Hidden (Book 1) (21 page)

Tressa stepped carefully around the group of men. The
wolves and lions had already decided who had won the honor of serving in
Stacia’s
personal guard. They stood in a circle, their
backs to each other. Normally it was a move that invited death in battle. Never
leave your back to an enemy. But today that was not a concern for they’d
already won in their minds.

The man with the braided beard
sidestepped over to Tressa, spinning his sword in one large hand. How could he
smile at a time like this? Tressa wanted to punch in his pearly teeth. She held
back. Not only was he a worthy fighter,
but
he could
be her only ally.

“We’ve only got to take out two.” He
laughed heartily, spit flying between his lips. “Then we’re in. You and me,
boy.”

“Why not just kill me?” Tressa asked.
She stayed light on her
toes,
fearful he might strike
her at any moment. Perhaps it had all been a ruse to gain her trust so he could
get closer.

“Today isn’t your day to die.” He
pointed his sword toward a lion standing on the edge of the circle.
The lion
thrusted
his hips, making vulgar
gestures to a woman in the audience.
“But it is his.”

The beads rattled, breaking the tense
silence of the standoff, as her unlikely friend ran screaming toward the
distracted lion. The men rallied around him, but it was too late. Her friend’s
sword had already pierced his belly. He withdrew and sprinted back to Tressa.

Two men chased after him, the tips of
their swords glinting in the brilliant sunlight. Clean. Not a trace of blood.
Tressa’s stomach dropped. Neither of them had made a strike or a kill all day.
They were fresh. Not exhausted like her.

“Run!” Braided man yelled at her.

A million thoughts raced through her
mind. She could run. That’s all it would take. If one of them died, she’d be
in. Her goal achieved.
One step closer to avenging Connor’s
death.
She stumbled backward, leaving him to his death.

“Go,
chouchou
!”
The man’s eyes were wild, light danced in them.

A hand flew to her mouth in horror.
“Leo.
Gods, no.
Leo!” She reached a hand out,
then
did the unthinkable. She ran back into the fray.

The two men hacked and slashed at
Leo. She thrust her sword into the storm of metal. Her block saved a sword from
piercing Leo’s heart.

“Go!” He yelled again.

“No!” She begged, forgetting to
disguise her voice.

The two men looked at her, their eyes
wide. “A girl?” one of them asked.

“Great,” Leo said, rolling his eyes
while blocking a half-hearted thrust from the shocked men. “Now we have to kill
them both. Which one do you want?”

Tressa’s eyes narrowed. She took a
step back, then attacked. She slashed at the surprised soldier’s wrists first,
one at a time, leaving gashes in her sword’s wake.
Then to
the neck, shoulders, and stomach.
Her sword left his innards followed by
sucking sound.

The lion’s body crumpled to the
ground, bloody intestines draped on his body.

A horn sounded, echoing through the
arena. “Stop!”

She turned her attention back to Leo.
He withdrew the sword from the other man’s throat. They’d killed both, but it
was one too many. Now there were only eleven left. They’d violated the rules of
the tournament.

“You! Kill him!” The order came from
the dais at the head of the arena. Stacia stood strong, one long black
fingernail pointed at Tressa.

“He’s dead.” Leo yelled it for her,
saving Tressa from revealing herself again. “I had to,” he whispered to Tressa
out the side of his mouth, “or he would have revealed your secret.”

“No.” Stacia laughed, a sound more
unpleasant than the blood spurting from the lion’s throat on the ground in
front of them. “Him.” Her fingernail moved to Leo. “You, boy, kill him.”

Tressa gaped at her. Kill Leo?

“The men of the Black Guard do not
kill each other. He has broken the law. The man next to you is a traitor. Run
him through.”

Leo raised his sword to Tressa. “You
have to do it. If you don’t, she’ll order you killed too.”

“I can’t.” Tressa fought to stay
steady. She’d only just made her first kill without another thought. She didn’t
feel any pride, just shame. That man hadn’t hurt Connor. He’d only been an
obstacle in her way to Stacia. Somewhere he might have a wife and children.
People who loved him.

She couldn’t even contemplate killing
Leo to avenge Connor.

Tressa dropped her sword on the
ground at Leo’s feet. She shook her head. With her arms crossed across her
chest, she stood in defiance of
Stacia’s
order.

Murmurs rose from the crowds that
were quickly gathering. Word must have spread that the end was near. Despite the
heat of the afternoon, a thin veil of sweat dripped over Tressa’s face.

“I won’t fight an unarmed solider,”
Leo yelled to Stacia. “It’s dishonorable.”

“It was dishonorable when you struck
down a solider after the twelve had been reached.” Stacia yelled. “You will die
and you will die by his hand.” She pointed again at Tressa.

“She’ll have us both killed,” Leo
said. “You have to save yourself.”

