New Roots (Fate's Intent Book 8) (7 page)

“Yeah. I will.”

“Don’t worry about this.”

“Why worry?” I walked passed them, leaving the bathhouse. “It’s already over.”

It was true and I didn’t need to stay around for their sympathy. I went to my room and Jaylyn was still sleeping. I put clean clothes on, including a shirt to cover my wounds and got into bed with her but I didn’t lay there long before she woke with a gasp.

“What?”

“Are you okay? I feel something wrong.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Jaylyn rolled to me and put her hand on the bandages on my chest. “What is that?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Let me see.”

She tried to lift up my shirt but I stopped her. “Jaylyn, really. It’s nothing.”

“Just let me see it!” I sighed and let her continued. “What happened to you?”

“I had to.”

“What? The mark? I thought Adele was going to fix it for you.”

I didn’t like to have to do this again but with her it was different. I took her hand off me and held it in mine. “Jaylyn, that’s not me anymore.”

“What’s not?”

“I had to remove what’s left of the mark because I am no longer a Great Seni Fighter.”

“What?! But why?”

“It wasn’t my choice but it was my fault. Everything that happened to me was my fault and I must be punished for it.”

“Oh, Troy. That’s awful. Let me heal it for you.”

“No! I have to endure this. It’s part of it.”

“It shouldn’t be.”

“Jaylyn, please. You cannot heal it. Say you won’t.”

“I—I—I don’t like this.”

“I know you don’t but I have to do this.”

I hoped she would at least try to understand and did after looking in my eyes. “Okay. I won’t.”

“Come here.” I held my arm out to her and she came closer, laying her head on my right shoulder away from my wounds. “Rest. I need to get some too.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

Jaylyn snuggled her head up against me and I knew she tried to keep from crying by her voice. “I love you too and I’m glad you’re home.”

“Yeah. It’s great to be back.”

Chapter 16

Zayden

A week has passed and Troy spent a lot of his time to himself. Jaylyn was getting worried for him as we all were. It was bad enough for her that she couldn’t help him with his chest wounds but it became worse because she realized there was nothing she could do to change the way he felt about the result of his mistake. He was on his own and never once joined us for the daily meals. He stayed completely away from any conversation involving him and it was lucky, he happened to always be the main topic.

It was dinnertime once again and we were all gathered in the dining hall but Troy and there was a long silence. This time, no one seemed to want to mention anything about him and even Jaylyn seemed to keep her worry to herself.

The doors opened and Troy walked in. This was a change and we found ourselves looking around at each other to wonder but still wasn’t quite sure what was happening.

“Good to see you.” My father said, breaking the silence.

“You knew about this?” Troy didn’t seem happy while he was holding a few papers in his hand.

My father wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it on the table. “Troy, listen.”

“No.” Troy walked stiffly and confidently to him with his anger clear. “You knew this whole time and said nothing. Why? Don’t think I could take it?”

“It’s not—”

“Like I’m some kind of child?”

My father slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet. “This is not the place for it to be discussed.”

“Then lead the way because it will be discussed.”

My father started walking towards the doors and Troy followed without looking at any of us, not even his own wife. We were all curious about this.

“What was that?” Ruby asked.

“Probably something about reinstating his title and honor.” I said.

“It sounded bad.” Jaylyn said nervously. “Is it bad?”

Darius laughed to her quickness to worry. “We don’t know. They’re talking about it now.”

“Can I ask you something?” Adele said.

“Of course, Love.”

“What exactly did he do to deserve this? I know it’s something we haven’t discussed. Was it that bad?”

I looked over at Darius and was a bit surprised myself that this was the first time it had come up but I answered her. “He dishonored a direct order and in so doing, he could have gotten us all killed. We were just lucky that the bandits didn’t decide to take all of us. They could only managed to take him because he was the only one outside at the time.”

“So, I’m guessing it was an order from you, Zayden.” Ruby said.

“Yes.”

“But how could someone jump Troy? He has great hearing and really fast reflexes.”

