The Traitor by A. Lombardo (novels for beginners txt) 📗

of her voice. The memory of a command given. All the seeds within his mind bloomed at once. Obey—Kill the king—Choice—Save the king. Her warm hand pressed into his shoulder and slid down his arm; together, they withdrew the dagger from the scabbard on Kai’s hip. He felt the energy flow from her touch.

Kai thought about the blade in his hand, and he felt her guiding him. “I remember, my queen, all the words you told me.”

She squeezed his hand with her own. Fear and faith battled within Kai’s soul. Then he heard these words again. Riome’s face, Nola’s face, Nola’s voice:

See the light dance in my eyes; I lead you by the hand.

Unravel the string to break the ties, there is power in a grain of sand.

Time does not wait for thee; remember, I am not your kind.

Before the hands of time stop; unlock the key to free your mind.

Candlelight flashed across his blade. The palm of his hand began to sweat as Nola’s grip tightened. The memory of her words continued to guide his will. The tightness in his soul loosened. A tiny speck of light awoke his mind. Broken were the ties of her commands.

I love my father.

He angled the point downward and tried to resist Nola by pulling the blade away from his father, but her white-knuckle grip forced the dagger forward. Kai pulled it back again; his mind became cloudy and lacked focus. Nola leaned into him, and he felt a strange power press against his mind. The dagger eased toward Iver again. Kai felt her breath on his ear. “Make this easy, Kai.”

Riome’s warning echoed in his mind.

You may never be free of her.

Before he could stop her, she plunged the knife into Iver’s rib cage to the hilt. He felt the warm blood oozing from the wound. His mind suddenly free, he gleaned the injury; she had missed the heart.

I am sorry, father.

Nola yanked the blade free. Her vile green eyes glared at Kai. Her lip curled into a sly grin. “You’ve made this too easy, Kai. Thank you.” Nola ran and opened the door; the blood-covered blade glinted in the light from the hallway.

“HELP! HELP! The king is dead. Murderer! TRAITOR!” she yelled for all to hear. “Kai has murdered the king!” She held the knife in the air.

Behind him on the wind, Kai heard a voice.

Run, boy. Fly away.

Was he hearing voices now? The open balcony beckoned, but there was no one there. He could not very well transform into a dragon and fly away with Nola watching. From the hall, dogs barked and men shouted. Without a moment to lose, Kai shoved Nola through the doorway. She fell to the floor. Kai bolted down the hallway with the guards and Nola in pursuit. Tears ran down his face as he punched the first set of guards and kicked them away, darting down the stairwell. More men charged him on the next landing, and others descended with Nola hot on their heels.

“Take him!” she ordered. “Kai killed the king!”

Two men blocked his path, swords drawn, bringing Kai to a halt. Before he could disarm one of them, a Mryken guard dog pounced against his backside, knocking him into the wall. The beast latched onto Kai’s arm, and Kai yelled in pain as the animal’s teeth dug into his skin. He reached out with his mind to call the dog off. The Mryken let go and stood next to Kai, but it did not matter—more men charged him.

From behind, someone punched Kai in the head, pitching him forward. His vision filled with stars as another man landed a strike to his ribcage. He fought back but there were too many. Guard after guard surrounded him, swords at the ready. The Mryken growled in Kai’s defense and Kai ordered the beast to stand down.

“Arrest him!” Nola handed the guard the blood-soaked blade, Kai’s initials on the hilt.

Heartbroken, Kai’s eyes fell into a trance as he looked down at his blood-stained hands. He had done it—killed his father. The voices of the guards swarming around him echoed distantly in his head. One guard shackled his wrists, then two men yanked him by the arms and hauled him down the hallway. He remembered little of the winding stairwell to the dungeon. Even as they removed his chains and his sad form crashed onto the cold stone floor, he was still in shock.

Above him, he heard the chiming of bells—death bells for his father. The thought made him retch until he dry-heaved and collapsed in the corner. He pressed his hand to his broken heart and felt his crystal beneath his shirt. His little piece of Katori, missed by the careless guards. He removed the chain and tucked it into a hidden leather pocked hidden within this boot.

Guards outside his cell speculated, but he did not have the will to listen to their rumors.  “Did you really kill the king?” one of them asked with a laugh.

Recognizing their Milnosian accent, Kai stared frozen at a dark spot on the floor. These men were not from Diu, and they most likely were here because of Regent Maxwell. Confiding in any of these men would not serve him well.

They did not leave him for long. A beast of a man entered his cell, all muscle and mass. Kai noticed a tattoo on his arm—the Milnos raven and an iron skull, this man belongs to the Iron Skulls. Kai gulped in fear backing away from the man, but it did not matter. The guard beat him more than questioned him, and the few words he did say were thick with Milnosian brogue. Kai took his beating in stride; he cared little for his own life now. There was nothing worth living for now that Iver was dead and the Katori would no