by Erin Rhew
“So, you’re saying it’s possible for Vanguards to be able to withstand an Alteration?”
“It’s possible.”
“That would be wonderful. My people could be free from Alterations.”
“But then mine would be overrun. Without the ability to perform Alterations in combat, Vanguards would have an overwhelming advantage.” No anger resided in those words, yet she staggered from the force of his assertion.
“Oh.”
They sat down at the table, an uncomfortable silence stretching between them. Both wanted the best for their people, she knew that, but Layla wished one didn’t come at the expense of the other. Could the gap between their two kingdoms ever truly be mended?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Wil
The time he’d been dreading arrived and still no reasonable solution presented itself. His current option, to attempt The King’s Right over his father, seemed unlikely. If that didn’t work, he’d have to rely on the backup plan, a rescue attempt at the gallows. Even though his actions meant defying his father, the king, openly in front of the whole kingdom, it had to be done. What kind of man—what kind of future king—would he be if he let his mother and sister die at the hands of his father, a man driven mad with jealousy?
Wil looked over at Volton Mars and Layla. What a small army he had managed to assemble, but lives depended on their success. Since his father had overtaken the minds of everyone involved in the execution process, if Wil failed with The King’s Right, he would have no choice but to call upon Mars and Layla for help, despite how much he worried for them both.
“Are you both sure?” he posed the question again.
Mars nodded. “Yes. The queen has been my friend for twenty years, and Vespa is like my own daughter. I would gladly lay my life down for theirs.” Wil appreciated the Volton’s steadfast devotion, yet dreaded putting a peaceful man in the middle of what could easily become a war.
“I am sure,” Layla answered, strong and steady. “If you say I can’t come with you, I’ll just figure out a way to do something on my own.” She raised her chin in defiance.
Wil’s shoulder slumped. “Assuming I can’t exercise The King’s Right over my father, we will enact the backup plan. My mother and sister will be brought up from the dungeons on the other side of the southern wall. They will walk, heavily guarded, a few feet to the gallows, which have been constructed at the beginning of the meadows. My father wanted a large area for crowds to gather.” He could hardly contain his disgust.
“Let’s go over our roles once more to make sure we’re ready. First, I will Alter the minds of everyone in the crowd, which will prove difficult without Vespa’s help but not impossible. While I do that, Layla will rescue my family. Be sure to use that Vanguard strength to hold a strong mind guard. Volton, I need you to also construct an impenetrable mind guard and watch the river. When I am performing the Alteration, the guards and everyone around me will be affected by it, so the kingdom will be vulnerable to attack from the outside. If you see any Vanguards cross the river, Volton, sound the defense horns immediately.”
“Won’t your people be able to put up mind guards?” Layla asked.
“My Alteration will be unexpected, so most people won’t have time to block it. You have to be prepared for any Ethereals that are able to withstand it, my father included. I wish I could fight beside you, Layla, but the Alteration will take my full attention.”
“You will be unguarded then.” He caught the waver in her words.
“Yes, but I will be far enough away that no one should be able to stop me until it’s too late. You just focus on freeing my mother and sister. I’ll be fine.”
He made sure his smile appeared reassuring, but she didn’t look convinced. She crossed the room, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “Please be careful.”
Wil shivered as her breath brushed against his neck. “I will.” He tore away from the enchantment she held over him and turned to Mars. “Are you both comfortable with your roles?”
Layla and Volton Mars nodded in unison.
“Ok. I’m going to confront my father. If that doesn’t work, I’ll meet you by the South Gate. Layla, remember to stay as far away from my father as you can. If you see him looking your way, reinforce your mind guard as much as you can. He is very powerful.”
“I guess we’ll find out if my mind is strong enough to withstand The King’s Right.” Her lopsided smile betrayed her nerves.
