The Destroyer Book 3 (42 page)

His words reminded me of my mother's. They tried to tear me apart and bury me under a pile of self-doubt and acceptance of her opinions as absolute law. My whole life was made of conversations like this from her and Nanos. These words were one side of a golden coin that represented my life. It was ugly and balanced by the beauty and love that my father, uncle, Nadea, Greykin, and Kaiyer had shown me. The coin constantly flipped around and I had no control over which side landed.

Except that I did now.

I told myself I was never going to listen to my mother again. I wasn't going to let her bully me. I was my own woman now. I had loved and been loved. I had survived danger. I had made decisions that impacted my life. I didn't need to hear these words from her. And I would not accept them from this man who did not even know me.

"What is your name?" I glared at him, trying to muster the fierceness that came so easily to Nadea. My heart was racing but I made sure my fear did not show in my face or voice.

"Jazen," he said and his face looked confused.

"Jazen, I am not a simpleton. I am the ruler of a kingdom that has almost two million people living within its borders. They trust that I will protect them from harm, and it is my duty to do that to the best of my ability. I am trusting in a man named Kaiyer. He seems to be the only one who can and will combat this threat and save my people. You tell me that you wish to kill him because he happens to have the same name as someone who died thousands of years ago. I'm sure you see why I am frustrated and am looking for any solution to help my people."

My heart hammered in my chest as I spoke the words. When I finished my angry retort I crossed my arms and looked between the three men. I felt my head spin and I was glad I was sitting down next to the warm fire. Their expressions were unreadable for a brief time but then Jazen nodded and sighed heavily.

"I apologize, Princess. Most of our kind cares little for normal humans. They might as well be a few rungs higher on the ladder than Elvens. But our clan doesn't view life that way. We see potential in every opportunity. I should have chosen my words more carefully. You are right to be upset." I saw Iarin disguise his slight smile by busying himself with cutting more of the meat from the roasting pig.

"Can you help us then?" I asked without trying to raise my hopes.

"Kannath will need to be convinced. We are just his sword bearers," he answered and I sighed.

"But we can ask him to speak with you before we leave with the Pretender." Anax smiled.

"Thank you," I said with relief.

"If you were in our situation," Beltor whispered, "what would you say to help convince him to aid us?"

"We need tradable goods that will increase our influence with the other clans. Access to minerals or food stock that other clans can't get easily. Sounds like Iarin doesn't believe your world has what we need though," Jazen said with a shake of his head and frown toward the tall woodsman.

"We have rich silver and iron mines at the foot of the Teeth Mountains to the east. Our country also produces wonderful fruit that can be converted to alcohol." He looked at Jazen and Anax but they raised their eyebrows and turned to Iarin.

"Sorry, Duke. I have explored all land on this continent. While you are correct that Nia has many bounties, and in fact, all the countries on this continent do, they are unremarkable compared to what we have on the other worlds, and Kannath will not be so easily persuaded."

"Fuck." Beltor ran his hands over his face and sighed in frustration. "We must speak with him when he returns. If he does bring Kaiyer, then he might be able to assist me. There has to be something that the man wants besides this Pretender or physical goods."

"There is something," Anax said with a slow nod.

"What is it?" I asked. The large man stared at me and smiled in a way that made me uncomfortable.

"Kannath prefers his women with a certain look." He leaned away and rubbed his greasy hands on his leather pant legs. He winked at me before continuing. "Perhaps you should do most of the talking when he returns." I nodded and looked to my uncle. His face was set in anger and I saw the muscles of his clenched jaw push out in his cheeks.

"I can speak to him." I looked back and forth between Beltor and the other three men. Then I realized that Anax was implying I offer my body to Kannath in exchange for help. I felt my cheeks go hot from the sudden heat of the fire and I looked down at my plate. I was no longer hungry at all, in actuality, I wanted to vomit. I felt the surge of panic that was becoming familiar but I focused on pushing it back down and steadying myself so I could think and speak.

The suggestion both offended and upset me, but as I calmed my mind and thought about it, I realized it was a wonderful opportunity and our last hope. What was a woman but a tool for men? I used to think that I had been cursed to be born a princess since I would be unable to marry for love. Instead, I would be forced to join a stranger and spend my adult life living with someone I may despise, just like my parents. My father had delayed the inevitable for longer than he should have, but it wouldn't have changed the outcome. If the Ancients, or Elvens, had not invaded, then I would have been brokered off by this time.

But even outside of nobility, there were very few women with the luxury of joining someone they loved. In every stratum of our society, women had to make the most prudent choice in a mate and join someone that would better the situation of their family. Whether it was joining two kingdoms as my marriage may have done, or joining two adjacent farms or rival markets, most women were not marrying purely for love. In the vast majority of households, love was probably not even involved in the choice of a partner. I had been naive to believe that the death of my kingdom would mean that I would be released from my duty and be allowed to join with Kaiyer. Nia still had a chance for survival and as far as I knew, I was still its ruler. I had lived a life of comfort and opulence off of the taxes and work of my people, and I had trained every day to become their bargaining piece in a treaty with another kingdom to guarantee their safety. What did it matter if it was a kingdom from this world or another? It was selfish of me to worry about what I wanted when a simple sacrifice could save the lives of millions of people.