Darius flickered his eyes towards Jaylyn. “He was distracted and didn’t know they were there until it was too late.”

“Wait, why did you look at me?”

“He was distracted because he was watching you while you slept.” I said.

She gasped. “What?”

“I specifically warned him not to do that, especially while he was supposed to be on watch but he just couldn’t help himself.”

“This is all my fault.” Jaylyn got up from the table and started heading to the door.

“Jaylyn! Wait!” Adele shouted. She was clearly worried about what she was going to do and we all went after her.

We rushed out into the main hall and Troy and my father were coming out of the conference room.

“Then we’ll start at dawn.”

“I’ll be ready, your majesty.”

“There is honor to be found in strength and I’ll pray that you find yours.”

Troy bowed his head and walked to the stairs.

Jaylyn looked back at us behind her and started to follow Troy but we followed my father back into the conference room.

“Father, what’s going on?”

He picked up and old box and pulled out a large iron key that was hanging on a chain. “Want to know? Follow me.”

He walked through us with the key and we really did want to know. We turned after him and followed him through the halls of the palace. Not a word was said as we walked and my father had led us all the way out to the private arena and down into the penitentiary underground.

Everyone was looking a little worried but we stayed quiet about it until my father led us farther in to where I’ve never been. We were walking down a long hall with a single large steel door at the other end.

“What is this place?” I asked.

My father didn’t answer. He held the large key in his hand and placed it inside the lock. A loud crack echoed as he turned it and dust fell from the seams of the door as it was pushed open.

It was obviously very old and the hinges creaked loudly. My father took a torch from the outside of the door and stepped in to the dark room with it. He tossed it into a pool of oil to his right and the room lit up with several others placed around it. We stepped inside and my eyes got wide. It was filled with instruments of torture, chains on the walls and a stone slab in the middle with restraints of its own at each corner.

“Father. No. This is what you knew about?”

“I didn’t want it to come to this, Zayden because I love that boy but he’s just too smart for his own good. He did his own research and he wishes to have his discipline be nothing less of anyone else with his mistakes and wants it done by the books. He knows the risks and has accepted them.”

“You can’t be serious.” Adele said. “You allowed this?”

“One will always do what they can to redeem their honor. I would know. In the thousands of years this room was built, that door has only been open ten times. Out of those ten times, only one ever walked out of here alive.”

“You.” Darius figured. “But what if he doesn’t?”

“He has accepted that as well. You must not question it or you question his place. He wants it back whether he lives to get it or not.”

I was mad about this and still couldn’t figure out why he would have agreed at all. “Well, who’d you hire to do it then?”

“I won’t be hiring anyone. I’ll be overseeing it but you’ll be the one doing it.”

I backed up. “What?! Me?! No way!”

“But it has to be. You were his leader and the one he disobeyed. He won’t fight it. He’s not a prisoner. It was his choice.”

“You’ll go easy on him, won’t you Zayden?” Ruby asked with that same worried tone we were missing from Jaylyn.

“Yeah, by not doing it at all. I’m not going to have his death on me.”

My father actually laughed like this was all just some joke. “You know what he’s capable of living through and will take it no further. You will do it. Troy is able to make it out of this room on his feet and you will be sure that he does.”

“Father, what you’re asking me to do—I can’t.”

“He already knows it’s going to be you. You’ll be fine.”

This was worse than the plain punishment alone. I couldn’t be the one to do this. It wasn’t right.

“It’s okay.” Adele placed her hand on my back to try and give me some kind of comfort. “All you have to do is keep him alive.”

“She’s right.” My father said. “Steady hand. Hold the force. You should also keep in mind that Jaylyn will not be able to heal him until his wounds bring him no more pain. It’s the process he must go through if he truly wishes to accomplish what he needs to.”

“And who’s going to tell her that?” Ruby asked.

“He will.”

I sighed. “Father, I can’t do this.”

“You have to.”

“But I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s not like I’ve had to do it before. We don’t keep survivors.”

