How The Warrior Fell (Falling Warriors series Book 1) (46 page)

It came to him like a flash of lighting.

Xavier surged to his feet. The symbols! He
had
seen them before. They were on Hiinex, the same exact symbols. It was a tribe brand. This was how they’d identify the traitor. Xavier immediately started to walk back to camp.

I’m coming for you, Leawyn,
Xavier thought.
I promise.

Leawyn slowly came to, the sound of hushed voices arguing with each other nearby.

Leawyn groaned, and the voices instantly silenced. She felt, more than saw, someone kneel by the bed.

“Leawyn?”

Leawyn sat up slowly, blinking into focus.

“Easy. Don’t overdo it.”

“Asten?” Leawyn said, shocked when she opened her eyes.

Asten frowned at the hoarseness of her voice and surged to his feet.

“I told you not to hurt her!” Asten yelled at Tristan, his face red with his anger.

“I didn’t,” Tristan replied coolly. “She’s breathing. I think the important question is how you two seem to know each other.”

Tristan’s eyes were narrowed and guarded when he looked between Leawyn and Asten.

“We’re old friends,” Asten said, his expression softening when he looked back at Leawyn. She blushed when Asten trailed the back of his fingers down her cheek. Tristan’s eyes zeroed in on the intimate gesture.

“Just friends?” Tristan asked, his tone more suspicious than before.

Asten tensed, and Leawyn shifted uncomfortably at the sudden strain electrifying the air around them.

“What does it matter to you?” Asten asked, his tone just as suspicious as Tristan’s when he turned around to face him.

“Just curious is all,” Tristan shrugged noncommittally. “Leawyn never mentioned you, and I don’t remember seeing you when she wed my brother.”

Something about the way Tristan said that sentence tickled something in Leawyn; an unmasked emotion she couldn’t quite place. It sounded almost . . . accusing.

“That’s because I wasn’t there.” Asten’s eyes bore into Leawyn’s. “I couldn’t watch the woman I love marry another man.”

Leawyn felt more than saw Tristan’s glare at that proclamation. She was just as shocked. Up until that moment at the cliffs, Asten never showed signs of caring about her more than just a childhood friend.

“So, attacking the Izayges wasn’t just about power.” Tristan shot a look at Leawyn. “It was about her.”

“I made a promise to save her.”

“How dare you,” Leawyn said with quiet fury that surprised Asten and Tristan. She shot to her feet. “You attacked the Izayges long before you made that promise to me. Do not use me as an excuse to hide behind your ulterior motives. You slaughtered my tribe!”

Asten straightened, his expression sliding into an emotional mask. His eyes were cold when they met Leawyn’s. Tristan turned away and—distantly—Leawyn thought it was weird he looked guilty.

“You murdered my entire family! They were inncocent. You
know
they aren’t fighters like the Izayges. You didn’t have to do that—you
chose
to!” Angry and bitter tears filled Leawyn’s eyes as she looked at Asten, who still didn’t seem at all remorseful. “How
dare
you stand there and say you did all this for me. You didn’t do this for me—you did this for
you.”

“You want to go back to him,” Asten accused, and Leawyn was boggled that was all he had to say. “To Xavier, the man you hate.”

Just hearing his name made Leawyn's heart ache with such intensity it was crippling. She could only imagine what he was going through. How worried he must be. Leawyn needed to remember her promise.

She needed to get back to him.

“I want to go home,” Leawyn lied. “I want the fighting to stop.”

Asten’s eyes darkened. “They were never your home, Lea.”

Leawyn’s eyes narrowed. She was
really
tired of men telling trying to control her, and her opinions.

“Besides,” Asten continued, “it’s too late. Half my men are already stationed for attack, waiting for me.”

“Where?” Tristan spoke up suddenly, which startled Leawyn. She forgot he was still in the room. Asten looked over at him, taking in the eager gleam in his eyes.

“We leave at dawn. Come nightfall . . .” The malicious smile that lit up Asten’s face made Leawyn stumble back in shock. “I’ll enjoy hearing the dying screams as I wipe out the disease that is the Izayges and the Samaritan people.”

Leawyn paled and swayed unsteadily on her feet. One day. She only had one day to form a plan of escape and warn Xavier.

“I’ll get what I was promised?”

“Yes, yes” Asten waved his hand dismissively at Tristan. “You’ll get your own precious tribe.”

Leawyn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How can her eldest friend who had always been so loving and kind to her—someone she often thought would never be as cold-hearted as Xavier—talk about killing hundreds of innocent people so callously.

“What happened to you?” Leawyn breathed out. “Why are you doing this?”

“What happened to
you
?” Asten yelled, incensed. He yanked Leawyn to him and glared down at her. “What sorcery did he bewitch you with?”

“He didn’t!”

“Then why are you fighting this?” Asten asked condemningly. He looked at her the same way Leawyn was looking at him—like he couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“Because I don’t want there to
be
any fighting!” Leawyn said in exasperation. “Especially now I know who we’re fighting against.”

“What
we’re
fighting against?” Asten repeated. He chuckled humorlessly shaking his head. “See, that right there is what I have a problem with.”

“What . . . ?”

