Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1) Read online

  My love? Who does he think she is? They’ve known each other a day. Elijah scrunched up his nose as Leon and Sahab stopped him from reaching the door.

  “Your Highness, no one may enter until the healers have spoken to the king,” Merrick said. “If you attempt to enter, it will force us to remove you. It’s best you wait in your room.”

  “I’ll do no such thing!”

  “Would you prefer to wait in the cells?” Merrick asked, cocking his head to the side with a sly grin. The prince scowled at Merrick and stormed off, his own guards following behind in a fluster.

  “That was brilliant,” Elijah muttered.

  Merrick smiled and patted him on the back. “I’d better go, I have training to do. Keep me updated.” Elijah nodded and watched as his uncle disappeared around the corner.

  He looked back at the guards and pursed his lips. “I had better make sure Prince John makes it to his room.” Sahab nodded. “Let me know when she comes out?”

  “Of course.”

  “No,” Leon said at the same time.

  “Leon, he saved her. He has the right to know she’s okay.”

  “Thanks, Sahab.” Eli frowned at Leon and then turned around to leave. He started off down the corridor the same way Prince John had gone, but quickly got lost.

  If only someone was around to ask.

  “Hey!” He turned to see Maevine walking up behind him with a bundle of linens in her arms. “Where are you going?”

  Eli shrugged. “Honestly. I do not know. I was trying to check that Prince John had gotten back to his room, but I’m lost.”

  Maevine shook her head. “Down the corridor, up the spiral staircase, and then it’s the third door on the left,” she replied. “I really have to go, but…” she dipped her head to the side. “If you have some free time, come and find me again. I’ve go to finish up getting the princesses’ room ready. See you later, Elijah.”

  Nodding, he let her go and followed her instructions to Prince John’s room. As he approached, he could hear the loud conversation going inside.

  At least he followed instructions.

  “You’re seriously expecting me to believe some story about the missing prince is true?” He heard John shouting. “The boy, if he even existed, is dead.”

  “There is no proof of that. He could be anywhere; he could be you. No-one really knows anything about him apart from the fact that he was the child of Hector and Rhohesia Kane and had magic,” said his companion. Elijah pressed his ear to the door to hear more.

  “If he was real, why wouldn’t he come back and claim his throne?”

  “Because the assassins are still out there. And he was a young boy. He probably doesn’t even know he’s royalty. Or another royal family could have taken in him and brought up there.” Elijah now recognised the voice as Lord Conrad’s.

  “You need to know what you’re getting yourself into,” said a female voice. “If you claim the title, they may come after you, or the heir to the throne could come back. There are so many possibilities.”

  “I can’t go around claiming I am the heir to a throne when they know I am not. Or are you going to tell me you’re not actually my father?” Prince John fired back. Conrad went quiet and didn’t respond. “I didn’t think so. So stop trying to force this on me and go back to pretending you’re a servant and get some more information. They must have records somewhere. Not that I believe you, but if there is some truth to this I need to know before deciding if I am going to put my life on the line.”

  “King Hector was a private man. He hid his son from the world. You really think there would be records of that?”

  “It’s entirely possible, the queen…”

  “GET OUT.”

  Elijah ran a few steps down the hall as the door opened. He turned to see a blonde girl, short and stocky, leave the visiting prince’s room and duck into a passage. Things were getting very weird around here. Scurrying down the hallway looking back, he jumped back as he collided with someone.

  “Oh, I’m so sor-” Elijah’s eyes went wide as he realised who he had walked into. “You, what are you doing here?”

  Sienna’s handmaiden held a hand up to her mouth and made a shh noise. She turned from him and moved away before looking back and smiling.

  Elijah went to go after her but stopped as his name was called.

  “Elijah!” It was Sahab. “Eli, she’s woken up, and she’s okay. Gianna and Leon have taken the princess back to her room. I thought you’d want to know.”

