Page 20 of The Lies of Lena (The Otacian Chronicles #1)

Chapter Nineteen

SILAS

I cannot believe she followed me.

I began to undress in my room, changing into my training attire. I ran my fingers through my hair after my tunic and breeches were on, wanting so badly to run out of my room and explain myself.

She probably hates me now.

I sat on my bed and started to slip on my leather boots when I heard a knock on the door. I knew it wouldn’t be her, but I couldn’t stop my stomach from flipping at the hope of it.

“Come in,” I mumbled.

The door slowly opened, and Mother walked in.

“Well, that could’ve gone better.” She shut the door behind her and crossed her arms. “Why haven’t you told her, Silas? I thought you were going to weeks ago. ”

I sighed, slipping on the other boot. “I was going to, but…” I trailed off. “I just never found the right time.” I shook my head and bit down on my lip. “I can’t stand that I must wait to see her. She has to be furious with me.”

“Yes, she is,” Mother said softly, uncrossing her arms. “But she does love you, son.”

“How could you know if she loves me?” I muttered.

“I just do.” She walked over and sat next to me on my bed. “Giving her time to process and cool off won’t be a bad thing.”

Mother was always insightful—always seemed to know how and when things would work out. Still, I sighed.

Just under three months ago, Mother had come to me with an offer. To sneak out of the castle for one morning and finally be able to see part of the kingdom. Ever since I was young, when my sister Aria was kidnapped and killed, I had been trapped in this Godsforsaken castle.

I was grateful when my training had started. I learned the way of the sword and other forms of fighting alongside future soldiers, and that’s where I met my best friends, Edmund and Hendry, and one of my biggest inspirations, Torrin.

While I was close with them, it never compared to my connection with Lena. Edmund, Hendry, and Torrin still saw me as the Prince. They still saw me as royalty, as someone different than them. But Lena never did. She never held back, bowed down, and certainly never held her tongue. I loved it.

That’s why I hadn’t wanted to tell her. I didn’t want things to change between us. Now that she had caught me in this lie, I didn’t know how I would regain her trust. And I had to wait an entire week before I could see her again.

I buried my face in my hands.

“I know you want to go to her, Silas, but trust me, it will be better if you wait.”

“I still don’t understand why you are okay with any of this,” I said quietly, then rested my hands on my thighs. “Royalty must wed royalty. That’s what I have been told my whole life. That, when I am of age, princesses from all over Tovagoth will come with their families to offer up alliances to strengthen our kingdom and gain us more riches, more power, more land—you once told me this, too.”

I had kept Lena a secret for my first few visits to the Outer Ring, and I certainly hadn’t told my mother I had been outside the castle walls. I begged her to let me go out again after arriving home that first day, and that was the only time she seemed adamant about it being a one-time thing. She agreed to it the following day. And to my surprise, when I finally came clean about Lena, leaving the castle walls, the training, all of it, she wasn’t even upset. It never made sense.

“What changed?” I turned to face her more fully. “That first day out I thought would be my last. Even when I told you about Lena, only speaking about her as a friend, you didn’t seem to mind. It just goes against everything I have been told. I am so glad for it, but that doesn’t make it any less puzzling.”

She gave me a soft smile and placed a hand on my cheek. “It’s one of those things I know are meant to be.”

I returned her smile and refrained from rolling my eyes. “No one can know if anything is meant to be. ”

She laughed through her nose, then stood and smoothed out her dress. “Head to the courtyard for training. Torrin won’t like it if you’re late.”

She was out the door before I could ask any more questions.

The courtyard was full of soldiers-to-be, ages twelve to seventeen. I had started my one-on-one training far before that. The man who went by my stolen name began to train me when I was four. With play swords, of course. Once he was gone, I was trained by the absolute best in our armies. Considering I had no social life, any life at all, training took over most of it. I had been far more advanced than any of the boys here when I started at twelve, but still, it felt like the honorable thing to do, to train alongside them.

