The Stolen Princess

by Kristen Gupton

  Keiran sat at a table pulled into the room. Multiple maps and treaties were lain out across it, along with several books. A number of his advisors mulled about as well; serious, murmured discussions taking place.

  Jerris pulled out a chair at the table, landing opposite to Keiran. “At it a bit early, aren’t you?”

  Keiran’s tired eyes panned up from a paper. “Still at it. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I gave up and got started on this.”

  “Baby, eh?”

  He shook his head. “Actually, Zach slept remarkably well. Thana fed him once, then he stayed out. She needed the rest, so I’m thankful for it.”

  Jerris rested his elbows on the table. “But you didn’t?”

  His averted his gaze to the side. “I couldn’t. Something didn’t feel right. I’m overwhelmed, honestly, and it’s making me feel like I’m losing my mind. All of this with my sister, I don’t know. Thana got rattled twice by something last night. After the second time, I felt it myself. Something is off.”

  “You already lost your mind a long time ago,” Jerris said. “Do you think trying to push through this to find a way to confront Athan while you’re clearly burned out is in the best interest of the country?”

  Keiran leaned back in his chair, running his hands down his face. “I don’t have many options. I don’t think I will rest until Kayla finds her way home, or I find a remarkable solution to this bigger problem.”

  Jerris kept his gaze leveled at the vampire, his eyes narrowing. “Keir, there’s something else bothering you. I know you too well.”

  “I’m feeling weakened without having a proper drink in months,” he replied, voice low enough to keep the others in the room from hearing. “My senses are tangled and dull. I swear to you, Jerris, I’ve felt someone in the castle since last night, watching me, but there’s no one around. I keep looking over my shoulder.”

  “Do you think it’s Athan sniffing around, unseen?” Jerris asked.

  Keiran shook his head. “No, dull senses or not, I know what he feels like. This isn’t quite the same. I honestly can’t explain it. Perhaps I’m just unwell from all the stress and worry, or picking up on Thana’s emotions and anxieties.”

  Sighing, Jerris leaned further forward. “Keir, you know you can tell me anything.”

  “I have told you. If I knew exactly what was wrong, I wouldn’t withhold it from you, I swear it,” Keiran replied, frowning.

  “All right, fair enough.” Jerris opted to move on, knowing Keiran didn’t want to pursue the issue further. “Any ideas come to that disheveled brain of yours about the Talausian matter, then?”

  “None.”

  * * *

  Mari sat before the window in the room she and Garhan shared. While he fussed away with another painting, she watched the rain falling in the courtyard with a long, thin pipe clenched between her lips. Her mind was pleasantly numbed, the pain in her lower back not having eased off on its own since her arrival home.

  “Mari, do you think you should still be smoking?” Garhan asked from behind his work.

  A hand came up, slowly removing the pipe. Her eyes closed as blue smoke curled up from her nostrils. “Gary, it feels like my spine is made out of broken glass. I wish you knew how much it hurts.”

  He leaned around the edge of his painting to look at her. “I do know, Mari. I feel it from you, but I don’t want you poisoning yourself over it. Maybe you need to stay off the horses for a few weeks to let things mend.”

  “I’ll be fine in a day or two,” she said.

  Sighing, he resigned to the fact nothing would keep her from her beloved horses. “Fine, fine.”

  She stood up and opened the window, knocking the ashes out of the bowl of the pipe before closing it again. Mari left the pipe on the window sill and moved over to Garhan, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You think I’m a fool to keep doing what has nearly crippled me?”

  “Indeed I do.” His eyes closed and he leaned back against her. The scent of the meadow wort swirled around them, the sweet smoke potent enough to make his sinuses tingle.

  “Gary, I threw myself into my work after you disappeared all those years ago,” she whispered. “I allowed myself to become completely consumed by it. I never had a life outside of it. I could have settled into a more normal life, but working was the only thing I could do to keep myself from being consumed by my grief over losing you.”

