Reluctant Prince (14 page)

Elijah stood. Tears tracked down his cheeks. “Forgive me, My Princess. I didn’t know.”

Confusion held Jackson silent.

Ryleigh stared at the seer without responding, a blank expression on her face.

“Didn’t know what?” Kai demanded.

Elijah ignored him. He approached Ryleigh. “May I?” He held his hand out to her.

She looked at Jackson for guidance as she extended her hand to Elijah.

He shook his head, not knowing what was happening or what response was expected.

Bowing his head once again, Elijah took the proffered hand, kissed it, and pressed his forehead to the back of her knuckles.

Her eyebrows drew together as she frowned.

“Explain.” King Maynard rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

“Sir, forgive me. I meant no disrespect.” He released Ryleigh’s hand and bowed to his King.

“Enough already.” Kai waved a hand in the air. “What is going on here? Spit it out, prophet.”

“That will be enough, Kai.” The king scrubbed his hands over his face, rolled his shoulders.

“I demand an explanation for the mockery being made of what should be a trial for a man’s life.”

“All right, that’s it.” A ball of flames erupted from King Maynard’s fingers. He hurled it across the room.

Jackson ducked.

The flames scorched the stone as the fireball slammed into the wall behind him.

“Kai, if you can’t hold your tongue, kindly remove yourself, or I’ll remove your tongue. Elijah, Jackson, one of you better start explaining something immediately or both of you will rot in the dungeon until I know what’s going on here.”

Kai backed against the wall, his mouth set in a firm line of disapproval.

Jackson took a step forward, but Elijah spoke before he could offer an explanation. “Your Majesty, I have been in seclusion since Jackson’s exile, studying the Books of Prophecy. When I heard of Jackson’s return with two strangers, I immediately rushed here to inform you of my findings so far. But, when I entered the room…”

He turned his gaze to Ryleigh. “I witnessed my vision come true.” Awe filled Elijah’s words. “The girl sat surrounded by a halo of light. The child in her lap was not visible, the throne upon which she sat was not visible, only the girl’s face and shoulders surrounded by intense light. Such a thing has never happened to me before, though I have heard of past prophets experiencing such wonder.”

Elijah paused. No one said anything, the silence interrupted only by harsh, ragged breathing, Kai’s angry, Elijah’s euphoric, Ryleigh’s fearful, and King Maynard’s frustrated.

Deep lines etched into his father’s expression. Lines not caused by age, since Cymmerans didn’t age as humans did, but by stress, tension, and the burden of grief he’d shouldered these past centuries.

“Sir.”

Elijah’s voice startled Jackson from his concern for his father.

Tears tracked freely down Elijah’s face. “I misunderstood the vision. I don’t know how I can be forgiven for such a grievous misinterpretation. I will step down as your Advisor if you so desire.” He stared at the floor, shook his head, collected himself. “My King, this child is quite likely a Princess of Cymmera.”

The breath shot from Jackson’s lungs. An iron vise gripped his chest preventing him from taking another breath.

King Maynard’s gaze flew to Ryleigh and Mia.

Ryleigh’s mouth fell open as Elijah dropped to his knee before her and wept.

Kai went ballistic. “I refuse to stand here and listen to such blasphemy.” He slammed his staff into the ground. The loud crack echoed through the chamber, punctuating his words. “I demand the seer be removed this instant and some semblance of order be returned to these proceedings.”

Tremors tore through Ryleigh. What was this man talking about? What vision had he seen? Was he crazy? And what would the warrior do to him?

Kai glared at her through bottomless pools of cold, hard, blackness.

She quickly averted her gaze.

Questions emanated from Mia’s frightened expression.

Ryleigh pulled her sister closer, wanting to comfort her but also needing to have her near.

“Silence!”

Mia jumped.

King Maynard’s thunderous command startled Ryleigh from her thoughts.

“Rise, Elijah.”

Elijah stood before the King his head bowed in shame. “Sir.”

“Do you have further explanation or evidence of your assertion?”

“Yes, of course, sir. I must go to my chambers and retrieve the first tome of the Books of Prophecy. Then I will be able to offer more. I had only just begun to research this information when I was summoned from my meditation with news of Jackson’s return. I had to make sure I stopped you before any action was taken.” He glanced pointedly at Kai.

