by B. T. Narro
“What? No,” I blurted before thinking about it more. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“I think he was plotting to overthrow the king and take the crown for himself, with the help of Trevor’s family, the Chespars. Even with my father now gone, the king still might be in danger whether or not my mother knew of the plan.”
“God,” I uttered. “How sure are you of this?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I never thought my father was power-hungry, but then Hadley took his essence, and I found out it was cursed. This didn’t surprise the king, who has worked closely with my father for a long time.”
“But how well did you know your father, Kat? You knew him better than the king did.”
“I thought I knew him well, but I’m not sure anymore. I’d always wanted to make my father proud, but he’d made that quite difficult throughout my life. My mother pushed the same agenda. My father knew best, she always said. I came to believe it because he had so many people that he lorded over. He was like a king to most everyone in and around Livea. I always thought he was doing right by us, but I can’t deny the fact that our family was far richer than anyone else’s. I’m sure now that his greed had something to do with that.”
Her voice became shaky. “I don’t know what to do now. The problem is, if I tell the king and I’m wrong, then he might make his greatest allies into his enemies. We need the support of my family and the Chespars to have any hope of standing against Rohaer.”
I thought for a moment. “I still don’t understand why you think your father was planning to overthrow the king. Unless you’re saying greed is enough proof?”
“No, greed is enough motive but not proof. I think he planned to overthrow the king after the end of the war, not before. No one wants to be in Nykal’s position. Rohaer has the superior army. But if we win the war, the king will be even weaker than he is now. That should be almost enough proof already that someone is planning to take a shot at Nykal. And you know what they say. If you’re going to shoot at a king, you’d better not miss. There is no one with a better chance of overthrowing him than my family and the Chespars. With their combined army, I don’t think Nykal would have a chance. That’s why my father wanted me to marry Trevor and became furious when I showed interest in you. It could’ve ruined everything if I was to marry one of the king’s sorcerers.”
“But not Reuben,” I reminded. “If all of what you say is true, then why did you tell me that your father approved of you and Reuben.”
“That was only right after Nykal came to power. My father thought the king would be too powerful to overthrow and that it was best to align with the most powerful family we could. He thought being a sorcerer of the king meant more than all the wealth and forces the Chespars could offer, especially as the Langstons are very wealthy as well. But like I said earlier, that changed when it became clear just how destitute our king currently is. All the nobles know that he is weak and ripe to be overthrown. And when Nykal accused me of using a call ring to signal our enemies, it hurt his relationship with my father even more.”
“I thought all the nobles are helping the king win this war by offering their support however they can.”
“Of course they are. We must win this, and they know that. But if we do somehow manage to defeat Rohaer, instead of just hold them off for a time, then I believe it will be the Yorns, my brother, and the Chespars who are going to come after Nykal. The problem is that if I tell him this, he might become distracted. Or he might decide to let Rohaer remain a threat when he has the chance to really weaken them.”
She tossed up her arms. “And I could even be wrong about all of this! I could single-handedly lose the war for us by filling the king with doubt in his own nobles. I need someone else’s opinion. You know the king better than the rest of us, and you know at least a little about my father. What do you think I should do?”
My head was spinning. It did seem obvious that there had to be someone waiting for the war to end to take a shot at the king. He was just too weak for it not to be true. He had spent all of his family’s riches and had to offer many promises just to win the battle against the late king, Oquin Calloum. Now he depended on these nobles, many of them probably waiting to stab him in the back.
“I think he must already know someone is going to betray him,” I figured. “He just doesn’t know who is the most likely. He could have already figured it was going to be your father and the Chespars.”
“So he might be plotting against my brother right now.”
It sounded a little absurd when I first heard the phrase from Kataleya’s mouth, but the more I thought about it, the likelier it seemed.
I asked, “What is your brother doing right now?”
“Financing and training an army. The Chespars are doing the same. At some point, Failina will no longer be able to block Rohaer from coming for us. Their armies should be ready by then to at least stand against our enemies in a shield wall formation. That is the main purpose of their training right now.”
I knew little to nothing about warfare strategy. As a boy from Bhode, I also knew so little about the noble families and their contribution or lack thereof. I wished there was someone else besides me Kataleya could go to for this.
“What about Barrett?” I asked. “You could tell him and see what he thinks.”
“Barrett? No. His job isn’t to keep certain things from the king but to inform the king of everything and discuss strategy. Telling him would be the same as telling Nykal.”
“I don’t know, Kataleya. What do you want to do?”
“I want to tell him everything, but…it’s my mother and brother, Jon. Don’t you understand? I could be starting a strife that would end with the death of either the king or my family. It might even cause us to lose the war, like I said.”
I sighed as I realized the answer. “It sounds like you need to speak with your brother.” I hated for Kataleya to leave, but that seemed like the right thing to do.