  “Yes, thank you Sahab.” He looked around and his eyes landed on the closed door of John’s room. “Should we tell him?”

  Sahab smiled. “No, let someone else tell him. Fancy joining us for some food? It’ll be nice to get to know you a bit more. I heard a rumour that you might join us soon.”

  Elijah returned the boy’s smile and nodded. “Sure, that sounds great.”

  Sitting down at the table, Elijah turned away from Leon’s scowl. Sahab sat across from him and dived into conversation with Leon about what tomorrow would bring, which left Elijah some time with his thoughts.

  He couldn’t remember her name, but he knew the woman who walked out of the prince’s room was one of Sienna’s handmaidens. I’ll have to ask Maevine what her name was. Then there was the strange letter with the circular dragon symbol that he received, and the prince… The prince was talking about a missing prince, which was the second time Elijah had heard that phrase.

  “Hello? Are you listening to us? Elijah!” Sahab said as he threw some bread at him.

  “What? Oh, sorry no, my mind was elsewhere,” he replied.

  “Yeah, we all know what your mind was on.” Leon shook his head before shovelling some broth into his mouth.

  Eli frowned. “Oh yeah? What’s that then?”

  “The princess. The way you look at her, you want to get to know her just as much as the prince does. Not like you’ll stand a chance. You’re just a guest and soon to be part of her guard.” He sat back. “What was it your uncle said? She’s not available to you.”

  “Shut up, you know nothing about me,” Eli snapped back a little too harshly.

  “Hit a nerve, did I?” Leon smirked.

  Sahab sighed. “Do you always have to be so argumentative? If you tried, you might actually make some friends here.”

  “I’m not here to make friends.”

  “Okay, let’s not argue.” Elijah raised an eyebrow, challenging them to go against him, but they didn’t. “We’ve all had a tough day.”

  Leon’s shoulders sagged, and he seemed to refocus onto his food, while Sahab folded his arms. It surprised him they’d listened, but was glad they had. They didn’t need to fight amongst themselves. Sienna was recovering, and he could tell these two valued their jobs.

  “Boys,” Merrick called as he strode into the kitchens. “I will require you for training in the morning. Gianna will join you while Jaxon and Melvin watch the princess as the second team has yet to be selected.” His eyes flickered to Elijah, the corners of his mouth twitching.

  “Training? For what? Was it not enough that we proved ourselves in that tournament which could have killed us?” Leon put his spoon down.

  “You are an Elite now, you need to be at the top of your game always. Training doesn’t stop just because you got in. My brother was in the Elite for the previous royal family, and he trained five times a week to make sure he was always ready to protect the king.” Merrick took a seat beside Elijah and lowered his voice. “You saved her life, Elijah. It wasn’t just an allergic reaction, she was poisoned. The flowers had pollen on them from a flower thought to be extinct.”

  “I’m glad she is safe. Do you think the prince knew?”

  Merrick shook his head. “No, John did not know it was on the flowers. He had them imported after someone told him they were Sienna’s favourite. Get some sleep, I’ll see you all at dawn.” He stood up and slapped Elijah on the back, then left as quietly as he had entered.

  �
�Man, he is a handful isn’t he,” Leon said with a sneer. “How long has he been like that?”

  “Since forever. It’s not too bad once you get used to it. His training methods are pretty brutal though,” Elijah replied, ignoring Leon’s tone.

  Sahab nodded. “I saw him training the soldiers the other day. Looked intense.”

  A bang came from the kitchen, followed by a whisper before any of the boys could continue the conversation. Maevine came rushing into the kitchen and stopped at the end of the table. She caught his eye and nodded her head towards the door.

  “Come on Eli, I have something to show you.”

  Eli didn’t move.

  “Well, if you won’t go with her, Eli, I will,” Leon said, leaning forward. Elijah frowned at him and stood up.

  “What do you want to show me?”

