Tylen's stomach twisted. He could not ascend to high lord himself without marrying the high lord's daughter. "She is simply a misbehaved child. It is not your fault, my lord."
"But what can I do? She could be anywhere."
Tylen settled down on a gold-framed chair near the high lord. "We need to think through this logically. She doesn't have many options. If you were your daughter, where would you go?"
"I've already had the guards check the obvious places. She isn't with any of her friends. None of them have even seen her. Maybe she's gone to Riverside."
"Why Riverside, my lord?"
"It's on the way to what she wants to do. Ever since her mother's execution, she has harbored this silly notion that she can kill Emperor Warrick. I'm sure you can tell how much she hates the man."
"Yes, I have, my lord," Tylen said. "Are you sure she'd go to Riverside, though? She obviously didn't go with her friends because she knew you'd look there. Riverside seems fairly obvious, too, and whatever faults your daughter may have, she strikes me as an intelligent person. She wouldn't go where we expect her to go."
"Yes, that does make sense now that I think about it."
Tylen smiled. He'd always had a strange knack for convincing people to accept his ideas, probably because of his good looks and charm. This ability had served him well.
"So where else might she have gone?" he asked, faking sympathy again.
The high lord stroked his chin, his expression pensive. "She might have gone to the forest east of the city. She met a young man there yesterday, and he helped her out of a tight spot. It's as good an idea as any."
Tylen felt suddenly lighter. "I would love to lead a search party. Perhaps then she will see how much I care for her."
"Good. I've already had some volunteers for a search party: a few guards, Captain Davis, Lord Ander Franklin, and Aric and Kara Miller."
Tylen disagreed with some of the high lord's other choices. He and Ander had never seen eye to eye. Not to mention, Nadia showed a lot of interest in Ander. Tylen couldn't stand competition for his prize. Nadia would be his.
Then, when the high Lord died, Tylen would become high Lord. Maybe he'd even speed up the process. He had no respect for the high lord. Any man who allowed his wife and daughter to join the Order was not fit to rule the city.
"I shall have some of the guards inform everyone involved of the new search," he said.
"And I will find her, my lord. You can trust me."
An hour later, the entire search party had assembled. Tylen avoided Ander, Aric, and Kara if at all possible. He had not met Aric and Kara, but they were friends of Ander's, so he had an idea what kind of people they were.
The guards would all defer to Tylen, who was leading the party. Even Captain Davis, a man Tylen suspected was involved with the Order, couldn't order Tylen around. Being the high lord's chosen successor had its advantages.
The orange glow of evening was fading to the west, but Tylen didn't mind the dark, though it could make their search more difficult. The longer Nadia remained hidden, the more his chances for power would fade. He couldn't allow that to happen. Not because of a spoiled little brat.
A spoiled little brat that he liked for some odd reason.
They crossed the bridge and ducked under the canopy of trees. Even with the heat of day fading, the air remained steamy.
"Should we stick to the path?" Captain Davis asked.
Tylen stopped to consider. "No, she'll have left the path."
He couldn't explain this intuition, but he decided he'd trust it. His instincts had helped him many times before, often leading him right to an animal he was hunting. A target.
He chuckled silently. Nadia was just another target.
They left the path. Tylen remained separate from the people he didn't like. Yes, they were concerned about Nadia, but not for the right reasons. He knew their type. Though he couldn't prove it, they were Order members.
Night fell as they searched, and with it came a strange chill.
Tylen turned to a guard. "Does it seem cold?"
"No, it's still really muggy."
"Strange. It seems cold to me." Tylen tried to shrug it off, but when he saw his own breath, he knew he wasn't imagining it.
"Now, that's strange," Ander said from about ten feet away. "How can your breath be showing? And why is it that only you feel this cold?"
"I don't know." Tylen tried to keep his teeth from chattering. He didn't feel like engaging in conversation, not with Ander.
"Could be something to do with Woodsville," Aric said
"You don't actually believe the tales?" Tylen struggled not to laugh. "It's just an old city. People make things up to scare others."
