Silent Kingdom (13 page)

“It’s Kyrin’s fault,” a man standing close to our table said, his gruff voice rising over the tumult around us. He pointed toward Kyrin, where he stood with a cup still in his hand. “We would still be safe, if it weren’t for him. He travels deeper into Evren Forest and further into the mountains than any of our other hunters. His activities are provoking the sedwa!”

Avrik grabbed my hand tightly. I lifted my gaze to his and met his silent appeal:
Don’t let them blame my father for this.
His face was taut; his lips a thin line. He pulled me with him as he dashed toward his father, who was meeting the accusatory looks of the citizens surrounding him with stony silence.

I found Lyanna and Rev sitting at the table behind Kyrin. Relieved to see Avrik and me, they scrambled to their feet.

“Let’s leave,” Avrik said. He cast the people around us a dark look. “I have no desire to celebrate with people who wish to turn on their own.”

~ ~ ~

As we trudged behind Lyanna, Rev, and Kyrin toward Rev’s carriage, Avrik maintained an angry silence. We donned our cloaks and exited the garden to enter the cold night once more. I watched Avrik’s dark eyes study the sky and imagined what he was thinking, what he was feeling. Part of me thought I could sympathize. Almost. After all, any cruel rumors or talk about
my
father would be well-founded. But I could imagine how I’d feel if anyone spoke badly about Rev.

Biting my lip, I tugged my cloak closer to block the chill wind. I wanted to say something, but after years of silence I finally felt resigned to the fact that, for whatever reason, I might never be able to speak again.

I contented myself with reaching out and touching Avrik’s shoulder. His step faltered, and he paused and turned toward me. The wind whipped around us, brushing long strands of hair into my eyes and billowing my skirts and cloak around me. His brow was furrowed and his expression pleading when he searched my gaze. It was then that I noticed the stubble shadowing his cheeks and chin. In that instant, with the weight of his worries hovering over him, he looked older, more mature yet more conflicted: gone was the lighthearted friend of my childhood and in his place was a troubled young man.

“You don’t believe all of those rumors about my father, do you?” His voice was low.

My face involuntarily matched his frown. I blinked and shook my head, trying to cheer him with a smile.

“Good,” he whispered, and pulled me into a hug. His embrace brought welcome warmth to my shivering frame. Since I couldn’t say anything to reassure him, I clung to him tightly instead, hoping this gesture would mean more than words. As he pulled away, a strange emptiness settled in my stomach.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Avrik said when we reached the stables.

Rev paused before our carriage and turned back to Kyrin. “Would you like a ride home?”

Kyrin shook his head. “We’ll be fine walking.”

Opening the door for Lyanna and me, Rev gave Kyrin a friendly nod. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you all,” Kyrin responded. Without another word, he and Avrik set off into the night. I sighed and watched Avrik’s form shrink away into the distance, until he was swallowed up by the blackness.

CHAPTER 8

T
he next day, I woke with a heavy heart. I rolled over with a sigh, and then I remembered:
Gillen
. His eighteenth birthday was next month. My heart ached.

Someday soon, Misroth City would be filled with celebrating citizens as Gillen, finally of age, accepted the throne. The streets would be decorated with banners, singers would lift their voices in celebration, and children would wave ribbons at the royal procession.

Tears stabbed my eyes. What I would give to be there to see Gillen crowned, to congratulate him and let him know how proud I was of him.

Please let him be safe
, I begged the Life-Giver.
Let him be the strong king I know he can be.

I stared out at the Vorvinian Mountains through my window, knowing it couldn’t be that simple. Anxiety tugged at my heart.
My father won’t give up power easily
. Would he poison my cousin like he had his father? Or would he try to manipulate Gillen once he began his rule?

With a sigh, I pulled myself out of bed. Entering Misroth City would mean death for me if I was recognized. What could I do against my father? Who would believe me if I tried to spread the truth, even if I
could
speak? Returning to the capital would be suicide.

