Soul Relenter (Soul Saga #3) (28 page)

“My feelings for you will never change—I will always love you. I will always care about you so drop this act, Aleco. You should take your own advice before you expect me to follow it. You interfere with my decision
s and choices on a daily basis.”

“Those are life and death situations, Accacia.”

“It doesn’t matter, Aleco. I know if I was upset over Zyle you would comfort me and be there for me even though you hate him. Do you deny it?”

Aleco said nothing. Accacia knew she had won by his silence.

“So please tell me what she meant. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I heard it—it doesn’t sound good, Aleco.”

“I can’t speak of this, Accacia. Drop it.”

“No,” she said. “Tell me.”

“I already said no, Accacia.”

“Why?”

Aleco stared at her for a long moment. Accacia could see the frustration in his frame. His muscled chest heaved with the large breaths of air he was taking.
“I don’t want you to know, Accacia. That’s why.” He squeezed his fingers into his palms as he saw the hurt look on her face. Her pain was nothing compared to what he felt. “Accacia, do you want me? If you want me to belong to you, then tell me so. Leave Zyle and I’m all yours.” Aleco watched her for a moment. “If not, then start behaving like it. I can sleep with whoever I wish, and you need to respect the person I bogg, keeping your own misgivings to yourself. I have to do it with Zyle on a daily basis. And stop acting like my concerns are your concerns—they aren’t, and they will never be again. You chose to be with Zyle. Now go do it.” He turned away from her. “This conversation is over.”

Accacia watched Aleco walk over to Roxian and
he grabbed her by the hand. They walked toward the forest in the distance and disappeared into the trees. Accacia knew what they were going to do. She felt the bile rise to her throat and her heart fall from her chest. Aleco was no longer secretive about his physical relationship with Roxian. He didn’t care if Accacia saw.

Zyle watched his life partner become overcome with despair as Aleco disappeared into the trees. He pitied her and wanted to comfort her
, but at the same time he was angry and wanted to leave her standing there alone. Zyle focused his mind on the future when they would return home, away from Aleco forever. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

Roslyn Thoroughfare

25

Aleco’s plan had been successful so far. They weren’t captured during their overland journey and they weren’t question
ed during their progression across the Continent. Any soldiers or citizens who saw them pass by assumed they were making their rounds for product loading in Paso Robles. Aleco didn’t care if they were seen. He was getting bored riding in the wagon and would love to stab a man through the heart for sport. The only exercise he got was bogging Roxian during their breaks of traveling. Aleco ignored Accacia’s look of heartbreak when he would sneak off with her. If she hadn’t known about the relationship, he would have continued to hide it from her, but now that she knew, he didn’t see the point. His needs were met on a daily basis and he wasn’t going to stop that to spare Accacia the pain. He had to feel the lovemaking between Zyle and Accacia for two days straight before they left. She could deal with this.

The ride in the wagon was growing with more tension the longer they sat together. Accacia hated Roxian more than she t
hought possible. She hated her almost as much as she hated Drake. Laura wanted to speak to her niece about the situation but she was never able to. Zyle always pulled Accacia away when they stopped and Laura didn’t want to intrude on their private time, doing what they always did, she assumed.

On the third day
, they camped outside the forest near Paso Robles, wanting to wait for the descent of evening before they approached the gateway. The darkness would make the siege of the city easier. They could hide their faces better and no one would approach the realm until morning.

Aleco went over the plans in detail with
the men and the Asquithians hours before they moved to the city. It was essential that everything went according to the plan and they left the city has soon as possible. The success of the war depended on it.

Accacia was sitting
against Zyle as he leaned his back against the tree. They were sharing a pack of seeds and water when Aleco approached them across the grass. He kneeled before the pair of them and locked his eyes with Accacia. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I thought you were no longer concerned with my affairs.”

“I never said I wasn’t—I said you shouldn’t be concerned with
mine
. Now answer my question.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“No one would judge you if you stayed behind.”

“Yes, I know that. But I’m coming. This is my fight—let me do it. I need to be prepared for Letumian Province and this will give me some practice.”

