Chapter 4 Kain The Nameless

Kain’s POV

“You are certain this is not a trap to get me killed?” I asked, eyeing the prince sideways as our horses picked their way down the dirt road.

He didn't respond to me. He just maintained that arrogant, impassive face of his, staring straight ahead like I was nothing more than a buzzing fly.

I swallowed hard, the tension coiling tight in my stomach. I had agreed to his demands... mostly because I really didn't have a choice. It was either ride into the unknown with a royal pain in the ass or watch my head roll off an executioner’s block.

I had chosen the option that kept my beautiful promising life intact. Beside I won, he actually let me keep the magical necklace. Not sure why, it could just be all a trap or not.

The afternoon sun was burning hot, baking the stone walls of the kingdom gates as we drew near. Up ahead, a dozen heavily armored guards stood in a line, systematically checking every horse, cart, and carriage trying to leave the city.

I glanced back over at the prince. He had swapped his tailored velvet coat for a coarse black traveling cloak, pulling the deep hood low over his face to shadow his features.

He had assured me that the guards stationed at this specific post were loyal to him the ones who knew about his planned disappearance.

If anything goes wrong here, I swore to the goddess, I will strangle him myself before those blades even touch me.

When our turn came, I held my breath so hard my chest hurt. Prince Lance, however, was far too confident. He didn't look worried in the slightest. He barely even glanced up. A short nod passed between him and the head guard, a heavy hand slapped the flank of our horses, and just like that, we rode gently past the border gates and out of Vilemont.

We put a solid hour of distance between us and the kingdom. The moment the high white banners of the city vanished behind the treeline, I dropped the humble, obedient act I’d been forcing all morning.

“Stop!” I snapped, hauling on my reins.

The horses came to a dusty halt in the middle of the overgrown road. I swung my leg over the saddle and slid down to the grass, marching right up to his horse.

“Now,” I demanded, glaring up at him. “Can you tell me why exactly you are running away from your own kingdom? You killed someone, didn't you?”

He turned his head slowly, looking down at me through the shadow of his hood. “I don't think I owe an explanation to a thief.”

A loud, incredulous laugh burst from my lips. “You just bloody called me a thief? Me?” I jabbed a thumb into my own chest.

“Aren't you a thief?” he asked bluntly, dismounting with smooth, infuriating grace.

He stepped down onto the grass, smoothing out his black cloak. “I did my research about you. Kain you are a thief, a male escort, and what else? a general disgrace. You live about five different lives depending on who is paying you.”

I blinked at him in absolute disbelief. I looked left, then right, but there was nobody around. Just dense trees, thick bushes, and dusty road.

“Do you have no manners at all?!” I yelled, threw my hands in the air. “I just helped you escape from that golden cage of a kingdom, and here you are throwing insults at me like spears?!”

Lancelot didn't even blink. He walked right past me toward a massive oak tree, sitting down in the shade. “I don't have time to exchange petty words with a commoner. I need to rest.”

I stared at his back, my blood boiling. All that high and mighty talk in the hallway this morning, defending me in front of his guards, lecturing them about looking down on people, it was all an act.

I stomped over to the tree, towering over where he sat. “All that speech in front of your knights? Telling them not to look down on commoners? You were just pretending?”

He looked up, his dark eyes entirely flat. “No, I wasn't. You were just stupid enough to fall for it.”

“Ohhhhh, my goddess!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs, so infuriated I thought my head might explode.

Driven by pure, unfiltered rage, I dropped to my knees, grabbed him by his heavy linen collar, and yanked him forward until we were nose to nose.

“How dare you talk to me like that?! Look around you, Lance! Do you see any of your guards here? Do you see your army?”

His gaze didn't waver. He just stared intently into my eyes.

“I could beat you to death right here in the dirt,” I hissed, tightening my grip, “and no one would ever find your body.”

Instead of showing a single grain of fear, the corner of his mouth twitched upward. A soft, quiet laugh escaped his lips.

“That's really cute, to be honest,” he said smoothly. “You think you can beat me?”

Before I could process the sheer arrogance of his words, his hand shot up. He gripped my wrist with a iron grip and casually forced my hand off his collar, shoving me back.

“Don't forget,” Lancelot added, his voice dangerously low, “my men know I am traveling with Kain the Nameless. If I turn up dead or missing, you are the first person they will hunt down and hang.”

I stumbled backward, taking a slow step away as his words hit me like a splash of ice water. My chest tightened, the anger suddenly vanishing into something sour and heavy.

“Why did you just call me that?” I asked, my voice suddenly tight. “Kain the Nameless?”

Lancelot adjusted his collar and dusted off his sleeves with meticulous care, acting like my touch had left dirt on his clothes. “You don't have a family name, Kain. So that's your title now. Kain the Nameless.” He looked up, assessing me with a cold, analytical eye. “Judging by the pathetic way you live... you don't have a family at all, do you?”

I froze.

The words burned deep into my chest, raw and sharp. Because he was right. I didn't have a family. I had never known who my parents were. I was just an abandoned infant left wrapped in rags outside a cottage in Caeldwyn.

“It's not my fault I don't have a family,” I muttered, looking away. I walked over to a neighboring tree and slumped down into the tall grass, suddenly exhausted.

“Whose fault is it then?” he asked flatly.

“I owe you no answer,” I fired back, throwing his own words right back into his smug face.

He stayed silent, but I could feel his eyes on me, scanning me from head to toe like I was some bizarre insect he couldn't wait to crush under his boot.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked, forcing a quick, defensive smirk back onto my face. “You want to fuck me, don't you?”

Lancelot’s brow furrowed in immediate distaste.

He looked away, his jaw tightening. “Disgusting thoughts never leave your head. How can a man and a man even.....”

Before he could finish his self-righteous sentence, I scrambled up, marched over, and stood directly in front of him. In one swift motion, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it into the grass.

“I'll show you exactly how it works,” I said, flashing him a wide, mischievous wink.