I wiped my tears from my cheeks and prepared for school. As I walked toward the front door, passing Lyanna where she was seated by the fireplace, she glanced up from her sewing. “You look upset, dear. Is everything all right?”

I pulled my journal and pencil from my pack and wrote,
Nightmares
. It wasn’t a lie, so I could share it; it just wasn’t all of the truth either.

Lyanna’s brow crinkled with sadness. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I hope you have a good day at school.”

With a smile, I walked outside to meet Avrik.

At school, the rumors about last night’s sedwa attack continued to circulate, much to Avrik’s frustration.

“The man is an outsider,” Bren shared with us eagerly at lunch. “I heard he comes from Misroth City itself.”

My stomach jolted at the mention of my old home.

“Does it matter?” Avrik mumbled.

Bren’s face was firm. “Just because we are interested in the stranger, or even the attack itself, does not mean we are accusing your father.”

Avrik stared down at his sandwich and did not respond.

“Will he live?” Shilam asked.

Bren shrugged. “Who can say? We can only hope.”

Jaren bit into a slice of cheese. “He will have an interesting story to share, if he does.”

~ ~ ~

Lyanna greeted me cheerfully at the door when I returned from school, darting inside quickly to escape the blustery weather. “How was your day?” she asked.

I nodded and shot her a half-hearted smile, but Lyanna didn’t seem to notice that I was still troubled.

“I’m glad, dear. When you’ve warmed yourself, could you help me with dinner? And I have a few chores for you…”

My heart sank. It wasn’t that I had a problem helping Lyanna; it was simply that Lyanna’s version of chores for seventeen-year-old girls usually involved domestic responsibilities I wasn’t overly fond of. If I ever attempted to spend time with my friends, or stay after school, Lyanna would generally scold me and tell me that a young woman had no place spending so much time playing childish games with boys. Her verbal lists of reasons why a young woman needed to be at home were only matched by her long lists of tedious chores and sewing projects.

I wonder if there’s any way I could convince her to let me slip away to Wanderer’s Rest to speak with the stranger.
Curiosity tickled my brain.
But what kind of excuse could I make to Lyanna to go to the inn?
I frowned at the fire and rubbed my hands more vigorously. Rev might come home with news tonight, but I knew that wouldn’t satisfy me. I needed to see this man face-to-face and hear from his own mouth about his encounter with the sedwa. And, in the furthest crannies of my mind, another need resided: where had this man come from, anyway, and where was he going? My paranoia would not let me rest until I had a chance to find out for myself.

“Elena!” Lyanna called from across the cabin, where she was kneading dough for bread.

Resigned, I stood and started on my work for the evening. I rushed absent-mindedly through most of the tasks Lyanna asked me to do, poking myself more than once with my needle as I sewed a patch on a pair of Rev’s pants and nearly burning the soup by forgetting to stir it. At last, with the table set and dinner prepared, I was able to retreat to a corner by the fire and try to think of an excuse for leaving after the meal. I was still at a loss when Rev entered and Lyanna called us to the table to thank our Giver of Life for the food.

My opportunity came unexpectedly when Rev began sharing the day’s news as we ate. “There’s news that the stranger at Wanderer’s Rest does indeed have…an interesting story,” he began. “Perhaps about the sedwa, as suspected.”

Lyanna looked up inquiringly and I felt my heart beat faster.

“How is he?” she asked.

“He will live,” Rev reassured her. “He’s recovering at the inn. They’ve had to keep a number of visitors away. Everyone wants to hear his story and know about the sedwa…”

Lyanna shuddered. “They are myths, stories. If the sedwa were real, why haven’t we heard more of them? Seen more attacks on Evren and its people?”

Rev frowned thoughtfully at his soup. “The stories all said they were elusive and that few people survived their attacks. But…” He shook his head and said no more.

“The stories also say they only attack if provoked. What was the traveler…?”