  Maevine shook her head. “If I told you that, there’d be no point showing you. Come on, you’ll like it, I promise.” She turned to Leon and Sahab. “See you later, boys! The princess will be back in her room soon. Maybe check on Gianna, she’s had a rough time today too.”

  10

  Hidden Secrets

  Maevine weaved around the castle’s corridors with ease and laughed whenever she looked back and saw Elijah struggling to keep up with her. There was a tightness in his chest which was agitating him. Yet, there was also a curiosity to find out what it was she wanted to show him.

  “Maevine, where are you taking me?” Elijah asked, his loud voice echoing in the empty corridor. She turned around, placing her finger to her mouth, giving him a frown.

  She took a few steps forward and then disappeared into the wall. Elijah stepped back in a panic. What the hell am I going to do now? He looked around to make sure no-one could see him.

  A hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him behind a mist-like substance that cooled his face.

  “What in the blazes?” he exclaimed. Maevine’s hand clamped around his mouth. An image flashed through his mind of something similar happening before.

  “Shh,” Maevine whispered into his ear. Elijah tried to control the images appearing in his mind’s eye, but he was unable to. They blurred his vision as they played through his mind. A boy screaming, a woman leading him away. Her hand on his mouth, and another one covering his eyes, but he could still see through the split in her fingers. The men that burst through the door. Blood staining the floor as he was turned away.

  Elijah’s body shuddered, his legs gave way leaving him in a clump on the ground. Two hands came around his face, making him look up. As his eyes focused, he saw Maevine saying something, but the sound of her voice wasn’t reaching his ears. She looked behind her and then put her arm under his and dragged him.

  “Are you alright? Do you need to stop?”

  “What is this place?” he asked her, ignoring her question. He unravelled her arm from him and steadied himself. “I’m okay, really.”

  She frowned but nodded as she carried on explaining. “It’s a secret passage, there're loads of them in the castle. Not common knowledge, though. If you really are okay, keep up and follow me,” she said, trying to pull him along with her.

  “I’ve been here before,” he said under his breath so she couldn’t hear him. Then louder, “Maevine, where are we going?”

  “I want to show you more of the passageways. Isn’t this fun?” She looked at him and dropped her eyes. “I figured we needed something fun to do after what happened today.”

  “Don’t you need to, you know, be around for the princess?”

  “She doesn’t need us around all the time. There’s no point hanging around when I can’t do anything Lilliana and Mary will have things covered too.”

  Elijah frowned, and Maevine rolled her eyes. “We are nearly there okay, follow me.”

  With a shake of his head, he refocused his mind and followed her up the stairs. The air became colder the further they went.

  When they finally emerged, Elijah noticed they were on the other side of the castle, near the stables. He recognised the tree on the corner outside the window; it had white paint around its middle. Although they weren’t outside the castle, cool air was seeping in through somewhere, and Elijah shivered.

  They both turned one last corner and for the second time on their journey Eli walked into the back of Maevine as she stopped.

  “Can you actually walk in a straight line?” Maevine scolded. Elijah stuck his tongue out at her like a child.

  “Will you tell me what we’re doing now?”

  “Shh, Prince John is coming.”

  Elijah tried to see how far down the corridor they were, but Maevine pushed him back against the wall.

  “Father, is the only reason we are here to pretend that I am some lost prince so you can reign as regent over this realm?” There was something in his voice that made Elijah’s blood boil. “I don’t need you here to help me court the princess. I can do that by myself, without finding out about a fictional member of the royal family.”

  “He is real.” Lord Conrad snapped. “Everyone knows he is real. The boy survived the onslaught at the castle and was given to someone to look after. This could be our chance to have a crown.” Someone sounds resentful.

  “The crown? That is all you care about. Because you are the second son of a king that meant you never got the throne, you want me to take someone else’s?” Elijah peeked around the corner. John was getting very animated with his arms. “No, I won’t do it. I actually like the girl. She’s beautiful and intelligent. Not something you get a lot of in Jereg.” They both laughed. John turned away from his father and walked away, Conrad following him. Their voices faded as they disappeared down the hall.

