by Dianne Keep
Cheers rose, entwined with clapping hands and thunderous stomps. Khrisk shook his fist in the air and grabbed Bayan’s hand and together they raised their hands toward Rysa’s flags.
Resh Osling’s words repeated in Bree’s mind. She leaned toward Fara. “Surely he doesn’t mean for the Second Zeir to participate in the Ranking again?”
Rishi Fara didn’t respond. She just stared at her plate. Bree looked across the table at Keir Ryne. His face was as placid as glass. Khrisk appeared overjoyed at the opportunity to be eaten alive by mutated animals in two days’ time.
How could Osling send out the Khrisk with the other candidates? He’d already proved himself in the Ranking. Bree chewed her cheek as her face flushed with heat.
He shouldn’t have to go, the other girl thought.
Bree agreed.
Her fingers tingled with power.
She reached for it. Yes.
This is ours. The other girl showed her the power they had. Bree remembered. No one would keep it from her.
Ehre was at her side. “Not now.”
The words drifted past her.
Now is perfect, the girls thought in unison.
Bree stood.
Ehre tried to push Bree back into the chair, but she refused to be managed. Bree focused on the Resh, Keir Ryne, and Zeir Khrisk, surrounded by men dressed in flamboyant colors.
Just a few steps. Two, maybe three. The two calculated together. They would destroy the ones who wanted to hurt Khrisk, who wanted to hurt countless others. She knew, or the girl did, something bigger than the Ranking was happening and she could stop it.
Ehre blocked her, grabbed the amber jewel, and spoke three words.
Silence bubbled around her.
Keir Ryne slumped in his chair. Khrisk immediately attended him.
The energy in Bree’s hands subsided as sleepiness replaced whatever she had planned on doing.
“Sit. Eat. Smile. Then, I’ll take you to your room.” Ehre nodded to someone, and a servant poured imperia into Bree’s goblet. “Drink it.”
Her heart and mind raced amid the lethargy. What had she been planning? What had she been thinking? “I need to talk to you.” She reached for Ehre’s long black jacket, but her hand wouldn’t respond. “Something’s very wrong with my power and there’s a—”
“I told you not to worry,” said Ehre.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Bree’s every nerve screamed, trying to wake her from the grogginess Ehre evoked. Her mentor had talked with Resh Osling and Keir Ryne for a few minutes before disappearing into the throng of guests. A flash of purple meet with a glow of blue. Nathan and Ehre consulted in the corner. Maybe they could figure out how to fix or replace her charm.
Her pinky finger twitched back to life, followed by her other fingers, and soon her arms and legs, until she was finally able to sip the imperia—its taste unpleasantly syrupy. The beautiful diamond bangles on her wrist dinged and she touched them absently. They had dressed her up nicely tonight with more sparkle than she’d ever had, and she had felt beautiful. All of it for nothing. She could do nothing. Slouching, she rested her head against the back of her chair and tried to think.
Hearing that Khrisk would return to the Ranking had upset her. More than upset her. And she had planned to do something about it. But why? And what could she do anyway? No one would listen to her protests. She had defected. And now she had no leverage. She was almost useless.
Khrisk had proven himself worthy during the Ranking before. He could do it again. Her heart thrummed. Admit it. You have feelings for him. Not just friendly, glad-you’re-alive feelings.
Zeir Bayan had seen it.
Who else noticed? Every person here? Had their whispers spread across the whole of Rysa? The cage of emotions jangled against its restraints in the back of her head. Cracked was what she was.
Bayan ended the conversation he’d been having with a courtier and grazed the top of her hand with his. She pressed her palm against the table, forcing it to remain in place. Khrisk sat opposite to Bayan, and she tried not to look at him, but her eyes rebelled, and she saw that he was speaking with Osling.
The moment Khrisk’s lips touched her cheeks in the courtyard replayed. Stop.
“Is something the matter?” Bayan’s thumb rubbed soothing circles on her skin.
“Nothing. Are you enjoying the meal?”
