It doesn’t take much to squash it back down, just a few deep breaths and some random happy thoughts, extinguish it pretty quickly and when the round spot of light finally fades from my vision I find myself staring at the top of the bookshelves.
Right in the centre of the wall, at the very top, there is a groove, a gap small enough not to be noticed but large enough to conceal a small brown box, which just pokes out into view.
Without thinking about it, I drag the rolling ladder across the room until it sits beneath the gap, which from this view is completely invisible.
Climbing the rungs two at a time, I have to hold on tight so I don’t fall off and break my neck, however good the Jalooniem tastes it’s not worth the pain.
My feet balance on the last rung of the ladder and yet I’m still not high enough to see the concealed space. With sweaty hands I grip onto the smooth stone, desperately trying to keep myself from falling to my death as I reach up, my fingers crawling along the dusty top of the shelf until I feel it, my prize.
With shaking hands I pull the box from its hiding spot, sending dust into the air. I stifle the sneeze twitching in my nose as I lean my body carefully against the bookshelves trying to keep steady while I pry the lid from the heavy wooden box, surprised to only find an ancient looking book and a couple of small photographs inside.
The sound of voices in the hall nearly has me dropping the box onto the floor. I move quickly, grabbing the book and photos then shoving the now empty box back into the hole and all but jump down the ladder.
I tuck my findings into the back of my waistband, just pushing the ladder back into place as the door opens and Calasis and Ellestra walk in, both oblivious to what I’m doing.
“Hey guys, what are you up to?” I try to fake normalcy, only managing to sound more suspicious.
“We were wondering where you got to.” Ellestra’s eyes narrow, taking in my strained posture. Calasis, on the other hand, doesn’t question my tension, instead he walks over, throwing his arm across my shoulders in his effortless charming ease which no longer raises my hackles, it’s just the way he is.
“You missed brunch,” he says, like it’s the end of the world.
“Yeah, sorry about that. After the morning we’ve had I needed some down time, and thought reading a book might help.”
I reach for the closest book still lying on the couch, holding it out in front of me as if proving my point.
“Prytorian history,” Calasis reads the title, eyebrows raised, obviously thinking I’m insane. “Well if you want a book to put you to sleep then you chose the right one.”
“Anyway, we were going to do some training,” Ellestra chimes in.
Only now do I notice that she isn’t wearing the mandatory dress. With her casual clothes and golden brown hair tied back into a high ponytail she looks like any other teenage girl, albeit a lot prettier.
“Is Blay coming too?” It slips out before I can stop myself, and I feel my cheeks warming under Calasis’s sudden scrutiny.
If he’s hurt by my interest in his brother he doesn’t let it show. Instead he tucks me further under his arm and leads me from the room.
“No, he’s busy doing something he couldn’t be bothered explaining to us.”
“Probably trying to find the mole,” Ellestra interrupts him, “or ensuring the barrier hasn’t suffered any damage.”
“I don’t know why he’s bothering. The barrier is impenetrable, it’s never failed before, it won’t fail now.”
“Yes but you know how cautious he is, it’s his job, after all, the future King has a lot of responsibilities,” Ellestra defends Blay, which makes me smile just a little.
“Which gives us more time for having fun.” Calasis squeezes me hard, almost popping the book out of my waistband.
“So do you feel like training now?”
“Sure, just give me a minute to get changed okay? I’ll meet you back in the training room.”
I rush off before they can question me and I make it back to my room with Zaneth only having to correct my direction once. I’m getting better at this.
I don’t have a chance to look at the book or the photo’s like I really want to do, I can’t risk causing any more suspicions. Even though they probably wouldn’t see any problem with me nosing through their books, I have a feeling that this book is different, secret in some way. Why else would it be hidden?
I wrap it up in a blanket and hide it in the bottom of a draw, then quickly throw on some different clothes and race back to the training room in record time.
As soon as I see Calasis and Ellestra battling it out with swords I’m immediately glad I came.
Ever since I found the daggers in the abandoned cottage I’ve wanted to train with something equally as dangerous.
I take in the effortless way Calasis moves, gliding on his feet, raising to block each blow before it strikes, all movement flowing free of thought, completely natural.
Ellestra is just as graceful, yet lacks the same ease. Her furrowed brow, pulled tight in concentration, deepens with each blow she misses, frustrated grunts escaping as Calasis unarms her.
“Very good, little sister.” Even though he’s praising her he doesn’t lose the condescending tone. “With some extra practice, you may actually become a good warrior one day.”
Ellestra glares daggers at him and I step forward to intervene, slightly worried that she might try to stab him for real.
“So we are learning sword fighting today?”
“We sure are, My Lady, that’s if you think you can handle training with me again?”
Now I feel the urge to stab him, just to remove that conceited smirk from his unfairly cute face.
“I assure you that I can handle anything you throw at me, Calasis. The question is, can you handle me?”
His surprised chuckle follows me as I walk across the mat and pick up Ellestra’s sword. It is surprisingly heavy and even though it’s only a training sword made of wood, I’m sure it could inflict a lot of damage should it need to.
