Dallas never did take a nap. I half wondered if he was ever actually planning to but the thought quickly disappeared when I saw him speaking animatedly with Hailey. They would laugh about whatever inside jokes they were trading or debate about something that quickly led to arguing. In the end, Dallas always gave in, leaving Hailey with her own small victory.
It was the complete opposite in the front. Keo had quickly adjusted to lay on his back, one leg hanging off the side of his horse, the other bent and resting on the back of it. He'd pulled his hood up and crossed his arms and I'm fairly sure he was sleeping.
I didn't understand how he didn't fall off but it wasn't that surprising.
And I had no idea where we were going and was starting to contemplate begging Dallas to take the lead. The first time I'd asked him to lead, he'd quickly said no and insisted I continued and, with all eyes on me, I relented and continued to lead us to nowhere.
"You got any water?"
I jolted, instinctively flinching from Keo as he spoke. I looked over to him facing me, both his legs hanging off one side, his hood pushed back. His piercings reflected the mixture of oranges and reds of the sunset.
He was a Corderoy so that meant his family had been in Chison since it was founded. He couldn't have been born in the human world. Did that mean he went to the human world often, seeing as I doubted he'd have those piercings if he never left Chison? And besides, I'd originally met him in the real world.
I was still curious about that, too.
"Hello?" Keo asked, waving a hand in front of my face, a smirk on his lips, an eyebrow raised. I coughed awkwardly, turning to dig through my bag and handing him my water.
As he raised it to his lips and practically chugged it, I asked, "Why would you come out here with no supplies?" I turned away, my eyes glancing around, avoiding eye contact as Keo handed me back the bottle.
"Well, I didn't think I'd be out here for long," he said, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath before turning to me, a lopsided smile curving his lips. "What, you don't wanna share with me?"
My eyes widened. "N—No, of course, that's not it. I don't mind, I was just...wondering..." I trailed as Keo laughed.
"Well, why don't you tell me what's going on with your magic instead?" he asked.
I snapped my eyes to him, bewildered. He'd changed the subject so easily. "I—uh, well, what do you mean?" I asked. I wondered if I could even tell him what was going on. Was he not supposed to know? Nobody had said anything.
He leaned back, his hands gripping the reins. "Well, first, you had a gun and there's no way you brought that thing through the gateway. Second, it turned back into a sword so it must be magic. I wouldn't be questioning it if it were anything else but seeing as modern technology is banned, I don't understand why they're letting you use it."
I blinked. Once. Twice. Finally, I sighed. If they didn't want me to tell anyone, they should have made that clear to me. "Here's the thing..." I said, running a hand through my hair. "My magic levels are too high after the injection so I'm supposed to die within the year because my body can't handle pure magic. I don't know how that works but all I know is that magic or not, my ability won't be here for long. Also, that was the first time I'd done anything like that so Tairen and Cedric don't actually know about it yet."
Keo nodded. "So, they don't think you'll make it to next year?"
I smiled sadly. "No, they're not even sure if I'll make it to the end of the month."
He looked down at his hands, his fingers tracing the lines on his palms. "Well, that sucks. You're kinda cool."
He kept his head down as I nodded and we fell silent once more. It seemed that even Hailey and Dallas had gone quiet. I wondered if they'd heard us, or maybe they just felt the change in the atmosphere but as the dim lights began to seep through the trees in front of us, I wanted to let it go. We followed the trail leading to the entrance and I kept thinking that I'd taken away Dallas' voice. Such a talkative person such as him was silenced because of someone like me. It was almost sickening.
We'd entered a small town called Myre. Keo had mentioned there not even being a hundred people living here as opposed to the hundreds in Vrateldo. It was also the main trading town. They received supplies from another town to make clothes and basic house supplies. Then, whatever they had, they'd distribute to the surrounding towns, including Vrateldo.
It was a quiet town, especially at night. The only lights that were lit were the tavern and a couple of houses. But even then, it was quiet. Even the tavern seemed dead silent. It was worse than the lower section of Vrateldo. Dallas seemed more animated now since Keo had mentioned the tavern there having good food.
Hailey, however, just seemed tired.