  A twinge of searing pain ached in his chest, and he set the brush still gripped in his hand down. “I’m sorry so much of your life had to be spent like that. Though I wouldn’t give up being with you now for anything, I wish you’d not suffered mourning over me for so long.”

  “Being with you now makes it all worth it. Part of me never gave up believing you were still out there, somewhere. Perhaps, in a way, I thought I’d find you out there if I kept traveling,” she said.

  Garhan turned around toward her. “We’re here now, though. You don’t need to work like that anymore. You can be free of it. I’d rather you were here with me all the time. I hate it when you’re away. If it was to distract you from losing me, why are you still compelled to ride now that I’m here?”

  “I don’t know how to stay still anymore. It gets into your blood… I can’t explain it. I hate leaving you behind, but I almost get sick at the thought of not working,” she replied, her breath heavily laced with smoke. “I wish you’d go with me, Garhan. You’re finally free, you’ve been locked up all of your life! Why not explore the world with me, now? We’re free!”

  His head lulled forward, guilt simmering in his stomach. “I’d slow you down, Mari. I can’t imagine riding all day, every day, as hard as you do. We’re safe here, it’s peaceful.”

  She knelt down before him, wincing on the way as a jolt emanated from her lower back. “Why are you afraid of being out there?”

  His gaze was cast to the side, the wheels within his mind turning. “Perhaps for the same reason you’re afraid of not moving, Mari. I think we both became accustomed to the lives we were forced into, and neither of us know how to change, yet.”

  She rested her hands on his knees, giving him a pained smile. “Well, with winter settling in, I won’t be going for a while. It makes me restless, but your fear of even stepping out into the courtyard, Gary, that isn’t normal.”

  Garhan frowned and gave a weak shrug. “My heart races and I start to sweat. I know it’s illogical, but it’s not within my control. Staying here, however, doesn’t physically harm me like your work is doing to you. You said when we came here you were done with it and ready to retire.”

  “I thought I was, but after a time…” Mari huffed, frustrated with herself. “Garhan, there is so much more to this world than the inside of this castle. I want to see it with you. Even if I do retire from it, I have to make that trip in the spring to Aleria. I wish you’d go with me.”

  He placed his hands over hers, feeling his stomach knot. “Perhaps I will, Mari. I can’t promise anything for now, but if I can overcome it, I will go.”

  She leaned in closer. “Are you simply trying to appease me for now, Gary?”

  A faint smile came to his lips. He never tolerated anyone else calling him that. “I felt what it was like to lose you once, Mari, and I cannot go through that again. We need to do something about your back, though. I don’t want to watch you suffering for the rest of your life, working or not. I know how to fix it, forever.”

  “If I were to somehow change, who would sustain you?” she asked. “Keiran doesn’t fare near as well as you because he drinks that stale concoction of blood given to him by the physician. We’d both be put in that situation if I were to join you.”

  Though he didn’t like it, she had a point. “I know.”

  She rose up enough to give him a kiss, though she couldn’t hold the position for very long before the pain made her straighten up. “We both have become defective, haven’t we?”

  He smiled back at her but soon jumped to his feet, eyes scanning the roo
m. He tipped his head back and took several long breaths.

  Mari turned, expecting to see someone there, but they were alone. “What is it?”

  Garhan moved around her and took several strides forward toward the door. He swept out with his arms. “There was someone here.”

  “Who? The door never opened,” she said, watching him.

  His brow furrowed, and he turned back to face her. “I mean, I didn’t see him directly. It was fleeting, like a ghost. It still feels like someone is watching us.”

  “Garhan, you’re scaring me,” Mari whispered. “There is no one here.”

  “Perhaps all the smoke in the air is making me hallucinate,” he said, though he didn’t believe it.

  “Gary?” Mari took a step toward him, feeling the anxiety he exuded.

  He turned and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing a smile. “Nothing, I’m sorry. Perhaps I’m a bit on edge after hearing about the Alerians.”