Wil clenched his teeth so hard his head hurt, but he kept himself from begging her to stand down. As much as he didn’t want Layla involved, he knew how much he needed her help. He knew of no other sure, capable warrior with an unusually strong mind guard, except Nash. Wil frowned at the comparison. Despite his confidence in her abilities, Wil also knew the strength of his father’s power. If Jesper overcame her, the plan would fail and three women he loved would die before his very eyes. The idea nearly paralyzed him with fear.
Layla laid her hand across his cheek, her touch burning into his skin. “I want to do this, Wil. We can do this.”
He nodded once and then ducked out the door, unable to spend another minute near her, asking her to risk her life. The walk from the tunnels to the king’s quarters did nothing for Wil’s nerves. He obsessed the whole way, going over the plans step by step, accounting for the alternatives should something go wrong. If only he succeeded in Altering his father’s mind, everyone would be safe without a fight. It would work. It had to.
“I need to see the king,” Wil announced to the two guards barring the door.
“The king is unavailable.”
“I need to see my father now. It’s urgent.” Wil heard the strain in his own reply.
“The king is not here, my prince. He’s already gone to prepare for the executions.”
Wil fell against the wall, crushed under the weight of his failure.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
King Jesper
Jesper peered through the bars at the two women huddled together inside. When Sansolena lifted her head, he barely recognized her. She looked dirty and frail, two words he never thought he’d associate with his wife. Sans had always been pristine yet strong. Shame poured through his veins. His jealousy and rage had reduced her to an unkempt woman, cowering in the corner of a dark, dank cell.
“Is today the day?” Her once melodious voice sounded hollow. Jesper nearly asked her what she meant, just to hear her speak again, but they both knew. The day she would die.
“Yes.”
Sans let go of Vespa, adjusted their sleeping daughter on the cot, and crossed over to him. Her brown eyes glowed black in the low light, but he still saw her anger boiling inside them.
“I don’t care what you do to me, Jesper, but let Vespa go. She’s already suffered enough at your hands.” Sans’ sharp words pierced him. “You nearly destroyed her mind. I don’t recognize my girl anymore.” She placed her hand over her mouth as tears sprang in her eyes.
The king glanced at his daughter, a small lump on an oversized bed. Though his wife’s muffled sobs forced him to see the monster he’d become, Jesper maintained his focus. He’d come here for a purpose. He had to get answers.
Tearing his eyes away from their child, he asked, “Did you ever love me, Sansolena? I mean, really love me?”
“Are you going to force me to tell you?”
“No.” He no longer exuded his typical confidence, exposing instead a soft and broken side of his soul. “I want you to tell me yourself.”
“I’m so tired of your games, Jesper.” She did look exhausted. “Does it even matter?”
“It matters to me.”
Sans sighed dramatically. A strange heartening befell him to see she retained a hint of her original spunk—even now, even in this place, even at the hour of her death.
“Yes, Jesper. I did.” Her exasperated gaze bore into him. “I still do even after everything you’ve done.”
Her words washed over him like a salve to his wo
unded soul. She loved him. He’d lain awake at night, tortured by the idea that she never really had, by the notion Rex held a place Jesper could never access. But after everything, she still loved him. The king felt whole again for the first time in…he couldn’t even remember how long.
“I’m here to free you, my dear Sans.”
“What?”
“You and Vespa. I am going to take you out of here.”
“But you’ve announced our impending deaths to the whole kingdom. How will you get away with freeing us?”
“I will dress up some other criminals in your clothes. With a sack over their heads and gags in their mouths, no one will know the difference.”
“But if everyone thinks we’re dead…” Sansolena trailed off.
“I will get you as far as the river. After that, you’re on your own. It’s the best I can do.”
“What will we do, Jesper? Once a Vanguard sees this blond hair, we’ll be killed in an instant.”
“I’m sure Rex will take you in.” He hadn’t meant the words to come out so harshly, but his remaining jealousy burst forth.
“You forget…Vance deposed him.”
“Do you want to escape or not?”
“I do.” That old fire returned to her eyes. She’d always been a fighter. She would find a way to survive, that he knew.
