Beloved (11 page)

Speak
.

“I am sorry,” Brenna said. “He has lost his ability to share thoughts, so it is difficult for us to communicate. Perhaps he wants you to share your story—why you are here with us.”

Nigel nodded.

“Oh.” Kira wasn’t sure what to say or how much to share. She didn’t know Brenna and didn’t know if she could trust her to keep her secrets. If word of her hiding out here got back to Kazedon, they could all be in danger.

“I was attacked by some men and Nigel saved me. I guess he thought it best if I come here. I really have no place else to go. I hope it’s all right.”

Nigel let out a deep sigh.
More
.

“That’s it.”

Brenna leaned forward and touched Kira’s arm. “You can trust us, Kira. If you choose to live with us, we need to know what we are up against and who might be after you. It is the only way we can protect you and ourselves. We all have secrets and eventually you will learn them and be able to protect us as well, but know this—we have all taken a vow of silence when it comes to our location and the people who dwell here. There is too much at risk if we are discovered. And if anyone goes against that vow, they are not welcome here.”

“So you are all running from something or someone?”
Or are criminals
? That’s what she really wanted to ask. She couldn’t help thinking the whole place looked like it was out of a Robin Hood movie. And if there was no meat to hunt here, maybe they had to steal to survive.

Brenna smiled. “In a way, yes. We are living on Pantherian land without permission. We could all be arrested for trespassing.” She looked at Nigel who nodded, encouraging her to say more. “Lairdor is our home because we are not welcome anywhere else. The Darkords who live here did not turn because they did anything wrong, but because they loved someone. The curse has no forgiveness and no variation or degrees of transgression. You are allowed to love one person and if that person dies at the hands of another, you are not allowed to love again. No exceptions.

“We choose not to live like that—without loving someone or being loved in return. We believe, in a way, that eventually love will cure us. Love is our strength and keeps us together. Love binds us as a family and regardless of the consequences, we refuse to live without it. We refuse to live without each other.”

Kira hesitated before asking the next question. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl. “Are you a . . . Darkord?”

“No.” She looked at Nigel and stroked his arm. “I choose to be here because I refuse to give up my family.”

“What do you mean?”

“When a Royal turns, he is exiled and there is no place that will allow him to live peacefully. The small Darkord camp near Kazedon is filled with heathens. They do King Tyrius’ dirty work and get nothing but a small piece of land to live on in exchange. But not all Darkords are willing to live that way. They want to live in peace and retain their dignity. They want to stay with their loved ones and Lairdor is the only place that can happen.”

Kira thought about that for a moment. Nigel had made it very clear that even a good Darkord like himself could flip at any time. So did Octavion. The proof was Zerek—though she couldn’t imagine him living peacefully in Lairdor or anywhere else for that matter. He was a monster that deserved to be exiled and certainly didn’t deserve to be loved.

Brenna blew out half the candles and drew a pelt up over Nigel’s legs. “You rest while I show Kira around. I will send Blayde in to get you before dark.”

She turned to stand and he gently touched her shoulder. She turned back and their eyes met, and for the first time Kira could truly read Nigel. He didn’t need his voice or his hands to express his gratitude and love for Brenna. The warmth in his gaze said it all.

Brenna took his hand off her shoulder and held it between her palms. “You have been missed, cousin. Lairdor needs your leadership to keep it together—to give us hope.” She lowered his hand at his side and patted it. “Rest.”

His leadership?
For what it was worth, that knowledge helped her understand his sense of loyalty to her and why he felt the need to be her guardian. He took care of his people and would do anything to protect them.

Kira was one of those people now—a misfit, as Jaya put it. That term fit her better than anything else had in her life. She hadn’t belonged with her mother, nor in Xantara and she certainly didn’t qualify to be their future queen. She’d never felt she belonged anywhere. She hoped she’d finally found a place where she could fit in.

Kira followed Brenna out into the clearing where Blayde waited with Mahli. Three young children were petting her and showing her more attention than she’d had . . . well, ever. As much as she seemed to enjoy it, one glance at Kira sent her running full speed toward her. Kira dropped to her knees and embraced the cub. Mahli rolled over on her back and squirmed until Kira scratched her belly.

“Where have you been, little girl?”

Blayde stood a few feet away handing three large bundles to a handful of women who seemed extremely eager to receive them. They thanked him, then wandered off in the same direction together. He brushed his hands together, then moved closer to Kira and Mahli.

“She was hungry. I hope you do not mind. I thought your cub should hunt before nightfall. It will keep her from craving while we sleep.”

“I don’t mind her hunting with you, but I would like to know next time. She has a tendency to wander off and I don’t want to worry about her.” Kira stood to avoid having to look up at him, but it didn’t help. He still towered over her five foot, six frame.

Blayde smirked. “I would have told you this time, but you were a little incapacitated. Are you feeling better?”

“I feel fine. A little warning in the future might help, though. You didn’t give me a chance to close my eyes when you brought me here.”

His smirk faded to a scowl. “Your hesitation could mean your life or the life of another.”

