Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles Book 1) (23 page)

“They’re smart and quick learners, but nothing out of the ordinary,” their father confirmed.

Kaden glanced toward the closed door and lowered his voice to a sober tone. “Good.”

William gave a nod of silent agreement, but smiled to lighten the mood. “Come, let’s sit down. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Kyrin would cherish the next hour and a half for a long time afterward. She could have spent days with her father and Kaden, reminiscing and talking of home. With them, she was free to be completely herself. Because of this, she experienced a mix of both disappointment and excitement when they received word that the remainder of her guests had arrived. This time, they all met in a larger sitting room.

The moment she passed through the doors, tears burned the back of Kyrin’s throat. Her eyes misted at the sight of her older brothers’ smiles. Liam stepped forward first, and Kyrin hugged him for all she was worth, for once glad of her shoes to give her a little extra height.

“Oh, Liam, it’s so good to see you!”

She let out a quiet laugh at his strong embrace that bordered on painful.

“Sorry,” he said a bit bashfully as he let her go.

Kyrin waved off the apology and grinned up at him. The long six years since their last brief visit had transformed her brother from a rather awkward fourteen-year-old to a tall, muscular young man like Kaden. No more awkwardness there. He appeared strong and capable in his soldier’s uniform, yet the quality of innocence Kyrin always loved so much about him didn’t seem to live in harmony with the image he presented. Something about it caused her heart to ache, and she squeezed his arms with a gentle smile before turning to her eldest brother.

“Marcus.”

His embrace was more measured and careful, exactly as she expected of him.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she murmured near his ear.

She gave him a wide smile and blinked away the sting in her eyes. Four years had changed him too. Both her older brothers had become men, and Marcus looked very fine in his captain’s uniform. It fit him like a second skin, unlike Liam. He had the unmistakable air of someone with authority—calm, collected, and quietly confident, yet possessing a warm smile that could charm anyone. Kyrin loved the way his brown eyes lit up as they did now.

“Kyrin,” a deep, powerful voice boomed out.

Her gaze jumped to the tall, massive-bodied man behind her brothers. Though his deeply lined face and white hair gave away his years, his impressive stature still possessed the strength of youth. Marcus Veshiron, or the General as most called him, was impossible to overlook. He dwarfed Kyrin and looked down on most men, except for Liam and Kaden who neared his height, yet were still a bit shy of it.

Kyrin pushed a smile to her lips, though it took effort. “Grandfather.”

He stepped forward and took Kyrin into his arms, but the embrace lacked true warmth.

“Congratulations, my dear.
What an incredible honor you’ve brought to your family. You and Marcus both. At last, the Altair line is showing promise.”

The smile died on Kyrin’s face, and her molars fused together. She glanced at her father, but he shook his head dismissively.

Kyrin worked her jaw loose and forced the smile back to her lips as she turned to Marcus. “Father told me about your promotion to captain. Congratulations. I know how hard you’ve worked for it.”

Marcus gave her a look of appreciation, but their grandfather spoke first, beaming with pride.

“Indeed he has. Proving every day to be a natural leader.”

“Natural or not, I am just pleased to be where I am,” Marcus said.

“As you should be,” the General replied. He nodded at Kyrin. “Both of you.”

With another fake smile, Kyrin moved toward a nearby couch. The conversation would surely be long, and her heeled shoes already cramped her feet. If only they
weren’t buckled on, she could kick them off under her dress where no one would notice. “Why don’t we sit?”

She sank down onto the cushions with a prayer for patience. Her father sat to her left and Liam to the right while the other men found comfortable chairs facing them.

“So, tell me, Kyrin, you’ve met the emperor?” her grandfather questioned, his eyes alight.

“Yes. I dined with him and his family last night.”

“Impressive, isn’t he? A brilliant leader.”

Kyrin considered the question and measured each word carefully before speaking. “He’s certainly different than I was expecting.”

“How so?”

“He’s much more personable than I imagined. I wasn’t expecting one of such high authority to be so kind to me.”

Her grandfather chuckled at her—a condescending type of laugh that made her feel like a child. She quietly cleared her throat and brushed her hands across her skirt. Glancing at Kaden, she noticed how intensely he watched her. No doubt, she would have to explain her praise for Emperor Daican.

“A remarkable man.” The General’s voice hummed with admiration. “There is no greater honor than to serve him. I mean to see each of you reach prominent positions of service.”

Kyrin cringed inwardly and sensed Kaden bristling across from her. If this conversation went any further, things were liable to get ugly. She opened her mouth to change the topic, but her grandfather’s voice cut her off as he pinned icy gray eyes on her twin.

“Speaking of which, it has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions that your conduct at Tarvin Hall has been less than acceptable.”

Kaden’s face grew dark, and his eyes sparked. Kyrin closed her own for a moment. Trust everything to fall apart when the Altair men and the General came together. She begged Elôm to put a restraint on her brother’s mouth.

“You receive reports on me?” Kaden asked with an edged tone to match their
grandfather’s.

“Of course,” the General replied.

“I thought those reports went to the emperor’s aides only.”

The General sat up even straighter. “I make it my personal business to know how my grandchildren are progressing. And I’ll have you know, I’m far from pleased with your actions.”

Kaden barely managed a syllable before the General spoke over him. “All this disobedience, fighting, and disregard for authority is appalling.”

“Do you even know why I was fighting?” Kaden demanded.

Kyrin barely held her tongue from jumping to his defense. After all, most fights had come from defending her from cruel tormentors.

“It makes no difference. It’s shameful. Just look at your sister, only seventeen and already in service to the emperor. If you would dedicate yourself to excelling, there’s no telling where you could be.”