"I've been there," Aric said. "Believe me, it's haunted."
Tylen gave him a derisive look. "As if I should trust your judgment. I don't even know why the high lord sent you people out here. You'll probably just help her get away."
Ander advanced on Tylen. "You know, maybe we should. I can't stomach the thought of her being forced to marry you. Not because she wouldn't marry me, but because you are simply a horrible person, Tylen."
"In the future," Tylen said, "you might want to control that tongue of yours. When I'm high lord, I'll have the power to make life miserable for you."
Ander's hand moved to his sword. "You'll never be high lord if I have anything to say about it. Nor will Nadia ever marry you."
"Not willingly, maybe, but she will marry me. If she has a problem with it, she can run away then. Once we marry, I'll be high lord no matter what happens to her."
"You bastard!" Ander gripped the hilt of his sword. "I bet you'd turn her in to the Imperial Guards if it suited your purposes. Your own wife."
"I have to protect myself," Tylen said with a smile. He wasn't sure he meant what he'd said, but he enjoyed seeing the horrified expression on Ander's face. He'd let them believe he was everything they hated. Maybe then they'd fear him.
Ander advanced on him, eyes narrowed. Tylen's hand drifted to his sword, for he'd heard Ander had a temper.
Captain Davis stepped between them. "Let's just calm down. We all want the same thing here."
"You're right." Ander backed away. "No need to lose my head here."
Chapter 22
Nadia woke in the middle of the night, shivering in a heavy chill. She felt dizzy, disoriented, and stabbing pain shot through her stomach. Her body refused to move as the cold intensified and her chest tightened with fear. Why fear?
An icy wind rustled the leaves. Something whispered in the wind, perhaps the voices of ghosts. Colder. She shivered uncontrollably, her teeth chattering. Her leather sack lay beside her, and she barely summoned the energy to retrieve her traveling cloak and wrap herself in it.
She felt a presence in the air, ancient and evil, like nothing she'd experienced before. A quick glance revealed nothing, but she could feel its cold embrace closing in on her.
Something whispered in her ear, and she jumped.
"You can sense me," it said.
Her voice sounded weak. "What—who are you?"
"I am the Spirit of Malavia, and I am Warrick's servant, but I do not wish to be."
The Spirit of Malavia. Nadia had come across it in her reading. According to the sorcerers of old, it was an ancient being that had dwelled deep in the jungles of Malavia long before humans arrived on this world. Why was it in the forest?
And why did it serve Warrick?
"W-why are you speaking to me?" she asked, trying to quell her fear.
"Because you are one of the few who can free me. You can sense me, which means you are capable of magical abilities. Only one such as you can defeat Warrick."
"How did he get control of you?" she asked, but she got no response. The spirit's cold had faded. Weak and nauseous, she fell asleep.
* * * * *
Tylen led the search farther into the forest, keeping well away from Ander and allowing his instincts to guide his path. He th
ought again of the strange chill. Why had he felt it when no one else had? He didn't like to dwell on things he didn't understand, but this was perplexing.
"Do you have any idea where you're going?" Ander asked with exasperation.
Tylen glared at him. "It is not your place to question me. I'm the leader."
Ander returned the glare in the flickering torchlight, but Tylen turned away. Exhaustion had taken hold, and he wanted to return home where he could take a bath and settle into his soft bed. How could poor people live in perpetual discomfort like this? He almost felt sorry for them.
Of course, they'd done it to themselves by choosing not to support Emperor Warrick.
The rest of the group followed Tylen, talking quietly, but he paid them little attention. When he stepped into the next clearing, he saw a shadowy form on the ground.
He motioned the others to him. "I see something."
Two of the guards stepped forward, torches in hand. On the ground lay the crumpled form of a woman with curly brown hair.
"We've found her!" Tylen said. But why was she lying on the ground? Surely she would have heard them by now and woken up. Was she hurt?