Wrapping my fingers around the hilt I feel its balance, my arm instantly aching with its weight. I place my feet into the same position that Blay showed me during our knife throwing session, a rush of shivers vibrating down my spine with the memory of his breath on my neck.
I’m caught up in the memory of Blay when Calasis makes the first move, lashing out with his sword, taking me off guard and whacking the sturdy wooden blade against my shoulder.
“Pay attention, Rayna from Earth, or you will easily be defeated.”
The sword wavers in my hand and I pull my focus back just in time to block his next hit, the whack vibrating all the way up my arm.
“Aren’t you supposed to warn me before you attack?” my voice is already breathless.
“Does the enemy?” Calasis raises his brows at my ignorance.
“Good point.” I lunge forward swinging out wildly, not caring that I lack his grace, merely wanting to hit him with all the strength I have.
“If you continue to fight like that, you will not only fail but also drain all of your energy. Sword fighting is half skill, half instinct. You have to centre your mind, anticipate the next move, block and counter attack quickly.”
As if proving his point, Calasis blocks my pitiful strike, twisting our swords together, wrenching mine from my grasp and sending it crashing to the floor then raising his blade to my throat in one clean swoop.
“And I believe you are now dead or my hostage. Whatever will I do with you?”
Anger boils beneath my skin, eager to burst free and take this cocky Prince down. My fingertips tingle, talons sharpening just enough to frighten me. It would be so easy to react, to let my talons free, to slide them across his neck and let his blood flow.
The tickling of desire inside my chest is enough to break me free from the hideous thought. Fear of myself retracts the claws into nothingness again. I really need to get a grip on these things, it’s becoming more and more dangerous
how easily accessible they are.
I step back, panting hard, keeping my eyes downcast.
“Why even bother with swords?” my voice is breathless, strained, but I keep talking, needing to distract myself from how easy it has become to evoke a darker side of me. “Why don’t you just use guns?”
“Guns?” Calasis cocks one eyebrow, making me think he doesn’t even know what I’m meaning.
“Yeah, you know ‘bang bang’, shoot them dead. You wouldn’t even have to get close to the Zantronians, just stay far enough back to be safe and shoot them, blow them all away.”
“Well that’s not exactly an honourable way to fight.”
The spark of anger begins to glow at his naivety.
“They don’t kill in a humane way, they don’t hunt for survival, they are purely evil. The death of a person is merely a pleasure to them, a game in which decimating a person is the ultimate goal.”
For the first time since I met him, Calasis loses his positive charisma, sadness etching its way onto his soft face.
“I know how you must feel, Rayna.”
“No, you don’t. You know nothing. You live in this perfect castle, surrounded by your perfect family, going into battle like it’s the honourable thing to do, while guards are by your side sworn to protect you. You have never looked into their eyes, seen their joy over your pain and known without a doubt that they are going to kill you. If you truly knew how evil they were you wouldn’t care about honour, all you would want is to kill them, no matter how you did it. Just kill them all.” I’m a twitching mess by the time my last breathless word is shouted accusingly at Calasis.
His eyes fill with pity, my rant finally breaking through his cocky exterior to reveal a kind, caring guy inside, one who stands there, hand outreached not knowing how to calm down the irrational girl unravelling in front of him.
However much I don’t agree with what he says next, I can still understand his reasoning, no matter how daft.
“We fight with honour, Rayna, to do anything else would step beyond the line of good and into evilness so strong we would most certainly perish. Our values as a people bring us strength, which gives us the courage to continue on with this never-ending fight.” He sighs, running his fingers through his sandy brown hair.
“To use guns, to hide behind distance to fight, would eradicate our moral guide. To take a life, any life, is a monumental event. You must be brave enough to look that creature in the eyes and watch the life drain out of him. To know, without a doubt, that he deserves death. To watch him fall, and feel no guilt, proves to us that we are making the right choice, because no matter who we kill or why we end their life, their death will always reflect on us. It’s something we will live with until the end of our days, and to kill without honour would darken our spirit. We would be no better than they are.”
Stillness falls over us, each reflecting on what Calasis has said. I can’t help but be swept away with his ideals. He was so convincing, so true to a passionate cause, that it shows just how deeply he is immersed in this battle, one he would never turn his back on, one he will fight to the death for the tiny chance of saving his people.
There is more to Calasis than I gave him credit for, however deep it is buried, he has the soul of a warrior and the heart of saviour. It’s not all parties and girls to him after all.
I’m just about to give him grief about his underlying responsible persona when the door is thrown open and Zaneth runs in, his eyes, for the first time, filled with horror.
“Zaneth, what is it? What’s wrong?” Calasis’s voice deepens at the sight of Zaneth’s unusual demeanour.
Zaneth keeps his eyes glued to me, his mouth pulled into a thin line.
“It’s Blay.”
Chapter Seventeen
I’m running after Calasis, my short legs failing to keep up with his long strides, running towards what, I don’t know.
