by Gwen Knight
“Restrain my brother,” Dask commanded. “But leave Keira unbound. I think we have an understanding. The people will want to see her as well.”
Doubtful. But this was all some epic moment in his head with him overcoming our small rebellion and allowing Oren to take the fall for their father’s death. I couldn’t let this happen.
Leith bent down, and the shackles he carried dragged on the floor.
I had one chance at this. Though I wasn’t quite sure yet what to do, I glanced at Oren and remembered his lessons from yesterday. He’d taught me to erect a barrier—a wall so powerful it’d thrown Dask clear across the yard.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. If I could duplicate that result, maybe it would give me the upper hand. Maybe I could escape and find help, then return for Oren later. Anything was better than falling under Dask’s control.
Brick by brick, the wall grew in front of me, and when I felt it was impenetrable, I struck. I felt the moment it connected. Leith flew backward, tumbling to the ground in an ungraceful heap. The other three guards rushed toward me, only to meet the same wall. I struck them as hard as I could, and my eyes widened when the three of them flew across the room. One man shattered the door in his wake.
I turned to Dask then, a moment of gratification rising within me at the sight of his pale face.
“Touch me, and he dies,” Dask growled, jabbing a finger toward Oren.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, relief soothing my rage at the sight of Oren rousing. I didn’t have much time. Leith and his guards were already picking themselves up. I was about to unleash a fireball when the sound of rushing footsteps in the hallway caught all of our attention.
“Keira!” a voice shouted.
My legs grew weak at the sound of his approach. “Logan! In here!’
“Stop them!” Dask hissed, pointing toward the broken door.
The three guards rushed out into the hallway, where the sound of fighting rose up. I had to trust Logan could handle it and hope there were others with him.
“Keira…” Oren moaned.
I braved a glance in his direction and found him on his knees and shaking out his head, his eyes dim and unfocused.
Leith approached from behind with the shackles still in hand. At least I only had to face Dask and Leith. Two out of five were much better odds.
“Let us go,” I stated. “I’ll take Oren, and we’ll leave the city. Hell, the faction. You’ll never hear from us again.”
Dask scoffed under his breath. “You think I care about my brother? He’s no threat. But I need you.”
“You can’t have me,” I said, lifting my chin.
Shock widened Dask’s eyes. “You belong to me.”
“I belong to no one,” I growled, calling my magic to hand. “And I refuse to ever bow to your family again. Make all the threats you’d like, but I will not give in. Not this time.”
“Stubborn girl,” Dask hissed. He glanced at Leith and gestured toward Oren.
I couldn’t let Dask kill his brother and take control of the city. If ever I needed to be brave, it was now.
I turned and released a stream of fire in Leith’s direction. Yelping, he jumped back as the fire rolled over his legs. The flames spread up his body and the smell of burning flesh rose in the air.
I choked back my disgust and spun back to Dask. He held his sword at gut level and lifted his other hand, gray magic leaking from his fingers. This wasn’t going to be easy. I was nowhere near talented enough at offensive magic for this fight. But it didn’t matter. I refused to let him control me, and Oren was better off dead than buried in a dungeon somewhere.
So distracted by Dask, I didn’t notice Oren’s movement until he bolted across the room and tackled his brother around the knees. The two spilled to the ground, the sounds of their fists striking one another making me cringe.
Fire welled up between them, and the scent of singed hair mingled with Leith’s cries. Fear forced me toward the two of them. Oren was barely conscious—he wasn’t ready for this fight.
Terror washed over me when I saw the sword rise. Saw Dask thrust it toward Oren.
“No!”
All common sense vanished, and I threw myself into the mix, my shoulder slamming Oren out of the way. Something cold slid through me. My hands closed around the blade, and I glanced down, shocked at the sight of the sword stuck through my belly. Odd how I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down. Just a numb sensation spreading through my limbs.
My shoulders slumped, and I stared up at Dask, watching as he realized what he’d just done.
He wrenched the blade free.
That I felt. A shriek slipped past my lips as I staggered backward, blood pooling in my hands.
“Keira…” Oren whispered.
My eyes grew heavy, but I refused to fall. Not yet. Not while Dask still stood. The bastard might have killed me, but I could at least return the favor.
Frozen in shock, he didn’t notice when I lifted my hand and rested it against his cheek. He flinched at the contact, about to bat away my hand when I called on my magic.
“No!” Dask shouted.
But it was too late. I had him trapped. The feel of his magic crashing into me was overwhelming. My knees buckled, and together we spilled to the ground in a tangle of bloody limbs.
So tired.
My eyes were so heavy.
But I had to finish this. Had to protect Oren.
Don’t fall asleep, a voice whispered in my head. If I fell asleep, I’d never wake up.
“Keira, you have to release him,” someone urged. I couldn’t see who. My vision had gone dark.
It was easy to let go. I didn’t have any strength left to hold him. My hand fell away and dropped to the ground as my head lolled to the side.
“Keira?”
I knew that voice. Someone was calling to me, but I couldn’t muster a response.
