Sword of Rage: Reigning Kingdoms, Book 1

by Jennifer Anne Davis

  “What information do you have for me?” He glanced over his shoulder at his fellow soldiers who remained at the table.

  “After I tell you this information, what will you do with me?” He could have her thrown in the dungeon, taken to the great hall with the other nobles, or locked up outside in the pen holding the Melenia soldiers. None of these possibilities seemed particularly appealing.

  “I don’t plan to do anything with you. Once you tell me whatever it is you came here to tell me, you are free to go.”

  Her eyes narrowed, considering the reason he would simply release her when everyone else had been locked up.

  “I have no use for you,” he explained.

  She studied this large man before her. His towering physique, tattoos, and furs all screamed of a bloodthirsty warrior. But his words seemed to contradict his appearance. “Why did you come here for our soldiers?” she inquired, curiosity getting the better of her.

  He rubbed his face. “I’m tired and hungry. I’d like to finish my supper. Tell me your information and go. If other Russeks find you here, they may not be so accommodating.”

  The threat slithered down her back. Her legs shook, and she could feel the ice cracking beneath her. “While I was sneaking through the secret passageways, I overheard a conversation between Prince Soma and a soldier.”

  Kerdan’s eyes narrowed. “Did you? I’m surprised, seeing as how Soma isn’t supposed to be here.”

  Every single soldier at the table stopped eating, turning to watch the prince and Harley’s exchange.

  “Prince Soma doesn’t want you to know he’s here because he intends to assassinate you tonight.”

  “You heard him say this?” Kerdan demanded, his eyes blazing with fury.

  “I did.” Everyone in the kitchen remained so still she wondered if the soldiers were even breathing. At least she had their undivided attention, and Kerdan appeared to believe her.

  “When?”

  “Just before I lit the warning signal.” No one here seemed particularly concerned that she’d lit the signal and neighboring towns would be sending their soldiers.

  Kerdan spun toward the table. “Everyone back.”

  They all did as he instructed.

  “Soma loves his poisons,” one of the soldiers mumbled.

  Kerdan went over to his plate, sniffing the food. If Soma had managed to poison Kerdan already, Harley would need to either find a way to save him or come up with another plan. Neither seemed doable at the moment.

  “I don’t smell anything,” Kerdan said. “But Soma is sly and talented.” When he stood upright, his face appeared whiter than before. “I need to get to my bags. The necessary provisions are in there.”

  The men started barking orders to one another.

  Kerdan approached her again.

  She assumed the provisions he mentioned were to counter the poison. “Are you going to be all right?” Once he took what was necessary, he could go after Soma, ensuring her family remained alive.

  “Thank you for this information. If what you said is true, I can’t guarantee the safety of the royal family.”

  “Why not?” she demanded. It was the only reason she’d told him about the assassination.

  He reached under his fur wrap and withdrew a key. “This is for the dungeon. I suggest you free them immediately. We’re leaving.”

  Her fingers curled around the key. “You can’t leave.” He was the only thing standing between her family and their deaths.

  “My provisions aren’t here with me. I stashed them a mile away.” He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. “That is the only key. Use the secret passageways to get to the royal family. Then sneak them out of the castle under the cover of night. Get as far away from here as you can. Understand?”

  She nodded, wondering why he couldn’t get his provisions and then return here. “You’re not coming back?”

  The pupils of his eyes seemed as if they were getting wider. “I doubt I’ll be able to do anything for days. By then, it’ll probably be too late.” He released her and exited the kitchen with his men.

  Standing all alone, Harley clutched the key to the dungeon. She would have to come up with another plan—something to stall until help arrived. Since she’d lit the signal, it would only be a matter of time. She hurried from the kitchen, rushing back to the entrance of the secret passageways. When she reached for the hidden clasp, something smacked the back of her head, knocking her to the floor.

  Cold hands pried her fingers open, plucking the key from her. “You almost ruined everything.”

