Destroy: (The Blades of Acktar 3.5) Page 8

  The two soldiers on guard straightened. “Sir?”

  “Stay here. Not going far.” It would be easier to learn people’s names without two guards flanking his every move. Besides, he was safe here, and he wouldn’t be going out of their sight.

  He made it three steps before he turned back to the guards. “What are your names?”

  The soldiers hurriedly re-straightened, their eyes focused above his head. The one on the left saluted first. “Thadius, sir.”

  “Arlo, sir.” The soldier on the right also saluted.

  With their leather helmets pulled over their hair and their identical blank expressions, Keevan couldn’t see anything to help him remember which was which. But he had to try.

  With a final nod at the soldiers, Keevan turned and continued through the rain. The ground squished under his boots, and by the time he reached the shelter where Addie’s family hunched, the leather of his boots also squooshed.

  Addie and her family shot to their feet. Her father bowed. “Anything we can do for you, sire?”

  “No. I’m fine.” Keevan cleared his throat. How did a person go about doing this? “Addie…” His voice gave out. What was the shortest way to ask to be introduced? He waved around at her family, hoping she understood.

  Addie’s eyes widened. “Oh, let me introduce you to my family.”

  Keevan nodded. After five months of learning to interpret his gestures, she’d caught on quickly.

  “This is my Papa and Mama.” Addie pointed to each of them as they bowed to Keevan. Addie’s father was tall with a thatch of curly hair and the scruff of a beard. Addie’s mother stood next to him, about average height, with the kind of well-endowed figure that made her look ready to pounce with a hug at any moment.

  Addie waved to a tall, brown-haired man. “This is my oldest brother, Francis, though we call him Frank. He was my father’s apprentice. My next oldest brother Patrick.” She pointed at another young man with slightly longer, straight brown hair.

  Frank bowed, his expression blank, but Patrick grinned while he bowed.

  “Brennen is a year older than me.” Addie patted this brother’s shoulder. He was shorter than the older two brothers, and his lighter brown hair scruffed along his cheeks and chin. Addie’s grin widened. “He and Patrick were stablehands at Nalgar.”

  Keevan nodded to each of them. Shouldn’t he remember them? How many times had Addie’s brothers saddled his horse for him? Keevan hadn’t noticed. Had he really been that blind to those around him?

  Notice. That was his first task to become a leader. Well, he was noticing now.

  “This is my sister Penelope. She’s two years younger than me.”

  Penelope huffed. “Only a year and a half. It’s nice to meet you, sir.” She swayed into a graceful curtsy.

  That left only two people in the circle. A boy, who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, and a girl a year or so younger yet. Addie looped her arm over the boy’s shoulders. “This nuisance here is my little brother Samuel. And she’s Juliana.”

  “A pleasure to meet all of you.” Keevan bowed to each of them in turn. He drew in a deep breath. Would his voice behave long enough for him to put together several sentences? “If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

  “We’re all right. Thank you, sir.” Addie’s mother gave another half-bow.

  Keevan glanced between them. All so stiff.

  How should he act around people? Should he be a prince? Or a person? Was there a way to be both?

  That’s what Captain Stewart was trying to tell him. Make friends. Actually see those around him.

  After all these months of hiding and pain, had Keevan forgotten how to even talk to other people? He’d once been able to charm others. Now…now his voice was that of a monster. But did Keevan have to be a monster as well?

  Keevan forced a smile onto his face and sank onto one of the logs. “I used to play Raiders with my brothers. Would you like to play another game?”

  “I’d like to.” Addie perched on the log with several inches of space left between them.

  Addie’s siblings dropped back to their seats on the logs, silent and staring.

  “I think we’ll have to do teams, unless a few people don’t want to play.” Addie shot a glance at Keevan. “I guess I’ll be a team with you, if you’d like that.”

  Five months ago, he’d dismissed her as nothing more than a foolish scullery maid. But she’d saved his life. She’d spent hours with him every day when all she’d volunteered to do was bring him meals and change the bandage. She’d coaxed him into his first sounds and words, and she’d grinned when he’d managed to say his first sentence without his voice giving out.

