The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (91 page)

“Time for you to go,” he said, leaning down to pat Ty’s neck. In one quick move, he swung down from the saddle, and gave the horse’s rump a hard smack, sending him back to their camp. Men swarmed him instantly. Aiden jumped back, nearly avoiding a blade through his stomach. He ran towards the other man, smashing his elbow into his face before he could swing the sword again. Blood gushed from the other man’s nose, and he cried out in pain. Aiden spotted his axe lying a short distance away. Taking the chance, he flung himself towards his weapon, using the momentum to do a shoulder roll back up into a standing position, grabbing the axe mid roll. As he stood the recovered man was closer than Aiden had expected, and already poised to strike. Before the other man could make a move there was an arrow embedded deep in his chest.

“Gods, I didn’t think I’d get to you fast enough,” Logan said, his breathing coming out in loud puffs. “I thought that guy was going to take your head off!”

“Me too,” Aiden breathed, looking back towards the trees.

“Don’t worry! I have your back babe!” Lily’s voice yelled out. It brought a huge smile to his face.

Aiden cupped both hands around his mouth, and yelled as loud as he could so she would hear him. “Thanks
babe
!”

“You’re welcome!”

He turned to see Logan laughing. Aiden shook his head, the stupid grin still on his face.

“She’s a riot,” Logan said.

“You’re telling me,” Aiden laughed. They moved deeper into the fight, staying close to one another. There was quite a few times where they found themselves watching the others back, and saving it.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the air grew increasingly warm. Still they fought. Both sides continued to attack, with no end in sight. Wolf joined them sometime in the late afternoon, which Aiden was glad for. His arms had started to feel like jelly hours ago, and his legs screamed for him to rest. It was impossible though. As soon as he would defeat one man, another would take his place. He continued to grit his teeth and press forward, but it almost felt like being in quick sand. The harder he fought, the worse it got.

“Aiden!” a voice shouted. He turned to see Wolf not far away, with Logan. They were both motioning him over. Having just gotten rid of his opponent, which he guessed was just knocked out, not dead, Aiden ran over to them. “Come on,” Wolf said. The three of them headed towards the woods. Aiden hadn’t even realized they had moved so close to it, but as soon as he hit the shade, he was thankful for it.

“What’s going on?” he asked, confused.

“Take a rest,” Wolf said, motioning to the foot of a tree. Logan was already lowering himself to the ground.

“Is it safe?” Aiden asked, looking back out at the field.

“We might as well try while we can,” he replied.

“Gods, how much longer is this going to last?” Logan complained, stretching out his legs. He moaned in pain. “I’m so stiff and sore, I feel like I’ve been trampled on by a hundred horses.” Aiden walked over and sat beside him, while Wolf stretched out in front of them.

“They don’t seem to be tiring,” Aiden replied.

“Oh no, they’re just as tired as we are, but they’re just not giving up,” Wolf said. His eyes were closed, and he actually looked peaceful. It he didn’t know any better, Aiden would have thought there was no battle taking place only a short distance away.

“Well neither are we,” Logan said, sticking his chest out.

“Easy boy, no one said we were,” Wolf smiled.

“I’m about to pass out,” Aiden admitted. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll last.”

“Well, that’s why we’re going to rest for ten minutes. Then we’ll head back out,” Wolf replied, keeping his eyes shut.

“Alright,” Aiden sighed, getting more comfortable. He rested his head back on the trunk and closed his eyes. “Ten winks it is.” As his mind settled, he began to focus on his surroundings. The rough bark of the tree behind him; the warm breeze across his face. This land felt like it was slowly becoming a part of him. He couldn’t explain it, but for some reason he just felt connected to his surroundings. It was a strange feeling, and yet comforting. Like he was home.

The short rest did more than Aiden had thought it would. Even though they sat there for a brief moment, when he reached the field again he felt strangely rejuvenated. Just being out of the sun and heat, and being able to cool down helped to clear the growing fatigue in his mind. He ran forward with his friends, heading towards the centre of the field. Most of the men were clustered there. He could
just
see the tops of the King’s, Turk’s, and Markus’s heads. Hawk and his Riders were further forward, still atop their horses. There was no sign of the Prince close to them, which surprised Aiden. He thought for sure the brothers would seek each other out right away, but the younger brother was separated by a sea of people. It was clear the men were trying to protect their leaders from one another.

