“It’s early morning now.” He offers me one of his crooked grins. “I’d say no, but she’d just come here.” He scans me carefully. “Want to go?”
I want to say ‘Sure, I’ll go,’ but my face muscles are so tired, it comes out as “Sue, ruff roh.”
Maxon chuckles. “You get some sleep, yeah?”
I want to hit him with a cute comeback. Doesn’t happen. For some reason, my mouth isn’t capable of speech. Even so, the moment is perfect and peaceful. I don’t know what our future holds, but like Maxon said, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try. I mumble something else that’s totally incoherent and Maxon kisses my head.
The last thing I remember is the click of the door closing as I fall asleep.
Maxon
I walk up to the fancy wooden doors to G’s formal reception chamber. A knight stands on either side of the entrance. Both wear golden armor. Before I have a chance to greet them or even knock, the door swings open.
“Maxon, my boy!” G kisses my cheek. She’s in her full-bore thrax Queen get-up today. Black velvet dress, tiara, the whole deal. She’s even gotten her gray hair braided into a fancy bun.
“You look great, G.”
“As do you.” Her mismatched eyes get all sparkly with excitement. “You wore your formals.”
“I was in the mood.” Normally, I never wear my princely get-up if I can avoid it. Today, I know G summoned me here to talk about Lianna. Feels like I’m respecting Lianna to get dressed up.
G fixes the guards with a look that could melt lead. “No interruptions, do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they say in unison. I swear they shake a little in their armor, too. G has that effect on people.
G ushers me inside. “Look who’s here!” she calls.
My parents shift on G’s elegant white couch. They both stare at me with bug eyes and open mouths.
“You’re on time,” says Mom.
“And wearing your formals,” adds Dad.
“That I am,” I say with a smile.
They exchange a long look, their eyebrows lifting in unison. I know that move. It means ‘oh ho ho, let’s hope Maxon’s got himself a girlfriend.’ They’ve been sharing this look since I was twelve. Usually, I spend a half hour telling them how they’re wrong. Not this time.
I give Mom a quick kiss hello. Dad gets his traditional man-hug. After that, I head straight to where G’s stashed all the food. I don’t know what she does, but I swear, she gets way better grub than the rest of us. I scoop up a plate and start digging in.
G hovers by the table’s end. “I suppose you’re wondering why I asked you here.”
“Not in particular,” I say. “You want news about Lianna.” I find some egg pancakes things that look pretty good. I grab seven.
“Only if you want to share,” says G. “We didn’t want to assume anything was going on.”
“Well, something’s going on.” I pile on more pancakes. Damn, they smell good. I have to hang out with G more often. “What do you want to know?”
G eyes me carefully. “You went cloud-side on some mission with Lianna. Did everything work out satisfactorily?”
“Yup. We got the Kristalli of Fire and Earth. They’re both in my safe.” I shoot her a sly look. “Like you didn’t know.”
“Well,” G pats down her perfectly patted-down hair. “Nizam may have mentioned something.”
Nizam this time? He’s joining my payback list, right next to Uther.
“How is she now?” asks Mom. “Zee said she was hurt.”
“She’s great. All healed up.” I flash Mom a big, toothy smile. “She’s in my room, sleeping.”
My family gasps. Loud. I never tell them shit about the girls I’m with. But Lianna isn’t just any girl. She’s perfect, she’s mine, and I want everyone to know it, including that weasel, Fisk. I plunk down on a nearby couch, set the plate onto my lap, and chow down.
G and my parents all take seats nearby. They stare at me like I’m a ghost or something.
“Come on,” I say. “It’s not like you didn’t see this coming.”
Mom sighs. “We hoped.”
Dad grins. “I’m happy for you, son.”
G stares at me for a long time. “You’re serious then?”
“Yup.”
“But… But…” G’s face gets all blank.
Dad chuckles. “Now this is something I’ve never seen before. I do believe you’ve rendered your Grandmother speechless.”
A rapid knock sounds at the door. G frowns. “I told them we didn’t want to be disturbed.” She gives the door another one of her angry glares. “They do this all the time.”
Mom stares at the door. “Sure we shouldn’t get it?”
“Absolutely not,” says G. “I don’t give orders to have them ignored.” She rounds on me. “And you need to be careful with your heart, my boy. You hardly know this girl.”
I set my empty plate aside. “Look, this might seem fast to you, but Lianna and I have had some pretty intense times. We’ve fought together. More than once. You get to know someone pretty quickly that way.”
