The Coming Dawn Trilogy

by Austen Knowles

  “Absolutely. I liked her, and wanted to be her friend before she left with Octavos. I never seemed to be around her long enough to have a decent conversation.”

  “Thank you, Ky. Octavos is my greatest friend, and I would do anything for him. He is very worried, because the entire time he helped rebuild the city behind the castle, where most of the newcomers are staying, she’s done nothing but shed tears. I promised him we will see more of them now he’s no longer a warrior and we are here in the city.” Cobaaron dipped his bread in a meat stew and ate it, and he took a deep breath. “But I’d appreciate you trying to go out of your way to befriend her.”

  “I’ve always had a lot of friends. I need her as much as she needs me. Ambrosia and Athaya will get along. I’m sure of it. You’ll see it will be fine.”

  “I’ve decided I will send my brother away the moment he comes back, until I’m certain he’s bonded with Onya. Noxis defying me is enough to send him away for a few months, but now that we’re here, and you’re pregnant, I’m not giving him any chances to harm you.”

  “If it’s prophetical, it’s going to happen. There’s nothing you can do since fate is sealed. I’m certain of that after all you’ve achieved. Look at all the attempts to make Noxis understand; he doesn’t change. Don’t make him hate me on top of fearing me. You have completely changed. Nothing about you is the same. He’s going to come back and see he’s already lost his brother. Sending him away will only make him thirst for revenge, not merely seek to protect you. I think fear isn’t as powerful of an emotion as hatred; fear lasts moments, while hatred can last a lifetime. Don’t give him a reason to hate me.”

  “I think your dream training has made you wise. I’m lucky to have your advice. I will keep him here, but he’ll be very busy.” He told her that he liked that she tried so hard to keep him close to his brother, but then he added, “If and when he strikes you, I’ll have no choice but to banish him. I don’t want to, but I’ll send him to Lake City to be with our sister, Luneye. He will take his partner, and I hope he’s lucky enough to have children and live a happy life there. If we can settle this in private, I hope to still honor him as a warrior.”

  “I’m sure that Noxis will live a long happy life,” Ky lied. Noxis would be worried until his death that Ky was going to harm Cobaaron. Noxis would always try to free his brother from Ky’s erroneous spell.

  Cobaaron became lost, staring at something behind Ky. “What?” She whirled. “Oh, my! I’m going to have to get that thing curtains.” Ky giggled, seeing Kylie and Aaron tossing off their clothes, flinging them across the room as they entered their apartment.

  “I’ll say that if it is truly my reflection, I look as happy there as I am here. It’s been a hard road realizing he isn’t another man lusting after my wife; I think because I didn’t live there with you, I’ve had a difficult time believing he’s me. I’m near convinced he is me now. I don’t cringe when my reflection touches you in the dream. This is erotically entertaining.” He put his plate down, and leered. “I might kick my heels up and watch this with you.”

  He left the tray in the hallway. Then he cradled her as he carried her, drew back the sheer curtains, and then dropped her on the feather bed. Ky giggled because he was unexpectedly playful.

  “I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this.” With the same eagerness to undress Ky, Cobaaron lifted her skirt with his teeth to keep his hands free to caress.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The following morning Stars, citizens from foreign cities, and warriors from other armies trickled into the city. Ky sat on a bench with a large party while everyone ate breakfast, when a small company of warriors approached.

  Ky was positive Cobaaron and the other men recognized the group because they all stared. One man in particular was dressed in a flashy multicolored robe and had bright red hair. His skin was freckled across his nose and cheeks. He was apparently the leader of the small group because he strutted in front.

  “King Cobaaron,” the warrior who was dressed in the bright robe said. His greeting was cold, with no readable expression. Cobaaron wasn’t expressing happiness either. In fact, Cobaaron was visibly displeased to see him.

  “Jaman, you have come out of hiding. I dreamt of you last night. Obviously the visions I’m getting as a Star are coming to pass. You’re here because of the tournament, I presume.”

