Silent Kingdom (11 page)

Kyrin shook his head. “I do not know what folly led him there without his companion. His body was…” He shook his head. “I brought the remains back for his comrade to dispose of, and helped him bury the man.”

“Will he travel back through the forest now?”

“He was as shocked as I was and unwilling to risk the danger. He said he will depart in the morning for the Alrenian and take a ship out of Kelwed.” Kyrin shifted on his feet.

“What do you think it was?” Rev murmured.

“Some will say the sedwa …” he sighed. “But I doubt it was anything other than a bear. No sedwa attacks have been reported for many years. Even if it was a sedwa, they have never been known to leave the forest or mountains. But I decided not to take any risks and warn the people of Evren, in case the sedwa choose to ignore the legends surrounding them and take up a new habit of attacking our village.”

“I am sure it was merely a bear, as you said,” Lyanna replied, unable to keep the tremor from her voice. “Not a creature of myth.”

Kyrin’s eyes looked so dark they were almost black. His gaze flicked toward me briefly—though Lyanna and Rev hadn’t noticed me, I couldn’t conceal myself from a hunter—and settled back on Lyanna. “Let us hope we are right.”

~ ~ ~

When I flung the door open the next morning to walk to school, Avrik was waiting for me. His face was devoid of his usual grin; he had dark circles under his eyes and his complexion was paler than usual. Before Lyanna could come to the door and grow concerned over Avrik’s appearance, I waved to her and stepped outside.

For a while, Avrik said nothing, staring down at his feet while he walked. Then he sighed. “I couldn’t sleep last night,” he said softly. “I kept seeing that man—the man I killed…” He fidgeted with the quiver on his back and glanced at his hands, as if he could see blood staining them.

I opened my mouth before I remembered no sound would come out.
Curse this silence
. I wanted to shout to make him understand he wasn’t a killer. He had saved my life.

Stopping in the snow, I turned to him as he stopped with me and studied his face, wished he could read my thoughts.

“He was going to hurt you,” Avrik whispered, staring back at me.

I nodded vigorously.

“Do you know why?”

My mouth went dry and I averted my gaze. Hopefully he would take that as a no, since I couldn’t lie directly and couldn’t risk sharing the truth.

When I dared to turn back to Avrik, a shadow passed over his face. “You don’t know why.” It was a statement, not a question. “Father… he says some people like to harm without purpose, to hurt simply because they can.”

And some harm with an evil purpose, destroying everything they touch
. I returned his gaze without flinching, hoping my expression wouldn’t give anything away and he would accept my silence as an affirmation. No matter how grateful I was to Avrik, no matter how much I disliked withholding information from someone who was fast becoming a close friend, I had to leave my past behind. If I wanted to survive, I had to live like Halia had died months ago in the depths of the Alrenian.

Swallowing, Avrik stared toward the schoolhouse in the distance, blinking like he was trying to prevent tears from flowing. “I won’t regret what I did,” he said at last.

~ ~ ~

By the time school ended, Avrik’s mood had improved considerably, and we left the schoolhouse in a companionable silence. The day had warmed and yesterday’s snow was beginning to melt into muddy puddles. Where there had been a mass of foreboding clouds last night, there was only bright blue sky, and though the breeze was cool, the sun was putting up a valiant fight against the onset of winter. I breathed in the fresh air and let relief and peace soak deep into my heart.

The other guard is not looking for me. He’s gone. Somehow, he must have never even known I was here.

I turned my face to the sun and let its warmth envelope me. I noticed a sparrow flying overhead and realized I felt a lot like it must feel: happy, free…safe.

The king won’t find me here.

“I have something for you,” Avrik said, snapping me from my thoughts.

I turned away from the brilliant sky, where I’d been following the sparrow’s path as it chased the sun. My eyes met his and I cocked an eyebrow at him. His smile brightened his whole face as he continued, “It’s a surprise. Do you like surprises?”

Frowning thoughtfully, I shrugged.
None of the surprises I’ve had recently.

With a smile, he added, “Well, you’ll like this one. But you’ll have to race me home first!”

As he burst into a sprint, I raced after him. Soon I was hurtling over the grassy hillsides and sliding in the snow and mud, coating my new boots and dress in grime that would make Lyanna cringe. But my heart felt as weightless as the sparrow had looked. The sun glared on my back and sweat lined my flushed face. Flying past Avrik, I stopped at his house and leaned back against it, arms crossed. I wiped my forehead, smearing mud from my hands across my face.

“All right, you’re fast when you’re not tripping over your own shoes,” Avrik exclaimed, panting as he reached me a couple moments later.

