The Kept

The Enemy

"Nerys! Stay with me."

Trygve urged the horse carrying them both to go a little faster and the surge of pain Nerys felt at each bouncing step was nearly unbearable. She slumped back into his chest.

"Come on, eyes open and I'll tell you everything, from the beginning."

Nerys tilted her head up and pondered the difference a couple of months had made. His once neatly groomed goatee was lost to a wild, thick, beard that buried the familiar curve of his jaw and hid the smile lines that had softened his serious demeanor. He seemed older, intimidating almost. Despite that, his was still the face Nerys had grown to trust and love. But the man beneath had always been a stranger.

Alrek Trygvendale Jalmar, the third, was the heir to the smallest and most remote of the four kingdoms. Haolaetia was known for producing superior wines, and little else. In matters of political import, the monarchs of Haolaetia would graciously accept whatever terms were offered and then return to their small, but prospering, corner of the realm. In the many years since the last war, the Haolaetian Esidiem had never once hosted a battle between itself and another kingdom, and its Kept never engaged in anything more than non-lethal demonstrations to settle friendly rivalries.

Haolaetians were considered so tame and inconsequential that neither the royals nor their most trusted advisors bothered to keep close watch on the goings-on of their quiet neighbors. If they had, someone surely would have recognized Trygve's uncanny resemblance to the reclusive first-born son of King Alrek, the second, well before he infiltrated the highest ranks of elite guards in not one but two kingdoms.

"Much of what I told you about my childhood was true, I was raised by Princess Genevra's guard. Theron came to Haolaetia after completing his service in Tiarm, but he grew bored of retirement and began tutoring me in swordsmanship.

He spoke of you often and, being a child, I found the stories fantastically thrilling—like having the map to a buried treasure that no-one else knows exists. Naturally, I told my father about the secret princess of two kingdoms. At first, he thought you were something Theron had made up to keep me focused on my training, but when he learned that it was true, he gave his blessing and I was brought up exactly as I described to you before."

Nerys was appalled. "You've been working toward this since you were a child?"

"Not in the sense that you think," Trygve said. "I only planned as far as using the letter from Theron to become Princess Genevra's personal guard and learn what had become of you. Everything else built upon what happened after she found out you had gone to the Esidiem. Your brother wanted to have you assassinated behind your mother's back, but I promised him victory over both Ithaam and Cerebes, in return for a modest share of the spoils, if he would wait for you to become queen of both."

They were nearing an airship that was far larger and more impressive than either of the others she had seen. It hovered like a specter, ominous and dark with the promise of destruction.

"You're taking me to him!" Nerys said. "You filthy, lying bastard!"

She threw herself from the horse, toppling with a sickening crack to the ground. Every damp breath burned as though she had inhaled some noxious fume and she was unable to bring herself to her feet. Trygve cursed and halted the horse, finding her quickly in the bright moonlight.

He crouched before her, and she delivered a muddy elbow to his cheek. The exertion cost her far more than she won. She lay in the mud like a fish in a dried up riverbed. Every breath came in short, gurgling gasps. Undeterred by the attack, Trygve carefully lifted her.

"You're not listening, Nerys. I have no intention of giving you to him," Trygve said, and then more softly, "Or anyone else."

He carried her the rest of the way to the anchored ship, the horse trotting obediently alongside them like a large dog. They were met by silent, grim-faced guards who wore the same uniforms as those who had ambushed them in the forest.