  “I have heard of the tournament, yes, and I plan to take your army.” Jaman’s lips pressed into a hard line that didn’t hide intent for vengeance. Clearly, Cobaaron had done something to make Jaman hate him. She guessed it had something to do with him being in hiding.

  “I see,” Cobaaron said flatly, and without concern. “You will pledge allegiance to the crown of this great city? It is a magical agreement, mind you.”

  “I’ve come to serve the army, which will soon be mine,” Jaman said, avoiding vowing to protect the City of Lights.

  “Then you have wasted your time. A traitor to the great Chief Fairfax has no place in my army. I made that clear, when I let you survive in Barbadious. You swore to never show your face again, and yet here you are.”

  “That was a hundred years ago.”

  Cobaaron cut him off, “You won’t win. And because I’m hopeful the winner will strike you dead, I won’t waste my energy.”

  “That’s not mercy, Cobaaron. The tournament declares anyone who wants to fight, by law, is welcome. I don’t need your permission to stick around for the tournament.”

  “You mistake me,” Cobaaron said. “I am not killing you where you stand, right now, because the warrior who wins will prove his glory while standing over your dead body. You’ll be one of many who die in the arena and you’re legacy will be forgotten. Go then, build a home in the outskirts of the city for your men, and help construct the Odessa Dome for the competition. It’s more than generous.”

  Jaman gave the slightest of nods, and then gazed at Ky as she sat at Cobaaron’s right side. “I know you’re Ky without asking. Your reputation for your beauty precedes you, but now I’ve seen you in person, there are no words to describe your magnificence. You are truly breathtaking.” Jaman licked his lips.

  “And she’s mine to look at,” Cobaaron said, before Jaman could insult him any further with flaunting his sexual desire.

  “A woman is always a man’s undoing. She’s your weak link, and she will kill you in the end.” Jaman sounded triumphant as if Cobaaron’s days were already numbered.

  Cobaaron glowered, and deciding he didn’t care to respond to the taunt, he replied heatedly, “You may go, Jaman.” The men, along with Jaman, looked affronted, but left in a huff. Cobaaron and the warriors watched them leave. He then leaned forward to say to Tyrus, “This is a good thing. My men heard about Wyt’s visions that you would win, and no one cares to challenge you to their inevitable death. At least there will be sufficient proof you deserve the position because he fights. Jaman may be a traitor, but he has never lost a challenge except mine. Ensure you make it an easy defeat, and you will be legendary.”

  “Jaman has never lost a challenge but one?” Airia asked, watching Jaman leave. She then frowned at Tyrus, sizing him up. She obviously found him too young to win.

  “Well, Tyrus has never lost a single challenge,” Ambrosia defended. “I dreamt he wins the tournament without magic, as he did in the games in Sarnia. The fact he’s a healer as well, will make him celebrated as a new breed of healer warrior. Times are changing, Airia,” Ambrosia beamed at Tyrus as she bragged. She then asked Cobaaron, “When will we have this tournament? Soon I hope, yes?”

  “It won’t be for another four months, at least. When the Odessa Dome is finished, we’ll hold the tournament in the stadium. We will have to build the second wall first beyond all the streetlamps. More people arrive today, and we need to expand the city. Traders come also, which means the market must be finished.” Cobaaron then told Ky that he wanted to leave the city to meet the traders, and asked her to accompany him, because he suspected Luanda the
Weird to be among them, and he wanted her close.

  “Four months?” Ambrosia asked dismally. Ky understood why. Four months would expose her pregnancy, and she was keeping her exciting news a secret until after the tournament. Ambrosia was itching to announce her good fortune.

  “More armies are coming,” Tyrus said. “It won’t be long before the militia has doubled, and they help build the outer walls. We have already assembled a vast number of homes behind the castle facing the north. The granite is already carved. We simply need to erect the houses, and the protective barriers. The inner city will be finished in days. The stadium will be completed in no time.”

