“And you’d be conveniently close if the Council orders your execution.” A voice came out of the long grass to her left and Silver drew her weapon.
Issart’e only sighed. “Cousin, please meet my twin, Dukran. Dukran, this is our cousin, Silver.”
“I know who she is.” The voice sounded from a different position this time, and Silver whirled trying to discern his location in the long vegetation. “I also know she works for the Council and can’t be trusted.”
Issart’e smiled. “My head is still attached to my shoulders, is it not?”
The pause was long, “For now.”
“Come out of the grass, coward.” Silver taunted.
“I’m no coward.” His voice echoed around her before he stepped from the bushes.
The men who stood before her could have been identical, except for the scarring that covered Dukran’s body. Like Issart’e he wore only shorts, and since any wounds gotten after he matured would have healed without a scar it was obvious that he had been tortured young. A quick mental comparison to Keenan’s scars told her Ancients were likely the ones responsible.
Yet the Ancients refused to punish the blood kin, so what had this man done as a child to change that? Silver couldn’t see the Council going against their rules for anyone.
“Not pretty like my brother, am I?” His first words were harsh as he caught her assessing glance.
“I don’t particularly care if you’re pretty, just if you’re planning on using that spear of yours.” Silver retorted, gesturing to the golden spear that appeared similar in make to his brother’s magical shield.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He growled.
“It would make my life easier if I did.” Silver argued.
“Can we all play nicely?” Issart’e asked. “If I were to come, naturally my brother would accompany me.”
Silver mentally groaned. “I don’t trust him.”
“I could say the same about you.” Dukran retorted. “What happens when my brother heals your brother-in-law and his ward, will you stab him in the back or have a demon suck his soul from his body like you did Alda?”
Silver growled. “I hadn’t planned on either, and as for Alda, she needed to die, no one else here is complaining about my methods.”
Dukran clenched his hand on that spear and Issart’e must have sensed things were getting serious as he stood up from where he had been sitting the entire time and placed a single hand on his brother’s arm.
“Now, now, we’re all family here.” He reminded them both, but Silver sensed he was talking to his brother mentally.
“I’d like to clear one thing up.” Silver inserted. “I have no loyalty to the Council. I only accept their contracts to ensure the wellbeing of my sister and her infant daughter.”
Both twins looked at her, surprised.
“We had not heard of any second generation offspring.” Issart’e finally informed her.
“And you wouldn’t have if I hadn’t just offered the information as proof of my sincerity in our deal.” Silver replied. “My father and my sister’s mother keep her existence secret from the rest of the Council.”
Dukran still looked to be judging the truth in her words, but Issart’e wasted no time in coming to stand next to her. “Well, I’d hate to be the one to keep this little girl’s father away from her longer than necessary.” He shot a meaningful look at Dukran.
“I’ll come,” His brother replied. “But only to make sure your stupidity doesn’t end with your death, because mother would kill me if I let that happen.”
Silver wasted no time in opening a portal back to Katelyn’s blood soaked room.
Romana was asleep in a chair by the doorway but Silver saw her wake the instant they entered the room.
“Sister, these are our cousins.” She informed Romana. “Issart’e and Dukran have come to help Marten and Katelyn.”
“They’re dangerous.” Romana said at once, leaving the chair to stand between them and her floating family.”
“Please,” Silver muttered. “Do you really think I would have brought them here without knowing all the facts first?”
Romana shot her a look.
“Peace, cousin.” Issart’e put on his most charming smile yet. “We simply wish to help.”
“I’m sure that’s exactly what Alda would have said in your position.” Romana spat back.
“Romana,” Silver cautioned. “I may be wrong but surely it isn’t the wisest thing to insult the last hope you have of seeing Marten returned to normal.”
Her sister glared. “I don’t trust your judgement.”
“Yet you trusted it enough to follow my instructions earlier.” Silver said, bored of Romana’s scepticism. “Either let them help or let your husband and ward die. I don’t care.”
Issart’e raised an eyebrow at that, but Silver didn’t really notice, her eyes following the cut now appearing on Katelyn’s face.
Romana saw it too, and with a small cry she staggered back to her chair. “Harm them, and I’ll kill you all.” She promised.
Silver wasted no time, moving to stand with the twins in a triangle around the bodies. She held a knife out to each twin, watching as they slashed their palms and held their fists over the bodies allowing a trickle of blood to fall onto each of them.
Once she was certain enough blood had been applied Silver quickly began a series of incantations in a forgotten language. At the last word, she released a burst of pure power over Marten and Katelyn.
Immediately, the two dropped to the floor and Romana wasted no time sending healing flames into both of them.
“Let’s go.” Silver muttered as the kingling showed the first signs of becoming conscious once more. “We have things to do,”
She opened a portal to Dalmorin, and stepped through first.
Chapter Eight
WARNING
They arrived in Dalmorin and Silver was instantly grateful that Asha was confined to her room out of sight of her guests. She may have told them of the existence of her niece, but she had no intention of telling them where she was.
“You have my sister’s thanks for helping her family.” Silver said.
