Page 32 of A Warrior's Heart
Shar winked before turning to leave. The other four assassins followed him. Reif stepped up beside me.
“What do you know of Shar?” I asked him.
“Very little,” Reif answered. “All I know is he’s Ervin’s right-hand man.”
“Can you tell me anything else about them?”
“Regretfully, no,” Reif responded. “The Men of Shadow respect me as their former captain, but their trust in me exists no more. I chose love over duty, and it is a thing they will never forgive. Their inner dealings are kept among their ranks. I only know about Ervin because of his success. You can trust them though.”
Reif and I had become close over the years, yet there was much I had yet to learn about him. He very rarely spoke of the past. From what I gathered, he’d been dismissed from his position as captain after going against orders. He’d been exiled from Avalontis for many years, and then the king granted him entrance once more.
That’s the thing about King Triton. Many viewed him as a cruel god, however there were moments when his kindness—his mercy—showed.
Heavy steps drew my attention to the right.
“We’ll reach the island on the morrow,” Kellan told us. The sun’s powerful rays had caused the captain to remove his coat and push his sleeves to his forearms, exposing the scars he’d acquired over the years. Burn marks showed as well from the forge he now worked instead of pirating. “I trust you know where to look for this seer?”
I nodded. “Phantos is said to dwell in the mountain.”
“Many seers believe that mountains bring them closer to the gods,” Fletcher said, appearing at Kellan’s side. His fair skin was bright pink. The sun had not been kind to him over the past several days of our journey. He wore a maroon neckerchief over his hair to help block some of the heat, though it’d done very little. “It is a good omen.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Seers I’ve met in the past have lived deep inside caves, some underground,” Fletcher said. “They practiced dark magic and spent more time deceiving us than helping. The one you seek sounds like they practice light magic, or at the very least, magic intended for good rather than evil.”
My thoughts took me to the seer from the battle of Black Hallows. Rot had consumed her from the inside out because of the dark magic she’d performed. I could only hope that Phantos would be different.
“Come with me, love,” Kellan said, placing his hand on Fletcher’s lower back. “If you redden any more, the men may mistake you for a lobster and boil you for our supper.”
Fletcher laughed as he and Kellan walked toward the captain’s quarters.
That evening, after we’d eaten and settled down to rest, I sat on the upper deck of the ship, staring up at the stars. Hoping they would give me guidance.
I was a man who carried out orders. My king gave me a mission, and I completed it. However, the details of this mission were too vague.
How were we to find something that had been missing for centuries? The king himself hadn’t been able to find it, and he had more power than anyone else in all the land and sea. How would I fare much better?
“You can’t sleep either?” a soft voice said as steps came up the stairs.
My gaze landed on Troy, and the instant our eyes met, the heaviness in my chest lightened. His light brown hair was tucked behind his ears, and his netted top showed his creamy skin. His delicate frame called to something inside me. I wanted to hold him close and protect him from all the evils of the world.
I said nothing in response.
Troy softly sighed and plopped down beside me. “So quiet, you are. That’s when I know your mind is troubled.” He turned to his side and faced me, his lean body stretched beautifully. “What’s wrong?”
“A warrior must not doubt himself.”
“And you doubt yourself?”
Again, I said nothing.
“The seer will tell us what we need to know,” Troy answered, putting his hand on my arm. “King Triton wouldn’t have sent you on this mission if he didn’t have faith in you. So have faith in yourself.”
His touch was warm, and more than anything, I wanted to sink deeper into that warmth. Yet, I couldn’t. No matter what my body craved, I would not surrender to lust. Not with Troy of all men. He’d been hurt in the past.
“You should go to bed,” I said, returning my gaze to the night sky.
Troy tucked himself closer to my side and laid his head on my shoulder. “Not until you do.”
