Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series) (30 page)

Kara marveled at how easy it was to find Braeden. She had only to ask the first maid she saw and watch which way the girl’s eyes darted. But such was the curse of being feared: everyone kept tabs on him.

She traced her way back to the throne room and waited on the steps beneath the vacant thrones. One of the guards had told her Braeden was speaking with the Bloods and would be out soon, so all she could do was wait.

A hidden door behind the thrones slid open, and the Bloods walked out. Only Aislynn acknowledged her with a smile; the rest, except for Braeden, didn’t even look at her. Braeden, though, wouldn’t stop frowning as he walked over.

“What is it, Kara?” he asked, as though he had better things to do.

This distance between them hurt, but she’d brought it on herself. The hair on her neck stood on end as Gavin turned to watch them. She needed to find a place where she could talk to Braeden alone.

“I was going to take a walk through the gardens. Care to join me?”

He shook his head and walked off, gesturing for Kara to follow. She frowned, but obliged. They walked in silence until he turned into a small office just beyond the main hall. Books lined the dark shelves, and the drawn curtains shut out the light.

He shut the door. “I have an errand to run.”

“Um, all right. After that?”

He sighed. “No, Kara. I’m occupied.”

“Since when are you so cryptic? We can still work together—”

“Look, I’m doing what you asked!”

Kara wanted to believe he was still just hurt, but the way he narrowed his eyes made her step back. For several seconds, she couldn’t form words.

His eyes softened as he watched her expression, which seemed to weaken his resolve. He held her shoulders, but his fingers inched up to her face.

Before she knew it, he kissed her.

This kiss—number three,
wow
—was different from the others. The first was timid, uncertain as to what either wanted. The second was raw passion. But this one was fearful. His fingers barely brushed her skin, holding her as if she would break into dust at the slightest touch. Her mind numbed, and neither confusion nor happiness coursed through her.

This kiss was full of a new emotion: loss.

He broke away.

“What—?” she asked.

He brushed a thumb along her cheek. His touch spread sparks along her skin.

“I have to go, Kara. That’s all I can say. I tried ignoring you, tried pushing you away like you did to me, but I can’t do it. I could never hurt you. But do me this last favor, okay? Take Richard with you. Make him a vagabond. He’s not safe here anymore, and you’re the last chance for him to have a home. I told him to find Twin, so he’s likely with her now. Will you do that for me?”

“Of course, but—”

“Thank you.”

He kissed her again, and the loss seeped into her once more. Her thoughts trailed out of her grasp, and she wound a finger into his hair. He stopped at her touch, let out a sigh, and rubbed his nose against hers.

“Goodbye,” he said.

“Braeden, what is going on?”

He smiled, took one last look at her, and let go.

“Stay out of trouble, at least,” he said.

He opened the door and left, just like that.

Air wouldn’t stay in Kara’s throat long enough for her to respond. She didn’t know what to think or say. The kiss made her question the hope she’d felt back before they’d left that hidden room in the Stelian grottoes. A kiss like that left her without any hope at all.

He’d said goodbye and meant it. Whatever happened in that meeting with the Bloods ruined everything.

She took a deep breath before she noticed the stares coming through the open door. A few ladies in trailing gowns and even a half dozen guards watched her. At least the Bloods were gone.

“Are you all lost? Move it!” Kara shouted.

Most of them flinched, but they all hustled back to their lives. The guards looked away from her and twitched back into position.

She turned down the hall and walked toward Twin’s room. Whatever Braeden had gotten himself into, it was bad. Guilt churned in her stomach. She’d wanted to keep him at an arm’s length, not lose him forever.

Kara’s feet stopped on their own in front of Twin’s door, but she didn’t look up until it opened.

Twin looked her over. “Why are you staring at my doorknob?”

Kara glanced through the doorway without answering. Flick jumped over a packed bag on the bed, chasing something she couldn’t see.

The hair on Kara’s neck stood up, so she looked over her shoulder. A figure moved back behind the corner in the hallway, out of sight, as if someone had been watching her and not wanted to be spotted.

Great, now she had a tail. She slipped into the room and closed the door behind her.

Braeden ducked back behind the wall in time for Kara to only see a lingering shadow. She would know she was being followed without knowing who it was.

Good. Hopefully that would make her leave.

Braeden’s head still reeled from the kiss. It had been so painful. That was a real goodbye, a terrifying one that left him sick to his stomach. He’d hidden to watch her as she left and seen the way she had lashed out at those who watched her from the hall. She was angry, confused, and had every right to both emotions.

He had wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but it would have been a lie.

The sooner Kara left Ayavel, the better. She needed to be in the village, turning and training more vagabonds. He could only hope they would keep her distracted long enough for him to kill Carden. Once the man died, she wouldn’t need to be in the middle of this mess anymore.

At least, that’s what Braeden kept telling himself. He had no idea if it was true.

He took a deep breath and headed back down the hall, pausing only to kick a soldier’s foot back into a broom cupboard. He closed the door with more force this time to lock the dead spy inside.

Braeden had also let Kara think the Bloods were following her because, in truth, they
were
. This spy had been Ayavelian, too.

