Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(33)

“When Morlet is defeated,” he said, “I’ll finally be free. I’ll be able to age and live my life, no longer bound to Vidar.”

“Bound how?” I whispered, taking a step closer to him.

His brown eyes seemed far away, lost in thought. I gently touched his arm, and he blinked several times. “Enough talking,” he said. “We have work to do. Once you have your weapon, you’ll be able to control the power within you. After you do that, you can save the Krigers.” He took a step away from me, and my hand dropped to my side.

Was Vidar cursed as well? Was he stuck in a body that never aged? All this time, I thought Anders wanted to save the people in Nelebek, but he really just wanted to save himself.

The wind rustled the leaves above me, and I remembered what I was here for. “Let’s get started.”

Anders swung his arm, and I ducked. “Excellent reflexes,” he said, surprised. Staying light on his feet, he bounced around, taunting me. “The first thing you must learn is basic combat techniques.”

“Oh?” I raised my arms, prepared to block or strike as needed.

His eyes sparkled with amusement. “When we go into the dungeon to rescue the Krigers, we’ll be in a small, confined space. We’ll need to incapacitate the soldats quickly, before the alarm is raised.”

“What do you mean, we?” I kept a close eye on him as he circled me.

“You and me.” He kicked his leg and knocked me to the ground.

I jumped up, mad I didn’t see that one coming. “I’m not going in alone?” He kicked again, and this time I swung my arm, hitting his leg before it could strike me.

“No,” he said as he came closer. “I’m going with you. You don’t know your way around the castle, and you don’t have enough experience.”

“What about Vidar?”

He swung his fist toward my face. I ducked and then countered by kicking his leg.

“He has other duties to attend to.” Anders sidestepped to avoid being hit. He spun around and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. Instinct and years of my father’s training kicked in. I stomped on his right foot. When he hunched slightly forward, I rolled my body to the side and swung my right arm, hitting him in the groin. His grip loosened, and I threw my elbow up, knocking his chin. He fell to the ground.

“Just as I suspected,” he said. “You have some basic training. That will save me a lot of time. We just need to practice and make sure your stamina is up. Ready for another round?”

I nodded, excited to be able to spar so easily with him.





Chapter Nine


My stomach growled from having spent several hours working with Anders and not once stopping to eat. We entered the sitting room and found Vidar sprawled on the couch, reading a book.

“About time,” he said, not bothering to look up.

Heading into the kitchen, we saw two plates piled high with bread, cheese, and some sort of meat.

“Duck,” Anders said, answering my unvoiced question. He picked up his plate and took a bite of the bread. “I’m going to get cleaned up.”

“You promised you’d answer my questions.”

“Ask Vidar. He enjoys talking nearly as much as you do.” At the doorway, he glanced back. “Make sure you’re near the medallion at all times so Morlet can’t contact you.” He left, taking his plate with him.

Not wanting to eat alone, I went back into the sitting room and plopped down next to Vidar. “What are you reading?”

“A book about the history of Nelebek,” he answered, swinging his legs off the couch and propping himself up.

“So just some light reading for fun,” I teased.

He smiled and closed the book. “I have it memorized from beginning to end. But I read it once in a while to remind myself what we’re fighting for.” He put the book down, giving me his full attention.

“What are you fighting for?” I asked. “The kingdom? To end the curse?” What motivated him to keep going, even after all the years of failure?

“As much as I’d love to end the curse, I fight for the people of Nelebek. We must kill Morlet so people can once again be free and live in peace.”

“Was it peaceful before Morlet took over?”

He nodded, his eyes revealing a great sadness.

I longed for a kingdom where soldats didn’t watch our every move, where people weren’t executed for helping one another, and the ruler actually cared about his subjects. I finished my food and put my plate on the nearby table.

“Kaia,” Vidar said, fidgeting with his hands. “Grei Heks … well … she told me something you should know.” His eyes darted to my face and then quickly away.

“What is it?”

“That you and I … well …” He ran his hands through his hair, nervous about whatever it was he had to say. “We … uh, just that we need to retrieve your weapon as soon as possible. I’d like to leave in two days.”

Vidar was hiding something from me. Before I could ask him what it was, he said, “Anders told me you have questions about being a Kriger, and I should answer whatever you ask. So now is your chance. What do you want to know?”

One question had been nagging me since I first discovered I was a Kriger. “When the twelve of us link our powers together and go up against Morlet, will we all survive?”