An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 57

Noveno 2nd, 3328 A.G

  The gate guards had protested her outing for a solid five minutes, but at the end, they didn't have authority to keep her in. They'd offered to send guards out with her for protection, and she'd all but laughed. She was the Nara Ashhand. She couldn't count on two hands how many people she'd killed, and the number she'd killed with just her hands in self defense was one short of ten.

She liked to think outside despite the cold, and liked to do so surrounded by trees instead of walls. She was supposed to address the armies soon, and though she could talk endlessly if she tried- making the words meaningful was difficult.

  For comfort, her hand lingered over her dagger- strapped to her hip. She could unsheath and throw it at a human's or ice giant's eye in less than than a second if necessary- so she began to relax and instead thought of what would happen once she started to take more kingdoms. If she was unsuccessful, she would be killed.

  If she was successful, commanding lords and ladies would start to take notice and unite again to try and stop her. So long as her armies remained loyal, it would be easy to wipe the smaller ones out- and offer them their lives if they pledged loyalty to her.

  Voryn would be the hardest. She'd wait until she had each other kingdom to attack the territory, perhaps even cut off trade so they'd be forced into being completely independent and have to make the decision between starving their people and surrendering. She would hate to involve civilians like that, but what choice did she have? The sister of a woman she'd killed would not hand over her power because Nara asked nicely. After the war was won, she told herself she'd be a good leader by  providing coin and food to civilians who lost someone- but how  would she be able to keep track of each one?

  War was bloody and brutal. War separated families, created orphans and single mothers and fathers, and the sooner she accepted that the better. People would die, but it was necessary for her to create a better world. She leaned against a tree, having just gotten out of sight of the walls- and thought some more.

  She'd never truly loved any one but Thorne and Lillian, and it wasn't a romantic kind of love. Though he'd wanted more, she never saw Terricus as anything more than a good friend. She didn't love her father. She didn't love Renard. She didn't love any of her advisors or soldiers or guards. Losing Thorne, her true father- had ripped her heart out for months. It still did, but the pain was dulled.

  This war would take husbands and wives from each-other, children from their mothers and fathers. Nara had no child and she did not love her husband, but she'd heard stories of the type of pain it created- and felt momentarily bad for the ones who would endure that type of loss. The words of Tiffan Raynerus's letter stuck with her then:

  I know what you might think of me because of my own difficulties throughout the years, but I am not above killing children. I want you to remember that. I want you to remember that I will kill every man, woman and child I must to make you understand, to get true revenge.

A time will come when you believe the world is at peace and that I have forgotten all about my promises, but I promise you this: I will not forget. I do not forget.

You will feel at least a small part of what I felt, and as I'm sure my sister told you at least once- Raynerus's do not make threats. We make promises.

Nara almost laughed. There was nothing Tiffan could do to make her feel that same pain because Nara didn't let herself love people unless she had no choice. There was no way she'd be able to get to Lillian with the guards Nara placed around her all moments of the day before she left, so it was just a threat. Still- anyone who directly threatened a child deserved to die. She would get to Tiffan eventually.

  She walked back to the walls of House Alymere, but found herself at an unguarded section.

  Just as she were about to walk around until she got to a gate, a voice called to her.

"Queen Nara Ashhand-" it mockingly said. "Murderer of brothers- nice to finally meet you."

  Nara turned towards the source- a man who looked almost identical to the one who'd attacked her yesterday, only less drunk and with a bucket of elderberries in hand. The look in his eyes was one of grief and pure anger, and because Nara herself was a bit drunk from the morning wine- she laughed.

  "You're jesting, right?" Her laugh would have been contagious, had anyone else been around. "Your brother tried to rape a queen. He got exactly what he deserved- a long burning ceremony so no one will have to deal with him as a night skeleton. What is it that you hope to accomplish in approaching me?"

  The man dropped his bucket of elderberries. "Your death. A life for a life- seems fair, don't you think?"

  "Oh, if each person who cared about another person killed their murderer, there would be no people left." Nara shrugged, her hand still on her dagger. "I am not sorry for killing your brother and I never will be. This world is a better place without him in it."

  And that was what broke him.

  The rapist's brother reached behind him, to where a long dagger of his own was strapped against his backside. Nara drew hers, ducking under his when he swung it at her- and got him in the leg. What she didn't expect was how strong he would be.

    She'd fought off assassination attempts from men that were twice her size before, but this was different. She didn't know, but the man's job was to deal with and check for cracks in the stone of the main house, often high up where he had to do some climbing. He'd also do most of the lifting anytime a new cottage was built, so any part of his body that could have a prominent muscle did.

  He lifted her like it was nothing, able to ignore the blood pouring out of his leg until she stabbed him in the back over and over again. He could have stabbed her too, but he preferred to smash heads into things.

  And he would have- had something not forcibly yanked him back, causing Nara to hit the ground, barely half a pace from where their dagger landed blade up in the snow.

  She frowned in confusion, then backed as far against the wall as possible when she saw it. An ice giant, holding the man up by his neck like it was nothing. For a brief moment she could swear the thing made eye contact with her, and that she saw protectiveness in them-  which wouldn't make sense. She'd heard stories of them being non-violent on rare occasions, but she'd always been told the same thing: Kill them on sight no matter what. They're unpredictable, untrainable and their strength is unmatched.

  And then the creature slammed him into the wall over and over again like it was nothing, splattering blood over the snow, her, the wall, and itself.

  She could have reached for her dagger. It would only take a pace or two, and then she could throw it at the creature's eye- but she didn't. Something in its eyes stopped her. It almost seemed.... emotional?

  Her heart beat fast, and she knew it was stupid; probably the stupidest thing she'd ever done-

  And then she reached out to touch it.