Demon Heart | Prince of the Barren Sands Volume 1

Chapter 18 (Part 2 of 3)

"By all the luck within me," Kaden fumed. "I swear this will not stand."

Pacing with furious abandon in his bedchamber, he put on a powerful performance fueled by rage and hatred that were his own and not some essence he'd taken. All while Sahl and Louras looked on.

"By the Abyss," Sahl exclaimed. "Why do you care? She was only using you, anyway."

Kaden whirled on his friend and slave, treating him more in line with the later designation. In a flash, he had Sahl against the wall, forearm barred across his slave's throat and choking him. "She was my wife!" Spittle joined Kaden's admonition and flew forth. "Do not try me on this, Sahl. I warn you. Not on this."

There was pure terror in his friend's eyes. Terror that told Kaden exactly how much anger and force he was wielding. In that moment of realization, he released Sahl's fear, regained himself, and backed away.

"I'm—I'm sorry." Kaden's apology was muted by his shame at how he acted.

Sahl rubbed at his throat, the skin reddened almost to purple. "Your temper is getting worse," he snapped hoarsely.

"She was my wife," Kaden reminded him again. "Please, I ask that you show a little respect."

Sahl continued to continue to try to talk sense into Kaden. "The princess would have killed you in a minute if she thought it would further her own ambitions."

Kaden shook his head, reigning in his temper. "I don't believe that."

Sahl motioned for Louras to jump in and say his thoughts. "Go ahead," Sahl encouraged that large man who seem far too scared of Kaden. "If he doesn't like what you say, he'll kill me, not you."

Louras took a pause, as though he considered the statement before finally speaking on the matter. "It's entirely probable," his now deceased wife's head servant agreed, even if he hedged.

"To her you were a cock to ride when she chose to ride it," Sahl expounded. "And a blade to watch her back. Like every other man she chose to bed."

"No, Sahl. We had more." Kaden pleaded his absent wife's case for her. "You weren't there when we were alone."

"Don't tell me you actually think she loved you. And that you loved her?"

"I—I don't know what it was on her part, Sahl. But I know you're wrong. I did love her."

"Fine then, I'm wrong. What are you going to do? Challenge the prince to avenge your deceased, but not deceased wife?" Sahl referenced the woman in the other room, waiting for him. "With that imposter taking her place, you don't have a claim to challenge him."

Kaden looked to Louras. "Well, where do your loyalties lie?"

The slave with a warrior's physique straightened tall as he answered. "With the princess, of course. The real princess. Not this pretender. The problem is, she is very convincing. The slaves all know, of course, but those outside of the palace's inner circle aren't going to know the difference. To them, the princess will still be alive. And as your slave has said, that doesn't give you the opportunity to challenge the prince."

"So, I take it you're on my side?" The call for clarification demanded more of precise affirmation.

"I am," Louras nodded. "As my mistress is deceased, and you were her husband, I am now your servant. Although I will have to at least pretend she is my master and I answer to her."

"And the others?"

"I wouldn't count on them. They'll follow who they are told to follow." Louras shrugged. "It's the way things go. You know that."

"We'll that rules out you taking out the prince in ritual combat," Sahl declared. "Your revenge will have to wait. And I don't think you could take him one on one in a fair fight, anyway."

Kaden frowned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sahl."

"I'm just being realistic, Master. You've become a great warrior, but the prince was born, bred, and trained to be one."

Kaden thought for a moment. "There's only one option then."

"And that is? I assume you're going to say to place your revenge on hold."

"No." Kaden chewed his lip, wondering if he should utter his next statement. "I'll have to make the Gates."

"Make the Gates?" Sahl's voice pitched up two whole octaves. "Are you mad? The prince has never even make the Gates. Much less kill a Guardian. And that's exactly what you'd have to do."

"It's the only other way, Sahl. If I make the Gates and kill a Guardian in one-on-one combat, then I can lay claim to the Throne of Ison. And if I can kill a Guardian when not even the prince has, then I can take him as well."

"It's never been done," Sahl continued to protest the plan that was now forming. "Reach the Gates and depose a prince? It's madness."

"Well, either that or I die trying. If I can make the Gates and kill a Guardian, then it means I am a superior warrior to the prince. Right?"

"Maybe. Possibly." Sahl's face was sour. "But if you even attempted to assemble a force strong enough to push towards the Gates, the prince is smart enough to guess what you were planning."

"I'll have to try with a smaller force then. A standard sized contingent. One that won't raise suspicion. Better, but fewer men. I know enough of the men and their abilities that I think I can assemble a force able to make the Gates. And, if we teak the formula of the Rage and Courage mix a little, perhaps a smaller force might be enough if they had that at their disposal."

"It's madness." Sahl waved his hands as though thinking such would dissipate the idea he'd just listened to.

"This has to end, Sahl. Those who rule Imeron are destroying us, all for the sake of their own power. It can't be allowed to continue."

Sahl shook his head and folded his arms. "You talk as though you can save us all."

"I'm just someone who's fed up watching people suffer, Sahl. I have to try."

"Are you forgetting what you would be up against?"

"He's a man," Kaden reminded his friend.

"A man who rules with an iron fist," Louras interjected. "If he was able to take the princess, then he could take you as well. Be mindful of that, my new Master."

"I at least have to try. Everyone is living fear, even if they won't say so out loud. It has to end. This is no way to live. Who would be next to be replaced? You?" He pointed firmly to Louras. "Or you, Sahl? Maybe even me. Someone needs to stand up to Prince Relastin."

Sahl cracked a hesitant smile and shook his head again. "If it were to be somebody, I'd prefer it be someone more trained as a warrior than you. You're good, Kaden. But you are not a warrior. No matter how much you pretend to be."

Kaden allowed the words to sink in as he pondered his masculine hands. "When it came to cleaning the stills, my father used to say, one insignificant grain of sand can ruin an entire batch of essence. I think he meant, not just in terms of alchemy, however. But as a lesson for life as well. I've been given an opportunity. And I am going to be that grain of sand that causes irritation."

"Could get dicey," Louras admonished.

Sahl nodded in agreement. "Lots of ways this plan of yours could go wrong."

"Like I said," Kaden emphasized his determination. "I have to try."