Hope is all he has left...
Prince Kian is supposed to be dead. He was only 8 years old when the Dark King came into his home and slaughtered his family. Now 21, he lives in hiding, grieving the family and the kingdom both lost. With no magic left...
"Kian! Get up! Now!" Cayra shook my shoulder-hard. I opened my eyes slowly, the scent of honeysuckle and pine-the scent of Zora-still lingering on the blankets around me. Cayra's pale cyan eyes were filled with apprehension. I immediately became alert, propping myself up on an elbow.
"What's going on?"
Cayra frowned, "Drimorian Scouts in the woods near our camp. Most of the others are already there."
I jumped up quickly, pulling on my boots and fastening on a cloak as I sprinted towards the source of commotion, Cayra just ahead of me. They stood in a large group, one scout was on his knees, hands bound behind his back, the other was familiar and standing unbound a look fear on his face. Stailon's father...
His resemblance to his son was uncanny. They had the same dark hair and tan skin, the same russet eyes. The same aura of authority and strong build. However, where Stailon's hair fell around his shoulders in thick waves, his father's was cut short in military fashion.
I hadn't seen the man in over ten years.
"Kian!" Mace Adamitrius called to me, recognizing my face. I was surprised, I had been eleven at the time of our last encounter. He hadn't seemed to have aged at all.
I turned to Zora, who was standing rigidly next to the scout that had been forced to his knees. He daggers were in her hands. She gripped them comfortably, the stance of someone who had wielded a weapon thousands of times. Her red hair was braided tightly, though a few loose spirals framed her face. Her blue eyes were fierce. At that moment she looked like a commander, someone who led others to battle and fought beside them.
"What's happened here?"I asked her, snapping out of my daze.
"They were caught sneaking around the perimeter of the camp. Your fighters recognized Stailon's father and the other scout didn't put up much of a fight. She nudged the bound man with her boot. His eyes were full of rage and yet he stayed silent, a well-disciplined soldier.
"Are there others?" I asked, acknowledging Mace for the first time.
"There are no other scouts for at least twenty miles," He answered, his voice hoarse. I nodded and faced my own men.
"I want guards stationed outside of my tent, where I'll be speaking with Mace," I looked to thew bound scout, "I am Kian Vienna, the rightful heir to the Drimorian throne,"
He narrowed his eyes, "Kian Vienna is dead."
"It would appear that I am very much alive. Tell me, scout, where does your loyalty lie?" I asked, squatting down to meet his eyes.
"To the Dark King," He sneered. Hatred radiated off of him. " I felt more anger for that man than I had for anyone in a long time. I smiled at him and turned to Zora.
"Get something useful out of him, use whatever means you deem necessary."
"What do you want me to do with him when I'm done?" She asked, her face was expressionless, but concern hid behind her eyes.
"My men will take care of the body." My stomach tightened at the order and I hoped that ruthlessness wouldn't become a habit.
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"How's my boy?" Mace asked, a worried frown across his face.
I smiled, "Stailon is doing very well, I left him in charge in my absence."
Mace looked me over. Though he wore the colors of the Dark King, I knew I could trust him. He had been part of the group that had smuggled my people food for years. When Stailon and I had escaped the palace, he had been left behind and forced to swear his loyalty to the Dark King. Not that the vow had meant anything.
"Mace, what are you doing out here? What were you thinking bringing another scout so close to the mountains?"
He sighed, "Things are getting bad Kian. I couldn't stay in Stonevale any longer, my companion was simply part of my cover for coming out here."
"You planned to kill the man all along?"
Mace's silence alone answered my question.
"What drove you away from Stonevale?"
"He wants to take Venarden, just as he took the throne from your father."
My eyes widened, "He wants to expand his empire?"
A nod, "That's why I've come. You must make your stand soon, prove your strength and then ally with Venarden."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Leave me, Areis will find you a tent. I have much to consider."
He stepped out silently. I sat down beside the fire pit, resting my head on my knees. Those small moments, alone, were the only times I was allowed to be weak. They were few and far between.
It was already too much. This war wouldn't just be about me, there were other countries on the line. There were a thousand things that could go wrong. Every move I made from that point forward had to be calculated.
"Kian, Zora has finished with the scout," Tyri's voice alerted me. I supposed that I should check on her, after all, I had just ordered her to kill a man.
Areis stood a ways in front of her tent, stopping me before I could reach it.
"She needs some time to clear her head." He said, sadness in his voice.
I frowned, "Is she okay?"
"Zora is always okay, she has to be." He shook his head, "You should've seen it, that scout called her every bad thing he could possibly think of and she didn't blink. He didn't give her anything useful but she didn't injure him once. It was only when he began denouncing you that she ended it." My heart sped up, how could she defend me with such ease when I had done nothing but put her in impossible situations?
