New Roots (Fate's Intent Book 8) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Darius

Hours passed and the sky would show light soon.

I got up and thought it was a good time to relieve Troy from his post. I walked quietly out with a yawn and addressed him. “All right. I’m up. You should try getting some sleep.” No one replied and there wasn’t a sound. I rubbed my eyes as I took a few more steps out and looked around. I saw no one. “Troy? Hey, Troy!” Still no answer. I walked over to the fire and saw footprints around it. All different sizes that weren’t there last night. “Troy?” I walked around a little more and found the sheath to Troy’s sword, empty. I picked it up and looked around again but still saw nothing. “Troy!”

I took a few more steps away from the light of the fire and stepped on something that made a sound under my foot. I stepped back to look and it was Troy’s sword.

My eyes got wide and I bent down to it. “No. He wouldn’t go anywhere without this.” I picked it up in my hands and looked around again. “Troy!”

Still no answer. My panicked voice echoed in the dark and I knew something had to be wrong.

“Is there a reason for the yelling?” Zayden asked. “You’ll wake everyone up.”

“Yeah. We have a serious problem.”

I stepped closer so Zayden could see Troy’s sword in my hand. “Where’s Troy?”

“I don’t know.”

Rift sniffed the ground all around him and Zayden walked to me to take Troy’s weapon. “Where did you get this?”

“Over there. It was already out of its sheath.”

“But he never takes it out unless he really has to use it.”

“I know and look.” I dragged him over to the campfire and pointed to the ground.

Zayden bent down and outlined the imprints in the ground with his fingers. “Footprints.”

“And a lot of them. I don’t think Troy is here. He couldn’t be.”

“They took him.” Zayden rose to his feet and looked to the south with black eyes. “But I don’t feel anything either. They have to be hours ahead of us by now.”

“But why just him? Why not the rest of us?”

“He was alone and vulnerable. You know bandits go for people like that to trade for money.”

“Then our plan?”

“Our trip is now being put on hold. We have to get back to the city.”

“But they took him farther south so that’s the way we should be going.”

“Yes, but we’ve never examined much of that land because of the bandits. We’ve just passed through a few times. We’ll need detailed maps like we’ve used on our trip to Lecca. We have to find where their hideout is in order to get him out.”

“And what if he’s already dead?”

Zayden paused and looked south like he didn’t want it to be true. “He’s not. I know he’s not. We’re going after him. Rift, let’s go.”

He put Troy’s sword back in its sheath and we prepared for the long journey ahead of us. We would get him back—whatever it took.

Chapter 4

Izin

It was finally dinnertime and the girls had joined us in the dining hall but there was a long period of silence. Adele would continuously look up across the table at Zayden’s empty chair and it wasn’t long before someone else noticed her shifting eyes and said something.

“Continuing to look there won’t make him just appear.” Kathryn smiled.

“I know. I just miss him.”

“It won’t seem so long.” I assured her.

At the very moment I ended my breath with the last word, Zayden appeared standing behind his chair, taking deep breaths.

“Wow. That was quick.” Ruby muttered.

“Zayden!” Adele wanted to stand up but Kathryn just put up her hand and shook her head for her not to and turned her attention to Zayden.

“What are you doing back?” I asked, displeased of whatever this was.

Zayden calmed his breaths enough to address me. “Father, we need to talk.”

“Okay.”

“In private.”

My eyes looked around at the worried faces at the table and reset back on Zayden. “Conference room.”

Zayden nodded as I started to get up and he finally looked across the table at Adele. “Hey, Love.” He sped around it and appeared behind her, kissing her head.

“What’s going on?”

“We’ll talk later.” He walked normally out with me the rest of the way and we went into the conference room where Darius and his dog was waiting for us.

“What is this about?” I asked. “Where’s Troy?”

Zayden and Darius looked at each other and Darius held out Troy’s sword so I could see it. “That’s why we’re here.”

“What happened?”

