The Destroyer (29 page)

Her eyes were open wide and her mouth was slightly parted. She quickly glanced between my eyes and my lips as I leaned in toward her. Her eyes closed as my face got close and a soft moan escaped her mouth. I was a few inches from kissing her when I heard footsteps approach from down the hall, it sounded like four or five guards.

She opened her eyes when I hadn’t kissed her and looked at me in confusion. I saw the conflicting emotions battling in her eyes. Then there was a knock on the door.

I released her body from my grip and opened the door. Runir was out there with four guards. He was not happy to see me.

"Is Nadea in here?" he seethed out.

"Yes," I opened the door a little wider so he could see her. Her face revealed nothing but worry.

"Something wrong, Runir?" she asked.

"The king wishes to see you," he said as he looked at her and then back to me. "I'm to take him back to his room."

"Okay. I'll go to him. We'll talk later, Kaiyer. We need to discuss your plans." She smiled at me and walked through the door. The guards went with her, leaving the handsome blonde man and me alone.

"I'll take you back to your room," he said. It was a command. I smiled at him and shrugged. I didn't need to start anything with him now. He was just following orders. Although I wondered how he had found us.

"I know that you think you are some sort of savior," he began as we walked down the long hallway toward my room. "But I want to make things clear about Nadea." I stopped walking and turned to face him in the hallway. He looked into my eyes, his face a mask of contempt.

"This should be interesting. Go ahead," I said with a smile. My attitude seemed to push him over the edge.

"I don't want you near her. Do not touch her, don't talk to her, don't even look at her. Or you'll answer to me. Understand?” He pushed his pointer finger up against my chest and his face down toward me. He was a few inches taller than me and probably outweighed me by eighty pounds.

I had tried to stay calm since I understood the desire he had for my beautiful friend. Yet I couldn't keep the anger from the pit of my stomach when he pushed his finger into my chest. I had experienced enough of his attitude. It was time to show him fear. He needed to be put in his place. Actually, they all needed to be put in their place.

My left hand came across and slapped his arm aside. My right hand formed the shape of a C and slid into his neck, pushing him against the far wall of the hallway. His feet dangled off the ground as I pushed his body upward against the smooth stone walls. The pulse of his throat drummed between my fingertips and his neck creaked as his spine struggled to support the weight of his frame. His face turned from rage into panic as is hands grasped my wrist. He tried to force my grip free but it was like a baby trying to wrestle a carcass out of a wolf's mouth.

"I am going to forget what you have said to me. But you are never going to forget the feeling of my hands choking the life from you. Understand?" I said calmly. My smile was all teeth.

He gurgled out something that I took as an agreement, but I pinched my grip together a little more. I could feel the arteries that ran from the brain to the heart beneath my fingers. He tried to struggle a bit more but within five seconds his body had gone limp. I released my hold and his unconscious form fell to the ground like a sack of flour. He would have a horrible headache when he awoke.

I turned and saw a servant staring at me from farther down the hallway. I recognized her as the pretty girl that always brought me food and flirted with me. Her face was in shock.

"He'll be okay," I said to her with a smile. "What are you going to bring me for lunch?" She stared at me, shook her head, and then returned my smile hesitantly.

"We have some beef that I was going to have them make into sandwiches for you. Does that sound okay?" I nodded.

"Thank you. A few hours from now okay? I'm going to go take a nap."

I walked past the girl and heard her run away. I sighed with regret. I shouldn't have done that. There would be more rumors in the castle about me now.

Fuck the rumors.

I didn't need to be here. I wanted to kill Elvens. Everything else I did for these people was a favor to them. I don't know exactly what I had done in the O'Baarni's army, but my last memory had made it very clear that I was one of his best generals, and I commanded a large part of his forces. I didn't need to be treated with any disrespect by the people of Nia. I had other shit to do.

There were two guards in front of my door. They nodded to me as I approached.

"I am going to go inside my room now. When my lunch arrives I do not wish to see any guards at my door. Do you understand?"

