Honor-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book III ]

49

Now that Aun had taken to spending her evenings with him, Kaori slept more soundly and deeply than he had in years. They had made no formal arrangements, so their son tended to sleep on the couch in Kaori's parlor. Sometimes, he drowsed of an evening and they simply covered him with a blanket. At other times, Kaori helped him build caves out of cushions and blankets and read stories to him as he curled up inside, peering out.

It all felt cautious and temporary, an experiment. Aun had the freedom to return to the quarters Mhera had granted her in the guest wing and Kaori always expected her to, but she did not. They would spend their evenings quietly talking, sharing a cup of wine, and reacquainting themselves with one another. The steady pattern of domestic tranquility gave Kaori hope that they were rebuilding a life that they could share. Perhaps there was a future for them. A future for their family.

But then, one night, their precious peace was shattered.

Kaori was roused from sleep by the sound of clashing metal from the hall. Aun was awake in the same instant, her freckled face white with shock and fear. "Kaolo," she breathed.

Kaori was already running, stumbling over a coverlet spilled from the bed. He burst through the door dividing his private bedroom from his parlor. Kaolo was awake, peering over the back of the couch, staring wide-eyed at the door that led to the hallway. His fortress of cushions had collapsed.

"Hide," Kaori said in a rough whisper. He lunged toward his son, snatching blankets and pillows and throwing them into rough order. He wanted to erase the traces of a child's presence. "Now."

Aun scooped her son up into her arms. "Kaori—"

"Now!" Kaori waved them away with his arm, and Aun didn't protest again. A hasty glance over his shoulder rewarded him with a glimpse of Aun, dressed in nothing but her shift, darting back into the bedroom. He looked around the room for something he might use as a weapon.

Something rattled against the door to the parlor. Urged into action, Kaori took a poker from the side of the fire and turned back toward the door. He was wearing a nightshirt and nothing else; he was hardly equipped for battle, but the important thing was that Aun and Kaolo were safe. He had hidden them, and now he would defend them with everything he had in him.

The door burst in. Two soldiers barged through, both of them equipped with bloodied swords. Kaori typically had two guards outside of his private chambers and he knew it was their blood. The shock of what was happening winded him. He could make out a dark shape slumped against the wall across the hall before one of the soldiers cut off his view of anything but the coming fight.

"Who are you?" Kaori demanded. "What do you want?"

"Make this easy on yourself and stand down," replied the soldier, raising his sword. "You're all but unarmed. You going to poke me in the eye with that?"

"Now, Penn, he's half-armed," said the other, cracking a grin. "Give the man some credit."

The two soldiers laughed, edging away from one another. They settled into a fighting stance, the new distance giving each of them room to maneuver and making it impossible for Kaori to decide where to focus first. On edge and braced for the first swing, he tightened his grasp on his makeshift weapon.

Another man appeared in the doorway, flicking a dagger; droplets of blood, black in the night, spattered over the marble floor. He took in the scene at a glance. "What are you waiting for?"

"One step and I'll run you through," said Kaori through gritted teeth. It had been so long since he'd wielded any kind of blade. Since before he had lost his arm. The fire poker was strangely balanced in his hand, not made for fighting. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I want you to shut your mouth." The third soldier brushed past the two who had leveled their swords at Kaori, looking angry. "Put that down—"

Kaori swung. The soldier sprang back, bending his spine to pull his belly in to avoid the strike, although he was well out of Kaori's reach. The poker nearly slipped from Kaori's fingers. He maintained a hold and braced to swing again, but the soldier stepped forward this time, raising his arm. He was wearing bracers, and he parried Kaori's strike with little more than a grimace of discomfort. As Kaori recovered from the glanced blow, one of the sword-wielding soldiers swung his blade, knocking the fire poker right out of Kaori's hand. It rattled to the floor, and the third soldier simply leaned back and aimed a hard kick right at Kaori's belly.

He toppled over, on the wrong side to catch himself. Dull pain exploded in his gut and robbed him of his breath. He choked out the start of another challenge: "You—"

He was cut off when a heavy boot connected with his ribs. Before he had even registered the full effect of that pain, there were hands on him, lifting him up. Then they were dragging him out of the room, past the two bodies they'd left in the hallway. Kaori struggled, twisting his torso and trying to wrench his arm free.

"He's a squirmer," said the jokester. "Benefits of being half-armed, yeah? We can't grab him right."

"Just get a leg," said the first soldier. They both seemed to find Kaori's struggle amusing; the first man snickered as he caught one of Kaori's swinging legs and wrapped it tight in both arms. "Just be careful. Hold him level, or we'll get an eyeful. These highborn fellows and their nightdresses."

"'Twill give him a nice draft."

"Aye, I suppose, and good thing. You saw him back in his fancy sitting room. Hot-blooded and spoiling for a fight. Needs a good cooling-down, I reckon."

"Shut up, the two of you!" snapped the third guard. "His Grace is up ahead."

Kaori was still struggling as best as he could against the hold on his limbs. His first reaction to those words—His Grace—was confusion. The emperor was in Narr with his troops and had been gone from the palace for some time. Had he returned? And if so, why was he—? What had Kaori done to earn this—?

His panicked confusion was snuffed out quickly, for beyond the flanks of the soldier who led them, he saw His Grace. Kaori's estranged, renegade brother.

Koren.

Another disturbance caught Kaori's attention before he could make sense of the scene: it was Mhera being led by another group of guards. She was walking sedately, but when she saw him, he recognized the terror in her eyes.

The only thought that gave him peace in that moment was the face that the soldiers were leading him away. They had not searched his room.

Run, Aun. Run as soon as you can, he thought. Run and protect our son. I love you. I love you, no matter what comes.