“But it has to be you. We’ve discussed it.”

I sighed again and started pacing. I did not like the idea of this at all. Troy was like a brother to me; he was my brother. I couldn’t bring him that kind of pain. My thoughts halted on the word brother and I had an idea. “Okay but I can’t do it alone. I want to guarantee that he’ll survive. In order to do that, I need someone who’s experienced in this.”

“Ryon.” Adele muttered.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” My father asked. “I thought we just got rid of him.”

I almost hated how he hated him so much. I didn’t feel any kind of hate for Ryon anymore. He was my brother and I knew he could help; I knew that he’d want to. “It is if that means Troy will truly stay alive. He doesn’t have to do anything, just tell me what to do.”

“Are you sure he’ll agree and not misinform you?”

“He would never hurt Jaylyn that way or me. Trust me.”

“Very well then. Then call to him.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose while thinking of needing him again.

A breeze filled the narrow hall and Ryon stood in front of the steel door but remained in his transparent form. “Who says death is peaceful?”

“I’m sorry.” I said. “But we need your help again.”

“Wow! Red! Look at you! How long has that been there?!”

He had his eyes down on her belly and she put her hands on it while narrowing her eyes towards him. “You already know.”

“I know. I was just kidding. So? What’d you do this time? I thought the whole Troy thing was fixed?”

“It was until now.” Darius said.

Ryon looked around at everyone’s eyes and I think he was reading our thoughts because he sounded like he figured it out on his own. “That’s nice. There’s something wrong with you people.”

“You think we want this?” I asked. “Well, we don’t. That’s why you’re here. I’ve never had to do this before but you have. We just need to get him through it alive so he feels he accomplished something.”

“Please.” Adele begged.

Ryon rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. I’m in but he can’t know that I was involved.”

“Why?” Ruby asked.

“Because he’ll know that it was planned for him to survive, not that he did it on his own. I can easily just be a voice inside your head.”

“Okay. That’s a better plan.” I said.

“When?”

“Tomorrow morning. Early.”

Ryon paused for a moment and started to pace while he brought his hands to his head. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Early. Early. Early. Okay. I think I’ll be free then.”

“You’ll make yourself be.” My father demanded. I was glad he wanted Troy to survive as much as we did. “And don’t be late.”

Chapter 17

Jaylyn

“Troy? Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

“I have a bad feeling.” I came up behind him and put my hand on his bare shoulder.

He reached over and took it as he turned with this voice I didn’t like hearing. It was like he knew something was going to happen. “Jaylyn, I’m going to need you to be strong for me.”

My eyes started to water with worry. “Why? What’s going to happen?”

“I’m going to be tested in the morning and—and there’s a chance that I may not make it through it.”

“What?! Troy! No!”

“It’s all right. I have to do this. I need to get back what I lost.”

“But what about what I might lose? I almost did once. I can’t take that again.”

“Even if that happens, you will never lose me. I will stay with you.”

“That wouldn’t be acceptable to me, Troy. You wouldn’t be able to grow old with me.”

“You mean, you won’t like it if you had someone young forever that always wanted and loved you?”

“This isn’t the time for joking.” I moved away from him and became serious about my worry. “You can’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. Promise me you’ll stay strong. I need you to be.”

His hand moved to my stomach and another tear rolled down my face as I turned away. “I can’t promise.”

“Jaylyn.”

“I can’t support something that could lead to your death. I’m sorry. I’m going to bed.” I shut the lantern off and got into bed fully clothed.

I didn’t care if he was following at the time but he did and moved in close behind me. “Jaylyn, you have to understand what this is going to mean to me. I need to get my life back. I can’t be somebody one day and go on being nobody just like that.”

“But you are somebody. You’re somebody to me. That should be enough. I don’t care if you’re a Great Seni Fighter or not. That’s not going to make me change my mind about us.”

“But I care. It’s who I grew to be. My life that I spent training for. I don’t want that taken from me. I need it back. It’s who I am.”

