“No more lies. If that means I enter Eagle Heights as a Blade, then so be it.” Leith stood and dusted off his trousers. “Doesn’t look like anyone else is sleeping either. Let’s push on.”
Leith held out a hand to Shad. As he pulled Shad to his feet, Shad winced and pressed a hand to his side. A bright spot of red seeped through his shirt.
“Your wound. It’s bleeding again.” Leith frowned. Shad had been wounded while pretending to be former First Blade Harrison Vane shortly before they left for Nalgar Castle. Leith had tended it, but they hadn’t taken the time to stitch it.
Shad shook his head. “It’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”
Should Leith press him to get it stitched? Leith could do it if he had to. He eyed Shad’s shirt. The red spot wasn’t growing, and the wound hadn’t been that deep.
Shad sighed and unbuckled his sword belt. “Fine. You get the others moving, and I’ll wrap a fresh bandage over it.”
While Leith saddled a horse for the two youngest trainees, he glanced over his shoulder at Shad. From what he could see, the scab had broken open at one corner. Nothing serious, but the ride ahead of them might tear the scab open worse.
Leith boosted the two youngest trainees, boys of only eight, onto the horse. They gripped the reins and stared at him. So silent. Still so scared.
If only Renna was here. She would’ve been able to give them the kindness they needed. Leith had rescued them. He’d assured them they were safe now. But he was still their former First Blade. They didn’t trust kindness given by him.
He shook his head and helped another trainee onto a horse. He hadn’t trusted kindness when he was nine either. Not until Renna had given so freely when he’d hadn’t deserved it.
Leith strode to Blizzard and tossed the saddle onto his back. Renna. How could he possibly think about leaving her behind? It’d be two, almost three weeks at the earliest before he could return. How could he abandon her for that long?
He had no choice. He could return to Nalgar Castle now. He might even be able to sneak into the castle and find her. But she’d be well guarded. The bait in a trap. And once Leith was caught, both of them would die.
More than that, Renna was Martyn’s responsibility. Martyn had fought Leith once. He’d do it again to keep Leith from rescuing Renna. The only way for Leith to rescue Renna by himself would be to kill Martyn.
Leith couldn’t do it. Was that wrong of him? Should he be willing to kill Martyn if it meant he could rescue Renna? He’d once betrayed Martyn and risked his life. But back then, Shad and Lord Alistair had assured Leith that they’d do everything in their power to make sure Martyn didn’t get killed.
If only there was a way to rescue both Renna and Martyn. But Martyn remained too loyal to his duty. It’d take more than mere words to convince Martyn to turn on Respen.
The Resistance. It was their only chance. Even Martyn wouldn’t resist an army. Perhaps, somehow, Leith could rescue Renna and Martyn with the Resistance’s help.
Brandi trudged to Blizzard. When Leith knelt to give her a boost, she scowled and shoved past him. “I don’t need help.”
Leith stood and handed her the reins. He shouldn’t let her actions hurt. He had dragged her away from Renna.
With Brandi settled on Blizzard, Leith saddled a brown horse they’d taken from Nalgar’s stables. Earlier, one of the other trainees had ridden it. But Blizzard needed a rest from carrying two riders, and doubling the youngest trainees wouldn’t tire their horse.
After he swung into the saddle, Leith sidled his horse closer to Brandi. He patted the brown horse’s neck. “What’s this horse named?”
Brandi shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Leith gripped the reins. Not the answer he’d been hoping for. Had he left both sisters behind in Nalgar Castle? “Well, he’s a horse. He needs a name.”
“Big Brown.” Brandi’s voice remained as flat as a river boulder.
What would it take to get the old Brandi back? He hung his head. Renna. That’s what it would take. But how long would it be before he could reunite Brandi with her sister?
Shad led the way deeper into the Sheered Rock Hills. Leith eased into the rhythm of the unfamiliar horse beneath him. Last time he traveled this trail, he’d had Renna behind him. He’d been confident—too confident—in the knowledge he was sending her to safety.