Aleco knew she wouldn’t be traveling to Letumian but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “This isn’t the time for practice, Accacia—you could be killed.”

“I am confident in my abilities.”

“Then why do you need
practice
,” he hissed.

Accacia
sighed and turned her attention to her bag of seeds. “Go away, Aleco.” Zyle watched their interaction without comment. They were the oddest people he had ever met. They claimed to love each other but they could be vicious to one another—especially Aleco. Zyle wondered how Accacia had ever fallen for him. He was sarcastic, bad-tempered, damaged, and controlling. And he was the twin brother of the man who had imprisoned her for years. He was most surprised by that part. He wanted to question her about it but he didn’t want to upset her. She would tell him when she was ready. He was certain she knew he wanted to know.

They returned
back into the wagons and headed towards the city. All the Asquithians had their hoods pulled up just in case someone recognized their racial differences and escaped the province alive. Zyle checked Accacia’s armor and made sure it was secure. He knew how nervous she was by the sweat dripping from her palms. He reminded her that she could stay behind but she refused him again. Zyle wasn’t concerned that she wouldn’t survive the attack. He would protect her with his life.

They were silent as their wagon pulled closer to the gates. Laura, Roxian, Zyle and Accacia wore the legendary armor of the Asquithians and Aleco wore his g
uild armor. He was no longer a Brother of the guild, but since he had taken over the society, he was entitled to wear their war gear.

Accacia felt her blood pump in her ears and her
heart slam into her ribs. She was so nervous she felt like she could vomit. Anxiety took over and then panic. She tried to hide her fear but she was failing miserably. Zyle saw her distress and held her hand then kissed her head. “I’ll protect you,” he whispered.

Laura stared at Accacia an
d recognized her unease. She locked her gaze with her niece and shook her head in disapproval. “A true warrior does not display his fear before battle, Accacia. They relish it with every fiber of their being. Stop acting like this now. I will not tolerate a coward in my group. ”Zyle turned to Laura with a look of anger. He adored Laura but he could kill her for speaking to Accacia that way. “Do not speak, Zyle.” She turned back to Accacia, and Zyle held Accacia closer to him. “Are you the Queen of the Asquithians and a warrior? Or are you just a coward? If you choose the latter, I will behead you myself. Buck up now!” The anger in her voice was palpable and the disappointed in her eyes was searing. The fear and cowardice her niece was displaying was unacceptable and Laura would not tolerate it. “Do you understand what is at stake here, Your Highness? This is the fight for the afterlife, not just the one we exist in currently. Your life is irrelevant in this battle—start behaving as such. I never want to see you act like this again, and I would rather not kill my queen, my own family, if I can avoid it. Don’t give me a reason to.” Laura looked at the rest of the inhabitants in the cart, all of which were her kin other than Aleco, and met the gaze of each of them. There was no fear in their eyes, just a desire for retribution. “Don’t disgrace your people, Accacia.”

Zyle turned toward
Laura again, ready to give her an ear full, when Accacia silenced him with her finger. She met Laura’s gaze. “You’re right, Lady Laura. I—I lost my strength for a moment there. I gave into the fear—you’re right—I was being a coward. But I will no longer. I will never be a coward again.” She remembered how she left the shores of the Continent, leaving Aleco behind to face his impending death alone. She had been a coward then but she wouldn’t repeat those mistakes. “Thank you, Laura. I needed that.”

Laura nodded to her.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Zyle continued to squeeze her hand, silently assuring her of his protection. She rel
eased his hand. “I’m okay, Zyle,” she said. The concern in his eyes didn’t disappear and they still shined bright with worry. Her lips upturned in a smile, trying to assuage the fear he felt for his life partner, and his eyes dimmed somewhat. He was disturbed by her panic attack and his heart still pounded in his chest with heavy thuds. Accacia truly felt better. Tough love from her aunt was all she needed. She shouldn’t doubt her abilities because she knew how powerful she was. Accacia was nervous to enter battle her first time but she knew the fear was unfounded. She wouldn’t have become a warrior if she wasn’t prepared. The training she received at the Battle Academy had prepared her for this day, this fight. In addition to Aleco’s training, she was unstoppable.