“And you’d give your life just to have that title rewritten on your grave?”

He paused and I was hoping he was seeing my way but his answer said differently. “Yes.”

I started to cry. “I don’t want you to do this because of me!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you were watching me.”

“This isn’t because of you. I’m the one that shouldn’t have been.”

“But if you weren’t with me, none of this would have happened.”

“If I wasn’t with you, I don’t know where I’d be.”

“Obviously not about to commit suicide.”

I still had my back to him and was still crying.

“Jaylyn, I need you to believe in me. You’re what’s going to keep me alive.”

“I can’t see you hurt. I know you’re not going to let me heal you.”

“No. Not until they heal themselves and leave their mark behind.”

“If I promise to be strong, will you promise to not die?” I rolled over and only just barely saw him through the darkness.

“I promise and as long as I’m thinking of you, I won’t. I need to do this for me.”

“Okay.” I leaned into his lips and we kissed.

I didn’t want him to move away. The whole week he’s been lost in his thoughts, I haven’t been this close to him. He needed me tonight if he was going to get through the trials he was about to face in the morning and he probably knew it too.

I rolled on top of him, trying to avoid contact with the wounds he already had on his chest and pulled away from his lips. I was straddled over his hips as I reached for my shirt and pulled it up over my head. Troy immediately sat up with one of his hands around my back and his other cupping my right breast while he kissed the left.

I smiled at the sudden fire he was expressing for me and let out a quiet laugh.

“What?” He backed his head away and looked up.

“Nothing. You’re cute.”

“Oh.” He got back to kissing me. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Depriving you this last week.”

“It’s okay.” I ran my fingers through his hair while his soft moist lips were still caressing against my breasts. “I know you were dealing with a lot. I didn’t feel neglected—too much.”

“Think we can wake up for a week in one night?”

I laughed. “Oh, I don’t know but I’d be willing to find out.”

“Good.” Troy flipped me to my back and climbed over me. “I need to keep up my strength too.”

I smiled as he leaned down, kissing my lips then started moving them down the front of my body. He reached my waist and lifted up my hips, taking my pants down off them. He was sitting up completely and slipped my left foot out of my pant leg and straightened my right leg up to his shoulder and took them off that foot. He slid one hand up my smooth milky skin to my thigh and started kissing up my leg, following his hand.

I bit my lip to the touch of his lips on my skin and my craving for him heightened. The closer he got to my thighs, the more my eyes started to close and the faster my breaths began. I let out one deep one with a moan when I felt Troy’s tongue graze the delicate skin of my femininity. My back arched, my muscles all tensed and he had to hold his hands tight at my hips just to keep me down.

It’s been weeks since I was touched by a man and it was as if this was a whole new experience. The distance that his tongue could reach was almost a forgotten feeling and I was beginning to get more and more aroused that I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached down towards his head with both hands and pulled on his hair. I wanted him to come to me but failed to let out any words with my demand. I was too speechless; too deeply in desire for him that I couldn’t and gave him a few more tugs until he pulled back.

“Already? I planned to go longer.”

“I don’t care about making up for a week. I just want you—right now.”

Troy smiled and laid up over me while he took off his pants and didn’t make me wait another second before he gave me what we both wanted. I held tight around him while my breaths instantly picked back up to heavy and I couldn’t stop. One of Troy’s great talents wasn’t only based around his skill with a sword. He knew how to treat a woman and was never selfish when it came to his love of me.

My breaths close to his chest were making everything hot and I started kissing him. My right hand glided across his wounds and I closed my eyes. The feeling of his body on mine overwhelmed my emotions and before I knew what was happening, Troy’s wounds on his chest started to fade away under my hand.

Troy didn’t seem to know what I was doing either until it was too late. “Jaylyn, stop.”

I didn’t respond and he ended up pulling back, separating our bodies completely. I wasn’t ready. It knocked me out of my rhythm and I opened my eyes, seeing the glow just fading away.