  “I can’t rely on rumors that armies march here.” Cobaaron slid his plate away after taking the last bite of orange bread with sweet oil. “There are too many people and not enough food. The underground farms need expanded. There is too much to do, and the stadium is not my priority. Four months is still quite a feat to rebuild this city. My army of one hundred and sixty legions can do great things, but rebuild a fallen city, an outer city, a wall, and a stadium will take months not weeks.”

  Tyrus lowered his voice, and clutched Ambrosia’s hand. “No worries. I have seen a great number arrive shortly.”

  “Come with me down to the markets, Ky. I think you’ll like the walk.” Cobaaron stood, and held out his hand.

  “I’ll go, too,” Ambrosia said.

  Athaya gaped at Ky in surprise when she said, “Athaya, did you want to go with us, and look around? If it’s anything like the market outside Opalace, they may have a toy store for your baby.”

  “I’d love to.”

  Soon their entire group decided to visit the market before meeting the traders. They wandered toward the square still under construction. Only a few shops were complete. Among them were the kitchens, a clothing shop, and a stand that sold Star-crystal novelties. After everyone traveled so far, the place was busy with people purchasing new attire. Merchants, whose shops weren’t completed, lay their goods outside on blankets.

  It felt like midday at a farmers’ market back home. Ky wasn’t the only person to notice the lack of darkness. Everyone on the street was abuzz, but when Cobaaron and Ky walked by, the townspeople stopped talking and bowed to their king. He in turn gave a nod, and they went back to haggling.

  Ambrosia gravitated to a shop that sold exotic animals, and bartered over a pair of ugly little maroon birds. They waited for her as she insisted on paying double the asking price.

  “What…is…that?” Ky pointed to an unmistakable brothel. Women were scantily dressed, standing outside a richly built two-story building, as if it was urgent to have a house for sex before other shops.

  “What?” Octavos asked, confused she found something offensive.

  “The bordello, darling,” Athaya answered, “she doesn’t approve, and she’s not the only woman offended. They should move out of the city center, preferably out of the first wall and behind the castle where we won’t have to look at it.”

  “By law, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that anywhere! Honestly, we need a council meeting,” Ky said, determined she would volunteer and that would be her first proposal. “Besides making it law that women can’t sell sex, we need schools to teach women.”

  “It’s impossible to instruct a female on anything useful,” Beldor said with conviction. “It’s impossible to even teach a woman to read!”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Ky laughed at the absurdity. “That simply shows your ignorance. Of course women can read.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Cobaaron said to Beldor. “Ky reads.”

  “She’s also a Star,” Ram said. “She had training in her dream!”

  “And she was taught to read. I think that proves my partner’s point.”

  Ky smiled at Cobaaron, for already consenting to her idea. It gave her the gumption to add, “Women need to know they can have more than one child with the same man, too. It’s foolish to think you need to sleep with several men to have more than one child.”

  “Is that true, Ky?” Athaya asked. “Are you certain?”

  “I’m positive!”

  “We’ll use the bordello building as a school for the women,” Cobaaron reassured Ky when he added, “My word is law. Starting today, women will not be able to sell sex anywhere within the walls of the City of Lights.”

  “Thank you, Cobaaron.”

  “Of course.” He lured her closer and kissed her temple. “I love you. I’d do anything for you. That was nothing.” He asked X-avor to shut down the bordello, and he hustled to follow his chief’s orders.

  Once Ambrosia opened her birdcage, releasing the birds in her hidden room, she announced she got the steal of a lifetime because the seller had no idea he hatched two phoenixes. “They will escape my room when older, because they’re powerfully magical birds, but they will always return. They’re very loyal!”

  The group followed the street lined with small trade shops, making their way out of the city toward the wall, where warriors were building the six-foot parapets.

  “Maybe going outside isn’t the best place for any woman with child,” Octavos confided.

  “Nonsense, Octavos. Our wives are safest with us,” Cobaaron replied. “Besides, Luanda the Weird has vowed not to hurt Ky or Ambrosia. The men will protect our women to death, Octavos. Ambrosia is a healer, and has beaten her before....”

  “Well, in all fairness, I tricked her to win. I’m not very good. I never put a lot of study into magic.” Ambrosia sounded guilty and disappointed. She grinned sheepishly while adding, “I’m reading Tyrus’s family crest with him, though. I’m getting better.”

