The Stolen Prince (Blood for Blood Book 1) (14 page)

But she wasn’t headed toward the gallery. She had been thinking about Azure during her entire lesson. She didn’t want to defy her father’s orders and get Azure in trouble again, but she had to speak with him. At least to say she was sorry.

She made sure no one was watching and slipped into the servants’ hall, zipping her way through the hallway and down the stairs. Someone approached and she ducked behind a hanging curtain in front of a window that led to the sewers.

Fortunately, most of the servants seemed to be busy elsewhere. As soon as the servant passed, she zipped toward the dungeon. The dungeon and prisons were vast, with several different areas going deep into the mountains. Fortunately, Azure was housed in the highest and closest part to the rest of the citadel. She could just make out Azure in his prison beyond the main gates. He wasn’t heavily guarded. His confinement was probably for appearances. Kara dreaded the dungeons—some of the worst criminals were kept here. Murderers, thieves, and, she shuddered at the thought, even Terra.

The walls were carefully constructed to prevent any zipping. Wood, not stone, was built around each prison. The entire dungeon was kept extremely dark, making it near impossible to see. And even if the prisoner could zip away, he would be met by a maze of thick walls at every level or a thicker layer of guards. The mazes messed up vanishing as well—destroying a vanisher’s sense of space. The only people who vanished or zipped out of the dungeon did so in order to die.

Kara looked carefully inside and saw that most of the guards were occupied near the more dangerous passageways. Azure was simply kept in a holding cell. She strained her ears but couldn’t hear him even breathing. A soldier walked by with a torch, and that’s when she took her chance. Once the inside of his cell was illuminated, she zipped inside, focusing on a patch of dirtied straw in the corner. The soldier passed without seeing her, and she let out a breath.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Azure whispered once the guard was out of earshot.

“I’m sorry, Azure. I’m so sorry.” It was all she could say. The rest of her words choked at her throat.

Silence hung in the air between them. Kara had ruined their friendship, if it had even been there in the first place. She had hurt an innocent man. The shame sank her heart.

“Could you get me some water?” Azure finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, for your wounds?”

“No, a surgeon will be here soon enough to care for them. I’m just thirsty. They don’t allow any of that down here, in case we can port.”

Suddenly, Kara thought of something she had forgotten. Azure had reached her so quickly the other night. Did he have the power? She nodded. “I’ll get you water.”

Another guard passed. Soon she was out and back with a pouch of water.

“Thank you. Now go. Please don’t be a fool again,” Azure said, pain in his voice. Kara nodded in the dark, though she couldn’t see him. He didn’t touch his water.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and then she was gone.

She returned to her room quickly, in time for a small knock on the door.

“Is the princess ready for lunch with the prince?” a servant asked.

“I’ll have to be,” she muttered.

***

Prince Sesto was completely unresponsive. It was just the two of them, Kara and the prince, sitting on a private terrace that was enclosed with glass and kept warm with a fire pit at the center. They were eating a simple lunch of bread and cheeses, but Kara could hardly taste it.

Kara felt extra pressure to be demure and follow etiquette, so she remained silent. It was the man’s responsibility in a courtship to be the provocateur, to create the conversation. Kara was worried the king was watching her, or at least ordering someone else to watch her, so she remained quiet over their lunch, making every effort to just smile demurely. She didn’t understand why she was made to be still and quiet if the prince did the same thing. How were they ever supposed to get to know each other?

She tried looking at the view, but even though spring was said to be approaching, the citadel was still enclosed in a thick winter fog. It looked more like a gathering blizzard than a spring shower. Even in the spring and summer, the fog only thinned. It was a good place for protection but hardly a good one for sight seeing. Occasionally, a wind would gust a thick cloud away, and Kara was able to see the village below—little patches of green and brown. She wondered if she could go on an excursion down to the outer towns and cities, to get away from the citadel.

“Would you be interested in touring the town?” she asked the prince before she had time to think.

“Certainly,” he said. He didn’t seem surprised she spoke. She watched him chew lazily on the end of a loaf.

