Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) (3 page)

“I know, boy,” Aston said, rubbing the horse’s neck. “You didn’t get much time to rest, and I apologize. Once we are back, I will refuse the next mission in favor of some
rest
.” Seeming satisfied, Sterling turned back around, allowing him to finish.

“Are you ready yet, O mighty warrior?” Talbot asked sarcastically.

Aston mouthed some names he would love to call Talbot before answering.
“I’m ready. Are you?”

“Of course.” Talbot mounted Red, a glorious red bay that he’d named himself. While the horse could be fast if he had to be, he shared Talbot’s demeanor for the most part. Being lazy and impossible were the horse’s best qualities.

“Then, we ride.” Aston climbed nimbly onto Sterling’s back and guided the horse out of his stall, onto the path leading out the palace gates. Talbot followed behind, but Aston didn’t
check to see how far behind he was
. It wouldn’t be his fault if the lazy prince got lost. Talbot had always been a good rider; it was the one thing in his life he seemed passionate about. Aston knew he could count on Talbot catching up with him if the prince
did
lag behind.

Fridel’s largest city
, the one closest to the castle and named after the country’s first king,
bustled with life as Aston and the prince rode through. People stopped to wave as they passed, and while Talbot chose to ignore everyone, the knight smiled and waved back. He passed a quick smile to Zane, the town jeweler and also a good friend of his. Aston’s younger sister, Eiko, met them on the path at the edge of town.

“Ride fast, brother, and return home to us,” she told him. Aston climbed down from Sterling to pull his younger sister into a firm hug. Her golden hair whipped into his face in the gentle wind, and her sweet, lavender scent invaded his nose.

“You’ve been playing in Father’s lavender garden again, haven’t you?” he scolded. Eiko smiled but didn’t answer, instead pulling her brother into a firmer hug. When she pulled away, her light blue eyes were wet with unshed tears.

“Be safe, brother.” Aston nodded, giving her a smile before mounting Sterling again.

“Tell Father I will return home soon,” he told her. Eiko smiled and ran off, extending her arms as if she were a bird, about to take flight. Aston smiled as he watched her disappear in the crowd flooding Fridel’s streets.

“Now can we go? It’s hot, jus
t sitting here,” Talbot said
, a slight whine to his voice. Aston sighed. Th
ey hadn’t even left Fridel yet
and already the prince was anxious. The sun was still high in the sky as they left the town’s streets and started down the hard-packed dirt road to Adion. It promised to be a long ride.

“One of the hardest things in life is
having words in your heart that you can’t utter.”
- James Earl Jones -

Jade sighed as her mother pulled her toward the ballroom. Her burgundy dress swirled around her feet as she walked, her auburn curls bouncing against her back.

“Come now, Jade. We don’t want to keep them waiting.” Queen Margaret continued to stride forward, tugging lightly at her daughter’s wrist. The queen’s greying hair had been twisted into a tight bun, held in place by various pins,
each one
shining with gemstones. Her navy dress was much fuller than Jade’s, barely moving as her thin frame glided down the hallway.

Jade tried to match her mother’s pace, but she still found herself taking two steps to match every one of the queen’s. She didn’t know what the fuss was about. This ball would be her last outing as an unmarried woman. The next night, her father intended to announce her marriage to Duke Aeron’s eldest son, Marquess Jacob of Summerslade. This ball was a final celebration in her mind, though her father had described it as something different.

“One last chance to mingle with your f
riends,” Jad
e muttered under her breath.

Margaret heard her and looked back at her daughter, her small hazel eyes narrowed. “Watch your tone, young lady. Your father has worked hard to convince Duke Aeron to come to Adion, and even harder to convince him to allow Jacob to marry you.”

“Oh, he’s
allowing
Jacob to marry me? So Jacob had a choice and I didn’t?” Jade asked, pulling her wrist from her mother’s grasp and stopping.

The queen sighed and turned to face the princess. “Jade, now is not the time for this.

“Then when, Mother? At the altar, before I am promised to Marquess Jacob? Years from now, when I
have born his children
? When is the time for this?” Jade asked, exasperated. She wasn’t ready to be married. She was nineteen, past the age she should have been married off, but her father ha
d waited this long to pick a suitor
. Why couldn’t he wait just a bit longer?

“Oh, daughter,
really?
Is this necessary? Jacob is a fine man. He will be good for you.”

“I don’t want a man that is
good for me,
Mother. I want a man that cares about me and wants to know my thoughts,” the princess argued, turning away from the queen and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, you won’t find a man like that. Women are objects to men, Jade. I don’t love your father, but he has done things for me that the boy I loved as a young woman could never have done. So, who is it, Jade? Who is this man that makes you think love is
more important
than status?”

Jade sighed and closed her eyes. Her mother would never understand. “There is no man, Mother. That’s the problem! I have never known love, and with Jacob, I never will!”

“You don’t know that. You hardly know the man!”

“One more reason I shouldn’t be
marrying
him,” she replied, her tone curt. Jade opened her eyes again as her wrist was
roughly grabbed. Her mother was staring at her with a sternness she had never shown.

“You are going to marry Marquess Jacob in two days and you are going to enjoy this ball. Your father put this together so you could spend one last night with your friends before you go to Summerslade with Jacob.”

“Go to Summerslade?
Leave
Adion? How could I? This is my home!” Jade exclaimed. She tried to pull her hand away again, but her mother’s grip was strong.

