Stay (20 page)

I looked for Brokk. I have to admit that I
got a little worried when I didn’t find him right away. It would be
just like him to take off and leave us.

I heard a scuffle behind me and turn to see
that Kailen had pulled Brokk a little further into the tunnel.
Brokk was lying on the ground and Kailen was holding him up by his
shirt collar. He had his fist pulled back and was about to
strike.

I ran in their direction and started to raise
the handle over my head. I was preparing to swing again, this time
at Kailen. He must have saw me coming because he turned his head
and looked up into my face just as I let loose and landed a hard
blow across his back. He yelled out in pain and rolled off of Brokk
onto his side on the floor.

I struggled to pull Brokk to his feet. He
looked like he had taken a few good hits but he was okay. As soon
as he was up, he turned back to Kailen. He drew back a leg and
landed a hard kick to Kailen’s ribcage. Then he kicked again and
again. He would not stop.

“Brokk! Brokk!” I yelled at him repeatedly.
After a few moments, he must have finally heard me. He pulled his
focus from Kailen and looked at me.

“It’s okay Brokk. That’s enough.” I said a
little more gently.

I could see his face change as he began to
pull himself from his blinding rage. Then all at once, he was
standing in front of me with his arms wrapped around my shoulders
tightly. He was breathing heavily and he deepened his embrace until
I could feel his breath at the back of my head. His hands wound in
my hair.

“It’s okay Brokk. I’m okay.” I whispered to
him. I felt his breathing begin to slow. Then suddenly he tensed
again and pulled away from me.

Before I could blink, he was back on Kailen.
He lifted him up and pounded his fist into Kailen’s face.

“That is for kissing my future wife!” He
yelled at Kailen and then hit him again.

Kailen was laid out on the floor, clutching
his side. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth. He moaned in
agony. I did not think that he would be causing any more trouble
for a while.

We turned our focus back to Tuck and
Jenna.

Tuck was still battling it out with Kailen’s
brother. I watched as I saw Tuck draw his sword. I held my breath,
I was not sure that I wanted to see what would happen next. Tuck
suddenly reversed the blade and using the thick metal handle, he
struck his opponent across his temple. He staggered a little and
then fell heavily to the floor.

We caught site of Jenna just as she jumped
into the air and twisted with her leg straight out. She looked like
a ballerina, but she landed a devastating blow across the guy’s
chest. Once she was back on the ground, she landed a punch to the
underside of his chin and sent him crashing backwards into the
wall.

We all stood there in silence for a moment,
struggling to catch our breath as we took in the carnage of our
first fight.

Tuck wrapped one arm around Jenna’s waist and
silently they stepped over the fallen villagers and headed past
Drake into the tunnel.

I watched them for a moment as they left.
They were going to make a really great couple someday, when all of
this was over. I pulled my eyes away and stared at the ground. I
truly hoped that it would be over soon.

I looked up to find Brokk watching me. I
didn’t know whether I should be angry or amused. Maybe I was being
too hard on him, but I still was not sure that I could fully trust
him. Not to mention the fact that I had already had my full share
of guy problems lately. I was not looking to go there again.

“Your future wife, huh?” I asked.

He just looked at me and shrugged.

Chapter 21

Brokk and I had to hurry to catch up with
Tuck and Jenna in the tunnel. We were all still a little bit
exhausted from our fight with Kailen and the villagers.

“What should we do now?” Jenna asked.

“I think that we need to just lay low for a
little while and recuperate.” Brokk said. “It will still be a few
more hours before the merchants close up for the night. Once most
of the city has gotten home and gone to bed, it will be much easier
to sneak in.”

“He’s right.” Tuck agreed. “And if we do have
to fight the Guard, it will be much easier if we are well
rested.”

It really had not been that long since we
started out, but after the fight we had just been through I could
definitely use a bite to eat and some water. Luckily, Jenna kept
her pack on her since she didn’t have a weapon strapped to her
back. I was starting to think that a nap might not be so bad
either.

We found a place that was tucked away, so
hopefully we would not be disturbed. Jenna spread out her blanket
so that we would not have to sit on the cold floor. I munched on a
beef stick and swigged some water, while Tuck and Jenna curled up
with each other beside me.

Brock sat with his back propped against the
wall. I offered him some water and he took it, smiling.

“Where did you learn to fight that way?” He
asked quietly. Trying not to disturb the others.

“Jenna and Tuck taught me.” I gestured toward
them.

“You were pretty amazing back there. Thanks
for getting that jerk off of me.” He was smiling again.

“No problem. Thanks for defending my honor.”
I said with a giggle.

“It was the least that I could do.” He bowed
his head at me.

“Callie, I am truly sorry about everything
that has happened. I know that you do not wish to hear it, but I
really did try to save your parents. I wish that I could have
gotten to them faster.”

I stared at the floor to keep from meeting
his eyes. I didn’t know if that was something that I could ever
forgive him for. I know that he is not the one that killed them and
I knew that he went back to try to stop it. However, he knew what
Lilith planned to do and he did not try to stop it soon enough.

He also came for me when she asked him. He
knew then what she wanted me for. He may not have known that she
was going to lock me away like her prisoner, but he knew that her
intentions were not good.

“Callie?” He said softly.

This time I looked at him.

“I should never have let my anger and
resentment get the better of me. It was not until we were traveling
through the tunnel to Petrona that I realized how much I care for
you.”

“Well, thanks I guess. I really don’t know
what else to say to you Brokk.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just
wanted you to know.” It was him that looked away this time.

“
Brokk, let’s just get through the next
few days. Then we can talk. Right now I think that we really need
to focus on what we are about to do.”

