“I will get you,” Leon snarled as he struggled against their grip.
The agent laughed. “I don’t think you will.” He hit Leon hard in the face, splitting his lip.
“Cynster, can we just kill them and take the prince already?” The man on the floor asked as he stood up and rounded on Elijah.
“Patience, Salelis, I think they should watch his death.” Cynster laughed menacingly. His eyes fixed on Elijah.
“Don’t kill him,” Elijah called out, stopping them. He tried to move forward and the pictures on the walls turned askew.
“Why? Because it will upset the princess? He shouldn’t be alive in the first place!” Cynster shouted, spit spraying out across the room in front of them. The Agent’s breath was fast and heavy, he wanted this over quickly. “Delvin, bring him closer,” he said, pointing to Leon.
“Let’s make them watch,” Delvin sniggered from behind Leon.
On cue, Leon flung his head back, hitting Delvin in the groin, causing him to tumble to the floor. Salelis, unsure of what to do, gripped Elijah tighter, bringing him to his feet again. The Agent of Cyran was using him as a shield, knowing Leon wouldn’t attack.
“Don’t worry about me, Leon,” Elijah said, registering the confusion on his friend’s face.
Leon, seemingly ignoring Eli’s words, rushed forward and attacked Salelis. Elijah, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire, tried to fling himself to one side and escape the firm hold that was currently on his neck. Twisting, Elijah managed to get Salelis’ arm around his back, causing him to let go.
Leon engaged them, bringing his sword down from above, and Eli swiped at their opponent’s legs. Making contact, Salelis fell to the floor, unable to continue his fight. Leon rounded on his captor, who was now back standing, recovered from Leon’s head-butt.
“I’ll deal with him, you get John,” Leon called as he stepped forward to Delvin. Cynster was already on the move, sword pressed to the prince’s throat. Prince John was crying, likely afraid he was going to die. Elijah told Sienna he would make sure the prince lived. Looking at his situation, he had a gut feeling he’d break his word, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Nodding to the man next to him, Cynster continued moving backwards and his accomplice stepped forward.
“Really?” Elijah raised an eyebrow. “Just let the prince go and this will all be over.”
“Oh, it’s going to be alright. With all three of you dead,” hissed the Agent in front of him.
“Care to make that assumption again?” Came Leon’s voice from behind Elijah. He’d completely blocked them out of his mind as he engaged with Salelis. Delvin was lying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood.
“Enough!” Cynster shouted as he stopped by the side door. “If any of you take one more step, I am going to cut his throat.” Prince John wailed. There was terror in his eyes, and his breath was short.
“And if we stay where we are, does the prince live?” Elijah knew it was a stupid question as soon as the words were out of his mouth. They’d kill him, anyway.
“He will walk out of this room alive, and you won’t see him die.” A grin spread across Cynster’s face.
Elijah looked to Leon, he was posed ready to strike. His eyes locked on the prince.
“Either option means his death,” Leon said. “We could take them Elijah.”
Cynster adjusted his grip on the knife, and John whimpered. Eli took a deep breath. Either they tried and failed, or they failed anyway, but there was no option where he couldn’t do his job.
From how close Cynster had the sword to John’s throat, it would be one quick movement to ending his life. Eli knew Leon could throw a knife fast, but he didn’t know if there would be enough time. His eyes flitted around the room, trying to find the best option to save Prince John and bring him back to Sienna, like he promised.
He felt a sort of release from his body as Leon reached for his knife hidden at his side. Time slowed as the knife travelled through the air towards Cynster. The Agents of Cyran advancing towards them were thrown backwards by an invisible force. Someone grabbed Elijah from behind and pulled him to the ground as Leon’s knife struck Cynster’s shoulder, but not before he sliced Prince John’s throat.
Adrenaline flooded his body as Eli pushed off the man who had tackled him to the ground. Thanking the Gods that he didn’t hit his head again, he stood and lunged forward, engaging his attacker once more. Leon was dispatching Cynster. The clanging of metal filled the room as they danced around each other. Eli tried to keep his attacks precise and short, then when the Agent of Cyran got too complacent, he lunged forward again and plunged a knife in his gut.