I walked over to where Hendry Bonnevau was standing, his tawny, bronze arms crossed, listening to what one of our other soldiers in training, Roland Aubeze, was saying to him. Roland was a year under Edmund and me but had a lot of promise.

Roland saw I was walking over and bowed, the corners of his lips pulling upward, before walking away. He was sarcastic and goofy for the most part, but like most people, he felt like he had to put a mask on in front of me.

“Where’s Edmund?” I asked, looking around the courtyard for him.

“Knowing him? Probably running here after sleeping in again.” I looked at Hendry, who gave me a grin, and his mismatched eyes of deep brown and light blue darted to the side. I followed his gaze, and sure enough, our blond-haired friend was running up the stairs, out of breath. He ran past Torrin on the steps and saluted as he did so. A few more seconds and he would have been late.

“Just made it,” he huffed with a smile, bending over to catch his breath. “Slept in by accident.”

“Gods, Edmund, you are too predictable.” Hendry snorted. “It would have been awkward for me if I would have had to discipline my friend.”

Hendry was a couple of years older than us, and since we were not in active war, he was stationed here to train the youngest soldiers. It was weird having him advance to a leadership role, though I suppose he was always teaching us things even before his promotion.

Up the steps walked Torrin, who gave Edmund a disapproving glare.

Torrin Brighthell was one of the best in our army. While he was entrusted with guarding the royal family, he also oversaw the teaching of our soldiers in training. Despite being only twenty-five, he had risen through the ranks with ease. “Edmund Estielot. Almost late again, I see.” Edmund shyly rubbed the back of his neck. “You can’t expect to be an Otacian soldier if your men cannot rely on you to make it somewhere in time.”

Edmund’s mouth formed a tight line, and he nodded. “Understood, sir.”

“Morning warm-ups begin now. You all know what to do.”

We all split into our regular groups. Our warm-ups were pretty similar to what I did with Lena. Torrin led my and Edmund’s group of boys aged sixteen and older; Rurik, one of the King’s generals and the oldest one here at age forty, took the boys thirteen to fifteen. Hendry now taught the new recruits.

Only a few minutes of warm-ups had passed before the sound of a sickening smash suddenly had my head snapping to the side. Leaning over and grasping his face was Roland, blood pouring out of his nose. Stalking above him were three more boys from his group. There were so many soldiers in training I didn’t even know their names, but they appeared to be fifteen like Roland was.

“That all you got, pillow-biter?” the blond one spat, his two friends next to him laughing. Roland’s hazel eyes burned as he wiped his nose with his forearm and went to stand, only to be kicked by the brown-haired boy standing next to him. Rurik just watched.

“Are you not going to stop them?” Hendry barked to the older soldier, who just shrugged with mild amusement.

“If the lad is a…pillow-biter as they say, perhaps a beating is needed to remind him not to broadcast his deviancy. Can’t fight wars effectively if your men fear…” He gave Roland a look of disgust. “Well, you know.”

My fists curled at his words, and just as the blond-haired one went to pummel his fist into Roland once more, I charged forward and yanked him by his collar, sending him flying back and crashing onto the concrete. He gaped at me as I glowered at him, his friends giving me the same expression. Edmund ran up and helped Roland to his feet.

“None of you are to put a hand on Roland again, do you understand?” I turned to Rurik, who stared at me with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. “And I will see that you are replaced for your incompetence and unprofessionalism.” My fists trembled at my sides, but my voice remained strong. I had never made a command like this, never exercised any power. But seeing my friend be treated so poorly, and after everything that had happened with Lena…

My father always had the final say. But hopefully, he would listen to me when it came to Rurik.

“Roland will train with Torrin,” I stated. I felt Roland looking at me with wide eyes, and when I met his stare, he gave me a thankful nod. Rurik stared at me in disbelief, and before he could respond, I was charging back into the castle. I heard the door open behind me, but I was too angry to turn around and see who it was. A hand gripped my shoulder after a few more steps, and I turned to see Torrin.

