Blood for her Crown

Chapter Nineteen

Ciden

Another two days had passed. In less than ten, Vayne would hand Ciden over to Dyon. Ciden wasn't ready to face him again, but what could he do? He just had to try to get it over with as quickly as possible. No fighting back, no disagreement, no insults, and maybe he'd be dead by the end of the week.

The two of them were currently sitting on two rocks next to a small cave. It was already dark, and Vayne had made a fire. While staring at the swirling flames, he sharpened one of his knives. Ciden assumed he was fantasizing about dragging the blade over his throat instead.

They would arrive at his old home in a little over a week. Or, rather, the miserable, shadowy cage that could have been his home had he made different decisions. But there was no way to go back in time and fix his mistakes. So there he was, staring at the night sky and the stars that shone down on him, glistening with pity or perhaps thrilled in his ironic situation in which he finally got what he deserved. Whatever it was, he was glad to be granted that sight one more time. He didn't know if he'd ever see them again. Given his recent luck, the next several days would most certainly be cloudy with wind and rain. A perfect reflection of his mind.

So he lay down, never moving his gaze away from the black, sprinkled blanket that covered the world. He was about to make peace with his predicament when he realized the same stars were shining for Grace and his friends. He hoped they would serve as a guide to safety for them. He prayed they'd tell them to keep far, far away from him. He thought he saw a star above him flare up in answer to his plea, if only for a split second.
A minute later, sleep washed over him, clouding his thoughts with a dreamless night.

He was jolted awake just as the sun was drawing a pale ocean across the sky. He'd been burned by something. He looked around as he felt a burning ache in his lower abdomen.
Vayne stood there with a blade in his hand. The tip was glowing. Had he actually spent several minutes heating up the sword only to wake him up like this?

"What was that for?"

Vayne shrugged and stalked around him. "We need to go, and you were still sleeping," he stated coldly. As if it would explain the burn.

Ciden examined the wound. Nothing major. It was just a little area of lightly burned skin. That didn't make things any better, but still, he stood and glared at the assassin. He couldn't see his expression because of the mask he was still wearing. Ciden had a faint memory of Vayne's face. It had been a long time since he had seen him without the mask. He'd been rather handsome back then, with sharp features, a charming smile, and kind eyes if he wanted to.

"Take off the mask," he demanded. "I've seen your face before. There's no need to hide it from me."

Vayne shook his head. "I'd prefer not to. I'm not here as the ambassador."

"There's no one around who could see you."

Vayne walked past him, knocking on his shoulder. It seemed that the discussion was over.

As Ciden turned back, the assassin was already in the saddle, waiting for him to follow. They were on the move again a minute later.

When Ciden couldn't stop thinking about the mask, he tried again. "What happened to you?" he questioned, tilting his head in his direction.

Not surprisingly, the man didn't respond.

"Why are you so worried about me seeing your face?"

"One more question, and I'll turn around and end your friends for good, do you hear me?"

Ciden wasn't sure if he was serious, but he got the message.

Vayne had never been a talkative person, and since Ciden wasn't either, the following three hours were mostly spent in silence. The only sounds were the horses' occasional snorts and the sound of their hooves on the uneven ground.

They decided to take a quick break for the horses at a little pond. Ciden was sitting at the edge of the lake, staring at his reflection, when Vayne approached and sat down a foot away. Despite the clouds blocking the sun, it had gotten quite warm, so he'd removed his hood. His hair still looked the same. It made Ciden wonder what had changed since he'd fled.

"What else did he do after I left? Dyon, I mean. I know about my father, but I doubt that was the only thing he did."

Vayne considered his question, perhaps deciding how much he could tell him. He probably concluded that it didn't matter anyhow because Ciden wouldn't be able to tell anybody else. "He blamed you for your father's death. Told everyone you poisoned the king and tried to kill him. I'm sure you've noticed that he's put a bounty on your head by now. He plans to execute you for treason and murder. The people hate you. But they hate him as well."

He began to stare off into the distance. "They hoped that everything would continue as before. They believed Dyon would be a glorious king who would know what was best for them. As it turns out, he doesn't." He took a deep breath before proceeding. "Alvaros is crumbling. People are suffering, starving, and dying on the streets. He made it impossible for ordinary citizens to flee and restricted the borders. We have very little access to outside resources. It's dreadful."

For one, knowing that his brother was now in charge, none of this surprised him, but on their side, it didn't make sense for him to let his own kingdom fall apart. Especially considering he'd wanted to be in a position of power for years. Then he remembered the stranger who had threatened him about this in Aderah's village. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but at least he'd offered him support if he needed it. The problem was that he wouldn't get the chance to kill Dyon, so it didn't matter anyway.
Vayne, on the other hand, had the possibility of talking to Dyon and maybe influencing him.

"If you don't approve of it, why don't you try to talk some sense into him? It can't go on like this for much longer."

"It's not my job to advise him, and I certainly don't plan to criticize his actions."

"Did you try?"

"Believe it or not, but yes, I tried. And I got this in exchange," he admitted before finally pulling off the mask.
It revealed a long scar beneath his left eye. It had slightly faded already. Ciden assumed it was a shallow cut from a while ago. Now that did surprise him. As cruel as Dyon was, he wouldn't have thought he'd hurt his oldest friend like that.

"How can you still work for him when he did this to you? Why would you be so loyal to him?"

Vayne's stare turned from emotionless to furious in a matter of seconds. "That is none of your business. You asked what has happened since you ran away? You know now. Dyon is still my king and my friend. No matter what I think about his reign, I will continue to serve him. He gave me the order to return you unharmed, which is the only reason I'm not going to cut out your tongue for all of these questions."

He stood and dragged Ciden up by his shirt. "This is the last time I'll tell you this, so you better pay attention: stop asking questions about me, your brother, or anything else regarding this. Otherwise, I won't detain from beating you senseless until we arrive."

"Fine, go ahead. You know as well as I do that Dyon is a threat to everyone, including you. If you want to ignore that and continue working for him blindly, do it. At least, I won't be around to see what destruction he leaves behind."

That was all he could say before Vayne hit him with the hilt of his sword. Ciden staggered and collided with the hard ground. Then he went unconscious.