“It is your duty. Now, come and dance with your cousin. He has waited all night to dance with you and you have been hiding away in your chambers. It is most unbecoming of a lady and a host
ess
.”

They entered the ballroom and Jade forced a smile onto her lips. She could be unhappy with her mother all she wanted, but if she showed that emotion in front of her parents’ friends, she would get an earful later. Instead, she would pretend to be happy until th
eir guests retired for the evening
.

The du Halen family’s ballroom was nothing short of spectacular. Deep mahogany wood floors, gleaming marble pillars and emerald curtains surrounded Jade as she made her way
across the room. All around
, pairs were dancing. Dresses in all colors swirled around her while men in coats waltzed their partners across the floor.

“Oh, Uri.
Thank you so much for coming.” S
he smiled, curtsying to her cousin.

The young man smiled back at her, his dimples showing. “I wouldn’t miss it, Jade. Would you care to dance?”

With a slight nod, Jade took her cousin’s hand and allowed him to lead her around the floor. They twirled past couples, some of whom Jade knew and others that were unfamiliar to her. They all smiled politely at her as she spun past them, and Jade returned the expressions halfheartedly. She found herself wishing she were still in her room, lying on her bed in her beautiful gown and dreaming of a different life.

She noticed her father acro
ss the room. King Aric was speaki
ng in low voices with high ranking officials from three of the countries that bordered them. King Damien of Azazel was there, his face sunken. The death of his son had been hard on the king. The kings from Summerslade and Fridel were absent, but Duke Aeron was there, as well as the prince of Canterbury. His name escaped Jade at the moment. She was more concerned with the worried lines etched into the faces of each man in the circle.

“What are they speaking about?” Jade asked Uri, motioning to her father with her head.
She didn’t stop dancing; she had to keep up appearances. The smile didn’t even slip from her lips.

Uri looked at
the circle of men before turning back to
Jade
, one brow raised
. “You haven’t heard about the letter?”

Jade shook her head. “What letter?”

“The Rogue Royal has targeted Duke Aeron. He is supposed to strike tonight, at the stroke of midnight. This ball is a huge controversy right now. Many people have said that your father has no class, holding the ball with the duke’s life in danger.” Uri looked at her apologetically, but Jade waved away his words.

“Why would the Rogue strike here instead of waiting until Aeron is back in Summerslade?”

“Some have said it is a message to King Aric.”

“A message about what?” Jade asked, sneaking another quick glance at her father. He was looking at he
r as well, but he quickly turned
away when he met her gaze.

“About you and your marriage to Marquess Jacob. They say it is a warning.”

“That’s ridiculous.
” Jade snorted, though she knew the predictions may be right. It sounded like something the Rogue would do. He always did want what was best for her. She wished he would be more discreet. At this rate, he was bound to be caught.

“Maybe, but nevertheless, people are talking.”

“Mother says that no talk is bad talk, because even if the gossip is bad, they are still talking about you,” Jade announced. She wished she knew more about the night’s events, but she couldn’t question her father with the other men. They would frown at her and tell her to leave, like she was a child.

Sometimes, she hated being a woman.

“I am prepared to die, but there is no
cause for which I am prepared to kill.”
- Mahatma Gandhi -

A day’s ride
and many inconvenient stops later,
nighttime found Aston
hunched in the forest outside the castle of Adion, Prince Talbot at his side. They were hidden behind a thin group of cypress trees in view of the palace gates. No one had entered yet, and Aston wondered if they’d gotten the day and time wrong. He found himself wishing King Donn had told King Aric of their arrival, but, as usual, the king hadn’t burdened himself with the pleasantries.

Instead, he had Talbot and Aston standing guard outside the
palace walls, too far away to be of any help if t
he Rogue
did
appear.

“Why is it so damn cold in August?” Talbot asked, pulling his blanket tighter around himself and glaring at Aston. Talbot had requested a fire,
but the knight
had refused
.
A fire would draw attention to their position
,
and they needed the secrecy.

“It’s
a few hours to midnight, Sire. It’s windy and close to fall. It’s bound to be cold. You just aren’t used to being outside after dark,” Aston answered. He knew he was being overly snooty to the prince, but he was tired of Talbot’s whining. He’d had to listen to him complain about being sore for the majority of the ride, and Talbot hadn’t helped at all with making camp. Or dinner. So now
,
Aston was happy to see him suffer.

“Well, what’s taking so long! The Rogue should have shown up and killed someone already.”

“Prince Talbot, the point is to
not
let him kill anyone, not to wish for someone to die faster,” he scolded the prince.

“Fine. Wake me up when it’s time to actually
do
something.” The prince pulled his blanket over his head and lay down, pulling his feet
under the cover
. Aston sent a prayer to Heaven, thanking his Lord for finally making Talbot sleep.
He’d hear about his attitude later from King Donn, but for now he
was happy to let the prince
wallow in his misery.

As the hours passed, Aston found himself taking in hi
s surroundings. In front of him,
the great stone wall that surrounded Adion’s palace
towered
, slowly turning green as rogue moss took over. A narrow
,
dirt road led from the castle to the actual city, where no
light could be found. Everyone lay
in bed, sleeping. Aston snuck a glance at Talbot, grimacing as a loud snore ripped through the prince’s open mouth.
So much for being subtle.
Once again, Aston found himself wishing King Donn
had
sent an experienced soldier with him instead of the prince.