"We have orders," the one to the right said. He frowned apologetically. He didn't want to make me angry.

"Leave now. Tell your king that I will kill any guards stationed outside my door." They both paled.

I guessed the servant girl in the hallway had cleaned my room since it smelled like lemons and all the bedding was folded neatly. I lay down on my bed, intending to sleep, but my mind was spinning over the events of this morning and my memories of Shlara. I gave up on rest and went over to the balcony to watch the troops train. Most of the soldiers from the other countries had left earlier in the week. I wondered what the king had told them about how I had killed the Elvens. I focused on listening to the mock fighting down in the fields. There were eight groups of twenty or so, running different drills. Their sergeants yelled when someone made a mistake or wasn't working hard enough. I watched them for what seemed like half an hour, until there was a soft knock on my door.

I sighed and approached the door. This was going to be someone complaining about Runir or my treatment of the guards stationed outside of my room. I opened it to find a woman, a little older than Nadea, with fine blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Thankfully, the guards were gone.

"My lady wishes to know if you will have lunch with her," the woman said as she examined my body. She wore a delicate looking dress made out of white and blue lace with pale blue slippers on her feet.

"Your lady?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Princess Jessmei. She wishes to have lunch with you in the Royal Garden." She waited patiently for my answer.

"Yes I will come," I replied. I had not spoken with Jessmei since our trip here had ended a few weeks ago. It would be good to see her again.

"Perfect. My lady will be pleased. Do you know where the Royal Gardens are?"

"No." I frowned as I considered the logistical nightmare of getting over to the other side of the castle after I had just told the duke he had a week to meet my demands, choked Runir unconscious, and threatened to kill the guards at my door.

"I will come to escort you in one quarter of an hour. That will give you time to prepare better attire." The woman nodded and smiled at me. Before I replied she turned and walked away.

I hadn't thought my clothes were in such poor shape, but then I realized I wore a pair of pants and a shirt I had taken from the Vanlourns. I went to my wardrobe and put on one of the outfits that the king's tailor had created for me: a light red and brown tunic and pants with gold stitching on all the seams.

Minutes later, I heard Jessmei's handmaiden walk toward my room and I opened the door to greet her.

"You look very handsome," she complimented me as she appraised my attire.

"Thank you," I said as she led me down the hallway. Her arm wrapped around mine, similar to the way Nadea's had the other day.

"How have you enjoyed your stay in Nia so far?" She looked over to me and shook her hair back, it fell like a waterfall of mercury.

"It has been fine." I chose my words carefully. "I am anxious to be useful."

"I'm sure you will be." She nodded to a few servants that passed us.

"Oh, I just remembered, I had asked the girl that takes care of my room to bring me lunch," I said, nearly forgetting the pretty servant in the hallway that had witnessed me choking Runir.

"Wait," the woman called out to the servants that we had just passed. She eloquently explained to them I would not require lunch and they told us they would make sure it wasn't delivered. After the conversation the blonde woman took my arm again and we continued on our way.

She took me out of the wing of the castle in which I had spent most of my visit toward the north side. We passed maybe a dozen guards as we walked and they eyed me in surprise. While most of the castle was impressive, I could immediately tell the difference between the North Wing of the castle and the rest of the structure. The Royal Wing was decorated with even richer furniture, better art, even the guards seemed more capable. The ceilings were higher and there were rich dark wooden beams running through them.

"Does the king know that Jessmei and I are having lunch?" I asked.

"Yes," the woman said. "We are almost there." We went down a flight of stairs and into an open garden area.

Large willowy trees decorated the perimeter of the garden, while excellently manicured maples, spruces, and pines led along a stone path into its center. Each side of the small field was flanked by bright yellow green moss and a sunset cascade of colored flowers arranged in a warm rainbow that flowed from papery magenta bougainvillea on one end, followed by deep velvety red camellias, orange chrysanthemums, downy yellow dahlias and dandelions, to a row of buttery gardenias that scented the air with a heady perfume. The colors of the blooms blended artfully and created a gorgeous wash of color that contrasted beautifully with the vibrant greens of the trees and lawn. I imagined the hours of human labor it took to maintain such an unnaturally pristine and purely decorative landscape and wondered how this kingdom functioned without slave labor.

