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Keelen
Silver walked away, her dark hair cascading behind her as she shut the door, and something inside Keelen clenched. Even though he didn’t understand it, he almost pleaded for her to stay. But he fucking didn’t.
His gaze turned toward her sister—Afton. Her light hair was half coiled in braids atop her head and half hanging freely down her back. Afton’s eyebrows mirrored the dark color of Silver’s hair. The red dress she wore cinched tight, pushing the cleavage of her breasts up, and one leg peeked from a slit in the skirt. Noticing the unblemished flesh of her chest, Keelen recalled the scars along Silver's skin, delicate crisscrossing marks and light circles that were almost a decoration. He preferred the imperfection.
“So, you’re Keelen,” she said with a clipped tone and narrowed eyes. Crossing her arms, Afton leaned on the wall, maintaining a healthy distance. Just as quickly as she folded her arms, she unfolded them and clicked her sharp nails against the wall.
Silver had asked him a strange question when they’d been alone together in the weapons room.
Do you wish I looked like her?
As his eyes caught on Afton’s coal-colored irises—they matched Silver’s but were nothing like hers—he wouldn’t wish it of her. While Afton was pretty enough, and appeared as if she could please any man in bed, there was also the feeling that she could rip out their hearts and eat them if she wished. He wasn’t one to take it—he would snap back and defend himself.
“Yes,” he finally said, smirking at her icy glare.
“You mean, ‘yes, Your Highness.’” She paused. “You need to say that when speaking to a queen if you’re to be a guard. Regardless of what my sister thinks, I don’t need you. But she does. And even though we aren’t in Enare yet, you will treat her as such.”
The smile dropped from his face.
“If not,” she continued, then glided toward him, a second row of sharp teeth sliding down from her gums, “then I can easily send you back to where Silver pulled you from. If I discover that the dark magic she used tarnished her the slightest, I’ll make sure you feel every bite and claw mark before I tear your throat out, you hear me?”
Keelen blinked, too stunned at what she’d said, how protective she was of her sister. Perhaps he couldn’t snap back when caught off guard.
“You want me to be her guard? Not yours?”
Afton nodded, dark claws sliding out and over her fingernails. “I think we’re starting to see eye to eye now.” With one swift motion, she pulled something from a hidden pocket of her skirts, then hurled it. The dagger soared in the air and pierced the mattress directly beside his thigh.
Before he could speak, she ran her tongue across her teeth while leaning against the wall with her arms folded once more. “You didn’t flinch. Good.”
Keelen wasn’t going to allow her to stand there with a smirk on her face, thinking she’d gotten the better of him. He yanked the dagger from the mattress and flung the blade toward her.
The weapon hit its mark, landing right above her head. “Looks like we’re even.”
She hadn’t flinched either, only smiled. “Don’t mess this up, and don’t let my sister down.”
“I’ll guard her,” Keelen said, realizing he’d answered before truly thinking about it. But he didn’t believe either one of them were actually in need of a guard. Not when they both could use magic and tear into flesh with their bare hands and teeth.
“And you won’t speak of this.”
Keelen stayed silent and shrugged. Silver would be easier to be around, so that wouldn’t be a problem. What did he care about this queen or territory anyway? He didn’t know her and still couldn’t remember a damn thing about Silver. Yet that urgency clawing inside him wanted him to protect her.
“Good.” Afton’s sharp claws and razor teeth both receded. “If you want to stay alive, you need to focus now and focus hard. Because if you don’t, I won’t succeed, which could put Silver’s life in jeopardy, which means I will find a way to end you. Do you understand?” She lifted her mace and sauntered toward him.
“I understand, Your Highness.” Keelen held back the ire he’d wanted to use on those last two words. And he was proud of himself for it.
“Silver tells me you’ve been here numerous times in the past. She took your soul from Torlarah and placed it into a wax raven. What do you remember?”
He furrowed his brow, trying to recall his past again. Anything. Him in Torlarah. Him alive in human form. Him anywhere but here. Trapped. It all remained somewhere in the hidden depths of his mind.
“Not much,” Keelen finally said. “The dying, a few other things that don’t hold any significance, but not Silver.”
Afton stopped in front of his bed, changing the subject. “What’s your choice of weapon? You’ll need something more than a dagger.” She twirled the mace in her hand. “This is mine.”
“Javan took me to the weapons room earlier.”
“And?” She continued to spin the mace while curling her lip.
“It doesn’t matter. You can give me a hatchet.”
“If you can throw one like you did that dagger, we’ll do just fine.” She tapped her chin. “There is a problem with hatchets, though. Once it’s out of your hand you have to retrieve it.”
“Twin swords to wear at my back then.”
“Hmm. Fair enough.” Afton leaned closer, lowering her body, and she gripped his chin, her fingers digging in. “Now listen, and listen closely. I will be gone for a couple days. In the morning, I’m going to Enare, our enemy territory, where I will accept King Thorin’s betrothal. You will stay here, protect my sister at all costs, and if you do anything to her while I’m gone, I’ll remove your head and throw it back into the wax. Don’t think I didn’t notice how she was looking at you.”
Keelen frowned. “What do you mean?” Silver hadn’t looked at him with any intent. Had she?
Baring her teeth in a smile, Afton released her hand from his face. “Oh nothing, I just know how hearts work, even though my enemies might say I don’t have one at all.”
“Won’t you need a guard if you’re going alone? I’m sure Silver will question that.”
“Javan will be with me. Besides, I’ll be Silver,” she said in a voice that mirrored her sister’s high-pitched tone, even her expression did so.
He couldn’t help being caught off guard, and a sinking feeling washed over him. “I don’t understand.”
“You will constantly be guarding Silver, who will be the queen when we’re in Enare, which is why you will start now. Silver is going to swap places with me and pretend to be the queen when she goes to meet King Thorin very soon. So Javan and her sister—me—will be bringing the acceptance news of the proposal tomorrow.”
“What are you planning to have her do?” Keelen’s chest tightened. He shouldn’t care, yet something deep within him stirred. He may not remember Silver, but the thought of danger surrounding her put him on edge. Or what Afton could have Silver do...
He didn’t know anything about this king or his territory. He needed a better explanation, but more than anything, he needed to remember. His memories drifted closer to the surface, bits and pieces of his life while in wax form. Perhaps eventually they would come. Then maybe he would choose to leave Ketill behind, and Silver...
“That’s for me to know.” She paused and let out a long, exasperated sigh. “You don’t have to worry. Silver has shadowed me for years and knows how I work and how I act better than anyone. I already have a plan for her if anything happens to me, and she knows it.”
“She’s your only weakness.” Even though he’d just met Afton, if he could see it, then anyone could. “Don’t show it.”
Afton pursed her lips and pulled something from another hidden pocket in her dress. She held up a small glass vial containing a dark green liquid swirling inside. “Drink this. It will help you.”
“Help with what?” Keelen asked when she tossed him the vial. He easily caught it in his fist.
“Then don’t drink it.” She shrugged, swishing the skirts of her dress as she turned to leave. Before she exited the room, she glanced over her shoulder. “But you would have wished you had. For Silver.”
The door clicked behind her, and Keelen was back to being alone, holding up the glass vial. Thoughts churned in his head, about what was in the glass. Poison? He wouldn’t be surprised. Yet she could have instead attempted to slit his throat if she’d wanted.
The feeling from earlier thump-thumped inside his chest, yearning to tug on the magic pumping from the earth. But he didn’t know how to grasp and draw it forward. What would he do with it if he could? It didn’t matter anyway.
He set the vial down beside his bed, deciding against drinking it.
