The Kryvern’s nostrils flared, and its massive head twisted to the dais where the royal family stood, guards hesitantly moving to protect them. The beast bellowed, glittering ruby saliva flicking from its bloody maw as the hooded bodyguard moved to shield King Lorch.
In a swift movement that should have been impossible for such a hulking monster, the Kryvern leaped with a screech towards the King.
It was as if Arii were moving through water at first, fighting the panicked crowd to reach the dais. Her eyes darted through the fleeing bodies as she shoved aside a screaming woman. She thought it best not to use her dagger for this, rather than give her profession away. For now, the ornate blade remained strapped to her thigh beneath her robes, the metal warm against her skin.
Suddenly she was free of the crowd, skidding across the marble, her fingers clutching the kitchen knife.
The royal women were screaming shrilly, the guards pulling them away as fear had the young King pressed against his throne, the hooded bodyguard shielding him with sword drawn. Claws flashed, swiping across the man as quick as lightening and hitting their mark. The hooded figure attempted to dodge but was clipped, the beast’s claws raking his arm and flinging him out of the way of the Kryvern’s intended prey thanks to Nem’s magic.
Standing on hind legs, the beast’s shriek was like nothing Arii had ever heard. A low, drawn out bellow, coalescing into a long, high pitched screech like iron claws raking down stone.
It was as if the world was in slow motion, she could see Lorch Kruel’s petrified, wide eyes as he stared up at the bringer of his death, his body in the animal’s shadow as the beast closed in.
Valdis was yelling, bellowing for his guards to save their King. The creature’s tail whipped and slammed into oncoming men, its gaze never severing from its prey.
Lorch’s eyes inched to the right and met hers over the beast’s shaking hide as Arii sprinted up the dais - now metres from the monster.
She was going to be too late.
It was going to end him before she could.
She saw King Lorch’s pure fear, just a boy who at that very moment regretted his entire entitled life. His eyes wide, teeth clenched in a grimace, he knew he was seconds from death.
Then she was leaping.
Arii flipped over the scaly mass like a circus act, body twirling.
Then the creature jerked as the woman landed gracefully between it and the King. She crouched before him on all fours, her head down and honey tipped hair slipping over her shoulder as the world slowly caught up.
Behind her, the light in the beast’s eyes winked out and the huge body fell to the floor with a booming crash, the kitchen knife lodged in the back of the animal’s skull.
Arii’s head lifted slowly as her body followed suit, her eyes meeting those of the King. His were wide and glassy, sweat saturating his brow.
With intentional slowness, Arii’s hands lifted to show she was no longer armed, predicting the guards’ movements just before they sprang into action, grabbing her and shoving her back on her knees before the King.
Lorch was swift, moving with surprising surety considering he had nearly been in the jaws of death not a few seconds ago. His hand was raised, golden rings glittering.
“No, unhand her! That is an order!” he snapped, and the guards hesitantly let go of his saviour with obviously reluctance.
Lorch’s eyes was fixed on the mysterious, plain serving girl, a girl who had just saved his life.
“Who are you?” he breathed, stepping towards her as his voice wavered. “You move like no one I have ever seen.”
From the King’s side, his father approached as guards began to converge on the dead beast.
“Answer your King, servant.” Valdis growled, his hand still poised on his sword hilt as Arii remained silent. Her eyes slid to the King’s father before returning to the King himself.
“Arii… my King.” she added, before remembering to address royalty the correct way.
“Arii Clearwater,” she said, her gaze dropping to his feet.
Submissive, meek, a low servant. Here, she was not to be an assassin, death delivered in a beautiful package. Here, she was just a slave, a servant who now had the King’s full and undivided attention.
Krepth and Nem would be so proud.
“Commander Hawke, see to Elijah’s wounds.” Lorch said, his gaze never leaving the woman before him, expression composed but flecked with wonder.
To the side, an older man with dark grey salted hair and clad in royal armour helped the King’s hooded bodyguard to his feet. The cloaked man, now sporting a bloody wound on his arm, shrugged his helper off and turned to leave the room for the infirmary, as if he were too proud to accept the offer.
“Miss Arii Clearwater will be assigned to guard training.” Lorch said suddenly, and from his side Valdis began to protest.
“Son, that is preposterous!” he gestured with his hand in frustration at the meek girl before them. “She is a servant!” It was obvious this man had not a fleck of respect for anyone lower in class than he.
Arii kept her eyes down, but her jaw clenched.
“This woman saved my life, and for that I wish to repay her with an honour. She is wasted in the kitchens!”
His cerulean eyes speared his father like daggers, before turning to the slowly returning crowd.
“Good people, this woman saved my life, and for that she will be bestowed the honour of training with my royal guard!” The young King bellowed, as a mass of eyes stared up at the proceeding with a mix of fear, awe, and strange admiration.
His father seemed to back down, but only slightly. He remained silent as Lorch knelt before her, carefully placing a hand on Arii’s chin, tilting her face to meet his.
Her eyes met pools of ocean blue, the young man’s lips curling ever so slightly as he said.
“Welcome to the Red Guard, Arii Clearwater…”
Chapter Three
King Lorch’s party ended right after the commotion of the night.