“I realize that, but you could have at least warned me to close my eyes. How long could that have taken?” This guy had a serious ego problem, not to mention being arrogant. She propped her hands on her hips. “And furthermore, I wasn’t in any danger at that moment. If I was, you wouldn’t have left me alone.”

He huffed the air out of his lungs. “I assumed you were strong and could protect yourself, but if a simple leap makes you weak in the knees, perhaps you could use some training.”

Kira could feel the Royal blood pulsing through her veins and her eyes begin to burn cold. She lowered her right hand to rest on the handle of her knife. “I can protect myself just fine.”

Blayde moved toward her so swiftly, she didn’t have time to respond. One second he was insulting her and the next he held her knife in his hand. She grabbed at her side, then looked down at the empty scabbard.

“How did you do that?” She tried to take her knife back, but he disappeared and reappeared an instant later at her side, the knife slid back into its place.

Blayde leaned closer and whispered. “Like I said . . . you need training.”

But what he didn’t know was the affect Octavion’s blood had on her when she was angry. An image popped into her head of the battle with Zerek and Cael back in the barn and how she’d channeled the last of the Crystor’s powers into the tips of her fingers. Without even thinking, she reached out and spread her fingers across his chest. She turned to face him and mimicked the smirk she saw on his face.

“And you need to learn your manners.” An electric spark ran down her arm and into her hand, escaping from her fingertips. Blayde’s eyes widened and his body tensed a split second before he crumpled to the ground, his chest and stomach muscles convulsing. He grabbed at his chest, his hands shaking like a scared child. Kira folded her ice-cold fingers into her palms to warm them.

Brenna had been watching their exchange while speaking to the same children that played with Mahli. She immediately went to Blayde’s side, looking up at Kira like she’d grown horns out of the top of her head.

“What did you do?”

“We were just exchanging our best moves for protecting ourselves. It was nothing, really. He’ll be fine.” She offered her hand to help Blayde up off the ground. “Right?”

Blayde waved her hand away while trying to control the lingering muscle spasms. “Umm, r . . . right.” He sat there for a few more seconds before attempting to stand.

Brenna looked them both over and then seemed to understand what had happened—most likely because Blayde was sharing his thoughts with her. She helped him up, then folded her arms across her chest and looked him directly in the eyes.

“I agree with you, brother. I think training Kira is a great idea and I also think you are the right one to do it.”

Blayde almost choked on his own spit. “Not on your life. I would rather be ripped to shreds by a Jr—”

“Blayde!” Brenna barked. “Regardless of Kira’s level of training or talents, she must learn our ways and know what she is up against out here. There is no better person than you to do that. Unless you feel your
own
training inadequate.” She said the last part with a smirk on her face.

Kira bit her lip and tried not to laugh. Truth was, she did need training. She’d lost count of how many times she’d asked Octavion to teach her how to fight and he’d always refused. And the mini-lesson Altaria gave her back home was so long ago she barely remembered it. Surely she could put up with this boys arrogance long enough to learn from his expertise.

“Great idea,” Kira said. “And if he lacks in any areas, like shooting a bow, I can teach him.” She knew that would sting worse than being zapped by her fingers and she was right.

“Ha! There is nothing you could teach me that I do not already master.”

Brenna patted him on the shoulder. “Good. You can start tomorrow morning at sunrise. Until then, you need to call everyone in, then help Nigel to the clearing so we can divide up the take for today.”

“The take?” Kira asked, fending off one last glare from Blayde.

“We do things differently here. Lairdor is isolated and we want to keep our existence a secret so we cannot invite others in to trade with us, nor can we risk letting a commoner out to travel to a nearby village. If someone saw them entering the B’Kari forest they could be followed, putting us all at risk.

“During the day, those who are Royals or Darkords who still have the ability to travel with their minds, spread out across the countryside and skim food from the farmers’ fields and shopkeepers. It’s the only way we have to survive here. We cannot hunt or bring fresh meat here because the blood will attract Jraks, and there are only a few berry bushes and they do not produce enough fruit to feed us all.”

“So you steal from the farmers and villagers?” She remembered Octavion admitting to the same thing when back on Black Creek Mountain. Perhaps it was acceptable in this world.

Brenna let out a deep sigh. “We try not to take the quality foods that a merchant can sell. We pick overripe fruit; take stale bread, that sort of thing. But, yes, it is stealing. And we must be very careful not to get caught. Which is why only the Royals are allowed to gather food. They can be in and out quickly without being noticed.”

“I understand.” Though she hated the thought of relying on others like that for the only food brought into the Lairdor camp. “Do you store some of it in case there is a day when less food can be gathered?”

“No. Mostly because there is barely enough brought in to keep us alive.”

“Well, maybe we could eat the Jraks.” Kira could see herself shooting a few dozen of the creatures with her bow. The image of them devouring that helpless animal made a shiver run up the length of her spine.

“Their meat is too tough and could make us sick. Besides, they eat their own, so even the blood of one Jrak would lure the others in.”

The women who had taken the bundles from Blayde earlier, returned with several woven baskets. They placed them on a large log that had been halved lengthways, making one side flat. It balanced between two stumps and served as a table of sorts, though there were no chairs or stools to sit on.