Awakened by Magic (The Four Kings Book 1) by Katy Haye (5)

Chapter Five

The sun clouded over. I squinted. And realised it wasn’t a cloud shading me, but a shadow. Someone was craning over me. Probably one of the Emperor’s guards, here to put an end to me. Or to drag me before the Emperor himself. Either way, I couldn’t summon the urgency to stand and face him.

He wasn’t someone from the village, which meant he had to be dangerous, and yet, I didn’t get a sense of threat from the shadow.

Quite the opposite. I felt protected for the first time in … forever.

And that thought was strange enough to rouse me. I wasn’t protected. I was the one who did the protecting. I struggled up. And came face to face with a pair of vibrant brown eyes.

“Kyann?”

I blinked. “Yes.”

His lips parted, and white teeth shone bright against sun-burnished skin. “I have been seeking you.”

“Do I know you?” That strange sense of security flooded me as though I were surrounded by sunshine. I felt as though I were safe with this stranger. And that was definitely wrong; I never felt safe with anyone, not properly. Not like this.

“I’m Vashri.” The name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “You might know me as one of the four kings.”

“Vashri, king of air?” I remembered the stories Ma had told me, the ones I’d dismissed as myths to Essa. But… I blinked. “You’re not old enough.” The four kings were doddery old fools. My gaze drifted down from his brown eyes. He was wearing an open, sleeveless jerkin that showed off his lithe, muscled torso. My hands curled against the desire to reach out and discover whether he was for real. Doddery … was not the word drifting into my head right now. He was only a few summers older than me and … I pushed down the feelings of attraction that swept from my toes to my face, leaving heat behind.

“I have slept for five hundred years. Is that old enough for you?”

“The four kings are dead. They’re a myth. Everyone knows that.”

His brows tugged together. He dropped to crouch before me, closer than I could remember any man being before. Warmth slipped back down my spine, pooling in my bones. “Do I seem dead to you?”

I licked my lips. “Well … no. But I’ve figured out why that is.” I dropped my inhibitions and my hands did as they wanted, reaching for his arms, my fingers spreading over the warm skin, enjoying the sleek muscles beneath.

A spark of heat burst to life in his eyes, the brown melting to molten gold. “And why is that?”

I sighed out all my regret. No wonder I’d felt safe. “Because this is a dream.” He was too good to be true, and reality was tugging at the edge of my awareness. Essa was gone, stolen away by the Emperor’s guards. Who had punched me unconscious and left me behind. My brain had rattled around inside my skull, and for consolation it had found this … vision. I wasn’t complaining, although I knew reality would have to be faced. When I could avoid it no longer. My fingers slid further around his forearms. I wanted to press my face against the wall of his chest and breathe in the scent of his skin.

Vashri reached for me, cupping my cheek in his hand. His muscled shoulders shifted beneath my hands. For a dream, he felt remarkably real. “At present it’s a dream, Kyann. We are just starting to waken.”

My hands dropped from his warm skin to my sides, skimming the norgrass with the backs of my fingers. “I knew this was too good to be true.” I scowled. My lack of inhibitions swung from one side to the other. “The four kings are useless, never where they’re supposed to be. Sleeping when they should be acting.”

He shifted back on his heels, folding those glorious arms over his glorious chest. I wasn’t sure whether to complain that I could no longer see the planes of his chest or celebrate how the position showed his arm muscles to advantage. “We four kings are powerless alone.”

“Huh. That figures.” I curled my fingers into fists to hold back the urge to touch him. Even in my dreams the four kings were pointless. Although this one was easy on the eyes, at least. I swallowed. He was talking again.

“We need the guardian.”

I remembered the stories Ma had told, that the four kings worked with a guardian. Was that their excuse for slumbering when they were needed? “Good luck with that.” I got to my feet. “I need to find my sister. She’s been captured by the Emperor. You know, the evil ruler you were supposed to protect Charnrosa against.”

A frown veed between his brows. “We need the guardian to unite us. We need you, Kyann. You are the guardian.”

I stared, waiting for laughter. He continued to watch me. I shook my head. “You’ve mixed me up with someone else. I’m nobody’s guardian. Well, perhaps I’m Essa’s – if she’d let me be. She needs me. You look big enough to look after yourself.”

“The guardian does not look after us.” His tone was impatient, as though I should know what he was telling me. “Did your parents not tell you of the role that is your birthright?”

The air vanished from my lungs. Birthright? No. There was no such thing. I was no one special. And my parents had little chance to teach me anything.

I faced Vashri, my throat thick. “My parents are dead, thank you for the reminder.” If this was a dream, I needed a way to wake myself up. I slapped my face. Then harder. When I unclenched my eyes, I was in the same place I’d been a moment before, Vashri watching me.

“I am sorry to hear that, Kyann.” He rose slowly, uncoiling like an animal that … I blinked. I couldn’t bring a comparison to mind. Something sleek and deadly and … mythical. “The time has come for the kings to wake. You are the guardian of legend. You must come to the Silent Castle and help us take up our powers.”

“Uh uh. I need to get my sister back. I have to get to her before the Stalwart Emperor does. He’s stealing magic – and anyone the Emperor gets his hands on … well, they don’t tend to survive long.” Fear pounded through me. Essa was in danger, and I was dreaming. “Can you help me find my sister?”

“The Stalwart Emperor took her?”

“His guards took her. I need to stop them before they reach his citadel.” No one came out once they were taken inside.

“We can destroy the Emperor.”

“Okay, that’s good enough. What do we do?”

“You need to come to the Silent Castle. We must all awaken. The four kings will take on our magical powers, and together with the guardian, we will overcome the Emperor.”

“No. I don’t have time to go to your castle. I need to find Essa now. It’s two days to the capital. I’ve got two days to save her. I don’t have time for a party at the Silent Castle with a bunch of sleeping kings and their friends.”

“It is only together that we can defeat him.” He stood closer. His fingers curled around my neck, sliding into my hair. I wanted to lean into him. Stupid dream. All I was doing was wasting time feeling inappropriate longings for a man who didn’t really exist. “We must combine our magic.”

I laughed humourlessly. “If you need magic, then you’re out of luck with me. You’d better find another guardian to help. I only care about my sister.” Guilt squirmed through me. My mother had joined the rebellion because she cared about everyone’s children. But I wasn’t like her. You’re just like your father. No, not that, either. My anger faded. “I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

“There is no other guardian. We need you, Kyann.”

And I needed Essa. A solution slipped into my thoughts. “Okay, I’ll come to your Silent Castle if you help me get Essa back. That’s the way it’s going to work.”

His gaze softened. I wanted to cling to him. But a king in my dreams was no use. I needed to rescue my sister, not fall further into a stupid children’s story. “Come to the Castle.” His tone was like honey … or firelight … spiced wine; everything I liked.

I did the hardest thing in the world and stepped back, away from him. “Help me first.”

He reached for me and I dodged away. He sighed. “Head south.”

“I know where the capital is.” Even in a dream, even when he was a dream, the king offered no help. I should have known better.

“I will do what I can to help you. If you’ll let me?”

I wanted to push him away, tell him I needed real help, not a spectre in my sleep. But Essa’s face drifted into my dream, telling me how graceless it would be to reject offered help.

“Fine. Yes. Thank you.” I didn’t expect to spend much time sleeping. I’d be too busy finding Essa and figuring out how to get her away from the guards.

“I’ll be with you,” he promised. He reached for my hand. “Here.” He traced a finger over my palm. His touch was ice and fire together. A shiver tugged at my shoulders.

“Now, you’d better wake.”

And he was gone.