by Stock, L. J.
He was still just a hulking mass amidst the blankets, and the only sign that he was breathing was the subtle rise and fall of the distinct lump in the middle. I wasn't sure whether or not we should wake him, but fully healed, Shannon danced into the room and onto the bed, dropping to her knees by his head.
“Gori,” she sang, prodding him gently and elongating his nickname. “Gori, wake up. We have Chinese food for you, and it's glorious.”
A growl sounded, muffled by the mass of blankets. “Tjótja, you have the worst bedside manner.”
“Is that a way to speak to someone who brought you such culinary delights as eggrolls, lo mein and orange chicken? Shame on you, Plemyannik.”
Grigori chuckled and groaned as he did. I figured he must have opened his eyes right after that, because I heard him gasp before he reached out to touch Shannon's cheek gently.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
Shannon giggled conspiratorially at me and looked back down at her nephew with a grin. “Well, we left here, took a two hour nap in the other dimension, ate Chinese food and talked for a while. So maybe four hours.”
“That is not possible,” he said, rolling to get a better look at her.
Shannon smiled and looked over at me again. She tipped her head, indicating I should hobble my way over there. Grigori noticed the action and lifted his head to look at me, his eyes wide before they flickered back to Shannon in disbelief.
“See. No change with poor Cass. I will explain later, but I need you to eat something, Gori. Then you should continue resting. We will be back later and we can talk properly.”
“How are you?” he asked me, ignoring Shannon as he studied my approach.
“I'm well,” I said gently, leaning a hip against the post at the foot of the bed. “We've found out some more pertinent information, but before we can explain, I think we need to have a long talk with my father and family and make them understand.”
“Damon already does, I suspect.” Shannon grinned.
“You spoke with him?” Gori asked.
I inclined my head and stepped a little closer. It had been at his request that I do so, but I could see the hurt burning in his eyes. It amazed me how selfless he was. I was so thankful that he'd made me realize what I needed to do even when it had cost him something, and although I wanted to pay him back in kind, I wasn't sure how to. He'd made no secret about how he felt about me. Every look he gave me was a reminder. Yet, he knew where my heart belonged.
“He understands, and he realizes his mistakes, but I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Grigori.”
“He was protecting you. I cannot say I would not have done the same.”
Shannon's eyes widened with sadness as she looked down at the man on the bed. She knew just as well as I did how he felt about me. I could see the regret of encouraging him behind her blue eyes. She hated him hurting over this just as much as I did.
“Eat, Gori. We will be back to talk in depth,” Shannon said, her lips brushing across his forehead.
“Thank you.”
Shannon nodded and sprung from the bed, grabbing my hand as she passed me. She tugged once and I followed, offering Grigori a smile as she pulled me from the room. She didn't stop once we were in the hall either. She pulled me all the way to the stairs before I finally called on her to stop.
“I can't move that fast, Shannon,” I chortled, gripping onto the curving banister. “You're going too fast for my invalid self.”
“I'm sorry. I forgot.” She grinned, looking down at herself. I could imagine it was hard to remember that mere hours ago she'd been just as disabled as I was. I didn't hold it against her. I just couldn't keep up with her.
We continued down at a more acceptable pace, the dull thud of my aching bones and muscles making me slow with every step I took. My lack of speed was driving Shannon crazy considering she could have paced me several times over, but she contained herself, exerting her energy by dancing around me in circles.
“What are you so excited about?” I finally asked, my tone harsher than I’d intended because I was hurting more.
“Everything,” she sang, looping her arm through mine and leaning her head on my shoulder. “You're truly the girl in the prophecy, and you will save us all, and I got to meet Acantha and hear our history first hand, and learn all these new gifts. The ones we knew about and didn't, they're all going to give us the upper hand when it’s most important. It's a good day.”
“You want to take a breath there?” I asked, grinning over at her.
“Oh hush. You have to know what a big deal all of this is.” She laughed, looking so young I was starting to feel old in comparison.
“Of course I do, but it all seems so far away and detached. Even if I were to get pregnant this minute it would still be nine months before the baby arrived, and then there's no definitive timeline as to when the asshole will decide when he wants to face off with me, which is great because I have time to prepare, but at the same time, I just want us all to be free. I don’t want any of us to have to look over our shoulders constantly, and it could be years before that happens.”
“But it will happen in your lifetime. Wouldn't you rather suffer for at least two more years than live a lifetime of misery at Thánatos' hand?” she asked, giving a tug on my arm to stop me. “You will liberate an entire world of people, Cassandra. You will be a thing of great legend.”
“I don't want to be a legend. I just want to be happy.”
“And you will be,” she said sympathetically.
I scoffed at her and started walking again, but she held my arm in place until I turned to look at her.
“Are you saying there's another prophecy?”
“Gods, no.” She snorted. “You will have your soul mate and a child to love, who will love you. You will be surrounded by your family and friends for the rest of your life. Is that not, by definition, happiness?”
Dammit. She had me there. Feeling sorry myself was all well and good but when all was said and done, I still had a life, anf I still had love.