“No.” Tressa spoke through gritted
teeth. “I won’t.”

Leo lunged at her and Tressa jumped
to the side.

“Only one of you will join my guard.
Decide it between the two of you. If the boy is too much of a coward to kill
the man, then I’ll take the man. You have until the sun hits the top of the
building behind me. If one of you isn’t dead by then, I’ll have both of you run
through.”

“Pick up your sword.” Leo swung at
Tressa, missing her by only a hair’s breadth. He missed on purpose. They both
knew it.

Tressa circled him, her hands in the
air. “No. Find another way for us to get out of this. You’re clever like that.”

“There isn’t another way. This is
your path, Tressa. Time to walk it.”

“No.”

He slashed at her again, this time
leaving a bloody line on her face. Her hand covered the wound. It was all part
of the game. He’d done this to her before. Pushed her. Challenged her.

That day she failed.

Today she would fail as well.

She wouldn’t kill him.

Leo slipped his toes under the hilt
of Tressa’s sword and flipped it into the air. Tressa refused to reach out for
it. But Leo didn’t let it hit dirt again. He caught it in his left hand.

He sprang forward. Leo stood close to
her now. So close she could feel his breath on her cheek.

“Fight or we both die. I won’t kill
you.”

“Nor I you.”

“We cannot defeat all of them at
once. This is the end of the show, Tressa.” Leo dropped his sword, only holding
hers in his left hand. His right disappeared into his doublet.

Leo turned his back to the dais. The
crowd roared with bloodlust, urging them to kill each other. There wasn’t a
favorite. They didn’t care. All that mattered was completing the Black Guard.

Tressa pushed against him, but Leo
was too strong. He always was. No matter what maneuver he taught her, she’d
never been able to defeat him.

Leo always got exactly what he
wanted.

Warmth spread over Tressa’s hands.
She looked down. Blood trailed down the shaft of a dagger, the hilt resting
against her stomach. She followed it to its tip,
then
gasped.

Leo smiled, blood pooling at the
corners of his lips.

“You were my greatest student. Don’t
take any of this for granted. Avenge me.”

Leo staggered backward, the dagger
protruding from his stomach.

Tressa stood, shaking so hard and so
fast no one could see the extent of her shock. Her sword lay on the ground at
her feet.

Another of
Stacia’s
wicked laughs poured over the arena. The final horn sounded again. “We have
only ten, but ten of the most brave and cunning men to ever compete!
Congratulations to the new members of the Black Guard!”

Riotous applause rippled through the
crowd. Mugs of beer clanged against one another. Swords rattled. Men cheered.
Women catcalled, offering to cap their day off with a romp.

Tressa stood alone in the center.
Leo at her feet.
She wanted nothing more than to fall to
him. Cradle him in her arms.

But she could not. The other men left
standing surrounded her, leading her away. Taking her to the next step of her
journey. One she truly now walked alone.

Naked.

Cold.

Hot.

Fever.

Endless shivering.

Connor’s eyes opened. Not much.
Only a slit.
Enough to take in the dank murkiness
of his cell.
Like before, he heard water drip. Plink. Plink. Plink.
An endless maddening sound.

No one visited him.

Not since the night, or day, he
wasn’t sure, when he awakened.

When she’d looked into his eyes and
convinced him she loved him.

After she’d taken him, the grate fell
and he was trapped in this prison. At first he’d railed against the metal rods.
Screamed until his throat grew raw and his voice left him. Hunger pierced his
belly, like a knife twisting inside him.

Every morning he woke refreshed. As
if he’d been healed in his sleep. His muscles were more defined. His appetite
sated.
His throat moist.

The cycle repeated itself. Though he
never knew for sure what was morning and what was night. He slept when tired.
He fought when rested. There was nothing else to be done until she came back.

“How are you, my pet?” She sauntered into
view outside his prison.

“Let me out.” If he demanded it,
surely she would let him go.

Her laughter, echoing in the vast
cave, told him he wouldn’t get what he wished.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I needed a new mate. The others were
less than worthy. I killed them.” She reached in between the bars, a black
fingernail tracing the contour of his cheek. “You were happy to oblige before,
remember?”

He remembered too well. It haunted him
in his dreams. Lust and anger locked in a battle. She had won and he hated
himself for enjoying it.

“I have something for you, my love.”
She set a bag on the ground. “It’s something we made together.”

Curious, he waited while she pulled
something hard and round from the bag.

“What is it?” he asked, overcome with
wonder. It shimmered in the faint light of the cave. A hard and knotty gray shell
covered with blue specks. Connor reached through the bars to touch it.

Heat traveled from his fingers up his
arm.

“I brought it here to you because I
love you. Because I knew it would keep you warm.” She glanced at his naked body
and his obvious arousal. “Do you miss me?”