  With her vision blurry, she couldn’t make out the man who rolled her over and slid a piece of cloth over her mouth. When Harley breathed in, the cloth smelled funny. Complete blackness engulfed her.

  Harley peeled her eyelids open, blinking against the bright light. She found herself lying on a bed in one of the guest suites in the royal castle. When she sat up, her vision blurred and her mouth felt sticky and dry. The back of her head throbbed, so she gently touched it, finding a lump. She remembered someone placing a cloth over her mouth and nose, drugging her. Before she’d passed out, the person took the key to the dungeon from her.

  She shoved the covers off her body and slid out of bed. Rushing over to the window, she saw the sun already cresting the nearby hills. A sense of dread filled her as she imagined all that could have happened while she’d been passed out in bed. She ran to the door and grabbed the handle, trying to yank it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Out in the hallway, she heard people running by. She pounded on the door, but no one stopped to help her. A few screams resounded from somewhere inside the castle. She needed to find her brother.

  Something wet soaked through her shoes. Peering down, she saw blood flowing into the room from under the door, pooling around her feet. Horrified, she took a step back, vomit rising in the back of her throat. Last night, she’d lit the signal fire. Had no one come to help them? More screams echoed through the castle. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She needed to get out of there before someone crashed through the door and butchered her.

  Running over to the window, she threw it open and climbed out, hanging by her hands. Since she was on the second floor, she didn’t have far to fall. A bloodcurdling scream came from inside the castle. That was all the encouragement she needed to let go. Her stomach felt like it had worms crawling inside as she dropped to the ground, bending her legs to soften the landing.

  Chaos ensued all around her. She sprinted as fast as she could away from the castle. Servants ran from Russek soldiers who wielded swords dripping with blood, boasting of the kills they’d already made. At the front of the castle, hundreds of Melenia soldiers stood in orderly lines, weapons at the ready. Relief filled Harley. These had to be men from the neighboring towns who’d seen the signal fire and came to help. She headed toward them, her eyes filling with tears. The person in charge needed to know that the royal family remained locked in the dungeon.

  “Put down your weapons!” a loud voice boomed from the open gorge tower on the side of the castle facing the Melenia soldiers. That was where the royal family usually addressed their subjects.

  Harley screeched to a halt, as did most of the people around her. Dozens of archers stood on top of the castle, all with armed bows pointed at the people below. She glanced at the Melenia soldiers, trying to decide if she could make it to them before someone struck her down with an arrow.

  One of the Melenia soldiers took a step forward. “We only take orders from our king.”

  Pride swelled within Harley. She wanted to jump up and down in agreement before telling the Russek soldier to stuff it. If only she had a weapon and knew how to fight.

  The man on the open tower smiled. “I’m so glad you mentioned your king.”

  A half-dozen Russek soldiers dragged King Coden, Queen Martie, Prince Oliver, Prince Oakley, Princess Oriana, and Hollis from inside the castle to the stone platform, visible for all below to see. Th
e royal family had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged.

  As Harley feared, her brother had been mistaken for Prince Owen. She wanted to scream that they’d made an error and to let her brother go. However, no words came out of her mouth. Instead, seeing her brother at the mercy of Russek soldiers paralyzed her with undiluted terror.

  “We offered your weak king a treaty to work with us!” the Russek soldier bellowed. He pointed at the royal family now lined up beside him. “He refused the treaty. Now he pays the price.”

  One of the soldiers grabbed the queen’s hair, dragging her forward. The queen screamed through her gag, kicking her legs. Horror filled Harley. She opened her mouth to yell at him to let her aunt go, but again, no words escaped her mouth. The soldier shoved the queen down until she was bent over the tower wall. Another soldier neared, an axe in hand.

  Harley started running, waving her arms, trying to get the executioner’s attention. She had to stop him from killing her aunt. Strong arms wrapped around her torso, pinning her in place. She shouted, but a hand covered her mouth.

  “Shut up or you’re next,” a fellow Melenian hissed in her ear.