“I am, thank you.” A person came and stood next to Bayan, drawing his attention away from her.
When dessert arrived, Khrisk glanced in her direction. She couldn’t resist meeting his regard. He gave her his attention for a full ten seconds. He didn’t a smile or a frown. Nothing showed, not one hint of how he felt. All the while, Bree’s stomach flipped, and her pulse pounded in her ears.
A servant placed a ramekin of blue crème pudding on her plate, and Khrisk’s gaze retreated to his own dessert. Bree took a shaky breath. She turned to Rishi Fara, twisting her body so Khrisk was out of eyesight. Fara was mumbling to herself, her first entrée left untouched.
Worried, Bree touched her shoulder and lifted Fara’s spoon. “Let me help you.” Fara shook her head.
“Should I send for Feli?” It wasn’t Bree’s job to care for Fara, but something was wrong. “Is the food not to your taste?”
“It’s fine.”
“Would you like some fresh air?”
“Yes.” Fara got the Resh’s attention and stood, taking Bree with her. “I need a moment. Bree has agreed to accompany me.”
Osling nodded.
“Come this way.” The Rishi went outside to the grand courtyard. “How do you feel?”
“Me? I’m worried about you.” Bree touched Fara’s forehead. It was hot. “Your fever has returned.”
“I’m fine. The hall was crowded, that’s all.” Fara took her toward the wall surrounding the palace grounds. Thinking healing thoughts as best she could, Bree tried not to notice the twenty guards roaming the courtyard watching them. None of the guards pointed their laser pistols at her. That had to count for something.
At the wall, Fara touched a stone and a hidden door opened. “Go.”
“Go? Where? Into the wall?” The Rishi had lost her mind. “Is this what you wanted to show me earlier?” Though she had always been curious about the innards of the great stone structure, there were at least sixty guards on the wall, and one of the twenty guards in the courtyard was bound to notice her sudden disappearance.
“Yes. You must go. Now.” Fara’s body shook.
“You’re unwell.” Bree couldn’t stand the sight of Fara’s small form shivering. “The fever has returned. Let me take you to your room.”
Fara sank to her knees. “Please. This is your chance.”
“My chance at what? To see the inside of the wall?” Bree sat and took Fara’s hands. “What is it you expect me to do?”
“You should take it off.”
“Take what off?”
The Rishi touched the amber gem.
The necklace refused to be lifted any higher than her chin each time she had tried. She demonstrated this fact to Fara. “See?”
Fara frowned and Bree saw sympathy in her eyes.
Heal her. The other voice urged, warm and reassuring, so unlike how Bree felt.
Before Bree could think, a floodgate opened, and power drenched her fingertips despite the flaming attack of her amber charm.
Bree’s gold alhor encompassed Fara, the gravel, and the hidden doorway.
Pressure built inside her body like she was going to explode.
That’s it. Look, there it is. The voice said with confidence.
A black cloud on Fara’s side right side.
What do I do? Bree asked the girl. Ehre hadn’t taught her this.
Let go.
Bree trusted her, cracked as it was, and let go.
The power expanded. It was going to tear her apart.
Fara shook, but Bree knew she wasn’t hurting her.
The shadow shot out, slashed a
t Bree, and disintegrated.
Pain ricocheted off Bree’s skin. Her ears rang. Her vision blurred with tears.
Why was she crying?
A purple glow entered Bree’s blurred vision. “Ehre?”
“What have you done?” Ehre was right above her.
Bree rubbed her eyes. “I don’t remember.” Where was she? The sky was tinged pink. A giant gray blob was to her left, the palace courtyard to her right. “Was there dessert?” She vaguely remembered seeing blue pudding at some point during the feast.
“I was fainting, and she saved me.” The Rishi’s voice quavered. “She did it. Now Osling will have his way.” Fara didn’t sound happy.
Cool water splashed Bree’s face. Choking, she coughed and spat. “You’ll ruin my hair.” She gagged at Bayan’s influence. “Never mind. Ruin my hair. I don’t care. Why are we in the courtyard?”