He headed down the hall to the drowng Gavin had waiting for him outside, but took one last look at the closed bedroom door. He hoped he’d made the right choice.

Kara took a deep breath and sat on the bed. She needed to get it together. If she had been crying, it was no wonder everyone stared at her after Braeden left.

“Is everything okay?” Twin asked.

“No, but we have a job to do. Is Richard here?”

“Yeah, he just needed to wash his face.”

Richard came out of the bathroom at the mention of his name. He still held a towel to his chin, and droplets of water clung to his beard. He paused when he saw Kara.

“Vagabond,” he said with a nod.

“What’s wrong with Braeden?” she asked.

Inwardly, she cringed. Jumping into a conversation without returning a welcome was rude. She meant to apologize, but Richard answered as if she hadn’t done anything offensive at all.

“I have no idea. After he and I spoke, he walked off with Gavin and told me to find you.”

“Why?”

Richard sighed. “Gavin heard me confess something I have kept from him his whole life. I cannot remain here.”

Kara nodded. “And you’re like a father to Braeden. A real one. So he wants you safe.”

“Yes.”

No one spoke as she processed that. If Braeden wanted her to protect Richard, she would do everything in her power to make it happen.

Richard cleared his throat. “Last time we spoke, Vagabond, I was not kind to you. I didn’t realize my son would stoop so low as to try to control you, nor did I believe you were telling the truth. I was wrong.”

Kara smiled and held up her hand. “Please, Richard. It’s all right. I’m sorry if I came off as harsh. Everything’s happening so quickly that I tend to forget my manners. I promised Braeden I would protect you, and I’ll do that. But I need you to become a vagabond if you’re going to come to the village. Can you do that?”

Richard’s beaming grin lit up the room. “My dear, I would be honored.”

“Then it’s settled. Are you two ready to go? We have to move.”

Twin paused as she reached for a trinket on the top shelf of a nearby dresser. “Why so soon?”

“I think I’m being followed.”

“But how are we going to leave without being seen?” Richard asked.

“We’re using Flick,” Kara answered.

Flick barked and jumped onto Kara’s shoulder. She ran her finger along his head. He purred.

Twin’s face lit up. “Really? He can—”

“Shh!”

Twin tried again, this time in a whisper. “He can teleport? I’d always heard some could do that, but I never thought I’d meet one who could!”

“Well, Flick is pretty awesome.”

Twin wrinkled her nose at the word ‘awesome,’ and Kara wondered if the girl even knew what the term meant. She shrugged it off. They had to leave.

Twin picked up her bag, but Richard quickly grabbed it from her and slung it over his shoulder.

“Aren’t you bringing anything?” Kara asked him.

“I didn’t want to risk being seen carrying a bag. It would be too obvious.”

“Maybe we could teleport to your room, or—”

“They’re just possessions,” he said with a shrug.

Kara sat on the bed. “All right, then. We can’t teleport through a lichgate, unfortunately, so we need to find a way out. We can’t use the main lichgate, since that’s too public. However, I have a map of the kingdom. Maybe we can find a hidden lichgate few know about.”

She summoned the Grimoire. Blue dust spiraled out of her pendant and into her hands, forming the shape of a book. Richard smiled. Twin even clapped her hands.

Kara opened the Grimoire to the back cover, where she’d stored the folded maps Stone had given her. She paged through them, suddenly grateful for listening to the Vagabond. If only he didn’t force her to do things his way, they might actually be friends.

She thumbed through the sheets and peeked at their titles, stopping only when she saw the word ‘Ayavel’ scribbled at the top of one of the maps. She pulled it from the book and unfolded it onto the bed.

A series of circles clung together in the middle of the page, marked by the word ‘castle.’ Forests covered most of the map, and she even found a small temple hidden in a corner. But Kara skimmed over the page, only looking for a way out. She paused when she noticed four blue stars marked with the word ‘lichgate’ that glowed and glimmered like tiny suns in the four corners of the paper.

Twin pointed at a drawing of a small pond not far from the castle. “That lichgate is by the waterfall where we had our picnic!”

Next to Twin’s finger, a group of rocks with water flowing over them represented the waterfall. The blue star for the lichgate hovered just behind the falls.

“Was it busy while you girls were there?” Richard asked.

Kara shrugged. “Not an hour ago, but that could have changed.”

Twin shook her head. “No, it’s supper time. I haven’t been here long, but I can tell you Ayavelians are strict with their schedules and always eat together. I doubt anyone would be out there. The only non-Ayavelians here are the various kingdoms’ guards, and they don’t seem like the type to picnic.”

Kara rubbed her neck. It still posed a risk. If they appeared and someone was there, she would make it known that Flick could teleport. Considering the consequences she would face if she was found stealing two of Gavin’s subjects to make them vagabonds, though, it was a risk she should take. They could always try to go to another lichgate if they ran into trouble.

She wished away the book and stood. “All right. Let’s go. Will each of you please touch my shoulder?”

Richard and Twin each set a hand on her sleeve. Kara visualized the waterfall from earlier and touched Flick’s forehead.

“So what do we—?” Twin began to ask.

A sharp
crack
cut her off.