  The executioner lifted the axe. The crude weapon seemed to pause in the air above the queen’s neck, before slicing down, chopping the queen’s head off. Blood gushed from the body, flowing down the side of the castle like a banner. Another soldier grabbed her severed head, raising it for all to see the queen’s face distorted with shock.

  The executioner shoved the body over the wall, and it plummeted two stories to the ground below, landing with a sickening thud.

  A ringing sounded in Harley’s head, and her entire body became numb. This had to be a nightmare. This could not be happening.

  A Russek soldier brought Hollis forward. He didn’t even try to fight.

  Harley’s legs gave out, but she remained standing since the man still held her upright. She could do nothing but watch as the soldier pushed Hollis down against the wall. “Fight,” she begged, the word muffled by the hand covering her mouth. “Fight!”

  The executioner raised the axe again. Blackness hovered at the corners of her vision and she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch. The sickening sound of metal clanking against stone echoed. Then a moment later, the thunk of a body hitting the ground. Harley opened her eyes and vomited. The man holding her shoved her away. She stumbled to her knees, her body violently shaking with shock.

  Her cousin, Oriana, was next. Even with the gag on, Oriana’s scream pierced the air. The Russek picked Oriana up, laying her on the wall so she was forced to see the executioner standing above her. Her body thrashed as the axe flew down. Gagging, Harley grabbed the dirt, trying to wake up from this nightmare.

  The Russek barbarians cheered. She couldn’t watch as Oakley and then Oliver were similarly killed.

  They saved the king for last. Perhaps so he’d be forced to watch his entire family be murdered. It seemed as if time slowed as the king was stripped of his clothing. He kicked the soldier next to him, refusing to go down without a fight. The soldier withdrew his sword, slicing the king’s leg, blood gushing out. Three soldiers pounced on the king, dragging him to the wall where they held his bucking body in place. Smiling, the executioner swung twice before the head was fully severed from the body. The front of the castle was blackened with blood.

  “Your king is dead!” a Russek soldier exclaimed. “Melenia is no more!”

  It felt as if something in Harley splintered into pieces. Mixed with undiluted horror was pure, violent rage at the injustice of what had happened. Her family dead. Her kingdom taken. Her heart broken.

  Six Russek soldiers stepped forward, each jamming a spear into the tower wall normally reserved for banners. Then the executioner skewered a head to the top of each one. The Russeks whooped with frenzied excitement. Harley couldn’t even look at the faces of her loved ones—each permanently contorted in fury, anger, terror, pain. She felt all of it mirrored inside of her.

  “Now we take the rest of the kingdom!” a Russek soldier cried out. “Put down your weapons and join us or die!”

  Harley

  Chaos erupted as arrows rained down and people shouted, running away from the castle. Russeks advanced toward the Melenia soldiers, swords clashing as the barbarians began slicing through them as if they were stocks of wheat. Blood flowed on the ground like water after a downpour.

  Harley considered remaining there. It wouldn’t take long before a Russek rammed his sword into her. Then she, too, would be dead, unable to feel the pain from the losses of her loved ones. However, if she allowed herself to die, her brother would be utterly disappointed in her for giving up. More so, no one else would seek revenge for Hollis’s death.

  Her brother’s death would not be in vain.

  Determination brewing within, Harley scrambled to her feet, forcing herself to run for the nearby cornfield. Someone barreled into her, knocking her off balance and sending her flying to the ground. Rough hands grabbed her body, flipping her onto her back.

  A Russek soldier pinned her arms down. He leered at her, his face covered with sweat and blood. “Didn’t know there were any women left,” he said. “We took care of all the ones inside. Now it’s your turn.” His knee shoved her legs apart.

  Crude realization dawned on Harley. This man didn’t want to simply kill her—he intended to violate her first. She screamed, hoping one of her fellow Melenians would assist her.

  People ran by, yelling and fighting, but no one stopped to help her.

  “No!” She shoved back with all her might.

  His smile widened. “It’s more fun when you resist.” Using one hand, he clutched her wrists together above her head, his other hand yanking her dress up.

