Pretenders

Chapter Five

Kat leaned back into the couch with a sigh. Her head hurt. Her muscles ached. Her bruises throbbed. She had been training with James for three days, and every day was the same: train and educate. For reasons she had yet to comprehend, Jame had added education lessons while they were indoors. He taught her history, geography, reading, mathematics, even a little on the arts. She couldn't fathom what he intended for her to do with the information, finding most of it to be useless.

But Erion would have loved this. Education had always been a special dream of his. He never learned to read either, but he liked to hang around the groups of intellectuals that occasionally graced the streets. He always said he liked listening to them talk about philosophy because it made his brain spin in circles as he was "looking for truths," as he would say.

He had a strange obsession with truth. She supposed it came from the fact that everyone around them lied. The idea of always being truthful fascinated him. He could never quite put it into words, but said it felt important.

Kat wished she could share the same enthusiasm for learning as he had.

"You're not trying," said James, hands behind his back as he loomed over her. The room was silent besides his condemning gaze. Sage and Jill, as Kat had been given permission to call her, were attending to their work in the kitchens as they always did during the day.

Kat glowered at him a little. "I find it difficult to focus on trivial things such as learning about the borders between the other countries when I've never left Driem City, much less the country, and I don't see any sort of journey in my future."

He gave her a withering look. "It is vital you know these things so you may fit in if you do make it there one day. What are you going to say when talk of politics begin and you have next to no knowledge on even where any of our neighboring kingdoms are?"

"It doesn't come up in conversation much where I'm from." She pushed the books away from her. "I know which direction they all lie in and that was good enough for me before. Who am I going to be speaking to of politics concerning the other countries? You never let me out of your sight and the only things we do are train for seemingly no reason whatsoever." She stood so he wasn't hovering over her like she was a child. "How do you expect me to put any effort into a cause that remains a mystery to me? What reason do I have to waste my energy on it?" She tipped her chin up defiantly, eyes sparking as she waited for his answer.

His lips tightened. When he finally spoke, his voice wasn't as harsh as she was expecting, although still cold. "While it is not your place to question me, I will give you an answer. But only because I need you working your hardest, and you clearly lack motivation." He sat on the other end of the couch, motioning for her to sit as well, which she did warily. "I am King Jayden's personal assistant. I aid in managing his duties as well as anything else he calls me to do. Several days ago, he asked me to find and train a bodyguard for Duke Riolf Quir, his most favored nobility. The king doesn't trust any bodyguards for hire, and he was protection that will be inconspicuous, unlike a soldier. My family has military background, so he requested that I personally oversee the finding and training of a new guard."

"Why does nobility need protection?" Kat asked, earning a glare for her interruption. "Isn't he already surrounded by soldiers?"

"He is," agreed James. "But the king has reason to believe the duke is being specifically targeted by assassins. Since the two of them are so close, King Jayden wishes for extra protection that would be nearer to Duke Quir than a soldier could be. He asked for a skilled guard to be inserted into Duke Quir's home—someone that would be able to remain close at all times."

Kat nodded slowly. "That would be where I enter, I suppose."

James tipped his chin up in confirmation. "We will continue our training for a month and then you will be married to the duke via false wedding papers."