“We don’t really know.” Zayden said. “We settled for the night, Troy took first watch, Darius got up hours later to take second but he was gone.”

“Where?”

“West. Bandit country.”

I sighed and started pacing. “Damn it. Those ungoverned insects. What do you think the chances are that he’s still alive?”

“He is.” Zayden said. “He has to be. He’s worth more alive.”

“To who?”

They both seemed unsure.

“Perhaps word hasn’t reached the rogue bandits about peace.” Darius said. “Their plan is probably to turn them over to an enemy country.”

“Well, if it’s Kalu, we have nothing to worry about.”

“But we can’t take that risk.” Zayden replied. “We don’t really know what their plan is. That’s just a guess.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“Father, we have to go after him.”

Just by the way he was standing and breathing, I didn’t quite think so yet. “You are in no shape to go tonight. Rest. Take the maps and anything else you need in the morning.”

“Father, there’s no time to—”

“You can barely stand here on your feet! Rest tonight and leave first thing in the morning.”

“I think he’s right, Zayden.” Darius said. “You ran hard to get here.”

Zayden sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “All right. Fine but what are we supposed to tell the others.”

“The truth?” I suggested.

“I don’t think Jaylyn will be able to take the truth.”

“No. What she won’t be able to take is the chance that Troy doesn’t make it back and you having to explain that you knew what was going on the whole time and didn’t tell her.”

“He’s kind of got you there.” Darius replied. “I think we do have to tell her.”

“All she’ll have to do is see this and know.” Zayden said as he took Troy’s sword out of Darius’s hands.

“You should give her the details that you know. You don’t want her to automatically assume that he’s dead.”

“Though we don’t know whether that’s actually true?” Darius asked.

“You’re obviously not going to tell her that. She’ll need to hear that you’re going after him and will bring him back.”

“Should we do this now then?”

“Dinner was just about over. I’m sure they’re waiting to see you.”

“We should talk to her alone. I don’t really want to give her the news with an audience. Can you send them upstairs and just tell them that we’ll be right up? We have to get our stuff or something.”

“Of course I can. I’ll let you know when she’s safely alone.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter 5

Zayden

My father left and we stayed behind to face this burden on our shoulders.

“This is not going to be easy to see.” Darius muttered.

“No. It’s not or to say for that matter.”

“I just hope she doesn’t do anything too irrational.”

“She’ll probably be too upset to want to leave the room until she sees him again.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

We waited until my father came back in with the okay to see her and we started upstairs. We walked down the long hall with our eyes on her door and finally stopped in front of it.

“Should we just go in?” Darius asked.

“She’s expecting Troy. That’s what he would do.” I brought my hand up to the door and knocked.

It didn’t take long for Jaylyn to open it. “Oh, hey, guys. Let me guess. Either you injured yourselves and need me to heal it so you can painlessly sleep with your wives or you’re really stupid and forgot where your room was.”

I tried getting out a laugh but it turned out to be more fake than real. “I wish both of those were true but we actually need to talk to you.”

Jaylyn’s once happy smile to our presence faded and she tried looking around us. “Where’s Troy?”

“Can we come in?” Darius asked.

She was looking a little confused to hide her worry and opened the door a little wider. “I guess as long as you tell me where he is? Did you eat before you came up?”

“No.” We stepped through the door and I tried to do this as gently as possible. “We don’t actually, with a hundred percent certainty, know where he is.”

Jaylyn took a slow step back. “Wha—what do you mean?”

“This is all we found.” I took Troy’s sword out from behind my back and Jaylyn quickly turned around with a light gasp to hide her face.

We looked at each other and knew this wasn’t going to go well but there was more. We stepped closer to her and tried to explain while giving her a little comfort.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Darius said.

“What happened to him?”

We looked at each other again and I took a step closer within arm’s reach. “He was taken.” Jaylyn collapsed down onto the floor and her tears came to her. “But it’s all right.” I knelt down. “He’s alive and we’re going to get him back.”