  Thrashing wildly, she tried to break his hold on her, refusing to die like this.

  The man flew forward, landing on top of her. With her arms no longer pinned down, she shoved at him, trying to get free.

  In an instant, the weight was gone as someone pulled the man’s body off of her. She sucked in a huge breath, staring up into a stranger’s eyes. He flung a bow over his shoulder and reached a hand down. She didn’t hesitate to take it. Clutching it, she let him help her to her feet.

  While pushing her dress down over her legs, she glanced at her attacker, slack on the ground, an arrow protruding from his back.

  “He’s dead,” the stranger confirmed. “Let’s go.” He started running, joining two other men, both armed.

  Harley ran after them, not knowing what else to do. While the three men didn’t wear the uniform of a Melenia soldier, they clearly weren’t servants since they expertly wielded weapons. They weren’t from Russek because they were too skinny, didn’t bear war tattoos, and didn’t sport furs. They had to be off-duty Melenia soldiers.

  Bloodcurdling cries for help rang out behind Harley as she sprinted after them into the cornfield. With tears filling her eyes and pouring down her cheeks, she forced one foot in front of the other. Her brother would want her to do whatever was necessary to survive.

  And survive she would.

  They didn’t stop until nightfall. Harley had no idea which direction they were going. Her stomach cramped from physical exertion, a lack of food, and the horror of what she’d seen. Heads. On spikes. And destruction everywhere. Panting, she bent over, trying to catch her breath.

  “They’re already here, too,” one of the men said.

  They’d stopped just outside a small farming village. Which one, Harley had no idea.

  “We should rest,” another said. “And we need food.” He rubbed his face. “What now, Ledger?”

  The two men turned to the stranger who’d saved Harley.

  “Since they seem to be stationed along the Landania border, we need to head west.”

  Harley peered at Ledger.

  His shaggy blond hair clung to his face, coated in sweat and dirt. He looked at her, and their eyes locked. “Who are you?”

  She straightened. �
�I’m…” Tired, horrified, on the verge of collapse. “I’m the king’s niece,” she revealed. “My name is Harley.”

  Ledger whistled. “You’re probably the only noble who made it out alive.” His speech confirmed he was from Melenia, not Russek. However, she couldn’t determine his position based upon his nondescript clothing. His youthful face indicated he was around twenty.

  One of the other men folded his thick muscled arms. “I’m Rayne. My father is a member of the king’s royal guard.” He closed his eyes. “Was. My father was…the Russeks murdered him.” His slicked back hair highlighted the short beard on his face, putting his age around twenty-five.

  Rayne had said his father was a member of the king’s royal guard—which meant he worked with Hollis. Tears filled Harley’s eyes remembering the gory image of her brother’s head being skewered on a spike. Her stomach rolled with nausea, and she shoved the memory away. She couldn’t think about it. Right now, all her focus needed to be on surviving.

  “I’m a guard at the front gate,” Rayne continued. “When Russek showed up, they started killing us. I was sent to warn the royal family. Someone hit me on the back of the head, so I didn’t make it very far. I was left for dead.”

  She looked at Rayne. “My husband was on duty at the front gate. Do you know what happened to him?”

  “They killed everyone,” Rayne said softly. “I’m sorry.”

  She’d figured as much. Not that she cared since she didn’t love Lyle. The loss of her relatives was another matter entirely. And her brother. It felt like a knife had been plunged into her heart.

  “I’m Milard,” the third man said. Like the other two, he had blond hair. However, his stringy hair reached his shoulders, his square face revealing his age closer to thirty.

  Ledger clutched his bow, a mixture of anger, hurt, and sadness flitting across his face as he did so. “Milard and I are soldiers in the king’s army. We’re responsible for patrolling the castle. We weren’t on duty during the takeover. Instead of helping our fellow soldiers, we were sleeping. Our shift was supposed to start at sunrise. We woke up when we heard people screaming. We barely managed to escape. More than half our unit was butchered like pigs.”