Chapter 54 Odessa
Fifty-Four
Odessa
T raitors. That word ran on a loop through my mind as Ransom hurried us out of the gardens. Brother Skore and Brother Dime were traitors.
By the time we returned to the suite, my stomach was so knotted I was sick.
Evie didn’t need much coaxing to take Faze to her room, and Faze didn’t try to leave her side.
Were we fools to think we could separate them? Their bond grew stronger every day, and I was kidding myself to think he was my pet. Faze had belonged to Evangeline all along.
I left them on her bed with Merry the stuffed rabbit and a doll she’d taken from the nursery. And in the sitting room, I found Ransom at the windows, staring at the sea.
Waiting for Zavier’s ship.
“How do you know Skore is a Kennin?” I asked, taking a seat on a chair.
“The robes. The Kennin wear blue.” He moved away from the glass and took the seat across from mine.
He leaned his elbows on his knees, his voice low as he spoke like he was afraid the walls were listening.
“Generations ago, before the Shield of Sparrows treaty was formed, there was a war within the brotherhood. Few know it happened. Even fewer risk speaking of it. But my father felt it was important for me to know of the Kennin, given Turah’s allegiance to the Voster. ”
“Aren’t all kingdoms allied with the Voster?”
“Until today, I would have answered yes.” He rubbed a palm across his beard. “But then I saw a Kennin walking through your father’s halls.”
Halls with more secrets than gold.
“The brotherhood fractured during the war. Those who opposed the Voster’s ideals, the zealots, were killed. But some escaped death and, in their exile, formed the Kennin.”
“What do the Kennin believe?”
“That they themselves should rule the five kingdoms. That those with magic should be in power.”
“I can’t see my father condoning those beliefs. Do you think he knows of the Kennin? Until you and the High Priest came to Quentis, the only Voster I’d ever seen in this castle was Brother Dime. And if he’s playing both sides…”
“I don’t know, Dess. But if the High Priest finds out, if he learns that Dime is working with the Kennin, the Voster will act. Without mercy. If there is any hint that your father has knowingly harbored a Kennin, he will fall. I do not want you here when that happens.”
There had to be more to this story. I couldn’t imagine Father being aligned with a magical faction that wanted to steal his crown. Unless the Kennin had something to do with his plans.
What exactly had I helped Skore retrieve from behind that waterfall?
It was a mistake to have kept the whole truth from Ransom. I never should have believed the Voster’s lies.
Shades. I was in so far over my head I was drowning.
“I need to tell you something.” I took a deep breath. Then I told Ransom all the missing pieces. From the journal of his mother’s written in the old language to its stories that seemed to come true. To Brother Dime’s vague warnings. To the waterfall and its luminescent tunnels.
And the days I’d spent with Brother Skore of the Kennin.
It was dark by the time Ransom returned to the suite. His hair was windswept, and he smelled of rain and salt.
“Well?” I asked, standing from the couch where I’d been reading Luella’s journal since putting Evie to bed.
“It’s done.”
I exhaled. “Is this the right decision?”
“I don’t know, Dess.” He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. “But I don’t know what else to do.”
Ransom and I had talked for hours after I told him about Brother Skore. Neither of us knew what the priest had been after in those caves, but we agreed it was time to find out.
We didn’t trust my father. We didn’t trust Brother Dime. And while I was hesitant to believe the High Priest had our best interests at heart, Ransom had convinced me the only path to the truth about that magic was through the Voster.
So he’d gone to the docks to find a merchant willing to take a sealed missive across the Krisenth. The letter would go to a ranger Ransom had stationed in Perris. And that ranger would then take the message to the High Priest.
Ransom let me go and paced the room. He stopped in front of the couch, dragging a hand through his hair. When he looked at me, the unease I’d felt all day worsened. It was a look I’d seen before, like he wasn’t telling me something.
“What is it?” I asked.
Before he could speak, a knock came at the door.
“Ignore it,” I said at the same time he called, “Come in.”
A lady’s maid slipped inside. She gave Ransom a wide berth as she brought me a folded slip of parchment, delivering it after a curtsy. “A message, Highness.”
I flipped it open and read the note as the maid scurried to leave.
I’ll be in my suite after dinner.
“It’s from Mae.” I handed Ransom the note to read. “I’ll take Faze to the gardens to pee tonight, then go to Mae’s suite so we can talk.”
He crumpled it and shook his head. “Will you listen if I tell you not to go?”
