Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy)
Read Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) Online
Authors: Jami Montgomery
Knight’s End
Jami Montgomery
All characters and events in this work are purely fictional and are not meant as actual persons or events. Any resemblance to real persons or events is accidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Jami Montgomery, Attention: Permission, at
[email protected]
.
This book was originally published by Dreams Come True Publishing as an ebook.
Copyright © 2012 by Jami Montgomery
All rights reserved. Published by Dreams Come True Publishing.
Cover design by Laura Lawrence
First Printing, April 2012.
Dedication
There are so many people whom I could thank for making this book a possibility. First off, I have to thank the community of friends I found during my time at inkpop. The kind words, the helpful suggestions, and the support I found there has been unmatched by everything else in my life, and without them, this boo
k would not be where it is now.
I wish I could thank everyone personally, but a few names will have to do. To my mom, Tina Montgomery, for always supporting me, letting me read things to her that I loved or wasn’t sure about, and always offering opinions when I needed them (and even when I didn’t). Thank you for always believing in me, believing I would get there, and letting me try crazy things to make it.
To my sister, Megan Montgomery, for reading the first draft of Knight’s End and for doing all the right things in all the right places. You cried when I wanted someone to be sad and laughed when I tried to be funny. For that, I am eternally grateful.
To Mandy Springer, for going through the entire novel with me and making sure my historical aspect was accurate, as well as letting me know my sentence structure was horrible, thank you so much. Without you, my characters would probably be eating hot dogs in Tahiti,
and I can’t thank you enough.
To the people I haven’t mentioned here, you know who you are. Thank you for sticking with me when this book was really (really) rough and not worthy of eyes. Thank you for making suggestions, pointing out my grammar errors, and letting me know which characters needed work and which were fine. Thank you for following this book from rough draft to finished and printed. Without you, Aston and Jade would just be characters on a computer screen, sitting down waiting for me to make their lives worth something like all of you have done to mine. I can never thank my readers, my friends, or my family enough for all they’ve done for me. But this book is my attempt at telling everyone just how
much I love and appreciate them.
I hope you enjoy this story I have to tell. Happy reading.
Jami Montgomery
Table of Contents
83
Adrenaline had gotten him this far. Now that he was here, the rush was leaving, fear taking its place. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his mind raced.
I can’t let anyone see me,
Ernst thought, pushing a stray lock of ebony hair out of his eyes.
They won’t understand.
He continued down the darkened
palace
corridor, the moonlight filtering through the tall windows l
ighting his way as he stalked through the shadows. The plush runner b
eneath his feet softened his footsteps, almost completely masking them as he passed pain
ting after painting on the grey
stone walls. Turning right at the end of the corridor, he followed the map he’d laid out in his head earlier that evening. Past three mor
e doors, he found the one he’d been
looking for.
The dark oak door with torches on either side looked like every other; the rose engraved into the wood showed it for what it really was. This room held royalty. Inside, he knew it would be clean and organized. That was how Prince Orion liked his room, kempt with no indication of his dishonorable habits. The prince liked to frequent Azazel’s brothels, taking as many women as he wanted. He was
oft
violent with his women. The ones who didn’t cooperate and complained ended up missing, then dead.
Ernst curled his lip in disgust.
You can do this, Ernst. You’ve killed plenty of men in battle. Why should this one life be any different?
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he
carefully
pushed the door open. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, letting it click
softly into place. A quick look over his shoulder showed him that nobody had stirred.
Silently
, Ernst crept
to the bed
, the light from a candle on the bedside table guiding him. Prince Orion rested
there, nestled under the blankets. Wavy red hair
was strewn across his pillow. H
is r
ight arm crossed over his chest, his left arm
trapped
underneath the woman in bed beside him. She wasn’t important to Ernst; she was nothing more than a woman Orion had coaxed off the streets. The woman would be in for a surprise in the morning.
Ernst pulled his ruby-hilted dagger from his belt, nearly d
ropping it from his sweaty grip.
His father had given the dagger to him as a gift whe
n he’d killed his first stag.
Now, Ernst
intended to complete
a different kind of hunt, one that wouldn’t make his father proud. The clock struck midnight, chiming
twelve
times, echoing throughout the palace.
Don’t think about it. Just do it.
Ernst set the blade against Orion’s throat. He held his breath and drug the dagger against the prince’s neck, digging into the soft flesh. He left one long, narrow cut, jumping back as bloo
d sprayed from the woun
d before settling into a steady, pulsing
flow.
His heart leapt into his throat when Orion’s brown eyes flashed open, lockin
g on his own emerald ones. The prince
let out a gargled cry before his life left him, his eyes staring at the ceiling.
That was all Ernst could take.
Time to leave.
Ernst took off out the door, no longer worrying about staying hidden. He momentarily tripped over the outstretched leg of a guard he had killed earlier, but he caught his balance and continued through the palace. He heard a woman
’s
scream and knew Orion’s woman had awoken. Cursing under his breath, Ernst continued down the hall, momentarily pressing
himself behind thick curtains as soldiers stormed toward the prince’s room.
As soon as the soldiers had vanished down the corridor, he continued his escape. He took a sharp left at the end of the hall and ran into one of King Damien’s soldiers. The man muttered a quick apology before noting the blood covered dagger still clutched in Ernst’s hand. He reached to draw his sword, but before he could call for help, Ernst shoved the man against the stone wall behind him, crushing his palm against the knight’s throat. He thrust his dagger under the man’s ribcage, watched his eyes dim, and let him drop to the ground.
The obstacle out of his way, Ernst exited through the palace doors and
ran to the stables,
careful to stay hidden in the trees’ shadows and avoid patches of moonlight. He reached the stable and mounted his horse,
grateful that he’d tacked
him before going to Orion’s room. He quickly steered the palfrey
out the open palace gates. King Damien always kept them open, in case anyone needed aid in the middle of the night.
After tonight’s events, that would probably change.
The murderer made it into the forest before he had to stop and heave. He jumped off his horse just as his stomach twisted, emptying itself of its contents. Seeing men die in battle was natural
for him
. Murdering a man
in his bed was more than he could handle. When he
finished
retching, Ernst wiped the back of his
hand across his mouth. If he
truly
planned
to carry out his mission, he would need to gain a stronger stomach.
These men deserve their fate. They are cruel men in positions of power, men who should be changing the world instead of making it worse. I’m the only one who can get rid of them. I’m the only one who isn’t afraid of them.
Ernst climbed back on his horse, turning the animal toward home. Prince Orion’s death
would bring chaos to the five adjoining kingdoms. He wanted to make sure he was home before accusations started flowing freely from the mouths of the monarchs.
“Every new beginning comes from
some other beginning’s end.”
- Seneca -
Six Months Later
He’d never been summoned without reason before.
Aston was on his way to a meeting with King Donn. As he walked through the empty corridor, his nerves danced. His cobalt eyes rested lightly on bronze suits of armor lining the walls before darting away agai
n. Thick strands of dusty blond hair
stuck to his face as he sweat
,
and he kept his fists clenched at his side.