Ryleigh wondered what animosity existed between the two men.

Could it just be their personalities were polar opposites, or was there something more ominous involved in the hostility sizzling like an undercurrent just below the surface?

“All right.” King Maynard shoved his hands through his long hair, squeezed the strands tightly in his fists, and closed his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he loosened his hold, lowered his hands, and contemplated Ryleigh and Mia. “As far as I can tell, we face no immediate danger.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We will adjourn to the Council Chambers. There I will hear all evidence in—”

“You can’t be serious.” Kai moved to stand before the King, his posture rigid, challenging.

Jackson moved closer to his father as well, feet apart, hand close to the dagger at his side.

Kai turned on Jackson. “Are you ready to stab me again, boy? This time, I assure you, you won’t get up and walk away.”

“That’s enough, all of you. I’ll withhold any judgment until I’ve heard all of the evidence to be presented. The full Council of the Elders will be convened to pass judgment. Since it will obviously take some time to sort through this mess, there’s no reason we can’t feed and warm these children while we do it.”

“You would feed these criminals?” Kai gestured toward the girls.

“I would feed these
children
, Kai. Whether or not they are criminals remains to be determined.” He stepped down from the throne but stopped as he passed his advisor and turned to face him. “Let me ask you, Kai. What if Elijah turns out to be right and these girls are children of Cymmera?”

Kai said nothing, simply held eye contact, his lips pressed tightly together.

King Maynard walked away. “Elijah, retrieve the books you need. I will see all of you in Council.”

Elijah placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jackson. I should have believed you, should have realized something was wrong. As it is…well…I’m just thankful your father allowed you time rather than sentencing you immediately.” A tremor ran through the seer.

“Of course you are forgiven, Elijah. Thank you for looking further into the matter. Have you truly found evidence that Ryleigh and Mia are meant to be here?” Eagerness lit his eyes.

“I have found something, Young Prince, though I am not certain exactly what.” He nodded and hurried after the King.

Kai approached Jackson. He didn’t say a word, simply stood toe to toe with him and glared into his eyes. They maintained eye contact, neither backing down.

Ryleigh didn’t dare breathe.

Mia dug her nails deep into Ryleigh’s arm.

“You will regret the day you crossed me.” Kai stormed from the chamber leaving Jackson alone with Ryleigh and Mia.

A sigh of relief escaped Ryleigh. “Well, that could have gone better.” She shifted Mia onto the throne and tucked the blanket tighter around her.

“True.” Jackson shrugged off the incident. “But it could also have gone worse.”

Ryleigh laughed. She had to concede that point considering how the last encounter between the two warriors had ended. “So…now what?”

“King Maynard will call the Council to order. Once they’ve assembled I’ll be given the opportunity to speak in my defense, as will Elijah and probably Kai, if he so chooses.” Jackson pulled a small, jewel-encrusted dagger from a sheath at his side and twirled it between his fingers, flipping it over and over at a mind numbing speed. The blade and handle blurred.

Ryleigh’s breath caught. She ignored the grin he shot her. “You expect Kai to speak in your defense?” The thought was lost on Ryleigh. The man seemed to hate them all.

Jackson sheathed his dagger and sat down on one of the steps.

“You have to understand Kai. He’s my mentor, my trainer, and my father’s second in command. He carries a tremendous amount of responsibility that he takes quite seriously, as he should. The entire Kingdom of Cymmera is dependent on him, and he is fiercely loyal. But he’s also loyal to my father, and to me. He has trained me to assume my place at my father’s side since I was a child.”

Ryleigh sat beside him. “What will happen to him if you take his place?” Perhaps he didn’t like the idea of giving up his position.

“Well, that depends. As long as my father rules Cymmera, Kai will continue to be one of his main advisors. Once I’ve been ordained, however, I’ll take his place as head of the Advisory Council and his seat on the Council of Elders. If anything were to happen to my father after that point, I would assume the throne and would have the opportunity to appoint my own replacement. Kai would be the most practical choice.”

“What about your brother?”