Ander, Aric, and Kara rushed forward and knelt by Nadia. Tylen watched with narrowed eyes as Kara placed a hand on Nadia's forehead.
Kara turned to the rest of the group. "She has a fever."
"Why is she sick?" Tylen demanded, stepping toward Nadia. He didn't relish the thought of transporting a sick person back to Crayden. He was tired enough already.
"How are we supposed to know?" Ander said.
Tylen stayed back about ten feet from Nadia. He'd been paranoid around sick people ever since the plague took his parents. Let others take the risk. He was too important.
Aric nudged the others out of the way and began examining Nadia, looking as though he knew what he was doing.
"Is she going to be all right?" Tylen demanded.
"Give me time," Aric said without turning.
Tylen tapped his foot. The longer he stood there, the more worried he became. Wouldn't Aric have given a prognosis already if it were something minor?
"I don't think she's in any danger of dying," Aric said at last. "She's just exhausted. I'd say she ate something that didn't agree with her, judging by the vomit nearby. We'll just have to wait for her to wake up."
Tylen continued tapping his foot. "I don't like waiting. Wake her up already."
Aric nudged Nadia, but she didn't stir.
"You have to try harder than that," Tylen said.
"She's in a fragile state right now," Aric said. "We shouldn't take any chances."
"I'm the leader here, and I say you need to wake her up. Now."
Ander, standing a little away from Nadia, moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Tylen, you're going to do as Aric suggests, or you'll have me to answer to."
"And me," Aric said, getting to his feet and sliding his hand to his own sword. Tylen had heard tales that Aric was a remarkable swordsman, perhaps good enough to best Tylen.
"Have it your way," Tylen said. He stood silently while the rising sun painted the forest in orange. Stifling a yawn, he looked impatiently to the others, who all stood around as though they had all day.
Minutes passed with only quiet chatter, and Tylen began pacing. The rest might not want to do anything, but he did. He marched toward Nadia, knelt down beside her, and shook her roughly.
"What are you doing?" Ander said.
"Waking her up. What does it look like?" Tylen continued shaking her, and she finally moaned.
Slowly, her eyes came open, and she looked around in confusion. "No, not you."
Tylen turned to the others. "She doesn't know what she's saying."
"No, I know exactly what I'm saying, you despicable monster."
Tylen felt like hitting her but resisted the temptation. He didn't want to be that kind of man. "That's no way to speak to your fiancé."
She looked around groggily. "I'll speak to you however I want."
"Get to your feet," Tylen said. "I don't have time for your insolence."
Still, she didn't move. Her face remained pale, and her arms collapsed any time she tried to push herself to her feet. Tylen glared at her. "You know, if you hadn't run away, you wouldn't be so sick now."
"Shut up. I hate you."
He smiled. "Well, now that you've made your true feelings known, get up."
Ander stepped between them and offered a hand to help her to her feet, but Tylen pushed Ander away. "She is not yours to touch. I am her fiancé, not you."
"I don't care," Ander said. "I will not let you treat her like this."
"I'll treat her however I feel." Tylen shoved Ander again. "And if you give me any problems, remember that I will have the power to make your life miserable. So think carefully before you act. I know thinking is hard for you, but you should at least try."
Ander backed away, and his hand slid off his sword, but he still looked on with a furious glare. One day, Tylen would make sure Ander was put in his place.
Tylen tugged hard at Nadia's arm, yanking her to her feet. She swayed and overbalanced, collapsing to the ground in a pathetic heap. A part of Tylen felt great joy in seeing the arrogant young woman so weak now. She deserved it. Another part did feel sorry for her, though. He liked something in her normally fierce spirit.
"How about we try this again," Tylen said with deliberate condescension. If she was going to act like a child, she deserved to be treated like one. He yanked her to her feet again. This time, her knees didn't buckle, but her face turned green.
Her mouth opened and vomit shot out, spraying Tylen's face. He closed his eyes in time, but it covered his mouth and nose. Its disgusting taste hit his tongue, and he almost vomited himself.
