Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles Book 1) (51 page)

“Thanks,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear, and immediately turned for the door. Back out in the tent, he watched the cabin with a frown, giving little thought to his food. Even so, for the first time in weeks, he ate everything on his plate.

K
yrin propped herself up on her elbow. Even though it hadn’t rained the day before, Jace still had not come by. She had to admit, she missed sleeping in. Did it really pay to get up again when Jace hadn’t shown for three mornings in a row? She should probably give up and face facts. He didn’t want her hunting with him. She glanced down at her pillow, still warm and inviting. She wavered for a moment, but she was more stubborn than that. Just one more morning. Then she would have to wait to see if Elôm provided her with a different approach.

She changed into her hunting clothes and went to the door. With a little prayer, she reached for the knob and prepared
herself for disappointment, but when the door opened halfway, her eyes rounded.

Jace and Tyra stood just outside.

It took two or three heartbeats for her to trust her own eyes. Not for a second had she truly expected him to be there. Getting a hold of herself, she stepped out and quietly closed the door. With a hand still on the knob, she stared up at Jace in the silence that hung between them.

Jace broke it with an uncertain glance toward the trees. “Do you want to go hunting?”

Kyrin tried to hide her smile. “I’d love to.”

Jace cleared his throat and gave an awkward nod. Kyrin worked to school her features. She didn’t want to scare him off with her enthusiasm, but giddiness bubbled through her as she followed him across camp and into the forest.
Thank You, Elôm, and forgive my doubting.

Jace seemed to move more slowly today, perhaps to allow her to keep up. As the sun peeked through the foliage ahead of them, the forest
came alive, delighting Kyrin with the freshness of a new morning, but she focused her concentration on walking silently. Though not nearly as quiet as she would like to be, there must have been a difference. About a mile in, Jace glanced over his shoulder at her and murmured, “You’re improving.”

“I hope so,” Kyrin replied earnestly. “I’ve been practicing.”

His brows hiked up, and she grinned to herself when he looked away.

The morning wore on Kyrin, but not as much as last time. The slower pace helped. Though Jace didn’t speak again, the silence wasn’t so uncomfortable until noon came and they paused for lunch. Kyrin couldn’t waste this opportunity to get to know him. A third chance wasn’t likely if she failed this one.

As she pulled food from her pouch, her mind raced all over for something to say. What would Kaden say in this situation, or anyone else for that matter? But then, neither she nor Jace had lived normal lives or had anything normal to talk about. She frowned down at the roll in her hand as if it might hold answers and tore off a piece to chew while she thought. She glanced over at Jace and found the same type of frown on his face. Suddenly, he looked up and met her eyes.

“So, you can remember everything?”

She blinked. He’d actually beat her to saying something. She gulped down her bite of roll to answer him. “Yes. If I see or hear something, I’ll remember it.” She paused, but seized on the opportunity to keep the conversation going and not let silence take over again. “A book, for instance. If I get a good look at a page, I can go back later and read it in my mind. It takes more concentration than simply reading it though.”

Jace stared at her with widened eyes, but then looked away as a grimace flashed across his face. Clearly, he remembered enough of his past without having her abilities.

He cleared his throat and asked, “When did it start?”

“When I was four.”

He looked at her again, his eyes vivid with interest and more openness than he had shown in their previous encounters. “You remember everything since you were four?”

Kyrin nodded, and Jace responded by shaking his head. “How do you process it all?”

She shrugged. “I just do, I guess, but it can be very overwhelming. I get bad headaches in new or stressful situations when I have a lot to take in. Especially in crowds. Sometimes I start to panic. I used to faint a lot, but I haven’t in a while.”

Quiet returned.
She should ask something about him, but what would he be keen on sharing? She nibbled on her roll again. Her eyes fell on the wolf sitting at his side, and she perked up.

“How did you get Tyra?”

The wolf turned her head at the sound of her name, and Jace rubbed her back. “I came across her while hunting. She was just a pup, but someone had shot her. I brought her back to the farm and…” His voice caught, and he clenched his jaw. “Kalli helped me fix her up. She never left after that.”

Kyrin offered him a compassionate smile, but a sharp ache jabbed her chest, and the smile faded when he looked away.

No way Kaden could pull this off…but it was mandatory. The order came straight from Emperor Daican. He swallowed, his dratted uniform pressing against his throat. He reached up to unfasten the top clasp, but it didn’t seem to help when he swallowed hard again. If he didn’t keep it together today, all would be lost and his change in behavior would be for naught.