  After all that, they were bonded into something more than just servant and prince. What that bond was, he couldn’t be sure. Could it be…friendship?

  If it was, he’d do his best to figure out how to be a good friend. Maybe in doing so, he’d figure out how to be a good person and a good leader.

  Keevan stared upward at the cliffs rising above the forest and surrounding mountains. Gray spires rose above sheer wall cliffs with towering pines growing along its base.

  “Think it’ll do?” Walter Esroy reined in his horse.

  Captain Stewart craned his neck. “Can we get up there?”

  Walter nodded and pointed east. “If we go around that way, there’s a trail up to the cliff top.”

  Keevan nudged his horse to fall into line with Captain Stewart as Walter set out once again, winding through the dense stands of juniper and pine. Boulders jutted through the undergrowth, and sand slid beneath the horses’ hooves.

  Two columns of red-gray rocks guarded either side of a crevice. The clatter of their horses’ hooves echoed off the rocks as they rode between the columns.

  Before them, the mountaintop opened into a nearly flat, gravel-covered plain. A few canyons branched down the sides, disappearing among a warren of boulders.

  “We’ll build temporary shelters tonight and start on the cabins tomorrow.” Captain Stewart turned on his heel. “This will make a good stronghold, I think.”

  “Thought it would.” Walter patted his horse’s neck. “The Rovers I used to be with, they called this place Eagle Heights. Not many know of it now. Most of the younger Rovers don’t like to travel this deep into the Hills.”

  Sheltered by eagle’s wings. Keevan had read about fortresses and high towers the night before. A Bible passage written by a king after being on the run from his enemies.

  “Eagle Heights it is.” Captain Stewart pointed toward one of the canyons. “We’ll begin building shelters over there.”

  Keevan glanced behind him as the rest of the soldiers and their families entered the mountaintop. Addie and her family scrambled onto the slope. Her eyes flicked toward Keevan, and for the briefest moment, their gazes locked.

  After nearly six months of looking over their shoulder, wondering if that day would be the one a Blade invaded Walden, this was safety. Here they could rebuild their lives. And perhaps, Keevan could build himself into a king worth following.

  8

  Two years later…

  “The latest supplies from Walden arrived.”

  Keevan glanced up from the stack of papers on his desk in his room in the main cabin. General Stewart strolled through the doorway, the morning sunlight flashing on the streaks of gray in his hair.

  Keevan set his pen aside. “Any new families?”

  “Five, including several young men who were serving as soldiers for Deadgrass. Their wives and children are with them.”

  “Make sure the fabric and other supplies are distributed to them first. Give them a section in the lower town by the lake.”

  “Already done.” The lines on General Stewart’s face deepened. “Lord Alistair reports he believes Respen has gained a few new Blades.”

  “How many does that make now?” Keevan rubbed his thumb along his scar. Once the new families were settled in, he’d have to
greet them. His throat would ache by the time he finished talking, but it would be worth it to see the fear leave their faces as they realized they were safe here. “Sixteen?”

  “Yes.” General Stewart crossed his arms. “They’ve managed to wipe out the last band of Rovers. They killed them all.”

  Keevan frowned. The news should’ve made him happy. After all, the Rovers had troubled Acktar long before Respen and his Blades. But it only added to the hard lump in his chest that never left, no matter how long he lived here at Eagle Heights. “The trade routes will be safer, but it leaves the Blades free to search for us or kill Respen’s other targets.”

  “Walter has already reported increased activity in the Sheered Rock Hills. He believes Respen sent several of his Blades to scout the Hills and the Waste. Looking for a hidden base, perhaps.”

  “It will take them a while to find us. We’re deeper than most ever venture.” Keevan pushed away from the table and reached for his sword and sheathe leaning against the wall. “Thank you for the report. I’ll be practicing if you need me.”