With shaking hands, Jesper opened the cell door. Though he desired to pull Sansolena in his arms, the king knew those days had passed. Instead, he handed his wife two robes he’d stolen from the Volton’s room.
“Put these on and cover your heads.”
As Sansolena wiggled into the massive green robe, Jesper crossed over to Vespa. He shook her shoulder gently until she awakened. Her brown eyes, so much like Sansolena’s brightened.
“Daddy.” She hadn’t called him that in years.
“Hi, baby.” Every part of him ached. What had he done?
“I don’t like it here. It’s cold and dark.” She pouted, the same face she’d made hundreds of time as a child.
“I’m taking you out of here. Put on this robe just like your mother did, and be sure to cover up your hair.”
Both parents helped Vespa into the robe that dwarfed her. Never had she seemed so small and fragile. He cursed himself again for harming this precious creature in the height of his anger.
“Are you going to fix her?” Sansolena shoved Vespa’s blond hair into the hood.
“I don’t know if I can.” His unspoken regret hovered in the chasm between them. “I’m afraid I’ll cause more damage.”
His wife’s eyes snapped. “At least remove the Lock so I can try.”
“I can’t risk going back into her mind, Sans. I’m sorry.”
His wife gave him a look of rage and disgust. Knowing he deserved such a look did nothing to lessen the pain of it. He started to reach out, to draw comfort from Sansolena as he had done so many times over the years, but thought better of it. “Let’s go.”
He took Vespa’s hand and led them out of the dungeons. They walked in silence past the guards at the door, through the castle, and out into the meadow. No one noticed their departure. He’d Altered them all before he descended into the prison to ensure it. Jesper wanted to say so much to Sansolena and Vespa—Wil and Nash too—but he couldn’t seem to find the words. Before he could formulate a way to express his regret, they reached the entrance to Clovis’ maze.
“Why are we here, Jesper? Is this a trick? You know we can’t navigate the maze.”
Her mistrust troubled him, but he’d given her no reason to trust him—not now, probably not ever. “Vespa can. The maze leads to the river. You can cross there to make your escape. I’m sure the Voltons would take you in if you can make it to the Borderlands. Maybe they will have some ideas about how to fix what I’ve done to our daughter.”
His wife nodded curtly. “Okay.”
“Goodbye, Sans,” he said wistfully. He reached up and touched a piece of her hair. She gazed back at him, her eyes clouded with so many emotions he couldn’t determine which stood out the most.
“Goodbye, Jesper.”
As she turned to go, he grabbed her by the arm and crushed her to him. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around his waist, much to his surprise and pleasure. When Jesper finally let go, he lifted her head up and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“I’m more sorry than you could ever know.”
Sansolena stepped back and took Vespa’s hand. Together, they walked toward the maze, but Vespa pulled on her mother’s hand, stopping their progress. His daughter turned back around to smile at him with a soul shattering look of innocence.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nash
From the Vanguard side, Nash kept to the bushes, just out of the Ethereal guards’ sight, and scanned the meadow stretching out before him. The Northern Gate stood open, allowing scores of Ethereals traveling from all over the kingdom to gather near the gallows in hopes of glimpsing such a rare event—the hanging of a queen. Never in Ethereal history had such a phenomenon occurred, and Nash intended to ensure it didn’t happen today either.
A new anger boiled within Nash. In the middle of a war with Vance, Jesper allowed his personal feelings to jeopardize the safety of the entire kingdom. He not only planned to publically execute his wife, the queen, but also left a major gate open to ensure all of Etherea could watch. Jesper’s jealousy endangered everyone Nash loved. He wouldn’t stand for it.
When he saw Layla, positioned atop a low lying wall close to the scaffold, he paused to drink in her features, to memorize every curve of her face. She looked just as beautiful and warlike as the first moment he laid eyes on her, but why had she come outside of the tunnels, especially now? He surveyed the crowd again, scanning more carefully this time, until his eyes landed on Wil. His brother crouched on the roof of the southern wall, waiting. As Nash assessed their positions and their posture, he realized they meant to stop the execution just as he did.