What party goers were left were quickly ushered from the room as a group of guards and servants began the difficult task of removing the cooling, monstrous scaly mass, and set about repairing the cathedral window. Blood trickled down the beast’s neck from the kitchen knife lodged in its brain, the ominous drip, drip, drip the only kind of music now in the emptying room.
The older man with grey flecked hair, Hawke, knelt by the beast and surveying the perfectly placed precision of the blade which had slid through soft tissue in perhaps the only part of the animal’s skull without thick bone. He seemed the only one not to be repulsed, the expression on his weathered face was thoughtful, thick brows pulled together.
“Incredible…” he mused, as he stood to face Valdis Kruel.
The copper haired man’s face was unreadable, but the air around him crackled with carefully suppressed anger.
“What is?” snapped Valdis, in a foul mood. Or perhaps that was his natural temperament. Arms were folded across his chest as he surveyed the Commander of the Red Guard. “That a plain serving girl knew the anatomy of a Kryvern enough to know how to bring the beast down with a single stroke?” he snarled, his form radiating disapproval.
Commander Hawke slowly stood and stared at the King’s Hand. “I would like to speak to the girl if I may,” he said, a statement and not a question. Valdis knew the Commander would question the girl with or without his permission.
With a curt, dismissive nod of approval, Valdis turned and stormed from the throne room, a procession of guards hot on his heels, leaving Hawke with the remaining castle staff to deal with the clean-up.
Hawke nodded to the guards and headed towards the castle hall, turning for the room where the woman had been taken while they organised a place for her at the training barracks.
As Hawke neared the room, he eyed the two guards posted at the door and nodded. The two men saluted before shifting aside to let him enter the room.
Inside, the woman stood by the window, surveying the dark night outside. The sound of a gale battered the windows, and torchlight flickering in the distant grounds. She could see the glittering lights of the homes connected to the castle grounds, little embers of light slowly flickering out one by one as the town nestled down for the night.
Her body slowly turned, her eyes lifting to watch as Commander Hawke entered the room, leaving the door open behind him. Silently the guards followed, taking up positions either side. He would not meet alone with this unknown woman, who had single-handedly just taken down one of the most feared beasts in the land. She stood like a slender shadow, the moonlight bathing her face in silver, her dark eyes fixed on the men.
Hawke lifted a hand, approaching her calmly.
“My name is Hawke Roe. I am the leading Commander of the Red Guard,” he said, face crinkling in a smile.
Arii got a sense of kindness from this man, whose dark-bearded face had seen many Summers.
He did not radiate an air of hatred like his superior.
Arii dipped into a practiced courtesy, remembering her manners. It was not normal practice for an assassin to bow to anyone but the Fates, and she had to make a mental note on when to do so properly.
Rising, Arii offered the man a small smile.
“Arii Clearwater, Sir,” she replied, and Hawke nodded gently.
“I know your name and believe the entire kingdom of Fythnar will too, soon. You are the King’s saviour, after all,” he paused before adding, “Very impressive, I must say. How does a mere serving girl manage to move with as much grace as an acrobat?”
His eyes were inquisitive, no air of malice, just pure curiosity.
Arii shrugged, before realising the gesture may come across as rude.
She lowered her gaze to the marble floor.
“I have not always been a maid. Before I was stuck scrubbing pots and pans, I was part of a traveling circus. My act was the trapeze.”
Hawke’s lips twitched, as if he would laugh but he was far too polite to do so now.
“Truly? Well that is not at all hard to believe,” he said, the skin around his eyes crinkling. In his prime, Hawke Roe would have been a very handsome young man.
“Miss Clearwater, it seems your talents are being wasted in the kitchens, so if you’ll come with me, I will show you to the barracks.”
Turning, Hawke motioned for her to come.
Without pause, Arii followed the Commander as they moved through the candle-lit castle halls.
Arii’s eyes roved the elaborate golden walls and watched as her dull, doe-eyed reflection tracked her movements. She wondered just how much gold had been used to create the castle - everywhere she looked featured the reflective material.
Soon they approached a small open space, and Arii’s braid whipped behind her as a gust of fresh air pummelled them. The hallway to the barracks was open to the elements, the night air cool and crisp. Until that moment, Arii had not noticed how much she had needed to inhale fresh night air.
The sudden temperature change from warm to cool had her skin pebbling with gooseflesh, her lungs expanding in welcome of the cool, fresh air. It soothed her insides and caused a small shiver to skitter down her spine.
The rumbling crash of the colossal waterfall could be heard, a light spray of water fluttering up to coat the balustrades in a wet sheen.
If Arii was clumsy, she would have easily slipped on the wet floors, but she was a Fae, and Fae were not clumsy.
As the group entered the barracks, the guards stationed themselves around the entry and settled for the night. Hawke motioned to the room, filled with a line of beds on each side.
Already occupying most of the beds were a motley crew of young men and women, all of their attention shifting to the new addition to their group. Most expressions held curiosity, and some awe. They had all no doubt seen her slaying of the beast from their stations around the throne room during the celebrations.
Hawke motioned to the occupants of the room..
