To Stand Beside Her (48 page)

Anatolio noticed
Leila
first
as she quietly approached the group
.

“That didn’t take too long,”
Anatolio
said
,
and everyone turned the direction he was talking. Nalick ran over to her and picked her up as he hugged her.
His grasp was tight like he had lost her for years.

“Please don’t ever run off chasing people like that again.
I was so worried
. I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt again
,”
Nalick
said
so only she could hear
.
H
e refused to let go of her.

“Are you okay?”
Nalick
asked
finally releasing his grip a little
.

Leila kissed him and then responded, “I’m fine.
Did everyone make it back to Lexia?
How are Macarius and Javed?”

“Javed died before I left the palace
,
and Macarius was going to have surgery.
We hoped Roger
would
make it in time to help out.
One of Roger’s couriers stopped by to say he would be in Lexia by the afternoon
,
but we left before he came
,” Nalick explained
,
finally se
t
t
ing
her back on the ground.
She held tight to his hand
wrapped
around her waist.

“What are you planning now?”
Nalick
asked
,
see
ing
the wheels working in her mind.

“I need to borrow Anatolio for a
n hour
,
and then you may do what
ever you please to Aiolos and his men,” Leila explained as they neared
Nalick’s makeshift
camp.

As they entered the camp, Nikias quickly ran over to them and bowed.
“Surveillance has that we outnumber them two to one.
We are easily set at the six points and are awaiting your command to enter.”
Nalick had a much larger army amassed. He easily had the upper hand.

“We will wait an hour,” Nalick said
,
and Leila squeezed his hand.

Chapter 2
7

“Will you fill us in on what you are planning?” Nalick asked.

“Just a little pay back,”
Leila
replied
,
s
it
t
ing
down and beg
inning
to lace her boots up.
“How is Phillip?”

“He is fine,” Nalick replied
,
obviously trying to control the anger at Aiolos for Phillip’s hand.

“His hand is my fault,” she said without looking Nalick in the eyes.
Leila
continued to rummage through her bag.
“I should have kept my mouth shut, and I suppose I should have not
sp
a
t on Aiolos.
If I hadn’t riled him up, he would not have tried to use Phillip to make a point.”

“It is not your fault,” Nalick replied
,
proud of the fight in her
.
“
Aiolos
is the one who took Phillip, and this is something we will have to deal with the rest of our lives.
There are many people out there that are desperate to get you, and the children are the easiest way to get to you.”

“I hope to change that.
All I need is one hour, and I am ready to go,”
Leila
said while standing.
Nalick stood with her and grabbed both her arms
,
forcing her to look him in the eyes.

“Come back unharmed
,
please,”
Nalick
said
,
trying
to read her expression.
Leila
was calm and unafraid.
Determination filled her eyes.
“This is not your fault.”
He gently kissed her forehead.

Leila slipped her knives into each strap around her ankles and carefully put
four
vials in her pocket.
Anatolio followed behind her enter
ing
into the forest.

“Be very careful
with these
,”
Leila
emphasized.
“We need to
change the color of your hair since it is the obvious give away as to who you are.
I don’t need you to be a target on top of me already being a target.
S
it here
.”
Anatolio kneeled before Leila
,
and she quickly rubbed the dark color into his blond hair.

“Was he mad?” she asked about Nikias.

“Oh, yeah, when
Nikias
woke up and realized what we did.
Lucky for us, he was with Theo and couldn’t get mad at him.
Once he calmed down, Theo explained what you had said
,
and he understood.
You gave him a way out, possibly saved his life, and at the same time made it so that Nalick could not get mad at him for not being with you,” Anatolio explained
,
“
T
hough I think he might still be a little mad at me.”

“Well he shouldn’t be mad at you.
Nikias
should be mad at me.
I’m the one that told you to do it,” Leila said
,
finish
ing
his hair.
Anatolio stood beside her.
With dark hair
Anatolio
looked like he could be Nalick’s younger brother.

“You can say that
,
but really, can he actually get mad at
his
queen?
It is much easier for him to take out his last frustrations on his half
-
brother,” Anatolio added.