Jaylyn sniffled while wiping her eyes like she was trying to suck it all in and looked over. “When do we leave?”

“Oh, no.” Darius stepped up on the other side of her and kneeled down too. “You are not coming with us.”

“But he could be hurt! He needs me! You can’t ask me to stay here while he could be dying! Zayden, please!”

“We’re not asking you, Jaylyn. It’s too dangerous for you to go.”

“I’m an Assassin. Since when did I become this helpless?”

“You know when.”

“You think I care about that right now?”

“Troy will.” Darius said. “He’s not going to want you to risk your safety because of him.”

“I don’t care about that either!”

“Jaylyn, you won’t have to worry about a thing.” I said. “We’re leaving in the morning and you’re going to do your job by staying here and keeping a healthy environment for that baby of yours.”

She sighed as she got to her feet. “Get out.” She walked around her bed and covered herself up completely while Darius and I got to our feet with a sigh of our own.

“Jaylyn, don’t be like this. We’re going to come back with him and when we do, we’re staying here.”

“Yeah. Our trip has been canceled for this year.”

Jaylyn didn’t say anything and I looked over at Darius with a nod.

Darius started to back away and I made one last attempt at comforting her with a hand on her side. “We’ll be back with him before you know it.”

Chapter 6

Jaylyn

My body trembled from all the possibilities but I waited silently and still while they slowly made their way out of the room.

The moment the door closed, I took the blankets off my head and looked towards it. “Not before me you’re not.”

I threw the covers off me completely and got out of bed. After finding everything I needed and getting dressed in my cold weather mission outfit, my eyes found the door and I threw my jacket on the back of a chair and jumped back into bed, covering myself up completely just in time.

The door slowly opened and Adele stepped in. “Jaylyn?” She walked over and sat next to me. “Hey, they’ll bring him back. You know they will.”

I stayed quiet to make it seem like I was sleeping or too upset to talk. I didn’t want Adele to catch me in my mission outfit. She would immediately know what I was up to.

“I know you’re upset but you have to have faith in their friendship because it’s a lot like ours. They won’t give up on him. He’ll come back.” There was another pause and I kept quiet. “Well, I guess that’s what I came in to say. Get some rest. We’ll take this a day at a time. We’re going to bed too. Zayden’s pretty tired from the run. He’ll need his rest so they can get to Troy quickly. Goodnight.” She got up from my side and walked out of the room.

I waited a few seconds and made sure Adele returned to her room by finding the direction in which she was walking using my gift.

The moment she was securely inside, I threw the covers off me again with a heavy breath. “Woo! It was getting hot in there. I’m almost ready.”

I started finishing my outfit by strapping my ring blades to my thighs and putting on my jacket. I even attached the bow and quiver to my back that had belonged to Kole in case it would be of some use.

It took me just a little while to get everything I needed in order like fixing my bed so it looked like I was still in it and I noticed it was getting late.

“Okay. I just need one more thing.” I looked towards the door with a heavy sigh. “I really hope they’re asleep.” I snuck out of the room and the palace was still with silence.

I tiptoed down the hall passed Darius’s door and came to Zayden’s at the corner. I held my breath while I slowly and carefully turned the door knob. The door opened and I did my best to push it open quietly too.

Zayden and Adele were sleeping, holding each other close and Rift was curled up on a chair. I really didn’t want him to wake and alert Zayden so I snuck in a little farther to look around. Troy’s sword was sitting on Zayden’s night stand and was exactly what I came for. I quietly walked over and reached for it.

Zayden started to move and I quickly paused, holding my breath. He stopped and I picked up Troy’s sword, grasping it tightly in my hands and looking towards the bed. “You have to understand. This is something I have to do.” I looked around and pulled a white rose out of a nearby vase and set it down in place of Troy’s sword. “Good-bye.”

I walked out and started my journey in search for Troy. I had one thing on my side, I could feel his presence. All I had to do was find it. Troy told me the route they take before he left and that’s where I would start.