3. Kellan

Chapter three

Kellan

I leapt from my horse as we arrived back at our camp on the outskirts of the Sylis Forest. I couldn’t believe how much of a fucking disaster everything had turned into.

The entire ride back, I was forced to clutch the nape of my neck to prevent my body from bleeding out, thanks to Elianna’s little stunt she pulled. I couldn’t believe I let the bitch slip through my gods-damn fingers—literally. I had never fled from a battle in my life, but it was clear that her blade had nicked a vital vein. It took all my efforts to hold the skin closely together with my bare hand until it worked to heal. I had to survive. Too much was at stake, and I’ve worked too gods-damn hard to lose it now, especially at the hands of Elianna.

How had I missed the dagger strapped to her thigh? And how did she even have that?! I fucking snapped the damn thing in half the last time we were in this gods-forsaken place. I knew it was the same dagger, too—I noticed the wolf’s head atop the hilt.

Stalking through the camp, we pushed our way through the soldiers that awaited our return, and I ignored the passing looks as they realized how beaten to shit we all were.

“Vincent!” I barked. I hadn’t seen him since we were forced to flee. I roared his name over and over as I stumbled through the camp and arrived at my tent.

Where the fuck was he?

I picked up a bucket of water that remained on the ground within my tent from the day prior, splashing some up into my face and onto my wound that had finally begun to stitch itself closed.

As I peered down to try to get a better look, a growl crawled up my throat. That would scar. I would make Elianna pay for that. My gaze drifted down to my thigh, where the commander had slashed my flesh with his blade, and I thanked the wretched gods that it had nearly healed entirely already.

I stalked over to my cot in the far corner of the tent and started rummaging through the bag I had hidden beneath it.

After grabbing hold of the small jar of salve that I had stolen back in Isla, I began to generously apply it to my neck.

I cleared my throat and yelled, “Vin—”

My words were cut off as Callius appeared between the flaps of my tent’s door. He looked me up and down carefully as a scowl twisted his face.

“Well,” I started. “You’re not Vincent.”

“What the fuck happened, Adler?!”

“Wonderful to see you too, Callius,” I mocked as my head tilted .

He stormed halfway across my tent and stopped abruptly. “Don’t try to pull your bullshit on me, Kellan.”

I eyed him. “What? Are you pissed about the salve?”

A grin twisted my face as I offered him the jar with one hand as the other continued to spread it onto my wounds.

“I don’t give a shit about the salve!” he boomed as he smacked the jar out of my hand and sent it flying across the tent.

My brows flew halfway up my forehead as my gaze followed it through the air, and then slowly moved back to face him. “Woke up on the wrong side of the tent, did we?”

“Enough!” he roared. “Tell me what happened. Now.”

“The humans were slightly more prepared than we anticipated. We would’ve won, but I was injured.” I gestured to the side of my throat and the bloodstains that soaked my entire front. “Obviously.”

“So, you left? You of all males fled?”

The tone of his accusation sent a spark of fury through me.

My jaw ticked as my stare tore away from him. “It was Elianna. She got the upper hand on me, which will never happen again. I thought I had completely disarmed her, but she unsheathed a hidden dagger and forced the blade down into the nook of my neck.”

“You’re gods-damn right it will never happen again. I’m taking over. You’re done .”

I rose from where I sat and stood in front of him in an instant, hovering over his body. “Come again?” I growled through my teeth as he refused to break my stare or back down .

“Are you fucking deaf, now? You’re. Done .”

He went to turn on his heel away from me, but my arm whipped out, and I clutched his own aggressively between my fingers, yanking him to face me once more.

“Release me, Adler. Don’t be foolish,” he warned.

“I am not going anywhere. These are my soldiers— my army. I command them, not you. You don’t get to relieve me just because you held my position once upon a time.” A grin twitched up the corner of his lips, but he remained silent as he stared into my eyes. “What? You think you hold all this power because you retired from this to occupy the queen’s bed? You’re nothing but a cock to play with to her,” I seethed.

Callius ripped his arm from my grasp and took another step into me. We stood chest to chest in the center of my tent as low growls of challenge rumbled through each of us.

“And what is it you’re doing, huh? Oh, I know you much better than you think, Kellan. Do not forget who raised you since you were a mere boy.”

“My father raised me.”

He scoffed. “Your father was a pitiful excuse of a male who sailed the seas on some insane belief that he ruled them. You were not executed among the rest of his crew because of me . I taught you everything you know, boy,” he spat at me with venom, but I flashed my teeth at him in response. “And the answer to your question is yes. I do hold this power because of what I am to the queen, and to your dismay, I am significantly more than just a cock that awaits in her bed all hours of the night.”

Gods, he was really pissing me off .

He took a single step back from me, and his eyes looked me up and down in disgust. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. The King’s Lord? Is that what Kai thinks?”

“It’s the truth,” I growled.

Callius raised a hand to stop me from continuing. “Save it. You didn’t give a fuck about Solus until recently, and now suddenly, you’re trying to convince the queen to let you keep her as a little pet? You try to wander off with a small army of your choosing to go and fetch her, yet come back empty-handed?” He tsked at me. “You know . And I am very well aware that you know who and what she is, and I’m here to tell you that you can take that little dream of yours and ignite it into the flames that you love to play with so much. It’s never going to happen.”

My eyes flared at the realization he knew what I had been secretly planning since discovering Elianna’s true identity. My heart started pounding, and I attempted to maintain a steady breath, hoping to avoid raising any more of his suspicion.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied, and not as smoothly as I was hoping.