Pulling it out, he shoved it back into his heart for good measure. He’d let Sienna down. The least he could do was make sure he killed some of them. Pain erupted in the back of his shoulder as something pierced his skin.
“You’ll never be rid of us, but our Master will be pleased.” Cynster shouted as he bolted for the balcony and jumped off. A whistle rang through the air for a few seconds before it stopped.
Feeding off the adrenaline, Elijah ran after him, but as he looked over the balcony, Cynster was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared into thin air. Leaning over the side to check, all presence of the Agents of Cyran had disappeared. Even the guards outside were looking around, confused at what had happened.
“Elijah.”
Turning around, Eli saw Leon lying on the floor. Rushing to his comrade’s side, Elijah realised his friend was suffering from a few different wounds, hopefully nothing that would kill him.
“It’s going to be okay Leon, hold on, I will get us out of here,” he soothed. He pulled Leon into his arms and was ready to push himself to standing when the doors burst open.
“Clear.” Jaxon ran inside, sword drawn. His eyes landed on Elijah, then over to the prince. “Elijah, no, don’t try to stand, you’re injured.” He turned to the guards standing in the door. “We need a healer.”
Everything was deadly silent. Elijah looked up from Leon to Jaxon before finally resting his eyes on Prince John. Crumpled on his back, eyes wide open with fear, and his throat cut open.
“What happened here?” Jaxon asked in a hushed voice. All Elijah could do was stare, and when he tried to speak. No words came out.
“It’s okay, you might be in shock,” Jaxon said. “Gwenilia, him first.” A lady came over to them, but Elijah batted her away, pointing at John.
Jaxon shook his head. “He’s gone, Elijah.” Three healers gathered around the body and hid the prince’s face from view. Leon grunted in pain as a nurse crouched down next to Jaxon.
“Not me. Him first,” Eli mustered out, and kept refusing treatment until Leon was seen too.
In Jaxon’s comforting hold, he stood and allowed himself to be taken to the infirmary, but not before being stopped by the king. Roderick patted him on his unscathed shoulder, a sad look on his face, and Elijah heard him whisper to Jaxon that his brother was in the infirmary too.
22
The Aftermath
A drum was beating inside his head. The room was too bright, and though his eyes were closed, he knew he wasn’t in his own bedroom. The dream he had was so vivid. Prince John died. Elijah tried to sit up but flinched at the pain. Eyes open, he realised he was in the white room of the infirmary and the windows were open and letting in a warm breeze.
He noticed a bandage on his left shoulder. One side was still white, the other soaked with blood. To his right, Leon was in the next bed, asleep. Recovering from… Elijah creased at the pain in his head.
“You’re awake,” the nurse said, stopping herself from walking past. Eli thought he recognised her from the main hall. “Is your head still hurting? There’s some Bayleaf Tempur in a cup at your right, it should help.” She walked in and handed him the cup after he winced, trying to reach it.
The steam from the cup disappeared as he drank from it. Tempur had to be served warm, or its healing properties didn’t work. He finished the drink in two disg
usting swigs, trying not to retch.
“You’ll need to sit all the way up for me to change the bandage.” Using his right arm, he pushed himself back up to sitting, and the nurse changed his bandage. “You have quite the scar on your back, and I don’t mean from the knife.” Eli tried to pull away, but she held him steady. “You’re safe here. Let me finish tying this so you don’t bleed over the bed.” As the nurse tied a knot in his bandage, Jaxon walked into the sectioned off area he was in.
“Gwenilia,” he said, nodding to her as he walked in. “Eli, I’m glad to see you’re awake. You scared us for a moment.” The nurse grabbed the bloody bandages and left the room.
“What happened?” he croaked out. Eli rubbed his throat. It was dry from the Tempur drink and it was hard to speak.
“You passed out when I walked you from the Main Hall…” Jaxon looked down and took a breath in before he continued speaking. “Prince John is… dead. Most of the agents who attacked were distractions. They came straight for him.”
