Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) (33 page)

“Keely, are you okay?” Danielle said.

Keely’s head snapped up, and her eyes blazed with fury. “Am I okay? What do you think Danielle? My weakness cost a man his life today. I failed.” Her chin quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. She hid her face between her bent knees and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Danielle flushed. “You’ve nothing to apologize for. You volunteered for an impossible task.”

Keely waved her hand without looking up. “Leave me alone Danielle.”

“Kelwin, I need to fetch the horses,” Ronan said. “Can you stay and make camp?”

“Yes, of course.” As Ronan turned to leave, Kelwin rested a hand on his wrist. “I’m sorry for your loss Ronan. In the short time I knew Patron, it was clear you meant a great deal to him. He thought of you like his own son.”

Ronan nodded. “Thank you Kelwin.”

Kelwin nodded once and turned to leave.

“I think he planned it. The jump I mean,” Ronan said.

Kelwin paused and lifted an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“His last words carried such finality. He was saying goodbye.”

Kelwin’s eyes pooled with grief. “I think you’re right.”

“He couldn’t allow one of us to die while he lived. He’d already lived five years carrying that burden…it would’ve destroyed him,” Ronan said.

“Then he died on his terms. He found peace, and we can honor his sacrifice.” He smiled at Ronan.

Danielle’s chest tightened. She felt wrong eavesdropping on Ronan’s conversation. “Ronan, I’ll help with the horses.”

“You don’t have to come Danielle. I can manage. You stay here and rest.”

Her heart nearly stopped when he turned those sea green eyes on her. She’d of sworn Connal Deveaux just spoke those words. Ronan had the same penetrating gaze and wavy dark hair. If Connal Deveaux subtracted twenty years from his face, he and Ronan could pass for twins. “No. I want to go. We need to talk.”

Ronan smiled and tipped his head. “In that case, thank you. I’d love your company.” He turned toward Kelwin. “We shouldn’t be gone long.”

Kelwin nodded. “We’ll rest here. Travel safely.”

Ronan left camp heading west through the dark pine forest.

Danielle fell in next to him as they walked through the forest underbrush.

Soft pine needles lined the forest floor as the chatter of squirrels echoed against the sea of pine trees surrounding them. They continued without speaking for several minutes before Danielle broke the silence.

“Ronan, I’m sorry my appearance caught you off guard. I never met the queen, but I’d heard mention that I bear a striking resemblance to her.”

“Your appearance startled me, but you’ve no need to apologize,” Ronan said. “What strikes me the deepest goes beyond appearance. You sound like her, you walk like her, and you have many of her mannerisms. It brings me comfort.”

Danielle’s vision blurred, and she fought back tears. “Why do you suppose I look so much like her?”

“I think you must be her daughter,” he said.

Her stomach fluttered. She’d never get the chance to touch her mother or hear her voice. Merric Pride had cheated her. Danielle locked away the pain and forced a quick nod. “You guessed right.”

“She never told me I had a half-sister.”

They continued strolling through the forest. A woodpecker’s beak hammered on a nearby tree filling the silence.

She kicked a pine cone and stepped over a rotten tree stump. “Did Master Tyrell ever speak of me?”

“No. I suspect he felt it wasn’t his place.”

“I’m not your half-sister Ronan.”

Ronan frowned as confusion descended on his face.

She stopped and took his warm rough hands in her own and pulled him around to face her. Danielle found her father’s strength in his eyes and relaxed. “A few days before I left for Meranthia, I found out a secret hidden from me my whole life.”

“You’ve lost me Danielle,” Ronan said.

A slight smile touched Danielle’s lips, and she squeezed his hands. “Ronan, I’m not your half-sister. I’m your twin sister.” His hands grew cold and still beneath her own.

His eyes widened as shock spread across his face. Ronan shook his head. “My father served as a battle knight in the Order of the Shattered Heart. He died before I was born.”

“I know this is overwhelming. Come sit with me, and I’ll help you understand.” She guided him to a fallen tree and sat.