People were crying. I wanted to tell them not to. With me gone, there’d be no more fighting. Oren would take the city and restore it to what it once was. Everything would be simpler.
That beautiful voice called to me, begging me to hold on.
I wanted to. But the darkness was too alluring.
And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid.
18
Once upon a time, there lived a young girl trapped within a castle. For years, she wished for a knight in shining armor. Someone to rescue her from the clutches of the evil king. She imagined a world where she would be free to walk among the people, to breathe the fresh air, to find love and happiness. But such wishes were foolish. There was no such thing as a knight in shining armor. If she wanted her freedom, she’d need to fight for it herself.
And that was what she did.
— From Keira Myers’ diary
I woke to the sound of raised voices. Half-conscious, it was hard to lock on to any one in particular, until Oren’s voice sang out above the rest.
“Why isn’t she awake yet?”
“There was a lot of damage, my lord. It takes time for the body to completely heal,” a female responded, her tone kind.
“You said you healed her.”
“I said we are healing her, my lord. Please, you must have patience.”
A deep growl and then the sound of his feet padding against the floor. He was pacing, I realized. I wanted to open my eyes and assure him that I was fine, but my eyelids were still too heavy. And the aching throb tearing through my gut convinced me that sleep would be better.
At least it was Oren’s voice and not Dask’s. I couldn’t remember what had happened to him, but if Oren was pacing and talking, then he was alive. That was all that mattered.
“Lord Oren,” the healer whispered, “I think she’s waking.”
It didn’t feel like I was. In fact, the darkness still drew me in. I wanted to tumble back into it and wake when the pain was gone. But I felt it then. The slight twitch in my fingers, the throb in my stomach growing strong
er. Hard to tune that out now that I was thinking about it.
Then came a soft moan.
It wasn’t until Oren took my hand that I realized the sound had come from me.
“Keira?”
I shifted toward his voice, then gasped. Pain tore through my gut and rippled throughout my entire body.
“Shh.” His hand came down on my shoulder. “Lie still. You aren’t ready to be moving around yet.”
Right. Because I’d been run through by a sword. I remembered that moment. The feel of the cold steel sliding through my gut like butter. The unadulterated pain when Dask had ripped it free. Then the darkness.
“Open your eyes,” Oren urged, his fingers winding around mine.
Easier said than done, unfortunately. But after a few attempts, I felt my lashes flutter against my cheeks. Prying them open was difficult. The moment the light slipped through, I winced and closed them again.
“Come on, Keira. Time to wake up.”
I blinked open my eyes and this time kept them open.
Oren leaned over me, his face still pale, but at least he was smiling. “There you are. Blessed winter, you had me so worried.”
I swiped my tongue across my lips before attempting to speak. “Sorry,” I croaked.
“As you should be. I swear you took a decade off my life when you pushed me out of the way.”
My mouth twitched with the threat of a smile. A decade off his life. I’d nearly lost them all.
“How do you feel?”
I dampened my mouth again. “Like I was stabbed.”
He grimaced. “Yes, well, you’re alive.”
“And so are you.”
“And so am I.” He turned to the healer. “Some water, maybe?”
I followed his gaze to find a fae healer leaning over a table and pouring a glass for me. She handed it to Oren, who helped me take my first sip. Like sweet ambrosia soothing my dry throat.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
I glanced past Oren, expecting to see Logan or Gavin, but was disappointed to see they weren’t here. It wasn’t until Oren spoke that I realized I was frowning.
“I sent them to their rooms to get some rest. Their hovering was annoying Maya,” he said, gesturing toward the healer.
“And yours isn’t?” I teased.
Maya’s mouth twitched as though she wanted to smile.
“Joys of being the new lord?” Oren commented. “I get to do what I want.”
“Mmm.” I closed my eyes for a second and reveled in the knowledge that I was indeed alive. “Don’t go abusing that power already.”
Oren’s laughter warmed my heart. “You’ll keep me in line.”
“So, you going to tell me what happened?”
Oren leaned over and smoothed my hair back from my face. “Don’t worry about any of that. Just know that everything is fine now.”
“Might as well tell me. I’m not going anywhere for a while, I gather.”
Another twitch of the healer’s lips.
Oren sighed and straightened on the bed, careful not to jar me. “Dask is dead.”
“I killed him,” I said, my tone dark.
“You did.”
That hadn’t been part of the plan. “Did that cause any issues?”
“Thankfully, no. There had been enough people questioning Dask’s story and enough people siding with us to confirm the truth. Taly was…rather upset about Markos.”
Markos. “I’m sorry about your uncle.”
“I keep trying to figure out how Dask knew we were communicating. And when he would have killed him. Taly wants to try and find Markos’ body. I’m not entirely sure that’ll be possible.”
“He had us all fooled. I can’t believe it was Dask that whole time.”
“Taly feels responsible. Says she should have realized. No one is that good an actor.”
“She loved him, didn’t she?”
“She loved Markos,” Oren corrected. “Dask had her fooled. Either way, thanks to Taly’s statement and Leith’s confession, no one staged a coup when I took over. In fact, the people seemed rather relieved.”
