The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil (15 page)

“Yes.” Callum looked mortified. Redness flushed into his cheeks, burning at the tips of his ears. “I wish I’d had a chance to explain. It’s complicated and I fear it reached you in an unfavorable way.”

“Unfavorable? Unfavorable!” she gasped. “Is there a
favorable
way to say that you were in bed with the enemy?”

His shoulders fell, the crimson hue of his face deepening. “I suppose not…”

Body trembling, Aiva pressed her hand to her forehead. She felt faint. She was sure to create a scene if she didn’t get away from this mess before she lost consciousness. Clutching at her tightly cinched bodice, she ran from the dance floor, paying no mind to the gasps and soft cries of the guests in their confusion.

It was true. Dacian hadn’t been making it up. What would her parents say? What would Edric say? He’d been so defensive! She’d been kind enough to give Callum a chance to clear his name and he’d been unable to do so. Bursting into the hallway she tried to catch her breath, unable to inhale enough air to ease her burning lungs. This wasn’t happening. How could her parents have married her to a traitor? A no good miscreant!

She needed to get away. Her parents would no doubt be concerned by her sudden departure. Her entire family would come looking for her. And Calie. What would Calie think? And the General?

There was no time to consider the possibilities. She had to find her way to an exit. It was a large palace. Plenty of places for her to escape and hide until her head was clear enough to consider what her options were. Picking up her skirts, she hurried toward the front doors. Concealment would be easier in the darkened landscape. It was unfortunate that her garments were so white. Far too noticeable. It didn’t matter. She would figure something out.

Stepping into the cool breeze of the coming night, Aiva scanned the area desperately for a place to hide. A commotion had already begun behind her. People were coming. They would fan out across the palace grounds. If she could stay out of view long enough for them to pass, it would be simple enough to sneak back inside and lock herself away in one of the smaller, unused servants’ quarters. No one would think to look for her there.

The bulk of her gown made her movements clumsy. Stumbling over her skirt, she toppled into the bushes along the front corner of the building, falling onto the soft soil. Frantically she pulled the extra fabric into the hedges with her. Unconsciously she held her breath, afraid that her gasps for air would instantly direct everyone to her hiding place.

In the moments that passed, she felt her curiosity growing. Footsteps could be heard in all directions, though she couldn’t place where any of them were in relation to her. Carefully she pressed aside a portion of the hedge, instantly recognizing the slender figure of Shaelyn running out of the palace. She came to a stop not far from the door, hastening her pace around the other side of the building. Herryk wasn’t far behind, turning to follow in the direction Shaelyn had disappeared. A pitiable Callum staggered through the door on Herryk’s heels, calling out into the deepening darkness around him.

“Aiva!” The desperation in his tone was evident. His shouts continued as he rounded the bushes where Aiva was hidden. Shifting backward, she tried to avoid detection. The sound of his voice was followed soon after by calls from Edric and her father, separating to search the grounds closer to the road.

Leaning against the cool stone of the palace wall, she let her head fall backward, tears warming her lashes, spilling out over her cheeks. She wasn’t sure exactly when she’d lost control of everything, though it was apparent that she no longer knew what was going on. She didn’t know what to do. Her prying had dug a hole deeper than she was capable of climbing out of. And while it was tempting to remain hidden behind those hedges forever, she knew she couldn’t. Her family would need to know the truth. The marriage would be annulled. Better to sever her ties with Callum before he was dishonored.

A soft rustling came from somewhere nearby. Faint. Too quiet to be any of her frantic friends and family scurrying about the yard. Through her tears she peered out from her hiding place, startled to see a dim shadow cross the grass only a few feet away. Frozen in place, she watched another cloaked figure move in the direction where Shaelyn and Herryk had gone. A glint of light reflected off something in the darkness, chilling Aiva to realize what it was. Metal. A blade. No one at the celebration would have been allowed to bear a weapon other than General Cadell – and the figure she saw was too slight to be the General.

Her heart raced. Something wasn’t right. Whatever she’d seen, it was heading toward the other side of the house. Creeping along the shadows. Overcome with worry for her sister, she forgot about her own troubles. A failed marital arrangement could be dealt with later.

Slowly she turned onto her hands and knees, edging along the palace wall toward the front entrance doors. Behind the hedges she was concealed from view, though once she reached the steps there would be no such protection. If no one was around, she could cut across to the other side of the flowerbed without giving away her location. The pounding in her chest increased with every inch forward she took, placing one hand in front of the other, knees dragged along the dirt behind her. Another dress lost to her skulking in the darkness.

She paused at the edge of the walkway, peeking through a small opening to make sure no one was around. The doors to the palace were closed. With the search party having already disappeared around to the back of the property and outer perimeter, she had a brief window to get to the other side. Clutching her skirts she gathered her strength, launching herself quickly across the open porch into the opposite row of hedges. Somewhere in the distance she could still hear Callum shouting her name. Echoing through the area. Judging by the sound, she figured him to be on the other side of the palace, further away from her original hiding place.

A piercing scream cut through the air not far away, rocking Aiva’s senses. She’d never heard anything so dreadful before. Shrill. High-pitched. Feminine. “Shaelyn,” she breathed, hastening her crawl along the side of the palace. The sound came again and again. Each one filled with more fear and distress than the one before. The feeling of dread was building in the pit of Aiva’s stomach.

Giving up her cover, she burst forth from the shrubbery, rushing forward blindly into the darkness. All around she could hear footsteps. Someone was fighting. The shrieks were muffled. Further away now than they were before. Harsh grunts were coming from somewhere to the left. She followed the sound until she was able to make out the faint outline of three figures entangled on the ground. By strength of adrenaline alone Aiva reached out to one of the shadowy forms, pulling it off the others. She met with incredible resistance, a fist swinging toward her face, narrowly missing her nose.

