The Runaway King (22 page)

M
ost of the pirates kept their seats as they waited to see what Roden would do next. He chuckled for a moment as if he was sure I must be joking, then when he saw I wasn’t, he nodded. “All right.” In a louder voice he ordered the tables to be moved so that a battle ring could be formed.

“I need a sword first,” I said. “People here keep taking mine.”

Roden chuckled again as he walked toward me. He gestured to the one I’d been using as a crutch. “You have one.”

“Made of wood. How am I supposed to stab you? It’s not even pointed at the end.”

Roden scratched his chin and smiled wickedly. “I wouldn’t have chosen that one either. But sometimes we have to live with the consequences of our choices. What did you think would happen when you came here?”

“The same thing I think now. Any pirate who doesn’t swear loyalty to me is going to die tonight. And you’re going to return home with me to Carthya.” I studied his reaction carefully to see if my words were having any impact. But I couldn’t tell, at least not yet. “I want you at my side, Roden. I need a captain of the guard I can trust.”

Along with several of the pirates who had overheard, Roden laughed out loud at that. “You’ve gone mad. Haven’t you noticed? I’m your worst enemy.”

“You don’t have to be. I’m convinced you’d be a far better friend than enemy.”

“I just broke your leg, and by the end of this night I plan to kill you.”

“Well, if you ask nicely, I might let you apologize for that.” I gestured around us. “This place isn’t for you. It’s Carthyan blood that runs in your veins.”

“That means nothing.”

“It means we don’t have to fight.” I lowered my sword to emphasize my point. “In fact, I’d genuinely prefer not to. I need you, Roden. War is coming.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Yes, I know. I’m bringing you that war.”

With a grin, I said, “Then you can see my logic for coming here.”

A pirate approached Roden. “The tables are ready. A space has been cleared for you.”

Roden looked over at me. “If you back out now, I promise to make your death quick. It’s the best that I can do.”

“No, the best thing you can do is leave this place.”

“Make me,” Roden taunted.

“As you wish.” Planting my good leg as solidly as possible on the ground, I raised my sword again. “Your time as a pirate ends tonight. Either you will come with me as the loyal captain of my guard, or I will kill you here.”

Roden scoffed. “On one leg?”

“It’s hard to defeat you unless I use at least one,” I said, smiling. “Come with me instead. Make that choice.”

Roden pulled his sword from his scabbard and swung it in a full circle around him. He handled his weapon with an ease that lifelong warriors would envy. “I won’t give you another choice, Jaron. Unless you surrender now, I will kill you.”

And the fight began.

Walking wasn’t an option for me, so I had to use what was available. I nearly fell over in smashing the wooden sword against a large rock on the ground. It splintered just as the other sword had, leaving me with an end much sharper than the point of a blade, even though it was still made of wood and an inferior weapon.

Roden’s objective was clearly to knock me off balance, but I ducked most of his harder swings and held steady with only slight help from my injured leg. When he caught onto my strategy, he swung lower, forcing me to block him with the wooden sword, near the hilt where it was strongest. Each time he did, though, he had to raise his sword back again, and I used the moment to scratch him with the shards of my broken blade. I never got him deeply, but all of the longer tips had blood on them, so for now, I was still keeping up.

“Roden, this isn’t what you want,” I said.

“I’m a king here.”

“You’re a lion ruling a nest of maggots. There’s no glory in that, no honor. You are better than this.”

“You’re only trying to trick me,” Roden said. “You’ve become so desperate that this offer is your last hope.”

“When I’m desperate I’ll ask Tobias for help. This is no trick.”

He swung again for my chest. I ducked but it cost me my balance. Roden used the chance to push me to the ground. The fall sent tremors of pain through me, and gave him time to put a foot on my sword, crushing it.

“Now, see that move?” I said. “It was brilliant. You’d be an excellent captain.”

He didn’t even smile, but instead swung his blade harder at me. I dodged it and then kicked him with my good leg. He stumbled back a step before he raised his sword again. I leaned forward and grabbed his legs. He tumbled beside me and his blade grazed my shoulder.

I reached for the knife from Imogen and stabbed Roden’s thigh. He yelped and leapt away. “Those leg wounds hurt, don’t you think?” I said.

Roden caught me on the jaw with his fist, but as I fell back I kicked him in the neck. And because I thought his punch was a dirty trick, I kicked him extra hard again. This time, as Roden reacted, his grip on his sword loosened. I dove for it, but he recovered and scooted away, then stood.

“Get up,” he said, heaving gasps of air. “This is a sword fight, not a wrestling match.”

I held up a hand while I caught my own breath. Roden lowered his sword and took my arm, helping me up.

“Why me?” Roden asked. “There’re others you can choose, men of experience, warriors.”

