Theryn shook her head. It simply couldn’t be true. “Then…then if this magic at the hands of vampires is real, Garhan, show me more than just a wolf’s teeth.”
Older that Keiran, Garhan was more in touch with what he was, but he’d never made a show of it. “Use the sword, Theryn. Run me through, and I will show you what we’re capable of.”
“Garhan!” Mari protested. “She will do no such thing!”
Theryn tightened her grip on the sword’s hilt, certain this would be some sort of trick. If he was going to throw her entire world into flux, for the sake of her own sanity and the future of her country, she needed to end it.
Garhan turned his head to look at Mari to silence her, but his eyes widened at the sudden pain driving through his midsection.
Mari screamed, seeing several inches of the blade emerge out from Garhan’s back.
Theryn didn’t let go of the sword’s hilt. She assumed it would pull back easily from Garhan and the trick revealed. When she tried to move the sword, however, there was resistance, Garhan being tugged forward with it.
Theryn’s hands fell away from the sword. When Garhan turned to look at Mari, Theryn could see the other end of the sword sticking through his back. She recoiled, taking several steps backward, tripping on her gown and falling onto her rear. Her eyes teared up as she watched Garhan’s dark blood begin to seep out from the entry point of the blade, dripping to the marble floor tiles.
Garhan drew in a shuddering breath, briefly placing a hand on Mari’s shoulder to silence her. “I’m fine. Trust me.”
“Fine? You’ve got a sword through you!” She shook her head and turned her sights toward Theryn, ready to attack her childhood friend and kill her.
Garhan held her in place, however. “Mari, stand your ground, do not intervene.”
The courier shook her head, tears marking her cheeks. “Gary…”
He let his hand slip from her shoulder before taking hold of the sword’s hilt with both hands. Garhan looked down at Theryn as he slowly began to withdraw the weapon from his body.
Theryn was going to be sick. Acid hit the back of her throat and she lurched to the side, vomiting. She was certain she’d fatally wounded her own cousin.
Garhan remained steady despite the pain, gritting his teeth as the cold steel was pulled back out of his stomach. Sweat broke across his brow, but knowing that he was going to be absolutely fine gave him the resolve he needed.
Theryn dragged the back of her left hand across her mouth before turning her eyes toward Garhan. She shook her head as the last bit of the blade was pulled out, a larger torrent of blood spilling from the wound. “I’m sorry! I thought it was a mere trick!”
Garhan dropped the blood-stained sword to the floor, shaking his head. “This is no trick, Theryn. Get up.”
Though she wasn’t sure she had the strength or steadiness to do so, Theryn rose, her complexion waxy. There was authority in his voice, and she wasn’t going to disobey.
With the sword out, the strange pain of the injury healing itself ran through him. He remained steady, however, not wishing to send Mari further into a panic.
Mari was on the verge of collapse herself. “What have you done?”
Garhan looked at his companion and gave her a slowly creeping smile, his fangs still evident. “Mari, this isn’t the first time I’ve had that same sword run through me. Baden did it, too.”
“And that is supposed to make me feel better about it?” Mari asked, on the verge of sickness.
Theryn reached out a trembling hand, placing it against his stomach, instinctively trying to stem the flow of blood. “Get the medic! Someone! Please!”
Garhan reached down and took hold of her wrist, shaking his head. “Not needed. I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding!” she countered, voice cracking.
“Am I?” Garhan asked, quirking a brow.
Theryn moved her hand back as Garhan reached down and lifted his shirt.
Though he was still marred with wet blood, there was no wound. He’d fed from Mari that morning before their arrival at the palace, leaving him perfectly able to recuperate within moments.
Theryn put her hand back against his stomach, pressing and looking for the entry wound, but it wasn’t there. She moved around him and lifted his shirt over his back, finding blood there as well, but no point of origin.
Mari hung her head and let out a breath. “God damn the both of you! This entire family is absolutely mad!”
Garhan tugged his shirt back down as Theryn moved before him again. “Do you believe me now?”
Theryn bent and picked up the sword with her bloodstained hand, touching the wet blade. It was completely solid, not a toy made to collapse into itself for show. The middle of it was warm to the touch, heated by its brief time inside Garhan.
Disbelief swirled through her, but she’d witnessed it. She’d done it with her own hands. Every pop of skin and muscle layer punctured, the slight glance off of one of his ribs as the blade had traveled through him—she’d felt all of it.
She lowered the weapon and met Garhan’s stare, giving a small nod. “Then…then how do we kill Lord Vercilla?”
* * *
Mother Thinliss sat in the darkened tower of the cathedral in a chair facing the single window. She had her hands folded in her lap as she looked out over the midnight landscape, spotting hints of movement below. There was a pleasant sense of excitement within her as she heard footsteps moving up the tower stairs.
The door behind her opened, and she heard multiple men make their way into the room. She didn’t turn to face them, merely keeping her gaze cast out the window. It wasn’t her place to see their faces or to learn their identities.