Ronan settled in beside Danielle wearing a blank expression.

“Your mother…our mother, I mean, came to Ayralen the year before our birth,” Danielle said. “That’s where she fell in love.”

“She mentioned her trip to Ayralen,” Ronan said. “My father accompanied my mother. He captained the soldiers charged with her protection.”

Danielle nodded. “When she arrived in Ayralen, she came with a company of shard knights. Patron Tyrell commanded the force.”

“Yes, that’s where he met the prime guardian, Connal Deveaux. He -” Ronan froze mid-sentence as understanding came with his words. “You’re Connal Deveaux’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Danielle placed her hand on his shoulder. “And you’re his son Ronan.” Her words came out soft and compassionate.

Ronan shot to his feet and stormed ahead.

Danielle jumped up and followed. “Ronan, please listen to me.”

“My father died a hero Danielle. He’d never abandon me. I’m sorry, we aren’t twins.”

“He thought you died in that house fire Ronan. It destroyed him.” Hot tears blurred her vision.

He froze and whirled on Danielle. “If that’s true, why isn’t he standing here right now?” His eyes flashed with anger. “Why did he abandon me again?”

Tears rolled unfettered down her cheeks. She wanted to take his pain. “He’s the prime guardian Ronan. He carries the burden of protecting millions of lives. Ayralens need him to defend the Heartwood, and Meranthian citizens need protection too. Refugees are streaming across our border fleeing Pride’s insanity.”

Tears formed in his green eyes. “For five years, Rika and I were utterly alone. Why didn’t anybody try to find me Danielle?”

She shook her head. “We didn’t know. I didn’t know you existed until a month ago. The moment my father received word from Patron Tyrell, he sent a team to find you. That’s why I’m here today. I insisted on coming.”

Ronan stared through bleary eyes holding silent for a long moment.

“Ronan, if you need further proof, you’ll get it when you see Connal Deveaux. You could pass for his twin.”

Ronan looked at her through wet green eyes. “Why did they separate us Danielle? Weren’t we a family?”

A heavy ache settled inside Danielle’s chest, and her chin quivered. “I feel that same ache Ronan. I feel cheated and angry with papa.” She paused to compose herself. “He said they did it to protect us. Meranthian monarchs had sealed their borders for two thousand years. Hate and intolerance filled Meranthia, and they didn’t think it safe to reveal their relationship. When King Torr died, mother seized the chance to change hearts and minds. She couldn’t bear to leave us both in Ayralen, so she took you with her. Ronan, she invented the story about the knight. He existed, that’s true, but he played along out of duty.”

“Why did they wait so long? Relations were good between our countries when mother ruled,” Ronan said.

Danielle nodded. “She planned to tell you after the shard tournament, and then papa would tell me. But…”

“But Merric Pride murdered her.” Ronan said finishing off her sentence.

“Yes. Papa couldn’t bear telling me after that. He wanted to spare me the pain. These last five years have taken a hard toll on him. They never stopped loving each other Ronan. I’ve seen the letters. Hundreds of them. He lost his wife and son on the same day, and he couldn’t tell a soul.”

“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t see his side of it. I cradled our mother’s head while she bled to death Danielle. I was a fifteen year old boy.” His voice trembled over the words.

Danielle’s stomach hardened, and she fought back tears straining for release. “I’m so sorry Ronan,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

“Mother tried to tell me. The day of the shard tournament I mean. She never got the chance,” Ronan said. “Rika Finn alone has made life worth living. Without her I’d be dead. Please spare me lectures about Connal Deveaux’s hard times,” he said.

“Ronan, please don’t hold this against Connal. The day he received word from Patron Tyrell that you lived was the happiest I’ve ever seen him. It’s like he’s reborn.”

“I’m so glad for him,” Ronan said.

Danielle sighed picking up on the sarcastic tone. “Do you honestly think he would’ve allowed me to come here if this weren’t important to him? His wife died, and his only two children are directly in harm’s way. He’s gambled everything.”