As we made our way to the tavern, I noticed Keo pull one foot up onto his horse and flick his hood up. His words were so calm and comfortable but those actions told me something different. It could have been him just sitting weird again but from the way his hands were tightly gripping the reins, I highly doubted it.
"This town always had issues with the royal family. The only reason they haven't completely resigned from being a town in Chison is because of Duke. Everyone respects him so he's got some influence," Dallas said. I glanced at him behind me and he sent me a reassuring smile, his eyes knowing.
"The people here are just ungrateful little shits with no sense of respect," Keo said, his eyes facing ahead. "They complain that the King is too strict and power-hungry but once they aren't under his protection, they fold." I caught a glimpse of a smirk from behind the hood. "It's actually kinda funny."
I turned away. I wonder what Tairen did that they considered strict or power-hungry. Somehow, I didn't doubt it, though. Although he seemed arrogant, neither strict nor power-hungry were the words I associated with him.
"We should go see if they have a market and restock on supplies," Hailey said, her voice drowsy. It was late and I assumed she was tired of riding a horse all day. It looked like everyone was.
"Me and Dallas can go see," I said, glancing at Dallas. He smiled, gently kicking his horse to ride up beside me.
"That's right," he agreed, throwing an arm over my shoulders. Keo yawned, turning his body to look at Hailey.
"Why don't we just get a room? It's not safe here at night. Wouldn't want someone taking advantage of a helpless lady, now would we?" I raised my eyebrows, turning away and preparing for the tongue lashing he'd get.
Hailey just laughed and my eyes widened as I whirled around, practically getting whiplash. She rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her face. "Are we just going to get one room for all of us?" she asked.
I turned to Dallas as they continued their conversation, confused. He leaned down and whispered, "She knows he's not serious."
"Neither am I yet she still jumps my ass," I whispered back. Dallas just laughed, shaking his head and facing forward. I threw a glare at him before looking down at my hands. Coming from a family of assassins, that meant Keo's mother must have been an assassin. There's no way he'd assume women to be weak having been raised by a powerful woman, presumably. I wondered if he just didn't care, though. He seemed like the type to mind his own business.
Keo pulled his horse to a stop and the rest of the horses immediately followed suit. "What the—"
"On second thought, how about you guys come to the room with us? We can get supplies in the morning," Keo said. His words were light and calm but his shoulders were tense and as he turned to us, his expression was hard, almost dark.
I schooled my features to stay blank, glancing at Dallas for confirmation. "Aw, you worried," he said, smirking. When he didn't answer, he continued. "Fine but I get the bed."
"No," both Keo and I said at the same time. I glanced at Keo before continuing with my head down. "I—I didn't mean I should have it. Actually, I thought that Hailey should have it. Since she's—" don't say it. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Since she's the Queen, you know?"
Dallas crossed his arms with a humph and Keo rose an eyebrow. Hailey smiled brightly, crossing her arms and raising her head. "There you have it. I get the bed," she said proudly.
"Our leader has spoken," Dallas said, bowing dramatically. Keo rolled his eyes as we jumped off our horses in front of the tavern.
Keo trailed behind us as we entered, his hood remaining up. As he entered, he visibly stiffened. I was sure the other two didn't notice but I wasn't sure if I was completely aware of it either. Dallas' statement had thrown me off. He'd so casually referred to me as the leader and I wondered if he was just joking. He had to be.
There was no way I could take Dallas' place. He knew so much and was much more skilled than I was. I'd lead us off the face of the Earth if I was in charge. He had to know that.
Hailey and Dallas turned to me, Keo lingering a few feet away. "We need to get a room," was all I said. Hailey nodded but both of them remained still. I rose my eyebrows at them both. Dallas' eyes were joking but Hailey's were genuinely confused and somehow that made it worse. "I'm not going to ask."
"Well, why not?" Hailey asked, tilting her head. I shrugged, looking down at the ground.
"I just...don't want to, that's all."
Dallas turned away with a light chuckle. "I'll ask," he said, his voice low. Hailey tilted her head as she turned to me.
