AllFreeNovel
Share Us
KYLLEN
With his forearms enclosed in leather bracers, he moved the tall sharp blades of amber cattails out of his way. Both boards, his and that of his companion, were magically enhanced for added speed. Each sure, long stroke of their paddles sent them flying ahead along the surface of the river.
Despite the thick grass in this part of the stream, the boards slid along nicely, keeping a steady pace. The sharp blades of the tall grass nicked his clothes. If it wasn’t for the bracers, the skin on his forearms would’ve been shredded.
“Just around this bend, my lord.” Hapon gestured at the patch of land that cut into the lazy waters of the Gex Creek, one of the many arms of Layahi Bay. “We’ll be at the palace by dinnertime.”
Kyllen didn’t need Hapon to tell him that. He knew by heart the mouth of every stream flowing in or out of the bay. But he allowed Hapon to lead. The man clearly enjoyed being useful, and he had no heart to set him straight.
He’d chosen Hapon to accompany him for the same reason he had put this man to guard Amira’s door on their first night back in Lorsan. When he first saw Hapon, the man reminded him of Sedren, one of the few loyal guards his father had. He later learned that Hapon was Sedren's son, which made it easier to trust him.
That didn’t mean, of course, that Hapon wouldn’t betray him if given a chance. But so far, he’d proven to be a great travel partner.
It didn’t hurt that Hapon’s mother came from the small village near Lorsan’s border with Olathana, the land of the sirens. It had taken them almost two days to reach the place. But Hapon knew the village well and had helped Kyllen find what he needed quickly.
They turned around the bend where the stream merged with Layahi Bay. The grassy patches retreated to the banks. Their boards now glided on the clean surface smoothly, unimpeded.
Water boards were the best mode of transportation for their party of two with little baggage. Many parts of the wetlands were impassable by horse, no matter how magically enhanced their horseshoes happened to be. Traipsing the wetlands on foot would take weeks one way. He’d hate leaving Amira alone for that long.
As it was, he and Hapon had covered the entire trek to the border and back in less than four days. Their boards needed just a little push of magic here and there to make it through some grassy patches.
The brightly lit royal tree of the palace glimmered in the distance. It used to be home. From the day he was born, all of Ellohi was meant to be his one day, but it had slipped between his fingers.
He should be ecstatic about returning to Lorsan so relatively close to the time when he’d left. But it wasn’t that simple.
Udren was the only person he knew. The only one who remembered him. Other than his brother, the palace was full of strangers.
During the dinner he’d had with the people who were now his family, he’d learned that Bherlon was three hundred and twenty-three years old. All these years, his nephew had been groomed to become the next High Lord, and he showed no intentions of giving it up now.
No one had expected Kyllen’s return. They had mourned and put him to rest, literally—there’d been a funeral with a symbolic urn of dirt placed on the final resting mound beneath the roots of the palace tree.
After that, Udren, his brother, had taken his place in every way. The little scoundrel had even married Kyllen’s betrothed, Lady Eiphed. Not that Kyllen was upset about losing his bride. He hardly knew the woman and had absolutely no feelings or even a firm opinion about her.
He couldn’t blame Udren for taking over. The world couldn’t have stayed still for almost five centuries while he was gone. Udren didn’t break any laws by taking the place vacated by Kyllen’s abduction.
But the place always remained Kyllen’s. He was the rightful High Lord of Ellohi, and he’d be damned if he stepped aside now in favor of the nephew he’d never met until a few days ago.
The golden lights of the palace blended with the brilliant pink and orange of the sunset on the horizon. The beauty of his homeland took his breath away. He couldn’t wait for Amira to see this, too.
The thought of being with her soon added strength to his weary arm muscles. Hers was the only face he wished to see after the long and exhausting journey. She had been his one ray of sunshine during his imprisonment by Ghata. And she remained his guiding light now, in the place that should be his home but no longer felt like one.
He and Hapon approached the palace, weaving between the hundreds of other boards, rafts, and small boats. Kyllen gestured for Hapon to steer to the side, instead of the busy main passage.
They maneuvered between the trunks and roots of the nearby trees, docks, and other vessels. He slid his boat closer to the royal tree. Amira’s window was quite high up. He could only see the glow from the light from her room up above them.
There were no branches past the thin growth right over the water. The smooth expanse of the royal tree trunk stretched high and wide.
“My lord?” Hapon sounded hesitant.
“Can you take my board back to the main dock?” Kyllen slid his paddle into the slot on the side of the board, then uncurled the length of rope attached to the nose of it. The rope was used to tie the small lightweight vessels when not in use.
“How are you planning to get inside, my lord?” Hapon frowned. The man’s reddish senties stirred agitatedly, betraying his unease.
“I’ll climb.” Kyllen tipped his chin at the tree.
Hapon glanced up at the trunk. “It’s my duty to inform you that climbing the walls of the palace is impossible. In addition to the magic wards, the tree is smoothed and polished on purpose, to keep the High Lord and his family safe from intruders.”
“I know, Hapon.”
“The wards may not stop you, since you are of the High Lord’s blood, but even without them… It’s just physically not possible, my lord.”
Kyllen hid a smile. Hapon sounded so much like his father. Sedren had scolded Kyllen many times for climbing this very wall when he was a child.
As Hapon had said, the wards didn’t concern Kyllen. The blood of his ancestors would allow him to get past them. However, the lock he had installed on Amira’s door before he left could only be opened from inside her room. Of course, he could knock on her door and wait until she opened it for him. But that was the problem—he just couldn’t wait any longer.
“It’s faster this way.” He kicked his boots off, dismissing Hapon’s concerns with a wave of a hand.
He used the underbrush to climb the first section of the trunk. Once he reached the smoother surface, he slowed down a little, searching for the tiny, barely noticeable protrusions in the bark.
Using his fingers, toes, and even senties, he rediscovered the familiar path, steadily climbing up.
Many changes had taken place in this world during his absence. But it was a pleasure to discover some things had stayed the same. The royal tree hadn’t changed at all.
