Saving Kai

Chapter 5

“Niko, do you think it's wise to bring him here, to your own estate?"

Ezekiel, Niko’s best friend and companion, was leaning against the window frame, his lean body looking the epitome of relaxed, despite his words. “They are searching for him, and if they come here—”

“If they come here,” Niko snarled, “they know they will have a battle, and they will damn well lose. They do not dare to meet me on my own ground, the cowards.” He raked fingers through his long black hair, tousling it into an artful mess.

Ezekiel smiled, watching the tall, powerful figure. His friend was never anything less than beautiful, despite Niko’s complete lack of vanity. Perhaps it was that obliviousness that ensured that all around him found him desirable.

Even if he weren’t so highly ranked, if he weren’t the general of the scattered remains of the army of Askara , he would be pursued.

His temper was a bit of deterrent, however. That same temper could range between ice and fire, and Ezekiel was one of the few who was not fazed by it.

“So…the doctor has looked him over…” Ezekiel encouraged further revelation.

“The boy will recover, he says, but it will be some time before he is strong enough to endure either questioning or further imprisonment.” Niko’s voice held disgust and fury both.

“He is hardly a boy, Niko.” Ezekiel roused himself enough to push away from the window, stroll across the room, and settle himself on the nearest massive chair to lounge indolently in its thickly cushioned comfort. “He is twenty-one, if the reports are true, although I agree he looks hardly older than seventeen.”

Niko paced the room, venting his energy in motion, face drawn into lines of fury.

“The fools—they knew his importance. To treat him in a such manner…” His lip drew back in disgust. “We could have lost him. We will never have better bait to bring the rats out of the woodwork.”

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. “You were so furious at the initial sight of him, Niko. That attitude was taken up by the troops. You did not leave any particular instructions for his care, other than to expect a rescue attempt.”

Niko whirled on him, and the expression on his face clearly showed that he was aware of his transgression.

“I am b****y well aware of what I did wrong, but they had no orders to a***e him.” He drew in a shaky breath and his pacing stopped, hands clenching into fists as he faced his friend.

“We have to be more than them, Ezekiel. We have to be better. With morals and sanity. Look what they have done to us. Look what they have done to our country, our king, the royal family…” He whirled away to the window, leaning on the sill with tension in every line of his body.

Ezekiel remained silent, sadness in his eyes as he watched his friend. The grief was never far away for any of them, but for Niko, who had dared to love the crown princess, Tanya, it was fresh pain each time he thought of the royal family’s brutal murders, and the subsequent conquest of Askara.

As loyalists, they had fought as hard as they could, had gained some ground against the invaders, but nothing could ever return things to the way it had been. Even if they actually managed to regain the country, they would have to find a ruler, and Niko was the closest thing they had. He would never accept the role, but as it stood, the people were desperate enough to persuade him.

Niko would never be happy as royalty. It had been hard enough for him to endure the fishbowl life as Tanya’s lover. Niko might have been raised a noble’s son, but he had no patience for the ways of court.

Ezekiel often wondered that if things had stayed the way they were, if Tanya and Niko would have grown apart, unable to find enough common ground to continue their relationship. Certainly it would have been strained by the crown princess' need for heirs in the future.

Now they would never know.

Tanya lay in some unmarked grave along with his family, victims of betrayal and brutality. That brilliant mind and serious personality extinguished before it could ever make a mark upon the country.

One of the most important quests of this rebellion was to find that grave, and give the occupants a decent and tender reburial. It was nearly an obsession with Niko, and Ezekiel wanted it done as soon as possible, so that his friend could mourn properly and begin to live again. To witness his almost insane grief and fury was more than those who loved him could endure. This needed to come to an end.

The complication of the imposter was a thorn in Niko’s side that had invoked everyone’s great anger, and now it had come to this. The prisoner brought here to Niko’s own home. True, the estate was secure as any fortress, the troops loyal to a fault, and the mansion encased in great walls of stone But still…Ezekiel could not help but worry.

Niko, as leader of the rebellion, was a natural target, and now he held the key for the invaders. The young man, Kaillen, had been raised as a lie, supposedly a survivor of that royal m******e. They said he was the youngest prince, Kaillen, who had been a mere six years old at the time. Those loyal to the crown, desperate, might even have fallen for the ruse if Niko had not fought against it.

There had been no survivors. The few supposed witnesses had said so. There was no proof that could ever convince Niko that this was anything more than the enemy’s maneuvering. Therefore he was convinced that this boy was a fake, a tool for the invaders to secure their grip upon a broken kingdom. The only possibility was that he was a by-blow, with just enough royal blood to have produced the rare hair coloring. The royal family was large, there had always been a bastard or two in the population. But to find one so perfectly matched… The chances had been incredibly slim.

Having seen the imposter, Ezekiel could almost feel sorry for the young man. He seemed cowed, broken, as though his upbringing had been brutal, as perhaps it had. Certainly the invaders were not known for their mercy, and they would want “the prince” to be amenable and without strength.

They seemed to have succeeded at their task, and now the a***e he had just endured would not help matters.

It seemed quite evident that Kaillen was caught between the two factions without any true knowledge of his place. His behaviors, little though they had witnessed, seemed to only solidify that impression.

“Perhaps you should send him somewhere else, somewhere more vulnerable.” Ezekiel’s tone was thoughtful, his head resting back on the chair. “It would be more likely that they would make a play for him then.”

Niko turned from the window, the shadows of the past in his eyes evident, though his expression slowly began to clear as he considered the present problems.

It had been almost fifteen years since the invasion. To loosen the stranglehold the invaders had upon Askara was going to take increasingly bold maneuvers. They had gained ground, yes, but they needed to start striking crippling blows, not just gnat bites.

This “prince” may yet be the key to luring the bastards out into the open.

If they could get General Gerald and General Melville, that would be a great success, a massive step in their plans.

For all the invaders wished to use Kaillen, so too did the royalist forces.

“We will get this ‘Kaillen’ back to strength, then use him as bait. If we can draw them out…” Niko’s smile was completely wolfish. “We will use their own tool against the bastards.”

Ezekiel grinned. What delicious irony it would be, if the imposter were the one to bring the invaders to their knees.

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