Shattered Heir (Broken Gods Book 1)

by N. M. Howell

  After he finished putting the bracelet together, he pulled her up and they wandered through the streets once more. Rhea was speechless and couldn’t stop looking at the charms.

  Arry stopped them at a small stall and picked up hot bread dipped in salted butter, a delicious and gut-warming treat that made her stomach growl as the smell filled her nose. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry, and she ate the whole thing in less than a few seconds.

  Arry chuckled as he watched her scarf the thing down, and he turned around to buy two more. She chewed the bread slower this time, savoring the salty flavor with each bite. Warm butter dribbled down her chin and Arry wiped it clean with his thumb, licking his fingers as they circled the square while they ate.

  “We better get back. We only have a few hours before the sun rises,” Arry said as they completed their fourth lap of the square. A dark gold band appeared above the mountains, illuminating the night sky as the hours ticked toward morning.

  Rhea nodded her agreement, gazing up at the lightening sky. “We’re going to need some rest before we tackle tomorrow.”

  They both walked in silence, Rhea allowing the severity of their upcoming tasks to weigh on her. She played with the charms on her wrist absentmindedly as they walked. She couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her gut that told her she was walking to her doom. She would need a good rest if she was going to tackle the next day with a clear head. They would need to come up with a plan before they arrived at the castle, and it wouldn’t do for her to be exhausted yet again.

  They left the village and she turned back to look at it with one longing glance before climbing the hill. She hoped the war wouldn’t make its way to Harborfell, but she had a feeling that was a false hope. Walking through the peaceful village, though, renewed her with a heightened determination. She would have to find a way to arrive at the castle and somehow convince her uncle to step away from his claim to the throne, to somehow put a stop to all the destruction. Perhaps she could stop the war before it arrived. Maybe, just maybe, she could allow this village to remain in peace.

  Her heart fell heavy as they wandered back up the winding trail, but before they reached the top, Rhea turned to Arry, stopping them.

  She placed her hand on his chest as she looked deep into his eyes. “What happened to you over the last six years while I was gone?”

  She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him about his life after she had left, and she felt closer to him now that they had spent time together in the village. She wanted to know what her leaving had done to him so she could begin to apologize.

  His face darkened, and his soft smile turned into a frown. The sparkles in his eyes disappeared and were replaced by a certain sadness, blended with an anger she never seen on his face before. She wanted take a step back, to turn and run away, anything to hide from the horrors that lingered behind those eyes of his that he had managed to mask from her up until that moment.

  “Arry…” she began but couldn’t bring herself to say any more.

  He finally shook his head and strung his arm through hers, pulling her close. “There is a lot that happened when you were gone,” he said to her, his voice heavy.

  He pulled her forward and they walked in silence yet again. She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.

  “Arry, I didn’t realize that by leaving I would be turning my back on all of you,” she said, her voice hoarse and her throat tight.

  “I know you didn’t.”

  Rhea opened her mouth but thought better of it and let her lips close, wanting to choose her words wisely. When she finally spoke, a truth came out that she needed him to understand.

  “I thought that by leaving, I would be allowing your lives to return to yourselves.” She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. She’d held her emotions in for so long that they came to the surface without her control. “I didn’t want you to be slaves to me. I wanted you to live your lives.”

  He wound his arm around her waist as they continued to walk up the hill, holding her body close against his. He allowed his glamor to fade, and his usual light-golden self reappeared in the dark.

  “Our lives will never be our own,” he began. “But that that does not make us slaves. Rhea, we are all part of one. We all share a part of your soul, and until you truly understand that, I don’t see how we can work as a unit. You need to understand that we’re here for you. We are a part of you, and we’re never going to leave.”

  Rhea swallowed through the lump in her throat and nodded slowly as they walked in silence for another time. They neared the camp, and their pace slowed.

  “I wish there was something I could do to erase the past six years.” Her voice came out barely a whisper.

  A long pause hung in the air before Arry replied. “There is. You can promise never to leave us again.”

  Rhea’s chest ached at his words.

  She couldn’t promise him that, there was no way. She still held hope in the back of her mind that after this was all over, she could return to Detroit and hang out with Lanei. Perhaps even ask Arry’s help in securing them some money to buy a place away from the Otherworld.

  They walked in silence the rest of the way back. There was a lot left unsaid that hung in the air, but at that exact moment there were no words that could communicate what she was thinking.

  They walked together arm in arm and returned to camp, the weight of her unspoken words weighing heavily on her shoulders.

  20

  It was a hard ride’s journey the next day, and a heavy silence hung in the air between Rhea and Arry. She suspected her guardians knew they’d gone into the village, though she still tried to hide her bracelet under her sweater. She figured it was for naught, though, as she caught them all passing glances at it every now and then.

  She finally got fed up trying to keep it hidden and rolled up her sleeves, daring them to mention anything. To their credit, they said nothing, and she realized there were no secrets she could keep from them, no matter how hard she tried.

  Fortunately, none of them asked where she got it, and none of them seemed particularly angry at what she’d done.

