Accidental king 2, p.23
Accidental King 2, page 23
“Nope,” I said. “Not a clue.”
“Then you will not be driving,” Serra said, and she flung off her heels before she started to climb onto the bench beside me.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “This is way too dangerous!”
“You focus on throwing knives,” Serra said. “I’m the only one who knows how to drive this damn thing. I doubt any of you were given your own carriage when you were eight.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Serra yanked the reins out of my hands and whipped the horses into action. The creatures whinnied and bolted toward the doors, and Tanell barely had enough time to push them open.
“Holy shit!” I yelled as we raced out into the grounds.
Serra’s face was stoic and focused, and I had to put aside my shock to focus on the task at hand. The horses trampled over the bodies of the men we’d already killed, and the carriage jolted aggressively. Both noblemen ahead froze as we barreled toward them, and the one without a crossbow turned and fled toward the western side of the grounds.
But the fucker with the projectile weapon stood his ground and took aim. Serra snapped the reins and clicked her tongue, and the horses swerved to the right and avoided his bolt. The projectile whooshed past us, and the man yelled and stumbled as he turned to run. He didn’t have enough time to reload, so he started to sprint as fast as he could in the direction of the castle.
Serra snapped the reins again, and I readied myself to attack as she started to overtake the guy on his left. I waited until I was close enough to ensure my throw and hurled my knife at his back. The blade struck him enough to make him stumble.
Serra directed the horses to block his path, and he clumsily tried to reload his crossbow.
Yori snarled as she threw her knife with deadly precision, and it flew into his cheek. Blood dripped down his face as the man howled in pain, and Serra pulled the reins to make the horses rear up. One of them kicked out as it lowered its front legs back down, and its hard hoof collided with the nobleman’s injured face. I winced as the horse smashed the fucker’s orbital and cheekbone, and he flew backward with his face half-caved in.
“Holy shit,” I said as the horses stilled.
I turned to Serra in complete awe, and she’d never looked hotter or more beautiful than she did in that moment. Tendrils of silver hair had fallen from her updo, and her face was flushed with excitement. But the most attractive thing was the look of pride and achievement in her eyes as she gripped the horses’ reins tightly.
“That was rather exhilarating,” she said. “Shall we kill more of them?”
A grin spread over my face, and I had to force myself to look past her to inspect the carnage through the rest of the grounds.
It was a fucking bloodbath, but it looked like the guards had taken down the remaining hostile nobles. A few of the rich fuckers seemed to have surrendered themselves and knelt with their hands tied behind their backs in a line guarded by my men.
Bodies were strewn all over the grounds, and I quickly scanned to make sure none of them were my guards. Raiden strode along the grounds with a group of his men as they inspected bodies, and we rode over to meet him.
“Your Majesty,” he said as the horses slowed to a halt. “This is an interesting tactic. Are you alright?”
“Yes, thanks to Serra.” I grinned. “It looks like we’ve done well. Is anyone hurt?”
“A few guards were injured,” Raiden said with a grim nod. “They’re being tended to by the castle nurses, but we can’t find Christopher Blake anywhere.”
“Fuck,” I said as I scanned the wide grounds.
“I know where he’ll be,” Carissa said as she stepped out of the carriage. “There’s a spot in the castle where he told me to hide out if anything went wrong and we got split up. Not that he cared about me, but he cared if I was captured and told our story. It’s one of the eastern towers.”
I got down from the carriage and wiped blood and sweat from my brow. Adrenaline coursed through me as I sheathed my dagger and surveyed the sea of blood and bodies around the grounds. This had all been caused by one man, and there was a very high chance he would kill his own daughter if he managed to catch her.
Some of my own men had been harmed because of this fucker, and there was no way in hell I was going to let him walk away alive.
“Then lead the way,” I said with grim determination. “Take me to Christopher Blake.”
Chapter 14
We walked through the bloody grass around the side of the castle. Then Serra went with two guards to retrieve Tanell and the royals, and I stayed with Carissa, Yori, Raiden, and the other guards.
Christopher knew Carissa had betrayed him, and she was convinced that he would have hung around to get revenge on her. There was still a chance he’d fled from the castle altogether, but he didn’t seem the type to let such an insult to his authority go. If he was really waiting in the tower for his daughter, he probably had plans to punish her before he went on the run.
“We can’t all go storming into the tower,” Carissa said as she eyed our guards. “There’s an escape tunnel that leads right out of the castle up there. It’s why he picked the spot. He’ll be gone in seconds if he spots all these people.”
“Where will he be able to see us from?” I asked.
“Not until we reach the stairs of the tower,” Carissa said. “I’ll need to go in first.”
“No way,” I said. “He might just kill you the second he sees you.”
“Not if I tell him there was a reason I didn’t kill you,” she said. “I can make him believe you offered me some kind of unbeatable prize in exchange for your life.”
“A prize better than being king?” Yori asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It doesn’t have to be real,” Carissa said. “As long as I can get close to him, I just need a few minutes of talk to get near enough to kill him.”
