Island Shifters: Book 03 - An Oath of the Children (16 page)

“Thank you, Gregor.”
The
three children filed in,
leaving their own guards
outside with Gregor. Jain made his way over to Maks,
and Kellan could hear them having a conversation but
tuned it out. Instead, he
turned to the expectant faces of his brother and friends. Was he being paranoid?
He
once again
caught a glimpse out the window of the
tips of the
Ellvinian
masts.
No. He was not. “I want us to stick together tonight,” he told them. “Keep an eye on the Ellvinians and let me know
if anything out of the ordinary happens.”

“You mean like everyone bowing and scraping to them, their
entire fleet
now
moored
at our doorstep, and Kirby Nash turning back the
three
hundred soldiers he ordered to Northfort?
That out of the ordinary?”
Kane asked.

“What?”
Kellan
shouted. “He turned them back?”

Kane
went to the window and looked out.
“Not only that, there is not a single Iserlohn soldier left in Northfort.”

“What? That’s
impossible, Kane!”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“What are we going to do?” Jala asked.

Kellan looked
down
at
the two girls and an overwhelming
desire to protect them
coursed through his body. Even though
Jala was older than him by three years, the dominance of his earthshifting made him a natural born leader and it was purely instinctual
for him
to take control.

He
took Jala’s hands in his.
“Do not let Izzy out of your sight tonight.” He squeezed tightly. “Promise me that.”

“I promise.”

Despite the age difference, the two girls were the same height and they
looped their arms together.

Kane
turned from the window. “Galas are not for me.
I
am going to
go
to the waterfront
to see what I can find out.
You would be surprised
by
what can
be
learned
by
hanging in the right shadows.”

“Take Haiden,” Kellan said.

He shook his head. “No, but I will take Jain.”

Kellan
was not entirely sure if he liked the idea of his brother out there alone, but had no other choice. Kane was old enough to make his own decisions.
“All right, but take care, brother.”

Kane nodded and slipped out
of
the door with Jain.

Kellan
held his elbows out to Jala and Izzy. “I guess it is
up to us, then.
If you will have me, I would be honored to escort you
lovely ladies
to the
mayor’s gala.”

The girls
took his arms and they exited the room
out
into the large balconied hallway.
As the ranking authority in Northfort,
Lars Kingsley’s
estate was the largest in the waterfront city and included at least
thirty
guest chambers, a formal ballroom and servant quarters that
were
home
to
over
one
hundred
people.

Kellan
glanced over the railing at the antechamber below
and skipped a step in horror.
He had seen the ships, but the sight of the
party below
spilling over with Ellvinians
made his mouth go dry.

Chandal and Samara requested rooms for
a
small personal entourage, but there had to be a few hundred Ellvinians
downstairs
at the gala.

“Demon’s breath,” Jala swore, and at that moment, Kellan had never felt so afraid, so young, and so
ill equipped
to handle a situation. Intuitively, he knew the island was in danger, but his feelings
were at odd with the smiles and laughs of the Massans interspersed among the Ellvinians. Kirby Nash, speaking to an Ellvinian male, waved up at him with a broad smile on his face. Kirby was Captain of the Royal Guard. Diligent,
mistrustful, and
guarded
were
just
a few of the
words he could use to describe
the Saber, so if Kirby
was smiling and
at ease, why did Kellan
still
feel
such
an
overriding
sense
of doom?

“Remember what I said,” he told Jala. “Stay together and do not let Izzy out of your sight.”

Jala nodded and they descended the stairs as their names were announced to the crowd.

Garland and
candlelight decorated the antechamber and
ballroom beyond.
The smells of roasting venison and sweet pies drifted enticingly through the room causing Kellan to realize just how long it had been since he had last eaten.
The strains of a buoyant lilt from a
pan flute accompanied the soulful timbre of a minstrel as he sang of love and romance, and Kellan wondered when the mayor’s servants had time to put together such a lavish fete.

He
clutched
Jala and Izzy a bit closer
as he
stepped off the stairs and
navigated the crowd, anxious now
to find Kirby
and find out
why he turned back the Iserlohn soldiers.

Every time he thought he spotted the blond curls among the sea of black, an Ellvinian stepped in his way to block his path forward and he lost sight of the Saber Captain.
Kellan growled in frustration when another tall guest appeared out of nowhere. “Good evening, Prince,”
the dark Elf greeted and leaned in close to Kellan.

Kellan automatically
moved
back.
As a Prince, he
was not used to people being this close to his person.
“Good evening,” he replied uneasily.

The Ellvinian
walked
past and Kellan could have sworn the
Elf
smelled the back of his head.