  It had been nearly a full day’s journey of heavy riding before they neared Greystone. The surrounding fields were barren, not an animal or person in sight. The winds picked up and the rustling of the trees carried through the wind around them. The grass was dry and crunched beneath their feet, the landscape similar to when they’d first arrived through the portal.

  As they slowed their horses to a stop, Rhea let out a heavy breath. She looked up into the looming shadow of Greystone Castle far ahead on the top of the slope. It was even larger and grander than she’d remembered, towers and turrets and bridges and an endless sea of cascading stone lined the top of the distant hill. Long black shadows fell over the surrounding lands, cast by the low hanging sun in the sky behind the castle. She held her hand up to her eyes to block the blinding rays, and she narrowed her eyes at the place she had once called home.

  She felt an ache in her chest, stronger than any she’d ever experienced before. Placing a heavy hand against her heart, she pressed into her rib cage, hoping for the feeling to subside. When it didn’t, she closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back, trying to calm her nerves. The sudden weight of everything that they were hoping to achieve pressed heavily on her shoulders, and she couldn’t believe they were about to approach the one place she had run away from so very long ago.

  Rhea had to remind herself that her father was no longer there. The evil king no longer ruled the castle, and she wasn’t going home to the same life she’d had before.

  “Are you okay?” Grayson asked her as he pulled his horse up beside her. He hopped down and adjusted his saddle, then began fussing with Rhea’s horse and riding equipment. He tugged the small blanket that sat beneath her saddle, removing it from the horse’s back to cool his skin.

  She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the castle. Nodding slowly, she tried to tell him that everythi
ng was okay, that she was fine and ready for what they were about to do. But she couldn’t. She knew in both body and mind that she was not prepared for any of this. She had such a great fear of failure that it rendered her paralyzed.

  “It’s going to be okay, you know,” Grayson said to her. He placed a heavy hand on her thigh and she glanced down at him, drawn out of her daze.

  She chewed her lower lip and nodded slowly, staring down at his large hand. She placed her own on top of his, feeling the thick muscles of his long fingers. He hesitated and she felt his hand flinch, but then he relaxed and she gave his hand a squeeze.

  “I just don’t know what I’m doing here,” she finally admitted to him, her voice low for only him to hear.

  He flipped his hand over and squeezed hers back, lacing his fingers into hers. It was a comforting gesture, and a friendlier move than any he’d made this entire trip. She looked deep into his gray eyes that looked sympathetic and warmer than she’d seen yet.

  “You still have friends in the castle, Rhea,” he began, offering her a small smile, which illuminated his face in the late afternoon sun. His eyes looked lighter than usual, the normal stormy depths replaced by the color of gray clouds. “Plus, we’re unsure if Aelon is even here. Even with his claim on the throne, you still have many supporters within the Greystone walls. And besides, despite the horrors Aelon is inflicting upon the realm, he still is your uncle. He still is family. I suspect we won’t run into any actual danger or resistance until you make any sort of claim.”

  Rhea nodded slowly along with his words, turning her attention back up to the distant castle. She wondered how many people were inside, and whether she would recognize any of them. She wondered whether any of them would remember her. She’d been so much younger the last time she was within the walls. She’d been a kid, small and weak with long, unruly rose-colored hair and a quiet demeanor. She’d changed so much since then. She was no longer the same person. She wondered whether they would be disappointed when they saw what she had become.

  The thought made her heart ache even more, and she swallowed through the tightness that set in her throat.

  Taelor came to join them, pulling his horse up to Rhea’s other side. “I think we’ve learned from the last few days that anyone can be bought for praise,” he said.

  He reached into his coat and pulled out the second dagger, handing it to Rhea. She accepted it and held it in her hand, inspecting it. It was identical to the one already in her possession, the same balance, the same strange symbols.

  She looked to Taelor, her eyes soft. “Don’t you need this?”

  Taelor shook his head. “I have my sword. These are both meant to go to you.”

  Rhea smiled and tucked the dagger into her makeshift belt under her sweater.

  “Let’s hope I won’t have to use these,” she finally said, her shoulders feeling heavy as she looked up one last time to the castle.

  “That would be ideal,” Taelor answered. “Though I suspect that won’t be the case.”

  “Well, shall get this over with?”

  Grayson let out a slow laugh and nodded. “I guess we have no other choice,” he said, hopping back on his horse. He kicked his horse forward, leading the way.

  They walked slowly in a makeshift diamond formation, Grayson and Roan in front of her, Keaven and Arry to either side, and Taelor behind.

  Her nerves were on edge and her skin prickled as they approached the castle. The stillness was eerie and sent a shiver up Rhea’s spine. Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

  “Why aren’t there any people here?” she asked nervously. She looked around, the strange empty surroundings pressing against her like a wet blanket. “Shouldn’t there be people?”

  Taelor nodded slowly, his eyes scanning their surroundings. “There should be, yes. Seems strange that it is so quiet.”

  “We’re not walking into a trap, are we?” Keaven asked.

  Taelor considered. “Everything could be a trap. We must be prepared.”

  Rhea rubbed her eyes again. “If we’re expecting a trap, why are we going?”

  Taelor chose to ignore her maintaining his silence, the weight of her question looming over them all. Rhea swallowed hard, trying to force that thought from her mind.

