Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1)(8)

Now he was just thankful he didn’t have to do more than rise and escort his new wife out of the room to the bridal chamber prepared for them. His stomach roiled, hating him as much as his fellow Kai did at the moment.

Ildiko squeezed his hand as the Gauri maids waited to divest her of her gown. She waved them off and turned to him. “There’s no reason to stay any longer in Pricid, Brishen. I have no quarrel if you wish to leave tonight.”

His ugly, great-hearted bride could obviously read his thoughts. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her forehead. “Are you sure, Ildiko? Don’t you wish to tell your family goodbye?”

She plucked at his sleeve, and her mouth curved down. Grief. An old grief. Brishen was learning to read his wife’s expressions the way she read his thoughts. “I said goodbye to my family when I prayed at my parents’ tombs. There’s no reason for me to linger here.”

With that, he left her to have the servants gather those things she’d already packed and load them into the wagon that would accompany them to Haradis. He found the rest of the Kai gathered in a small courtyard, sharing pitchers of wine between them.

They rose together at his entrance and bowed. Anhuset approached him.

“I hate you,” she said.

He shrugged. “I’ll live.”

“After that vile meal we all choked down for you, don’t bet on it, cousin.”

Brishen hid a smile. Anhuset was closer to him than his sibling had ever been. She was also his lieutenant and second-in-command of his troop. Deadly in combat and fiercely loyal to him, her death threats were empty one. He remained wary though. She’d have no compunction trying to beat him bloody if he annoyed her too much.

“My wife wishes to leave now,” he said.

His eyes widened as the courtyard exploded into a frenzy of activity and several enthusiastic toasts to the new hercegesé. Ildiko had scored her first victory with her Kai family, and she wasn’t even here to witness it.

They were loaded, saddled and on the road as the moon began its descent toward the dawn. Normally he rode at the head of his contingent, but this journey was different. With Ildiko’s dower wagon along, they’d have to travel the main road through bandit country. Brishen’s first duty was to protect his wife, and he rode beside her, surrounded by two dozen armed Kai. He was armored himself and bristling with weaponry. Ildiko hadn’t balked when he helped her buckle on one of Anhuset’s breastplates.

“Is it so dangerous then?” She chewed on her lip and stared down at the armor encasing her torso.

Brishen adjusted the buckles and checked the seams at the shoulders to make sure she was comfortable. “It can be. It’s a heavily traveled trade road with caravans ripe for the picking.” He handed her the traveling cloak her maids had set aside earlier. “Don’t worry, Ildiko. They’ll think twice about attacking us. We’re not tinkers, and we’re heavily armed. It’s not only the Gauri who know of the Kai fighting skills.”

She’d been awkward in the armor and shy around his kinsmen. They had averted their eyes when she first approached them but bowed low and offered their congratulations to her, along with a salute of loyalty.

Owl hoots accompanied the creak of wagon wheels and the clop of horse hooves, along with the rustle of night creatures that hunted in the forest bordering both sides of the trade road. Ildiko’s eyes were closed, and she began to cant in the saddle, sliding toward Brishen. He nudged his horse against hers.

“Ildiko, wake up.”

She opened her eyes, the ever-changing pupils expanded to swallow the blue irises. “Is it morning?” she asked in a slurred voice.

Brishen slid further back on the saddle pad, slipped his arms around Ildiko and lifted her from her saddle. He plopped her in front of him. “Not morning yet, but you’re about to fall off your horse. If you won’t sleep in the wagon, you can ride with me.”

She nodded and nestled into the cove of his arms, metal armor clanking between them.

The Kai prince held her against him, learning her warmth and her scent. The feel of her was no different from the Kai women he’d embraced. She was just as warm, her oddly colored skin just as smooth, her hair equally soft. With her asleep, he could tilt his head and gaze at her profile without the distraction of her eyes.

He’d observed the noblemen of the Gauri court as their gazes followed Ildiko during the wedding ceremony. While Brishen didn’t find her beautiful, it was obvious to him the Gauri men did. Still, he didn’t regret this union. Ildiko was unique and witty, and he enjoyed her company. It was a promising start.

Brishen settled her closer to him. He stiffened suddenly in the saddle at a whisper of sound. “Shields!” he bellowed and shoved a startled Ildiko toward his mount’s neck.





CHAPTER FIVE


Ildiko woke abruptly to a mouthful of horse’s mane and the weight of Brishen’s body smashing hers to the saddle. The air around her hung thick and dark, and it took her a moment to realize she sheltered with Brishen beneath the dome of his shield. Something struck the metal with a hammering ring. Brishen rocked sideways, his arm and shoulder flexing against her side as he absorbed the impact of the blow.

Ildiko clutched the pommel as the animal shied and pranced beneath her. Another hammer blow struck the shield. She gasped as she was suddenly swung to the ground and just as quickly encircled by an armored wall of Kai soldiers. Their armor glinted dull and their eyes shone bright in the dying moon’s fading light.