  “Yes, sir.” General Stewart stepped out of the way to let Keevan pass.

  Keevan buckled on his sword as he strolled from the main cabin. Addie’s three oldest brothers fell into step with him.

  Patrick patted his sword’s hilt. “Well, sir, you ready to get beat again?”

  “I think you’re remembering wrong.” Keevan returned the grin as they strode down an incline to the flat, graveled area they used as a training ground. To one side, Lieutenant Stewart, General Stewart’s son, drilled some of the newest recruits in basic maneuvers. Keevan nodded to them but kept on going until he reached the far side.

  Keevan sparred with Addie’s brothers for several hours, working his muscles until they burned. When they finished, Keevan swiped his forehead against his sleeve, leaving a wet streak on the fabric. He sank to the ground to rest his aching muscles.

  Brennen dropped to the ground next to him. Patrick leaned against a tree on Keevan’s other side.

  But, it wasn’t until Frank crossed his arms that Keevan realized he was surrounded. He tensed and clambered back to his feet.

  “I have a deep respect for you, sire, but I have to ask.” Frank’s jaw flexed. “What are your intentions toward our sister?”

  “Addie?” Keevan glanced between the three brothers. “I don’t have any intentions toward Addie.”

  “Are you sure?” Frank’s gaze didn’t waver. “You and Addie spend a great deal of time together.”

  “I spend a great deal of time with your whole family. You’re my friends. The closest thing I have to family.” Keevan’s throat closed on the last words. His raised voice rasped hard and painful.

  “Then make it clear that friendship is all you desire. Addie is twenty-one. Haven’t you noticed the way the other young men in this camp avoid her? They don’t dare form an attachment because they think you already have an understanding with her.”

  “I see.” Keevan crossed his own arms, forming a barrier between him and Frank. What were his intentions toward Addie, really?

  Honorable. He would never allow himself to be anything less. Never again.

  Could he really ask a girl to love him, knowing he’d once let himself go a step too far? That maybe he would hurt her as he’d once hurt another girl over three years ago?

  He wasn’t the boy he’d been back then. Time and tragedy had taken away his charm and recklessness. But would he make the same fall if in the same circumstances?

  He didn’t dare find out. Not with Addie.

  For that reason, he could never be more than a friend.

  “I have no claim on her.” Keevan brushed past Addie’s encircling brothers, not sure why the words hurt in his chest even more than they ached in his throat.

  But her brothers didn’t let him get off that easily. Within a few strides, they’d closed around Keevan once again. He suppressed a sigh. Of course he couldn’t run off. Frank, Patrick, and Brennen were his guard detail for the day.

  “Why not?” Frank sped up, stepped in front of Keevan, and stopped, arms crossed once again. “Is our sister not good enough for you?”

  “What?” Keevan stared at Frank. Behind him, he sensed Patrick and Brennen come to a halt behind him, boxing him in. “No, it’s not like that at all.”

  “Then why not?”

  “I’m not good enough for her.”

  There, he’d said it. The real reason he could never have intentions toward Addie, no matter how much it hurt.

  “Don’t you think that is up to her?” Frank raised his eyebrows. “It’s her heart to give away, and we think she’s given it to you.”

  Now that was ridiculous. Addie had been distant for months now. She’d even gone back to calling him sir. Was that the action of a girl who had given her heart away?

  Frank broke his stiff stance to poke Keevan in the chest. “Don’t hurt her.”

  “What do you think I’m trying so hard not to do?” Keevan finally brushed past Frank and kept walking. This time, Addie’s three annoying older brothers fell into step a few paces back and didn’t try to get in his way again.

  Keevan stalked to the main cabin and left Addie’s brothers in the main entry hall. But even changing clothes and wiping off his sweat with a damp cloth did little to settle his thoughts.

  The more he thought about it, the more an ache deepened in his chest. As the prince and heir, he would be expected to marry the daughter of one of the nobles. Maybe even the daughter of a noble who supported Respen to solidify peace after Respen was defeated.