  “We better go around back to avoid being seen as best we can. We don’t want to alert anyone of our arrival too early,” Taelor said.

  “Rhea, switch places with Arry,” Grayson instructed.

  Blinking, Rhea glanced sideways to Arry who shrugged back. “Er… why?”

  “If it is a trap, we want to throw them off,” Taelor replied, nodding his approval at Grayson’s instruction. “With someone else in the center, they will think they’re the one we are trying to protect.”

  “Makes sense,” Rhea said as she and Arry moved their horses, taking up each other’s position.

  Arry positively beamed. “Look at me, I’m a prince!”

  Rhea supressed a smirk.

  Ignoring them, Grayson veered their direction toward the east, up the hill and down the other side so they could enter through the narrow valley to the back of the castle. Rhea had never been that way before, having only ever used the front gates as the Royal Princess. The back was reserved for servants and other workers, and she looked around with avid interest as they approached. They walked for another hour, their pace slow so they could keep an eye on their surroundings.

  “If things go tits up,” Arry said, a slight laugh to his voice as he leaned in to Rhea. “Let’s turn around and spend the rest of the money in Harborfell on some of that red liquor those guys in the pub were drinking.”

  She grinned at him. “Sound like a plan.”

  Rhea’s horse suddenly came to a complete stop. Her attention was drawn forward to Grayson’s hand that was raised high above his shoulder. His index finger was up, motioning for them to wait.

  Rhea’s heart began to beat louder in her chest as she leaned sideways, trying to peek around him. She gasped when she saw three hooded figures riding toward them from around the bend.

  “Who are they?” Rhea asked, panicked.

  “I don’t know. They’re carrying a white flag,” Grayson said. “But stay on guard. We don’t know who they are or what they want.”

  “I’m still in my glamor,” Rhea whispered urgently.

  Grayson glanced back to her, considering. “Keep it on. We don’t know what’s waiting for us.”

  Rhea nodded, hanging on to the familiar tendrils of magic that wound through her core. She felt as if she were waiting for her death, watching these three figures approach. It felt like hours before they finally got close enough for Rhea to see.

  She didn’t recognize the three men on horseback. They wore typical court clothing, but the colors were new to her in a deep burnt orange. Their long robes billowed as the rode and their weapons were exposed, held high before them.

  “Greetings friend,” one of the men said. He pulled his horse forward and raised his free hand in greeting.

  “My name is Fenraerren, and we’ve been expecting you.” He bowed his head deeply, as did the rest.

  Rhea held her breath, waiting to see how her guardians would react. There was tension all around her, the men were all on edge. Magic bristled against her skin, and Rhea had a sudden urge to shout out, to break the tension if she could. The weight of it was too much for her to handle.

  “Who do you serve, friend?” Taelor pulled his horse up around their group, positioning himself boldly between both parties.

  Fenraerren leaned to the side, looking past Taelor. “I served the realm.”

  He locked eyes with Rhea, who froze, her eyes held on his gaze. He offered her a smile, his eyes lighting up with pure joy. “We’ve been expecting your return for a long time, Princess.”

  Rhea swallowed, not knowing what to say. He obviously saw through both their position scheme with Arry in the middle and her glamor, or, considering she approached the castle with her five recognizable guardians, per
haps they’d guessed who she was anyway, despite her not being in the middle.

  She bowed her head to the man, unable to speak.

  He turned his attention back to Taelor and motioned back to the castle behind him. “Come with us and we will see you to your rooms, a change of clothes, food, anything you need. We welcome you with open arms.”

  Taelor hesitated, glancing back to Rhea. They met each other’s gaze and Rhea shrugged.

  His eyes were tense, unsure. She had never seen him look so conflicted before. His usual confident demeanor had been replaced by one of uncertainty.

  “A change of clothes would be most welcome,” Rhea said, forcing herself to speak through the lump in her throat. “A warm bath and some hot food would also be welcome. Thank you, Fenraerren. We are grateful for your hospitality.”

  “I’ll admit it seems strange inviting the princess back into her own home,” he said, his voice tight. “You’ve been gone such a long time. I hardly recognize you.”

  She offered him a small smile. She wouldn’t mention she was concealing herself with glamor, considering no one had seen her in six years. For all they knew, this was what she looked like now. Her altered appearance could come in handy. Grayson was right in advising her to stay hidden, for it could offer great protection should the need arise.

  “Please follow me, my friends. We will take you into the castle so you can rest. I’m sure you are all weary from such a long journey.”

  Rhea figured they must look quite haggard in filthy clothes, all sweaty from their long ride. Her desperate need for a hot bath and fresh clothes nearly outweighed the fear that pressed upon her at the thought of what waited for her inside. The men seemed genuine enough, and they wouldn’t be able to properly assess the situation until they were inside, anyway.

  “This seems easy,” Keaven murmured from beside her.

  She glanced at him and nodded. “Almost too easy.”

  Keaven shrugged and reached his hand out to place on her shoulder. “Who knows, maybe all of our fears will have been for nothing. For all we know, we’ll be welcomed with open arms and you’ll be invited to sit on the throne and lead the world back to peace.”