He scanned the courtyard. Every student over fourteen trickled from the Hall and gathered around him. Thank Elôm the younger children weren’t required to attend. His gaze snagged on Sam. The talcrin’s face was set in a tight, grim expression.

When the final stragglers joined them, they and most of Tarvin Hall’s staff filed out of the gate. En masse, they trooped to the city square. A crowd already filled the center, preventing them from getting much closer, but this was close enough. Kaden eyed the platform. Cold sludge filled his veins. He could still see Kyrin standing there—a sight from a nightmare.

He sucked air into lungs constricted by anxiety, and his eyes darted to his surroundings. If only he could bolt now while outside of Tarvin Hall. It had certainly crossed his mind since the emperor’s order came. But his scan of the area destroyed such hopes. His two guards stood only
a couple of paces behind him. Even if he could break past them, a hundred of his fellow students surrounded him, who would be quick to step in and stop him. He had no choice but to endure this.

His eyes settled once more on the platform as his hands turned slick and a cold sweat beaded on his back. The executioner stood waiting just as they were. Anticipation rippled through the murmurs around him. But something heavy and dark permeated the air and raised goose bumps across Kaden’s skin—something far more sinister than he’d sensed at any ryrik executions. At least those executions had been just.

The commotion started at the far side of the square and rolled toward them. The hard hammering of Kaden’s heart pummeled his ribcage, and he gnashed his teeth together. He couldn’t be here without reliving the moment that Daican’s men brought Kyrin to the platform. The last time he’d seen his sister. He looked away, fighting the hot burn in his chest that threatened to make him scream and fight his way out of this. His fists clenched, and he wished for a sword hilt between them. Maybe then he could stop this.

When he dragged his gaze back, a group of people ascended the platform, all but three of them guards. Two men and a woman lined up for the crowd to see. Kaden’s eyes touched each of their drawn, dirt-smudged faces. The woman was especially pale. She wasn’t much older than Kyrin and had the same shade of brown hair shorn just above her shoulders. Kaden struggled to breathe. They stared out at the crowd, their eyes wide, but a determined strength seemed to surround them as it had Kyrin. The restrictive bands around Kaden’s chest drew tighter. These men and this woman weren’t here for murder or any other heinous crime. They were here because of their belief in King Elôm—the very same belief he shared. And today, they would die for it.

Sir Richard stepped forward. The murmuring crowd quieted to let him speak.

“These three prisoners before you have publically renounced our sovereign gods, Aertus and Vilai, and have chosen instead to follow after myths. They have willfully turned on their gods, their emperor, and their country. For their treason, they have been sentenced to death, as is fitting for all such traitors to our empire.”

Shouts of assent burst forth from all around Kaden. He tried to swallow, but his throat locked up. His hands trembled with the desire to grab the nearest person and shake some sense into them.

Sir Richard stepped back, and one of the guards reached for the woman. Tears streamed down her face, and she wilted in his grasp. Kaden choked down a cry for the madness to stop. Before the guard led her forward, one of the captive men stepped up and said something Kaden could not hear. The guard led him forward instead, toward the execution block.

Kaden dropped his eyes to the ground. Required or not, he couldn’t bear to watch.

Not
a single one of the prisoners begged for mercy. They met their deaths bravely and faithfully despite the hostile uproar of the crowd. By the end, tears tore viciously at Kaden’s eyes. He stood frozen, his thoughts a hazy, roaring chaos. What little he had for breakfast threatened to come up. But if he reacted, he would soon be on that platform himself.

The crowd broke up, his classmates turning to return to Tarvin Hall, but Kaden couldn’t move until someone took his arm. He looked up into Sam’s watery gold eyes. He guided him around, and Kaden followed, a blank mask falling into place. But inside, he cried out to Elôm for intervention and justice for the murder of innocent lives.

Evening approached. They surely hadn’t covered as much ground as they had on their first hunting trip due to how slowly Kyrin moved, but at least she was quieter. Hopefully that counted for something. She placed her foot down carefully alongside a dead branch and glanced up right as Jace halted and held up his hand. She froze. Just ahead, Tyra stood stone-still and stared intently into the trees. Very slowly, Jace reached back for an arrow from his quiver and nocked it to his bowstring. With stealthy steps, he moved a little farther ahead and to the right.

Kyrin scanned the forest. Nothing moved in the shadows, but then a flicker drew her attention to a deer twenty yards ahead. Her eyes darted between the animal and Jace and her pulse quickened. Jace drew back his bowstring. She held her breath.