I responded with an upward tilt of my chin and a sly smile.

“Next time, I will leave you behind,” Avrik said, but he grinned, letting his loss fall away with an easy shrug of his shoulders. “Your surprise is inside, but you’ll have to take those shoes off.” He nodded at my mud-encrusted boots. “Father gets really grumpy if I track dirt inside, because he hates to clean. Usually he makes me do it, but I hate it too, so…I always take off my shoes.”

We yanked off our boots and left them in a row by the front door before we slipped inside.

“Sit down.” He gestured to one of the armchairs by the fireplace and started to build up the fire. I tugged at my shirt sleeves and scratched my forehead where the mud was beginning to dry and itch. Avrik didn’t even turn as he grumbled, “You’re getting mud all over that chair, aren’t you?”

I smirked at his back.

As the fire roared to life, he rose to his feet and reached for the mantel. That was when I noticed the long piece of wood lying there. He spun and held it with both hands palm-up like he was presenting me with an elegant sword. That’s when I realized it was a sword: a practice sword hewn from some of the dark Evren Forest wood. The blade was wide and long, carefully balanced.

Standing, I reached out carefully and found that the hilt was matched perfectly to my hand. I glanced up at him in astonishment. He shrugged, appearing almost shy. “It took me a while to get it right, and I had to guess a lot, but…it wasn’t too difficult to decide on measurements. I figured maybe you would let me teach you? That is…if you don’t already know how to swordfight.” Half teasing me about my mysterious past and half enamored by it, he grinned.

Then his smile faltered for a moment. “I was already working on this, before…before… Well, after last night, I decided now was the time for you to learn. And we’ll hope you never actually need to use a real sword, but just to be safe…” He shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

I gave him a reassuring glance and nudged his shoulder.
Thank you for caring enough to worry about me.

Avrik forced another smile. “Let’s take it outside and try it out. I have a few of my own; I’ll go fetch one now.” He left the living room and strode down the hall leading back toward his and Kyrin’s bedrooms. After a few seconds, he returned with a worn-looking practice sword.

Slipping our feet back into our boots, we exited the cabin. “I’m not an expert, of course, but Father has been teaching me since I was six. He expects I’ll be quite skilled by the time I am eighteen,” Avrik explained proudly. He gestured to my practice sword. “Try giving your practice sword a few swings to see how it feels in your hand.”

In the shade of the forest, Avrik watched me as I tested out my sword. Feeling self-conscious under my friend’s gaze, I grasped the hilt with both hands and imagined I was swinging at an enemy: Captain Narek himself. The stick felt awkward and heavy in my hand; my father had never encouraged me to learn sword fighting. He and Mother always told me it was a man’s skill. It felt good to be doing something they had disapproved of.

When I dared to turn to Avrik, a mischievous glint sparked in his eyes. “Well…it looks like I am the first person to teach you.”

I shot him a playful glare.

“Your first problem is that you should grasp this type of sword with only one hand. The next is that you aren’t standing properly,” Avrik explained. He stood across from me and demonstrated a sword fighting stance, standing with his feet shoulder width apart and his right foot forward.

I attempted to imitate him, but he shook his head. “You’re too rigid. Bend your knees.”

I relaxed, and he nodded when he was satisfied with my stance.

As the afternoon wore on, Avrik taught me how to grasp a sword hilt, and then how to swing and jab, parry and defend.

“Your opponents will underestimate you,” Avrik said as we sparred. “They might be stronger, but you are fast. Use that to your advantage. Move a lot. Come in close for an attack and then leap away before they can counterattack.”

At last, panting and laughing, he stepped back from me and glanced up at the sun, hovering over the woods. “It’s getting late. I’ll walk you back to your house, but I have one more surprise.”

He led me back inside, through the living room and down the hall, past closed doors toward one final open doorway at the end of the hall. The evening sunlight streamed from a window within and played along the hallway floor and walls, chasing away shadows.

At the doorway, he paused and turned to me. “Are you ready?” He was beaming. Stepping backward into the room, he made way for me and swept out his arm in a grand gesture as I looked around.

It wasn’t a large room, and, if anything, it was dusty, but it was a good surprise. Rows upon rows of shelves full of leather-bound books covered the walls. A small writing desk rested before the window, while in a corner, a small armchair created the perfect retreat for reading. My heart quickened in my chest as I approached the shelves and traced several books’ spines, reading their titles and soaking in the possibilities of knowledge and wonder this room held.

Avrik was studying my face in triumph. “I knew you would like it!” he said. Then his expression grew serious, and he lowered his voice. “This was my mother’s library.”