“You're right.” I sighed, giving her a tug. “I'm just ready for all of this to be over.”
“Then get on it, woman,” she teased, nudging me and wiggling her eyebrows, which just looked odd on her ethereal features.
“Oh, if only it were that easy.” I laughed, leading us down into the king's wing. “Apparently things have to be done in order here.”
“Meaning marriage before sex?”
“To put it bluntly.”
Shannon started laughing and rested her cheek on my shoulder as we continued down the hall to the study, where I knew Damon would have gathered my family and the guards who needed the intel. It was probably the only one of the king's rooms, other than the war chamber and the council hall, which would hold us all. I was certain that a large portion of the Regius Custos would be present. There had been a large majority of them in the dungeons with Damon. I needed them to hear this as much as I needed my family to. These were the men I was supposed to trust with my life, so I needed them to understand just how much the game had changed.
“You're shaking,” Shannon said quietly. “You all right?”
“Nervous,” I mumbled. “I hate public speaking.”
I had to hand it to her; she tried her best not to laugh. She really tried, and she managed quite well until I told her to shut up. By the time we reached the study, she was only just quieting down again.
“Are you finished?” I asked, feigning irritation.
“I'm so sorry.” She giggled as the guards reached for the doors. “But the irony.”
As the entry to the room opened, the chatter within it died out. I could see my parents by the fire with Liana and Steven. Damon was stood with Rasmus and the other guards, while Alexa, Zander and Acantha were in a small group opposite the king, grouped with Melody and Evander. Every eye in the room turned to Shannon and I as we entered, and I felt my insides shrink to heavy weights in the pit of my stomach.
“This is small compared to other groups,” I whispered, as I watched my father stand.
He approached me slowly, his eyes assessing my movements as though I were a wild animal about to pounce on him. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew I'd been close to that down in the dungeons. I'd been so angry about what they'd been doing I hadn't even thought about greeting them. As Shannon broke away from me to stand with Rasmus, I stepped toward my father. The moment his arms opened, I fell into them and returned his embrace with just as much enthusiasm. I'd missed him. I'd missed all of them and now that I'd had time to calm down, I needed this comfort.
“I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried about you. I thought I'd lost you for good.”
“I know,” I whispered into his shoulder. “I was scared, too.”
His arms tightened around me and pulled me closer with a fervor that almost made me believe he wouldn't let go ever again.
“I can deal with a lot of things, Cass, but I can't deal with losing you. Promise me no more of these excursions for a while. Just until we have things under some semblance of control.”
“I promise, dad. You don't have to worry about that.” It was heartwarming to hear his words. This was what I'd wanted so desperately when I'd opened my eyes. I'd wanted comfort and reassurance. I needed to know that I was safe and with the people I loved. My mother had been great, but it hadn't been what I'd pictured in my mind. This gathering was closer to the imagery that had kept me going those long weeks in the hole.
My father reluctantly released me from his grasp and slung his arm around my waist before guiding me to my family. I gave each of them a hug and made Liana promise to take me to Oliver the moment this was all over.
When I started feeling like my bones were aching from the hugs, I gave myself a little bit of distance and looked over the room. I knew everyone but a couple of the guards, the men who had filled the large shoes of the men we’d lost during my journey.
I took a deep breath and found each of my hands cradled in those of the friends I'd shared the experience with. Rasmus was on my left, Shannon on my right, and both were stood by my side, offering me their strength.
“I asked you all here because I think it's time I explained what happened. I only want to do this once, so I'm asking you all to listen. I know you don't understand my protective stance over the man upstairs right now, but you will. Yes, he's veneficus, but he is here under my protection.”
There was a small, disgruntled murmur from the Regius Custos, and I felt Shannon squeeze my hand. She needed me to go on before she herself defended her nephew’s honor.
“We were ambushed not long after we arrived in Dullhurt. They'd been lying in wait for us. The moment the wheels of the carriages slowed to a stop they began pouring from behind the buildings. There were hundreds of them...”
I went through everything I could remember, Shannon and Rasmus filling in the blanks of the things I found to hard to repeat. I put emphasis on Grigori and how much he'd risked to keep us comfortable and safe from the other latros and veneficus. When it came down to the final battle, all three of us told our parts. It was hard hearing both Rasmus and Shannon's recollections from the tiny cell, and it wasn't easy repeating Harker's actions in front of my family. I had to keep my eyes from both Damon and my parents, but my mother's gasp had come dangerously close to setting me off into a wave of emotion.
“...I watched Grigori fight with all of his honor and strength, and I knew if I left him there he would die fighting or later at the hands of the veneficus for saving us. The cell was still under the veneficus spell and I was too disoriented to counter it after I’d hit my head. So, stuck, I brought the water to me. When I stretched out my hand to cup the liquid, I made a split second decision and grabbed Grigori to pull him through with me, not realizing he and Harker were still engaged in battle. When we landed, I only had a split second to react. I really don’t remember the details, but I grabbed the edge of the bath and wished I had a sword. The sword appeared in my hands and killed Harker. I knew we were safe. We were all finally safe and my body just gave out, too tired to fight for consciousness anymore. I know I should have tried. I should have stayed awake so I could explain and you would all know who this stranger was. He saved all of our lives and I did him the same honor by saving his. None of us would be here without him, and whether you understand it or not, I trust him with my life.”