Her whole body tensed up. “I have never been close with my brother. He could easily lie to me.”
“Oh,” I said.
She nodded. “And the trip to see him would take me away from all of this for many days. I suppose I could speak with my mother, but she might not even know the answers I need. I don’t want to leave Koluk right now. Endell is close, with an army from Rohaer.” She pointed into Curdith Forest, the edge of the trees not far from where we stood. “Valinox is probably with them. I’m needed here.”
We hung our heads in silence for a while. She had come to me for my opinion about Whitley, and I still hadn’t really given it. It was time I did.
“I strongly believe your father was capable of treason,” I said. “But the thought hadn’t entered my head until now.”
She took some time, then slowly began to nod. “I can see now that I have been manipulated by my father. I wanted to be a good daughter for my family more than anything in the world. But now I can’t believe some of the choices I made for my family—no, for my father. I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel like my world has collapsed, and it’s all my fault.”
I put my arms around her as she started to cry. For a while she just put her head on my shoulder and wept. Eventually she pulled herself together and stepped away from me.
“I couldn’t have ever loved Trevor if the intention of his family was to help my father kill Nykal. I’ve made mistakes. I know I have caused you pain. I just want you to know that I regret not choosing you. I’m not asking for us to be together, Jon. I…just want you to know I regret not choosing you.”
I was too stunned to speak. Kataleya had always been bold when speaking her mind. It reminded me of when she had confessed that she had an attraction toward me. I had been too shocked to express myself at first, but I had in the end, and it had led to us hastily removing each other’s clothes and an afternoon of passion.
I cared for Kataleya. Perhaps one day I could allow myself to feel the same about her that I once
did, but I had taken great efforts to get over her.
I felt like my heart was made of strings, and I kept them tied up into a tight little bow. This was what had to be done for my own sanity. But I could now start to feel my heart strings becoming undone, a feeling of longing strong in my chest. However, it wasn’t Kataleya who I longed for.
I focused my mind away from these thoughts, tightening the bow a bit more.
“Of course I forgive you,” I told Kataleya. “We will always be friends, no matter what happens.”
“A friend I can trust with my life is what I need more than anything else,” she said as she wiped her eyes.
“You can with me.”
“Thank you. And you with me as well. I just had to get those words out. And I think I know what to do about the king. It’s best to tell him what I’m feeling about my father. I trust him to do what’s best. As soon as we get back, I will.”
“I take that to mean you won’t be leaving anytime soon?”
“Certainly not.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It didn’t take long for Eden to figure out that she was not going to make it out of this forest alive unless she did something she absolutely didn’t want to do. She put it off for a while as she continued through the forest, trying to think of an alternative, but eventually she came around to her original thought. It had to be done, so there was no point in delaying.
She swallowed a lump in her dry throat and started toward the next howl she heard. She had been moving away from the sounds of every living creature until then. Her instinct for survival screamed at her to turn away and run, but she plodded forward. Nervously holding the Induct stone of dteria in front of her, she pushed through large bushes that blocked her view.
The beast in front of her was a large cat of sorts. Its brown fur didn’t look natural, shaggy like a dog. Two large fangs protruded out of its closed mouth as it came toward Eden with a curious gait. With Eden’s chest heaving with every breath she drew, she held her ground and kept the stone up.
The cat made her feel insignificantly small as it came up to her face and sniffed around the stone. Its breath was hot and powerful, blowing her dark hair back as it moved up even closer. She closed her eyes and turned away with a bit of a whimper, the fear too much. It was all she could do to keep from screaming.
Then she suddenly felt nothing. She peeked one eye open to find the creature walking away as if disinterested in her and her Induct stone.
“Wait,” she said.
The cat looked back at her again.
She approached cautiously, her instincts continuously telling her to run. “God below,” she muttered frightfully as she came up close enough to touch the animal. She very cautiously put her hand out and, whimpering, stroked the back of the beast.
It showed its massive teeth in a growl. She quickly took her hand back and let out a little yelp.
“Please don’t bite me,” she said as she extended her hand again.
The creature didn’t move as it regarded her. At least it had its mouth shut now.
She slowly ran her shaky hand down its shaggy fur again.
This time the creature didn’t growl but sat down.
Eden formed a smile as she put the stone in her pocket and used both hands to rub the side of the animal. She was really delighted when it turned over for a belly rub.
She petted the cat for a while, but eventually it seemed to tire of the belly rubs. It got up and started to walk away from her.
“All right,” she told herself. “It’s now or never.”
She came up beside the cat. As she stood with her hip against its side, it was nearly taller than her, even on all fours. The creature didn’t seem to mind her proximity, looking over at her curiously.
She didn’t know how best to do this. After a moment of thought, she came to the realization that there was no other method than just going for it.