Zaneth only uttered Blay’s name and Calasis was out the door far faster than I could keep up. Ellestra runs beside us, trying to get Zaneth to give up any details that will tell us what is wrong, what has happened that caused him to freak out in a way that they have never seen before either.
He remains tight-lipped, not uttering a single word to quell our fears. All I know is something happened to Blay. Something bad.
How could that be? Wasn’t he out checking the barrier? Did the Zantronians somehow manage to break through after all and take out their revenge on the King to be? Is Blay hurt? Dead?
Horrible images plague my mind as we continue to run, none of them making any sense and nothing managing to ease my seized heart.
Forever seems to pass before we come to a stop in front of the healing chambers. I’ve never seen it before, the only time I was here I was unconscious and I’ve been lucky enough to stay away ever since, but now that I’m back a sick sensation burrows its way into my stomach, a knot tightening to fuel my fear of what’s to come.
Karadese stands at the doors, stopping us from entering. Her face is pulled taunt, her usual soft smile nowhere to be seen.
“What happened?” Calasis demands, unconcerned with his mother’s own struggles, only needing to know the truth before he combusts from worry.
“Blay was attacked by a group of Zantronians. He was outnumbered and has suffered some serious injuries,” her voice is flat, uncomprehending.
“What? How did that happen? Why didn’t I know they had crossed the barrier?”
“They didn’t.” Zaneth glances at me, his eyes darting back to Calasis before giving away his thoughts. “Blay went to them, to Zantron, by himself.”
“What the hell!” Calasis turns, punching the wall with his full strength, the skin across his knuckles splitting open and sending blood dripping down his hand.
“Why?” My simple question is barely above a whisper yet it brings everyone to a standstill.
Karadese shakes her head, her raven braid falling over her shoulder. “No one knows yet. He only just managed to make it home before passing out. It’s a miracle he didn’t die there with the injuries he has sustained.”
The door opens behind Karadese, allowing Araton to step out into the hall. He pulls it closed behind him, but not before I get a glimpse of Blay, lying on a thin mattress on a stone bed, his skin deathly pale, gaping wounds down his legs, stomach and chest. He’s been in a fight, that’s for sure and he didn’t fare so well.
“How is Blay, Father?” Ellestra’s voice trembles as she struggles to hold back the tears which are welling in her eyes.
“He’s alive, that’s all that matters.” Araton reaches for Karadese’s hand, pulling her close. “He is a fighter, he didn’t go down without taking some of them with him. How he managed to get back here I will never know.”
Calasis stares off into the distance, his fists clenching and unclenching as he mutters, “Why the hell he went by himself in the first place is what bothers me. If he wanted to take them on then I should have gone with him. I could have had his back, I could have helped him.”
“I believe he was testing his theory of there being a mole in our system. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Blay is too cautious and level-headed to take on such a dangerous task for no good reason.”
“What, so you’re suggesting that I’m the mole?” Calasis shouts at Araton, his hurt mixing with anger to make him react without thinking.
“Of course not,” Araton sighs.
“Well why else wouldn’t he tell me what he was up to? Does he think he can take them on by himself? He might be the best fighter we’ve got but he’s not invincible.”
“Calasis,” Karadese’s voice is hard, her tone forcefully cold and unrelenting. “Whatever Blay’s reasons, we have to trust that he knew what he was doing. All we know for sure is that he went, he is extensively hurt and he needs our strength, not for us to be bickering over why he felt the need to go alone. There will be plenty of time to let your frustrations be known. At the moment, I am more concerned with my son’s recov
ery to give another thought to those monsters capabilities. They have already taken too much away from us, they will not take my son as well.”
The door swings open and a little old lady steps out.
“He’s awake.”
I push my way through the stampede of people trying to get to Blay’s side. Reaching out, I pick up his frozen hand, wrapping it in mine, trying to give him some of my warmth.
His unfocused eyes search for mine, locking onto my face and not letting go.
“What the bloody hell were you thinking?” I snap, my voice not holding any of the anger I wish it would.
“Don’t,” he coughs, clearing his throat to whisper. “I had to go. You know why.”
It hits me like a ten-tonne truck. He went to Zantron for me. He left the safety of Prytora, left his guards behind, in search of answers to solve my problems. He nearly died because of me.
His hand drops from mine as I take a step back, my head shaking, unwilling to believe the truth.
This is my fault. Once again it’s all my fault.
“Rayna, please, I need to tell you something, something important.”
“What is going on?” Calasis demands. “Why did you go there – to test your theory about the mole? Are you stupid or something! Why didn’t you tell me, you should have told me, Blay. We could have gone together.”
I stand back, just out of Blay’s reach, his eyes twitching in pain as his wounds are dabbed clean by the little old lady. She forces him to sip from a cup which I now know holds Jalooniem sap.
“Who did you tell, since you didn’t deem me worthy of knowing what you were up to, who did you tell – who is the mole?”
“There isn’t one.” Blay shakes his head slightly, then winces in pain. Already colour is returning to his glossy skin, but he’s still got a hell of a lot of healing to do.
Paladin Rising (The Paladin's Curse Book 1) Page 17