  Mari frowned and sighed. Garhan was just weird, sometimes. Still, she felt it, too. It didn’t feel like they were alone.

  * * *

  The following day, Keiran prepared to meet with his sister again. He stood before the doors to the courtyard, fastening his cloak around his shoulders. The light rain of the previous day had given way to strong winds and freezing drizzle. It would be a miserable trip into town, but it had to be done.

  He wasn’t in the mood for any of it, though. He’d spent his sleepless hours poring over more information, searching for any possibility of forming a unified front against Athan. If it could be done at all, it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Despite trying to lose himself in his work, the constant paranoia of being watched never abated. He couldn’t shake it, and he’d repeatedly spun around, expecting to find someone there.

  There never was.

  Thana came along, wanting to see him before he went out again. She found him standing near the doors, looking frustrated and tired. His head didn’t move at all as she approached as he’d drifted out of reality.

  “Lost in your thoughts?” she asked, stopping before him with the baby cradled in her arms.

  He snorted and slowly focused his eyes on her. “Debating.”

  “About?”

  “Whether I should go or not. I’ve been overcome with paranoia since her arrival.” Keiran reached out and stroked the top of the baby’s head. “How’s he doing?”

  Thana looked down at the infant and smiled. “He doesn’t seem to be as flighty or upset as we’ve been. I can’t fault your paranoia, Keir. Look at the two scares I had last night.”

  “Perhaps I’m projecting my own worries onto you,” he said, shrugging.

  “I don’t think what I went through last night was something that came from you. I physically felt something touch my back in the bath. While you can charge the air with your feelings now and then, Keir, I don’t think you can make me imagine I’m being touched.” She paused and tipped her head to the side. “I’m happy you’ve been able to meet your sister, but she’s driving you mad.”

  “I won’t argue that,” he replied. “Once she departs, we’ll get a small reprieve, God willing, until we need to deal with the Alerians.”

  “I hope so.” She gave him a smile. “I’d like to have my husband back for a while.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been caught up in all of this, and at a bad time. Things will settle down again, they have to.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Now, I feel like an ass for doing this, but I have to go.”

  “You’re not an ass,” she laughed, stepping back. “It’s your job, I do understand that much. Try to get home at a descent hour this time, all right?”

  “Aye, I’ll try,” he said, smiling.

  * * *

  Garhan stared out the window into the courtyard. Keiran was below, getting onto his horse with Jerris and Kanan doing the same. Cold rain fell around them, and he didn’t envy their ability to go outside in that moment. It looked miserable.

  Though he possessed some interest in meeting Kayla, and she knew of his existence, he’d refrained. His agoraphobia wouldn’t allow him to travel into town with the others. Besides, if she was as terrified of Athan as he’d been led to believe, surely seeing him wouldn’t do her any favors. After meeting the elder vampire only once, Garhan knew how much he resembled his father.

  At least, that’s the justification he gave himself to stay put. Deep down, he knew it was simply his fear keeping him locked away. There was nothing he could do about it, however. Social visits weren’t critical enough to drive him out into the open.

  Keiran’s entourage started to move out, and Garhan nearly turned from the window but halted. Something caught his eye.

  While there was the usual assortment of people in the courtyard, he swore he saw someone step into the empty wake left by the king and his guards. As quick as the misty figure had appeared, though, it was gone again.

  While he’d dismissed what he’d seen the day before in his room as a trick of his imagination, this time he couldn’t write it off. Something was down there, and it was following Keiran’s group.

  Garhan’s heart began to race in his chest, and he stepped back from the window. He had to get word to Keiran and his guards, but they’d already moved beyond the gates. Opening the window and yelling out wouldn’t work, his voice would simply be drowned out by the building storm.

  He glanced back, seeing Mari passed out on the bed, having drugged up again following another bout of spasms in her back. There wasn’t time to do anything else but grab his sword belt and cloak from their hook by the door and flee the room.