“Okay.” He smiled. Then he pulled me to him.
I laid my head on his chest as he continued to lean his back
against the wall. I could hear the beating of his heart and feel
the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It was enough
to lull anybody to sleep. Anybody but me, that is. I was to amped
up to sleep.

In just a few short hours, we would be
entering the city. I had no idea how everything was going to go
down, but the one thing that I knew for sure was there was
definitely going to be fight. A bad one.

Apparently, none of us could rest for very
long. Our nerves had gotten the better of us, I guess. Jenna and
Tuck started to stir, so Brokk and I got up too.

Once we found that we could not put it off
any longer, we gathered ourselves together and prepared to enter
the city. Most of the merchants and citizens would have already
gone home and hopefully were asleep in their beds.

Brokk volunteered to go in first. He has been
one of the Guard for years and was friends with many of them. If
anyone were near, hopefully they would not think anything of him
being there.

We waited just inside the doorway for him to
return and give us the okay. I could not just stand still and wait,
so I found myself pacing nervously.

“Calm down, Callie.” Jenna was mothering me
as per her usual.

“I can’t. He has been gone too long.
Something must have happened.” I said anxiously.

“He is probably just trying to find out where
all the sentries are posted. He will be back soon.” Tuck said.

That really did not make me feel any better.
Although Brokk was able to track me down on the surface and bring
me back with no problem, I still did not think that he was much of
a fighter. Kailen was able to overpower him far too easily for my
liking.

A few minutes later, we heard some noise on
the other side of the door. I rushed to open it but Tuck pulled me
back.

“Shhh, just wait.” He whispered.

I stood completely still with my back against
Tuck. He kept one hand on my shoulder, holding me in place. My
heart was beating in a frenzy, I was so scared. I don’t know if it
was the weird bond that I shared with Brokk or if it was something
else, but I felt this strange desire to want to protect him.

I had no idea why I felt as if he could not
take care of himself. He had managed to find me and bring me here,
and no matter how hard I struggled and fought, he never even
flinched. He was a trained guard and should be able to handle
nearly anything, but I just could not stop myself from
worrying.

There was a loud click and the door slowly
started to open. I held my breath. A tall figure slid through the
doorway and shut it back. He slowly began walking towards us, but
something was not right. There was sort of a hitch to his walk that
made him sway to one side as he moved. I wanted to run to him but
Tuck only held me tighter,

“Callie…” I heard him say with difficulty. I
broke free from Tuck’s gasp and ran to him.

It was definitely Brokk, and he had been
hurt. Aside from his obvious limp, his clothes were dirty and
disheveled. His face was swollen and scraped along his forehead and
across his cheek.

“What happened?” I asked frantically as I
pulled his arm around my shoulder and attempted to help support him
as he walked. Tuck and Jenna helped me sit him down with his back
propped against the wall. My hands flew about his face in an
attempt to determine his injuries, but I was too afraid to actually
touch him.

He reached up, grabbed one of my hands,
pulled it to his heart, and held it there as his head fell
forward.

“Brokk what’s wrong? Tell me what happened.”
I pleaded. I was on the verge of tears.

“You do love me.” He said quietly. A small
smile spread across his face.

“I am worried about you Brokk.” I shook my
head back and forth, trying to clear my mind. Why would he say
that? I was frightened and worried about him, but that didn’t mean
that I loved him.

Jenna offered him some water and he drank
heartily. After a while, he seemed to be recovering a bit. He began
to tell us of how he entered the city, and hid as he canvassed the
streets, making sure that the citizens were in there homes and
safe. He came across an occasional guard on patrol and managed to
remain unseen.

He made his way all the way up to the palace.
There were guards at various locations surrounding it. He attempted
to make his way to the back through the garden. It was there that
he was caught off guard.

He had just climbed over the tall rock wall
that surrounded the rear of the palace and the garden. He attempted
to make his way to one of the rear doors close to the kitchen. The
servants used this entrance throughout the day but he had hoped
that they all would have gone home for the night.

Just as he made his way up onto the large
marble patio, he felt a large hand grab hold of him and spin him
around. He only got a brief look at the guard because in an instant
he got a fist to his face and was stumbling backwards. He did not
immediately recognize the guard and was sure that he should know
everyone who worked within a close proximately to the palace.

The guard hit him a few more times and then
held him with his hands behind his back. He brought Brokk into the
stony basement under the palace and threw him into a cell. As Brokk
tried to fight, another guard joined the first and they began
kicking and beating him. After they finally left him, it was Bree
who came to his rescue.

She had heard the guards talking about the
man that they had just locked up and she could tell by their
description that it must have been Brokk. She snuck away and stole
the keys from a large hook near the basement door. She turned Brokk
free and he eventually managed to make it his way back here.

“The queen must have brought in more men from
another Fae colony.” Tuck said.

This was not good news. Our odds were already
pretty bad, but now we had no idea what we faced. There could be
hundreds more, and none of the new guards would know Brokk or
remember my family.

I slumped to the floor in front of Brokk. He
never released my hand. He just held his arm out toward me as I
extended mine toward him. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, but I
did not look at him. Instead, I rested the side of my face on my
bent knees.

“Maybe this was a mistake.” I said in a low
voice. “Maybe we would be better off if we had just stayed back in
the cavern. There is no way that we can overcome an Army of men
that large.”

“Don’t give up, Callie.” Jenna said softly in
her sweet little pixie voice. “There has to be a way. This is what
you were born for. Your mother was the queen, Lilith is only a
stand in. Now that Queen Faylinn is gone, you are the true queen.
You cannot just spend the rest of your days hiding out in some
cavern. The people of this city need you.”

“What can I do, Jenna? There are only four of
us. We can’t even ask the people of Drake for help. They were
willing to fight us just to keep us from getting to the city. They
don’t want any part of something that might just cause another war
for them.”