Read Kingdom's Quest for Free Online

Weston said.
    Gavinaugh smiled as he thought of the tender little faces of Addy and Keaton. He nodded his approval.
    The following morning, Gavinaugh, Weston, and Keanna left Santiok for Cresthaven. Toward evening, they set up camp at the base of a small waterfall near the edge of the woods. They were tired from the day’s journey. The stillness of the night and the soothing sound of the waterfall welcomed them to rest. After building a fire and eating some of their provisions, Gavinaugh and Weston retired to their bedrolls, but Keanna did not seem to yield to her weariness. Weston fell asleep at once, and as Gavinaugh drowsed, the edge of his mind felt a vague surprise at seeing Keanna sitting by the fire, seemingly waiting for something. But then sleep overtook him.

THE EXECUTIONER
    Keanna waited long into the night, all the while calling the memories of her anguished past to the forefront of her mind, for the fire of vengeance burned hot within her heart. The bitterness she harbored in her marrow had changed her over time into the angry young woman she was today. For years, she had only dreamed of vengeance—until a few weeks ago, when she saw Gavinaugh at the slave auction in Santiok.
    Keanna quietly rose from her bed. The slight rustling of the leaves and grass beneath her feet was lost in the gentle sound of the waterfall nearby. The turmoil in her soul rose bitterly as she remembered the heartless murder of her parents and the cries of terror from her younger siblings. She considered the light of the full moon a gift, for she wanted to see the face of the one who had brought such pain to her life.
    Gavinaugh was lying on his back with a blanket covering his body. It seemed too perfect—his sword and long-knife were right beside him. Keanna went to him, knelt down, and grasped the long-knife. The handle felt good in her hand, and the fury in her heart was satisfying. She looked at the face of Gavinaugh and married his image with the image of her murdered parents. She lifted the knife high above her head, poised for the strike that would appease her desire for vengeance.She searched for the perfect target, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath. He had pierced her heart with sorrow, and now she would pierce his with his own blade. She tightened all of her muscles. Gavinaugh stirred, and she froze. His hand moved beneath the blanket, and he scratched his neck. The hand returned to his side, pulling the blanket off his chest, and he was still once again.
    Keanna slowly released her breath. In that moment, the reality of taking the life of another stunned her, and she hesitated. She had wounded other masters before, but always in self-defense. This was different. She steeled herself against inner petitions of mercy and readied her blade once again. There was his heart, but the light of the full moon now revealed something she had not seen earlier. With the blanket off his chest, the emblem of the Prince was now as clear as a banner atop a castle wall. Her blade would have to first pierce the mark of the Prince before penetrating the heart of her nemesis. Gavinaugh’s words of the Prince seemed to resonate in her mind, and she could not make them go away … words of love, compassion, and mercy. She hated the words and yet was drawn to them.
    Her grip on vengeance loosened and she wavered. Her muscles began to ache, as did her heart. She looked up to the stars to forget the image on Gavinaugh’s chest, but it was engraved in her mind as a backdrop to the strange story of a man who seemed to change the hearts of others. She fought against the possibility that this man’s heart had truly changed. Her eyes filled with tears as the war within her soul culminated. In a final charge of defiance, she plunged the knife downward toward her victim.
    Keanna rose up and ran into the woods, not waiting to see the outcome of her action. She fled the pain—the memories—and now she fled