Troy looked down at his chest and the wounds he planned to endure until completely healed were gone and so was his mark. “Why did you do that?” His voice sounded angry and he moved off me to his side of the bed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“You did! I know you can control it!”

“Troy, I just—”

“Damn it, Jay! You know how important this is to me!” He used the name Trever gave me as a kid and used it in anger. My eyes started to water. “Jaylyn—I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

I didn’t care to hear it. I pulled the entire sheet to me and wrapped it around me while I got up. “Don’t bother. Maybe I do hope you die tomorrow.” I left the room, slamming the door shut. I didn’t know what I was doing but I just wanted to get away. I almost felt like I hated him and couldn’t be around him.

I walked all the way to the other end of the hall and closed myself inside another room, hoping he wouldn’t find me. I just wanted to be alone.

“Jaylyn, look, I’m sorry.” Troy had followed just like I didn’t want and approached the bed. “I overreacted. I didn’t mean to raise my voice like that.”

“Stop acting like you care about me because I’m really sick of it!”

“I do care about you and if you were serious about hoping that I would die then I’ll make sure I don’t survive.”

“Don’t be stupid! You wouldn’t do it for me! All you care about is getting your honor back!”

“That’s not true.”

“But you know it is!”

“Well, what do you want me to do? Tell me and I’ll do it.”

“I want you to stop this.” I said a little more calmly. “I don’t really want to lose you. I want our son to have his father.”

“Then he will if that’s what you want but you know that I can’t stop this. I have to do it.”

I lowered my head and sighed. I knew it wasn’t the right time to be fighting. “I’m sorry. I know you do. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay, Jaylyn and I didn’t mean to sound like Trever towards you.”

“It was my fault. I was making you. It’s kind of what I do apparently.”

“I don’t want us to fight. Not now.”

“I know. Me either.”

“Will you come back?”

“Will you still promise to live?”

“Of course I promise.”

He got me up off the bed and we started walking back to our room down the hall. “And I promise to be there.”

“No, Jaylyn. I don’t want you there.”

“I’ll be in here.” I pointed to his head and his heart. “You know I couldn’t really want to see you get hurt.”

“Just remember that I’ll be fine.”

I wanted to believe him but I knew it wasn’t true. We got back to the room before I said anything and laid back down in bed. “But you won’t be fine.”

“Of course I will.”

“I still don’t think I can see you like that even after. It’d be too sad and I’d probably attempt to heal you in your sleep.”

“Jaylyn, you know you can’t.”

“I know but I’ll want to. I know I will. It will be really hard for me. You’re not even thinking of that.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? Not see each other until you can heal me?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you serious? That could take weeks or even months depending on how bad it is.”

“I know but if you want to do this your way, I don’t think we can see each other. I wouldn’t want to make another mistake like I just did and have you mad at me.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“For the sake of us, I think it’s best.”

“Okay. We’ll see how that goes but remember you can come to me anytime you want to.”

“Agreed. I’ll get a new room tomorrow, well, after the news of your survival and we’ll be able to be apart that way. You’ll probably spend most of your time in here to heal.”

“Jaylyn, are you sure?”

“Yes. I want you to be happy again and get your life back the way you need to. I don’t want to get in the way of that. You were going to be gone for a lot longer and I’ve already prepared myself for that. We’ll be fine. I promise that too.”

“You better remember to take care of yourself when I can’t. Don’t do anything you shouldn’t.”

I smiled and rolled to my side to face him. “You’re sweet. I won’t forget and I don’t want you to be worrying about me. You need that strength to heal, okay?”

“Yeah. We should get some sleep now. Morning will come quick.”

I agreed and laid my head on his shoulder. “Sorry I ruined our evening.”

“It’s okay. I just want to savor this with you.” He had his arm around me and was holding me close to his body. I enjoyed it just as much and wanted it to last too while we slowly drifted off to sleep.

It was our last night together until we could once again be reunited and things could get back to how they used to be between us and Troy gets renamed as a Great Seni Fighter.