  None of the nobles had fled to Eagle Heights yet. And the thought of having to begin courting after taking the throne sometime in a distance, unknown future…That sort of courtship would be all politics.

  Was it wrong that Keevan wanted more? Did he even deserve more after the kind of boy he’d been growing up?

  But here at Eagle Heights, surrounded by families like the Crofts and Stewarts, Keevan couldn’t help but want more. His own parents had loved each other, hadn’t they? Keevan couldn’t remember seeing otherwise.

  Could Keevan move beyond the boy he’d been? Three years had changed him. He’d lost his family. He’d fled Acktar. He’d begun to be a leader, even if he wasn’t yet the king he ought to be.

  We both can learn from our mistakes. That’s what Uncle Laurence had told him two and a half years ago.

  How did Keevan learn from his mistake? Yes, he’d stopped kissing maids in closets. He’d worked to keep his mind from straying where it shouldn’t. He’d done his best to treat all women with honor.

  But was there more than that? Could he step beyond the flirtations to find what it meant to love a woman as God intended?

  Reaching for the Bible General Stewart had given him, Keevan flipped to the first verse Uncle Laurence had had him read all those years ago. Each one still seared into his memory, hot and sharp as his own guilt.

  Keevan read, and he prayed, and with his thoughts assembled in his mind, he knew what he had to do.

  Addie swept the last of the dirt from one of the cabins reserved for new arrivals. Once the people were settled, they could begin building their own cabin in one of the open places on the mountain or in one of the villages north of the main base of Eagle Heights. Until then, this cabin would be that family’s sanctuary.

  She peered at her handiwork. Not a speck of dust on the windowsills or floor. The freshly washed curtains filled the space with the scent of sun and mountain breeze. Blankets covered the beds, the mattresses plump with fresh-cut grass.

  Others would come with warm food and welcoming smiles, but this was what Addie could do for those fleeing to Eagle Heights. A clean home after the harshness of the trail. Rest after the terror of leaving Acktar with nothing but a few bundles of belongings.

  Stepping from the cabin, Addie closed the door behind her and turned toward the next cabin in the row. Her steps halted as her gaze snagged on the huddle of new families.

  Keevan
stood in the middle of them, smiling and welcoming them to Eagle Heights. Some flinched, probably at the rasp of his voice or the sight of his scar, but others stared, as if they couldn’t believe they were seeing a surviving Eirdon heir. Addie’s three oldest brothers stood a few feet behind him, hands on swords, eyes scanning for trouble.

  Much as she fought the impulse, her gaze latched on Keevan. On the soft tilt of his smile as he asked for each person’s name in turn and greeted them personally. The way he bent down and listened intently as the seven children of a widowed woman from Deadgrass gave their names. And, when an old woman tried to bow despite her creaking knees, Keevan gripped her hands and eased her back to her feet, not letting go until he could pass her to her daughter.

  Addie should turn away. It did her no good to look and admire. He was her prince. Someday, he would reclaim his throne. And no matter what happened, she would remain nothing more than a scullery maid.

  Even if he returned her feelings—which he most certainly didn’t—it wouldn’t change anything. Would she want to say yes if it meant becoming queen?

  It didn’t matter. He would never see her as anything other than his loyal servant, and she could never, ever let him see that she even occasionally daydreamed about something more.

  He turned, and for a moment, his gaze snagged with hers. Addie’s breath caught in her chest, forming a hard, painful lump.

  Tearing herself away, she spun on her heel, gripped her broom, and marched to the next cabin. Scullery maid. That’s what she was and always would be.

  Barreling inside, she set to work sweeping and dusting with too much energy. Dust flew into the air, and she’d have to redo her efforts once she calmed down. If only it would be as easy to sweep away the flutters from her stomach and the ache in her heart.

  Boots scuffed to a halt in the doorway. Addie froze. She knew that rhythm, that silence, because it beat in her head and heart too loudly. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she drew in a deep breath and turned around.