by Frost Kay
She began struggling, but it felt like she was moving through sap. All her movements were slow and uncoordinated.
“It’s easier this way,” he whispered.
She darted a look up at him as his finger pressed into her neck. His sensual mouth and black eyes were the last thing she saw before darkness swallowed her.
Tehl
“She won’t say a damn thing!” Sam paced and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’ve tried everything, and nothing! Nothing works. She’s silent as the grave. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she might be deaf. All she does when I ask her a question is stare at me expressionlessly, as if she can’t understand the words coming out of my mouth.” He cursed. “We don’t have time for this! Sage is enduring God-knows-what circumstances and—” Sam broke off and swallowed hard. “I worry for her.”
Tehl closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose. “We have to get her to speak.”
“What do you expect me to do? Torture her?” Sam snarled.
The anger that had been simmering beneath his skin finally bubbled over. “I don’t know!” Tehl exploded. He shot out of his chair and threw a bottle of ink at the wall. “My wife has been missing for over a week in enemy territory. I have no way of knowing if she’s even alive.” He watched the ink drip down the wall like black blood. “Some part of me hopes she’s already dead. Then, she would be spared from Rhys,” he admitted. “Do you understand how messed up that is?”
Jeffry, Gav, Sam, and Rafe all stared at him in silence like he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. Since Sage had been taken, he’d had nightmares every night. She always died in his dreams, mouthing something he couldn’t understand with accusing eyes.
“You don’t want that,” Gav said with sorrow clinging to him. “Mourning a loved one is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.”
A loved one.
Somewhere along the lines, Sage became not just someone foisted on him, but part of his family. She got under Tehl’s skin, just about drove him crazy, and ribbed him mercilessly, but that made him like her all the more. He loved her; not like his father loved his mother, but she was a loved one. The realization startled him.
Rafe uncoiled from his spot on the wall and rolled his neck. “Let me have a turn at her.”
“Do you think you’ll do better?” Sam asked.
The rebellion leader shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ll try until we get something we can use.”
Tehl tipped his chin at Rafe. “I’ll go with you.”
“Is that wise, son?” Jeffry asked.
He smiled sharply at the Keeper. “No.”
The Keeper blinked his eyes dangerously slow. “You’re not planning on anything you’ll regret, are you?”
“The only thing I would regret is the death of my wife,” he said over his shoulder. He then stormed down the winding hallways that made up the labyrinth of cells.
“Do you have a plan?” Rafe asked from beside him.
He sent the rebellion leader an irritated look. “How do you move so quietly? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were related to Sam.”
A small smile played about Rafe’s mouth. “I can’t help it. It’s how I was raised. You didn’t answer my question.”
“I will study her, and maybe read,” Tehl answered.
“Read?”
Tehl pulled a small book out of his pocket and brushed his fingers over the silver filigree. “The History of the Mort Wall.”
“You’re going to give her a history lesson?” Rafe asked skeptically.
“The last time Sam and I spoke with her, she was a staunch believer of all things Scythia. Sam seems to think she was indoctrinated with their beliefs. If I belittle her kingdom, maybe she’ll start speaking. When we captured Blaise, she was the most emotional of the warriors. She had a temper.”
“That’s brilliant.”
Tehl shot Rafe a startled look. “We’re agreeing on something again?”
A shrug. “It was bound to happen sometime. We’ve always had Sage in common.”
Guilt churned his stomach. He should’ve protected her.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Rafe murmured.
Tehl’s jaw tightened, hating that the rebellion leader was reading him. “It was my task to protect her. I promised her family she’d be safe.”
“You’re not the only one. She’s been mine to protect for the last few years, and all I’ve done is send her into one bad situation after another for the greater good,” Rafe scoffed. “What the hell is the greater good? Is there really any good left in the world?”
“Sage and people like her are the good in our world.”
“Very astute for someone so young.”
Tehl’s brows wrinkled. “You’re not that much older than I am.”
Rafe’s lips thinned. “Indeed.”
Both men fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Tehl slowed to a stop at the Scythian woman’s cell. Her hair fell in dull strands over her slumped shoulders, her eyelids closed. Even dirty, the woman was extraordinarily beautiful.
The rebellion leader sucked in a sharp breath. Tehl glanced at him and his lips twitched. “Have you never seen a Scythian?”
“I have, but I’ve never seen one of their women. They’re guarded jealously. I can now see why. She’s, she’s—”
“Flawless,” Tehl finished.
Rafe scowled, his scar puckering. “Indeed.”
Tehl turned his back on the gawking man and moved to the stone wall across from the cell. He sank down to his haunches, then sat and pushed back against the wall. Tehl ran his fingers over the butter-soft cover of the book, remembering how his mum used to read it to him and his brother growing up. When he was little, it seemed like a bedtime story, but as he grew, he discovered the real value of the book. History meant everything.
He ignored Rafe as the rebellion leader plopped down several feet away and tipped his head back against the stone.
Tehl focused, opened the book, and began reading.