“Wil and Layla are posed to attack,” Nash whispered to his father. “If Wil performs an Alteration, you and the rest of our army will be vulnerable. I should go alone.”
Rex shook his head in disagreement. “No. I spent too many years regretting the choices I made regarding Sansolena. Even if I fall to the Alteration, I have to try and reach her.”
Though he didn’t agree, Nash understood. He smiled. Jesper loved his mother, Nash knew, but Rex’s devotion seemed even stronger.
“I’ll lead you through the West Wall maze then. If you do succumb to the Alteration, you should at least be safe inside the labyrinth. Should we tell the soldiers about the risk?”
“We’ll let them decide as we did before. Those who don’t want to come in can stand guard near the West Wall entrance.”
Rex called his army around him and explained the situation. Unlike last time, their decisions came swiftly. The soldiers separated into their groups, a vast majority choosing to enter Etherea with their king. Nash instructed those who chose to remain behind, explaining how to stay out of view from the Ethereal guards.
A small part of him felt like a traitor to Etherea—to Wil. Should he really be explaining these tricks to the enemy? Nash dismissed the thought. Nothing remained as it once had been. This day, a group of Vanguards stood poised to rescue the Ethereal queen sentenced to death by the Ethereal king. Within this group stood a Vanguard soldier who loved the Ethereal princess and a half-Ethereal, half-Vanguard prince who pined for the proclaimed Fulfillment. Traditional boundaries set by the First Ones, separating the kingdoms for centuries, now ceased to exist.
Nash motioned for the soldiers, nearly fifty in total, to follow him across the river toward the maze. Several men glanced at one another with skeptical expressions, but everyone trailed him without argument. Rex and Grant agreed to bring up the rear, ready to fight anyone who might follow them.
Once each man made it safely across the river onto Ethereal land, Nash led them to the bushes that marked the start of Clovis’ maze. As he t
urned the corner, he smashed into someone. Nash let out a startled shout and stumbled back, trying to right himself.
“What the!” he bellowed.
“Nash?” A soft female voice, one he’d know anywhere, added to the shock.
His mother and sister stood before him, dirty and gaunt, but alive. Elated, Nash sprang forward and wrapped them both in a hug. They stunk in a way he couldn’t describe, but he’d never been so happy to see them in all his life.
“Nashie.” Vespa giggled with glee, muffled by the shirt.
“Nashie? You haven’t called me that since you were seven.”
His mother took his hand. Her mournful look made him dizzy with fearful anticipation. “Something’s happened, Nash.” His heart stilled, stopped in place by her grave tone.
“Wait, how did you get out of jail?” Nash interrupted his mother, delaying her revelation just a little longer so could regain his breath. Had she killed Jesper to get away? The vengeful part of him hoped so.
“Your fa…Jesper let me go.” She sounded as surprised as he felt.
“Then who are they?” Nash pointed in the direction of the gallows, now hidden by the maze’s layered walls.
“They are criminals Jesper already sentenced to death a while ago. He just dressed them up in mine and Vespa’s clothing and put sacks over their heads, hoping to pass them off as the disgraced queen and princess.”
“I’m just so glad you’re safe.” Overcome, he reached out and hugged them again. Vespa giggled like a child. “Wait, you said the princess…what does Vespa have to do with anything?”
The queen’s eyes watered. “That’s what I need to tell you, Nash. Jesper Altered your sister’s mind. She’s not herself.”
“What?”
“Sansolena?” Rex’s strangled cry interrupted their conversation.
The Vanguard king pushed his way through the soldiers. Sansolena peered around Nash, her face beaming with a radiance her son had never seen. Like one person, his father and mother stepped forward, closing the space between them, until they unified in an embrace. A lump formed at the base of his throat. They both looked…happy.