She’d left the red lantern in the tower’s window for a week of consecutive nights as a signal for the Church Knights to arrive on the following full moon. Eleven men had shown up, their ranks down from twelve following Kanan’s death. His successor had yet to be named.
“We have come in accordance to the laws,” one of the men said to her once all were present and accounted for. “What matter are we to discuss?”
Adreth smiled to herself. Though she’d been in charge of her congregation back on the coast, she’d never had a force like the Church Knights to carry out her will. There was something intoxicating about it.
“I have called you to discuss the matter of our king,” she said, squeezing her hands together. “I believe a curse has been brought down onto his house and this country from his evil.”
Most of the men behind her were employed within the castle and very familiar with Keiran. There were uncomfortable glances given between them as they waited for her to go on.
“We’ve suffered mass death from a winter unlike any we have ever seen. Lodain and Edinau were decimated by a Sadori invasion, after which he immediately begins open trade with them. Then, he pressed Father Beezle to allow his marriage to one of their heathen women, a woman unqualified to be made queen. Following that, Tordan Lea suffered an infestation of demons, one of which kills my predecessor. Now, the head of the Royal Guard has been murdered by Athan Vercilla, the king himself grievously injured, and an illness spread to his staff.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “There is discontentment from a higher power with the fact our new king is a vampire.”
There was more uncomfortable shifting in the group amassed behind her. Most of them knew Keiran, and of those who did, none of them believed him to be an evil man doing anything intentionally malicious.
“Sir Kanan Steiner’s death was regrettable, but he died in the line of duty,” one of the men said. “He was trying to save our king after he’d been struck down by Lord Vercilla.”
“The elder Sir Steiner had a long career within the castle,” Thinliss said, opening her eyes and frowning. “I knew him from long ago. For him to die at the hands of someone whom our king never should have allowed into the castle to begin with is a tragedy.”
“He was one of us.”
Mother Thinliss stood up but didn’t turn around. “King Keiran Sipesh must not be allowed to act out any further in his vampiric ways. To do so will continue to bring bad fortune upon Tordania. I may not have a specific law of ours to cite to have him removed from power, but I know there are those amongst you who have eyes in the castle. You will find a reason.”
“And even if we did?” asked one of the men. “How do we kill someone who has already been killed? We’ve seen him take injuries that would have meant the end of a normal man. We’ve seen him fight, and not a man among us, not even all of us together, would be able to bring him down.”
Though it was against protocol, she spun around, sending the chair behind her crashing to the side. “Are you telling me that you cannot do anything about King Keiran despite your duties to the church and this country?”
“Cannot and will not,” Sygian replied, locking gazes with Adreth. Her breech in their customs didn’t sit well with the newly-chosen Grand Councillor. “He doesn’t willingly allow Lord Vercilla into the castle, and you cannot blame him for the weather.”
Fearless, she scanned over the faces of the other men, making quick work of memorizing each of them. She’d seen several of them in the past in and around the castle. “Am I to understand the lot of you are hereby refusing to do the tasks being asked of you by me? There were plenty who were willing to defend Peirte Methaius once, too.”
The men all stared back at her, stonewalling.
“I see.” Adreth crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the side, shaking her head. “I should have known he would have all those exposed to him on a regular basis duped into thinking he is without flaw. A glamour cast on all those near him, vampire charm, call it what you will. I suppose this will be another mess I’m required to clean up alone.”
“Are you making a threat against the king, Mother Thinliss?” Sygian asked.
She gave a hollow smile, shaking her head. “No, of course not. What would one old woman be able to do against a vampire if the lot of you cannot do anything to stop him?”
“Good, I’d hate to be put in the position of bringing this to the king’s attention,” Sygian replied.
Adreth’s eyes went wide and she took a step forward. “The king is not allowed to ever know the identities of the Church Knights or to have their matters discussed with him!”
The grand councillor offered a smile. “Just as you aren’t to know our identities either, Mother Thinliss. Yet, I clearly see you looking at us, a spark of recognition in your eye, perhaps? Not to mention asking us to move against him when you can cite no law that he has broken…”
She set her jaw and tipped her head back. Her cheeks burned with her fury, but she knew she needed to exercise caution with the men before her. Keiran already had his claws into them.
“You are dismissed,” she said, waving a hand at them.
Sygian looked at the others before turning toward the door to depart. Mother Thinliss was a little too eager to overstep her bounds.
She watched as the men left, angry with their refusal to assist her. Part of her wasn’t surprised, however. Surely, there had to be a way to replace the failed group or some alternative for her to use.
It would have been so much simpler for them to have agreed, however.
* * *
Needing some distraction from his continued convalescence and his emotional state, Keiran had spent countless hours in the throne room, the stone left for him in the palm of his left hand. He had his eyes closed, trying any and every combination of thoughts and intent he could muster, but the rock just sat there.
Thana entered with Zach, stopping before him. “Any progress?”
He clenched his hand around the stone and lowered it to his lap, shaking his head. “As expected, no.”
