The Keeper's Flame (A Pandoran Novel, #2)

by Barbara Kloss

  Where are you?

  I searched the tables and at last, I saw a large round one, shoved in the corner by one of the frosted windows. Thad sat there, his feet propped up on the table, conversing with a group of people I didn’t recognize—all except for one.

  Vera.

  I’d only seen her once, but I’d never forgotten her. Her platinum blonde hair had been cropped to her shoulders, and her arms were folded over her full-bodied chest while she stared at the window like Assassination Barbie.

  There was a fearless pride to her demeanor, one that was elegant and deadly, beautiful and severe. Everything I wasn’t, everything I couldn’t be. Everything I would never be.

  “…those two could not keep their hands off each other,” Isla had said.

  Jealousy twisted like a snake deep inside of me. It might have been easier to swallow if Vera had been plain and weak and…not so exotically gorgeous.

  Come on, it’s Alex. He could have any woman he wanted. Why are you so surprised he chose someone like her?

  But Alex obviously wasn’t with her. So where was he?

  Thad noticed me, then, and grinned right as something sticky and wet began licking my hand.

  “Hey, boy.” I scratched Egan between the ears, which seemed to make him think it was okay to relocate the licking to my face.

  “Egan, down!” Thad made his way toward me. “I knew you couldn’t live without me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  Thad noticed Fleck beside me. “Hey, Half-Pint.” He rustled Fleck’s hood, and Fleck’s toothy grin was all we could see.

  “Rhea said you were here,” I said.

  “Yeah, thought you might want to get out of the castle for a bit. You know, though,” he rocked back on his heels, “it’s not really safe for Half-Pint down here.”

  “About that”—I glanced at the group—“you aren’t too busy, are you?”

  He arched a brow and twirled the piece of grass in his mouth as his curiosity piqued. “For you?” He grinned. “Never. But first I better introduce you to the lot”—he nodded toward the table—“or they might worry something happened to me.” He winked and motioned for me to follow.

  Great. So much for avoidance.

  I took a deep breath, grabbed Fleck’s hand, and continued after Thad.

  One by one, the people at the table glanced up at me and stopped talking, and Vera moved her scathing gaze from the window to my face.

  Her dark eyes burned like hot coals, her lips pursed, and her hatred poured over me like a pot of scalding water.

  She’d obviously already formed her opinion of me, too.

  “Princess Daria,” Thad said, “meet Gaia’s newest Aegises. Sturgis, Phin, Brant, Flanders”—each boy raised their glass with their introduction—“and I believe you already know Vera.” There was amusement in Thad’s voice with his last honorable mention.

  Vera’s eyes narrowed and I had the sudden urge to punch Thad.

  The short, thick one named Sturgis raised his mug. “Nice to officially meet you, princess.” He had a deep voice, but it was modest and respectful. The others nodded their assent, except Vera. Her eyes continued scorching the space between us.

  Well.

  “First festival, eh?” asked Brant, the tall boy with a shaved head. He took a swig from his mug.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Brant wiped his mouth and smiled. “Boy, you’re in for a surprise. My advice…stay away from the Arborenne folk. They never say what they mean or mean what they say, and don’t touch their wine, either, unless you want to be a permanent addition to the healing ward.”

  I nodded.

  “Speaking of,” said the redhead named Phin, “want a drink?”

  Thad answered for me. “Naw, the princess and I—”

  “Uh…hey, D,” said a voice behind me.

  It was Stefan. His cheeks were bright red and he was having a difficult time meeting my gaze.

  What was he doing here? “I thought you were with Master Durus?” I asked.

  He hesitated. The entire table conveniently distracted itself, and Brant took a long, slow sip from his mug.

  “I was.” Stefan’s neck began turning red.

  I arched a brow. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Yeah, fine.” He smiled, but it was a nervous smile.

  I suddenly realized he was carrying two mugs. “A little much, don’t you think?” I nodded toward the mugs in his hands.