I was initially stunned by her words, but I quickly remembered the bruises all along her thighs. It wasn’t really surprising that she wanted the fucker dead, but I suspected the idea of killing her own father would still weigh heavily. Even if he was the world’s biggest piece of shit.
The front of the castle was in a far worse state than the back, and the guards had cut down the majority of the violently rampaging nobles before they got further than the bottom of the stairs.
Entrails and blood had been spilled up and down the white steps, and the guards had started to pull the half-dozen bodies away. Both Basttrum and Nalatrian guards worked together, and I was proud of the way they’d worked together to squash the attack.
“Your Majesty,” one of the Basttrum men said as he raced over. “The king and queen?”
“Safe in the stables,” I said, and he nodded before he raced off to find his monarchs.
A few nobles trembled as they sat with blankets around their shoulders while the castle nurses assessed them for injury. I wondered what the percentage was of rich people who hadn’t been in on the deal, and if they’d known about the offer others had been offered.
“I think I should go into the tower with you,” I said. “I can make up some bullshit story long enough to get close to him.”
“You were worried about me being killed instantly,” Carissa said. “That’s absolutely what would happen to you!”
“Not if I offer him something he can’t get unless I’m alive,” I said as we strode along the hallway. “I could tell him I’ve secretly changed the law of inheritance, and that would make his plan futile. Hint that if he cooperates, I can give him real power.”
“Are kings even allowed to do that?” Carissa asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said with a shrug. “It’s not real. He just has to buy it until I’m close enough to attack.”
Carissa’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips quirked up as I reused her plan for myself.
“I can’t let you walk into danger like that,” Raiden said. “I admire your bravery to step in and fight, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I allowed you to do it.”
“And I admire your dedication,” I said. “But I’m king, and I call the shots when it comes to my own life. The lie will only work if it comes from me, and I won’t allow him to escape and hurt more people. He’s a manageable threat right now. If he gets away, he’ll gather more resources and become even more dangerous.”
“I have a different idea,” Raiden said. “We make him run on purpose, and I ride out to wherever the tunnel finishes. I meet him with a sword to the throat and finish him there.”
“That would be a better plan,” Carissa sighed. “Except he gloatingly told me he paid poor farmers to dig out a second exit in a secret location, and he threatened their lives if they told anyone about it.”
“That sounds about right,” I said as we hurried down a long hallway.
We walked until we reached a large wooden door that was shut and unguarded. I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders as I readied myself to walk into danger.
“I really don’t like this,” Raiden said with a growl.
My general drew his sword and glared at the wooden door with his dark eyes narrowed.
“I know,” I said. “Let me try. Stay close by, and be ready to storm in if you need to.”
Raiden huffed an annoyed breath, pressed his lips into a thin line, and gave me a single, curt nod.
It was risky to go inside, but I’d proven that I had a strong power of persuasion. It was my best shot at getting close to the piece of shit, and a flood of adrenaline coursed through me.
“I’ll go in first,” I said. “He’s likely to stop me on the stairs. Carissa, you can come close behind to support the story. Raiden, only come in when shit gets violent.”
“Be careful,” Yori said as she took my hand. “I’ll come in and drive my knives through his heart if he hurts you.”
“Of course,” I said as I stroked her cheek. “I’ll be back out in no time.”
“You’d better be,” Yori said. “I need you, Ken. I mean it.”
Her dark eyes were wide with worry, and I kissed her gently before I turned to the door. I gave Carissa a nod and pulled it open to reveal a stone spiral staircase. It was silent inside the tower, and I put my hand on the hilt of my dagger as I stepped inside. I took one last look at Yori, then slowly started to walk up the stairs as silently as possible.
Carissa walked behind me, and we strode up several steps before I was met by the sharp end of a spear about two feet from my face. The silver blade pointed at my head, and a blood-splattered Christoper Blake stood a few stairs up with the shaft in his white-knuckled grip.
“Looks like I need to do it myself,” he snarled. “Useless fucking bitch of a daughter.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I said as I took a slow step back. “Carissa got damn close to killing me, but it wouldn’t do any good. I’ve repealed the old laws of inheritance in Nalatria.”
Christopher froze as he glanced between his daughter and me.
“Repealed,” he repeated in utter disbelief. “That’s not possible.”
“Yes, it is,” I said with what I hoped was a confident drawl. “I can change any laws I see fit as king, and the law of inheritance was outdated and foolish. I can’t believe it remained in place as long as it did, but there are no rules prohibiting a king from making such changes.”
“It’s true,” Carissa said from behind me. “King Kenneth has a deal he wants to make, and it would still result in you becoming king.”
“I never even wanted the role,” I said with a nod. “I want to stay in the court and put someone else on the throne. Carissa seems to think you’d be a good fit, if you can put off stabbing me for a moment.”
“Why would I believe you?” Christopher asked. “Why would you want me as king after this?”
“It’s because of all this that I want you as king,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “I need a man willing to do whatever it takes, and I think you can help me take over more than one kingdom. I need you to help me invade other countries.”
A flicker of interest crossed Christopher’s face, and I could tell the lie was starting to entice him. I just needed him to lower the fucking spear and let me closer.