I lifted onto my toes and kissed his chin. “Probably not.”
He cast his gaze to the ceiling. “Of all the women in this realm, it had to be you.”
I smiled, kissed him again, and walked over to where Faze was sprawled on the floor to scoop him up.
After putting Evie to sleep, I’d snuck him out of her room so he could go outside once more. Ransom usually took him this late, but I’d handle it tonight and talk to Mae.
“Don’t be long,” he said.
“I won’t.” Hopefully I could coax Mae to come to the suite to talk so Ransom wouldn’t have to fret.
Faze bounded at my side as I led him on his leash to the nearest stairs and to the main floor.
The guards stationed in the halls bowed as I passed. When I reached the door that led to the gardens off the west wing, the guard at the exit hesitated before letting me outside.
“Would you like me to escort you, Highness?” the man asked.
“I’ll be all right. But thanks.”
The night’s wind was sharp against my cheeks as we stepped into the dimly lit gardens. I shivered, wishing I had brought a coat. I tugged Faze down a wandering stone path, willing him to be quick about his business.
A gust blew my curls into my face. I tucked my free hand into my pants pocket as my teeth started to chatter. “Are you done?”
Faze answered with a growl. He pulled on the leash, forcing me to turn.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
It was the guard from the fountain earlier. The man with the broken nose, the one Ransom had punched. Blood still stained his unbuttoned coat.
I took a step away, my heart inching up my chest.
Five other men emerged, one with his arm in a sling.
“You’re not who we were expecting, but you’ll do.” The man with the sling laughed along with a few of the others.
Fuck. They’d been waiting for Ransom.
Six men against the Guardian wasn’t enough. If Ranse could kill a crux, these idiots would have been child’s play. Except Ransom wasn’t here.
A skinny, wiry man tipped a brown bottle to his lips, taking a long pull. He wasn’t dressed in uniform, but I’d seen him before in the training center with the other guards. The other men were familiar, too.
Guards. They were all guards.
I raised my chin, willing my hands to stop shaking. “Leave. Now.”
They all laughed as they moved closer.
“My father will hear about this.”
“Not if you go missing in the night,” the man with the broken arm slurred.
If they were all drunk, I might be able to outrun them. I bent and picked up Faze, then glanced over my shoulder.
Where three others approached on quiet feet.
My stomach dropped. “What do you want?”
“That tarkin. He’ll fetch us more coin than we’ll make in a year working at this golden piss hole.”
There wasn’t a chance I could fight off this many men, even if they were drunk. But I forced as much bravado into my voice as possible. “Touch him and it will be the last thing you ever do.”
They laughed in unison, a sound so loud it should have alerted the guards inside. But the wind howled, carrying their cackles and jeers into the dark.
I would run, see if I could break past the three behind me by some miracle. But before I could make my break for the door, my sister sauntered up beside the drunk guards.
She fell into step beside the wiry man with the bottle.
No. Not Mae. Not my sister.
Was this her doing? Was she the reason the guards had been tormenting Ransom?
The guard beside her glanced over, then took a second look.
She gave him a sickly sweet smile. Then slammed the palm of her hand into his nose.
My own laugh bubbled free, but any joy was cut short as the guard with the broken nose pointed at me.
“Get her,” he barked.
The men collapsed on us, charging forward.
I kicked the guard who reached me first, my boot slamming into his groin.
He doubled over, groaning in agony.
“You little bitch,” a man shouted at Mae as he swung a wild right hook.
She dodged the blow with a quick sidestep, snatched a dagger from her belt, and drove it into his thigh.
A hand fisted my hair from behind, and pain exploded through my skull as a man dragged me back, hard enough I tripped on my own feet. But I caught my balance and used a move Tillia had taught me in a training ring in Treow.
I stepped toward him, loosening the grip on my hair, then ducked and twisted, bringing my knee into his groin.
He let me go, dropping low enough I could drive my heel into his teeth.
The next man who came at me went down after I jabbed him in the throat, cutting off his air.
The attack was sloppy, but we were grossly outnumbered.
Mae whirled and slashed with her knives, but one of the men caught her wrist, twisting hard enough that she dropped the dagger. It clattered to the ground as she stomped on the back of the guard’s knee.
I ran for the knife with Faze still clutched against my side, but before I could reach it, an arm banded around my shoulders. And then there was a blade at my throat.
“That’s enough out of you.” The man’s breath was hot on my cheek and reeked of ale. It was the guard from the fountain. “The tarkin. Princess.”