  “Oh.” He grinned sheepishly. “The other one’s for…” His voice trailed but his gaze flickered to Vera, who had resumed glaring at the frosted window.

  Wait.

  I stared at him, hard, while he stared at the ground, and my lips parted.

  No.

  He didn’t actually…

  He hadn’t ditched me for…

  Stefan looked back at me, and his confidence evaporated.

  I inhaled a shaky breath; my eyes narrowed. “I see.”

  “Um—” he glanced away from me “—you want a drink? You can have mine.”

  “No, thanks.” I folded my arms.

  Thad’s amusement drowned out everything else as he rested a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, Goldilocks, me and Rook have some business to discuss, so we’ll be leaving.”

  Stefan nodded and started to move, but paused like he’d suddenly lost his purpose and forgotten where he was. He then scooted behind the others’ chairs, right over to the empty seat beside Vera, and sat down.

  Oh. My. Gosh.

  My own brother. He’d lied to me just so he could spend time with her. Alex’s her. I was so angry my arms were shaking.

  “See ya around!” Thad nodded at the group. They nodded back. “Oh, and Brant?”

  Brant wiggled his brow.

  “Keep an eye on Egan, would ya?”

  Brant nodded, taking another swig, and before I could say another word, Thad was escorting Fleck and me outside into the cold afternoon air.

  Thad grinned from ear to ear. “Please don’t kill me for saying this, but I really wish Del Can’t could’ve seen that.”

  All right, so maybe I didn’t want Thad’s help.

  Thad grabbed my arm as I started walking away. “Whoa, there, Rook, I’m only playing. Don’t let V get your panties in a wad. The girl isn’t human, trust me.” Thad made a face. “I don’t know what Goldilocks sees in her.”

  “Hm,” I said, “you really don’t know what he sees?”

  “Oh, I know what he sees, all right, I just don’t know what he sees in her. Unless you like barbaric savages, and I’m sorry, but Goldilocks is too much of a marshmallow for that.”

  “He obviously doesn’t think so. And how stupid is he? I mean, she’s sorta dating his best friend…”

  “Dating?” Thad arched a brow while that stupid smirk stretched.

  That snake inside of me wrapped around my stomach and squeezed it to death.

  Thad chuckled. “You women are so territorial. If you ask me, the king should put women in charge of our boundaries. Nothing can get past a woman protecting her assets and expect to survive.”

  I folded my arms. “Good thing no one asked you, then, huh?”

  “Care to purchase a tapestry from the festivals?” That man appeared beside us with a tapestry draped over his arm, this one depicting a two-faced mask: one half white and smiling, the other black and vicious.

  Thad leaned towards the man, annoyed. “You do realize the king keeps every tapestry that’s ever made, right?”

  The man opened his mouth to retort, but Thad pulled us away and rolled his eyes. “I swear. Every year he’s out there selling that crap. I mean, really, who actually buys those things?”

  A pair of old ladies hobbled to the salesman, faces bright and smiling, and handed him coins in exchange for the woven mask, and Thad cursed under his breath.

  The wind ripped through the marketplace and beat against banners and flags. The sky grew darker and snowflakes began to confetti the groun
d. I didn’t have much time and Thad was still grumbling to himself about helpless old ladies and false advertisement.

  I still couldn’t understand why he’d been so upset about it, though.

  “Are you done yet?” I asked.

  Thad twirled the grass in his mouth. “For now.”

  “Good,” I said.

  “So”—the spark returned to his eyes—“what was it you wanted?”

  “I need you to get us out of the castle walls.”

  The piece of grass almost fell from his lips and, once he regained himself, he grabbed Fleck and me by the arms and pulled us out of the crowd and into a mostly empty alley.

  “Denn knock the sense out of you?” The spark was gone.

  “No,” I said, slightly offended.

  “Do you have any idea what would happen if you’re caught?”

  “Why do you think I’m asking you?”

  He held my gaze and the seriousness slowly melted into excitement. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “All right, if I help, you need to tell me what’s going on with Half-Pint.”

