The Four Realms - Book One - Truth

Episode 13 - No mercy

My gaze would not shift from the bloody stump the Colonel was cradling with his other arm as he knelt in the mud. I imagined it was fortuitous for him that it was raining—there would surely be a visible puddle of piss beneath him had the floor been dry.

The Colonel's screams were not the only ones now, as all the King's Guards had been pulled from their horses, attacked, and forced into a tight group on the floor.

"Amia. What should we do with them now?"

For the first time, I noticed a young man, at least ten years older than me, pointing a sword at the guards. His hair was shaved at the sides of his head, with thick black hair at the top combed back in a sleek style. He wore the clothes of a warrior and looked formidable. Fur adorned his broad shoulders, and leather straps covered his forearms. In his hands, he held two large swords, adorned with carvings and a gem in the hilt of each.

The woman, Amia, the young man had addressed, wore similar attire; however, she held a pike, and two ornately carved scythes were buckled either side of her waist at her hips.

The woman, Amia, stepped forward towards the crowd.

"People of Laravin. For too long, you have been left to suffer. We are not your kin; we are not your saviours, but we can deliver to you now an offering for your vengeance."

I watched as the people in the crowd—made up of men, women, and children—looked at each other with expressions of hatred. The crowd began to silently move towards the guards, who had been mamed in ways that ensured they were unable to escape.

I wanted revenge for all my pain, but this? Was this the answer?

As if sensing my internal question Amia was beside me.

"I can see it in you." She said the words with a disconcerting smile on her face.

"You can see what?" I answered confidently trying not to hint at how uncomfortable I felt about all of this.

"That Latabin air of judgement." Amia was behind me now, close enough for me to smell leather, blood and sweat! There was something else, another scent, the scent of sadistic surprise.

I dropped to my knees in agony, my shoulder was on fire, looking behind me, I saw Amia holding the arrow she had torn from my body in her bloody hand.

"You monster." The words fell from my lips.

Seemingly unphased, Amia turned and barked orders.

"Lian. Bring the horses." Amia had shouted an order at another person I had not yet noticed. A man who must have been knelt near Everen now rose.

This man, Lian, was a size that was breathtaking. He was at least two heads taller then me and I was not short for a girl. He too wore warrior clothes, yet there was something different about him. His gaze met mine and seemed to pierce the numbness I was feeling and snap me back to the here and now.

"Kryal. Take Everen. I will take Esatain." Amia was still ordering people around.

"Hang on, take me where? I am not going anywhere with you." I had found my voice again. I watched Lian smile broadly.

"I like her." He patted me on the shoulder as he chuckled, and I winced with pain because of the wound the arrow had left.

Amia looked me up and down with distaste. "This, here." Her finger was raised and moving in a circle in the air. "This mess was all you. Everen, half dead, is also you. So, if you think for one moment that I actually want to take you anywhere, you are sadly mistaken. Unfortunately, it is not my choice."

"Half Dead?" My question was full of desperation. Amia looked at me quizzically, her beautiful features pulling into a frown.

"Please don't tell me you have feelings for Everen." Amia's question was full of derision, yet I couldn't get my mind to focus on anything other than the fact that Everen might still be alive. I couldn't deny it any longer. I had deep feelings for him.