The Traitor by A. Lombardo (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

father was very well off, and his wife had him murdered, stabbed in the side.” Kai pointed to his ribs. “I need to know if this is my father. Please, sir.”

Darwin stepped back, and Kai got a better look at the other man. His navy cloak had a fine edge, embroidered in gold and silver, and his trimmed auburn beard angled to a point below the chin. “I am sorry for your loss, boy—but you are not his son. She is a powerful woman, and removing this man was the only way I could get close to her.”

“Shut your mouth, Darwin,” Carter snapped. “We do not know who this sewage rat is, but there is no way he is this man’s son. Do you want him turning you in? You hired me to help you bury a man, not to become an accomplice in a highborn murder. I will not be locked away, even if I have to kill you both.” He swung his short staff, preparing to strike the first man to move as he retrieved a large hunting knife from a leather sheath.

As Carter’s gaze passed from Kai to Darwin, Kai stuck the hunter in the knee cap. The sweeping motion knocked Carter’s leg out and sent him falling backward. In the same movement, Kai liberated him of his weapons and pinned him to the ground. “I do not care what you think of me—I am nobody—but I will have my answers. Who lays buried in this grave?”

Darwin’s eyes swelled with fear, and he turned to run. Kai tossed the short staff, striking the man in the head, dropping him to his knees. “Answer me!” Kai shouted.

“I do not want any trouble, young man—” Darwin rubbed the newly formed lump on his head and raised a hand in submission “—but Carter is right. There is no way this man is your father. To say this man had status, well, again, no offense, but you do not appear to move in the same circles.”

Rage boiled beneath Kai’s skin. He was so close to freedom he could almost taste it. These men were the proof he needed. Carter squirmed; in desperation, Kai applied more pressure. “I only need one of you,” he seethed, dragging the knife along Carter’s jawline, carving deep enough to draw blood. “The first one to talk lives another day.”

“The man buried there is nobleman Barton Manzini, his wife is Louisa Carmelo-Manzini, cousin to the Grand Duke of Diu, Dante Carmelo,” Darwin blurted. “Please do not kill me!”

Sadness and disappointment broke Kai’s heart in half. Carter took advantage of Kai’s relaxed grip, tossing him to the side and freeing himself. “Not the name you were hoping, boy? But now that you know, well, I am afraid I will have to kill you.” Carter pulled a cylindrical metal device with a solid wooden handle, a familiar weapon from Kai’s past.

There was no time to think. Unwilling to kill Carter, Kai tossed the hunter’s knife at the man’s kneecap—it sank deep, dropping Carter to the ground. The unfired hand cannon fell into the snow as Carter writhed in pain. Kai retrieved the blade. “I have no time for your misdeeds, but now you will have a permanent limp, if you ever walk again. Justice will find you, both of you. This much, I promise.” He turned to Darwin and cut free one of the monogrammed buttons securing the man’s cloak as proof before darting away into the shadows to find Rayna.

He found her hidden in a thicket a few yards away. As he approached, she motioned, and he followed. They ran for miles, putting distance between them and the murderous Darwin and Carter. The speed blurred the tears in his eyes. Heartbroken, he wept, not for Barton Manzini , a man he knew well, but for his father. He was faced once again with the realization that his father’s death was his fault, and he had no proof to show otherwise. Tired, he stopped and dropped to his knees.

Holding his face, he sobbed. This had all been a waste of time, and now as a wanted fugitive, he could not even turn in the murderers of a family friend. He felt Rayna wrap his cloak around his shoulders. She never said a word, just held him tight.

Chapter 21

Precious Moments

After a long, emotional night, Kai held Rayna’s hand as they wandered through the woods, headed for Diu. “How, by the way, did you find yourself in Chenowith?” he attempted to fill the silence and avoid the thoughts twisting his insides.

“Well, let’s just say that after you flew off without so much as a goodbye—I was angry, about a lot of things.” She tilted her head to look at him. “Considering there was little I could do to stop you, I watched your dragon fade into the night. Your grandfather, Lucca, charged up the hill, insisting Simone chase after you. She refused. Like me, she hoped you would see reason and return on your own. Unsure what else to do, I even begged her to take me to follow you. Again, she said no.”

Thankful that her tone held no malice, Kai took her other hand in his. He could tell the pain behind the memory was fresh, but he waited for her to continue. “Then Lucca ordered Benmar to bring you home, but your other grandfather would not respond to anything Lucca said. It was like Benmar was in a trance, focused on the sky. Your grandfather muttered a few incoherent words and then turned to Lucca and said, ‘Kai needs my help.’ In a flash, he transformed and charged after you. We all stood there in shock. Lucca again pressed Simone to follow, but she insisted two people forcing Kai home would only make matters worse. She felt