“You don’t seem to have the best relationship with your sister.” Issart’e observed. “I can’t imagine what would drive two beautiful women to hate each other so.”
Before Silver had a chance to reply, Keenan stepped out of the shadows.
“You didn’t tell me we were going to have guests.” He said and she saw the moment that he and Dukran noticed each other’s scars because both of them tensed slightly.
“My cousins,” Silver informed him. “This is Issart’e and Dukran. Cousins, meet Keenan Iceblood, one of my associates.”
“I was under the impression he was your lover.” Dukran smirked.
Silver groaned. “I don’t know where everyone is getting their information from, but it’s completely and totally wrong! He is not my lover.”
Keenan snorted. “Yet.” He added onto the end of her sentence and she shot him a glare.
“Well, if you’re still available, I guess Keenan will be open for some competition.” Issart’e noted, and Silver wanted to smack both their heads together.
“I’m not available; unless you mean available to cut out your entrails and burn them in front of you.” Silver smiled serenely.
Dukran snorted. “Finally, a woman comes along with sense enough to tell you to leave her alone, brother.” He muttered.
Silver groaned and moved past them, “You are guests in my home and that requires you to follow the laws of etiquette.” She didn’t add that just as if they had vowed to the Ancients there would be no way of holding them to the laws of etiquette seeing as their parents, aunts and uncles would not punish them for breaking the laws. “If you follow me, I shall show you to your rooms.”
“We will share a twin room.” Dukran interrupted. “I still do not trust you not to set your demons on us as we sleep.”
Silver smiled serenel
y, “One day, we shall see if that spear of yours works against creatures from another realm.”
Dukran snarled at her, subtly moving so he was in front of his brother.
“For family, you don’t seem to trust each other.” Keenan commented. “While that’s normal for Silver I didn’t think it was a universal trait of half-Ancients.”
Issart’e laughed. “Ironically, I don’t think Dukran has ever trusted anyone other than family.”
“She’s only family in name, not by blood.” Dukran retorted.
Silver pasted an expression of obviously fake hurt on her face. “Oh, now I feel put in my place.”
“Good.”
She smirked, “A shared room it is then.” She moved over to the corridor from which the bedrooms branched off and moved to the first door, the one furthest from Asha’s room and her own. “I hope this meets your exacting standards.”
She left Dukran inspecting every inch of the room; looking for traps. He wouldn’t find any, but there was an entrance to the passageways inside the room and she was interested to see if he found it, mentally, she told Bran and Lorcan to keep an eye on the two and make sure they didn’t stray too far down the passageways if they did discover them. Keenan followed her as she moved into her own room, intending to change her armour and wash some of the sweat from herself after being on the other, hotter, world.
“They seem interesting.” He commented as she grabbed her armour and moved behind the screen to wash and change.
“They’re here for the information they can provide and protection from Maria.” She informed him before updating him on the situation.
“How do you plan to convince Kate and Gaillean to let them live?” Keenan asked. “They set up the contracts to kill other half-Ancients to give the Council an excuse to keep you alive.”
“They’re innocent of the crimes they’re accused of.” Silver finished dressing and walked out to find him lounging on her bed, she scowled, but it made him smile.
“We both know the Council doesn’t care about justice or innocence.” Keenan replied. “How did Dukran get his scars? You told me they’d never punish their own kin.”
“I don’t know.” Silver replied. “I have my suspicions, and I also think that it would be best if you were the one to ask as, you may have noticed, he doesn’t like me.”
“What, you want us to bond over our shared trauma?” Keenan gave her a dark look.
“Exactly,” She perched on the edge of the bed, unsurprised when he pulled her down so she was lying close enough to feel the heat from his body. “Why are we lying down?”
He just shrugged. “Why were you standing up before?”
Silver wanted to bash his head in for the pointless question.
“I have to talk to Asha at some point.” She replied. “Therefore I was standing up to go to her.”
“No need.” Keenan tilted his head in the direction of the end of the bed and Silver scowled when she saw Asha standing there in a night dress.
“What are you wearing?” She asked. “If we were attacked that dress will offer little-to-no mobility.”
Asha shrugged. “It’s pretty.”
Silver flopped back onto the pillows with a whispered curse.
“Mama says not to use words like that.” Asha informed her, “Can I come in your bed?”
Silver grabbed a pillow and tried to smother herself with it even as she heard Keenan reply, “Of course you can, little princess.”
“Who are the golden men?” Asha asked as she settled in between the two of them.
“No one you are to concern yourself with.” Silver retorted, “If I find you have shown yourself to them I will put you in the dungeons and burn all of your toys.”
“I got rid of my toys already.” Asha replied unexpectedly. “I asked Uncle Roan what to do to make you like me and he said I should try to become a warrior. Warriors don’t have toys, so I asked Lena to get rid of them.”
Silver lifted the pillow to give Asha a look, and then laid it back over her head. “You can keep your toys, girl.”
“I don’t want them. I want to be a warrior.”
Silver groaned, chucked the pillow across the room and glared at her. “You’re too little to be a warrior.”