She moved around to sit beside him, balancing their son on her knee. “Do you suppose Mari and Garhan have made it to Aleria yet?”
Keiran shrugged before reaching over to fluff up the growing black tuft on the baby’s head. “I would imagine, assuming they found passage on a ship.”
Thana smoothed the child’s hair back down. Keiran had continued to slowly improve, his wound still bothersome but not keeping him from what he generally did around the castle.
He quirked a brow as she continued to stare at him after he’d settled back again. “What?”
“You’re getting better. I was really worried about you,” she said.
While his physical wound was healing, his mental state was something else entirely. With Kanan’s death and the loss of Jerris, a void had been left. Knowing he’d made everyone around him miserable long enough, he’d done his best to hide those feelings, going through the motions of what his life now was.
He reached over and made the baby’s hair stand up yet again as he found it irresistible. “There are greater things in this world to deal with than my own petty issues.”
Once more, she smoothed Zach’s hair. “But they aren’t petty to you.”
“No, not at all,” he said, his hand squeezing around the stone he clutched hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.
This minor detail didn’t escape Thana’s notice. “Keir?”
He looked at her, raising his brows.
“It will all work out, you do believe that still, don’t you?” she asked.
“I used to joke with Jerris that we should leave here and move far away. Raise goats on a farm.” He shrugged and held his hand out before him, opening his fist and staring at the stone. “No more royal obligations, no more guard duties. No more Athan.”
“So I’ve heard.” She gave a single laugh. “You know nothing of farming or raising goats, however.”
“I’m a very fast learner.”
Her smile fell, seeing there was a degree of seriousness within him. “You aren’t honestly thinking about abdicating somewhere down in that mind of yours, are you?”
The corners of his mouth pulled down into a frown. “I won’t lie and say I haven’t considered it.”
She followed his stare to the stone in his hand, slouching where she sat. “You cannot give up, Keir. There is no one else in this world able to stand up against Athan like you do.”
“And yet, the tighter I try to hold onto that idea and desire, the more it feels like I’m made up of nothing more than smoke, and what I seek to grasp simply falls through my hands,” he replied.
The rock suddenly dropped through his palm and bounced down the stairs of the throne dais, skittering out to the center of the room.
Keiran slowly lowered his hand, eyes wide. As to which one of them was shocked more at what had happened was up for debate.
He turned to his wife, jaw slack.
“Did…did that truly just happen?” she asked.
For the first time in weeks, Keiran genuinely smiled. “Aye.”
Chapter 7
Though female, Saleet was a Quitam warrior and one of Ahman Danier’s many sisters. Unable to produce children, there had been little use for her within their tribe. She had been put through assorted trials to find some aptitude within her, and she had been finally granted the rare title of Asashi Maseen.
Queen-killer.
The assassin entered the Takrahn palace, a leather bag dangling at her side. She made her way directly to the throne room, giving little regard to the sentries along the way.
Danier looked up from the book placed across his lap, having sensed Saleet’s approach long before she appeared. “It has been some time since I have seen you. Have you brought me something to make me smile?”
Without any outward expression, she shrugged the bag’s strap from her shoulder and upended it.
Danier rose from his seat and stared down at the already decomposing head that hit the floor. He covered hi
s nose and mouth to try and ward off the stench as he moved closer and crouched down. In the desert heat, the severed head’s condition had quickly deteriorated, and making a positive identification wasn’t going to be easy.
“You are certain this was the one?” he asked, standing back up and locking gazes with her.
Saleet reached into another bag hanging from her waist, and pulled out a large bracer made of silver, holding it out toward Danier.
He took it from her with a smile. The falcon-shaped crest of the Quitam tribe was on it, cut from a single large emerald. It was the queen maker Cinat had worn at the time of her escape from the palace with Thana.
“Where did you track her down to?” he asked, lowering the bracer to his side.
“She’d run far to the east,” Saleet replied. “To a man in the Baswa tribe. I killed the both of them, so no tales could be told.”
“Baswa? Such a waste, but she brought this upon herself.” Pleased, Danier retreated back to his throne, motioning for the guards to remove Cinat’s rotting head, wanting to get the reek away from his sensitive nose. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Saleet.”
“Do you wish me to now find the others?” she asked.
While Danier wanted the other tribal queens eradicated, there was something more pressing. “The bounty hunters I dispatched to find Betram have still not completed their mission. One of the men reported to me that he’d crossed over into Tordania, but there has been nothing since. I fear they were either intercepted or simply failed their mission since they’d allowed the old fool to make it that far. If anyone can find that doddering little man and take care of him, it would be you. Certainly, the Tordanians would suspect nothing of a woman. I have faith in your abilities, considering the added strength I’ve given you.”
Saleet finally gave up an emotion, her lips parting in a slow smile, her fangs already descending. “Consider it done, Ahman.”
* * *
“A word in private, if I may?”
Keiran came to a halt in the corridor, turning around to see Sygian standing behind him. He cocked his head toward the empty dining hall door. “Of course.”
The King's Knight (Royal Blood Book 5) Page 18