“Every day. Let me out. Please.” He
did miss her. He hated her. He wanted her. More than anything, he was desperate
to recall a memory from before he’d woken up in the cave. Down
there
, trapped and alone, his memory was nothing more than
an empty void.

She chuckled. “I can’t do that. But
if you want me, I think that can be arranged.”

The bars dissipated, metal vanishing
into mist. The woman stepped into his waiting arms, covering his lips with hers
and teasing her tongue into his mouth. Something deep within told him to push
her away, but her hands convinced him otherwise.

They made love again and again until
he fell asleep.

When he awoke, the bars were
reinstated.

The strange object sat not far away. He
lay next to it, feeling the heat emanating from inside. She was right. It would
provide him warmth and comfort.

Tressa grew used to poor hygiene. The men of the Black
Guard bathed together only once a week. She avoided it, claiming her religion
prevented her from baring her body in front of the other men. Leo coached her
ahead of time on this, knowing it would be an issue.

Leo.

Another innocent lost.
So much death.
So much grief.
Thinking of him always threatened to bring tears to her eyes. But she couldn’t
allow herself to cry in front of the other men. Not even for a moment. She was
one of the elite now.

The only other one who remained
behind from the weekly soak was the boy. The one they protected during the
battle. He won a spot without drawing blood. Not his, nor another’s.

The boy slept all the time. At first
Tressa thought he was only avoiding her. That was until his unbearable snoring
began. She tossed a pillow over her head, but it didn’t muffle the grinding
noise. Instead of listening to him, she ventured outside.

Tressa followed the shouts of the men
bathing in the pond. Leo had told her to learn as much as she could about each
of them. Where they came from. Where their loyalties lie. Even within the ten,
there would be factions. If Tressa ever needed help or escape, it wouldn’t hurt
for her to find out which was most sympathetic.

If any.

Leo cautioned her not to trust any of
their words and very little of what she saw. Men didn’t fight to protect Stacia
because they loved her. They did it to protect their families, gain favor, or
advance their own secret motives. Her mother had commanded respect and loyalty.
Stacia’s
reign inspired treachery.

She encouraged it, allowing the Black
Guard to exact revenge on people who wronged their families. Being a member
gave them power to rule the villages they came from. Stacia kept them well fed,
strong, and an unending stream of women sashayed through their apartments,
willing to fulfill their every sexual desire. In return, the Black Guard gave
her their loyalty.

A loyalty that
hadn’t ever been tested.
No one dared defy her. Yet Leo wasn’t so sure it was due to fear or lack
of interest.
Stacia’s
political power was tempered.
No one invaded. The Drowned Country sat on the coast. Hutton’s Bridge blocked
them from the road to the north. Few diplomats from the other realms ever
traversed the forest asking for an audience with her.

No, Leo had told her,
Stacia’s
rule was solid, but unchallenged. She had no
allies beyond the fog. While Tressa had viewed her village’s plight as a
personal struggle, Leo taught her that it affected the entire land of the
dragonlords
. Hutton’s Bridge cut off the Drowned Country,
leaving them to fend for themselves.

A stray boat from The Sands would
meander into port once in a while. Trade wasn’t heavy anymore, though. They
survived off of their own wits.

Before Hutton’s Bridge was enveloped
in fog, The Drowned Country had been an influential power. Now they were
isolated. Alone.
Stacia’s
army was only needed to
guard her against her own people. The thought of invasion from another
dragonlord
was near impossible.

It was the best time to strike Stacia
down. None of the other
dragonlords
would care and by
the time they found out, it would be too late anyway. Her people didn’t love
her. The Black Guard kept up appearances for their own ambitions.

All Tressa had to do was get close to
Stacia, kill her, and slip away, letting the rest of them work it out. Connor
would be avenged.
Now Leo too.
Tressa could go home
and figure out how to help her people. Spend a quiet life with Bastian. Get to
know her father better.

One of the men’s voices startled
Tressa back to reality. She slipped behind a tall bush, careful to conceal
herself. If they caught her spying on them, she doubted the reception would be pleasant.

The man of unknown origin, named
Jarrett, stood stark naked on the path. Tressa peered at him through the thick
pines, flashes of his dark skin visible. She held her breath.

He wiped a wool towel up and down the
length of his body,
then
he wrapped it around his
midsection. She eyed him, pushing a little farther into the bush to get closer.

Yes, he would be a formidable
opponent. She didn’t want to get in a fight with him. One-on-one there was no
way she would win. Her strengths lie in misdirection and a well-placed sword
tip at the right moment. He was one of the brighter soldiers in the group. She
couldn’t take him in a fight.

Half the battle
was
knowing
who to attack and who to leave alone. But she needed allies too.

“Jarrett! Get back here. Your
arse
is still dirty and the whores don’t like that on a man
of the Black Guard.”