  I hesitated and looked at Fleck. Even though I trusted Thad, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about what had happened with Fleck. I didn’t want anyone knowing until I’d spoken with Master Antoni, but Thad was our only key out of the castle—well, the only key that wouldn’t tell the king.

  I crouched beside Fleck. “Can I tell him?” I whispered.

  Fleck pushed his hood back and the little silver flecks in his eyes sparkled. “It’s”—his hood fell back down—“okay.”

  “You sure?”

  He nodded in his hood; all I could see was his chin bobbing.

  Thad watched us, silent and waiting, and from the looks of things, impatiently.

  I recounted the morning’s events—leaving out the part about what, exactly, I’d seen in the attic—but it was enough for Thad.

  “So the Half-Pint’s finally coming into his powers,” he whispered.

  “So…?” I asked.

  Thad smiled at me a long, silent moment. “You know, for a friend you’re a major liability, right?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you gonna help or not?”

  He pushed himself from the wall and dusted his hands. “I can’t think of any greater peril at the moment, so…” He looked at me with that mischievous spark. “Absolutely.”

  Chapter 6

  Escape

  “Wait here,” Thad said.

  He dodged around the corner before I could say another word.

  “Lady, where’s he going?” Fleck asked.

  “Who knows?” I searched the crowd. “But if he’s not back in ten minutes, we’ll find someone else.”

  I didn’t know who, exactly, and I highly doubted there was anyone else who could help us sneak out of the castle walls, but I wasn’t about to linger here much longer, not with Fleck.

  We stood against the wall, keeping to the shadows, watching the crowd for any signs of Thad.

  Two brown horses trotted past towing a wagon filled with hay. The driver, hidden in gobs of wool, yanked the reins, pulling the wagon to a stop right before our alleyway.

  I pushed Fleck behind me and held my breath.

  The driver turned in his seat and faced us, slowly lifting his hood until I saw a familiar smirk with a piece of grass hanging from his mouth.

  Thad.

  He pointed with his thumb to the back of the wagon.

  So, he was going to sneak us out the main gate. I wasn’t sure I liked that idea, but it was better than anything I’d come up with, which was nothing.

  I grabbed Fleck and the two of us slipped into the back, between the bales of hay. Once we were hidden, I slid another bale on top of us, and the wagon started moving again.

  It jerked and bumped and creaked as the horses’ hooves click-clacked, click-clacked over the cobblestones.

  “You okay?” I whispered to Fleck.

  Fleck smiled and then sneezed.

  Voices passed, horses whinnied, but Thad kept a steady pace.

  It wasn’t long before we stopped.

  The horses snorted as armor clanked beside us, and I held my breath as I squeezed Fleck’s trembling hand.

  “Where to?” barked a voice.

  “High Road to Rex Cross,” Thad slurred in a voice that suggested he’d had way too much to drink.

  I watched Fleck.

  Please, don’t sneeze.

  “You fit to drive, sir?” barked the voice again.

  Thad snorted and made a gurgling sound. “The harses know the way if I don’t.”

  So help me, Thad, if you get us caught…

  “Move along!”

  The wagon jolted forward as the click-clack, click-clack resounded.

  I exhaled slowly, relieved.

  The jolting lessened as we exited the main gate and stepped out onto the dirt road. A few minutes passed before Thad ask in a low voice, “You two alive back there?”

  Fleck sneezed.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered.

  He nodded and sneezed again.

  “Rook?” Thad asked.

  “I’m here. Can we come out?”

  “No,” he said, “not yet. But there’s so much traffic in and out of the castle for the festival”—bump—“I figured we’d blend right in. Besides, I didn’t exactly feel like walking all the way to the guild.”

  “Is it far?” I hated not being able to see anything.

  “Eh”—pot hole—“not too far, but…” Thad stopped talking and I felt his unease—not an emotion I was used to feeling from Thad.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Don’t say another word till I say.” His voice was barely audible.

  The wagon stopped again.