He glanced at Brandi. She swayed in time with Blizzard’s strides, her face blank, her eyes cold. What sort of pain was she feeling now? How much would it hurt her to reach the meadow tonight, the last place they’d all been together and happy only a few weeks ago?
Leith caught sight of Jamie also studying Brandi. Their gazes met, and the tight line of Jamie’s mouth probably mirrored his own expression. Leith tipped his head toward Brandi, and Jamie nodded. Perhaps if Leith couldn’t help her, Jamie could.
The day stretched into long hours and still longer miles. Night had fallen by the time they reached the ridge overlooking the mountain meadow, its edges screened with thick pines. A pinprick of light flickered between the branches.
Leith drew in a deep breath, realized he gripped the hilt of one of his knives, and dropped his hand to his thigh.
As they drew closer, low voices murmered through the pines. To their right, a stream gurgled, and the small waterfall churned in a muted roar.
“Halt.” A voice like that of a girl or young boy growled from somewhere in front of them. “State your names before I put an arrow in your chest.”
“Jolene, it’s me. Shad.” Shad held out his arms away from his weapons.
“Shad?” Something rustled. A dark shape dashed from the trees. Shad barely had time to swing down from his horse before the figure slammed into him. “You’re all right?”
Leith glanced away. His chest ached. Renna had greeted him like that, right before he’d left her behind.
Shad finished murmuring to Jolene and turned to the rest of them. “Let’s join the others.”
He led the way through the tree line. Leith hung back, letting everyone else pass him. When Shad stepped into the firelight, Lady Alistair leapt to her feet, followed by Shad’s sister Lydia. They hugged Shad so tightly he winced. Lady Lorraine remained where she was, though a smile twitched the corner of her mouth.
Leith didn’t belong here. The moment he stepped through the trees, the guards would panic. Lady Lorraine and Lady Alistair would eye him with suspicion.
Shad tugged Brandi into the firelight and explained how Renna had been left behind at Nalgar Castle. He introduced the Blade trainees. Lady Alistair smiled, wrapped her arms around the youngest two, and pulled them closer to the fire. At least they would be welcomed and cared for.
“And the Blade?” Lady Lorraine rested a hand on the knife in her belt. “Where is he?”
Leith stepped through the pines into the firelight. The guards jumped to their feet, hands reaching for their swords. Lady Alistair paled. Lydia gaped and pressed her hands over her mouth as if she couldn’t believe that the peasant farmer she’d encouraged to pursue Renna was also a Blade.
Leith forced himself to stay still. He couldn’t blame them for being wary. How could they reconcile Daniel, the person he’d pretended to be, with a former killer?
“It’s all right. This is Leith. He’s on our side.” Shad glanced around at the circle of faces. His gaze stayed on the guards. “You trained with him. You can trust him.”
The guards took their hands away from their swords, but none of them relaxed their stance.
Leith hung his head. Even now, while on the run and no longer a Blade, he couldn’t outrun his past.
Jolene glanced at Shad, straightened her shoulders, and stepped forward. “I believe we have a little venison left if you’re hungry.”
Leith nodded and sank onto one of the logs circling the fire. Two of the guardsmen shifted away from him, leaving a yard gap between him and the next person.
Shad plopped onto the log. “We’re traveling, and for once, I don’t have
to do the cooking.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. So far, I’ve done the hunting and helped with the cooking. Tomorrow is your turn.” Jolene handed him a plate. She turned to Leith and held out a second plate. Her smile remained in place, though it had tightened to something forced. “How was Renna? When you saw her?”
Leith took the plate and inhaled the rich smell of the chunk of roasted meat. Would Martyn make sure Renna had something to eat? Or was she being fed moldy bread and water in Nalgar’s dungeon? He cleared his throat. “Scared.” Except at the end, where she’d remained behind so Leith could escape with Brandi. “But brave.”
On a log a few feet away, Lydia leaned forward. When Leith glanced at her, she looked away and toyed with a piece of bark.
