A BLOOD Oath

The Weight of the Oath

Kael hesitated for a moment.

Arielle noticed it.

For a man who always seemed in control, certain that brief pause spoke louder than words.

The voices above them were getting closer.

Guards. Maybe soldiers. Maybe worse.

Still Arielle stood her ground.

“What are you telling me?" she asked again.

Arielle looked at him breathing steady despite the blood seeping through his shirt.

“This isn’t the time."

“That’s your answer."

“Arielle—"

“No." She shook her head. "No half-truths."

Another wave of pain pulsed through her chest from the oath.

Not enough to drop her but enough to remind her it was real.

Kael felt it too. She saw it in his jaw.

“You said we’re in this together " she said quietly.

“So stop treating me like I don’t know anything."

Something changed in his expression.

Not anger.

Exhaustion.

The sound of footsteps echoed again closer.

Kael glanced at the stairway before looking at her.

“The oath connects more than our lives " he said finally.

Arielle frowned.

“What does that mean?"

“It grows stronger over time."

“That doesn’t explain anything."

His voice lowered.

“You can feel pain through it. Strong emotions too."

Arielle stared at him.

The sharp fear made sense now.

The strange twisting feeling in her chest.

The pain when he was wounded.

She swallowed.

“And eventually?"

Kael was quiet for a second.

Her stomach tightened.

“And what?"

He met her eyes.

“It becomes hard to tell where your emotions end and the other person’s begin."

The corridor felt colder.

Arielle blinked.

“That’s impossible."

“No."

His calm certainty unsettled her.

“This oath was forbidden for a reason."

Before she could answer, shouting echoed from above.

“There!"

Steel clanged in the distance.

Kael’s focus sharpened.

“We move now!"

This time Arielle didn’t argue.

They hurried down the corridor footsteps echoing off the walls.

Kael moved quickly despite his injury.

Arielle noticed his breathing had changed.

It was shorter and tighter.

“You need someone to look at that wound " she said quietly.

“I’ve had worse."

“That's not an answer."

“No " he admitted.

Arielle almost rolled her eyes.

Even injured Kael spoke in thoughts.

The corridor. Opened into an older section.

The walls looked ancient and worn.

Arielle glanced around uneasily.

“How do you know these tunnels well?"

Kael slowed.

“I spent years learning every way in and out of the palace."

“In case you needed to escape?"

“In case someone else did."

That answer stayed with her.

There was something in it.

Arielle wondered who Kael was before he became the king’s commander.

Had he always looked tired?

Had the kingdom done that to him slowly?

The thought irritated her.

She shouldn’t care.

This was the man who helped destroy her family.

Nothing changed that.

But somehow, she cared.

Ahead of them pale moonlight appeared.

An exit.

Kael pushed aside a door and cold night air rushed in.

Arielle stepped outside first.

They were behind the palace walls near the lower gardens.

The city stretched out below them lit with torchlight.

Then Kael stumbled slightly.

Arielle saw it.

She turned to him.

“You’re bleeding more."

“I noticed."

“That was sarcasm."

“Yes."

Despite their situation, she let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh.

Kael looked mildly surprised.

“We need to keep moving " he said.

Arielle crossed her arms.

“You keep saying that. Where are we going?"

“A safe house."

“You really do have one."

“Yes."

“You’re full of secrets."

Kael looked at her.

“You are too."

That shut her up.

They started down the garden path.

The farther they walked the quieter the world became.

No court.

No shouting.

Just the sound of wind through trees.

Arielle should have felt relieved.

Instead she felt restless.

Too much had happened.

Execution.

The oath.

Assassins.

This strange connection to Kael.

“You knew Lucien " she said suddenly.

Kael walked silently for a moment before answering.

“Yes."

“How?"

“We worked together."

That surprised her.

“He’s an assassin."

“He’s things."

“You say that like you respect him."

“I respect his skills."

Arielle glanced at him.

“And does he respect yours?"

A faint shadow of amusement crossed Kael’s face.

“He complains about them often."

The answer caught her off guard.

Because it sounded normal.

Human.

For a moment Kael almost sounded like an ordinary man.

The realization unsettled her.

Ahead of them the city gates came into view.

Rather the smaller servant entrance.

Two guards stood watch.

Kael slowed.

Arielle felt the shift in him through the oath.

Alertness.

Caution.

“They’ll recognize you " she said.

“Yes."

“Then what’s the plan?"

“We avoid them."

“That’s your plan?"

“It usually works."

One of the guards turned in their direction.

Arielle’s stomach dropped.

“Commander?" the guard called.

Kael didn’t answer.

The second guard stepped forward.

“That’s her."

Everything changed.

“Stop them!"

Kael grabbed Arielle’s wrist. Pulled her off the path.

They ran.

Branches snapped beneath their feet.

Behind them came shouting and pursuit.

Arielle’s lungs burned from exhaustion.

Her dress caught on branches slowing her down.

Kael noticed.

He drew a dagger and sliced through the hem of her dress.

Arielle stared.

“Did you just cut my dress?"

“You’re welcome."

“This was silk!"

“You’re being chased."

“That’s not the point."

“It should be."

Despite the situation irritation sparked through her.

She felt amusement flicker back through the oath, from him.

Arielle looked at him.

“Did you just laugh at me?"

“No."

“You did."

“I didn’t."

“You absolutely did."

There was a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

The sight shocked her.

Her foot caught on a root. She gasped as the ground disappeared beneath her.

Then strong hands caught her.

Everything stopped for a second.

Kael held her firmly against him.

Too close.

Arielle looked up.

Their faces were inches apart.

His breathing was uneven.

The oath pulsed between them.

Warm. Confusing.

Arielle became aware of his hands.

How carefully he looked at her.

Then shouting echoed closer.

The moment shattered.

Kael released her. Stepped back.

“We need to go."

Arielle hated the disappointment that followed.

They kept moving through the trees until the city noise faded.

After an hour they reached the edge of an older part of the city.

Smaller homes. Narrow roads.

Fewer townspeople

Kael stopped in front of a stone building between two empty shops.

No guards were around.

No signs were visible.

It looked like any place.

“Do you trust this place?" Arielle asked carefully.

“Yes I do.”

“Do you trust the people inside?”

Kael paused.

Then he said, “I trust one person.”

That answer made Arielle worried.

Kael walked toward the door. Knocked twice.

There was silence.

Then footsteps came slowly from inside.

Arielle felt Kael tense up again.

It wasn't fear.

It was something

The door creaked open.

An older man stood there with a lantern.

When he saw Kael his face changed.

He looked shocked.

Then disbelieving.

Then almost angry.

“You " the man said quietly.

Kael didn't say a word.

The mans eyes looked at Arielle next.

Then at the blood, on Kaels side.

His face got darker.

“What have you done?" he asked.

He wasn't asking Arielle. He was asking Kael.

For some reason, that scared Arielle more than the killers had.