“Why do I suddenly feel like a meal?” Jala asked,
voicing
his unspoken thoughts.

“Ah, here she is now!”
a loud voice announced to the
gathering.

Kellan turned.

Lady
Samara, dressed
in
her native
white
garment—except
that
this one was
cut down to her naval—descended
the stairs
on the arm of
the Ellvinian Ship
Captain, Chandal.

An
Ellvinian
walked by and whispered in his ear.
“You will have eyes for no one
but
Samara this evening.”

“What…?”

On the other side, another
hushed voice said, “Your heart races for the Lady Samara.”

Kellan looked back at the Ellvinian woman descending the stairs and
a slow smile spread over his features.
Extricating
himself from the girls, he
started toward the lovely creature that
filled so many of his thoughts of late. He heard Jala complain, but ignored her protests,
his
attention now all on the
dark-haired beauty of his dreams.

* * * * *

“Where is he going?” Jala demanded with her hands on her hips. “He just warned us to stick together and off he goes!”

“I am sure he will not be long,” Izzy said, trying to sound reassuring but failing miserably.

“How could he just leave us like this? And, where did all these Ellvinians come from?”
Jala shook her head. “Let’s find Dallin and Elon. It is not like them to leave us among so many strangers.” She suddenly felt very exposed as black eyes leered down at
her
from every direction.

Recalling Kellan’s last words to her, Jala grabbed Izzy’s hand and held on
firmly. Even though Kellan seemed to have deserted them, she had promised she would not let go of Izzy’s hand, and she intended to fulfill that
promise.

One of the Ellvinians reached out and touched her hair, and she wrenched away from him.
His mocking laughter infuriated her.
How dare these visitors take such liberty? In a panic now, she twisted her head, but it was impossible to see anything. Where was Dallin Storm? Her guard had followed her down the stairs, she was sure of it. And, Ebon Aubry, the Elven Gladewatcher?
That woman would never leave Izzy
alone.

Jala spun frantically. Everywhere she turned a black-haired Elf blocked her way.

“I don’t like this,” Izzy said, her voice cracking in fear.

“Me, either.” She looked over at her
young
friend who
reminded her of a
delicate white flower in a
dark,
dense forest.
Jala
smiled and cupped her face. “I will not let anything happen to you. Just do not let go of my hand. We will go find Kellan or at least Dallin and Elon.”

Izzy nodded
and
pressed her body closer. Jala pushed
their way through the crowd. She just needed to find a location to see over the heads of the
Elves so she could
find their protectors.
In all likelihood,
Dallin was just as
earnestly
looking for her as she was him. She could almost hear
his
lecture
in her mind
and for once, she would not complain.

Still,
try as she might to convince herself that she and Dallin were innocently separated,
the
blatant facts
were
difficult to ignore. Her protector
would never
allow her to
disappear into a crowd. Never.
That
could only mean
that her dear
Dallin
was
most likely
incapacitated in some way.

She managed to drag Izzy to the far end of the ballroom
when she
spotted one of the mayor’s servants
winding her way through the crowd while
balancing a tray. Jala
quickly ran to her. “Pardon
me.”

The girl immediately dropped into a curtsy. “Yes, Your Graces.”

“I was wondering if you have seen Prince Kellan.”

The girl shook her head, obviously frazzled with all of the visitors. “No, Your Grace.”

She did not bother to ask about Dallin or Elon, sure that the girl would not even know who they were.

“Thank you,” she said,
and the girl scurried off.

Jala
made her way back to the corner, but two Ellvinian males in particular continued to eye their progress.
She almost called forth a ball of fire just to wipe the smirks from their dark faces. Dark faces that
held dark intent, she was sure of it.

“I have had enough of this. We should go back to our rooms,” she declared and Izzy quickly agreed.

Suddenly, a tall shadow appeared before her
and she was not surprised to see one of the smirking Elves.

“Why, what do we have here?”
he asked
impudently
and reached out to touch
Izzy’s hair. “I have never seen a white-haired Elf before. You are very beautiful.”

“Don’t touch her,” Jala hissed, pulling Izzy behind her. She glared up at the tall Elf and swallowed, reminding herself that she was safe, that this man was the guest
here
and help was just a shout or a summons away. She
put her arm around Izzy’s waist and
tried to walk around the man.

He stepped in front of them again.

“Please leave us or I will scream,” she threatened, craning her neck to look up at him
with authority.

His black eyes grabbed a hold of hers and did not let go. A pure and commanding song drifted from his mouth. “You were just going to return to your room.”

“No, I…my, what a lovely song,” she commented.