“Leon…”
“He suffered some severe wounds but he will recover, you saved him.”
Elijah looked down at his hands. “And the princess?”
“Is safe. Sienna has been informed; she understands.” Jaxon’s hand appeared over his own. Eli jerked away at the touch. “It wasn’t your fault. You know, that right?”
“I should have done more.”
“They outnumbered you, two to one!” Jaxon threw his arms up in the air.
Gwenilia appeared at that moment. “I’ll thank you not to agitate my patients, Jaxon.” Eli tried not to laugh. Although he wanted Jaxon to leave, he had one more question to ask him. The words were stuck in his throat.
“Jaxon.” Elijah whispered. “How is Merrick?” Jaxon, froze.
“He’s recovering from his injuries. They got him good, six of them. Merrick is a powerful man; he defended the crown until he could no longer move. A sword pierced his chest. They don’t think it hit anything life threatening. He needs time to recover but he will live.”
“They attacked pretty hard,” Elijah said, his voice quiet. Guilt swarmed around his body. Lying back down, Eli looked at the windows. The clouds were dark and although there was a lot of natural light, it would not last for long. “How many died?”
“That doesn’t matter. They didn’t go down without a fight and we got as many of their people too.” Jaxon took a seat next to Eli’s bed.
Gwenilia, who was pouring some water into a cup by his bedside, gave a small sigh. “It’s time to leave, Jaxon. Elijah needs to rest. You can come back later.” She smiled sweetly and bowed her head.
“I’ve just sat down.” Gwenilia shot him a glare. “Alright, I’ll leave him to sleep. But you better make sure he is healed fast. The princess wants to see him as soon as he is well.”
Elijah’s stomach turned and made a growling noise.
“It’s best you leave before I get my sister Naoko to deal with you. The Tempur must be playing with his stomach,” Gwenilia said, shooing Jaxon out. “Now, Elijah. I suggest you sleep off the pain and try not to think about what happened.”
Ignoring her words, Elijah crossed his arms and stared out at the world. Sienna wanted to speak to him. She knew Prince John was dead. He was going to be shipped off, Merrick wouldn’t be able to save him. He was in the infirmary too.
Sleep suddenly came over him and the sounds drifted away as his eyes fluttered shut.
For a while, Elijah had nothing on his mind. The Tempur was keeping the pain at bay, and sleep stopped his mind from overthinking. Every now and again he would open his eyes and find a different person sitting by his bedside. Maevine, Sahab and Jaxon all came back to check on him. Elijah continued pretending to sleep and would roll over now and then. Until he opened his eyes and saw King Roderick.
Jumping from the shock of seeing the king, Eli sat up and scrambled to the top of his bed. Roderick held his hands up.
“Elijah, calm down, everything is alright.” The king spoke in a soft voice, calmer than Elijah had heard him speak before. “I’m only here to see how you are recovering.”
He nodded and slowly lowered himself back onto the bed.
“Unfortunately, Lord Conrad is out for blood. He wants his son’s killers brought to justice, and those who failed to protect him…” The king looked up and sighed. “While I am angry, I am not blinded by rage. It was an unforeseen attack, we couldn’t have known how many agents they would have sent. I know you did all you could. There were three other bodies in that room.”
Elijah bit his lip and avoided meeting the king’s eyes. He knew exactly who had been in that room. The prince, two agents of Cyran, and an injured Leon. “What,” Elijah coughed, “does that mean for me?”
“You’re to stay away from Conrad until he has calmed down. I promised Merrick and…” he stopped himself. “I promised nothing would happen to you, and I always keep my promises.” Naoko, the nurse who had looked after Gianna, walked past and they both looked up. When she was gone the king continued, “Sienna has also expressed concern for you, and asked that you be protected. You will not be disturbed in here, and we will keep away Conrad from you and Leon until he is thinking more rationally. Losing a child, that grief, is not something he should act on.”
Elijah gulped. Conrad must be feeling awful. Losing a son. But then he was thinking about saying that John wasn’t his son to claim my title… my title. It was me they were really after.
