Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles Book 1) (56 page)

At the edge of camp, she paused to look around for any sign of where Jace had gone. If only she had his tracking expertise. The terrain didn’t give up any answers to her barely trained eye. She pressed on a little farther and called his name, but received no response. She walked the
perimeter of camp slowly, often looking over her shoulder. It would take time to shake the fear of someone stalking her, and she lamented the forest losing its peaceful touch. She whispered prayers, mostly for Jace, but also some for courage.

It didn’t take long to circle camp. Of course, Jace was capable of taking care of himself, but Rayad’s words left a gnawing ache inside her. Maybe it had to do with the way Jace acted after the attack. Something just felt wrong.

Arriving back where she started, she stopped and her shoulders drooped. Did she dare go farther? Moisture fled her throat. She didn’t even have her bow with her. She turned to go back for it and caught a dark shape out of the corner of her eye. Her heart almost crashed through her ribs, but she blew out a sigh when she realized it was Tyra and pressed her hand to her chest. The wolf appeared fully from behind a stand of close-growing maples. She stared at Kyrin, and then turned. Kyrin hurried toward the trees.

When she drew near, Jace stood. She halted. All the rest and health he’d regained seemed sucked right out of him. The healthy glow was gone, and his eyes were red, almost feverish. She glanced at his shirt. A small splotch of blood stained it.

“Jace, are you all right?” She took a step closer, and he shrank back as if afraid to have her near.

“You shouldn’t be out here.” His deep voice faltered. “You need to go back to camp
…away from me.”

Kyrin frowned, but spoke gently. “What’s wrong?”

He just shook his head, unwilling to meet her eyes. “I can’t take you hunting anymore.”

The declaration hit her with an invisible force that stole her breath. “But
…why?”

“You need to stay away from me.”

She leaned in a bit to try to get him to look at her. “Is this because of your dream?” His face paled to an ashen hue. “Jace, what did you see in the dream?”

He dragged in a labored breath and shook his head again, but Kyrin persisted. “It will be better if you come out with it. Suffering alone won’t help you.”

Jace grimaced, but finally he spoke in a halting voice. “It…was you. You were…dead.” His fists and jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes with a wince as if in terrible pain. “I did it.”

Kyrin let this sink in and considered her reply. “Jace?” She waited until he finally looked at her. “It was only a dream. It wasn’t real. I’m right here. You never have and never would hurt me.”

He choked on a short pain-filled laugh. “How do you know?”

“Why would you?”

“Because, I’m a
monster
.” He ground the words out, condemning himself, and as he held her gaze, the glint and shadows in his eyes writhed with the full extent of the pain he’d lived with for so long. “I’m an animal, Kyrin, just like they said. You can’t trust me—”

“No!”

Her vehemence shocked them both. She cleared her throat, surprised by the force in her own voice, but she wouldn’t let him do this. Not now, not after everything they’d been through. He might be willing to let himself sink back into despair, but she wasn’t.

“No,” she repeated, more softly this time. “You are not evil, you are not a monster,
you are not
any
of the horrible things you’ve been led to think you are. You’ve been lied to from the time you could understand. You told me so yourself. But it’s just not true, Jace. You must believe that.”

Her words collided with his lifelong beliefs. He grimaced at the struggle. “Even if I wouldn’t hurt you, people always get hurt around me. Look at Kalli and Aldor. Look at what nearly happened to you yesterday.”

“You had nothing to do with the ryriks or with the men who killed Kalli and Aldor. You saved my life yesterday.”

“But it’s true. Bad things happen to the people I’m close to.”

“No.” She put her hands on her hips. She could be stubborn too, just like her brother. “If you’re trying to tell me you’re cursed, that won’t work either. It’s another lie. Things happen, Jace. Any of us could die at any time. That’s in the hands of Elôm. You have nothing to do with it.”

A fire had lit inside her now. She’d fought too hard to help him open up and always treaded so carefully so she wouldn’t destroy their progress. It would not end with him closing himself off again out of fear something might happen to her.

She crossed the distance between them and reached out, gripping his arms to focus his attention. “You must listen to me. I’m your friend. I care about you. You may try to push me away because you think it will make me safer, but I won’t let you do it.”

He stared down into her eyes.

“Stop believing the lies,” she urged. “Please stop believing them.”

Jace inhaled deeply and let it out in a rush. She felt the tension drain from his muscles. He might not be able to dispel all that
had been drilled into him for so many years, but she saw in his eyes that he took the first steps.

Over the following days, Kyrin witnessed a subtle but sure change in Jace, as if the deeply rooted burdens he carried were finally falling away. She even coaxed him to join the group around the fire for meals. It wasn’t comfortable for him, but at least the men seemed to have laid aside their fear and mistrust. Most of them anyway.
Whether or not Jace’s doubts were gone for good or would return in time was impossible to say, but she thanked Elôm for the progress. As she knew well by now, the future was too uncertain to dwell on for long.