In the beginning, there were five kingdoms with very different peoples: Aermia, Methi, Nagali, Scythia, and Sirenidae. Each people had something very special to offer the world.
The Nagalians had the ability to communicate with the red dragons of the realm by singing. Their bonding led to working in the caves to retrieve rubies.
Methians were a courageous, regal people who lived in the mountains despite their somewhat temperamental neighbors—the griffins.
The Sirenidae lived in the sea, and graced all the peoples with treasures from deep below. They kept fishermen and traders safe on their passages.
The Aermians were a clever, kind people whose borders touched all other kingdoms and became the hub for trade. They welcomed all to their land.
Last were the Scythians, a brilliant, resilient race of people who lived in the harsh jungles, and could create the most amazing healing draughts from their plants. They were healers and warriors by nature.
Tehl read for hours, describing what each kingdom traded, how the people intermarried, how time passed. He read until his throat went dry. Licking his lips, he glanced at the lightly snoring Rafe, and prepared to start reading again.
“Must you drone on and on?” a husky female voice asked.
Casually, he placed the book in his lap and lifted his eyes to the woman in the cell. “Do you have anything else to do?”
She stared stonily at him.
Tehl shrugged. “If you don’t mind, I’ll continue.” He plucked the book from his lap and picked up where he left off.
Unbeknownst to the other kingdoms, Scythia’s warlord had grown increasingly obsessed with perfection, and began to covet something that was not his. A woman. One who was promised to another.
Rafe sniggered. “Sound familiar?”
Apparently, the rebellion leader wasn’t asleep.
Tehl raised a brow but kept reading. “Time passed, and the warlord’s experiments continued from just healing his people to attem
pting to alter them so they would never get sick. And he succeeded. His people never became ill. But that wasn’t enough; he kept searching for ways to fix his people, to perfect their race.
When the other kingdoms became aware of his tampering, they immediately sought the warlord of Scythia. He smiled and placated the kings with lies and promises of healing draughts from their lands. But slowly, the Scythian people stopped marrying into any other race, worried that their children wouldn’t be healthy. They began to distance themselves, withdrawing back into their jungles, fearing imperfection would infect them.
That was the first sign of danger. The Sirenidae saw the danger and calamity ahead, but no one paid them any mind. So, they pulled back into the ocean and disappeared altogether.
After years, it seemed normal that the Scythians didn’t leave their kingdom, and the Sirenidae became a myth. But there was still peace.
As time passed, the warlord became more obsessed with perfecting the world. He hated the bond shared between the people and dragons of Nagali. It was unnatural in his mind that the death of a beast would break a person and change them forever. So, he offered the Nagali king a draught that would heal and alter his people, but the king refused. This angered the Scythian warlord, so much so, he decided to cleanse the Nagali people from the land.”
A snort.
Tehl ignored her and kept on.
“Scythians crept into Nagali like thieves in the night. They swarmed the land like locusts and destroyed everything in their path. In a matter of days, an entire race had been murdered, down to the last ruby dragon. Aermia and Methi rallied and moved to meet Scythia in battle. But Scythia never planned to battle them. They had created a sickness that would spread through the people. It was only because of one man that this didn’t happen.”
“The traitor,” Blaise spat.
“Many consider Alexander a hero.”
Somehow, she managed to look down her nose at him whilst sitting down. “He betrayed our kingdom. I assure you, he was no hero. Every year, we celebrate his death by dancing on his grave.”
Rafe tipped his head forward and looked at Tehl. “They’re more demented than I expected.”
A mocking laugh poured out of the woman. “The only thing demented here is you. Don’t think I can’t smell what you are, Methi.”
Tehl froze, keeping his face schooled. Methi?
The rebellion leader smiled arrogantly at the woman. “With senses like that, you’re no better than an animal like me.”
Blaise lunged to her feet, only to be jerked back by her cuffs. “I’m nothing like you.”
“Don’t be so sure. Who do you think your warlord was trying to imitate when he started experimenting on his people? He was jealous of everyone else’s abilities.”
She spat at him and sat on the floor again, her chest sawing heavily.
“Charming,” Rafe remarked.
Tehl watched her as she tried to calm herself down.
She pulled in one final breath and opened her eyes. “Even in this kingdom, staring is considered rude.” A pause. “You won’t break me.”
“I’m not trying to break anything.”
“Liar,” she hissed.
He crossed his arms and cocked his head. “Truly, nothing broken is useful.”
A long blink. “Agreed.” Another pause. “Where’s the woman? I enjoyed her last visit. She’s interesting.”
“Come now. Surely, you can use her name?” Rafe needled.
“Sage. I want to see her.”
Then the Scythian woman wasn’t aware. “So do I,” Tehl replied.
Two little wrinkles appeared in her forehead. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, Blaise.”
Her attention jumped from Rafe to himself and back again. “Is she dead?”
“No, she’s been taken by a man I originally met as Serge,” he explained, then took a risk. “A man you’re acquainted with. A man named Rhys.”
She didn’t fidget or look around. She just froze. But her gaze held a glimmer of fear.