She put her hands flat on the cat’s back and jumped as she pushed. Eden had just gotten her leg over when the animal darted forward, rolling her off it. She fell hard on her back.
Hissing, she sat up and held her sore back. The cat stopped a few yards away from her and looked over. It was similar to the cantar that had attacked Jon in the forest, with catlike features that didn’t always appear aggressive. It was the brown shaggy fur and size of this behemoth cat that was different than the aggressive black one. Eden was no longer afraid that this cat would attack her but that it would run off.
She forced herself up and approached the animal with her palms open, showing she meant no harm. It let her come to its side again and put her hands on its back. She jumped up once more.
The animal took off, but she was ready for it this time, clutching its shaggy fur tightly. Next thing she knew, she was holding on for her life as it darted through the forest with incredible speed.
She kept her body low, flat across the cat’s back, but its rippling shoulders battered her face until she sat up a bit. Then the animal slowed. She worried it might become aggressive as it looked back at her.
She was quick to pet it. “Please don’t throw me off.”
The cat seemed to sense something ahead as it froze and stared at some lush shrubbery. Then it took off. Eden held on tight and lowered her head as the cat crashed through the foliage.
There was a creature on the other side that resembled a large rabbit, but it had overgrown fangs that looked as sharp as a knife. The rabbit was clearly startled for a moment, but then it jumped at the cat’s head. The cat ducked, but Eden didn’t. The rabbit knocked her off, landed on her chest, then jumped off her to face the cat.
It was over before Eden fully got herself up, the cat ripping into the dead rabbit’s body. It was hard to watch, blood splattering across the trunk of a nearby tree, but Eden was very hungry. She wondered if she might coax the cat into leaving her a little she could cook.
However, it was water that she needed most right now, she reminded herself. That was one of the reasons she needed to face her fear and enlist the help of this deranged forest creature. She could only hope that her cat knew where the nearest water source might be and that he would want to drink once he was done eating.
*****
A full day had passed since Eden had first climbed onto the back of her now beloved cat. She had even gone so far as to name him, but it turned out that her decision was premature. He had been killed by an even larger creature soon after. This one resembled more of a lizard, but it was humongous. It had jumped out of the bushes, ripping a scream out of Eden’s throat as she fell off the back of her pet. She fled as it swiftly killed her cat with its massive claws and then proceeded to eat him whole.
Fortunately, she found another cat akin to the first soon after. It took some time to coax him into allowing her on his back, but eventually she was darting through the forest like she had been earlier.
She didn’t know how it worked exactly, something about mana, but she could convey feelings to these creatures. That was how she finally got her previous pet to lead her to water. The sting of her burning throat told the creature just what she needed.
She had gotten a lot of practice using mana to convey messages in the day that had passed from then until now. Eventually, she could tell her pet to take her northeast at a swift pace. She didn’t know how many miles she had covered in the last day, but these massive cats were fast, even over long distances. She had stopped to sleep for a few hours, delighted to find her pet sleeping next to her when she awoke.
She knew she would make it to Koluk. It wouldn’t be long now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I didn’t know whether to feel frustrated or relieved that I heard nothing during the night after Kataleya left. If the thieves came at all, I hadn’t seen them, and they didn’t take anything. I could only hope that the rest of my peers found out something from their endeavors. I couldn’t imagine staying here for long.
Remi and I spoke on the way back and came to the conclusion that ti
me was on our side, which did make me feel somewhat better. Our enemies were gathered in the forest, but it wasn’t easy to survive in the woods. If they had set up a trap for us and were waiting for us to attack, they would run out of rations before we became desperate enough to face them. Additionally, our king and his nobles were collecting the taxes of everyone across Lycast. So long as there wasn’t a rebellion, soon the king would have the coin needed to pay for more troops.
But Remi and I soon realized that our enemies must know this. And still, they remained. So what did Valinox and Endell have planned? Eslenda should still be watching them and reporting back to the king, but we were not privy to the information she passed along. Perhaps they had already gone back to Rohaer, given up.
I doubted it.
Soon we made it back to the Groovewater Tavern. Remi had told me that Jennava had an agreement with the owner of this place—a man determined to help us however he could. His workers would provide us with anything we needed upon request. I assumed Jennava paid this man coin for his help, coin that probably came from the king’s treasury. All of it seemed fine to me except for one thing Hadley had brought up the other day. It was quite apparent that the thieves knew we were using this place as our headquarters. That made us vulnerable, even if they weren’t planning on killing us.
Remi gave Leon a quick report about how we saw nothing, and then we were given permission to bathe. I was a little surprised the tavern had bathing quarters. There was one for boys and one for girls, reminding me of the castle and making me wish we were all back there instead of here. After my short bath, I reconvened with everyone else in the main room of the tavern, glad to be reunited with my friends and to learn what they had found out.