Shadow Assassins (The Second Realm Trilogy) (7 page)

His name was Erik. That was how he introduced himself to Evangeline. After telling her his name, he paused, and then added the word
prince
, with some distaste. Prince Erik, of the Emeralde Kingdom.

Evangeline responded politely, as to not seem rude to him. Inside, her thoughts turned over unpleasantly. She was in the Emeralde Kingdom, the place Dirk the vampire wanted them to inspect and investigate. Prince Erik’s father, the king, was the one responsible for so many deaths. She had expected a kingdom of stereotypical darkness, but instead, what she found was a verdant forest and a castle with brilliant green banners. Equal to her liking was the prince in front of her, wearing a friendly smile.

He did not fear her instinctively, as most humans did. Or, if he felt that edge of fear, he was good at not showing it.

“Evangeline,” he said, echoing her name after she had said it. “And where do you come from, Lady Evangeline?
Surely not from around here. You do not dress as the rest of the women in our kingdom do.”

She hesitated,
then explained her situation from the First Realm, carefully leaving out any details about investigating this man’s kingdom. Instead, she focused on the fact that she was separated from her friends and that she didn’t know anything about the land about her. Prince Erik listened, fascinated by her story.

“Moonriver Academy is to the east of us,” he said. “If you would like, I can escort you there.”

“You would be able to do that?” she said with a small smile. She didn’t know why she was so trusting of the son of a supposedly prejudice and genocidal king. His father would strike her down for what she was, but the prince himself wasn’t so bad.

He nodded. “Yes. I am...well,
supposedly
on a lone hunting trip. It is one of the only things Father allows me to do alone, to prove I am a man worthy of the crown.”

She noted how his voice was tinged with distaste. “What are you really doing, if you are
supposedly
on a hunting trip?”

He shrugged.
“Relaxing. Fishing. I have a hunting cabin some distance away from here. Would you like to join me there? It may be more relaxing than this open forest.”

It didn’t seem right to trust him so quickly, but Evangeline sensed no threat from this kind prince. He didn’t eye her with hatred and distrust, as other people might have. She could only smile and nod at him.

He dismounted his horse. “Here, you ride on my horse, Nightstorm. It is not proper for a lady to be forced to walk while the man rides leisurely.”

“No, I can’t–”

“I insist, my lady.”

What was it about this man? Evangeline saw nothing particularly special about the prince, from his pale skin to his light brown hair. His emerald eyes shone in the sun. They were kind, trusting. It wasn’t the kindness she was used to and really only able to find among her friends the Shadow Assassins. This man, however, a total stranger, seemed ready to trust her.

There was the unfortunate complication of the horse to deal with, though. With an awkward admittance, Evangeline confessed that she had never ridden a horse. He didn’t seem to mind and instead introduced her to his war horse, then showed her the proper way to mount Nightstorm. He tried showing her the way to sit like a lady on a horse, but the horse protested like she did; it felt unnatural to her. So, with a laugh, he showed her how to sit properly on the saddle in the way a man did. For this, the horse stayed still, only snorting lightly as her weight settled over him. Prince Erik grabbed hold of the reins and led Nightstorm and the war horse’s rider away from the castle and deeper into the forest.

As they traveled, the prince allowed himself to talk, as if he had been searching for someone to converse with. He mentioned the men in armor and his father’s ridiculous idea of a war. This got Evangeline’s attention and when she questioned him, he seemed eager to answer her. He spoke of his father’s confusing ways and how it seemed as though his father was a different person than he had been a few years ago. A few years ago, his father would never had considered the thought of war, especially against a certain type of people that did not exist among their kingdom, but now it was as if his mind had twisted. Some of the villagers spoke of demon influence. Evangeline didn’t seem to believe that demons could influence the king so, but the prince mentioned that in this world, demons existed in physical form and they interacted with humans just as angels and gods did.

It was such a strange place, this Second Realm that Evangeline was lost in. It was not like her own home of cement streets and steel buildings, but one of old order and superstition. That may have been due to the Rule of Absolute Separation, as Dirk mentioned, but it was also something more. This world contained all the old magic and superstition that had left the world she lived in.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the prince’s hunting cabin. Prince Erik helped Evangeline off of his horse,
then led his horse to a small stable on the side of the cabin, where a gray mare was already standing. As he took care of his horse, he told Evangeline to go into the house, as he would be behind her in a minute.

She left him and headed for the cabin. Inside, the rich warm brown mixed with green banners of the Emeralde Kingdom. There wasn’t much in the cabin, just a bed, a large wooden table with weapons scattered on it. Another table against the far wall held the
remains of the prince’s fishing expeditions. The faint scent of fish and blood reached her nose with sickening clarity.

When the prince joined her in the cabin, she asked him to tell her more about the war and what was happening. She tried to keep her voice merely curious, instead of demanding.

He eyed her for a moment, then went to the table of weapons. “Father is executing those with magical ability. The subjects in his castle have magical ability, but none are taught how to use it. That’s the only thing that keeps them safe; otherwise I fear he might kill them as well and have an empty kingdom to rule over. Outside the castle walls, however, his knights slaughter and raid. There is a werecat tribe not far from here that has defended their land many times, but another were tribe was not so fortunate. They were wiped out by my father’s knights. A farming village was recently slaughtered as well. I cannot stand all the bloodshed.”

“Can’t you tell him that?” she asked.

A wry smile crossed his lips. “I’m afraid Father doesn’t listen to me. Mother has tried reasoning with him several times, but he won’t listen to her, either. Some of the subjects complain and they are imprisoned. I don’t know what’s driving this destructive behavior of his.”