“Anyone fierce enough to threaten an attack on Carthya is fierce enough to defend it.”

“But how could you ever trust me?” Roden asked. “After everything between us.”

“Because you could’ve killed me just now.” I locked eyes with him. “I know everything about how to make an enemy but very little about friendship. Still, I think we were friends back at Farthenwood, until Cregan poisoned your mind.”

“Cregan only wanted me to become the prince.”

“But that’s the problem. If you accept that you never had a chance to become the prince — never — then you can start to look at everything you
could
become.”

“You always were Jaron,” Roden mumbled, as if this was the first time it had occurred to him.

“And you are Jaron’s friend. I have so few friends I don’t say that lightly. You don’t belong here. You never did.” Roden looked at me and something changed in his eyes. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but at least he was listening and not trying to stab me. I continued, “You want to be someone who matters to this world. If you want to make a difference, then let it be a difference for good. In Carthya, you will stand at my side and we will fight together. And that matters.”

Roden faltered a moment, then called out, “He needs a sword. I can’t defeat him honorably unless he’s armed.”

Someone tossed a sword into the ring, far from where I stood. I cocked my head toward it and arched a brow. “That doesn’t count as my being armed. Not if it’s over there.”

Roden groaned, then walked to get the sword for me. The instant it was in my hands, he struck again.

With a real sword I could fight in a more traditional style, minus the obvious complication of a broken leg. I kept my right foot touched to the ground to steady my weight and grimaced each time I needed to use it. Roden’s hits were harder than mine, but I was faster. Except Roden had figured out that all he had to do was rotate a little, which slowed me down, so our blades held each other in a sort of dance.

In their enthusiasm, the crowd of pirates gradually tightened around us, condensing our circle. This seemed to frustrate Roden, who could have used the space to increase the leverage and strength of his swings. It was an advantage to me since the less movement I made, the better. My leg screamed in protest of each step, and it was getting harder every second to ignore it.

I edged Roden toward the thicker part of the crowd. Because of its size, it was slower to react and had the effect of cornering him until the space gradually widened again.

Our blades clashed and parted, then I raised my sword for an attack. He put his blade in position to stop me and got an inadvertent shove from someone too close behind him. He turned his head, very briefly, to yell at everyone to get back.

I swung my blade onto his hand rather than his sword. He yelped as blood trickled down his arm. He tried to swing again, but with the injury to his hand his grip failed and he dropped his sword. I grabbed Roden’s shirt, using his weight for balance as I pressed my blade to his neck.

“Let go of your anger,” I said to Roden. “I became who I was meant to be and you should do the same. You can be so much more than this.”

The hard expression on Roden’s face did not change.

I inched the sword away from his neck and added, “You are not meant to be a king. But you are meant to lead the king’s armies. You are my choice, my guardian, and my protector. Roden, I need you as my friend.”

Something flickered in his eyes again. Roden opened his mouth to say something. Whatever it would have been, he didn’t get the chance. I heard only the hard footsteps of a pirate behind me as he jumped into the circle. Before I had the chance to turn to him, he thrust out a foot and kicked me directly on the calf of my wounded leg. I screamed and fell forward, my entire body consumed in pain. My sword fell far out of my reach, and I landed face-first on the ground.

All around me, the pirates laughed and congratulated their comrade. But with his sword in his hands again, Roden widened the circle and yelled, “Stop it! How dare you interfere with my fight?”

The pirates fell silent. The man who had kicked me snarled, “He was about to kill you.”

“If he was, then it was a fair win. I’m not fit to rule anyway if I needed your help to defeat a one-legged opponent.”

Roden glanced down at me. I’d managed to roll to one side, but the pain in my leg suffocated me with nausea and dizziness. My vision had blurred so that I couldn’t tell for certain whether Roden was standing crookedly, or whether the ground where I lay had somehow tilted.

“Get your sword,” Roden said. “Get your sword and fight me.”

My eyes flitted up to him, then I laid my head back on my arm. There was no point in continuing to fight. Before, I could at least use my broken leg for balance. But I wouldn’t even be able to stand now. It was all I could do to remain conscious.

Roden walked toward me. “Get your weapon,” he said. “You started this fight and you will finish it.”

He would finish it.

I closed my eyes a moment, then finally made the decision that if I was about to die, I would do it with a sword in my hand. Digging my fingers into the dirt, I clawed my way toward the fallen sword. My injured leg dragged uselessly behind me, with my good leg little more helpful in pushing me forward.

Roden stood back as I passed him, the point of his sword dangling somewhere above me. I reached the sword by my fingertips and inched it into my hand. Using my other hand to prop myself up, I raised the sword and forced a slight smile to my face. “This is your last chance to surrender,” I said, my words barely audible to my own ears, much less his.