"Kannath likes women such as me?" I looked at Anax and hoped he didn't interpret the anger in my eyes incorrectly.

"Aye, Princess. He prefers them on the shorter side with curves, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He has had very few lovers, none nearly as pretty as you."

"Or as fierce. He likes women with fire." Jazen chucked and Anax nodded.

"I've known Kannath for more than twenty years. He will be very interested in you." The large man looked at me in a way that made me realize he wanted me as well.

"I will speak to him when he returns then," I said purposefully.

Then I stared into the ashes of the flames and was thankful that the direction allowed me to avoid my uncle’s eyes. The coals in the pit had lost most of their bright orange color and were a dull gray. I told myself that all fires eventually burn out.

Yet people still needed to stay warm.

“It’s old, Kaiyer. Very old.” Malek shook his head, swinging his mane of dark brown hair slightly. His mouth was a mix of excitement and puzzlement that I had grown to recognize over the years we had spent together.

“What is it made of?” I scraped my fingertips across the odd surface of the stone work. It felt abrasive, like heavy granite, but there was a smoothness to it that reminded me of metal armor.

“I’ve seen nothing like it.” Malek nodded and the pieces of his armor creaked. “The Elvens didn’t build it though. I know that much for sure.”

“How do you know?” Alexia had joined the two of us during our walk around the strange stone structure we found on top of the mountain range. We were hundreds of miles away from the nearest Elven settlement and fleeing from their gathered army. It was an army that was currently smaller than ours, but they had approached from the northeast side of the highland mountains and had a superior position. The risk of heavy losses was too great for my tastes, so we had fled south down the mountain trails and split our forces with the intent of regrouping in two weeks. Thayer, Gorbanni, and Shlara had formed one group, while I stayed back with Malek and Alexia to head west on the ridges.

Then we had found the structure.

It stood over two hundred feet tall, nestled tightly in a narrow canyon. The surrounding mountains sheltered the tower from wind in every direction, so that despite its age, it remained in immaculate condition.

“The stone,” he paused as if considering, “or maybe metal work isn’t something we have seen on any Elven tribal home. There are remnants of furniture inside, and they are made of fossilized wood that is crafted in a manner I have never seen before.” My friend grabbed my arm. “You need to see it, Kaiyer! I can’t believe the level of beauty and detail etched into the wood.” Malek’s grin was contagious, and I found my lips upturning slightly into a good-natured smirk.

“Any weapons?” I asked.

“Bah! You and your weapons! This is much more important than an old crusty axe or sword. This was a citadel of learning. The furniture looks like it was once chairs, desks, and book cases. I think it was some sort of advanced education room. Perhaps one devoted to the study of the stars and the sky because of its height.”

“Can we take shelter in it?” Alexia asked pragmatically. Her hand rested on the stonework and she slowly ran the tips of her gloved fingers over the odd dark green surface of the tower. To my sensitive ears it sounded like heavy glass paper rubbing against silk.

“We might be able to cram a thousand inside, but it would be very tight. The structure doesn’t have a basement.” I looked up to the tip of the citadel. It almost seemed as if it had been alive. The pillars of stone wrapped around the surface and winded down to the bottom to connect to the base like ropey muscles on an arm or leg. Snow was starting to descend from the gray sky and if I could have fit my eight thousand O’Baarni in the structure I would have. The protected cover would have made the bitter cold night easier for the troops to endure and allowed us to set up a defense against our pursuers.

“Best to keep moving then.” Our troops were strong, and each one had the Elements at their command, but weather on the mountain range could change within an hour and even the toughest of my soldiers could not withstand a blizzard on these peaks without shelter.

“This is worth investigating more, Kaiyer.” Malek shook his head and looked up and down the citadel. “Can I give command of my army over to you while I keep a hundred here to research?” One of his lieutenants poked an armored wolf helm out of a small opening toward the top of the tower and signed with a gloved hand that they had discovered something.

“No.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I interrupted. “You and a hundred of your troops are more valuable than any rusty trinkets that might be found in this tower. However--“ I raised my hand to the soldier sticking her head out of the window and indicated that we had seen the communication. “We can spare a quarter of an hour to see what they have uncovered. Then we’ll be on our way.”

“Thank you, Kaiyer.” I nodded at him and motioned for Alexia to follow me back to the main staging area of the camp.

“Wait. Aren’t you both coming?” He tried to hide his disappointment but my friend had always been at war with his emotions.

“All three of us don’t need to be there, Malek. We will prepare to depart while you handle this.” Alexia smiled and continued her silent walk back across the sharp stones and ice. I was quiet, even in armor, but Alexia’s boots made absolutely no sounds when she contacted the rough gravel, and her snake embossed armor did not utter a whisper. I knew that if I had told her to investigate this structure she would have torn it apart until it was a pile of sand. But since I had dismissed it as unimportant, she had no further curiosity about the tower.

“Come on, Kaiyer. Alexia can handle the prep. Walk through the tower with me. Pretend like it is a thousand years in the future and our ancestors have found an Elven dwelling. They would be curious as to how our race was freed from oppression and would want to study all the artifacts inside.” He cracked his charming smile and winked at me. I couldn’t help but smile back and nod. The thought of our enemies being reduced to dust and fables brought joy to my heart, so I changed my mind and joined Malek.