4. Ash
Chapter 4
Ash
I could see well enough from the height of my horse the cause of commotion in the middle of the crowd—a fight between two men. One a soldier, smiling, while the other looked like he was ready to kill. My eyes halted on the soldier. His frame stretched out tall and broad with a smirk on his lips that emanated trouble and an air of something I couldn’t identify. He wore black clothing and a blue band. His messy, dark waves framed his hardened face. He was handsome…too handsome for a soldier. I clutched my reins tighter in my hand, berating myself for even noticing.
The soldier held two knives in his hands as the men circled one another with the wet ground sliding beneath their feet. The angry man had long hair and a beard that reached his chest. Roughly made buckskin leather clothes covered his body, and he had what looked like a bearskin coat slung over his shoulders. He welded a hatchet in his hand that he pointed at the soldier.
The soldier smiled before attacking the man with his knives, oblivious to our presence as we watched from the sidelines. The sound of metal clashing filtered between the shouts from the crowd as their weapons collided.
“Get em’ Silas!” a person shouted, and more joined in. The soldier standing outside the circle glared at the person, and it was then I noticed he held an extra pair of holstered pistols in his hands. Was this pure sport for the soldier in the center? Surely those were his guns that the other soldier held. Either he didn’t intend to kill the man named Silas, or he wanted to cut him apart slowly.
At that moment, the soldier holding the pistols glanced in our direction and saw the mob of soldiers surrounding me that crept closer and closer to the fight. He looked at us with wide eyes, his mouth parting slightly. My attention cut back to the fight when a large growl echoed from Silas as he pushed the soldier away.
“I told you, no. Leave me be,” Silas snarled to the soldier, whose sly smile never faltered.
“You win and I’ll leave you alone.” The soldier’s baritone voice slid out smooth as silk.
Silas scowled harder and rushed the soldier, his hatchet raised high. The soldier ducked under his blow and swiped out with the knife, grazing it along the man’s stomach but not breaking any skin. He could’ve fatally wounded Silas if he wanted to. The crowd surrounding the fight began to notice our presence behind them and heads started to turn as they parted so we could watch the fight. The only people oblivious to our presence were the men in the middle, fighting in a blur of black clothing and tanned leather .
Silas actually got a few good blows in— Impressive— though it was never enough to harm the soldier. The men parted again, and this time the soldier looked up as he circled, catching my eyes before they moved to Diesel and the surrounding soldiers. He glanced at the soldier who appeared to be with him, and a look that said, “ Are you done now?” crossed the watching soldier’s face.
Silas attacked again, but this time the soldier aptly threw him to the ground and landed on top of him with a knife to his throat. There were murmured words exchanged between them before the soldier stood up and turned toward us. Silas stood behind him and saw us for the first time. A look of pure disgust and anger clouded his features before he spat on the ground and stomped off toward the forest. I watched him go, wondering why he hated the soldiers and wishing I could go with him, while I adjusted myself in the seat of the saddle.
Another man with a long beard, similar to Silas’s, stepped into the center of the crowd. “Okay, you’ve had your fun. Clear out,” he called.
The eyes of the soldier in the center landed on us, and his lips curled up into a dangerous smile as he looked at Diesel. He glanced at me, and I couldn’t help but swallow hard at the calculating blue stare that met mine.
“Jerek?” Diesel’s voice held a bit of hesitation.
“Well, son of a bitch, if it isn’t the long-lost Gabe Etan.”
They threw their arms around one another and patted each other’s backs with smiling faces as the people dispersed around us. A pang of deep grief hit me. Was this someone from Diesel’s past life that I never knew of?
“It’s good to see you, brother,” Jerek said, pulling out of the embrace. His eyes caught mine again from where I observed them atop my horse. For some reason, I couldn’t get a read on him like I could most people. Some call them snap judgments, but I call them intuition. I had my suspicions that Will was blondethe first time I saw him, but other than that maybe my intuition wasn’t so trustworthy. Diesel, Kane…, Pop. A fate far worse than being distrusting of others was when you began to distrust yourself. How could I even live a life without trusting or loving myself anymore? Jerek’s eyes assessed my face as the silent war raged inside my mind.
“What was that about?” Diesel asked.
Jerek’s eyes snapped away from mine at Diesel’s question, and he laughed. “Nothing.” He waved his hand. “Just a little disagreement.”
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” Diesel shook his head smiling. “Always looking for someone to embarrass.”
Peters, who had been merely observing on the horse next to mine, finally spoke. “I thought you were supposed to be up North, Wavern?”
“I was, sir. I came in on a boat about an hour ago. I have news to report to the King.”
Peters nodded, and the soldier that was with Jerek moved behind him, handing him back his weapons.
“Davis.” Peters nodded toward the soldier.
“Sir,” he parroted.
Peters and Carter both swung off their horses as the man who had told everyone to leave approached with cautious steps. “Hello, welcome to Three Forks. My name is Callum, the man in charge here, as some would say. Who might you be?” he asked.
“This is your future King and Queen. I would suggest you pay them due respect,” Peters said. Jerek’s eyes widened .
“I meant no disrespect, your highnesses,” Callum said, dipping his head. “I apologize for my brother, Silas. He does not…deal with people very well at times.”
Jerek scoffed. “That’s putting it lightly.”
Callum shook his head at Jerek’s remark. “Can we offer you a place to stay for the evening?” It looked like it pained him to ask, but he did it anyway.