Someone shouted behind him. Aiden turned just in time to block a strike. Moving quickly, he twisted to the side, swinging the blade around towards the other man’s torso. It was blocked, causing Aiden to lose some of his balance. He staggered back, still blocking the next attack. They went like this for a few minutes before Aiden finally broke through the other man’s defenses. Moving to his left, he aimed low, slicing into the back of the man’s shin. He cried out and fell to the ground. Aiden brought his axe up and smashed the hilt of it into the back of the man’s head. He fell face first onto the ground and did not move. Aiden sucked in some air, trying to control his breathing. His lungs burned more than ever, but he pushed forward again. When he reached the Captain he could hear him yelling at the King.

“Jameson we must!” he was saying. The King was blocking another attack, his teeth clenched, sweat pouring down the sides of his face. He looked exhausted. Another man came around to his back. Aiden moved instantly, standing between the new opponent and the King. He fought with his back to Jameson, trying his best to protect the King.

“This is crazy Jameson,” Aiden heard Markus say next. “Turk is right, our men won’t last at this pace, and neither will theirs.”

“I will not retreat before he does!” Jameson replied.

“This is insanity! Look at the sun, Jameson. The day is almost done!” Turk yelled.

Aiden looked to the sky quickly, noticing how late it was for the first time. They had literally been fighting the entire day. It was no wonder he felt like he would collapse any second. More men pushed through to the King, and Aiden found himself now fighting beside the Captain. They heard a frustrated scream behind them, but neither could look as they focused on keeping more men from the King.

“Alright!” Jameson shouted. “Send up the truce flag and wait to see what Callum does.”

Aiden heard Turk give a satisfied grunt. He didn’t quite understand what was going on, but from what he understood it meant they were going to stop soon. He felt more energized just at the thought of being able to rest. Turk called out an order to another man, who ran off back to camp. Shortly after, a loud horn filled the air. Aiden turned to see a man waving a flag at the top of the hill. No one stopped fighting though, even when he could hear them discussing this development. It wasn’t until another white flag waved in the air from the North’s camp that the fighting seemed to stop. It was a tense, reluctant cease, but slowly the men started to back away from each other.

“Don’t touch anyone,” Turk said in Aiden’s ear. “Those are the conditions when both sides wave the truce flags. We can no longer harm them until there are new terms agreed upon.” Aiden nodded his head in understanding, watching as the other side made their way back to their camp. Looks and unsaid threats passed between the men, but no one moved.

Jameson came up to stand on the other side of Turk as they watched the north retreat. “What now?” Turk asked.

“We meet, and then we decide. First, let’s having something to eat.” At the mere mention of food, Aiden’s stomach growled loudly. Both men turned to look at him with amused expressions. Aiden shrugged.

“I’m a growing boy,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. Turk chuckled, and the King’s mouth spread into a smile. They turned without another word and headed towards their camp. It wasn’t over, but at least it was for now.

After having a quick meal around the fire Moose and Logan had built, Aiden headed back towards the spot the King had told him to meet them. Thankfully all his friends were alive and uninjured. Moose had a deep gash on his arm, but it was minor and had already been stitched. The camp was eerily quiet as he walked through it. Even during supper, everyone had been subdued. The men had fought long and hard and were exhausted. It was awful to think that even though they had fought all day it wasn’t over. No one had won, and they would only gear up to fight again tomorrow. There would be no late night drinking tonight, Aiden observed. Some people were already asleep.

When Aiden came to the spot he saw the King and Turk were already waiting there. “Feeling better?” Turk asked, his voice holding a hint of amusement. Aiden patted his belly with a smile.

“Much,” he replied. The Captain chuckled. There was a greater feeling of camaraderie between them after fighting together that day. Aiden felt oddly comfortable around the Captain now. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, or why the King had requested his presence, so he stood in silence.