I shot him a quick glance.
You want me to read these books?

“When you’re reading…that’s the only time…well, one of the only times you really look happy…” His voice trailed off. “I come here a lot to sit and read or think. I wanted you to know that you can come here any time you want, and you can borrow any book you’d like. I know Lyanna and Rev don’t have as many books. He’s more interested in numbers, and she in gardening and cooking.”

I crossed the room and ran my fingers along several book spines, relishing the smooth leather beneath my fingertips, the scent of crisp old pages hanging thickly in the air like a familiar perfume. There were fiction books, history books, and informative books...the largest collection I had ever seen outside of the castle libraries. The possibility of reading every one of those books brought a sense of excitement to my being like nothing else could. More than anything, I craved answers to the questions plaguing my days, solutions to the problems haunting my nightmares.

Could one of these books hold answers to my questions? Could they tell me what is wrong with me…why I can’t lie, why I couldn’t stop myself from speaking the truth? How I knew the truth in the first place?
The questions pounded through my head.
Are there others like me, people who see visions and know truth? If I stay silent, are the words gone forever?

But the answers did not come in the way I hoped they would.

FOUR YEARS LATER

CHAPTER 7

“A
re you prepared to lose?” Bren teased, nudging Avrik’s shoulder and sinking into a fighting stance.

“Are
you?
” Avrik fired back, lifting his practice sword to meet his friend’s.

The firelight from the living room hearth flashed across their faces as they smirked at one another for a half second before plunging into their third skirmish of the evening. I closed the book lying on my lap and settled back into my armchair to fully appreciate their performance. Lifting my hand to my mouth, I tried to conceal my amusement, but the boys were too intent on their mock battle to mind my reactions.

“Two out of three!” Bren cried, the point of his sword pressed to Avrik’s throat.

Avrik dove back, the floorboards creaking beneath him as he landed, and aimed a kick at Bren’s knee. With a grunt, Bren lost his footing as Avrik leapt to his feet and pressed his own sword to Bren’s chest.

“You were too cocky,” he said with a shrug. Grinning, he stepped back and swept his arm wide in a flourish.

Bren scoffed, muttering something unintelligible. Tossing aside his practice sword, he tramped toward the settee and plopped down. Leaning forward, he carefully lifted his jiadro from its case and ran his fingers along its polished wood surface and taut strings. Settling into an upbeat tune, he glanced toward me and then back at Avrik.

“Are we going to let Elena practice her dancing now, or continue to train her in weapons until she awes every man she meets?”

If you only knew the balls I’ve already attended, the hours of practice I’ve endured
, I thought, but I had already agreed to this earlier. I could imagine the questions I would be asked if I didn’t pretend to still be perfecting my graceful steps and twirls like the rest of the Evren youth. Every night for weeks, Rev and I had been dancing partners, twisting and twirling through the living room, the garden, or beside Lyanna in the kitchen, much to her frustration.

Avrik raised his brows and a playful light danced in his eyes. “I haven’t finished training
you
in weapons yet.”

Bren rolled his eyes.

“All right,” Avrik sighed. “If she wants, you may practice for the Great Feast.”

Bren handed his instrument to Avrik, who began plucking at the strings absentmindedly.

I stood and smoothed my skirt as Bren extended a hand to me. He was tall and sturdy, already losing the lanky build of a youth and looking more like his father, a farmer near the outskirts of Evren, each day. “I’ve practiced with my three sisters for months,” he said, leading me toward the center of the room. “There are so few times in Evren that we dance, so naturally most of the girls are beside themselves.”

He grasped my hand and waist while I reached for his shoulder, and Avrik began to play, his rhythm occasionally sounding off before he sank into a steady pace. I was surprised with how graceful Bren was as he swept me across the floor, his feet never once faltering, his steps all landing exactly where they were supposed to.

“You’re doing well,” he said after several minutes. He glanced over his shoulder at his friend. “I think she should teach
you
now. How else do you expect to keep the interest of a pretty girl?” he teased. “Do you want them to gaze longingly at you the way they did today ever again?”

Gritting my teeth, I unconsciously tightened my grasp on Bren, digging my fingers into his shoulder. He cringed. “Ow!”

Sheepishly, I smiled an apology and glanced down at the floor.

“Do you mean the way they look at me every day?” Avrik asked slyly.

Bren and I both rolled our eyes.

“All right,” Bren said. “Let me play and you may dance now. It’s time for you to participate in something you do
not
have a talent for.”

I stepped back, letting Bren walk back to the settee and pry the jiadro from Avrik’s hands. Standing, Avrik crossed his arms. He was not as broad-shouldered as Bren, but taller than both him and me by several inches. His eyes sparked with mischief and his smile still lit up his face in the familiar, boyish way the schoolgirls had admired for years.