“Drop your weapons,” he said as he glanced at my belt. “I’ll listen to you talk for five minutes, and then you’re a dead man if I suspect you’re lying.”
“Fine,” I said, and I tried not to give away the knife stuffed up my sleeve.
I took off my belt and placed it on the ground before I lifted my jacket and turned to hopefully convince him I was unarmed. Carissa placed her own blade down, but I knew she still had one stashed under her dress.
“Up,” Christopher said. “If you make a move, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Understood,” I said. “This is the kind of mentality I need for my plan to work.”
I walked up the stairs slowly as Christopher backed up and into the small room at the top of the tower. There was a door that led out to a narrow walkway all around the stone tower, and another door in the floor that I assumed led to his secret tunnel.
With his bloody suit and wide eyes, Blake looked like a caged animal. He kept his grip on the spear and watched me with almost feral eyes. I stopped beside the top of the stairs, and Carissa moved to stand beside me.
My heart thudded in my chest as I readied myself to strike. It didn’t seem like he was going to lower his weapon, so I was going to have to find the right angle to attack from without getting myself impaled in the process.
“Talk,” he spat.
“I’m not interested in being king,” I said. “I’m interested in power and gold. I can get both of those things as the king’s political advisor, and I need someone willing to go the distance on the throne. When I realized Carissa had acted on your orders, I knew you could be the guy for the job.”
“How would it work?” Christopher asked. “Why would you possibly want to step away from the throne?”
“I hate being the face of this shit,” I said. “Needing to address crowds, schmooze rich people, and all that crap. It’s not my style. I want to enjoy my time, but I think we could work together as a deadly team.”
I watched Christopher like a hawk until he glanced at Carissa. The second his gaze left me, I lunged. I grabbed the spear by the shaft and yanked with as much force as I could.
Christopher yelled as the weapon was ripped from his hands, and he reached for his belt, where a few knives hung in sheaths.
Carissa grabbed her weapon first, and she flung it at her father with a wild cry. Her knife wedged into his arm, and his fingers went limp like something important had been sliced in his arm.
“Ah!” Blake growled like a wounded dog.
He lunged for his daughter with a snarl on his sweaty face, and I flipped the spear tip-down and drove it right into his foot. The blade pierced through the dark leather of his boot, and the shaft shuddered as I drove through flesh and between bone. Christopher howled as he lost his balance and fell. He sprawled out on his back, and the leg that was skewered to the floor bent at an uncomfortable angle.
“Fuck!” he screamed in pain.
A stampede of footsteps carried up the tower as the guards ran to join me.
“Carissa,” Christopher hissed as he grabbed the hem of her dress. “Don’t let him do this! Save your father!”
The curly-haired woman stared down at the man on his back, and I gave her a moment to think. If she really didn’t want him dead, I could lock him away in a dungeon somewhere. But there was only one way to truly eliminate the threat of her father, and Carissa’s green eyes flashed with rage like she knew it, too.
“You have beaten me until I blacked out from the pain,” she said with a venomous tone. “You would have made a fucking terrible king, and I’m finally free of you.”
She turned to me.
“Free me,” she said. “Kill him, Your Majesty.”
I left the spear in his foot and grabbed my hidden knife.
Christopher tried to pull Carissa down by clawing at her skirts, but she ripped the material from his fingers as I stepped forward.
He tried to scramble away, and when that didn’t work, he started to haul a fist back to punch me, but I was faster.
I swiped my arm in front of him and dragged my knife deeply through the meat of his throat.
Christopher’s eyes went as round as the full moon, and panic filled his gaze as blood poured down the front of his suit.
“Go to Hell,” I said.
Blake reached up to press his hands to his gaping throat, but it was useless. Blood spewed between his fingers, and the color drained from his face. By the time the guards reached the top of the stairs, Christopher Blake was dead.
Raiden and his men gathered around us as I took a breath. My body was on fire with adrenaline, and I took a second to lean on Raiden’s supportive hand on my shoulder. Yori arrived at the top of the stairs and flung herself into my arms.
“Ken,” she gasped. “Shit! I’m so happy you’re okay!”
“We’re safe,” I said as I cradled her tightly. “It’s done. That fucker can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
I slowly parted from Yori and studied Carissa’s face as she stared at her father’s body. Her sharp features were hard to read, and she looked like she was a million miles away.
“Are you alright?” I asked. “We should get you away from here.”
Raiden grabbed a tapestry off the wall and placed it over Christopher’s body, and I was grateful for him shielding it from her.
“I’m really free,” she said as her gaze remained on the covered body. “He’s dead. He can’t hurt me or control me anymore.”
“He’s definitely dead,” Yori said as blood soaked the tapestry. “How do you feel?”
Carissa finally looked up and met my eyes, and a stunned smile lit up her face.
“Thank you,” she said as tears of gratitude filled her eyes. “I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a while. He’s abused me for so long.”
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” I said. “Do you have any other family? Somewhere you can go?”
“My mother died years ago,” Carissa said with a shake of her head. “I have a brother, but he moved to the Haktorian Empire a long time ago. It’s been hard to keep in touch with him, but I…”