"I knew you were shy but..." she trailed off as Keo flopped down into a seat, tilting his head back. His pin glimmered, on obvious display against his chest. The Corderoy family must really be strong if he could wear that pin so openly. Unless they were just too proud for their own good.
Hailey sat across from Keo and I followed, sitting beside him. "We should leave as early as possible. As mentioned before, Myre isn't a very hospitable town. It's best we don't stick around," he said, letting his eyes fall closed. He then groaned in frustration. "Khorne, I hate waking up early."
I tilted my head curiously. "Khorne? Whats—"
"Alrighty, up to the room we go. Lucky us, we got one with two beds since we're TKG members," Dallas said, walking back with a small card, a number sloppily scribed onto it. Keo's eyes darkened and he roughly grabbed the collar of Dallas' cloak. Both me and Hailey jumped to our feet. I watched Dallas' eyes widen and his fists clench. I'd bet they were itching to grab his sword. However, Keo was gripping tightly, his knuckles bone white and his eyes down.
"You absolute dumbass," he hissed, turning his gaze up to meet his eyes. Standing next to each other, Dallas was quite a bit taller than Keo, at least five inches, but Keo's presence was enough to make up for it. His eyes were no longer darkened and I wondered if they had ever even gotten dark because now, I couldn't imagine his amber eyes so cold. "You do realize we're in a town who'd have your heads if they knew you were here. Not only are you putting yourself in danger but the entire group!" He shoved him away and tsked. "If you die, that's your problem but you really shouldn't get the others killed in the process."
Dallas rolled his eyes. "You're being paranoid. Even if they don't like the royal family, they wouldn't go to such extreme measures." His eyes met mine. "Plus, me and Ryker can take care of ourselves." His gaze then moved to Hailey and he smiled softly. "And we can take care of the Queen."
Keo snatched the card out of his hand and spun around, towards the stairs. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, idiot." He stalked up the stairs. Well, I'm not sure I could call it stalking. He walked as if he were stomping, angry, but his steps were silent. It was a contradiction that I couldn't quite understand.
"Sorry 'bout that. I should have been more careful," Dallas said. The mood completely changed and I realized that he was truly sorry. He'd understood and agreed with Keo's words but being scrutinized by Keo himself, he didn't want to look like he did. It was almost as if he didn't want Keo to think less of him, despite their petty disagreements.
"It's okay, we'll just play out whatever comes at us," Hailey said, patting his shoulder. He gave her a forced smile as we began to walk to where Keo had gone.
"What is it with you two anyway?" I asked and Dallas slowed to a stop, his eyes surprised for a second before he recovered and threw an arm over my shoulder.
"It's nothing. We don't have any beef or anything. He's just an arrogant dick and is extremely petty." He shrugged and I nodded. He could definitely be petty, to an unnecessary, almost dramatic, level. I knew he was more than that though, even if I'd only known him for a little while. "But he's cool." His eyes widened and he laughed awkwardly. "I meant like, he's cool, I'm cool, we're—we're cool."
I smiled. "Yeah, I know." I glanced up the stairs where Keo had disappeared. "And you're right, he is cool and you're cool, too."
Dallas' whole face lit up and he roughly pulled me into a hug. "Aw, thank you! I think you're cool too." I turned away, willing my body to relax. My shoulders stayed tensed up and I wondered if that was just permanent. Just let me enjoy this.
He pulled away, his arm remaining around my shoulders as we began to climb the stairs. "I hate being a third wheel," Hailey groaned, following behind us. Dallas turned his head, sticking his tongue out and I rolled my eyes.
I glanced behind us and caught sight of someone walking through the door. They were wearing a dirty, brown cloak, frayed at the hems, high enough to expose dirtied legs and short, ripped boots. They kept their head down as they made their way to the bar, ducking their head and whispering something to the bartender.
My stomach churned but I soon lost sight of the man as we continued up. When we reached the room, Keo had already claimed the second bed, sprawled out completely dressed on top of the blankets. I wondered if he was asleep since he didn't acknowledge us as we walked in but I had a feeling he knew we'd entered.
"You should get some sleep, Hailey. We'll get supplies in the morning," I said, gesturing to the bed.