Ehre spoke a few nonsensical words and warm air kissed Bree’s cheeks, evaporating the water from her hair and face.
“You’ll have to teach me that.” Bree brushed off her dress. “I’m a mess.”
“You took me for a walk,” said a beautiful woman with lavender eyes and long, glistening black hair.
“Who are you?” Bree asked.
“Rishi Fara.”
Bree jumped back. No wrinkles lined Fara’s face. She looked young and sturdy. “No, you’re not.” She took another step backward.
Ehre exchanged a glance with Fara. “She is. You healed her.”
“I don’t know how to.” Power rushed in Bree’s veins and she remembered. “There is something very wrong with the charm. You need to listen to me.” The necklace fought to keep her attention on the pain, but it couldn’t erase the delicious energy pulsing in her muscles, pushing the fiery tentacles aside.
“Nothing’s wrong with your necklace.” Ehre touched the jewel. “It’s working. Your talents are returning.”
“It’s supposed to keep my memories away.”
“Those too.”
“It isn’t. I’m seeing people that aren’t there.” She almost mentioned the other girl’s voice, but her mouth snapped shut.
“Visions. Yes, I told Resh Osling you had a few, but we’re not concerned. It’s normal.”
“Normal?” How could they trust her at all? “How can you know?”
“We’ve used this type of charm on others. It should hold.”
“If it doesn’t?” asked Bree. Ehre had told the dew bird the charm wouldn’t hold. She was talking to a bird, yes, but still. It had to mean something.
Ehre’s eyes narrowed. “Hope that it does.”
Shivers ran through her body. If the charm died, it meant her death, or prison, but how would that work once she was Bayan’s wife? Maybe he wouldn’t marry her if the charm broke and she remembered everything from before. The story told to her about her time in Anthea might not be the same as her memories. What then?
Fara came to her side and steered her toward the opening in the wall away from Ehre. She whispered, “It’s not too late.”
We should go.
There was a part of Bree who agreed with the girl, but part of her didn’t understand. “Rishi Fara, I don’t understand why you’re asking me to leave.”
“I can’t let you stay in Stav.” Fara pushed her inside the opening to the wall. Bree turned and glimpsed Fara on the ground. The horde of courtyard guards rushed to her side.
Go. Go. Go. We won’t have another chance.
All right! Bree crept along the side of the wall. Ehre wasn’t calling out. Fara wasn’t raising an alarm.
The door clicked behind her. Her gold alhor bathed the dark tunnel with light.
An alarm pealed.
Escape. We must escape! The other girl propelled Bree’s legs forward.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Bree ran. I don’t want to escape. It was so cracked to be speaking with another person in her mind.
We’re leaving.
To do what? Where am I supposed to go? And who the blazes are you?
I don’t know exactly. Bree could feel the girl’s confusion. I’m here with you. We’re together.
So, you’re in my head, but not me? Heavens above, I really have lost my mind. I made up a person to talk with just to convince myself to do stupid things.
Bree stopped. She was going back. Running away wouldn’t fix anything. Wherever she went, Osling would find her. And she wanted to redeem herself. She needed to pass rehab and rejoin the Seyhs on the battlefront.
I’m not made up. I’m really here. I remember things. I see things. They replay, but for some reason you can’t see them.
What things?
The voice didn’t answer. Her loneliness did. That deep chasm of nothing welled up out of its prison, threatening to consume her.
I want to go home too.
Bree was curious about her home. She felt the homesickness often enough. Wasn’t Stav her home? Ehre said it was. Khrisk, Osling, Ryne, everyone told her she was born a Rysan. She didn’t look like one. She didn’t look like any of the Rysan Seyhs or the ones from Yenn, Nis, or Urham.
Home, Bree. Our true home.
An image of the pine forest came to her mind. That was her home, she knew it somehow and somehow the voice did too. It was in Anthea. She should turn around now and confess that the charm was malfunctioning and that she couldn’t be trusted.
No. You have to see it. Trust me.
The urge to run away returned a thousand-fold. Bree licked her lips. I’m not prepared. I don’t have a map.