Three days after her discussion with Jace, Trask rode into camp with an extra packhorse, but he brought more than just supplies. Kyrin approached just in time to hear him tell Warin, “I think I was followed on the way here.”

“Did you see who it was?” Warin asked.

Trask shook his head, and his eyes lacked their usual sparkle. “I only caught a quick glimpse of movement, but I suspect one of Goler’s men. I made sure to lose him well before I neared camp.”

“What’s Goler been up to lately?”

“That’s the thing. I haven’t seen him at all, and that concerns me. He’s usually poking his nose around Landale more often.”

Warin crossed his arms and shook his head. “I don’t like the sound of it. You’ll have to be wary.”

“I will,” Trask assured him.

He turned to unpack the horse and distributed supplies to the waiting men. Spotting Kyrin, he smiled and reached for something.

“Another gift specifically for you,” he told her.

Despite the concerning news, Kyrin grinned and reached for the smooth oak quarterstaff she’d requested the day after the ryrik attack. Though she never could have matched them, she would have felt more secure with a weapon other than her bow—something she was even more familiar with.

“I also talked to the leatherworker in the village. He made this for you.” Trask withdrew another item from the supplies—a quiver of sorts, but with a much longer and narrower leather tube. “Now you can take your staff with you without having to carry it.”

Kyrin’s eyes widened at the ingenious invention. She buckled the quiver over her shoulder and tipped her staff back to slide into the tube. It worked perfectly. She smiled again at Trask.

“Thank you for doing this for me.”

He gave a short nod. “I didn’t want you to find yourself unprepared in the future.”

Kyrin pulled the staff out again and walked over to Jace. He eyed the new weapon with interest.

“It’s not a blade,” she said, “but trust me, it hurts, and can break bone.”

Jace nodded in approval. “Most of the time that’s all you need. Just a distraction so you can get away.”

Kyrin agreed. She had no desire to stand and fight anyone.

“I’ll try to find out what Goler is up to before I return tomorrow.” Trask tugged his horse’s cinch strap snug and glanced back at Warin and Rayad. The two older men had fallen into the leadership role in camp whenever he was not around, and he appreciated how smoothly they kept things running. There hadn’t been any major problems since the incident with the Korvic brothers. The three seemed to have learned their lesson, especially now that Kyrin spent so much time with Jace. It amused him how the youngest Korvic moped over it.

“Don’t dig too deep,” Warin told him, bringing his thoughts back to Goler. “It might only stir up trouble.”

“I won’t.” Trask grabbed the reins and mounted. With a last nod at them, he left camp and was meticulous in his care not to leave tracks. It would only take one mistake to jeopardize the entire camp and their mission. No
doubt they’d all be executed for treason, even someone as innocent as Lenae.

When he arrived at the road, he made a thorough search. A set of tracks from earlier confirmed his suspicions. Determined to find answers, he urged his horse on toward Landale. The shadows of evening closed in as he trotted into the castle courtyard. Several horses were tied out front, including a tall, surly bay—Goler’s horse. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to go far for information.

Preparing himself for the confrontation, and with a word of prayer, he dismounted and strode inside. He was all set to deliver a sarcastic greeting to the captain when he entered the parlor, but caught the seriousness in his father’s eyes and refrained. Goler turned to face him, appearing far too pleased. “Ah, Trask.”

Trask stiffened his back and gave him a hard look. “I believe that’s
Lord
Trask to you.”

Typically, this would have infuriated Goler, but not this time. Strong warning signals fired off in Trask’s brain. It took all of his control to keep his hand at his side and not reach for the hilt
of his sword. He flexed his tingling fingers as Goler stepped closer, the man’s probing eyes spearing into his own.

“Where have you been?”

Trask stared right back at him. “I think we’ve had this conversation once before.”

“Perhaps you’d like to explain what you’ve been doing with all the supplies you disappear with.” The captain’s eyes narrowed. “Some of which might be considered for a young woman.”

Trask shifted his jaw. Either someone had been spying on him or Goler had forced the local merchants into giving up information. Probably both. He drew a breath to remain calm and responded coolly, “Again, Captain, what I do with my time and money doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, but it does if it involves aiding enemies of the emperor.”

Trask ground his molars together and refused to respond. Now anger did flare in Goler’s expression and transferred to his voice.

“You are hiding the girl, aren’t you?”

No
rested on the tip of his tongue, but the lie would not come out. Again, he said nothing, but stood in firm resolve. Triumph lit Goler’s eyes and erased the anger.

“I know you are.”

Very calmly, Trask replied, “You can’t prove that.”

“Doesn’t matter. I can hold you on suspicion until one of the emperor’s men
arrives. You see, I sent word to Valcré just this morning.”

Trask glanced from side to side. Goler’s men had closed in around them during the conversation. Hot, followed by icy cold, slithered down his back and into his gut. He’d known this day would come. They couldn’t prove his guilt, but, in this situation, it probably wouldn’t matter.