“Are you familiar with him?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
Anger, frustration, and panic churned in his gut. All he wanted were a few answers. He didn’t want to play the bad guy. He hated it.
He uncoiled from his spot and walked to the bars, never losing eye contact. “Do you know what happens to political prisoners like yourself?” No answer. “Let me tell you. We marry them off.” She pulled in a sharp breath through her clenched teeth. Good, she needed to understand the stakes here. “It hasn’t been done in many years, but don’t think I wouldn’t marry you off to the highest bidder. That is your future if you don’t speak.”
“Do you think I would betray my kingdom because of a threat?” she whispered, disgust clear in her tone.
“No, you’re too honorable for that. But I’m not asking you to betray your kingdom.”
“Lies, but for the sake of the argument, what do you want from me?”
“Why did he take Sage?”
“I don’t know.”
“Lies,” he repeated her words.
“I don’t. If he did, no good will come from it.”
“Who ordered her kidnapping?”
She hesitated.
“Tell him, or I swear I’ll come in there and rip your tongue from your throat,” Rafe growled.
Tehl frowned at Rafe. “Enough.”
The rebellion leader snarled but kept quiet. He turned slowly back to the prisoner to lock eyes with her. Her gaze bounced between them, and a half-smile curved her lips. “You’re both in love with the princess.”
“You’re right,” he allowed. “She’s part of my family.”
“The beast and the prince,” she murmured. “How scandalous.”
“Why has he taken her?”
“If he’s taken her, it could be many things. Someone may want her, or…he could have taken her for himself.”
“Why?”
“He needs a reason?”
“You’re being obtuse.” Time for a different tactic. “Blaise, you owe me nothing, but you owe Sage something. She’s made sure that your safety and health were a priority. You’ve been in this prison, but you’ve been well taken care of. No men have touched you. You haven’t been starved or tortured. She has been your champion. I understand Scythians have their own code of honor. Would you really leave your debt unpaid?”
Her fists clenched, and she tipped her head back to stare at the stone ceiling. “You don’t need me to tell you why she was taken. It’s common sense. She’s valuable. She was the most valuable thing in this entire castle.” Blaise rolled her neck and peeked at him from under her lashes. “She’s not in immediate danger, but she’ll wish she was dead.”
“Why is that?”
“Scythia is not kind to chattel.”
“Chattel?”
She looked him dead in the face. “The women used to birth our young.”
Rafe cursed and slammed a hand on the bars. “Why would they even want her? Scythians hate outsiders. She’s not one of the flawless.”
“There are ways to make sure the young she carries are flawless, even if she isn’t. Plus, one can always close their eyes…” A hint of revulsion colored her words.
A wave of disgust washed through Tehl. “That’s sick.”
She turned away, hiding her face from him. “Flawless or not, no one should be used like that,” she admitted.
“I agree,” Tehl said, trying to keep his emotions locked down. “Thank you for speaking with us. When Sage returns, I’ll send her to you.” He pushed away from the bars and strode away.
“Don’t expect the same woman,” she called after him. “The woman you knew as Sage is dead.”
He sped up and wound through the hallways, trying to sort out the conversation in his mind and keep himself from killing the spy striding next to him.
“That woman’s toying with us,” Rafe growled from his right.
Tehl skidded to a stop and stared at the rebellion leader. “She’s not the only one.”
“What do you mean by that?”
He snatched his dagger from his waist and slammed his forearm against Rafe’s chest, pushing him into the stone wall. “Do you really think I would forget what she said? You’re a damn spy.”
Amber eyes narrowed on him. “Are you going to trust what that lying wench said?”
“She wasn’t lying, but you have been. Why are you here, Methian?” he demanded, pressing the blade against the rebellion leader’s throat.
“I’m here to help Sage, and make Aermia stronger.”
He snorted. “That’s utter rubbish. You started the first successful rebellion in Aermia’s history. Enough with the lies. What’s in it for Methi?”
The large man stared at him and then sighed. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
A sarcastic laugh burst out of Tehl. “What makes you think I would believe anything that comes out of your lying trap? First, you’re the Methian prince, then you were the leader of rebellion, and now you’re on my council. How convenient.” His own gaze narrowed at a thought slithering through his mind. “Is she aware of who you are?”
Rafe held his gaze. “Yes.”
“Damn it,” Tehl yelled, and pushed back from the spy. He glared at the stone wall and pointed the dagger at Rafe. “How long?”
“The night before you wed.”
“Of course.” He laughed. “You were hoping to spirit her away.”
“She refused me.”
“Only because she has more honor in her little finger than most in their whole body.”
A bitter chuckle rumbled out of Rafe. “That’s what attracted me to her in the first place. She was so loyal and dedicated to her family. Then I saw her practicing in her meadow. She was glorious.”
Something flashed across the rebellion leader’s face that made an unfamiliar emotion stir in Tehl’s gut. It felt suspiciously like jealousy. “Why does she keep protecting you?” Tehl asked, feeling completely at a loss. “You’ve done nothing but put her in harm’s way, and betray her time and time again. And yet, she forgives you.”