Page 14 of The King's Weapon

In the shadows of the night, Kallie could be herself and forget the pressures and self-doubt that plagued her mind. She was able to take a break from the facade she had to wear in front of her father's subjects and visitors. She could turn off the thoughts that ravaged her mind during the day and just exist.

Early on in her training, her father created mazes beneath the palace. He believed they would trick her into thinking it was a game when she was young. Soon enough, the mazes became a habit. The obstacles her father created were exhausting, but they made her think outside of the box and use whatever resources were available to finish the course.

Yet after every success, there was another maze, another trial to beat. Another nod of approval to acquire.

Each maze was harder than the last, and Kallie learned to thrive on the challenge. Shaping her body into something strong and unbreakable was a release she had not known she craved until she had done it. It was the one thing that someone could not claim for themselves for it was hers and hers alone.

And she would use everything she had learned to ensure her journey to the foreign kingdom and her task of capturing the man's heart and mind was nothing short of a success.

Her father would accept nothing else from his greatest weapon.

Shewould accept nothing else.

So, when Kallie completed her father's latest obstacle course beneath the castle in the training quarters for the second time that night, she ran through it again.

When she slid across the floor to avoid the flying arrows she had triggered, strands of hair fell from her ponytail as the arrows zipped above her head.She rolled onto her stomach, pushed herself off the floor, then sprinted toward the cover that lay a few paces away.Sweat dripped from her brow, but she ignored the urge to wipe it away. She could not afford a distraction. Her concentration needed to stay sharp. This would be her last run through the maze, and it would be flawless despite the ache that was forming in her limbs.

The guard she had manipulated to help her train was waiting for her on the other side of the haystack. She counted to ten, repeating her mantra in her mind.

I am capable. I am powerful. I am control. I am worthy.

And once her breathing was under control, she attacked with the fierceness of a bull.

Chapter6

Kallie's bodyscreamed at her when she got into the carriage at dawn. Her morning stretches had done little to soothe the ache in her muscles. Thankfully, she had a few hours to rest until they stopped.

Myra had fallen asleep on the bench across from her, which was a blessing from the gods. Her jitteriness had made Kallie anxious. Although Kallie could not blame Myra for her excitement. Her handmaiden had lived in Ardentol her entire life. At the age of thirteen, Myra had joined Kallie's service, and the two of them had been inseparable for the past nine years. Where Kallie went, Myra followed. Since Kallie hadn't traveled after an incident when she was eleven, which was before Myra was employed, this was Myra's first time outside the kingdom's borders.

The last time Kallie had been beyond Ardentol's borders was when she was eleven. Kallie had accompanied her father on his visit to Kadia to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Since summer was short in the region, Kadia held an annual festival for a week straight to celebrate summer's arrival. During the week-long event, there were tournaments, grand feasts, and other events that Kallie was not old enough to participate in at the time. After the largest feast, many of the children escaped to a nearby lake. Back home, there were few children around Kallie's age, and she was desperate for friends. However, Kallie had strict orders either to remain by the king's side or be in her sleeping quarters. But Kallie was young, rebellious, and foolish. So without the king's knowledge, Kallie had snuck off to join the others.

At the lake, Kallie had overheard a group of girls around her age bragging about their first kisses. When one of the girls asked Kallie who was her first kiss, Kallie did not want to admit she had not kissed anyone yet. But Kallie's gift had not been strong enough to force them to believe a lie since she was still training her ability. She attempted to lie, but they saw through it instantly.

After a fit of laughter, the girls dared Kallie to kiss someone right there and then.

Not willing to let them think she was afraid, Kallie accepted the challenge. She spotted a boy with silver hair who was tossing rocks along the surface of the lake alone. She had never met him, she didn't even know his name, but he seemed kind enough during the feast.

Kallie walked over to him and asked him to show her how to make the rocks skid across the lake. When he picked up a smooth rock and turned to her, she kissed him. A simple peck. The boy was paralyzed.

And like any girl, Kallie ran.

Straight into her father, who had seen everything. Outraged, he dragged her away as he lectured her about respect and proper etiquette for a royal. But Kallie only heard the girls giggling behind her back.

Afterward, her father prohibited her from traveling with him. However, the travel ban didn't stop Kallie from sneaking out of the castle at night and doing more than planting meek kisses on the mouths of boys.

Nevertheless, this was Myra's first time leaving Ardentol and her excitement was nauseating. When the carriage didn't stop in front of Frenzia's gates after an hour, the excitement diminished. Then when Kallie stopped entertaining her and she had no one else to turn to, Myra dozed off.

After reading a few chapters in a book, Kallie closed it and pulled back the curtain to check on her guards. Peering outside the carriage, she spotted Alyn riding beside the carriage and fiddling with a loose thread on his horse’s reins. Every few paces he looked over his shoulders, checking the perimeters. Kallie tapped on the glass.

Eyes wide, Alyn swiveled toward the sound, and Kallie gave him a wide, toothy smile. But the corner of his lip only twitched He then returned his gaze to the path ahead.

Polin then rode closer and upon seeing Kallie in the window, he waved. She smiled back. The two guards began conversing. Unable to hear their conversation through the soundproofed carriage, Kallie sat back in her seat and let the curtain fall. She leaned against the window and shifted in her seat. The leather holster holding her dagger rubbed against her leg and soothed some of her nerves—but not all of them.

Despite the lingering nerves stirring inside of her stomach, she dozed off as the carriage rocked back and forth down the bumpy path that headed toward the Alderian Mountains.

* * *

Kallie's skullsmacked against the curtain-covered window and startled her awake. Massaging her throbbing head, Kallie looked over at Myra. The fog of sleep was fresh on her face, her hair disheveled.

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