“I only tease you because you are so envious, as if you think the girls never look at you,” Avrik told Bren. “Perhaps if you only talked to Dienn already…”

Cheeks flushed, Bren stared down at his jiadro, intent on strumming the strings to warm up for his song.

Avrik turned to me and held out his hand. “May I torment you with this dance?” he asked, smiling sweetly.

I bit my lip to repress a smile.

“Take her hand already!” Bren ordered as he lifted the jiadro.

Avrik reached out and grasped my hand, gently pulling me closer, and my heart quickened. As I set my hand on his shoulder, I refused to meet his gaze and stared down at my feet instead, pretending that I needed to concentrate on my steps.

“Injuries are inevitable, so I hope you don’t plan on being able to use your feet again for the next week,” Avrik continued.

Bren started to mutter something, but seemed to think better of it and began to play instead.

At that instant, the door opened and Kyrin stepped in, his tall form filling the entryway.

Immediately, Avrik released my hand and pulled away. He strode over to greet his father, who dropped a travel-stained pack by the door and rubbed his temples wearily. Before Avrik could say anything, Kyrin muttered, “I stopped at Wanderer’s Rest on my way home, and Corin has returned from the palace. He is calling for an assembly at the inn tonight to share what he has learned, and he seemed troubled. We need to go.”

Bren, Avrik, and I exchanged glances. “I should find my family,” Bren said, placing his jiadro in its case and reaching for his cloak, where he had strewn it across the settee.

Kyrin turned to me. “Rev is already there, if you wish to accompany us.”

I nodded, grasping my cloak as Avrik donned his, gathered his bow and quiver, and put out the fire. We set off into the evening, a bitter wind rustling through our hair and cloaks as we turned our faces toward the dying light in the west to walk into town. Bren waved and dashed ahead of us, moving north toward his family’s farm. As Avrik, Kyrin, and I passed my home, a tendril of smoke curled from the chimney and I imagined Lyanna standing beside the hearth, stirring a pot and waiting for Rev and me to return.

As we entered town, we joined growing crowds in the streets composed of men, women, and children gathering to hear Corin’s news. The assembly grew thicker the nearer we drew to Wanderer’s Rest, until the street was so full of people that we could barely move forward. No matter which way I turned my head, there were far too many townspeople for me to find Rev in their midst. It took some jostling through the group clustered outside the inn before we could see the Evren Leader standing at its doorstep and waving a hand to quiet the townspeople’s murmuring. A member of the King’s Guard, dressed in full uniform, stood beside him.

I drew a deep breath.
Why is a guard in Evren? Will he recognize me too?

Hearing my gasp, Avrik gave me a sympathetic glance and reached out to squeeze my hand. He leaned in close to whisper, “I would hope not all of the king’s men are scoundrels.”

When he pulled away, I tried to make my smile look convincing, and he seemed satisfied. He released my hand and turned back toward Corin, who had finally quieted most of the people.

“I trust most are here now,” he said, scanning the people as if to count them all and raising his voice so that it rang out clearly in the street, even above the occasional whisper or whimper from the children. “As you know, I recently joined the other Leaders of Misroth at the king’s palace in Misroth City. I want to share some grave news with you: the kingdom of Alrenor is attempting to expand its borders once more and reestablish its old empire. Our kingdoms are now at war, and King Zarev is already gathering troops in Argelon to train. The Royal Council has been temporarily disbanded, in order to expedite the king’s ability to make vital decisions while we are at war, and it is likely that soon Misroth will need even Evren’s resources and young men.”

Kyrin shifted on his feet. “Will they demand every young man’s service?” he called out over the crowd.

Corin nodded gravely. “Yes.” He gestured to the guard beside him. “One of the king’s Royal Guard, Paol, is here to share more information of His Highness’s plans to protect our kingdom. You may speak to him if you wish to learn more.”

“I will,” Kyrin muttered, clenching his fists and turning away from the crowd.

Avrik grasped his father’s arm. “Father, you needn’t worry…”

“No, you need not worry,” Kyrin said. “Believe me, you will not be going to war. I will see to it.”

~ ~ ~

One week later, on the morning of the Great Feast, everyone was still fretting about the news Corin had brought from Misroth City. As we waited for our teacher to arrive at the schoolhouse, the other students settled into their chairs or gathered into groups near the fire to engage in conversation, but I kept to my seat, poring over maps of the Great Kingdoms.