Marcus entered the conversation, and Kyrin grimaced. Kaden wouldn’t appreciate his input.

“With an opportunity like this, you could be promoted straight to lieutenant.”

Kaden glared at him. “And does it bother you that I could reach that goal without doing the work you’ve done?”

It was an unfair question, and Kyrin gave her twin a disapproving frown, but he didn’t notice her, his eyes still boring a hole in their older brother.

“No,” Marcus answered calmly. “It’s just a fact.”

“And he’s right,” the General cut in. “You could very well be promoted to such a position if you’d only apply yourself.”

Kaden snorted. “What if I don’t want to be promoted?”

The General’s eyes grew
huge as both he and Marcus looked at him aghast.

“Kaden,” William said in a low warning.

The conversation fast approached dangerous territory.

“How could you not want to be promoted?” Marcus asked. Someone as dedicated and ambitious as he was would certainly have a hard time wrapping his mind around that. “So few achieve such an honor.”

Kaden sent him another smoldering look. “Maybe all I want is to live off in the woods somewhere, away from all this.”

The General’s face turned a fiery red. It chagrined Kyrin to know she and Kaden had inherited a measure of his temper. If not, then this argument might never have reached this point. She implored Kaden with her eyes to put an end to it, but his gaze locked with their grandfather’s. She could almost see the flames flashing between them.

“What nonsense!” the General raged. “What utter foolishness. Our foremost duty is to our emperor and the gods. I’ll not have one of my grandchildren waste their life away in such a manner. You will attend to your studies and training, and there will be no more undermining authority. You will work, and work hard for your promotion, do you understand me?”

Kyrin silently begged her brother not to defy him. Not daring to breathe, her gaze passed uneasily between the two of them.
Please intervene, Elôm
. She let out a huge sigh when a knock sounded at the door right as Kaden opened his mouth to reply. The footman, completely unaware of the thick cloud of tension, stepped in and announced lunch.

Before anyone else could speak, Liam stood. “Good. I’m starved.”

His voice was light and eased the tension.

Kyrin rose after him. “Yes, let’s eat.”

She gave her brother a grateful smile for taking the first action in defusing the situation.

Kyrin and her father both made a determined effort to avoid any topics during the meal that would cause further friction between Kaden, Marcus, and the General. As much as Kyrin disliked being the center of attention, she brought the focus to herself whenever things took a bad turn. Even so, tempers remained high, and it wouldn’t have taken much to turn the situation into an all-out shouting match. Kyrin barely touched her food for fear of taking her focus away from keeping the peace. Following the meal, William suggested a walk through the gardens, and
Kyrin jumped at the idea. Fresh air and space would do them all good and hopefully cool their heads.

Outside, William, the General, and Marcus took the lead. Kaden followed a little behind his father, still brooding, while Kyrin and Liam walked a couple of paces back. The General dominated the conversation. After a few minutes of listening to him go on about one military thing or another, Kyrin hooked her arm around Liam’s and slowed. Soon they fell several yards behind the others.

She smiled up at him. “Might be the only chance the two of us get to talk in peace.”

Liam chuckled softly, his smile open and friendly. “It’s always interesting when you get a group together with strong opinions.”

Kyrin gave a short laugh of agreement. “So tell me about you. How have things been?”

Liam had always been the quiet one in the family, and so far, she hadn’t learned one personal thing about him since he’d arrived.

He shrugged. “All right, I guess. Pretty boring compared to your life. Drills, marching, eating, and sleeping. That’s about it.”

Kyrin gave a short laugh. “Sounds kind of nice, actually. Better than being primped and polished the moment you step out of bed in the morning and having to get used to all this.”

“It’s a lot simpler, I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t want this…but you’re a lot stronger than me.”

“Not really. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.”

“At least you and Marcus have made the General proud. He always feared we were a bit dim, especially me.”

Kyrin’s muscles bunched tight, but she said softly, “Struggling to read and write or not being socially inclined doesn’t make you dim, Liam. Grandfather has a very warped idea about things.”

She frowned at their grandfather’s daunting figure, fighting with her ire over how he caused Liam to see himself and feel inferior. She desired to love her grandfather, she truly did. But that relationship seemed doomed to failure even before she was born, beginning the moment her mother had married her father against the General’s wishes. He’d always dictated in the affairs of the upbringing of his daughter’s children, his highest goal apparently never to let any of them follow the shameful path of their deceased Grandfather Altair.

Kyrin shook her head and swallowed down the bitterness working its way up her throat. She looked up into Liam’s light brown eyes.

“You don’t let what Grandfather thinks bother you, do you?”

He may have been the older one, but her protective instincts were always strong with him.

Liam gave another half-hearted shrug. “Not really, anymore. I am what I am. No amount of self-pity will change that.”

“Well, I’m glad for who you are.” Kyrin cleared her emotion-clogged throat, afraid it would reveal how close she was to angry tears. “And anyway, from what I hear, you’re a heroic warrior yourself, and an excellent soldier.”

Though not a natural fighter, their father had told Kyrin that Liam had become a good swordsman. He never would work his way up in rank, however. He just didn’t have it in him.

Liam let out a quiet laugh, though one devoid of any mirth. “I just do as I’m told. It’s not
like I have much choice. The General is determined to see us all become good soldiers.”

“I noticed,”
Kyrin murmured, beginning to understand the intensity of Kaden’s feelings. She wanted to scream at their grandfather for forcing Liam to become something he obviously wasn’t cut out for. He was far too gentle to live the life of a hardened soldier.