Read Rise of the Valiant for Free Online

imagined it.
    “I do not know,
Father,” she answered honestly.
    He nodded back,
accepting, the look of a man who had learned to accept things as they were and
to rely on himself.
     “Remember what
I—” her father began.
    “KYRA!” an
excited shout cut through the air.
    Kyra turned as
the men parted ways, and her heart lifted with delight to see Aidan running
through the city gates, Leo at his side, jumping down from a cart driven by her
father’s men. He ran right for her, stumbling through the snow, Leo even
faster, way ahead of him, and already bounding ahead into Kyra’s arms.
    Kyra laughed as
Leo knocked her down, standing on her chest on all fours and licking her face
again and again. Behind her, Andor snarled, already protective of her, and Leo
jumped up and faced off with it, snarling back. They were two fearless
creatures, each equally protective of her, and Kyra felt honored.
    She jumped up
and stood between them, holding Leo back.
    “It’s okay,
Leo,” she said. “Andor is my friend. And Andor,” she said, turning, “Leo is
mine, too.”
    Leo backed down
reluctantly, while Andor continued to snarl, albeit in a quieter fashion.
    “Kyra!”
    Kyra turned as
Aidan ran into her arms. She reached down and hugged him tight as his little
hands clutched her back. It felt so good to embrace her little brother, whom
she was certain she would never see again. He was the one bit of normalcy left
in the whirlwind her life had become, the one thing that had not changed.
    “I heard you
were here,” he said in a rush, “and I caught a ride to see you. I’m so happy
you’re back.”
    She smiled
sadly.
    “I’m afraid not
for long, my brother,” she said.
    A flash of
concern crossed his face.
    “You’re
leaving?” he asked, crestfallen.
    Her father
interjected.
    “She is off to
see her uncle,” he explained. “Let her go now.”
    Kyra noted that
her father said her uncle and not your uncle, and she wondered
why.
    “Then I shall
join her!” Aidan insisted proudly.
    Her father shook
his head.
    “You shall not,”
he replied.
    Kyra smiled down
at her little brother, so brave, as always.
    “Father needs
you elsewhere,” she said.
    “The
battlefront?” Aidan asked, turning to their father hopefully. “You are setting
out for Esephus,” he added in a rush. “I have heard! I want to join you!”
    But he shook his
head.
    “It is Volis for
you,” he replied. “You will stay there, protected by the men I leave behind.
The battlefront is no place for you now. One day.”
    Aidan flushed
red with disappointment.
    “But I want to
fight, Father!” he protested. “I don’t need to stay boarded up in some empty
fort with women and children!”
    His men
snickered, but her father looked serious.
    “My decision is
made,” he answered curtly.
    Aidan frowned.
    “If I can’t join
Kyra and I can’t join you,” he said, refusing to let it go, “then what use is
my learning about battles, learning how to use weapons? What has all my
training been for?”
    “Grow hair on
your chest first, little brother,” Braxton laughed, stepping forward, Brandon
beside him.
    Laughter arose
amidst the men and Aidan reddened, clearly embarrassed in front of the others.
    Kyra, feeling
bad, knelt before him and looked at him, placing a hand on his cheek.
    “You shall be a
finer warrior than all of them,” she reassured him softly, so that only he
could hear. “Be patient. In the meantime, watch over Volis. It needs you, too.
Make me proud. I shall return, I promise, and one day we shall fight great
battles together.”
    Aidan seemed to
soften a bit, as he leaned forward and hugged her again.
    “I don’t want
you to go,” he said softly. “I had a dream about you. I dreamt…” He looked up
at her reluctantly, eyes filled with fear. “…that you would die out there.”
    Kyra felt a
shock at his words, especially as she saw the look in his eyes. It haunted her.
She did not know what to say.
    Anvin stepped
forward