The cart came to a stop and
she felt her heart quicken. She knew they were stopped before the gate, ready to enter the city. She looked at Aleco, whose face was hidden in the depth of the shadows. He saw her staring at him and he removed his hood, revealing his smiling face to her. He stared at her for a moment and she took courage in his blue eyes. The bright lights of his crystal eyes went straight to her heart and it squeezed in recognition. The man that protected her against everything, and even though their relationship was over, she knew he still deemed himself her protector. Her marriage to someone else would never change that. The look in his eyes had an immense depth, and Accacia wanted to fall into the abyss of his gaze, reaching his soul, and reconnect to the place she felt safe from everything. Then she remembered fighting him at the grounds of the Lorunien Tree and knew her abilities even surpassed Aleco’s. Even with his capabilities as a Nature Priest, she still defeated him, even without a sword. Accacia heard the wooden gates creak open and they moved forward again. Aleco pulled his hood up, covering his face in shadow once again. He whispered into the dark. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

Accacia heard the shouts of the guards erupting all around her. They were directing the believed empty carts farther into city, allowing for room for the following carts to enter
past the gate. Their wagon came to a halt and they waited in anticipated silence for a moment, listening for the signal. They heard the sound of a ringing bell in the near distance, and Aleco shoved the wagon door open, jumping from the cart and into the street. His guild sword hung at his side as he looked around them. Asquithians and guildsmen were in the street, swinging their swords at the guards who had approached the wagons. Heads of guards fell into the street like drops of rain. Accacia followed behind him and looked around in the square of the city. The wall that surrounded the province was twenty feet high and was crawling with guards. They were running down the walkway, calling to each other and arming their bows with deadly arrows. They pointed at the intruders in the street. Accacia saw the guards run to the tower to the far left and pull the heavy string that reached into the building above. The sounds of crashing bells echoed in the square and reached to the other parts of the city, alerting the rest of the realm of the attack.

All
the anxiety left Accacia’s body as she concentrated on the battle. She had to annihilate as many guards as possible to ensure the survival of her own people. At least the guards would travel to the afterlife. Her kin may never get that luxury. She grabbed her bow from behind her shoulder and aimed at the guards along the wall, intending to execute as many of them as she could. Her aim was true and her arrows penetrated every neck she trained her eye on. They fell from the wall and broke their necks against the stone street. Accacia kept her senses locked on the movements around her as she continued to slaughter the men on top of the walkway. One of the guards in the street saw the destruction she was causing and advanced to her with his sword pointed for her heart. Accacia saw him in her peripheral vision, and when he raised his sword to strike, she turned around and stabbed him through the neck with a fresh arrow. She wiped the bloody tip on his clean uniform and placed it back into her quiver. Aleco was engaged in a sword battle with one of the guards but his eyes were locked to hers, watching her every move. He nodded his approval and beheaded the man he was engaged with. Accacia looked down the street that reached deeper into the city and she spotted a group of guards turn the corner of the pavement, coming to the aid of the alarms of the tower bells. The Asquithian Queen returned her bow to her back and withdrew her green warrior sword, identical to her father’s blade, and dashed toward the approaching army. Her emerald blade reflected the light of the torches along the houses in the street, making it dance even when it remained stationary. When the guards spotted her in the street they flinched momentarily, alarmed by the magnificent blade she carried, but then engaged her with their swords raised. She swung her blade with ease and decapitated two of them in row, causing the other men to step back in alarm. They assumed the single attacker didn’t oppose a threat to them all. But they had been mistaken. She tripped the man adjacent to her then stabbed the next man through the stomach. He fell over with a cry. Accacia swung her sword in a variety of movements and caught the remaining men off guard, killing them all quicker than they could register their impending deaths. She stared at the pile of bodies before her and silently thanked her trainers for giving her this adept ability. She was truly a warrior. An immediate high was replaced by a sudden flash of remorse. She had finally killed another. Accacia had never even killed an animal, now she was taking the lives of the men of the realm, possibly men who were forced into servitude against their will. The moment of sympathy passed as she realized it was irrelevant. There was nothing she could do; there was no other way.