Leila
and Anatolio slipped back into the camp easily.
Leila quietly
walked through
the back of the tent
,
and Anatolio followed.
Aiolos lay in the bed in the last area curtained off from the various women who were also asleep.
Leila held herself from laughing out loud
thinking
of how Anatolio would react if he saw the topless women.
Thankfully, the lights had been blown out and they were in complete darkness.
Leila placed one vial between her gloves and easily broke it.
Anatolio held Aiolos’ arms down
,
as Leila placed the wet glove across his face.
His eyes opened briefly but then they closed again.

Anatolio helped her carry the
k
ing to a
near
by
tent.
Anatolio promptly used the same liquid to make the man inside also fall asleep.
Leila quickly began tying
Argo
up
,
and Anatolio double checked each knot to make sure
he
c
ould not escape.
Then
Leila
tied Aiolos up
,
also
,
but instead of tying his hands together
,
she
tied
them
to the base of the bed in the room.
Anatolio gagged both the
Argo
and the
k
ing.
Leila looked at the half naked king in disgust.
Slipping the knife out of her ankle strap she quickly stabbed it through his right hand.
Taking a second knife, she stabbed it through his left hand.
Anatolio was surprised she could actually follow through with what she told him she was going to do.
Leila kneeled before the
k
ing and slapped his face waking him up.
Groggily
Aiolos
looked at Leila as his vision came to.

“My children are not to be touched,”
Leila
said and stood.
Aiolos gazed at her and didn’t understand the meaning until he realized he was tied down.
Aiolos
carefully looked to his right hand
,
and he finally understood.
Aiolos
tried
to reply
,
but he could not speak.
Leila turned one last time and stared at him.
He could see the hatred in her eyes and was surprised.
Through all the years of dealing with her, there was anger, but never hatred.

“If you ever touch any of my children again, there will be no next time.
Just be happy I was in a good mood and decided not to make a point by removing body parts.
”
Leila
walked out the front of the tent with Anatolio close behind
and back into the woods
.
Easily they found their way back to camp.

“We need to make a statement to all other countries that think they can march in here and just take the queen,” Nikias said
,
and the second
general
nodded his head.
“She obviously
does
not want to stay with them, so why do they keep coming for her?”

“I would not have given up so easy if she turned me down,” Nalick said
,
understanding the attempts of his fellow kings in winning over Leila by any means possible.
Leila walked silently behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“But I did turn you down,” Leila said from behind him
,
and he quickly stood and hugged her.
“Your forces out number them three to one
,
”
Leila
added
.
“There are weak spots in their perimeter.”
Leila drew a map on the ground and marked the gates.
She indicated to several spots
,
“Here, here, and here.
Team
s
of five or less can easily infiltrate and take out the guards at each entrance.”
Leila sat down on Nalick’s lap
,
and he held onto her tightly.
Gabor had promised him that if he was able to hang onto her long enough for them to get married he would not have to worry
for
the rest of his life.
It was getting harder the closer they got to the wedding.

“And Aiolos?” the general asked.
“He is there with them
,
and he will not surrender without a fight.
He is one of the best they have.”

“That is why I will lead the men in,” Nalick replied.
Leila shook her head and smiled.

“He won’t be a problem,” Anatolio said from behind.
Nikias stared at his newly dark haired younger brother and could finally see the resemblance between Anatolio and his father.

“How can you be so certain
?
”
Nikias
asked suspiciously
.

“Even if you find him, I don’t think he will quite be in fighting form,” Leila said.
“You might want to check the tents around the king’s tent when you finally search through the camp.
There should be a man with him that is the one who actually orchestrated the whole kidnapping.”
She did not tell anymore.
“Be careful as you attack
.
There are people from the town here being put to work for them.
The woman, children, and priests will not fight back.
Do not harm them.
Some of the men are also from the village
,
and I’m sure they won’t fight back.
Please be careful.”
All three men nodded their heads.
They did not
want to hurt their own country
men either.