“I have no choice, then.” Roden raised his sword, and I closed my eyes, as prepared as I ever could be for his blade to pierce me and finish off the pain. But he slammed the tip of his sword into the dirt beside me and fell on his knees. “Obviously, I must surrender, or lose this battle.”

I opened my eyes and saw Roden’s crooked grin as he stared back at me. Then he nudged his head, clearly exasperated that I was slow in catching the meaning of his words. Finally, I held out my sword, with no more strength in my hand than had I been a small child. But my voice was strong as I said, “Swear loyalty to me, Roden, and renounce the pirates.”

Roden bowed his head. “Jaron, you have defeated me in battle. Therefore, I renounce my position and swear loyalty to you, as King of Carthya, King of the Avenian Pirates, and my King always, wherever in this world you go.” When I motioned for him to stand, he turned to the pirates still surrounding us and said, “You heard me. Jaron won this battle and he commands us now.”

It was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

W
hen I regained consciousness, I was in an actual bed and was covered in blankets. Three or four lit candles were in the room, or hut, where I guessed I was. Although I’d figured out that much, it wasn’t clear
why
I might be here. Maybe it was a dream. A slight shift in position sent waves of pain through me and I gasped. Definitely not a dream, then.

“Shh.” Serena appeared beside me and helped me lie back down. She glanced behind her. “Roden, he’s awake.”

She moved aside and Roden filled the frame of my blurred vision. “I don’t think I ever could’ve killed you,” he said. “Not when it came down to it.”

“You couldn’t have told me that in the gardens?”

“I didn’t know it myself, not until the end. As proof of that, I let you win. I went easy on you the whole time.”

“Then I demand a rematch.” I smiled sleepily. “But not today.” In a whisper I added, “Where will you be when I’m ready?”

“At your side, Jaron, as captain of your guard.” My smile widened and I closed my eyes to return to sleep.

When Roden woke me it was light again. Serena was in her chair with a bowl of something that was steaming, but the thought of eating made my stomach turn.

“Are you hurting much?” Roden asked.

I squinted at him. “Is that a joke? How many pieces do you suppose my leg is in right now?”

He rolled his eyes. “I forgot what a baby you can be when you’re injured.”

I eyed a cup sitting beside my bed. If it wouldn’t have been so difficult, I’d have thrown it at him.

Roden sat beside me and smiled sympathetically. “There’s no one here who can fix that leg.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you broke it.”

“There was no need to fix the leg of a dead man.”

“Ah. How’s your leg where I stabbed you?”

“It hurts.”

“Good.” I closed my eyes again, wanting more sleep, but Roden shook my arm. I shrank from his touch and directed my attention to Serena. “Get me some aravac leaves, all you can find.”

When she left, Roden said, “They’ll help the pain but won’t fix your leg.”

“Prepare a cart to take us to Libeth,” I said. “A noble named Rulon Harlowe lives there. That’s where we’re going, if he’ll have me.”

“I don’t think you’re strong enough to travel. You don’t look so good.”

“I don’t feel so good. But I doubt I’m the most popular person here. My odds are better on the road to Libeth.”

“And what are you going to do about the pirates?”

“That’s your decision.” Then I remembered that Roden had given me the win. I was the pirate king now. “Send for that man, Erick.” I was still tired and my words were slurring. “Fink too. Bring them.”

Roden stood and immediately I fell back asleep. I awoke some time later when the door creaked open and Erick walked in, with Fink at his heels.

Erick shook his head in disbelief when he saw me. “I kept watching at the window, waiting to see your body fall. When I didn’t see it, I figured you’d fallen in another place. It never occurred to me you were still alive.”

Fink rushed forward but I held up a hand to stop him. Even that movement hurt. “If you touch me, I’ll have you hanged,” I warned. He probably wasn’t going to, but I was feeling particularly cautious.

“I heard you won the sword fight,” Erick said.

Above me, Roden gave a cough. I looked from his annoyed expression back to Erick. “That debate hasn’t been settled. But I am king here now.”

Roden managed a half smile at my words, then cursed under his breath.

Erick went on as if he hadn’t noticed. “To your credit, everyone’s talking about what you did. Nobody likes you, but they respect you.”

I nodded. That was good enough.

“What are your plans now?” he asked.

I tried to shrug but gave up the effort and instead just said, “I have to go home. But someone needs to be in charge while I’m gone.”

“And you’ve chosen Roden to lead us.” Obviously, the latest gossip hadn’t reached Erick’s locked room.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He just lost to a one-legged opponent, who I might add was mostly unconscious by the end. No, Erick, you’re in charge now.” Erick’s eyes widened but I quickly added, “On two conditions. The first is that you must return that pocket watch to me. I’m tired of trying to steal it from you.”

Erick groaned and pulled the watch from his shirt, then held it out to me. “It doesn’t keep good time.”

