closed his mouth.
“Now you know it’s happening. I have to get to the queen. Get them to safety and don’t let anything happen to the princess.” Merrick was running away, and Leon looked blankly at Elijah.
They nodded to each other and returned to the balcony. Leon bowed before speaking. “Your Highness, it seems we need to move this afternoon tea to a more secure location.” His voice broke on the last two words.
Gianna and Sahab both tensed. They’d moved to the other side of the balcony while they’d been speaking with Merrick. Now it seemed like a stupid place to allow the prince and princess to have afternoon tea as it was right above the main entrance to the Castle, anyone could see up into it.
“Princess Sienna, come with us,” Sahab said, backing away from the edge. Gesturing for her to move with him as he went.
“Eli, you’re going to need that bow,” Gianna said, handing it to him. “Aim well, my friend. Sahab, on the princess’s right. Let’s go.”
“Stop,” Sienna called out as they tried to usher her off the balcony. “What is going on?”
All four of them looked between one another, stealing time they weren’t sure they had.
“There are people attacking the castle. We need to get you to a secure location,” Elijah said, looking deep into Sienna’s eyes. He hoped she understood the mental note he was trying to give her. Go with them, you’ll be safe.
“They’re after me! Are you not going to protect me? Move me?” The prince shouted in a panic.
“Be quiet! Or do you want them to find you quicker?” Leon snapped.
“Leon, you will not speak to him that way.” Leon bowed apologetically to the princess and stepped back.
“Your Highness, Leon and I will protect Prince John. You have my word, but you need to go now.” He gestured for her to go with Sahab and Gianna, but he knew his voice had been laced with concern. In situations where tensions were high, emotions were hard to conceal. Sienna had to be kept safe, not just to satisfy his own emotions but for Adelith. They wouldn’t survive losing another Royal Family.
“Then you take both of us.”
“It would be better if we split up. You should go with Gianna and Sahab through there, and we will take Prince John through the other entrance.”
She understood and gave him a nod.
As Elijah took three steps forward, he stopped at John’s words.
“Go princess, your boys will do their best to keep me safe.” Prince John said as he quickened his pace over to her. Elijah turned his head away as they embraced. Banging sounded on the doors below. “Sienna.” John breathed as he pulled her closer. “Promise me if I make it you’ll marry me.”
Did he seriously just ask the Princess to marry him?
“You can’t ask me like this, John,” she said, her words muffled. Refusing to look at them, an image of her head against his chest flashed through Eli’s mind. How could this be happening?
“I know we have spent little time with each other, but I think we could be great together,” Prince John said. “They’re coming for me, and they’ll likely kill me.”
“Elijah and Leon won’t let that happen,” the princess said quickly. Her words were like a knife to Elijah’s heart. “Will you?” More forceful, directed at them. Eli couldn’t answer. He moved to the balcony edge and looked out. There seemed to be movement at the gate and the walls.
“We will protect him as best we can, princess, but you are the priority,” Leon answered for him. Eyes staring at the back of his head, Eli knew she was looking at him.
“If you won’t promise me your hand, at least give me something to remember you.” The sound of them kissing made Elijah want to jump off the balcony.
“Princess, we really must go, now,” Gianna hissed, as the banging below grew louder, accompanied by shouts. They left and Elijah took a deep breath.
“How are we going to play this?” Elijah asked Leon, as he picked up his quiver.
“Start throwing flaming arrows down there.” Leon gestured to the balcony. “How the blasts did they get past the walls?” Leon muttered the words and didn’t expect an answer, but Eli had one for him, anyway.
“Secret passageways.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” Leon snapped, moving past Prince John.
“I’ve been in them. The king and Merrick were going to have them covered, but I guess there are more ways into the castle than we knew. Or there are traitors in the guards.” The prince moved backwards as Elijah talked.
“Could you use them to get me out?” An element of hope hung in the prince’s words. Elijah shook his head and walked up onto the balcony, bow and arrow in hand. He tried to look over without anyone seeing him.
A team of seven men were at the castle doors, more scaling the walls. They seemed to have given up on trying to open the gates. Guards were everywhere engaging them in battle, to stop them from getting in, but the seven below had got past them. How did they grow to such a large number without anyone knowing? Elijah knocked an arrow to his bow and aimed down.