She scrunched her eyebrows, a small smile on her face. "Are you not going to sleep?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip.
Dallas, who'd laid his sword and cloak on the empty desk, turned to us, curious of the answer, too. I coughed, their eyes feeling heavy. "Well, if I get tired I will," I said. However, I didn't want to sleep. The past few nights hadn't been exactly peaceful. I'd been dreaming of my past and more recently, I couldn't stop thinking about that Keres Dallas had killed. I wondered if monsters were all that bad—if there could have been another way—but no matter how hard I thought about it, I came up with the same conclusion: whether there was another way or not, I couldn't do anything about it nor did I need to. That conclusion made me sick.
"I'm gonna go see if I can get some food, wanna come?" Dallas asked, stretching his arms back and behind him.
That's when Keo sat up, pulling his knees up and resting his elbows on them. "You should just stay here, have some rations," he said.
Dallas shook his head immediately. "No, no, I will not eat rations when we're sitting above a tavern with perfectly good food. How could you even suggest that?" His voice rose an octave as he looked at Keo in disbelief.
Keo just shrugged, turning back over and lying on his back. "I just don't think its a good idea to go out right now."
"Well I don't see a problem with it," Dallas said, grabbing his cloak and throwing it on defiantly. Hailey collapsed on the second bed with a heavy sigh.
"If you're going, grab me something," she said. Keo rolled his eyes before throwing an arm over them.
"Whatever," he said.
Dallas began to walk to the door but I grabbed his arm to stop him. He gave me a questioning look and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. "Maybe you shouldn't go," I said, my voice quieter than I would have liked it to be.
He gave me a reassuring smile, gently pulling my hand from his arm. "I'll be fine. Nothing's gonna happen. As I said before, no matter how much they may hate the royal family, they'd never go to such extreme lengths."
I suppressed the urge to stop him as he walked to the door. With a sigh, I turned around and walked to the desk, slipping off my cloak.
It'd been so long since I'd taken off my cloak. Who knew the so-called most elite soldiers in the kingdom would have to be sneaking around and hiding in the kingdom they were protecting. I squeezed my eyes shut, tuning out the clicking of the door behind me. I was no elite soldier. I'd barely been through basic training. You have no right to be complaining. I opened my eyes, clenching my fists on the desk.
Boom!
All thoughts flew out the window as shock waves sent me flying forward and into the desk. I gasped as the desk collided with my chest. That noise...
I spun around, wincing at the pain in my ribs. Had I broken one? My vision was blurry for but a moment before I made out Dallas standing before me. His arms were thrown up in front of him, a golden shield forming around them. The shield was much smaller than the one I'd seen earlier when we'd fought Keo.
A man stood in the doorway, a ragged brown cloak covering his face in shadow. He held a black knife, golden lines streaking through the blade. I narrowed my eyes as I recognized the man from downstairs.
I also realized that the sound hadn't occurred when we'd fought earlier either.
"Sorry for the noise, that was my bad," Dallas said as he straightened, lowering his shield just a tad. I glanced at Hailey and realized there was a disintegrating golden barrier in front of her. Dallas protected her from the initial blast.
"Told you to stay," Keo said, sitting up. He held a long needle in his hand, probably the size of his middle finger. "Want me to deal with that? He's got one of our knives."
Dallas glanced at him and then closed the door, locking it and then turning to him completely. "If he comes in, go ahead, send him away," he said before walking towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Almost as soon as he reached me the doorknob began to jiggle. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I said, shrugging off his touch. Almost immediately, I regretted it as his face fell. Keo stood up, leaning over to whisper something to Hailey as the man began to bang on the door. I looked to the door. "He'll get in, we should—" I broke off with a muffled groan of pain as I reached for my sword.
Dallas quickly grabbed my shoulders, bending down that small inch in an attempt to make eye contact. I kept my eyes down. "Keo will deal with it, let me check your wounds, it was my fault you got them."
"It's not bad," I insisted, forcing myself to straighten and meet his eyes. Now that the pain had settled in, I realized I most likely did have a broken rib.