Leith might’ve been worthy of Renna as Daniel the peasant farmer, but he wasn’t as a Blade.
He forced himself to eat the venison on his plate and ignore the way the guards flinched every time he picked up a knife to cut another bite.
As he finished, Brandi dumped her plate on the pile of dirty dishes and strode away. Lady Alistair hurried after her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Brandi shrugged it off and stalked into the dark in the direction of the stream and waterfall.
Leith set his plate aside, but before he could climb to his feet, Jamie dropped his dishes and headed into the trees after Brandi. Probably just as well. Jamie might be able to help Brandi more than Leith could right now.
He rested his elbows on his knees. He had to rescue Renna, if only to bring back Brandi’s smile.
3
Renna undid the laces holding the splint on her left leg and rubbed her fingers along the bone. When she pressed on the small fracture, pain shot through her leg. At least the swelling had gone down and the bone no longer throbbed.
What did she expect? That her bone would heal in two weeks? She might be able to start putting a little weight onto it in a week or so, but it’d be another three to four weeks before it’d be fully healed.
Three to four weeks. What would happen to her in that time? She couldn’t run or escape. Leith promised he’d return for her, but when? Did she want him to? Respen would use her as bait to trap Leith. Better for him to remain somewhere out there, free, than try a useless attempt to rescue her.
Renna leaned her forehead against her arms. Brandi and Leith had been gone only a day. She’d have to be stronger than this to survive the weeks—perhaps months—she’d have to spend at Nalgar Castle alone.
No, not alone. God was with her, even here. She couldn’t let go of that or she’d crumble.
Why had God left her here? Why couldn’t He have used Leith to rescue her? Surely God must have some purpose for her at Nalgar Castle. Some reason that she had to stay.
How could she find that purpose while locked in the dungeon and unable to walk?
The door rattled. Two guards stepped inside, grasped her arms, and yanked her to her feet. She cried out and blinked at the spike of pain. They dragged her up the dark stairs.
Where were they taking her? Her stomach clenched. Where was Martyn Hamish? Last time she’d been taken out of this cell with guards instead of him, she’d been forced to watch Uncle Abel’s and Aunt Mara’s executions.
Her breath hitched. Was she being executed now? No warning. No taunting. Just dragged out and killed?
No. Respen made it clear she was bait for Leith. He needed her alive to lure Leith back to Nalgar Castle. But that wouldn’t prevent Respen from torturing her. She shuddered. She didn’t have the strength to endure torture.
They hauled her out the door of the North Tower. She squinted at the brilliance of the summer sunlight reflecting off the cobblestones of the courtyard. Heat waves shimmered against the Great Hall. She tipped her head to the pale, sun-burnt sky and gulped a breath of the hot air. As hot as it was, she should enjoy these short minutes outside before she was dragged back into the dungeon or inside to face Respen’s taunting.
Thankfully, no wooden block waited in the courtyard as it had the day Uncle Abel and Aunt Mara died.
Where were they taking her? She hop-skipped as fast as she could between them. When she stumbled, the guards lifted her from her feet and carried her by her arms. Crossing the courtyard, they entered under a stone archway into a long passageway. At the far end, she glimpsed the green of the grass-covered Queen’s Court.
They were probably headed to see King Respen. Renna braced herself to face him again. What did he have to gloat about this time?
But midway down the passageway, the guards dragged her to the left to another arched opening in the wall instead of to the right and up the stairs to Respen’s chambers. They stepped onto the end of a wooden bridge. Below her, a moat—nothing more than a dry ditch at this time of summer—surrounded the Blades’ Tower.
Martyn strode across the bridge toward them, his blond hair waving in wild curls. His eyes remained hard. His mouth pressed into a line, bracketed by deep grooves. “I’ll take her from here.”
The guards dropped her arms and shoved her. Renna caught herself on the wooden railing as both legs buckled. She hauled herself onto her good leg.
Martyn spun on his heel and strode back toward the Blades’ Tower. “Come.”