Asten’s expression softened slightly. “It’s okay, Lea. I know it’s not your fault.”

Leawyn’s confusion didn’t lessen in the slightest, even as Asten gathered her into his arms for a hug. He kissed the side of her head, keeping his lips there as he murmured, “I’m going to save you, Leawyn. You
and
your mind.”

Understanding dawned on Leawyn, but before she could do anything, Asten shoved her away and into Tristan who caught her, gripping her arm tightly.

“Put her with her friend,” Asten ordered. “Same treatment.”

Tristan nodded and proceeded to drag Leawyn away.

“No!” Leawyn cried, Tristan easily containing her struggles. “You don’t have to do this!”

“I’m sorry, Lea,” Asten said sorrowfully. “But now more than ever, I see that I need to kill him. It’s the only way to free your mind.”

“Don’t do this!” Leawyn pled desperately, straining against Tristan’s hold. “Please!”

Asten’s expression was full of pain as he watched Tristan drag Leawyn away. “When I get back, you’ll be better. You’ll be
my
Lea again.”

Leawyn looked over and panicked when she realized how close they were to the exit. “Please!” Tears of frustration and terror clouded Leawyn’s eyes.

Tristan held the tent flap open. One more step, and they would be outside

“
Asten!”

The last thing Leawyn saw before the tent flap closed was Asten’s back as he turned away from her and her pleas.

L
EAWYN WAS STILL
reeling from shock as Tristan dragged her away from Asten’s tent. In a detached way, she could almost see the irony. She begged Asten to run away with her to escape Xavier, and now, she wanted to run to Xavier to escape Asten.

“How long?” Tristan barked out, setting the pace at a brisk walk that had Leawyn struggling to keep up. “How long have you been letting him between your legs behind my brother’s back?”

“What?” Leawyn spluttered.

“How long have you been lying to him, huh?” Tristan laughed humorlessly. “You talked of me being a traitor, when you have been betraying Xavier all along!”

Leawyn stopped short, completely mystified by the judgment in his tone and expression, as though he was actually concerned for Xavier and her loyalty to him. Why would it matter to him if she was unfaithful? She wasn’t, of course. Tristan’s reaction didn’t make sense.

“Why do you even care? You
left!
You tried to kill him, remember? You—”

Tristan stopped abruptly, whirled Leawyn around and pushed into her space. He leaned in, his eyes icy. “I should just kill you,” Tristan said with soft menace. “Save everyone the trouble.”

Leawyn’s eyes widened, her expression a picture of disbelief before it quickly morphed to outrage.

“I could do it right now,” Tristan’s hand crept to her throat like a snake, squeezing it with just the right amount of pressure to ensure Leawyn he could hurt her. “No witnesses.”

It was then Leawyn realized how isolated they were. It was dark, no torches or fires to guide them, and it was dead silent. The hand around her throat tightened, bringing her attention back to Tristan, who stared down at her with cold eyes.

“Scared?” Tristan taunted.

Leawyn’s eyes narrowed and her spine straightened. “You don’t scare me. You’re a coward,” she hissed heatedly.

“You don’t compare to your brother,” she saw Tristan’s eyes narrowed into slits, “in any way. As a warrior, as a man, or as someone to fear. You’re
nothing
.”

“Shut up,” Tristan growled, vibrating with anger.

Leawyn pushed forward, making his hand press hard into her throat. “You. Don’t. Scare. Me.”

Leawyn yelped when Tristan released her suddenly. She watched as he paced like a captured animal. He stopped, just staring out into the darkness.

“So many people love you, Leawyn,” Tristan mused. The abrupt change of topic made Leawyn dizzy.

“What do they see in you?” Tristan asked, spearing her with intensity in his eyes that stole her breath. There was an almost longing look in his orbs. “What is it that’s so special about you?”

“What—”

“You destroyed him.”

Leawyn’s breath hitched, silencing whatever she was going to say. Tristan studied her, taking in her face and the emotions that caused it to change.

“You have so much power over him. He revolves around you. One look at him with those blue eyes of yours and you bring him to his knees.” Tristan frowned. “Why?”

Leawyn’s lip trembled. He didn’t need to elaborate; Leawyn knew he was referring to Xavier.

“You’re beautiful, there’s no denying that.” Tristan smiled, fingering a golden lock of her hair. “You were the girl the Gods were sad to lose. They say the sky cried when you were born, did you know that?”

Leawyn’s face cracked, and Tristan watched as a tear slid down her cheek.

“They all love you,” Tristan said quietly. “You touch the heart of every person you meet . . . even mine.” Tristan swiped his thumb underneath her eye, smearing the tear onto her cheek. He looked up at her, and for a moment, he let her see the real Tristan. Then he stepped back, and it was gone.

“It’s your eyes,” Tristan decided, straightening. “It’s what’s behind them.” Tristan gripped her arm again.

“They reflect the purity of your heart and the damage in your soul. That’s why you scare me, Leawyn, and that’s why I hate you. You made him wish he was worthy of you.”

They didn’t speak to each other the rest of the way. By the time they reached their destination, the only evidence of Leawyn falling apart was the tear tracks on her cheeks.