Page 91 of Grounded By Love
"I know the master mind behind the plan. Who actually carried it out? Well, I can promise I will find out who they were, and they will pay with their lives." Kaeldar swore.
“Please don’t. I don’t want there to be blood shed over me.”
“They took you to leave you to die, and you want me to spare their lives?”
“I would rather leave, then stay and have blood on my hands.”
“It won’t be on your hands.”
“The blood will be on my hands, if you do it to show others I belong here. It can’t be the way they accept me.”
Kaeldar glared down at her, but he relented. “Fine. They will not be killed, but they will be punished for what they did.”
She nodded. She agreed they needed to be punished, but death was something she would never be able to live with.
Kaeldar couldn't believe he’d found her. She was alright, but she was a bit traumatized from her experience, which was completely understandable.
He was thinking it would be time to take the reins from his father. It was time to take his place as king of the rock giants. Claira had done nothing to them except help their ill and wounded.
Until now he’d never wanted or needed to take power away from his father. His father had taken away things throughout Kaeldar’s life, but none of those things meant as much to him as Claira.
But over throwing his father would take time. He needed to see how many of his people would back him or he would just throw everything into chaos. They were fighting a war, and his people needed a strong head to the royal family.
Who would have been able to guess a human female would be the one thing in his life to spur him on to take kingship from his father. Never before had he wanted the responsibilities that came with being king. He had always planned to shirk those duties, until the last possible moment by being a soldier.
Now he felt confident he could do it, when he had Claira by his side. He had finally found the right female to spur him into doing his duties.
Yet the only way to take the kingship from his father would be either waiting until his father died or challenge his father to a battle. It would be a challenge with sharp swords, and Kaeldar wasn’t about to lie to himself, his father was still in his prime.
There was no love lost between them. If Kaeldar challenged his father, his father might just end his life and be rid of his troublesome heir.
For Claira’s safety, he couldn’t take her back to the castle. When he challenged his father, it would send him into a rage, and Kaeldar didn't want his father's eyes to land on Claira and think about harming her. If she was gone, his father wouldn't be able to get to Kaeldar.
He would have to act like he was breaking the ties with her, because he didn't want her to wait her whole life for him. He wanted her to be able to live, possibly start a family if she chose, because he couldn't promise he would come out of the challenge alive.
There was a high possibility his father would beat him in a challenge. He was older, but he was still in his prime and had plenty of experience with a sword. His father wasn't a man to be underestimated on the battlefield.
Once she was better and stopped sniveling she got up from the ground and brushed off her gown.
"Thank you, I’m better now." She said, as his anxious eyes followed her every movement. She had relieved her pent up emotions, and she was feeling a deal better.
He nodded, as he stood up. "You always surprise me with the strength you have inside you."
"Thank you." She said, pleased he felt that way about her. She tried to be strong, but it was getting harder. There seemed to be a lot of things being thrown at her, while she was with the rock giants.
"I think it might be best to return you to the human world. You will be safer among your own people, and you can be left at a different village, a village where you will have a new start. Perhaps you will have a better chance of them accepting your presence than the rock giants."
Claira shook her head. “I can’t believe what you’re saying.” She refused to believe what had come out of his mouth.
He took her shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. "I know you don't want to hear it, but it is the best way, if not the only way. If you come back with me to the castle, there will be other attempts on your life, and I can't let that happen, because one of them might end up succeeding."
She shook her head. Of course, she wanted to remain alive, but she also wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to go back to a human village. It would be a life where she would remain misunderstood and held at arm's length.
“I was almost killed in the last human village.”
“But I can’t keep you safe at the rock giant castle, Claira. You will have a better chance among your own people.” Claira opened her mouth, but Kaeldar didn’t let her argue with him. “It has already been decided, Claira.”
“By who? You?”
