(Chapter 6: Discovered, cont.)

  Ean instantly realized how bad it looked. Flora was in hysterics and Chadwick was on the ground, clearly incapacitated. Asali’s eyes went to him.

  “Wait—”

  She dropped her bow and brace of rabbits and launched herself at him.

  Ean was torn between two warring instincts. His body wanted to fight; his brain wanted to run. Indecision made him falter. He stumbled over his own feet as he blocked the worst of her blows, but her fists opened a cut on his eyebrow and split his lip.

  Ean backpedaled, raising his hands to show he didn’t want to fight. “I can explain—”

  She rushed him, landing a kick to his knee that made the joint pop. His leg gave out. She knocked him to the ground and pulled out her knife. She put it to his throat.

  “What did you do?” she demanded.

  Ean opened his mouth, then closed it again. He wasn’t really sure how to answer.

  “Asali, hold!” Roarke called out, running into camp, the Prince beside him.

  “What’s going on?” Leo demanded.

  Ean tried to shift away but Asali pressed her knife against his skin.

  “I came back to find Ean attacking Chadwick,” she reported.

  “He attacked me first,” Ean protested, though didn’t know why he bothered. Chadwick had read his journal. There would be no defense for the crime he admitted to in those pages.

  Chadwick didn’t disappoint. He grabbed the journal from Flora and tossed it to the ground. “He was paid to kill you,” he told Leo. He pointed an accusatory finger at Ean. “He was the assassin in the castle.”

  Asali’s hand twisted in Ean’s shirt. She yanked him up into a half-sitting position. “You tried to kill Leo?”

  The knife pricked. Ean felt a drop of blood slip down his neck. He met her gaze and shrugged helplessly. He had no excuse.

  “It was you?”

  Ean glanced over. Leo was staring at him, shocked, but not the sort of shock he expected from someone who’d found out he’d been the target of an assassination attempt. Instead of anger and rage, Leo looked baffled and hurt, like Ean had just kicked his favorite hunting dog.

  Ean looked back at Asali. “Going to kill me now?”

  “Stop,” said Roarke. “Asali, put your knife away.”

  She tensed, her fingers tightening in his shirt. “Why?” She directed the question to Roarke, but her eyes never left Ean’s face.

  “Because he’s not a threat.” Roarke turned to Leo. “Ean did try to assassinate you, but he was apprehended. Your father decided to bind him to the quest. Ean signed a blood-oath to your life. If you return from this journey, his crime will be expunged. If you die, his life is forfeit.”

  Ean watched several emotions pass over Leo’s face, confusion, distress, betrayal, and then, finally, anger. It was almost a relief to see it. Ean had been waiting for him to get angry.

  Chadwick swore. “It’s not good enough. He’s still a risk.”

  “That’s not what the King and Aldine think,” Roarke said. “Both of them agree that having a shadow-walker to protect the Prince on this journey is a boon, not a threat.”

  “I don’t like it,” said Chadwick.

  Asali said nothing. She continued to hold Ean, half in the air. He was grudgingly impressed by her arm strength.

  “But what do you say, Leonid?” Roarke asked. “If you feel differently, I will stand by your judgment.”

  Leo’s expression shifted again, from anger to disappointment. Ean figured he was regretting their conversation in the barn when he’d tried to befriend him. Leo chewed on his lip for a moment before speaking. “Let him go, Asali.”

  She dropped him. His head bounced off the ground before he could catch himself. He hissed out a breath and struggled to his feet. His body stung; he’d not come out well from the fight. He ignored the pain and turned to the Prince. Leo was studying him, disappointment still occupying his expression. Ean preferred the anger. He was used to people being angry at him.

  “Are you going to kill me?” Leo asked.

  “No,” said Ean. It was a quick, honest answer.

  “But you were going to kill me,” Leo said.

  There was no hiding from that truth, as much as Ean might want to. It took him longer to answer. He had to swallow down his guilt.

  “Yes.”

  Leo’s brow furrowed. He was silent for a moment before he spoke. “My father has seen fit to trust you, but I find I cannot do the same. I will not break the deal that he struck, but I will add to it. If anyone perishes on this trip that you could have saved, your life will be taken as well. Is that understood?”

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  “Fuck no,” Ean retorted. “My contract is for your safety. No one else.” He wasn’t going to shackle himself to this stars-cursed group.

  “I don’t care,” Leo said, stepping forward. “You will protect every member of this party, with your life if necessary, and if you are negligent, I will have your blood. This is more leniency than you deserve.”

  Ean could tell by the set of Leo’s jaw, and the fire in his eyes, that he meant every word he said. Technically, he wasn’t allowed to alter the contract. Ean had signed his blood to the King’s demands, not the Prince’s, but he knew that, right then, Leo care didn’t about legalities. And Ean had no power to object.

  He curled his fingers into fists. “Fine.”

  “And you are not to harm any person on this quest. If you raise a hand towards one of them, you will pay with your life. Am I understood?”

  Leo was muzzling him, like some rabid dog. Ean’s jaw clenched; his teeth ground together.

  Leo took another step forward, voice sharpening. “Am I understood?”

  “Fine,” Ean said again, barely choking the word out.

  “Swear it,” Leo commanded.

  Ean sucked in a breath. For one second, he considered saying no. For one second, he considered giving up and dying now. He’d thought he could get the Prince safely home. The Prince was just one person, and the rest of the party would be working to ensure that same outcome. But this? Protecting everyone? It was impossible.

  But Ean was a coward. The fear of death had spurred him to take the Countess’s offer, and then the King’s contract. Now it would bind him to the party.