“The guard left for Kelwed this morning,” Shilam told Jaren as he and Bren shuffled toward their seats. “Did your father ever have the chance to speak with him?”

Jaren shook his head. “He’s been busy with his shop, and everyone else in town was eager to speak with the guard as well. He never had the chance.” He shrugged as he settled into his seat. “I don’t see what difference it makes. If the king needs our services, he will call on us and we will go. That is how it has always worked.”

“Except that we have been at peace for two hundred years, since we broke free of the Alrenian Empire,” Dienn cut in. The boys looked up, surprised to see her turn away from the group of girls she had been hovering near the fire with and approach them. Her dark eyes were wide and her voice trembled. “We haven’t seen war in generations, haven’t had anything but peace and prosperity. And now, as we finish school…” Her eyes drifted to Bren before she glanced down quickly.

As Bren turned red and started to stammer, I shot a glance at Avrik, who was watching the exchange with a smile playing about his lips and didn’t notice my look. I stared back down at the map before me, tracing my finger from the point I knew Evren, too small to be included on this map, should be, past the capital and Emrell and toward Argelon. I studied the curve of the Layvok River that separated Misroth from Alrenor, that kingdom we had severed ties with long ago, and a familiar longing to explore lands I had never seen overcame me.

I felt Avrik’s eyes on me and looked up. “Are you worrying like everyone else?” he asked, but the smile hadn’t left his face. He leaned out of his chair to peer over my shoulder at the map I was studying before turning back to me. “Or are you daydreaming again about all the places we will one day explore?” Leaning closer, he lifted his hand and swept a strand of hair back from my cheek. My breath caught in my throat.

Stop
, I ordered myself, and turned my head away. I felt more than saw Avrik sink back into his chair, but I knew he was still watching me. With a sigh, I shut the book and flipped open my journal.
Both
, I wrote to him. Then, collecting myself with a grin, I added,
Who will I put to shame in shooting matches if you are called to Argelon?

Avrik laughed, but I could see other emotions stirring in the depths of his eyes and robbing him of his carefree expression.

The schoolhouse door swung inward and Ara stepped inside, offering us all a friendly greeting and putting an end to our conversations.

“Open your history books first,” she began, but as I flipped my copy open and stared at the text, I could not stop thinking about all that my father was doing in Misroth City and the war he had started, a war affecting the people I loved.

First Gillen, now Avrik. Could I ever truly escape the king’s influence?

~ ~ ~

The sun was casting its setting glow all the way across the sky, stretching so far it was making even the bare branches of Evren Forest look like they were alight with orange fire. I brushed the flour from my hands onto my apron and peered eagerly out the window.

“It’s still too early for Rev to arrive home from the bank,” Lyanna laughed when she caught me looking. “It’s time we cleaned ourselves up!”

I nearly skipped toward my bedroom and my washbasin. Relieved to clean the flour and dough from my hands and face, I sighed and tossed my apron into a corner.

“Elena!” Lyanna scolded as she walked through the doorway.

I grinned back at her, and she simply shook her head.

“I have your dress and cloak ready,” she continued, taking the clothes she had draped over her arm and laying them on my bedspread. She’d kept the new outfit a secret for weeks, insisting that now, as I was a young woman, it was time I had finer attire to wear to special events.

Standing beside her, I reached down to feel the fabric. The dress was made from purple satin the same shade as the lavender Lyanna grew in her garden, but the bodice and sleeves were covered in a layer of lace. Lying beside it was a deep blue cloak lined in wool. I stared in awe: bright dye was rare in Evren, since not many citizens grew the necessary plants or found them useful to our simple lifestyle, and merchants rarely traded for such a luxury. Lyanna must have paid a small fortune for the fabric to make these clothes. Throwing my arms around her, I gave her a hug to express my gratitude.

“You’re welcome.” She stroked my hair and beamed down at me. “You deserve something special, and with the Great Feast happening and your education nearly at an end…well, you’re nearly a woman now and you needed something for the occasion.”

I slipped into the dress and accompanying black slippers, and paused to admire Lyanna’s handiwork in the mirror. The dress felt light and comfortable, with its skirt cascading in longer folds in the back but reaching only to my ankles in the front so I could walk easily. This was nothing like the stifling attire I’d been compelled to wear at the palace. I sighed in relief.

Lyanna returned to comb my hair and tie some of its waves back with a purple ribbon. She let the rest fall about my shoulders. “You look beautiful. But wait!” She dashed from the room and returned with a silver necklace adorned with a single diamond. “Rev gave this to me when we were married.” Her blue eyes twinkled. “I think you should wear it tonight.” She clasped the necklace around my neck and turned me to face the mirror once more.