“Was there something that triggered his behavior?” She couldn’t help pressing him on like this, despite how pained he looked to speak of his father’s madness. This was the job she had been given, and even if she was here with no supplies or ways to contact the others, she would still try to do her job.

He glanced at her oddly, as if wondering why she was asking so many questions. “I am not sure. It was though he woke up one day and decided to hate everything not human. Or, maybe not so. It has been happening slowly over time. When his father, the previous king, was still alive, the people in our castle learned minor magical skill, mostly for healing. We had a great healer in our castle up until maybe a decade ago, when my father, the current king, thought it would be best if she was exiled from the kingdom. Since then, there have been bizarre changes. Classes teaching magical healing were disbanded. He focused on building a huge army. And now...well, I’ve explained what is happening now. Outside of our kingdom, it is visible everywhere. Death and destruction. People are
dying
out there and I cannot do anything to stop it.”

He looked so miserable that Evangeline couldn’t help but place a hand over his in comfort. It was all she could think to do. She was never the hugging type, even among the other Assassins. Marco jokingly called her the
ice queen
at times for all the warmth she showed her comrades. For this prince, who could do nothing to help the people he would someday rule over, she could spare some kindness.

He smiled at her. “The fortunate thing is
, Father insists I am strong and can fend for myself. He allows me to go on these lone hunting trips, as long as I bring home trophies of many successful hunts. The fishing, he says is for leisure, and cares not for it, but I find it very relaxing, away from all this bloodshed. At least now, the company is much more beautiful than what I am usually allowed to see.”

He was talking about her, calling her beautiful. Her eyes widened in surprise and he gave a small laugh at her expression
.

Stepping away from her, he said, “Unfortunately, I am not prepared to entertain such lovely company. Forgive me for lack of preparation.”

“No, you’re fine. It’s not like you knew I was coming, right?” Evangeline said nervously. It was most unlike her and she wanted to kick herself for the tremors in her voice. The unfamiliar land and the threat of being alone had to be doing it. Back in Moonlight Hills, she would never have wavered so fast. On concrete land, surrounded by her fellow Assassins, she was confident and arrogant. In this strange land, alone? Little more than a lost child.

She hated that insecurity.

Prince Erik didn’t seem to notice how awkward she seemed. Instead, he held his hand out to her. “Would you allow me the honor of escorting you to Moonriver Academy?”

A prince for an escort, and possibly a bodyguard.
Kaydee would have swooned for the chance, with all the historical romance nonsense she read frequently. Evangeline only stared and awkwardly smiled.

“I would like that. Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure, my lady.”

She couldn’t help but give a small laugh as he took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. After the kiss was given, he hurried about his cabin, gathering supplies that he threw into a small bag. He explained that while Moonriver Academy was not too far a distance away, they would still have to travel through the werecat hunting grounds and elf territory to cross over to the school.

“Elf?” she asked, surprised. “What creatures live here?”

He thought a moment. “There is a werewolf tribe to the west of us, a werecat tribe to the south of us, and the elf colony beside them. In the Second Realm, we are in the continent of Aurialis. There are two main continents and several island chains. Aurialis is where we are, as I said, and there is also the continent to the south of us, the Isle Dark. It is an uncivilized, evil place there. Here though, it’s filled with forests and rivers. The werewolf tribe is called Lunanda, while the werecat tribe is called Kkyathi. The Oraldine elves are almost human, although they insist on not interacting with us. There is also El Flora, home to a vampire colony and the Immortals – that is, humans with extraordinary power. Near El Flora are the Aeriad Mountains, home to dragon riders and their fierce dragons. Then to the east of our kingdom is Moonriver Academy, a giant school for all magical creatures. There is also the Feynid Forest, but I don’t suggest going there at all...and hmm, the Gypsa traders that wander throughout Aurialis.”

It all sounded so exotic and foreign to Evangeline. This was like a story book come to life, a vibrant land full of creatures of fairy tale. She would have loved to visit each place and understand all of the cultures. Dr. Fyrn definitely would. He would give an arm and a leg to visit this place. She wanted to take notes and remember as much as she could for him.

“Are you ready?” Prince Erik asked. “I have readied my second horse for you.”

She nodded and he led her to the stable where the black horse Nightstorm stood near the black-spotted gray mare. The prince approached the mare, which had been prepared for Evangeline. A brilliant red halter was studded with gold. It contrasted with her gray coat. The mare seemed comfortable enough, although edgy when Evangeline approached.

“This is Silverstorm,” the prince said. “She’s used to having guests ride her, so she’s much friendlier than Nightstorm.”

Evangeline let Silverstorm sniff her. The mare seemed edgy at having Evangeline so close, but she obediently allowed her to get into the saddle. Prince Erik mounted himself atop Nightstorm and led them to the edge of the property.

“Can you ride at a faster pace?” he asked her.

“I can try.”

“Alright, let’s try it.” He set his stallion off at a fast trot through the forest. Evangeline barely needed to guide her horse. Silverstorm seemed eager to keep up with her human.

They made fast time getting to the edge of kingdom territory. The horses altered from a quick trot to a flat out run, depending on what the terrain allowed. The prince showed Evangeline how to control Silverstorm better as they adjusted speeds. They had to have been riding for at least an hour. Evangeline felt the strain of sitting on the horse and felt the horse strain to carry her. Soon, they weren’t in a forest at all, but a flat plain. Prince Erik paused the horses when they reached a vast open field.

He reached down to stroke the neck of his panting stallion. “We’re at the edge of Kkyathi territory now. It’s huge and there are a lot of streams crossing through.
Small ones. The heart of Kkyathi territory has all the big streams and rivers. We’re far from the heart of their territory, but we should still approach with caution.”