She had no weapon with which to defend herself. The only advantage she held against her unknown opponent was the same thing which also worked against her. Darkness. Her movements were veiled by the shadows, but in return it was difficult to make out what her assailant was doing. Something struck her hard in the side of the head, knocking her to the ground in a heap. The impact only added to her growing fear and anger. Shaelyn’s cries were getting fainter. She needed to get to her. Whoever her opponent was didn’t matter. They were nothing but an obstacle preventing her from getting to her sister.

“Shae!” she called out, praying she would be met by another muffled cry to direct her where her sister was. Unsteady from the blow to her head, Aiva struggled to her feet, feeling another impact against her shoulder blades, forcing her down to the ground onto her stomach, face pressed into the grass. With a sharp pain the veil was torn from her head, discarded as her attacker wove their fingers into her hair, gripping it tightly. She tried to scream, every attempt only yielding a mouthful of sod and grass.

A sickening crack came from somewhere behind Aiva’s head, the tug on her hair released to allow her freedom of movement once again. Rolling onto her back she gazed up to see who had come to her rescue, recognizing the familiar blue of Herryk’s eyes, glowing brightly through the shadows. “Herryk,” she gasped, shifting onto her knees as she watched Herryk’s legs buckle suddenly, dropping onto the grass in front of her. “What happened? Where is Shae?”

“Someone took her. I couldn’t see – ” his eyes looked glassy. Dazed. Swaying almost drunkenly he started to pitch forward, Aiva’s arms shooting out to catch him before he hit the ground.

In that instant she was able to see the severity of the wounds covering him. He was bleeding. Badly. Deep lacerations marred the skin over his brow, the blood appearing black in the darkness. Against her arms he felt wet. Sticky. He was barely clinging to consciousness, slumping forward against Aiva. “Herryk! Oh gods, wake up,” she pleaded.

Shock was setting in. She’d never seen so much blood before. There wasn’t anything she could do for him. He was too heavy to carry. Deadweight in his current condition. Through her confusion she could hear someone screaming. Shouting for help. It took her several moments to realize that the screams were coming from her. Footsteps were coming closer. With every thud they grew louder, fear seizing Aiva at the possibility of it being more assailants coming to finish what their fallen friend had failed to do.

Someone was lifting Herryk from her arms. Another pair of strong hands grasped at her, helping her to her feet. “Aiva.” It was her father. “Aiva, what happened?”

“They took Shae!” she gasped. Her entire body was trembling.

“What?” Thade’s eyes flashed brighter. “Aiva, who took Shae? Where is she?”

“I don’t know! I couldn’t get to her. She was screaming and I tried to help but someone was in my way. Is he dead? Father, is Herryk dead?”

“He is alive, but we need to get him inside.” Edric. Good. Herryk would be safe in his hands. She needed to find Shaelyn. They couldn’t let these people get away. In a frenzy of movement Aiva’s eyes swept the area. Edric was there. Her father was there. Where was Callum? Callum! It had to be him! She’d uncovered his secret and now he was retaliating against her. “Callum has her,” Aiva gasped, falling unsteadily against her father’s chest, grateful for the support of his arms, preventing her from toppling to the ground. “He’s working with the pirates. They took her!”

“Aiva, you’re in shock,” Thade whispered, guiding her in the direction of the palace doors.

She shook her head, adamant that she’d figured it out. “No, it’s true. He told me,” she breathed in exasperation. “He admitted it. You have to believe me.”

“Hush. Callum is with your brother, tending to Herryk as we speak. He does not have your sister. Did you see what direction they headed?”

“No, you can’t leave him with Edric. He’ll kill him too!”

Thade stopped their brisk pace toward the front doors, turning Aiva around to face him. The look she saw on his features struck her. Driving an invisible knife deep into her core. There was fear in his silver eyes. Something she’d never seen there before. “Aiva, I need you to listen to me,” he stated, his voice trembling slightly. “If someone has your sister, we need to focus on finding who it is and where they went. Can you walk? We need to get you inside and cleaned up. Your mother will be very distraught when she hears what has happened and she will need you to help console her while Edric and I arrange a search party.”

Nodding her head Aiva fought to maintain her balance. Her father was right. She needed to get hold of herself. If she continued raving madly, her father would never believe what she was saying. Callum’s confession would be passed off as nothing more than the ranting of a frightened girl. Once they were inside, she could try to explain things to her mother. Edric and Callum were coming closer. There wasn’t time now to say anything more on the matter.

Aiva watched in stunned silence as the room filled with familiar faces, the sight of her mother’s tear-streaked cheeks hurting worse than the pressure of the cloth pressed against her forehead, wiping away blood from an injury she’d already forgotten. Only an hour ago this room had been a happy place for her mother. She’d dressed her eldest daughter for what was supposed to be the grandest wedding of their time, yet now they were mourning the loss of another child. Edric and Thade had gone with Callum outside in search of Shaelyn. Aiva was left in the quiet company of her mother and a few of their family’s closest friends.

Herryk was laid out across the floor. Awake. Groaning while his father tended his wounds, diligent in his efforts, smears of blood staining the light grey of his tunic. “Leyna, did they say what happened?”

“Not in any detail.” The Queen stared in concern at Herryk’s dirt-covered form. “Is he alright, Zander? Should I send for a physician?”

“He will be fine, but it will take some time for him to heal.” Zander exhaled a long breath. “I don’t think he’ll be in any condition to ship out with the rest of the troops. His left arm is broken and the laceration to his right side is deep. He will need stitches.”