Jarrett rolled his eyes. “I’ll take
my chances,” he shouted back to them.

The sound of splashing water
dominated the otherwise quiet scene. The men were really enjoying themselves
out there. To Tressa, it seemed as if they were only a group of boys, not men
who’d killed and maimed hundreds for a spot in an elite guard. Jarrett was
different. Quieter.

He let the wool slip to the ground
and Tressa caught a glimpse of his entire naked body between two branches of
the pine. At first she felt guilty, then brushed it aside. Bastian had been
with
Vinya
for years. He’d not only seen her naked,
but had sex with her. Voluntarily. It wasn’t as if he’d refused her while
waiting for an outside chance to be with Tressa again.

She let the warm feeling pass through
her body. Not fighting it. Happy to know she could be attracted to a man other
than Bastian. For so long she’d wondered if there was something wrong with her.
She was relieved to know it was only the limited choice in her small village,
not a lack of interest in sex.

She reminded herself she’d committed
to Bastian.
And he to her.

Now was the worst time for her feel
those stirrings, especially for a man she couldn’t yet trust. He was also the
main guardian of the boy who slept, rattling the foundation with his snoring.

Tressa needed an ally, but she also
needed to tread carefully, and not let a perfectly shaped and very clean
arse
get in her way.

Later that night, Tressa snuggled
under the covers. A cool breeze drifted in, dancing over her exposed toes. She
pulled her knees up higher. Her toes snuggled into the bottom of the blanket,
ready for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

She needed it. Days of training with
the other men had left her exhausted. Moving took more effort than breathing.
Stillness was her only respite.

Snores echoed through the room. It
was the boy. Henry. She’d learned his name when she stepped up to spar with
him, only to be pushed to the side by Jarrett. He was always at Henry’s side.

At first she wondered if they were
brothers, but if they were, they did not share two parents. While Jarrett was
dark skinned with ebony hair and goatee to match, Henry looked like a newly
bloomed daisy on a bright spring morning. He was about as sturdy too. The boy
swayed away from half-hearted thrusts, barely able to lift his own sword.

He reminded Tressa of herself on her
first day of training. She could dispose of him in seconds if she chose. He was
a waste.
A disgrace to the Black Guard.

She’d sacrificed everything to be
there. Left her lover. Lost her mentor. All she’d given and yet this boy
entered the fold unscathed.

Her mind swam in a sea of thoughts,
just on the edge of sleep. It was her favorite moment of the day. When her
thoughts swirled and she could feel her body twirling as her muscles relaxed
and she slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

Or she would have if something hadn’t
touched her arm. “Are you awake?” the voice whispered.

Tressa didn’t move. Shift in the
wrong direction and he might get a handful of her breast. She’d slipped the
binding off before undressing and pulling on her nighttime shift. She had to
let them down at some point.

“It’s me, Henry.”

Tressa held her tongue. What did the
boy want with her? They hadn’t spoken more than a word to each other.

“Thank you.”

“For?” Tressa asked, remembering to
disguise her voice. Though in a whisper, she wasn’t sure Henry would be able to
tell the difference.

“For trying to fight with me and not
treating me like a child.”

Tressa nodded, still unsure why he
felt the need to tell her this now.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

Tressa was about to ask that very
question when a dark hand clamped over Henry’s mouth.

“
It’s
bedtime, boys.” Jarrett’s head peeked over Henry’s shoulder. “No more fanciful
stories. We’re all equals here. We have no past. No future. All we have is in
service to our queen.”

“Do you really believe that?” Tressa
asked. Leo told her none of the guard felt that way anymore. It was all a power
grab for their families.

Jarrett pushed Henry off toward his
bed. The boy didn’t argue and skulked the rest of the way to his bed. He pulled
the covers over his head and within a few breaths he was asleep again. Jarrett
turned back to Tressa. “If you don’t, she’ll kill you. Her braid…” Jarrett
trailed off.

A cloud moved across the full moon
and for a moment, Tressa only knew he was there by his steady breathing.

“I know. I’ve seen what it can do.”
Tressa’s voice trembled, despite her efforts to stay steady. Images of Connor’s
murder flashed in the darkness. Moonlight erased them as the clouds continued
their march across the sky.

Tressa jerked backward. Jarrett was
much closer than she’d realized.

“I don’t know what you’re doing here,
but you’d better watch your back.” Jarrett turned, looking over his shoulder.
“The men here would kill you if they knew what I know.”

Tressa concentrated on her breathing.
In and out.
Even. Steady. Not afraid. Her heart
pounded erratically, but in the darkness there was no way Jarrett could tell.
“What do you think you know?”

“That you’re here to kill Stacia.”
This was followed by a long pause where neither of them spoke, or made a sound
of any kind. “I am too.”