  “Good afternoon, sir,” said a very matter-of-fact voice. “Name and destination.”

  “Just gave them that back there,” Thad said. He’d lost the drunken stupor.

  “Name and destination, sir,” repeated the voice.

  “Rodi. I’m headed to see Otis and I’m kind of in a hurry…”

  “What’s your cargo?”

  Thad’s frustration spiked. “Uh, kinda obvious, isn’t it?”

  Silence.

  “Hay,” Thad said at last. “You want me to count each piece of grass, too?”

  “Sorry, sir, but we’ve been ordered to check every cargo that comes in and out of the castle. King’s orders.”

  My heart pounded in my chest and my palms started sweating.

  “Go ahead, then, check.” Thad didn’t hide his irritation.

  I held Fleck’s frightened gaze, pressing my finger to my lips. Fleck bit his bottom lip and squeezed my hand so hard it cut off the circulation.

  The bales at the end of the wagon shifted as they were pushed and poked.

  I told you this was a stupid idea. You never should’ve come down here. The king will find out, and…

  Conscience, now is not the time.

  They were getting closer, haphazardly poking and lifting the bales, and right as the one over my head began to rise, the wagon shifted.

  The horses whinnied, jerking the wagon back and forth, and Thad said, “Whoa, boy! Sorry about that. The horses have been acting a bit skittish lately.”

  “They’re not the first,” said the voice, farther up the wagon.

  I let out a quiet breath. At least he’d stopped searching.

  “The animals sense something,” continued the guard, “and I think it has to do with”—his voice dropped—“the dark rider.”

  “You’ve seen him?” Thad asked.

  “No, but others have. They say they’ve seen him here, in Valdon, and I don’t like it. Not one bit.”

  Thad was quiet a moment. “I’ll be sure to keep watch, then. Thanks for the warning.”

  The wagon creaked and moved forward.

  I breathed a sigh of relief right as Fleck sneezed loudly.

  Oh, no.

  “Hellfire,” Thad
cursed under his breath.

  “You there!” shouted a different voice this time.

  The wagon stopped.

  Footsteps thudded on the ground and I heard a knife scraping against its sheath. The bale of hay over my head was ripped free and a man’s round face appeared, angry and satisfied.

  “Well, well, well, what have we here?” sneered the man. “A princess and—” he ripped Fleck’s hood off “—the Daloren child.” His ugly sneer looked familiar, somehow. “Off to see Otis, were you?” His eyes turned hard. “Get. Out.”

  I climbed out of the wagon and turned to help Fleck, but the man shoved me back and grabbed Fleck by the cloak.

  “Get your hands off him!” My fists clenched at my sides.

  He tossed Fleck to the ground and pointed his sword at Thad. “Name,” he spat.

  Thad flashed me a silent apology and leapt from the wagon. He stood tall and faced the man with a proud grin on his face. “Come on, Lorimer, don’t you recognize me?

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “You.”

  “Actually, it’s Thad. I reserve ‘you’ for special occasions.” Thad smirked. How could he think this was funny? “Say, how’s Denn doing?”

  The man’s fury seared. “If you ever pull that kind of stunt on my son again…”

  Denn Faris, the bully, the one who’d humiliated me in the forest, was this man’s son?

  My heart dropped.

  As if this could get any worse.

  “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Thad continued. “The stunt I pulled was good enough to last him the rest of his life.”

  Lorimer stared at Thad, and for a long terrible moment, I thought he was going to kill him.

  “What should I do with them?” The man with the matter-of-fact voice stepped forward.

  Without taking his eyes off Thad, Lorimer said, “I’ll take the princess and the Daloren back to the castle.”

  “Right, then,” Thad said, walking toward Fleck and me.

  “You,” Lorimer continued, glaring at Thad, “will stay here and help Grag monitor the roads in my absence.”

  Thad folded his arms. “Hey, now, I don’t see why I can’t go back to the castle with them—”

  Lorimer held the point of his sword against Thad’s throat, and Thad’s lips twitched into a smile.