I glanced at Hailey and Keo as the door was flung open. It looked like they'd been in the middle of an argument but it was quickly cut off as the man who'd attacked Dallas stormed in. Keo turned around, the needle in his hand had disappeared and been replaced with two shadowy, black chains. The blade along the sides of the chain and the arrowhead at the end glimmered with a hint of purple.
"You're supposed to protect us!" the man yelled as he flung his hood off. Well, I should have said boy. He couldn't have been no older than sixteen. Yet, his eyes glimmered with pure hatred, something that shouldn't have been possible at such a young age. I hated that I knew how it felt. He flung his hand in the air as Keo stood before him, tilting his head the tiniest bit to the side and down. His expression looked bored. "Where were you!?" I met the boy's gaze, realizing he was talking to us, me and Dallas.
His message was to The King's Guard.
"Maybe you shouldn't depend on others to protect you, then you wouldn't be so disappointed," Keo said, drawing the boy's attention to him.
He glared at Keo, looking down at his chains. "You dog, working for the royal family, the castle, all so you aren't targeted along with your own family." He pointed his knife at him. "I've heard of you. You have no ground to speak of being dependant, you're just as dependant as we are."
Keo snickered. He looked up at him and although I couldn't see him, the fear in the boy's eyes was enough to tell me how he'd changed.
I don't understand why I lept forward as Keo jerked one chain back to strike. The movement was blurred and it reminded me of a snake, rearing to strike and that sharp pain in my chest was momentarily replaced by a sickening feeling in my stomach.
It lasted only seconds but in those seconds Keo had embedded the tip of the chain in the boy's chest. The blades along the chain snapped out as he tore back. The arrow at the tip was soaked in blood and pieces of bloody flesh were caught on the opened edges. I felt Dallas' arms wrap around my waist to stop me from falling as the boy did just that in front of me. Blood dripped from his mouth as tears sprung to his eyes.
He was just a boy.
The boy collapsed in front of me. I'd only made it a step closer to them. One step. That quick and the boy was dead. If only I'd been faster. I wondered if he had a family.
Hailey stood up, running out of the room with her hand over her mouth, her skin pale. Keo stood, looking down at the body, his chains disappearing.
I felt my hands shaking, clenching Dallas' arm.
"Want me to deal with that?"
"If he comes in, go ahead."
I shoved Dallas away from me, his arms inducing uncomfortable heating across my chest. Perhaps that was my injury, though. As I landed on the ground, I gasped, looking away from the body and away from them.
He was just a boy.
"Ry, what—"
"Don't fucking call me that!" I yelled, my voice hoarse in my throat. The air reeked of blood. The blood they caused. "Don't fucking call me that.." I repeated, my voice hushed now.
Was this how it was here? Was this normal? I'd understood Dallas killing the Keres before. I may not have agreed with it but that was a monster, not human, so I understood it. But he was just a kid. Now that I thought of it, though, wasn't the Keres just a kid before? How had I not noticed it? How were they okay with this?
I gasped, struggling to find breath. I couldn't recognize whether it was a panic attack or just my ribs. I didn't care.
I looked up at Keo. He had a hand over his face, his eyes wide as he gazed down at the body. He looked in pain. He's an assassin, you knew that. You accepted that before so why is it different now?
My gaze traveled to Dallas who was looking at me with broken eyes. He looked scared, his hands reaching for me but he remained where he stood. They both did it to protect you and Hailey. It's not their fault. They had no choice.
I looked down at my hands, clenching them and pressing them to my forehead. Maybe so. It's not their fault, right? There must not have been any other choice, right? Dallas wouldn't do something like that. No, not Dallas, not my friend.
I felt my whole body begin to tremble. He's my friend. My first friend. He accepted me, protected me, so I had to accept him. I had to, right? That's what friends are supposed to do. If not, then he'd hate me. There's no way someone would accept me that would kill someone innocent, right? There's no way—
"Ry, you're mine, you know that? You're mine because no one else will have you. I accept you because I'm the only one that ever will."
I shook my head. No, he's different. This is different.