“Kellan, this is pathetic.” Callius sighed as he rubbed his temples. “She will never be queen. You will never be king. That is certain. That I can promise you.”

“And why is it that she would be queen in the first place?” I asked through my teeth, still trying to save face as I refused to break eye contact .

“For fuck's sake, Kellan, I—”

A loud horn sounded off in the distance and shouts from our soldiers rang out all around the tent. Echoes of their armor clattered, snagging both of our attentions.

He turned back to face me, a scowl twisting his features, and lifted his finger in front of my face—I wanted to bite it off.

“This isn’t over,” he hissed at me. “Pull any more shit, and I will tell Kai and the queen of your bullshit plan faster than you can even feel regret…mark my words, Adler.”

And with that, he rapidly turned from me and stalked out of my war tent.

Breaking through the tent flaps, I found the camp in a state of utter chaos. Soldiers were frantically running around, grabbing any weapons they could find, as they readied themselves for what appeared to be an oncoming attack.

“Vin!” I bellowed into the air as I stalked around the madness, dodging males as they ran past, ignoring me. “Where the fuck is Vincent?!”

“Captain,” a voice called, and I whipped around to see one of our younger recruits, William Carter, standing before me, still covered in gore stains from the night prior.

“William, where is Vincent?” I howled at him as more soldiers slammed into us from each side, their shouts filling the air .

His eyes widened slightly, and he blew out a nervous breath. “Captain, he didn’t return with us.” He took a hesitant step closer to me.

“ What? ” I demanded.

“A few of the soldiers witnessed him get shot down with arrows. The commander and a few others swarmed him once his body hit the ground. He’s either dead or has been taken captive. He was never among us the ride back to camp.”

No. No, that was absolutely fucking unacceptable. Vincent? Killed in battle or taken as a captive? I refused to believe it.

My hand shot out, gripping William's throat with a firm hold. His arms went lax at his sides, and he didn’t show a hint of fear as I was about to choke the life out of him for being the one to deliver the news to me.

“I don’t believe you,” I hissed through teeth clenched so hard that I thought they would shatter in my mouth.

“You don’t have to believe it, Captain, but it is the truth.” He paused for a brief moment as my stare continued to bore into his. “What can I do in his place?” he choked out with the small amount of air I allowed into his lungs.

With my grip tightening on him, my arms started trembling, and I then hurled his body several feet away. It took him a few steps backward until he found his footing. He straightened his armor and re-approached me, unafraid.

“As I said, Captain…what can I do in his place?”

I huffed out in annoyance, rubbing my temples as the madness continued around us. This soldier was young by our standards and appeared to be hungry for power. As I stared into his eyes, holding him by his throat, it was almost as if I was peering into a younger version of myself—that could prove useful.

“You want my trust and respect? Tell me what the fuck is causing all of this madness.”

His spine straightened. “Scouts reported a wyvern headed directly for us. The creature was reported to be only a few miles east when the messenger falcon arrived.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“That’s not all, Captain,” he started, and my eyes bulged as if this could get any worse. “The report stated there were figures atop the beast, essentially…riding it.”

My panic disintegrated instantaneously. It appeared that I no longer had to draw Elianna out of her hiding spot once more, after all. No—my little traitor was coming right to me instead. And she was alone.

I dragged William with me through the disorder of the camp as I invited myself into Kai’s tent to find that Callius was already with him, preparing him for a possible battle.

“You run, you hide, and as an absolute last resort…you fight. Do you understand me, Prince?” Callius said sternly to him. “I know I have provided a small amount of training for you since you were a boy, and we have revisited this on our journey here, but you do not possess the skills needed for attack. ”

“You lack belief in your future king?” Kai waved him off as Callius’ eyes flared with nerves at his words. “Regardless, if the army we brought does their job correctly, I won’t be doing any of those things,” he hissed. “And you better ensure they do just that,” Kai tacked on threateningly.

“Don’t worry, Prince.” I took a step forward since neither of them had noticed we had entered yet. “For it is not an army that approaches us.”

Callius pivoted to me. “Adler,” he growled, and I smirked. “If it’s not an unexpected attack, then what has everyone frantic out there? I couldn’t get an answer from anyone.” His voice rose with each word.

I crossed my arms as my smirk grew from ear to ear. “It isn’t an army. It’s Elianna.”

Kai’s face turned lethal. “Your males are afraid of Solus?! A single fucking female?” he barked at me. “What kind of army are you running here, Captain?”

I bit my tongue so hard that I felt blood trickle down my throat as I worked to keep my retort from coming out. “Well, I assume they fear the wyvern she rides and not necessarily her.” I watched as they both eyed each other knowingly. “And we know just how to deal with that wyvern, don’t we?”

A wicked grin crept up Kai’s face, making it clear he was out for her blood.

“I’ll have the lines formed,” Callius started as he moved past me. He turned back and met my stare. “You want to earn back your rank and my trust? Make yourself useful this time and keep the prince safe. It's all you're tasked with, and so help me gods if anything happens under your watch…” he growled as he made his way through the flaps of the tent built for a king.

A blaze of fury ignited within me as I turned to the prince, who eyed both me and William. “Remove yourselves from my tent immediately. I don’t care what he said, Adler. I can handle myself,” he snapped, as if I would try to coddle him like his fucking mother.

The clattering and shouts beyond the tent ceased as Callius’ voice boomed, demanding they all get in formation beyond the camp.

“Of course you can, Prince. Just stay put and do me a favor… Don’t do anything stupid,” I demanded of him.

Before he could get out his retort, I exited the tent, forcing William to follow.