Ronan sighed and slumped onto a moss covered log. “I’m numb right now Danielle. In the last three hours, I’ve rescued Rika, lost the only father I’ve ever known, and discovered I have a family.”

She wrapped her arm around him and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Life’s funny that way I suppose.”

“Thank you,” he said.

She lifted her head and stared at him. “For what?”

He smiled. “You came here. To Meranthia I mean. You could’ve sent someone else. I’m a stranger to you.”

“I’d never send someone else, and you’re not a stranger. You’re my brother, and I love you,” she said.

“But, you don’t even know me. I could be some crazed killer.”

She barked out a short hard laugh. The laughter started deep in her belly, where everything good starts, and came up as easy as summer afternoon. “Come on Ronan. Let’s go get the horses.” She stood and offered her hand.

He pulled himself up and placed his arm around her. “I’m glad you’re here Danielle.”

Warmth spread through her chest and along her legs. She smiled and squeezed his hand as a missing piece of her soul snapped into place. “Me too.”

***

Reggie snorted and shook his head as he cantered through the pine trees and entered the clearing. Cocoa, Kelwin’s dark brown mare, followed without complaint.

Ronan stroked the skittish stallion’s ebony-maned neck. Reggie never carried anyone but Patron Tyrell. He considered it a minor miracle the stallion had carried him this far without throwing him. “Easy boy. I know. I feel the same way.”

Betty whinnied as she came through the thicket with Danielle astride.

At the clearing’s center, a campfire crackled under a pine canopy sending wisps of smoke drifting into the crisp afternoon sky. Seated around the blazing fire, Rika, Keely, and Kelwin glanced toward the noisy horses as they trotted into the clearing.

Ronan dropped Cocoa’s reigns and dismounted as Kelwin and Keely approached. “Are Rika and Keely okay?”

“Yes. I treated their exhaustion with restoration elixir, but they need sleep.” Kelwin picked up Cocoa’s loose reigns. “I’m glad to see you return safely,” Kelwin said.

Keely spoke in whispered undertones as she stroked Reggie’s neck, and the horse calmed. He nestled his dark nose in the crook of her shoulder and snorted.

Ronan nodded. “Thank you Kelwin.” He gripped Betty’s bridle and ran his gloved hand along her white striped nose. “You did well Betty. Thanks for going easy on her.”

The mare whinnied and snorted her approval.

Danielle struggled to free her feet of the stirrups, and she wobbled losing her balance.

A radiant smile lit Rika’s face as she watched Ronan standing by the campfire. Her color had returned to her cheeks, and her gray eyes sparkled from the yellow glow of the campfire’s light.

A mischievous grin spread across Ronan’s face, and his pulse quickened. He took two steps toward Rika when he noticed Danielle’s struggle from the corner of his eye. Without thought, he slid to Betty’s side and reached up slipping a hand on either side of Danielle’s thin waist just above her curvy hips.

Danielle braced herself on Ronan’s wrists, and he eased her to the ground as if she weighed nothing. “Thank you Ronan. I’m all thumbs around horses.”

“I’m just glad I caught you when I did.” Ronan smiled as he turned his gaze toward Rika.

Rika stared ahead stone-faced before crossing her arms and plopping down. The campfire blazed a hundred degrees hotter as Rika stared daggers into the crackling pine logs.

A smile crept across Danielle’s face. “Uh oh. Looks like you’ve got some explaining to do.” She nodded in Rika’s direction.

Cold sweat beaded Ronan’s forehead, and his mind raced. He scratched his head. “Explain what?”

Danielle sighed. “You really can’t be that thick can you?”

“Danielle, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Did I do something wrong?”

“You caught me when I stumbled. She’s jealous. Go talk to her.” Danielle shoved Ronan toward Rika.

Ronan could summarize his amassed knowledge of female relations on the upper-half of a single piece of torn paper. He took two tentative steps toward Rika.

“Good luck.” Danielle said from behind him. She snickered and cleared her throat.