21
Not Princely Behaviour
Elijah stalked closer to the balcony’s edge, waiting for a shot to take without being seen. Fighting had erupted all around the castle grounds, and he wanted to make sure that it didn’t get inside. He lifted his bow, drawn, locked on a target. His brow started to sweat. An Agent of Cyran, dressed in black with a blue emblem on his front, ran into his sight. Releasing the arrow, it hit him in the shoulder, throwing him on the ground.
For a moment, everything stopped. The fighters below stopped and looked up, but Eli was already ducking into the foliage. He couldn’t risk being seen. He stood up and let loose another arrow, hitting another.
“What are you doing?” Leon hissed.
“Trying to keep them from getting inside,” he snapped back. “I’ve got two down already.”
“Could you maybe focus that on the inside? They’re still breaking down the door!” Prince John gestured wildly to his right. “They’re still coming for me.”
Leon moved over to him and pulled the prince down into a crouch position. “Be quiet, your wailing will draw attention to us.”
Shaking his head, Elijah turned to the balcony again. The chaos had resumed, people fighting, shouting, and the second man he had hit was now fighting with a guard. That didn’t last too long as the guard pushed his sword through the agent’s throat. Not a clean way to go, but a necessary one.
Grabbing another arrow from his quiver, he drew and released within seconds. Hitting another attacker, saving a guard’s life. He saw the guard thank the gods, and Eli smiled. They might not be able to help him, but he could.
As he reached for three more arrows, a boom captured Eli’s attention. He turned back to the hall. The doors were open, and four people were entering the room. Moving inside, Elijah noticed Leon had Prince John protectively placed behind him. The entrants were not friendly, all sporting black and blue. Elijah moved inside, step by step, waiting for the Agents of Cyran to initiate the attack.
“We can end this fight right now.” The man cocked his head to the side. “Step away from the prince and hand him over.” Elijah recognised his voice. It was the same person who had attacked Gianna.
“Not going to happen.” Leon put a protective arm out in front of the prince.
“I remember you, you attacked us in the village. Your friend ran away and left you to deal with me.”
“This time you might not be so lucky.” He pulled back his hood, a sinister grin crept across his face. It wasn’t the man from the alley, but Eli was adamant he was in the village. “Just hand him over and we will all go away.”
“You know we can’t do that.” Leon stepped forward just enough to scare them. The Agents stepped backwards.
“Then I guess we will have t
o take his head; Master won’t mind.” The agent rubbed his hands together, licking his lips, and Elijah mentally prepared for an attack. Merrick had always taught him to allow the other person to attack first. Then you’ll have an advantage.
In one movement, the four Agents split and started their offensive manoeuvres. Losing sight of the two headed for Leon, Elijah engaged, bracing himself for the oncoming sword. He lifted his bow to block the attack, then released the arrows aimed at the second attacker. One grazed his shoulder as the others whizzed past. He shoved off from the sword and pulled out his own before another attack could be launched against him.
The clang of swords got louder as Leon engaged his attackers too. Elijah leant to the left, dodging a miss-timed punch to his jaw, but his shoulder got sliced by the sword. He called out in pain as he stumbled back, the second attacker landing a smack to the back of his head. His vision blurred as he reached for his head with his free hand.
Light reflected from the sword. Eli put his hand up and blinked hard. Behind him, his attacker was laughing. No, revelling in his triumph. Steadying himself, Eli took a deep breath and prepared himself.
“Elijah, to the right!” Leon shouted. “Get off of him.” The next thing Elijah heard was his attacker tackled to the floor. Leaving Prince John wide open.
Elijah turned to see that two Agents had grabbed him, one on each arm. Before he could break out into a run, the last Agent of Cyran put a sword to Leon’s throat.
“Now this is an interesting turn of events,” one of the Agents said. He walked Leon over and stood at the prince’s left side. “How are you going to get out of this one?”
Pain burst along Elijah’s head. An image of his mother in a similar position to Prince John burning through his mind. He blinked it away and tried to focus through the buzzing in his ears. The tips of his fingers tingled and words he didn’t know formed on the tip of his tongue.
“Let them go and no-one has to get hurt.” Elijah knew his words would fall on deaf ears.
Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1) Page 15