  “Well, two healers are better than a witch that has been bested already,” Cobaaron insisted.

  “Cobaaron also killed Zevera,” Ky added.

  “True,” Octavos said, and they ambled along the granite road where warriors labored to repair the blocks.

  New stands sold water and thick chunky soup to warriors. Vergara was one of the women serving. Vergara stared at Ambrosia, Athaya, and Ky as they passed. She had an envious glint in her eyes and glared at them. She didn’t care who heard her, and said loudly, “That should be me. It’s humiliating to serve soup and water to men I’m not even sleeping with. I should be a mother and living a life of luxury. I’m beautiful enough to be queen, or at least a mistress.”

  Ky inwardly gloated that Vergara was learning that the world didn’t revolve around her. She suppressed a smile as Vergara droned. When they were out of earshot, Octavos stated, “If she ever ends up with child, I’ll personally see to it that she is moved to another city. I haven’t forgiven her the cruelty she showed my partner.”

  “Her bond partner is Axil. He oversees a thousand men and he wouldn’t be hard to replace. Do as you wish, Octavos. I’d be glad to be free of her. Vergara causes animosity with her invidious remarks; she’s nothing but a troublemaker. Please don’t wait until after she’s conceived.”

  “I will go after our child is born, and after the holiday.”

  “I’m sure she will not conceive any time soon.” Cobaaron nodded at two people making their way toward the city.

  “Are they traders?” Athaya asked.

  “It’s my brother and Onya.” With a heavy sigh, Cobaaron strode toward Noxis.

  Noxis stared at Cobaaron. He recognized Cobaaron, though his appearance was quite altered. Noxis shook his head, displeased, but embraced him. “What happened to you?” Noxis grinned. “What happened to my brother?”

  “I was going to ask the same thing. I ordered you to unite with Onya and you left her in a foreign city instead. I heard you have not been bound to her for a while, which means any tender feelings you had are gone.” Cobaaron took Noxis’s swords. “I’d feel more comfortable if you no longer hold these.” He then flipped Noxis’s palms upward and shook his head. “Do I need to tell you to bond with her again, brother? Have you lost all respect for me?”

  “I have always been faithful to you. I simply de
sired you wouldn’t pursue the matter. I do not love the woman, or any other.”

  “I don’t want anything to do with your brother,” Onya snarled. “You’ll have to choose someone else!” Onya glared at Noxis, and pointed a shaky finger. “He left me in Kellkota! He sold me to a merchant at the city’s kitchens, told me I’d be safe, and left. While there, I cleaned nearly every hour I was awake.”

  “I made sure he didn’t touch you. I threatened his life if he slept with you, although you probably would’ve bed him to get out of work if you could,” Noxis glowered.

  “I don’t believe a word you say. You didn’t threaten him. You made too many agreements vowing to be with me, then broke them all. Your excuse is ridiculous. You’re a warrior. You can’t possibly be nervous to unite. That is absurd. You left me because you wanted to!” Onya faced Cobaaron. “He has no idea what he wants, but it’s not me. He left me in Kellkota! Before that, he was always yelling at me for sleeping with men. He can’t stand me because of the number of men I’ve slept with. I won’t unite with him.”

  “You will bond with him, or return to your life in Kellkota,” Octavos stressed.

  Onya blinked, surprised with the ultimatum. When she silently pleaded to Cobaaron he would let her stay without marriage, Cobaaron added, “It’s your choice, Onya. I won’t make the decision for you.”

  Onya glared at Noxis as if everything was his fault. “The only way I’ll ever bond with him again is if he takes truth serum so I can ask him once and for all, if he cares about me even in the smallest degree.” Onya folded her arms as she waited for Octavos or Cobaaron to agree to her terms. She stared at both men. “Well?”

  “The city’s new healer will be Hyun, Ambrosia’s father,” Octavos said. “Her family travels from the City of Sterlings, by her request, but won’t be here for another week.”