I heard the soft laughter of a brook up ahead of me. It mixed with the giggles of women's voices and the chirping of happy yellow birds that danced between the branches of the trees. The woman led me along the path for a few minutes. It led up a small hill before sloping down into a shallow and cool glade framed by feathery willows. The sound of the laughter grew louder as we reached a clearing hidden in the depths of the trees.

"Kaiyer!" Jessmei's voice shouted with delight when I entered the clearing. The woman who was escorting me released me in time for me to cradle the princess's body in my arms as she flung herself on me in exuberance. "Thank you so much for coming!" She pulled her face away from my shoulder and our eyes made contact briefly. For a second I thought she was going to kiss me, but then she released her grip from around my neck and landed easily on the ground.

She was wearing a thin yellow summer dress that was embroidered with blue and vermillion flowers around the edges of the hem and sleeves. Her hair was done up in a curly tower of golden locks, entwined with white and golden daisies. She wore color on her cheeks and her lips were stained a darker red than I would have expected her to wear. It made her seem more of a woman and less of a girl.

"I can't turn down food," I said with a laugh. "Especially with my favorite princess."

"Ha! I'm the only princess you know! You do need to eat more. I believe you've only gained a few pounds since we first met you. Don't worry, I have a great lunch for us all planned out. Oh, let me introduce you to my handmaidens," she said with pleasure as she wrapped her arm around mine and pulled me farther into the clearing.

"You have already met Cerra," she indicated the pretty woman who had walked me from my room. She had joined her companions in a small circle where they were working on a complicated knitting project. Cerra gave me a dazzling smile before looking back down to her work.

"That is Yera, Levie, Damina, and Siliah." She pointed to the other women of the circle. All as pretty as Cerra and ranging in age from Jessmei to a few years older than Nadea. “There is a table over here for us, please join me." She indicated a small table with two chairs placed about fifty feet from where her maidens were knitting. I followed her lead toward the table. I remembered seeing men pull chairs out for women at the banquet, so I did the same for her before I took my seat.

As soon as we sat down two servants appeared out of the shadows and put glasses on the table and then poured water into them. One waiter put a small basket of steaming bread in the center of the table, and the other placed a platter of cheese, red berries, and butter alongside it. They moved back a few steps and Jessmei nodded at them before they removed themselves.

"Where is Greykin?" I asked, looking around for the big man. I couldn't imagine him being more than twenty feet from the princess, especially if I was near her.

"He took a week off to visit family. A sister I believe. It is a few days’ ride. Let me prepare some bread for you," she said as she grabbed a thinly cut slice and put a spread of butter on it, then she placed it on a plate and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I said before I took a bite. It was delicious. "I don't see any guards. Aren't you always under some sort of protection?" I said as I eyed the trees. I didn't hear anything except for the servants, her handmaidens, the stream that flowed nearby, the breeze through the branches of the trees, and the birds.

"Oh they are around the garden. Do you think my father would let me dine with you alone and unprotected?" she giggled and stuck her tongue out at me. Her voice was as pleasant as the sound of the brook. "I am so glad you came. We haven't had a chance to talk in a few weeks and I wanted to catch up with you. How do you enjoy my home?" She looked at me eagerly. The rays of the sun danced through the trees and made her eyes sparkle like sapphires.

I sat back in my chair and debated on what to tell her. Then I figured the truth was the best. Perhaps Jessmei could convince her father that I needed to have a little more freedom here.

"It has been a nice stay, but I am going to be leaving within the week." Her face cracked like she had just lost a favorite pet.

"What? Why?" Her eyes opened up as her lips pouted. They were full and moist, like the berries on the table. For a second I wanted to lean across and taste them.