“I do not think you failed Elijah, but I think we could have prevented this if we’d have had more information sooner.” The king stood from his chair. “Don’t dwell on guilt, it’ll play on your mind.”
Naoko came back and stepped through the curtain. “Elijah, it’s time to check your dressing.” Her eyes flickered to the king. “Your Majesty.” She bowed her head.
“I was just leaving, he needs to rest.” King Roderick smiled before leaving.
“Lean forward, please,” Naoko instructed. “I need to see the scars.” Elijah followed her commands until she redressed again the wound. This time Naoko used some ointment to aid his healing. “You should be able to go back to your room, provided you don’t do too much strenuous activity before the healing is complete. But you do not need constant care now.”
“Right,” Elijah replied, his thoughts clouded. His mind was elsewhere.
“Avoid the courtyard out by the training area. The king…” Naoko looked down at her fingers. “His wrath, it’s not something to be taken lightly, Elijah. He seems calm when in public, but… You’ve seen enough death.”
“What do you mean?” Eli frowned, cocking his head to the side.
“I shouldn’t have said anything. The king, he…” Naoko’s voice trailed off. “You should keep your shoulders covered.”
“Hello, I’m here.” Sahab appeared from behind the curtained partition, stopping any further information from Naoko. Maybe Sahab can answer the question for me instead? “Are you ready to go?”
He rubbed his chin as Naoko stood back slightly and let Sahab come to Elijah’s side. “I think so. Help me out of bed.” Sahab and Naoko each took an arm, the nurse being very delicate with his shoulder, and helped him to the floor. “You can let me go now, I’m steady.”
Sahab’s hand gripped his right bicep. “You’ll need a good workout. Losing some muscle up here.” He smiled at his own joke until he saw Naoko’s disapproving frown.
“He won’t be doing that for at least a few more weeks. I have already informed His Majesty the princess will be down two Elite members until further notice.” Naoko turned to Elijah. “You must rest and come back weekly for check-ups, otherwise you’ll never be back on her personal guard.”
Elijah gulped. He couldn’t imagine not protecting Sienna, then again, right now he couldn’t imagine facing her either.
“Remember, you have a check-up in one week, and I will find you if you don’t show up,” Naoko said as she took away his old bandages.
“Is she serious?�
�� Sahab whispered as they exited the infirmary.
“Sadly, yes, I think she is. Can we go to the kitchens? I’d kill for some decent food.”
“Yeah, let’s go. Gianna just left Leon in search of food. He’s still unconscious, in case you were wondering. You saved his life Elijah.” Sahab’s voice trailed off as he spoke. It seemed his friend was unsure whether to speak of what had happened.
Elijah pressed his lips together into a smile when their eyes met. “Let’s go and see Gianna. It’ll be good to get back to normal as soon as possible.”
Elijah noticed more guards manned the halls. Every single one of them bowed their heads as they walked past. A sign of respect. A sign of a hero. Not that Elijah felt much like of one. He lowered his head and quickened his pace in an attempt to avoid their stares. As they approached the kitchen, Elijah could hear the sounds of laughter.
As they entered, the entire place went silent. The cook, who was only preparing the bread dough for the next day, was the one to stop laughing first. Her eyes looked Eli up and down, as if she really couldn’t believe that he was standing there. A couple of the maids giggled and spoke in hushed whispers.
Sahab waved everyone back to their duties as if nothing had changed. The loud noise of them all talking and working whirled back to life, and Elijah was silently thankful to his friend.
Reaching their table, they found Gianna sitting with Maevine. They seemed to both be enjoying some meat and wine with a vegetable broth.
“Elijah!” Maevine said, turning round to see them. “There were so many rumours, I’m glad to see you back on your feet.” Gianna tilted her head to the side and pulled the left side of her mouth into a smile.
“How’s Leon?” Gianna asked, looking up from her plate. “Are they letting him out soon?”
Sahab shook his head. “He’s still unconscious, the medicine they give him keeps him that way.” He took a seat next to her. “They say he is healing well and soon the nurses will wake him up. But you already knew that, Gwenilia said you had been to see him.”
Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1) Page 16