“That’s not why I want it,” I said, clutching it in my hand. “The second condition is that you remind the pirates of their oath to the pirate king, to me. But I’m also the Carthyan king, so to cause harm to any citizen of Carthya, or to our land or property, is to harm me. From now on, there will be an oath of peace between us. All pirates must renew their oaths or be expelled.”

Erick shook his head in protest. “They’ll never agree.”

“You’ll make them agree. Tell them if they get bored, then they can always disturb the peace of my enemies. Now go, Erick, get me their oaths.”

He stood to leave, then hesitated and said, “Gregor wants to see you.”

“But I don’t want to see him.” Even the thought of it was nauseating.

“He said to remind you that despite his crimes, he did keep your princess safe and he thinks that’s worth a few minutes of your time.”

I closed my eyes to rest them and mumbled, “Very well, then.”

When Erick left, I looked over to Fink. “What do you want? Not to stay here, I’d guess.”

Fink thought for a moment, and then said, “Can I come with you?”

“I’m not sure. You’re pretty annoying.” Then I raised a corner of my mouth. “Yes, I want you to come to Drylliad with me. But you’ll have to give up your plans of being a thief and get a proper education.”

Fink wrinkled his nose. “Education?”

“Yes. And learn a few manners. I can’t decide which you need more. My friend Tobias will teach you, and if you give him any trouble, I’ll order him to be twice as boring as usual. Trust me, he can do it.”

“Can I bring my rat?”

“No.” He tilted his head, but I tightened my stare at him. “No.”

Reluctantly, Fink agreed; then, with heavy eyes, I looked at Roden. “Am I safe under your watch?”

“You’re safe,” Roden assured me as I drifted off.

I didn’t sleep as well after that. A new pain had formed in my leg and I lay half-awake and half-submerged in nightmares that kept the pain fresh. Still, I preferred that to being awoken some time later with the news that Erick had brought Gregor to see me.

Roden helped me into a sitting position, which made my head swim with dizziness. I knew I looked bad, but I refused to look like an invalid.

Erick escorted Gregor in, his hands tied behind him and his clothing stripped of decoration. He gave me a quick appraisal, then began, “Jaron —”

“You’ll address me by my title,” I said sharply. “And bow until your pointed chin scrapes the floor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” He didn’t quite make it to the floor, but did put in a fair effort.

“If you hope to convince me of your innocence, then you’re wasting my time.”

“No, Your Majesty. I ask only for the same mercy you extended to Master Conner. Please take me back to Drylliad with you. The pirates —”

“The pirates can’t be that bad. After all, you were happy to ask their help in killing me.”

Gregor’s teeth were gritted so tightly together I wondered if his jaw had stopped working. “I had my reasons.”

“Such as?”

For the first time since he entered, he looked directly at me. “You missed important meals, made jokes about the regents, and ignored your father’s future plans. I genuinely felt I’d do a better job as king. But now I confess that perhaps you were right. It seems there is a threat against Carthya after all.”

It wasn’t anywhere near as interesting an excuse as I’d expected. “Well, I’d bring you back, except it would require me to look at you during the ride and I’m already feeling sick enough. No, you’ll stay here and face whatever consequences the pirates intend for you.”

“You’re their king too.”

I nodded toward Erick. “But it’s his decision now. Use your poisonous tongue to beg mercy from him. Now go away.”

Erick stepped forward and lifted Gregor by his bound hands. “The night before you left, you asked if I thought you wanted to run.” Gregor’s tone was somewhere between panicked and furious now. “I did think that. I thought you were the worst of cowards and it justified my belief that I should be named steward.”

Despite the pain it caused, I leaned forward and in a soft whisper said, “There was something you failed to understand about me.” He tilted his head and in my strongest voice I added, “I never run!”

Gregor’s eyes widened, then his face paled as Erick dragged him away, handing him off to pirates who had been waiting outside.

“The oaths?” I asked Erick when he turned back to me.

“Nobody’s happy about it,” he said. “But I pointed out that we’d never get you to leave unless they made the oath. Besides, we figure if you stayed, there’s not a lot more that the pirates could do to you. The oath is secure. The pirates are officially at peace with Carthya.”

With relief, I said, “Very good.”

“It’s not all good,” Erick continued. “It won’t be long before the king of Avenia learns that you’ve stolen the pirates’ loyalty from him. He won’t be happy about this.”

“Well, I’m not happy with him either.” He had conspired with the pirates in trying to overthrow me. It was unlikely that he and I would sit down for tea together anytime soon. I used the last of my energy to say, “No matter what comes, you’ll see that the pirates keep their oath to me. If there is a fight, they will fight for me.”

“You are our king,” Erick said.

I nodded, then said to Roden, “It’s time to leave. I want to go home.”