The Broken Kingdoms of Osvolta (Kingdoms of Osvolta #1)

8. A Danger to Us All

Chapter eight

A Danger to Us All

“ T ake one more step and it will be your last.”

A guard across the bridge levelled a gleaming, iron-tipped arrow at Solveig’s heart, causing Malik to bring them to an immediate stop. Solveig fell to her knees, energy finally spent. As footsteps echoed along the wood panels, she raised her head. Her vision blurred as she took in flawless, brown skin and long, braided black hair, shaved on one side; each individual braid adorned with jewelled golden accents. They dressed in brown leather trousers and boots, a light cotton shirt, and a green leather vest. A sword hung from their hip and a quiver of arrows across their chest, the bow already notched.

But it was the face that stared down at her that shocked Solveig the most. It was older now, more mature, but unmistakably that of Adira Etana, the future Sovereign of Farrenhold, her childhood best friend. Behind them stood their surly brother Jasper, commander of the nearby North Watch.

“Lower your weapons. There is no danger.” Malik said, palms raised. Adira’s eyes narrowed as they flicked from Solveig’s slumped form to the man before them. Malik was thinner, taller, his hair long and unkempt. The scruff of a beard covered his chin.

“Adira,” Malik said, slower now, “lower your bow.” Tension coiled in his muscles.

“There will be a time for reunions, Malik.” Adira grimaced, “once the traitor at your feet no longer poses a threat. Now step aside.”

Solveig laughed in resignation. “Did you think there would be a happy ending for me, Malik?”

The prince glanced at the dying woman beside him. She who had put her life on the line for him. He knew then that he could not let her die at the hand of his siblings. Whatever punishment awaited her, they could deliver it once she’d healed. Malik stepped in front of her, leaving Adira’s arrow aimed at his own heart.

“Step aside,” they ordered once more. “That woman is a danger to us all. I cannot allow her to enter Farrenhold.”

“That woman,” Malik snapped, “was your friend once, Adira, and now she’s dying. She needs medicine.”

Adira glanced at Solveig again with a shrug. “Why not show her some mercy and end it quickly?”

“You do this, Adira, and you’re no better than them.”

“You’ve been gone for four years. Things change. People change.” Adira grimaced.

“Enough,” a gruff voice called from behind Adira, as Jasper Etana finally entered the fray. “Adira, no one is defying your orders, but as commander of North Watch, passage across the Elysian Bridge is mine alone to give.”

“We cannot trust her, Jasper. Let her into Farrenhold, and you risk everything we’ve built these last few years.”

“She saved my life,” Malik interrupted. His siblings’ eyes swung toward him.

“You lie.” Adira’s eyes narrowed, venom on their tongue.

“What reason would I have to lie?”

“You always had a soft spot for her. You’re blinded by the past. That”—they paused, flinging a hand toward the barely conscious woman before them—“is not the woman you once knew.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that she saved my life.” Malik took a step forward, keeping Solveig behind him. “She put everything on the line to bring me home. Has our custom in that regard changed also? If you go back on those ancient laws now, what others will you make excuses for later?”

Adira remained still; arrow pointed at their brother as they weighed their options. Malik was right, Farrenhold law required payment in kind. They could not break it. Their eyes closed on a sigh before lowering the bow.

“She can enter North Watch, but no further. Have the healers see to her wounds.” Adira turned to Jasper. “I want her guarded day and night,” they ordered, before turning back toward North Watch alone, gripping the bow tight as though they fought every second against turning back.

Jasper faced Solveig. “Can you stand, Your Highness?”

Solveig tried. Willed her body to respond for the sake of her own dignity but couldn’t summon the strength to raise higher than her knees. Jasper’s gaze moved to Malik. “She’s a Hydromancer. Why hasn’t she treated her own injuries?”

“You know she would if she could,” Malik said, looking down at the ashen woman.

“Princess Solveig, I, Prince Jasper Ade Etana; Commander of North Watch, Guardian of the Elysian Bridge; grant you asylum within the Sovereignty of Farrenhold. Under the agreement that you answer all questions that we, the royal family, may have for you.”

Solveig raised her darkening gaze to Jasper one final time. She spoke through cracked lips, tasting her own blood on her tongue. “I, Princess Solveig Aila Maleen, accept your terms.”

Jasper raised a horn to his mouth, blowing a signal that Solveig was not familiar with. Within minutes, a team of healers raced across the bridge with a stretcher and supplies in hand just as she blacked out completely.