  Ean met the Prince’s gaze. His words came out, raspy with vehemence and contempt. “I swear on my sword and on my blood, I will give my life to protect the members of this quest. And if I raise a hand against them, may I be struck down by my own blade.”

  The oath was bitter on his tongue. It tasted like defeat.

  Leo let out a breath. “So you have sworn.”

  There was a tense moment of silence, and then Roarke spoke up. “We still have a camp to ready. Daylight is wasting.”

  The General turned to re-gather the firewood he’d dropped on his way into camp and the others followed his example. Leo spread out the bedrolls. Flora unpacked the cookware.

  Ean broke away from the group, intent on licking his wounds in private. Chadwick stepped into his path, his eyes bright with anger. Ean tried to side-step; Chadwick blocked him. A vindictive smirk tugged at his lips.

  “You’re not much of a shadow-walker, are you?” Chadwick reached out, slowly and deliberately, and shoved him.

  Ean shifted to keep his footing and his knee flared with pain. He hid a wince.

  “I did think a shadow-walker would put up more of a fight,” Asali agreed.

  Ean glanced over. Asali was watching them, as was the rest of the camp. Ean couldn’t hide the flush of humiliation that swept over his face.

  Chadwick shoved him again, harder this time. Ean spun away as Asali approached, trying to keep them both in sight. Chadwick struck out with a quick right-left punch. Ean ducked both but couldn’t avoid the stinging backhand that struck across his face. His head snapped to the side. He spat out blood.

  Asali kicked the back of his knee, buckling his leg for the second time that day. Ean dropped to the ground. Her kick had been a display of dominance, not true cruelty, and for a moment, Ean considered staying down. He knew enough of her to know that she wouldn’t strike a man on his knees. But he’d never been one to show humility. He got back to his feet, defiant. If they wanted a heavy bag to work out their frustrations, they could have one. He was used to getting hit.

  Chadwick punched him in the face. Ean stumbled back two steps and twisted his fingers in his tunic to keep from reaching for his knives. Chadwick punched his stomach next, and even though Ean braced for the blow, the breath was knocked from his lungs. He dropped to his good knee, trying to suck in air, and Chadwick kicked him in the chest. Ean fell backwards, lungs unsticking when his back hit the dirt. He pulled in a breath and, out of curiosity, turned his head to look at the Prince. Ean thought he must be enjoying the show, seeing as he wasn’t calling off his friends, but Leo didn’t look pleased. His brow was scrunched, and his jaw was clenching and releasing, like he was chewing words instead of speaking them.

  Ean rolled back to his feet. Chadwick slapped him across the face, an insult, not a full blow, but it further split his lip. Ean spat out a glob of blood and turned for another. Chadwick pulled back, winding up for a harder strike.

  “Chadwick, stop! All of you, stop.” Leo’s words came out in a rush, like they’d suddenly been undammed.

  Chadwick growled in frustration. He turned to Leo to protest but checked himself when he saw the Prince. Leo’s face was twisted with some internal agitation. He half-turned from the group and sucked in a deep breath. His hands reached up to tug at his hair.

  “It would be best if we all calmed down,” Roarke said, stepping in for the Prince. He turned to Ean. “And I believe everyone will sleep better tonight if you were unarmed. Lay down your weapons.”

  Ean let out a bark of disbelieving laughter. Lay down his weapons? He’d just pledged his life to the group and now Roarke wanted to strip him of his blades?

  “Ean,” Roarke said, his voice dark with warning.

  Fury flared, catching fire in Ean’s gut and lapping at his chest. Wasn’t it bad enough he’d been beaten, bullied, and bound to this group? Now this? The indignity of it was enough to heat his face again. Even his ears burned. He made no move to follow Roarke’s order.

  Chadwick flicked the side of his face. “You heard him.”

  “Do it, shadow-walker,” Leo commanded.

  Ean couldn’t refuse him, not when the Prince held his life in his hands, so he did, angrily and mutinously. He unstrapped the harness from his chest and lay his short swords on the ground. Then he pulled the two long knives from his belt, followed by the two strapped to his thighs. Chadwick stepped forward, as if to take them, but paused as Ean removed his wrist knives. He added them to the pile and then knelt to retrieve the four knives secreted in his boots. Chadwick took another step forward but stopped when Ean detached the garroting wire from his belt followed by the six throwing stars. Ean stepped back and dropped his gaze to the ground, trying to show some measure of defeat.

  Roarke raised his eyebrows. “And the dagger.”

  Ean grit his teeth over a curse. He’d wanted to keep it hidden, wanted to have some means of protection. He pulled out the dagger he kept hidden at the small of his back and dropped it into the pile, now fully disarmed.

  He glared at the group, feeling naked and defenseless, and wanting to say something offensive to mitigate his own anger. They weren’t looking at him though. They were staring at his weapons. He didn’t understand it. They knew he had them, didn’t they?

  Flora’s eyes widened; Asali’s narrowed to slits, like she was reassessing a battlefield. Chadwick blinked and Leo’s brow scrunched even further. Roarke stepped forward and collected the weapons. He was the only one not surprised. Ean realized that he had, in an odd way, defended him. He had reminded the group that Ean could have drawn his weapons and killed them at any time during that fight.

  Roarke looked up and tipped his head to the side. “How about you refill those water skins.”

  Ean glanced down where he was gesturing. The caps on the water skins had burst open when he’d dropped them. They lay half-drained on the ground. Ean scooped them up and fled to the river. He dropped onto the bank, put his head in his hands, and contemplated running away.