It’s home. We’ll find it.
Great. That’s helpful. Thanks voice.
I have a name.
Bree doubted it. What is it then?
I can’t remember. But I know I have one.
The wall curved. She was near the gatehouse on the other side of the courtyard. It let out to the second tier of the city. She could make it there.
We have to take off the charm.
Bree tried lifting the necklace off. It refused to be removed. “Blighted thing!”
Footsteps sounded behind her. Not the sixty guards.
She could stop now, explain the misunderstanding. Say she was curious about the inner wall and how Fara had accidently pushed her inside. And I just happened to run in the opposite direction of the door where you would’ve immediately found me.
Run faster.
Energy bloomed inside her, agreeing with the voice, and her speed increased. She skidded to a halt in front of the door opening to the gatehouse. There wasn’t a handle or latch.
“Blood and bones, I’m ruined,” whispered Bree.
The door opened from the outside.
Bree’s sweaty hands twisted her sash. How was she to explain?
Khrisk walked into her alhor, shutting the door behind him. “Somehow I thought I’d find you here.” The feet behind her came to a stop.
Her muscles tensed, tingled, and her stomach flipped at the same time. “Khrisk, what…what are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question.” He watched her closely. “Going somewhere?”
“Out.” She rubbed her hands together. “I mean…your aunt…we were in the courtyard…and…” Hot and cold dashed on her skin.
He took another step forward. “Yes, that. The Resh is ecstatic you healed her. You are to be congratulated. A banquet is being scheduled as we speak.”
Bree stepped back, angling along the wall toward the door. “I don’t need a banquet.” Khrisk followed her movement. With her back against the door, she felt around for a button or crevice that might open the exit. “I just need to get out for bit.”
Ask him to come with us.
Are you cracked? Bree asked the voice. Wait. She’d been having a conversation with a voice in her head.
Ask him.
Bree sucked in a breath and said, “You could come with me.”
Something flashed across Khrisk’s face. “I can’t let you leave. Not now. It wouldn’t work.”
/> Bree’s stomach dropped. “Why? Bayan takes me out all the time.”
“It would be rude of me to leave my homecoming banquet.” He gave her a small smile. “Don’t you think?”
No. Anger flooded her mind along with a rush of power. Her body trembled. All her efforts at containment failed.
“You can’t keep me here,” the voice said.
Bree covered her mouth with her hand. Don’t speak for me!
Khrisk shook his head and stepped closer. “You didn’t hear me.” His tone was strong and gentle at the same time. He stroked her arm. “Listen.”
She stilled. Her breath evened. The power pumping in her veins stopped. She was alone inside her head.
His words were important. His touch warm, inviting. Her alhor covered him, but he didn’t seem to mind. Bree felt his life force. Felt his feelings, feelings for her. Her heart beat faster.
Khrisk held her gaze. “Forget leaving. Forget what you were planning. You will stay in the palace.” His hand moved to her cheek. “You will stay with me. You will not attempt to leave for any reason.” He appeared to think about his next words. “By yourself.”
How could she stay with him if she was marrying Bayan? “What about Bayan?”
Khrisk chuckled and touched his forehead to hers. “Bayan, yes, you will agree to marry him. For now.”
Bree blinked. What was that shuffling noise?
Khrisk was standing so close. Emotional residue bounced around her body. She checked her hidden place. Those feelings were caged, but something had leaked out. She had felt what? Empty? Sad? Angry? Secure?
Confused. She felt mostly confused. “What are we doing inside the wall?”
“Exactly. What are we doing here?” Khrisk retreated a few steps and rubbed his chin. Her alhor still encased him, but she couldn’t read him. “I wanted to show it to you. Thought you might be curious about it.”
“During your homecoming banquet? And without Bayan?” She licked her lips. Her mouth was dry. Her palms were moist. Had she been sweating? Her heart thudded and skipped.
“Fara needed a moment after you healed her.” Khrisk brushed some of her hair behind her ear and his fingers lingered on neck.