“I’m going to meet with Callum,” Jameson said, looking over his shoulder at the other side’s camp. “I wanted you to come with me as a witness.”

Aiden swallowed awkwardly. “Okay,” he said, his voice slightly strained. Why him? He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to argue.

“Good luck,” Turk said, slapping the King on the shoulder.

“You’re not coming too?” Aiden asked, surprised.

“No, I’ll wait here. Usually only the King and a witness meet for renegotiations.”

“Well I can wait here and watch, if you want to go,” he offered.

Turk smiled, but shook his head. “Jameson wants you to go. I think he doesn’t trust my quick tongue around Callum.” He gave the King an amused look.

“It will only do more harm than good,” the King said, confirming his friend’s suspicions. “We’ll be back shortly.”

Turk waved them off as they rode down the hill towards the other side. Jameson seemed distracted, so Aiden kept quiet. A soldier met them when they reached the camp, and showed them to the same tent Aiden had visited before. Felix’s sister wasn’t there this time, thankfully. He wasn’t sure how Jameson would react after Diana’s warning. Callum and another man with dark skin stood in the middle of the small space. Both men looked just as exhausted as they did.

“Callum,” Jameson greeted.

“Jameson,” he replied shortly. He looked at Aiden and gave him a small nod.

“It seems our men are equally matched,” Jameson said. “It is my opinion that we should settle things the way our forefathers did at a time like this.” Callum’s eyebrows rose, his face betraying shock. Aiden didn’t understand what the King meant, but the other two men seemed to understand immediately.

“Are you suggesting –”

“Yes,” Jameson said, interrupting him. Aiden watched as Callum considered his words. He regarded his brother closely. Finally he answered.

“And our men?”

“Would follow the winner, of course,” Jameson answered, immediately. It felt like someone had poured ice cold water down Aiden’s back at those words. There was something happening here that he didn’t get, but a sense of understanding was building.

“Alright, I agree.” Callum turned to a small writing table, and motioned for his man to write. “It is agreed upon between myself and the High King that the war will be decided between a one-on-one fight,” he dictated as the other man wrote. “Whoever shall win between us will be named High King. The men of both armies are commanded to follow said winner with the same loyalty and obedience they gave to their former leader. Anyone who refuses to accept these orders from us will be charged with treason and sentenced to death.” The other man wrote quickly, an obvious look of disapproval on his face. When he was finished Callum signed his name, and stepped back for Jameson. Aiden watched as the King signed, a feeling of dread washing over him.

“Tomorrow at dawn,” Jameson said, when he turned to face his brother again. Callum only nodded once. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Jameson turned and motioned for Aiden to follow. They left quickly, riding back to their camp in a tense silence.

“Now you know why I brought you,” Jameson said, when they were drawing closer. Aiden looked to him in confusion. “Turk would have never let me do that,” he explained, his tone sad. “But I had no choice.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Elisa had been speaking with her father when the King and Aiden returned. She could tell immediately that something was wrong. The King looked normal, but Aiden was as white as a ghost. As soon as their feet hit the ground, her father was there to ask what happened.

“Let’s go in my tent to discuss it,” Jameson replied. “Get Markus and Hawk too, they’ll need to hear this.” Her father looked worried, but didn’t argue. When he walked away to get the others, Elisa slowly approached Aiden.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, keeping her voice low. Aiden turned to her, his eyes wide and frightened. He gave his head a slight shake, and then turned back to the watch the King wearily.

“Elisa,” Jameson called out, making her jump.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you and Aiden join us as well?” he suggested.

“Uh, okay,” she replied, looking back to Aiden. He still wouldn’t really look at her. Something was definitely wrong.

“Aiden, go get Diana from her tent, and then come back and meet us,” he ordered, turning his attention away from her. She turned to see Aiden walk slowly away. What could have possibly happened at their meeting that would have shaken Aiden up like this? She didn’t understand it. The King motioned for her to follow him, so she did so in silence. They weren’t there long before Hawk and Markus walked in, followed closely by her father.