“Uncle Roan says you’re never too young to start training.” Asha replied, and Silver wanted to strangle her brother.
“I say you start training when you’re ready, and you’re not ready.” Silver retorted. “Why are you in here anyway?”
“You never told me about the dream.”
Silver looked her in the eye and laid the facts down bluntly. “When I was a lot younger, I fell in love; I became scared of the emotion and murdered my fiancée. I later realised the reason for his death was the torture my father put me through and so I then chose to murder my father because he indirectly caused the death of my fiancée.”
Asha nodded slowly. “Would you have killed him even if your fiancée hadn’t died?”
Silver thought about it. “Probably, but his death would have happened later and I would have done it more subtly, likely using poison instead of an arrow.”
“Do you not hurt inside because you killed your father?” Asha looked curious.
“I do not.” Silver denied automatically. “Did you have any other questions?” She always allowed Asha to ask all the questions she could think of about the dreams in an effort to reduce the child’s fear of them.
“Are you sure I can’t know who the golden men are?”
Keenan replied for her. “They’re dangerous, and we don’t want you to worry about them.” He told her with one of those serious looks that made him instantly believable.
Asha nodded slowly. “But they’re my cousins?”
Silver debated throwing herself off the top of the mountain in that instant. “Asha, what did we say about spying?”
“That it was useful,” Asha replied.
“Yes, but only around people you don’t trust.”
“But Uncle Roan said if I wanted to be a warrior I shouldn’t trust anyone.”
Keenan chuckled. “I do love listening to your conversations. Do you want to strangle your brother now or later?”
Silver shot him a glare that should have convinced him to shut his mouth right then and there but, being Keenan, he wasn’t quelled.
“Asha,” She began calmly. “Rather than pretending you don’t know anything and lying to me, which I don’t like, why don’t you tell us what you think you know?”
Asha scrunched up her forehead. “I think their names are Issart’e and Dukran, they’re twins and they’re my cousins.”
“First cousins once removed.” Silver corrected. “Go on.”
“You don’t trust them and they don’t trust you. Oh, and Issart’e wants to compete with Keenan, but I don’t get what they’re competing for.”
Silver groaned again as Keenan burst into laughter. “You got all of the important points, little princess.” He informed her.
“No she hasn’t,” Silver interrupted. “Asha you forgot that they may or may not kill you if they get the chance.”
Keenan’s brows drew together, and she knew he was questioning the wisdom of telling that to a child already haunted by nightmares. As Silver saw it, she was having the nightmares anyway so what difference would it make?
“I promise to remain out of the way.” Asha said hastily.
“Good.” Silver sighed, “I am going to summon your grandparents; do you wish to speak to them?” It seemed only fitting that Asha be given the choice.
“When? Do I have to wear my best clothes?”
“No.” Silver replied. “I don’t care what your grandparents think of us. I’ll come and find you when it’s time.”
Asha, intelligent as she was, understood the dismissal and leapt from the bed with a single, unexpected peck to Silver’s cheek. “Goodnight, Aunt Silver.” She said as she dashed from the room, more fluid and silent than any child that age had the right to be.<
br />
“So Asha can kiss you goodnight?” Keenan had the nerve to speak the words she’d been dreading.
“She is a child and has yet to learn what is acceptable.” Silver retorted, and then remembered her vow. “But if you wish, you may do the same, so long as you warn me before so I do not accidentally rip your head off believing you are about to harm me.”
Unfortunately, the note of caution did not put him off. Instead, he raised himself onto his elbows and leaned towards her, till his face hovered above her own.
“Warning.” He whispered, even as he lowered his lips to hers.
Chapter Nine
ON TRIAL
Kate looked at Silver and wondered if she knew how much of an effect she had had on Asha in the short time that they’d been together.
When she’d last seen her beautiful grandchild she’d worn dresses and pretty smiles that disguised the intelligence she cleverly hid from her mother. Now she stood next to Silver in armour, wearing an expression of carefully disguised interest which Silver had perfected centuries prior.
“I know they’re not insane.” Gaillean replied. “But they had to appear so for the Council to see you as useful.”
Standing there, below the dais in the throne room of Dalmorin Fortress, Kate almost felt as if she were on trial. Keenan and Dukran both looked down at them with expressions of barely veiled hatred. Issart’e stood next to his brother, his perfectly sculpted features set in a frown, while Silver sat on the throne, her legs crossed and her attention seemingly focused on the strand of hair she was twirling around her finger. Asha stood with Roan on the other side of the throne and hellhounds lay menacingly around the room.
“Yes, well you see, I won’t kill them for crimes they haven’t committed.” Silver retorted. “And they helped heal your son-in-law after Maria attempted to murder Katelyn and succeeded in murdering two of my most loyal companions.”
She sounded so completely unaffected as she spoke of Leigh and Miria’s deaths that Kate began to wonder if merging with Romana’s soul had done anything to melt the ice around Silver’s heart.
“If they do not die, Romana and you will.” Gaillean assured her.
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