“Well, don't I feel like an asshole,” Steven said from his place by the fire.
“You made a sword from the bath? How?”
“How were you able to bring the water to you?”
“I don't understand why he would help you. Most of them are soulless.”
The questions started pouring in, all of them bleeding into one another until they became indecipherable. The three of us stood amongst the cacophony of voices silently. I'd expected some kind of reaction, but with this many people in the room, it was hard to distinguish one voice from another.
“Silence!” the king shouted above the din of voices, and there was no hesitance in obeying. The room immediately fell silent. I eyed my father warily and waited for the question he was going to ask. He'd been listening to the voices all talking over one another, long after I'd blocked them all out.
“Damon...” The king trailed off, nodding at him as he stepped forward. Damon moved to the mantle where a long box sat sealed above it. Damon pulled the box down and brought it to me, his eyes full of love and wonder as he held it out and nodded to me.
“Open it.”
I released Shannon's hand after a squeeze and reached to the box. My fingers trembled as my thumb hooked under the lip of the lid, and I lifted the wood slowly, my eyes widening as I viewed the contents sat on a velvet cushion.
Shannon had been right. It was the ugliest sword I'd ever seen in my life. The blade itself was curved in several places and the hilt was misshapen and clunky looking. There was no sheen to the blade, not even where the edges tapered off to a sharpened edge. It was a twisted mess with a makeshift blade.
“Told you it was ugly.” Shannon laughed, peering inside.
“It's hideous, but it saved my life.” I reached in and curled my fingers around the heavy, twisted metal of the hilt. The whole thing was unbalanced, and there was no way it could have helped me in a sword fight, but for the duty I'd asked of it, it was perfection.
The moment it was in my hand, Damon stepped away from me, leaving all of the men in the Regius Custos with a perfect view of the misshapen metal in my grasp. I could hear the murmurs passing between them, the gentle tenors trying to quietly communicate with their neighbors.
It was Galen who finally broke the silence, his kind smile lighting up his eyes.
“Milady, it seems you need to speak with a blacksmith.”
I gave him a smile and a nod of appreciation. He was making an effort to break through the tension, and by the looks on some of the men's faces it seemed to have worked.
“You don't like my forging, Galen?”
He gave me a smile and stepped forward, his hand outstretched to take the metal from me. The moment the sword was in his hands, he examined it closely. His skilled fingers moved over the blade, lingering on the imperfections there. The moment it was passed into the hands of another guard, the air in the room seemed to settle.
I hadn't realized just how much tension had been swirling around us until it dissipated. Each of the men began examining the sword slowly, pointing out the parts that could actually be the bath to one another as they crowded around it. I just hoped that it would be enough to convince them that bringing Grigori back with me had been a good idea. When I'd mentioned him teaching me magic, I could see each of them and their own accusations. Now, they seemed to be discussing whether or not he was trustworthy.
“We have much to discuss,” my father finally said. “You said there was more you discovered today, Damon?”
/> “Yes, Your Highness. While we were in the other dimension...”
“Wait,” Acantha said, standing up. “Damon, I understand you were upset, but this is neither the time nor the place to...”
“I think it's the perfect time.”
“You would!” Alexa quipped, her hands on her hips. “If you pulled your head out of your ass long enough, you'd realize that this discussion needs to be handled with a little more decorum.”
“We're all here for a reason, Alexa. Everyone in this room needs to know the truth and what it means for our future.”
“Stop it, all of you. This should be something the king should decide,” I finally said, breaking up the inevitable argument.
“It's hard to decide something when there's no way of knowing what it is. Acantha and Damon seem to have conflicting opinions.”
I looked at both Damon and Acantha and tried to think of the best course of action. I knew that Acantha didn't want just anyone hearing this. It wasn't just about this overlooked prophecy; it was about the gifts we second generation nymphs had.
“How many of you are second generation nymphs?” I asked, looking at the guards. All of them raised their hands with a smile and I looked to my father.
“It's one of the requirements.”
I nodded and looked at Acantha. It was just another sign that all of this was in a specific order for a reason. They were required to be second generation in order to be part of this uprising against Thánatos and his tyranny.
“Very well,” Acantha said gently, her head bowing at me in thanks. She knew I was trying to make this as easy as possible, even if it wasn't the greatest situation and would implicate her as being part of it. I would defend her from anything that was thrown at her, no matter who wanted to point fingers. She was doing what she had to, and she'd believed with everything she was that I was the woman in the prophecy.
Regardless, I knew there were people who wouldn't take it well that she'd risked my life. If Damon's reaction was anything to go by, I would probably have a lot of fires to put out. I wasn't sure who was going to tell them about this, but I was adamant that it couldn't be Damon. He would blow the whole thing out of proportion.