His dark eyes gave warning, and I shrugged off his touch and continued walking forward, Torrin trailing me. “I do not need a lecture, Torrin. That bastard doesn’t belong in the training grounds if he is going to let that occur. You can handle one more boy.”

“I am not disagreeing with you, Your Highness.”

I halted, then turned with a skeptical expression. Torrin’s arms were crossed, but he was beaming at me.

“I saw our future King just now in that altercation. You’ve come a long way. I am proud.”

I blinked. “Thank you.”

He patted my shoulder and turned to head out.

I went straight to my father after what went down with Rurik .

“Rurik is one of my most prized generals,” my father seethed. My mother was visibly stressed as she sat next to him. “You think it wise to embarrass me and give orders like you are King?”

Mother shot me a warning look.

Remain respectful, she always said.

I cleared my throat. “I did not wish to embarrass you, my King.” From an early age, my father insisted I refer to him as my King instead of my father. He believed it to be respectful as it was how he addressed his father. “Rurik behaved in an unacceptable manner and—”

“Who are you to say anything about how a general with far more experience than you instructs our soldiers?”

He was testing me. Surely, he didn’t want me to cower. If I was to be King one day, I needed to be just like him.

The problem was, I was nothing like him.

My heartbeat quickened. “He does not respect one of our prospective soldiers. I made a solution to switch him over to our training group.”

“If that was the solution, then why did you threaten his removal from his position?”

My fists shook at my side. “Because I do not believe he deserves it!” I yelled. My mother’s hand went over her mouth, and I knew I had messed up.

“Deserve it?” The King snarled, rising from his throne. His black hair and tanned skin were about all we had in common, and the cruelty that radiated from him was nothing I ever wanted for myself. “You have done nothing to deserve anything other than pop out of your mother’s womb. ”

I could do nothing but brace myself as he cracked the back of his hand against my face. It stung, but I wouldn’t show weakness by grasping it. My father got close to my ear.

“Finish your training and prove yourself on the battlefield, then you can start barking orders. But until then, you are to be the obedient little boy everyone knows you to be.”

I stared at the ground, my nails digging into my palms. It took everything to hide the disdain on my face.

“Do I make myself clear?” he shouted.

“Yes, my King,” I answered. I didn’t make eye contact with him as he stepped out of the throne room, and when I looked at my mother, tears were falling down her face.

The week went by as slowly as ever. Thankfully, Roland was allowed to train with Edmund and me under Torrin’s guidance. However, Rurik remained, and it was impossible not to notice his burning gaze upon me every training session. I had made my first enemy, though it sometimes felt like my father was one, too.

It was early morning, Thursday. I had anticipated and dreaded this day. I would go to see Lena and pray to the Gods that she would give me a chance to explain. I had hoped the week had given her time to clear her head.

I made my way down my regular path, my heart beating rapidly. I stopped in front of Lena’s cottage, taking a breath before knocking on the door .

After a moment, Minerva hesitantly opened the door, barely peeping her head through, her eyes enlarged.

“You shouldn’t be here, Your Highness,” she whispered, looking around the neighborhood. It was too early for most people to be outside.

“Please,” I begged. “I need to see her. To try to explain.”

Minerva studied me for a moment, biting her bottom lip. “This will only lead to heartbreak,” she said quietly.

I gave her a sad smile. “Is that not always a risk when it comes to love?”

Her mouth parted slightly, and after a moment, she nodded. “Lena is by the river,” she said, her thumb pointing behind her.

“Thank you,” I said with a bow and made my way to the river along the backside of their property. Based on what I had seen these past months, this river ran along most of the border of the Outer Ring.

The land behind their property went on for about twenty feet before it descended into a hill, and sitting down there, knees to her chest as she tossed pebbles into the water, was Lena. Her hair, a radiant orange in the morning sunlight, was pulled back into a braid. It was clear that even though she had said she wished not to see me, she could have easily been in bed or already on to her deliveries. Instead, she waited for me.

So, I made my way down to her.