“That is what everyone has been saying, but the traveler was on a peaceful trip. He had plenty of supplies with him and money for along the way. He wasn’t hunting. He brought a bow with him for self-defense, but he bears all the signs of a man coming to trade goods.”

Lyanna swirled her spoon around in her soup silently.

“Tomorrow evening I am going to Wanderer’s Rest to hear the man’s story for myself,” Rev announced. “If danger lurks near our home, I want to know more about it.”

“But, Rev, you said they were trying to keep people away…”

“That doesn’t mean I cannot have a moment with him. The men of the village are saying we should prepare for grave danger. I want to see if there is any credence to the panic. To see the man, see if he is believable, see his wounds… I want to know what, if anything, we should prepare for, in case the worst is true.”

“Does everyone think there will be more attacks, even outside of the forest?”

“Some of the old stories spoke of the monsters leaving the Vorvinian Mountains and forest and attacking the outskirts of the village at night, though most say the sedwa do not leave the cover of trees. But if they are attacking this close to the forest’s edge now …well, the woods are Evren’s hunting grounds, and we live almost under the forest’s shadow. We cannot be too careful.”

I cast Rev an eager glance, hoping he could read the question in my eyes without me having to fetch a piece of paper. For the most part, Lyanna and even Rev had become quite adept at reading my thoughts and emotions, but Rev had a tendency to get lost in his own thoughts and become oblivious to the world around him. This time, though, he answered my look immediately.

“You may come with me, Elena,” he said with a smile.

“Rev…” Lyanna began in her scolding tone, but stopped.

“There is no danger at the inn, love,” he told Lyanna. “And I won’t keep her out late. You can’t completely tame that sense of adventure in her.” Rev shot me a wink and I beamed back at him.

~ ~ ~

The wind had grown stronger since my walk home that afternoon, and stormy dark clouds were riding in on its current. As Rev and I made our way through the hilly countryside toward Evren’s town center, I watched the clouds slither across the sky, revealing patches of stars far above and casting rolling shadows along the waving grass. The air was cold and ominous—or maybe that was my imagination as I thought of the sedwa creeping through the nearby forest, seeking cover in the same shadowy night that embraced me.

As we entered town and traversed its main road, I noticed that Evren was bustling with far more people than were normally out this late on dark winter’s evenings. Every shop and business was closed except for the inn, whose fires sent a radiant glow through the street, attracting a growing crowd like a swarm of insects to light. I studied the dim faces staring up at the inn: some of the citizens I knew by name; others I only knew by sight.

“No more gawkers!” Selna shouted, standing in her doorway and shooing townspeople away. “If you are not here for the food or a place to stay the night, carry on with your business!”

Several people gave up and departed with shrugs or sighs, but still more pressed even closer to the front door.

“Selna,” Rev called as we approached.

Selna broke into a smile when she saw us. “Rev and Elena! I suppose you are not here for the food or drinks either,” she said, quirking an eyebrow at us.

Rev and I squeezed past a few more people until we stood in front of Selna, close enough to see past her into the empty inn. “Is no one here for the food?”

Selna crossed her arms across her broad chest, but her lips curved in a half-smile. “I haven’t trusted anyone who said they were.”

“I confess we are as curious as the rest of Evren,” Rev said, keeping his voice low, “but I hoped that for faithful friends and longtime patrons—especially ones who live so near to Evren Forest and desperately want answers—you would make an exception.”

Selna sighed and tossed a glance over her shoulder into the inn, as if she could see up the stairs and into the stranger’s room from her position. “All right,” she relented quietly. “But you two are my last ‘exception’ for the day!”

