AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Evander,” a deep voice calls from behind us. My friend looks to me, rolling his eyes.A smile creeps across my lips, and I try my best to stifle it before his father, the king, pulls up beside us.
“I want you and Roan to stay in the back.”
Evander’s eyes go wide. “Father!”
My heart drops at the declaration. I knew it was too good to be true when they agreed to let us come.
“It’s the safest place for both of you. I agreed to this little adventure for you two based solely on the fact that you’d be observing. And I expect you to follow your word.” His father moves away from us to head up our western group. I turn back to my friend, arms raised and eyes blazoned.
“You just sat there, Evan. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You heard him, Roan. What did you want me to say? The king’s word is law. I can’t argue with him. It… it would be futile.”
I scoff, not even trying to hold back my displeasure. “We talked about this. You will be king one day. How will your word ever be law if you aren’t willing to be firm with your desiresnow?” My friend’s shoulders sink.
Cassus Chattan is a good king and a good father. When my parents came to me and told me I would live at the palace for ten years, I was angry, and part of me felt betrayed. But from the first moments of my arrival, he has taken me in as his own, treated me like his own son. I should heed his words, follow his instructions to stay back. I should advise the prince to do the same.
But the rebel in me is shouting.
My stubbornness wants to prove to the king and all his lords that Evander and I belong here. I want to show the country that Roan Montgomery is a force to be watched, someone to look out for. A boy who will soon become a man of great skill, power, and authority.
And ultimately, I make the latter choice.
“We are going on this hunt,” I continue. “And not as onlookers. We are going to find the biggest deer they’ve ever seen, and bring it down,together.” At this the prince smiles.
“Pull up the hood of your cloak,” I instruct him.
We slowly make our way from the back of the group to a place just behind the king— far enough that should he look we will blend in, but close enough to be part of the action and claim our stake with our own first kill.
After an uneventful hour, a flurry of excitement reaches out from the men around us.
“Sire! Movement spotted on the banks!” a servant yells.
The king turns around to face us all, holding up his hand to silence the enthusiastic murmurs from the Chattan, Ashcroft, Sinclair, and Alder men.
“Let the hunt begin!” the king shouts.
The prince and I share an unabashed grin, our minds uniting in the same gleeful mission. Let the hunt begin, indeed.
The sun hasn’t quite reached the cold blue center of the sky as I hold my dearest friend, the Prince of Felshan, as he takes his last breath in this world.
Water laps around both of us. I hear screaming in the distance, and I soon realize it’s coming from me.
“Come back. Come back! Evander, Evander!” I shake him, but his dimmed eyes stare at the sky, unmoving. The river roars in the distance, devouring my cries in its torrent. I hold him, his body suspended amongst the swirls of red now filling the water around us, his blood seeping from the arrow lodged firmly in his chest.
I shout louder and louder as if my voice will somehow tether his spirit back to his body— that somehow the noise will cause him to look at me, his smile beaming, as if this were all a dream. Because surely— surely it’s a dream.
But he doesn’t wake.
I don’t wake. He doesn’t stir in response to my screams. Evander, the Prince of Felshan, my best friend, is gone.
1
The Thief
Ipurposefullytwistmyfoot into the mud as I walk in order to feel the familiar weight at my ankle. A sword has never been my weapon of choice, too bulky for my smaller frame, even as I’ve gotten taller. It just doesn’t maneuver like a dagger can.
There may have been a time when my presence elicited the leery stares of passersby. The half-clothed, dirt-smeared little girl with hunger in her eyes. But with some added height and a few clean clothes that actually fit my frame, I now blend in with everyone else. Although, a woman in pants that isn’t part of the Royal Guard may garner a side-eye, no one would directly challenge me on it. Not if they wanted to walk away unbruised anyway.