His smile was quick, but short-lived. “Chayce isn’t responsible enough to take on that role. As the second child, he never worried about assuming the throne. He trains as a soldier, sits on the Security Council, and will probably one day command the Cymmeran Guard.”

Ryleigh didn’t share Jackson’s confidence in Kai. The warrior seemed too harsh, too severe. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. She shrugged off her misgivings. After all, Jackson had known Kai for hundreds of years, and he didn’t doubt his intentions. He actually appeared to trust him. She’d reserve judgment until after the trial.

“Ryleigh?” Mia shifted, curled further under the blanket.

“I thought you’d fallen asleep?”

“I can’t get comfortable.” She sat up, dropped the blanket from her shoulders but tucked it around her bare feet.

“Come on, you. Let’s go get you something to put on your feet.” Jackson stood and lifted Mia onto his back. “It will take some time for the Council to come to order and the food to be prepared. Hmm…what could we do while we wait?” He tapped a finger against his chin, feigning intense concentration then snapped his fingers as if he had a sudden brainstorm. “I know. Why don’t I introduce you to Nika and Nahara?”

Mia squealed with joy and Ryleigh covered her ears.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” She leaned over and swatted Ryleigh on the arm.

“Just kidding.” Mia’s huge grin was well worth any damage to her eardrums. Besides, Ryleigh enjoyed the interaction between Jackson and Mia, loved the joy he brought a child who’d known far too little in her lifetime.

Jackson led them up a long, wide, circular stairway.

“Are we going up into one of the towers?” Mia bounced up and down, her excitement contagious.

“We are. This tower holds my living quarters.”

“You live in a tower? Oh man, how cool is that?”

The tower was much wider than Ryleigh expected. Large, cast iron lanterns hung at evenly spaced intervals along the white stone walls, casting a flickering glow across the oversized steps.

Ryleigh massaged the ache in her calves.

Jackson climbed them comfortably enough, even with Mia on his back. Of course, he was at least a full foot taller than Ryleigh.

The doorway at the top of the circular stairway boasted two enormous, black metal doors. Jackson stopped when he reached them. “We’re here.”

“Yay.” Mia vibrated with excitement as they passed through the doors.

Jackson laughed, joy filling his eyes.

Ryleigh’s heart melted.

“Here you go, hop down.”

Mia scrambled off his shoulders.

He pushed open a second set of huge wooden doors. “Mia and Ryleigh, I’d like you to meet Nika and Nahara.” He bowed and stepped back for them to enter.

Ryleigh started to roll her eyes at his theatrics.

Mia’s screech halted them mid roll.

The animals were amazing. They sat perfectly still in the center of the room, their postures proud, regal. They both had the square faces of large dogs, similar to those of Tibetan Mastiffs, and boasted a similar build as well, though much, much larger.

“Holy…” Ryleigh’s mouth fell open. Only a breathless whisper escaped, and Ryleigh cleared her throat. “I thought you said they were dogs?”

The giant animals tilted their heads.

He approached the male first, had to reach up to pet his head. “No, I said they were hounds.” He petted the female next. He held his hand out to Mia. “Come on, don’t you want to meet them?”

Mia started forward.

Ryleigh reached out a hand to stop her. “Wait, Mia.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know about this. Are they safe?”

Jackson’s laughter resonated through the chamber. “Of course they’re safe. They’re pets. Come on.”

Oh, heavens. Pets? Who else had pets bigger than lions? No one, that’s who. Well, at least no one she knew. But then again, she didn’t know anyone else quite like Jackson. What had she gotten herself into? She relented and lowered her hand allowing Mia to go to him, and even inched a little closer.

“This is Nika.”

The midnight black hound lowered his massive head, made to appear even larger by the thick mane surrounding it, and allowed Mia and Ryleigh to pet him.

Ryleigh placed her hand gently against his mane, and it sank deep into the long fur. She’d never felt anything so soft. Not even the tigrelle blanket compared to this. She wanted to curl up in it and go to sleep. She found herself moving closer to the animal.

Mia didn’t hold any of Ryleigh’s reservations. She threw her arms as far around his immense neck as she could reach and pressed her cheek into his fur.

Nika nuzzled her with his giant head, returning the hug and eliciting a fit of giggles.