By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,54
kindness.”
“It’s the least we could do.”
“No. I wouldn’t say that. I am your enemy.”
“You aren’t anymore.”
A round of laughter came from the other side of the camp. Tasar, Atalsa, and a few other knights approached them. As usual, Tasar was bragging about how many knights he had beaten during training. Tanel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was easy to be a champion when Tasar only chose the smallest or lesser skilled opponents.
The group stopped talking when they noticed the winsome newcomer.
“This is Chrissa. She will be staying with us tonight,” said Tanel.
They nodded to her and then went over to the campfire, continuing their banter.
“So, are you also a brave sword fighter?” she asked.
“I’m an archer.”
“An archer?”
The maiden raised her perfectly arched eyebrows. Tanel knew what Malinorians thought of archers on a battlefield.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but my father—”
She stopped mid-sentence and exhaled loudly. She wiped a tear that had slipped down her face.
Tanel wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how. He wasn’t very good at that sort of thing. Chrissa undoubtedly had a very dark past.
He swallowed.
“You are very brave, and I want you to know that you have made the right decision.”
The raven-haired girl looked up at him with glistening eyes.
“I ran away because my father was going to force me to marry someone that I loathed.”
“Marry?” Tanel echoed. “But you’re just a girl!”
Her piercing blue eyes glared at him as she crossed her arms. He had offended her.
“In Malinor, I am considered a woman. Most girls are already married by the time they are my age.”
“I’m sorry. Things are very different here. No one is forced to marry.”
She relaxed and nodded.
“I did not want to be married at all, let alone to that man.”
“You are safe here now.”
Chrissa looked at him intently.
Tanel could hardly fathom the mere idea of forcing a lady to marry anyone, let alone a man that she despised. It gave him yet another reason to want to conquer the barbaric Malinorian Empire.
*****
Jalarn paced back and forth in the library. His mind swam with the conflicting thoughts.
The door swung open. Jalarn looked up in annoyance.
Aterun. Again.
The warlock glared at him.
Jalarn knew exactly what the man was going to say.
“I told you to kill that wench,” said Aterun.
“And I told you that she is not your concern.”
“Yes, she is, because it concerns you.”
“Remember who it is you are talking to!”
“M’lord, you forgot to meet me tonight to finish the spell. You were with her. Are you not aware that Malinor goes to war tomorrow?”
Jalarn restrained himself from throttling the man. He had the nerve to comment on his decisions? Who did the sack of bones think he was?
“Just look at you!” shouted Aterun. “You are leading the world’s largest empire into battle at dawn and you barely know which end is up. That girl is a curse.”
“Shut up!”
Jalarn walked over to Aterun and pushed him. The elderly man stumbled backward.
“General, you were the one that threatened me to teach you all of the spells. You wanted to cast an enchantment that will punish Malinor’s traitors.”
“We can still finish it tonight.”
“Don’t be careless. It’s that female. She’s already poisoning your mind. You defend her like she is the most important thing in your life. So, is she?”
Jalarn was grateful for the darkness hiding his flaming face.
“Don’t be crazy.”
Aterun was just a senile old man. He could not deny that Talya was intriguing. But the most important thing to Jalarn was the empire. Besides, he knew that she was not trying to stab him in the back. There was something about her that he knew he could trust – something that he had never seen in all of Malinor.
“I want you to go now. I will meet you shortly so we can finish the spell,” said Jalarn.
“So you can sit here and ponder your feelings for a while?”
“If you are implying that I have emotion, warlock, I will strike you dead where you stand.”
I might just kill you anyway.
Aterun scowled before turning to leave. He was nearly at the door, but he stopped when his shrewd eyes caught a glimpse of Talya’s scroll. He shifted over to Jalarn’s desk and picked it up.
“What in the realm is this?”
“Aterun, I do not answer to you. When I need you, I will summon you. Now, get out of here before you get what you deserve.”
The warlock dropped it like a red-hot iron before hobbling out of the library.
Chapter Fourteen
Ittonifer couldn’t sleep. All he could