Thanking her as she backed up to make way for us, we entered the warm inn and Selna hurriedly closed and bolted the door, shutting out the disgruntled crowd behind us. She set a hand on her hip and turned to me, as if I would understand her frustrations better than Rev. “Ever since our mysterious traveler showed up, the whole town’s been trying to barge through our doors to pester him. Forget food and drinks!” She rolled her eyes in frustration. Seeming to anticipate a reprimand that would never come from me, she added quickly, “No, no, it’s not that bad,” with a wave of her hand. “It really could be good for business, but we can’t have everyone upsetting the man when he is recovering. Of course, we can’t keep the crowd out forever, either. Now why don’t the two of you find yourselves a seat and have a drink first?” she asked hopefully, gesturing to the empty tables. Without waiting for a response, she grasped a broom from where it leaned against the wall and began to sweep the room in firm, quick strokes. She looked like she was wielding a sword against an invisible enemy rather than cleaning a room.

Frowning up at Rev, I reached into my cloak pocket for my journal and pencil and scrawled a message on one of the empty pages.
I want to see the traveler.

Rev walked over to Selna, who was continuing to face her unseen foes in combat, and cleared his throat. “We would rather not wait. Elena is especially eager to see the man.”

Selna studied me carefully and shook her head. “Are you sure, child?” she asked with a sigh. “His story is…troubling.”

I fought the urge to frown at her
. I’m seventeen—not a child
. But I merely nodded.

Leading the way, Selna strode across the floor to the staircase, its steps wide and rough, hewn from aged oak. At the top, she turned and knocked at the first door on the left before gently pushing it open.

“You have some visitors, if you are up to it,” Selna said. I waited at the top of the steps with Rev as a muffled voice replied to her from the room’s interior. Flickering candlelight danced along the hall behind Selna as she stepped back from the doorway and nodded at me. Head spinning in anticipation, I squeezed past her swishing skirts and into the room.

The long, narrow bed took up most of the small space. A candle sat on the nightstand beside it; its flame sent shadows flickering along the walls and across the face of the man buried beneath the bed covers. He appeared to be in his late twenties or thirties, his black hair beginning to thin and recede from his broad forehead, his skin was coated in sweat, and deep lines furrowed his brow. His dark eyes were glassy yet intent on me as I crept forward. My fingers trembled when I saw the pain etched in the shadows under his eyes and the taut line of his lips, but the sheets covered any other signs of injuries.

When I blinked I could see the yellow eyes of a sedwa watching me from the shadows. What horrors had this man faced?

His head stirred ever so slightly on his pillow and I glanced back at Rev, who stood in the doorway behind me, a silhouette casting a long shadow into the bedroom. A floorboard creaked beneath my boot and I hesitated, wondering how to begin. Grasping my journal and pencil in my hands, I sank into the chair beside the man’s bed and scribbled out a message for Rev to read. With a sigh he drew near, and, one hand adjusting his glasses, the other holding my journal toward the candlelight to see, studied my words before turning to the man. “I am Rev, and this is my daughter, Elena.”

Even though this wasn’t the first time he’d introduced me as such, my heart never ceased to warm at the word.
Daughter
. I shook my head to focus my thoughts as Rev continued.

“She is mute, but she wanted to ask you some questions, if you are well enough…” He hesitated, studying the man’s face.

“I’ll tell you what I can,” came the man’s raspy voice. “I suppose you want to know who I am and what I was doing traveling this way, and…about that…animal.”

His eyes were focused on mine, so I nodded. Averting his head to stare up at the ceiling, he let out a soft sigh.

“My name is Marke and I’m a merchant from Misroth City. Lately, business has been…less than ideal, due to the war. I have two daughters and a wife to provide for…you know, the story of a desperate man.” He shifted to look at Rev. “So I decided to take matters into my own hands and bring my business to another city, before we reached the heart of winter and traveling would be even slower and more dangerous. I gathered some of my wares and set off for Vorvinia. Evren Forest is not a prime travelers’ route, but with a wagon loaded full of goods, little money, and even less time, it was the best choice for me. Sailing was out of the question and every other route is either as dangerous or too time-consuming.”