“Never.” I tossed Faze on the ground, hoping he’d run away.
He growled, landing on all fours as he bared his fangs.
“Get it,” the guard barked, and two men chased after Faze, losing him in a hedge.
The guard’s other hand reached around my front and came to my breast, squeezing so hard tears sprang to my eyes. His mouth came to my cheek, his tongue licking my face.
I closed my eyes, my neck straining away from the blade as its edge dug deep enough into my skin that I felt the sting of a shallow cut.
Mae was still fighting, her blond hair whipping around her shoulders as she avoided punch after punch.
A guard came flying at her, barreling into her side. They slammed into the ground as he climbed on top of her to pin her down.
“How much gold are you wearing, bitch? Do you keep it on when you’re fucking Brix? Maybe I should find out why he’s so obsessed with your cunt.” He tore the jeweled necklace from her throat as she kicked and bucked against him.
Red coated my vision.
The blade dug into my throat as I struggled in the guard’s hold.
A streak of pink-and-red fur came racing toward me as Faze darted past the men chasing him. He leaped for the guard holding me, his claws sinking into the teal coat.
It was enough of a distraction that I grabbed the man’s fist, forcing the knife away from my throat. With all my strength, I bent his wrist backward until his grip loosened. And then I wrenched the knife from his hand and drove it up and into the soft flesh under his chin.
Slick, hot blood sprayed across my hand and gurgled out of his mouth as he staggered away, eyes wide. Then he fell to the ground.
I whirled to help Mae, but before I could move, another guard grabbed my arms, holding me back.
Two other men were on top of my sister, pulling up her skirts to take the bejeweled daggers strapped to her thighs. The guard on top of her leaned in close, his mouth seeking hers.
“Fuck you.” She spat in his face.
He licked a glob that landed on his lips, giving her a menacing smile. Then he took hold of her neck, choking her hard enough that her eyes bulged.
“No!” The scream that came from my mouth was so loud it pierced the night.
The sound of a door opening was faint in the distance. The guard who’d offered to escort me outside walked over, slowly at first, until he realized what was happening.
His jaw dropped as he drew his sword. But he wouldn’t get the chance to defend us.
Behind him, moving faster than the wind, was Ransom.
His sword sliced through the first man he reached, clean at the waist, severing his body in two.
The man holding me let me go and scrambled backward, tripping over the guard I’d killed. He managed to get to his feet and sprint away into the night.
The other men scattered, trying to escape, but Ransom was a blur of fury and steel, striking them down until the only one left was the man who’d been choking my sister.
Ransom’s sword landed hard on the stone as he punched the man, over and over and over. Blood-coated teeth flew in all directions until the man dropped.
Dead.
But Ransom didn’t stop. He kept pummeling the man, turning the body into pulp.
Gods, there was so much blood. “Ransom, no,” I shouted, rushing closer. “Stop.”
He whirled on me before I could touch his shoulder, bloody fist raised. The silver in his eyes flowed like liquid metal. His focus shifted to my neck, to the cut, and his growl echoed through the gardens.
“It’s just a scratch.”
His gaze fell to his hands. To the blood coating his arms. Then to the corpse at his feet. Horror filled his expression.
I moved closer, but he shied away. “It’s okay.”
We both heard the lie. Nothing about this was okay.
Ransom took one last look at the guard’s body. Then he was gone, disappearing into the night.
Faze walked over, tucking himself between my feet as he rubbed against my leg.
I bent and picked him up, stroking his scales. It was the second time I’d been attacked and he’d come to my rescue. “Thanks.”
“Princess.” The guard from inside appeared at my side. “Your neck.”
“I’m fine.” The cut was raw and bleeding, but I waved him off. “Help my sister.”
But she didn’t want help, either. She pushed herself up off the ground and righted the skirts of her dress to cover her legs. She walked to me with her chin held high and anger blazing in her blue eyes.
“How did you know I was out here?”
“I was coming out of the dining room when I saw you head outside. Glad I decided to follow.”
“So am I,” I whispered.
She stood above the dead man at my feet, his face unrecognizable. Then she sneered at his corpse.
“I’m sorry.” I took her hand, holding it tight. Absorbing the trembling she was trying so hard to fight.
Her gaze lifted to the darkness. To the place where Ransom had disappeared. “And I thought I was vicious.”
“He isn’t.”
She kicked the dead man’s boot. “Are you sure about that?”
No.
Not anymore.