“This is Miss Arii Clearwater, the newest recruit to our contingent. Show her to the bathing rooms and ensure she is given a uniform. She will be joining you in training from tomorrow morning.”
With a quick nod to Arii, Hawke turned on his heel and slipped from the room, leaving her before a small sea of curious eyes.
A young female was the first to approach, closely followed by the remainder of the room. Questions as well as some dazzling profanities erupted from their lips, a flurry of “How did you-” and “Nyx’s arse that was amazing!” and “Holy hells a Kryvern!” and “How in the Gods did you get to the King so fast?!”
Arii remained silent, her eyes cataloguing each face in the room and burning them to memory.
The woman who approached first spun and waved her arms at the others in an attempt to calm their excitement.
“Shut up, all of you! Give the girl some room!” she bellowed.
Arii’s eyes noted her pointed ears and delicately uptilted golden eyes. Her light brown hair was pulled into a knot atop her head, accentuating her high cheekbones and small nose. She was definitely of elven heritage.
Closest to her was a slender male, his face bearing a striking resemblance to the elven female. Most certainly a sibling, the two looked almost identical.
When Arii remained silent, the female tilted her head inquisitively as the remaining recruits quietened down.
“I’ll bet you’re tired, not every day you fight a Kryvern and survive without a scratch.” She gave a reassuring smile. “Let us get you to the bathing rooms to wash up, then to a cot to rest, eh? There’s one free by me.” She took Arii’s arm gently.
Arii’s hairs stood on end at the contact, and she had to chant a mantra in her head that she was under cover. Any other day and she would have this female against the wall with a dagger in her throat for touching her.
Swallowing thickly, Arii pressed back the thought and forced her lips to twitch in a sorry attempt at a replying smile.
Kindness, this girl was showing kindness.
It seemed the gesture was so foreign to the Fury that she had to remind herself that not everyone was a cold, stone hearted killer, like those she spent most of her time with at the School of Fate.
“Thank you,” she murmured and allowed the woman to lead her towards the bathing rooms, straight through the lines of beds.
“I’m Tikkani by the way, this-” she cocked her head at the boy trailing close behind, “-is my twin brother Emerson,” she said, her tone conversational and light. Arii’s eyes quickly surveyed the boy, his light brown hair cropped short with a fringe and his eyes tilted and gold in hue, a male replica of Tikkani.
Interesting. Twins were rare in this land.
Tikkani’s eyes darted to her brother, and Arii swore for a few moments they spoke to each other without words. The boy, without a sound, rested a neatly folded pile of clothing by the door and slipped back out of the bathing rooms to where curious eyes still watched.
Arii eyed Tikkani and was met with a grin. “Oh, don’t worry! I’ll make sure none of those slack jawed lumps come snooping while you bathe.” With a wink and a twist, Tikkani breezed from the room and closed the door behind her.
Arii’s hand lifted to her chin as she stared at the back of the closed door, grazing the skin where not a short time ago King Lorch’s fingers had lifted her face to meet his. His eyes, like deep pools of sapphire, had drunk her in with an intensity and intelligence she had not been expecting of the young man. She recalled his look of pure awe, his lips parting before he spoke.
In her stomach, a flame ignited, and she soon was ripping off her servant garb, desperate to be
under the hot water and washing away the thoughts now racing through her mind.
Gods it had been too long… Stupid, basic desires.
She reprimanded her traitorous body before throwing her clothes to the floor, turning on the water and stepped into the piping hot stream as the room filled with steam.
~~~
The golden light of dawn filtered through the windows of the barracks, closely followed by the rustling of blankets. Moans and groans filled the cool stone room as its occupants began to wake.
Tikkani lifted her head, a bird’s nest where her carefully pulled knot was the night before, her golden eyes groggy with sleep. She stared over at the cot containing their newest recruit and snorted as she saw she was already up and dressed, the mass of her dark brown hair expertly weaved into a thick braid falling casually over her shoulder.
Ariiaya sat lightly slouched, legs parted as she leaned forward with a look of a hawk surveying a mouse, her dark eyes unreadable.
“Oh fuck me…” groaned Tikkani, pressing her face into the pillow. “Another early riser…”
Her brother Emerson began batting her with his pillow.
“Gods Emer, I’m getting there okay?!” she moaned, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.
Emerson looked at Arii apologetically. “Apologies, Miss, Tikkani is not a morning person, nor does she have a filter for her crude, disgusting mouth.”
He ducked his head in a motion she took to be shy. Arii’s brow quirked at this as the boy’s cheeks blossomed with a tinge of pink, and he swiftly began making his cot, his eyes not meeting hers again.
Arii held back a smirk. Emerson seemed almost scared of her.
Good.
The heavy door to the barracks opened and Commander Hawke entered, clad in a dark and much more carefully tailored version of their recruit uniforms. Like theirs, his featured the Kruel family crest, a reptile. Except the open jaws of his insignia were smelted from gold. The pin glittered on his tunic.
“Good morning recruits, I trust you all slept well given last night’s events,” his eyes immediately finding Arii as the crew quickly lined up at the ends of their beds.
Love, Blood & Fury Page 4