  Once the two visitors were gone, they stepped out of the secret passage and into the hallway. Elijah’s eyes lingered in the direction the prince had left in for a moment before turning to Maevine.

  “Did he just say that he liked her?”

  Maevine smiled. “Of all the things we heard, that’s the only thing you picked up on.” She grabbed his arms. “They were talking about the missing prince, Elijah. As if that boy was real.”

  “Conrad seems to think he is real, but it’s a story. Everyone seems to know it around here.” He looked at her, willing her to confirm what he said, but she didn’t.

  Maevine scratched the back of her neck and shrugged.

  “So,” he said, changing the subject, “how many of these passageways are there?”

  “Quite a lot, actually. I used to play in them as a kid.” She turned away coyly and rubbed her left hand on her right arm. “With you actually. We played in them quite a lot. You don’t remember much about your past, do you?”

  Eli shook his head. “I think you may have me confused with someone else. I’ve never been here before.” Pain spread across his forehead as something tried to break through.

  An image of Magda filled his mind and along with it, the sharp pain. She was younger back then, her hair still brown with only a hint of grey. He was hiding in the passage's doorway and she was trying to find him. Watching her walk past, oblivious to his hiding space. A hand tapped his shoulder from behind. Before he could remember anything else, his mind went black. Elijah tried hard to recall more, but his head ached. Something was blocking his memories.

  “Are you alright?”

  Elijah opened his eyes and his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting through the window to his left. “Yes, I… I think so. Just a headache.”

  Maevine smiled, the corners of her mouth only just lifting. “Aylee? What are you doing here, is everything alright?”

  Behind him, a woman wearing the same outfit as Maevine walked up to them and nodded her head. Not the one I saw earlier. “Yes,” she said. “Everything is fine. The princess will come back to her room shortly, we need to make sure it’s ready for her. Mary asked me to find you.” Her eyes landed on Elijah. Disappointment lurked behind the blue sea.

  “I was going anyway,” Eli said. “Thank you for pointing me in the right
direction.” He walked away from the pair of them. I get the feeling she doesn’t like me. Turning the corner, he saw two guards standing on either side of one of the doors.

  “Excuse me,” Elijah called to them. “Could you direct me to the infirmary? I think I am lost.” The guards didn’t move as Elijah got closer. Before he reached them, a hand clamped down hard on his shoulder.

  “Elijah, the princess is asking for you,” Sahab said. Elijah jumped at the sound of his voice and looked hard at him. “Who were you talking to?”

  “The Guards,” he pointed behind him.

  “There’s no one there, Elijah. Are you feeling okay? You’re not allergic to that stuff as well, are you?”

  “What?” He spun around and sure enough there was no one there. “Uh. Come on, let’s get to the infirmary before they move.”

  When they arrived, Leon and Gianna were discussing the possibility that the prince has purposefully poisoned the princess.

  “Look who finally came back, where did you run off to?” Gianna asked, her playful tone bringing a smile to Sahab’s face.

  He nodded towards Elijah. “Eli asked me to find him when we had some information on the princess.”

  “Eli? Huh. Nice to meet you, officially this time. I’m Gianna.”

  “You too.” He gave her a smile and turned to Sahab. “You said the princess was awake?”

  “Yeah, well, she’s conscious and heavily drugged. They needed to make sure no harm would come to her after being exposed to the poison,” Gianna explained. “She called out your name, but I’m not sure if you’ll be allowed to see her until tomorrow.”

  Elijah nodded.

  “It was lucky that you were there. While we had to learn the effects of different poisons for the tournament, we never could have predicted that.”

  “The nurse said the poison wasn’t a standard concoction,” Sahab added. “It was specially made for those flowers.”

  “Oh, please stop feeding his ego.” Leon frowned. “Elijah did what we all should have done, saved her life.” He slumped against the wall and folded his arms, avoiding eye contact.