I looked up at Dallas. "He was—he was going to kill us, right?" I asked, my voice trembling. Dallas' eyes softened, glossing with tears but he didn't answer, his mouth hanging open with no words. "Right? We—we were in danger so you did what you had to do. That had to—that had to be it, right?"
Dallas knelt in front of me, nodding. "Yes, he was going to hurt us but he didn't—" he choked, looking down as a tear slipped down his cheek "—I didn't want to—he wasn't supposed to—"
"You didn't," Keo said, taking the sheet off the bed and placing it gently over the boy. "I did and I shouldn't have. I was just going to send him away as you said but I lost control. I shouldn't have. He'd barely just begun."
He knelt beside him, placing one hand on his phoenix pin and the other on the boy's forehead. He closed his eyes, whispering something under his breath.
When he stood back up, he turned to me. "That was done of my own accord. I knew Dallas didn't want to kill any humans, I knew it was against the rules yet I did so anyway. Don't blame Dallas, blame me, he had nothing to do with this." He then turned to the door. "We're leaving. I'll find Hailey and meet you all outside."
When we left the building, we left the body in the room. I wanted to do something to respect him, say something, maybe, but I couldn't think of anything. I didn't know the kid but he didn't deserve this. Somehow, though, I wasn't scared of Keo.
He'd lost control, he'd said. I wondered what that really meant. Yet, he was an assassin and I knew that from the moment I found out Keo was a Corderoy. I'd accepted it then, so why not now?
Seeing someone be killed in front of me and knowing someone had killed before are two different things. That must have been why I felt sick.
However, I kept seeing the boy and as we finally made camp, I made a decision not to sleep because I didn't want to see him more clearly. It's happening again, I thought. I'm lost again.
I found myself missing Tairen. He was comforting in his knowledge and superiority. Somehow, I felt safe. But, from what I'd heard, most didn't like him and I wanted to know what it was that he was keeping from not only the people around him but his entire country. I wanted to be the one he trusted with the information.
Leaning against a tree, I sighed. From how things had ended, I doubt I'd ever see that day.
The camp was silent. Keo had left to survey the area with nothing but a short statement about it. Hailey had quickly gone to sleep. She hadn't spoken a word to any of us since we left Myre.
And Dallas was sitting in front of the fire, his eyes tracing its dancing.
I guess I just missed Tairen because I wanted to get away from all this. I was confused and I felt helpless. When I die from the magic inside me, this'll all disappear. I turned away from the fire, allowing the heat to soak across my back.
I missed Tairen because I thought he had all the answers. That's the only reason why. Nothing else, and thinking of him wouldn't get those answers.
Neither would ignoring everyone.
"So what happened with your ability earlier?" I asked Dallas, remaining turned away. It wasn't Dallas' fault anyway, right? He'd said to send him away. It was Keo's decision. Why did I question that?
"Ry..." Dallas said slowly before clearing his throat. "Well, my force field is created out of the fusion of my soul. That's what the Duke thinks, anyway. When I first started, that sound always happened and sometimes the shock waves, too. If I create a barrier on instinct instead of through preparation, it gives less time for the fusion to become visible. This makes the noise and the shock waves but it doesn't make the barrier weaker or anything. It's just inconvenient and dangerous sometimes."
"Oh," I said. The air fell silent once more. I didn't know what to say. Dallas had never shared much information about his ability before, just that it's a force field, nothing more. In fact, none of the knights had. I was glad he told me, but I didn't know how to hold the conversation in this situation. I wanted to mend things with him and Hailey and even Keo. That was the first time I wished I still had good social skills.
"Hey, Ry," Dallas said. I hummed in acknowledgment, looking over my shoulder at him. He was looking up at the sky, the flickering of the fire lighting up his face, yet it looked sad. "I'm glad I met you." A tear slipped down his cheek. "So—"
A spine-tingling howl cut through the air. More ghostly and more powerful than anything I'd ever heard before. Dallas jumped to his feet and the noise had even woken up Hailey. I wanted to turn to where the noise had come from but it sounded as if it were coming from all around us.
I felt trapped.
Keo lept out of the trees, landing quietly on the other side of the fire, his index finger pressed to his lips to hush us. He then said, in a whisper, "Dire wolves."