Kara wondered… she so wanted to confide in someone, and here was the prince, dull–eyed and uncaring about whether she spoke or not. She glanced around her, looking at some of the prince’s servants.

“Your servants are all Su,” she noted.

“Yes,” the prince said, “they make good servants.”

“Do you… do you ever think they are treated unfairly?” Kara asked. The prince looked up at her, his eyes flashing with that rare intelligence she saw in him before. She went on. “This morning, a Su guard was punished for something I did. I should have been punished but instead…”

“Why are you telling me this?” The prince dropped his loaf of bread and was staring at Kara, looking annoyed.

“Well, I… you’re my betrothed. I thought…”

“This is none of my business. They are your problems, and why come to me with your silly quibbles? So a servant got beaten? Is that so strange?” The prince stood up.

“I’m sorry if I—” Kara started.

“You talk too much for a woman,” the prince said. He grabbed a hunk of cheese and his discarded loaf. Then he left.

Kara stared in disbelief after him.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was terribly silent. Too silent for Hakon. It had been this way for five days. Hakon’s tribe had been traveling through the underground tunnels from camp to camp, making their way to the borders of the Desolate Forest. They were outfitted with hatchets, bows and arrows, spears, daggers, slings, and stones. Everything they needed, they wore on their backs. The journey had been uneventful, save for a few wounds when wild animals attacked and a few poisonings from plants, but all this was ordinary.

The tribe was extremely loyal to Hakon’s mission, and even the youngest hunter, Skeet’s little brother, Isis, was solemn about his mission. He had returned from his Survival just before they embarked with fresh scars on his face and lugging a bear upon his back. With brief festivities he was declared the newest man among them.

Hakon felt tremendous support surrounded by the people he had known all his life. Bit by bit the entire tribe had decided to come to the edge of the forest. It was time to move Kaldin anyway, hunt elsewhere, and avoid the wild fires that would inevitably come in the summer. Only the trained hunters who had come of age would continue to accompany Hakon into the Great Plains and into Atmen.

Surprisingly, the tribe was kind to Tadi, who was strong for a boy his age. He had probably trained a great deal with his siblings. He was young and prideful, but he had proved himself to be a keen hunter and loyal third. With Skeet, Hakon had an earth vanisher, and with Tadi, he now had an earth zipper sworn to be loyal to him. The more types of power he had with him, the better. If the tribe ever needed to break off from Hakon and his companions, they would be well prepared.

Still, while there was kindness, there was little trust. Everyone was sure he was intended as a spy for Windfather’s tribe. They had hardly started their journey, and it felt like there was a traitor in their midst. While Tadi was dutiful and strong, he hadn’t spared any love for them either. He was bitter at Hakon for beating his brother—strange, angrier about Hakon beating his brother than beating him. All he had said to Hakon this entire time was “If he could have fought with power, he would have bested you.” Hakon didn’t contradict him—it might be true.

All the silence had given Hakon too much time to think about what Tadi had said. Would he have lost if the fight hadn’t have been fair? He needed to learn to fight outside of the duels, to fight with ruthlessness, the way a tiger fights a man. The men he would fight outside the forest would not spare his life or allow him to yield. He was on his way into enemy territory, and still he had never killed a man. What would he do that first time he had to take someone’s life?

The company stopped for a moment to take a break. Guards were stationed throughout, and everyone took their skins out for water. Hakon moved toward a small square opening in the roof of the tunnel. It led to a hidden door, which was held down into the tunnel by a rope. He saw the thick wooden doorway carved into the roof of the tunnel. It guarded an entry to the forest above them. These were hunting positions. Where they would exit the tunnel and set traps. They were closer to the surface than Hakon thought. This must be one of the shallow passageways. Skeet put his hand on his shoulder, eyes questioning. “There’s an opening ahead. Let me see outside for a minute.” Skeet nodded, but Tadi asked, “Why?” “I just need some air,” Hakon said.

“Air sucker,” Tadi muttered. Hakon saw Skeet put his hand on his spear.

“Skeet, not now.”

“Right, Skeet, not now.” Tadi sneered. “Let Hakon take his breath of fresh air while we mud dwellers enjoy the dirt.”