She bit her lip and hopped forward, using the wooden railing to steady herself. The guards remained at the end of the bridge, preventing her from doing anything other than follow Martyn’s order.
She reached the door to the Tower and managed to catch it before it swung shut behind Martyn. Why was she being taken here?
No choice but to go forward. She heaved the door open and hopped inside. For a moment, she saw only deep blackness broken by orange pinpricks of light. As the door grated shut behind her, her eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the windowless room.
Several long tables filled the space around a central chimney with openings for fires on either side. Candelabras spaced along the outer wall provided the only light. A walled nook took up part of one wall next to the dark opening for the staircase at the far end.
Martyn halted halfway across the room and motioned for her to follow.
She hopped to the nearest table and used it to brace herself. Why didn’t he pick her up and carry her? He’d had no problem doing just that only a few days ago. Was he taking his anger at Leith out on her? Martyn was too tied to his duty to waste time on kindness. But he’d never been purposefully cruel either. Had he changed?
Martyn halted at the bottom of the stairs, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms. His face had an odd, pale color in the candlelight.
As she reached his side, she blinked at the stone steps spiraling into the darkness above. How was she ever going to manage?
“Where are you taking me? Is Respen…” She swallowed. She couldn’t ask. Would Respen torture her now that Leith had escaped?
“The king wants you locked in the Tower from now on.”
“Why?” Why was he moving her now? And what made the Tower safer than the dungeons?
“Leith proved he could break into the dungeons too easily.” Martyn shifted and peered up the staircase. “You’re my personal responsibility.”
In other words, Martyn wouldn’t be able to blame incompentent guards if she escaped this time. If Leith wanted to rescue her, he’d have to go through Martyn.
Could he do it? Or was she beyond even Leith’s ability to rescue now?
Footsteps pattered down. A boy dressed all in black rounded the corner and tromped down the last few steps. After a glance in Renna’s direction, he faced Martyn, clenched his right fist, and thumped it across his chest. “The room is all set.”
Which room were they putting her in? How many stairs would she have to climb? But at least this was simply a change of rooms. Not a torture session.
Martyn jabbed his thumb at Renna. “Help her up the stairs.”
The boy, a Blade trainee, grimaced, his nose wrinkling. Renna sniffed. She did smell a little rank. She hadn’t had a chance to bathe in nearly a month.
The trainee leaned away from her as she rested her elbow on his shoulder. He couldn’t have been much older than eleven or twelve.
Martyn marched up the stairs ahead of them, his back stiff and straight. Renna hopped up each step the best she could, using the trainee to steady herself. When they reached the second floor, Renna was already breathing hard. She halted for a moment across from a door marked with a number 24 over Respen’s crossed daggers symbol. The next door in the hallway was labeled 23.
Did the door numbers correspond with the Blades’ ranks? If so, then Martyn’s room would be near the top.
The trainee forced her to continue hopping.
At the landing on the third floor, Martyn halted and leaned against the wall. He was breathing hard, beads of sweat glistening in the shaft of light streaming through the arrow slits along the passageway.
Renna rested one hand on the wall and leaned her weight on the trainee’s shoulder. She gasped for breath. Her good leg shook. How had Leith managed climbing up and down these stairs so often? If her guess about the doors was correct, then his room would’ve been near the top like Martyn’s.
Martyn straightened and strode down the passageway. Renna bit back a groan. As she reached the next set of stairs, she eased some of her weight onto her injured leg. Pain shivered through her bone, but not as much as before. Perhaps she’d be able to start limping around under her own power soon.
Her good leg wobbled with each stair. She focused only on the next step, the next hop. Just one more. Then another. Another.
The stone flattened into a corridor. She halted, her body trembling. She couldn’t force herself up any more stairs. If Martyn wanted her on the fifth floor, he’d have to carry her.
Martyn braced a hand on the window ledge a few feet away. His head hung. His knees buckled a fraction, but his grip on the ledge kept him upright.
Defy (The Blades of Acktar Book 3) Page 2