Anger took hold of him. He pulled his dagger from his belt, knocked Nadia back to the ground, and pressed the dagger against her face, nearly breaking the skin. Oh, how he'd like to make her pay for this. But he couldn't take it too far. He wanted to scare some civility into her, but he didn't want to hurt her.
"You messed up my face," he said. "Now I'll mess up yours."
He pressed the dagger harder, almost enough to break the skin. But he knew where to stop. Upon seeing the fear in her eyes, and feeling a little ashamed of what he was doing, he pulled the knife back a bit. His work here was done.
Then he felt a dagger pressing against his throat. It was Kara's.
"Leave her alone," Kara said. If she put any more force on the dagger, it would break his skin.
"Or what? You're going to kill me?"
Kara's gaze was murderous. "If you ever threaten her again, I will."
Looking into her eyes, Tylen knew she was telling the truth. "The high lord will hear of this. I hope you enjoy your time in prison. Threatening the future high lord of Crayden is a serious offense."
She didn't pull the dagger away. "I'll take my chances."'
Tylen still had his dagger pressed lightly against Nadia's face. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing sounded ragged.
What the hell was he doing? A gentleman did not threaten a woman like this. At first, he'd thought he would relish in her fear, but now he felt ashamed at what he'd done. She was sick, and surely she hadn't meant to vomit in his face.
"You're disgusting, Tylen," Ander said.
Tylen pulled the dagger away from her face. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He narrowed his eyes at Kara. "Now would you kindly remove your dagger from my neck?"
Kara held it there a moment longer, then backed away. She still looked dangerous, though. Tylen reminded himself never to cross her again.
Ander drew his sword. "Do you expect me to think you're sorry?"
"I don't care what you think. Now put that sword away before I'm forced to kill you."
Tylen stashed his dagger in his belt and drew his own sword. His face burned with anger, and his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. Time to teach Ander that lesson.
"I'm a bet
ter swordsman than you," Tylen said. "Stand down or you'll regret it."
"I can't stand down after what you did. You could have seriously harmed Nadia. You can't think I'll just let that go. High Lord Cray will find out."
Tylen's insides twisted with dread. He hadn't thought of that. Heart pounding, he sheathed his sword and wiped vomit from his chin. "I-I'm sorry. I lost control there."
Ander kept his sword at the ready. "I won't accept your excuses, Tylen. I know what kind of man you really are. You didn't lose control. That's just the true Tylen showing his colors. You've finally betrayed yourself, and you'll live to regret it."
Tylen took a few deep breaths. Why had he been so stupid? He was supposed to remain in control. Always.
"We will all just pretend this didn't happen," he said, looking at the group, all of whom stared back at him warily. "We all do things we regret. The important thing is I didn't hurt her, and I never intended to hurt her, just scare a little civility into here."
"You expect us to believe that?" Aric said. "That will not happen."
Tylen turned to him, regaining his composure. "I don't expect you to believe anything. I expect you to understand your situation. The high lord favors me. He does not favor any of you, especially not those of you in the Order. Especially not the commoners."
"And your point is?" Kara said.
"He won't believe any of you," Tylen said. "You've set yourselves firmly against our government, firmly against me, firmly for Nadia. You'd do anything to discredit me, so save yourselves the trouble. If you think what I did now was scary, just imagine what I might do if you make life difficult for me."
"You threatened her!" said one of the guards. "We can't ignore that."
Tylen turned to the man. "Oh, yes, you can. You do know how easy it is to fabricate evidence against a simple commoner? A few well-chosen words, and the Imperial Guards will be after you. Remember this. I am your future high lord. Do right by me, and you'll be fine. Do wrong, and suffer the consequences."
Tylen wasn't sure he could follow through on all these threats, but he had to make them.
"Then I'll just tell my father," Nadia said from their right, still on the ground. "I will find a way to make you regret this, even if it takes the rest of my life."
Empire of Chains (World in Chains Book 1) Page 17