“Don’t insult my brother!” Skeet shouted, pulling out his spear from behind his back and lunging at Tadi, but the boy dodged his thrust, pulling out his dagger. No one in the tribe moved to stop Skeet. Instead, they watched with amusement. Some even cheered.

“Please don’t kill him, Skeet,” Hakon said, not caring to stop them on his own, and opened the wood panel, leaving the two fighters behind him. He could hear Tadi laughing, coaxing Skeet. It didn’t sound like he was fighting fair either, zipping behind Skeet to poke him or prod him. They would build a new passageway with all the impressions they were leaving in the earth.

Hakon stepped outside through the hatch, peeking his head out cautiously. He could see some rusted traps in the distance—they had been abandoned a while. That usually meant that no wildlife wandered this way, or worse, there were too many predators in this area. That put Hakon on edge, and he listened carefully to rustles in the wind that might indicate something else. He could see from the position of the sun and the trees that they were not far away from their destination. Perhaps only a bird span or so.

“Se–ei!”

He started, and his hand went to his dagger as he looked for the source of the sound. It was a strange little creature, just inches from his face. It looked to be a small frog but almost like a bird at the point of its mouth. It seemed to be smiling at him. He had never seen a creature like it in the Desolate Forest—surely a predator would destroy it if it stayed in the open like this.

“Se–ei!” it cried again, throat ballooning, and then it was gone. It left too quickly.
A portling
, Hakon realized. It left no indention in the earth, which Hakon thought was strange. It wasn’t often you saw an animal that ported using air or water in the forest, but Hakon had never been this close to the edge of the forest before. For some reason, the odd creature’s presence disturbed Hakon. He wondered if he could tell Gage or Tip what he had seen, but he realized how foolish it would sound for him to say he saw an animal in the forest. He ignored the feeling of apprehension.

He had stayed out long enough—being out in the open forest made him wary. Hakon turned back inside the tunnel. Tip and Isis had broken up the fight, and both were holding Tadi down. Both Skeet and Tadi were cut up but not too terribly injured.

“It’s too dangerous to zip inside a tunnel! You’ll lose an arm!” Isis was dutifully saying to the boy not much older than himself. Skeet was grinning, all anger gone.

He turned to Hakon. “Isn’t my brother a good little hunter—reminding Tadi of the important
rules?
” He laughed. Tadi smiled too, and for a moment, Hakon thought the tension might be released, and then he saw the undercurrent of rage and hate in both Skeet’s and Tadi’s eyes.

Hakon no longer worried about having to kill a man—he worried about his men trying to kill each other.

***

The tribe moved into their final Terra village at sunset. All the tribes had been notified through a zipping carrier bird that they would be coming through. Guards were set up throughout the parameter. They were close to the edge of the forest now. They could see the great pillars of smoke curling into the sky, indicating the huge camps of Alem soldiers.

That night, the warriors gathered with Gage and Tip to discuss how to get past the smoke screen without directly attacking the border guard.

“We want to pass them unseen,” Gage cautioned.

“Right. If our presence is known, it will be seen as an all–out attack. We will have declared war,” Tip was saying with a smile. “I’m sure the king would love to see his son after he just heard an entire Terra army attacked his border guard. Though I’m not sure Tadi would mind.” He had the same sense of humor as Skeet—ironic and inappropriate. Tadi frowned and hugged his wolfdog tighter. Hakon noticed for the first time that Tadi had one particular ziff he favored. Many ziffs had accompanied them—they were good hunting and companion dogs. But this brown and gray one must be Tadi’s own. He sat close to the ziff now, an entire arm wrapped around its furry neck. Hakon suddenly felt sorry for the boy—how could his father entrust someone so young with such a large, and possibly deadly, mission?

“We could create a distraction,” another warrior offered. “Zip a wildcat into their camp. I’m sure they’ve been attacked before by beasts.”

A member of an older pack nodded. “We won’t have trouble getting a few through—we’ve raided villages far beyond the smoke screen before.”

“It wasn’t as thick a few weeks ago,” Skeet said. “They’ve thickened it. They probably have a dozen rows of fires and an army behind them.”