Page 73 of Sword of Rage
Harley had a million questions for Ackley, but now was not the time.
Ackley rushed over to the spear, pressing on it. A door in the floor opened, revealing the tunnel they’d entered through yesterday.
They made their way back through the tunnel. When they climbed out, they found two horses saddled and loaded with the necessary provisions for a week of traveling.
Harley wrapped the cloak around her body, then climbed on the horse. They traveled about a mile before she spoke. “What did you think of Prince Kerdan?”
“He will be King Kerdan soon, of that I have no doubt.”
He did seem the sort of man who succeeded in all he did. “I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
“Neither have I.” He adjusted the reins in his hands. “He is far more complex than what I thought upon first meeting him. He seems to be an intelligent man. And skilled in fighting. I wouldn’t want to go up against him.”
“Why?” she asked, the desire to taunt him rising. “Would you lose?”
Ackley eyed her sidelong. “No.”
“I can understand your hesitation. He was a foot taller than you and twice as wide.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to go up against him because then I’d have to kill him. And I rather like the guy.”
“You have that much faith in your skills?”
“He’s a trained soldier. I’m a trained assassin.”
The words hung heavy between them. She finally found the courage to ask what had been bothering her all along. “Why train a prince to kill?” They had soldiers for that sort of thing.
The wind whipped down the mountainside, blowing against them so forcefully Harley felt the horse shift. She pulled her cloak tightly around her.
“It’s a long story. The gist of it is I was used and manipulated. I was made a weapon to take down my father and his legacy.”
“I thought you said the knights were the protectors of the kingdom?” Didn’t that include the king?
“They are. But what I became, who I became, was something else.”
“But why you?”
“Let me ask you a question,” he said, his voice suddenly softer. She gestured for him to continue. “Who’s more dangerous? An assassin who sneaks into a castle late at night to kill the king? Or the woman lying in bed with the king while he’s sleeping soundly?”
With that analogy, she understood why a prince would make the perfect assassin. “You have access to people and places normal people do not.”
“Exactly.” He adjusted the reins in his hands. “I knew my way around the castle, I knew the castle’s secrets, where my father liked to go to be alone.”
The sky darkened. The wind whirled by so violently that the sound made the hairs on her arms rise. “Am I to understand that you enjoy being a knight but not an assassin?” Or was she reading too much into what he’d said?
“I enjoy helping my kingdom and my family. I love the freedom being a knight gives me.”
It seemed like there was more he wanted to say. There was definitely more she wanted to know, especially since he hadn’t addressed the second part of what she’d said about being an assassin.
However, he kept glancing at the sky. “I think it’s going to start raining. We should find shelter.” A large mountain loomed to the north, a forest to the south. Ackley led the way between the towering trees. After fifty feet or so, he stopped. “I don’t want to go in any farther and risk getting lost.”
Harley dismounted. “Lost? You? I didn’t think it possible.”
“There’s even a tent in these supplies,” he mused.
“You take care of that, and I’ll tend to the horses.” Harley led the animals over to a low-lying branch, which she tied them to. Then she patted them down and gave them some water. After she finished, she joined Ackley inside the tent. They shared a loaf of bread.
“I hope the storm passes through while we sleep. Then we can be on our way tomorrow first thing.” Ackley handed her a blanket. “There’s only two. One for each of us.”