“If it’s not too much of an intrusion,” Diesel said, and Peters glared at him like he had the right to stay there.
“Not at all. You can stay in the meeting house. We finished it before fall, though it won’t hold all of you, I’m afraid.”
“That will be fine. Thank you,” Diesel said.
Callum nodded, but his eyes strayed to me. As did Jerek’s, but one of his eyes fell in a wink.
“This must be the Princess, then,” Jerek said. His entire face screamed trouble and oozed charm, but his words held an underlying current of something I couldn’t place. The way his blue eyes shone and his handsome face smirked was utterly terrifying in its beauty. He must make all the girls swoon with that look. I crinkled my face in disgust and dug my fingers into the cantle of the saddle, causing his lips to tilt up slightly more. Diesel glared at Jerek and moved toward me, gesturing for me to dismount. As I did, I landed hard on my leg and winced with pain.
“If you’ll show us the way, Callum. We will get settled for the night,” Diesel said from my side, next to me but not daring to touch me.
Callum nodded and turned toward the cabin that sat by the river’s edge. We followed, Diesel and I first and then the rest of our company behind us. When we made it to the cabin, Callum pushed open the door and the smell of freshly cut pine lingered in my nose. Fresh sap seeped from the walls, indicating the newly built structure. A simple structure, with one door in the front, one in the back, and a stone fireplace on the side. Orange heat already roared from the hearth, warming the space substantially.
“As you can see, it’s not much. Just somewhere for the people who live in Three Forks to meet. We get a lot of travelers through here, but we decided to stay and make it our home.”
“How many people live here, year round?” Diesel asked.
“There are only about fifty of us right now. We usually have meals together, if you would like to join us for dinner tonight. It’ll be out front of the cabin. We’ve been eating in here until we can get more houses built. Most of us are staying in tents for now, but it’s a nice evening. We can eat outside.”
“Thank you,” Diesel replied.
“I’ll leave you to get settled then,” Callum said and left.
“These people are actually friendly to soldiers,” I murmured under my breath.
Diesel scoffed. “He was basically pulling out his own teeth offering this to us.”
We turned around and faced Jerek, Peters, and Carter, who inspected the room from behind us. Peters didn’t look the least bit thrilled at our accommodations, sneering at the dirt floor.
“Wavern, Etan,” he barked suddenly. “A word, outside.” He walked out the door, and as he did, Jerek rolled his eyes. I could tell by the predatory way Jerek moved that he had seen far more than Peters. In the days of traveling, I had never seen Peters do an ounce of physical labor. His sinewy muscles didn’t have the same bulk as Jerek’s. I wondered if he gained his power by being the King’s sniveling side-kick rather than from his skill with weapons and battle, which Jerek’s body and movements practically screamed. Jerek Wavern. I committed the name to memory—I’d never heard his name prior, and I wondered how much else I didn’t know about Diesel’s past. Jerek must have known Diesel before he came to Cedar Hill. So much of the man I once loved, and maybe still did, remained a mystery. They had to be friends—or at least they were at one time—which meant neither of them could be trusted. Least of all Jerek, with his charmingly handsome face.
“Just like old times, huh?” Jerek mused.
“I thought if you ever saw me again, you’d kill me,” Diesel said quietly.
Jerek’s face fell, and a first hint of sadness or maybe anger covered his face before he fixed it. “He made his own decision—he knew the laws. It wasn’t your fault.” I saw the slight tick of his jaw when he spoke. Who were they speaking about? What happened between them?
“What I’d really like to know is where you’ve been for the last five years? One day you were there and the next you were gone. Everyone said you’d gone on a “special mission,” but no one but the King knew what that mission was,” Jerek said, redirecting the conversation as he looked between me and Diesel.
“Jerek, this is Asha Broderick,” Diesel replied.
His blue eyes widened. “As in…” He trailed off, staring at me and then Diesel for confirmation.
Diesel nodded. “Maximus’s granddaughter. Liam’s daughter.”
“So, you’ve been with her for the last five years, and now you’re coming back to marry her and be the King?”
Diesel shrugged, and Jerek scratched his head.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later,” Diesel said.
“Well, does the Princess speak? ”
I pursed my lips, annoyed at his question. Did he think I was some sort of mute? Hunting taught me many things, like the value of silence. “Only in hand gestures,” I grumbled, shooting him a crude finger.
“Oh, she’s got an attitude, and she does not like me.” Jerek laughed, speaking as if I wasn’t standing right in front of him.
“Join the club,” Diesel said, patting him on the back.
Jerek mumbled something into Diesel’s ear that I couldn’t make out as they shuffled out the door, Diesel shooting me a glance that told me to stay put. Four other soldiers stepped inside, their eyes falling on me before taking vigil by the doors. Standing by the back door, the soldier that came with Jerek stared straight ahead at the opposite wall. Something was different about him. He wore black clothes, a blue band, and weapons strapped to his body like any other soldier, but his face seemed kinder somehow. Less cruel than all the men I had been traveling with, but expressionless all the same. He had dark skin and big brown eyes that drew me in. I could use him; he might tell me something. What was his name? Davis?
“You came with Jerek?” I asked as I moved closer to him.
He glanced warily at his partners, then nodded.
“Where’d you come from?”
The soldier looked straight ahead and ignored me. My shoulders slumped, and I turned away. I needed to find out more secrets from Diesel’s past so I could define our future together. In order to achieve that I’d need to release the part of me that I’d always kept at bay because it was wrong to lie and deceive.