  He sprinted to the doors leading to the courtyard, his head spinning at the thought of going out. There weren’t any guards readily available to relay the news to, nor did he think he should waste time doing so. The others wouldn’t be too far off yet, and he knew he could catch them himself. All he had to do was get through the damned doors.

  With his hands shaking violently, he threw the latch and tugged the door open, stepping out into the stormy afternoon air. He hyperventilated and stopped halfway down the stairs, fighting to push his terror away. The courtyard seemed impossibly vast, the sea of people before him looking impassible.

  Cutting through the crowd was a young man on a white horse. It was Ahman Danier’s former mount, which Thana had taken for her own. Garhan fixed his sights on the animal and rushed forward, stopping the stable hand.

  The boy looked down at him. He recognized Garhan, though he’d never seen him outside before. “Your Grace, may I help you?”

  “I need to use this horse,” Garhan said, his voice wavering.

  Though it was the queen’s horse, the boy was outranked by the duke. The urgency in Garhan’s voice and expression drove him to acquiesce, sliding from the saddle and handing over the reins.

  Garhan hadn’t been on a horse since the day he’d arrived at the castle. He swallowed his nervousness as best he could and swung himself into the saddle. Though his fear wasn’t abating, he took up the reins and spun Quinrah around, heading for the gate.

  Keiran and his guards’ head start already had them well beyond Garhan’s line of sight. The icy drizzle was painful against their faces, and they had no desire to stay in it any longer than needed. There was thunder in the distance despite the cold, indicating a stronger system’s approach. They needed to get into town quickly, lest the storm make the trip impossible.

  Garhan pushed the horse as fast as he dared. Quinrah had grown accustomed to Tordanian riding techniques since coming into Thana’s possession, and Alerian’s signals perplexed him. He was a spirited animal, without much in the way of patience for the strange man on his back.

  The ice in the wind made Garhan’s eyes burn, and he closed them momentarily to find some relief. The horse carried on forward, jumping excessively high to clear a small branch, which had fallen onto the road.

  The horse’s motion caught Garhan by surprise. Though his reflexes were fast, they were
n’t enough to keep him from losing his balance. Quinrah felt the uncomfortable shift of weight on his back and stopped abruptly after landing, sending his rider careening over his head and to the ground.

  Garhan flipped completely over, landing on his back a fair distance before the animal. He couldn’t move for several seconds, the wind knocked out of him and his lungs refusing to draw air. Though he knew he’d not sustained any real damage, it still hurt and left him in a daze.

  The horse stood there watching, ears pricked forward as Garhan finally struggled back to his feet.

  “I know, horse, I have no idea what I’m doing,” he admitted, pulling himself up from the muddied road. “Let’s get this done so we can both go home, eh?”

  * * *

  The tavern nearest the castle was a simple affair, even by Tordanian standards. It was a small wooden building, situated alone amongst the trees. It’s only usual source of income came from castle guards and staff heading to or from work.

  Keiran and the others tied their horses out front and went in. Jerris’ mood had been soured by the weather. He walked ahead of his father and Keiran, striking the door with his palms and slamming it open with more violence than he’d intended.

  Kayla’s head snapped up when the door struck the wall. She visibly relaxed again when she saw who it was, though the barkeeper wasn’t particularly happy with Jerris’ entrance.

  “Subtle entrance, gentlemen,” she said as they approached her table.

  “Sorry,” Jerris replied, dropping down into a chair and shrugging his wet cloak from his shoulders. “It’s horrible out there.”

  “It’s not so bad,” she replied, shaking her head. “Everything will be iced over and frozen solid before morning, though.”

  “I’m afraid so,” Keiran said, landing with a little more grace than his friend. “Damned cold.”

  Kanan took off his cloak and sat down, too. He signaled to the barkeeper to bring four bottles of ale over. “These boys aren’t as tough as you or I, Kayla.”