“Can’t blame them,” I said while struggling to get comfortable. “Your brother was a lunatic.”
“Sadly, yes,” Oren agreed.
“And…what about us? Logan, Gavin, and me…”
A gentle smile curved Oren’s lips. “For now, you’ve all been assigned rooms here in the estate.”
I tensed on the bed, then winced when my body complained.
“No!” Oren shook his head. “I didn’t mean like a held prisoner. I mean you have a room here. Your own room. And you’re free to do as you wish. Logan is leaving Osvea—says he wants nothing to do with anything or anyone here.”
Ouch.
“But Gavin and some of the others want to stay. It won’t be an easy transition, but I think once we work out some of the knots, they’ll be happy here.”
“What about me?”
Oren cleared his throat, then turned to glance at Maya. “Can we have a few moments alone?”
“My lord?”
“Just a few. We shouldn’t be long.”
Her gaze shot to me, her mouth pursed as though she didn’t appreciate being asked to leave. Couldn’t blame her. This was her turf, and I was her patient.
“Ten minutes,” she said. “Keira needs to rest more.”
“I can agree to that,” Oren responded.
I gave a small shake of my head. Looked like he was fitting into his new role well.
Maya straightened a few tools on her table, then turned and left the room.
“I…uh…didn’t want to make any decisions for you,” Oren finally said when we were alone. “I know what you said before all this went down, but I wasn’t sure if you still…”
“Still, what?” I urged when he hesitated.
He frowned, then rubbed at his brow with his hand. From this angle, I could see his injury. But it looked well cared for. Maya’s work, I assumed.
“Look, I’m just going to put it out there,” he finally said. “I’m in love with you.”
My eyes widened.
“I’m so in love with you, I can barely think of anything else. When I saw that blade go through you…I thought I’d die with you. I know this won’t be easy. You’re human, I’m fae, but I don’t care. They’ll deal with it, or they won’t—but I refuse to give you up. Things have been crazy since we formally met, but I know that you’re the person I want to be with. But I don’t know how you feel about me, or if you’d want to stay here and be with me, or…”
Talk about laying everything out.
His gaze held mine as he waited for me to respond. But what was there to say, other than… “I took a sword for you, you dolt. Pretty sure I wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”
I slowly reached up, careful not to aggravate my wound, and touched his temple with the tips of my fingers. He leaned into me, then turned his face until his lips brushed my palm.
“And in case that isn’t enough, then I guess I can tell you I love you too.”
He stilled, his gaze flicking my way. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“So, then you’ll stay? Here, I mean, with me?”
“Where else would I go?”
“Anywhere. You’re free now.”
Ah, free. The sound of that was music to my ears. “Then I guess we better celebrate, shouldn’t we?”
Oren placed his arms on either side of my shoulders and leaned down, carefully brushing his lips against mine. “I’m thinking chocolate cake with whipped cream and cherries on top.”
I clutched at my stomach when I started to laugh. “Oh, don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” he murmured, stealing another kiss. “But first, once you’re fully healed, how about we go to the market and I buy you a diamond.”
My hand flew to my chest. “What?”
“Can’t celebrate an engagement without chocolate cake.”
Engagement…wh
at now?
“Breathe, Keira,” he teased.
Right. Breathing was important. I sucked in a lungful of air. “You aren’t kidding, are you?”
“Nope. Not at all. I know the perfect one too.”
“Wait, wait. What are you saying?”
“I fought my brother for you. I’m working toward restoring freedom for all witches,” he teased, throwing my words back at me. “Pretty sure I wouldn’t do that for just anyone.”
“So, you’re saying you want to marry me?”
“I’m saying I want to marry you. The question is, do you want to marry me?”
I stared up at him, astounded, and completely speechless. “But I’m human. The people—”
“Screw the people. This is about you and me. It’ll take time, but eventually, they’ll accept you. Besides, I’m not asking you to marry them. I’m asking you to marry me.”
“Blessed winter…” I murmured, adopting one of his sayings. “Then, yes.”
His face broke out into a grin. “Yes?”
“Yes!”
Deliriously happy, Oren swept down and claimed my mouth in a searing kiss that left me breathless and oddly without pain.
Once we parted, I felt my whole future come together. I was no longer the Reaper, or a Traitor. I was Keira Myers, and I’d found love and happiness.
A dream come true.
About the Author
Gwen Knight is a Canadian girl currently living in Jasper, AB. She graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a degree in Archaeology and Geography. Her interests consist of playing in the dirt, designing elaborate snow forts, boating, and archery. She enjoys meeting new people and can be followed on Facebook and on Twitter. You can also subscribe to her newsletter here.
For more information:
www.gwenknight.ca
Reach for the Sky Sneak Peak
Wolffe Peak
Wyatt Turner crouched by the edge of a rock enclosure, the lip of his leather boots digging into his shins. If he cocked his head just right, he could see a small female discarded at the bottom of the gorge, torn to shreds. Pale blonde hair caught the light of the burning sun and a haloed glow encircled her ruined body.