The Shadow

Chapter 11

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harper smiled at him as she patted her stallion's muscled neck.

Kai nodded, gaze never leaving the fortifications."I've never seen anything like it—Northshore was no fortress, nor were any other cities or towns that I have ever seen."Although he had left Northshore a few times in the past, he had never traveled far. He had seen cities with strong defenses, but none so large or intimidating as Aria.

Kai returned Harper's smile, giving Breeze's reins a tug as they rode toward the city gate.

We're finally here. After all of that running and killing and death...we've finally found safety.

It was a surreal feeling. He would be sleeping on a bed tonight. No more knotted tree branches or rocky paths. No more worrying about being killed in the night. No more fear. And no more sleeping under the stars. No more hunting with Harper. He turned, watching as she rode confidently along the path, sitting straighter atop her horse as they neared Aria. They had made it...now what? Kai had never considered what would happen to him—to them—once they arrived at the city. She was a rich merchant's daughter, and what was he? In Northshore, he was feared and hated and respected. Here, he was nothing. He had thought that being nothing was a good thing, before meeting Harper. Now, he wasn't so sure.

"Who rides to Aria?"

The guard's voice came from the tower walls directly above the rocky path.

Harper rode forward. "Harper Ross, daughter of John Ross," she said, and gestured to Kai. "This is a friend I found along the road." She seemed to notice the man slung across Breeze's back, frowning. "And this is our prisoner."

Kai distantly made out the guards face above the walls as he blanched before bowing. "Apologies my lady—I should have recognized you. We will open the gates at once."

Seconds later, the wall's iron and wood portcullis heaved up, clearing the way past it and into the city that lay beyond.

Kai looked at Harper, raising his eyebrows. "My lady?"

She snorted, a sound that was at odds with the title the guard had bestowed upon her mere moments before. "Oh, please. I hate it when people call me that."

He smiled, following her past the city portcullis, into a city larger than any he had seen before. He noted the armed men that followed a few feet behind them. Apparently, Harper was important enough that guards had been sent to escort her home. Casting his gaze back toward the city, Kai let out a breath. Houses were packed together for miles in every direction—hardly a foot between them, save for the few streets that snaked throughout Aria. These houses were better built than those of Northshore—walls of mortar and brick, defined shapes and well constructed roofs. Hundreds—no, thousands—of these houses stretched out towards the center of the city, where a massive building stood, a sentinel watching over Aria.

Harper noticed his gaze. "Lord Canmore's castle. That's where we're going."

"Will he receive you on such short notice?" The lord of Northshore hardly received people at all—he was more of a drunken puppet than a leader.

"He will receive me, yes." She frowned, but said nothing more.

Kai nodded, eyes returning to Aria. What would happen to these thousands of people, should the walls fall? Would they be slaughtered like sheep, or taken prisoner? After the villages he had seen on his way to Aria, Kai wasn't so sure. This army had no sense of mercy—only death. They would not get past the walls, though. He would make sure of it, no matter what the cost. He had been an assassin for too long—he had murdered for too long. Although he would be killing, perhaps he could work toward repaying a sliver of the debt that he owed humanity by fighting their battles.

"We're here," Harper said. "I'll do the talking." Indeed, they had arrived at the center of Aria, and a castle stood before them. It was massive, made from the same gray colored stones as the city's walls. Several towers jutted toward the cloudless blue sky, encasing the keep that lay between them. More walls and battlements stretched around the keep, interlocking with the impossibly tall towers.

"It's beautiful," he said, although the word did not do the castle justice.

Harper nodded, pulling on one of her braids as she watched the castle.

"Lady Harper, welcome back. I assume you have come to see our lord?"

Kai looked up from the street he had been staring at while he mulled through his thoughts. They had arrived at the doors to the castle keep.

Harper nodded, sending a smile toward the castle guard who had spoken. "I know I didn't give notice, but this is important—very important."

"Very well—Lord Canmore will be happy to see you." He glanced at the soldier slung along the back of Kai's horse. "We can take this prisoner off of your hands."

The guard nodded toward two men stationed to his side, who helped Kai lug the soldier off Breeze. The man who had spoken simply pushed open the doors to Lord Canmore's keep, gesturing for Kai and Harper to enter.