G’s face softens. She’s a warrior. She gets how intense the battlefield is. You can know someone for years and still not see their soul until you fight side by side. Her approval makes a warm feeling seep through me.
G grins. “That’s good to hear, my boy.”
“Plus, she gets me in a way that no one else ever has.” I picture holding Lianna in my arms while telling her about my torture at the hands of Armageddon. My voice gets low and serious. “It’s good. We’re good. Really.”
Mom’s lower lip gets all trembly. This is a total Hallmark Card moment for her. “Maybe we should…” her voice breaks.
“… Talk about the ball that your grandmother is planning,” says Dad, finishing Mom’s thought for her. They do that a lot. Makes me wonder if Lianna and I will ever do that, too. Something in my chest gets all jittery. Finishing each other’s sentences. Yeah, that could be cool.
“Quite right,” says G. “We brought you over to discuss the details of Lianna’s big night.”
I lean back and kick my boots onto some kind of antique something. “Do whatever you think’d make Lianna happy. I’m up for anything.”
Before anyone can answer, a distinctive hum fills the air. I freeze. No question about it. A ghoul portal is opening.
G pinches the bridge of her nose. “If they sent Walker in here because I wouldn’t answer the door, then I’m about to be rather peeved.”
Rather peeved. That’s G-speak for someone getting their asses handed to them.
A black door-shaped hole forms in the middle of the reception chamber. Walker steps through in his long ghoul robes. The lines of his colorless face are drawn tight with worry. He rounds on me without saying hello.
“Why can’t I get into your chambers?” asks Walker.
“Why do you ask?”
Okay, I actually have a pretty good idea why he’s asking. He wants to get at Lianna. I’m in no mood to make things easier for him. The guy needs to keep his overly long hugs to a minimum.
“I must speak to Lianna. It’s urgent.”
“My chambers have about a hundred wards and hexes on them. You’re not getting in there without me.”
Walker rubs his hands over his brush-cut. The guy looks ready to explode. Could something really be wrong with Lianna? A million problems flicker through my head. She could be sick or cursed.
Mom asks the question that’s on all of our minds. “What’s wrong, Walker?”
“It’s Zephyr,” he says.
“Oh, him.” My shoulders relax. “Well, he can’t get to Lianna in Antrum.”
“He’s got his Air Valta out,” says Walker. “He’s given us an hour. He says that unless we hand over Lianna by then, he’ll cut off the air to Antrum.”
Everything turns surreal. Cut off the air to my people? Risk Lianna? This is like something out of my nightmares.
“Can he do that?” asks G.
“Yeah, he can,” I say. “Some of his junior people did it in a cavern that Lianna and I were in.”
Dad hops to his feet. “We can’t let word get out.”
“It’s already out,” says Walker. “People are in a panic.”
“Nonsense,” counters G. “Thrax won’t panic about some elemental riff-raff.”
I grit my teeth at the ‘elemental riff-raff’ crap. “Lianna’s a monarkki, G. If she were threatening us, I’d worry. You get me?”
“Maxon’s right,” adds Dad. “Zephyr’s a serious threat. Our people will never forget King Aethelwulf’s war. Antrum’s air got cut off and whole Houses died of asphyxiation. Antrum exists in a very delicate balance.” Dad turns to Mom. “We need to calm the people. Make sure they know we have everything under control.”
Mom nods. “I’ll send an igni display through the cities. That always works wonders.”
So does a laser light show. Not that I’ll say that to Mom. We have bigger fish to fry than starting yet another ‘igni versus lightning’ debate.
“Very well,” says G. “I’m convinced. I’ll set up a command center. We need couriers running in shifts between here to Purgatory. Cam and Xav always get news first.”
Cam and Xav. That’s what G calls my other grandparents. Everyone else calls them Madame President and First Archangel. G turns to me. “Are you coming?”
“No, I’m staying to talk to Walker.”
“Oh,” G’s face loses all color. “You’re leaving your people?”
Frustration twists up my neck. I know what this is really about. G has liked worrying about me having a girlfriend. That said, she’s not keen on my actually getting one. She and I have been close since I was a kid. Me settling down? It must feel like I’m leaving her.
Truth is, I am.
“I’m going after Lianna, G. Wherever it leads. End of story.” I’d add that helping Lianna helps everyone, but G isn’t in a logical mood.
“Come on, Mother.” Dad wraps his arm around G’s shoulder and leads her toward the door. “Let’s leave Maxon and Walker to their talk.”
Mom drops a quick kiss on my cheek. “Go kick ass and take names, baby.”
I smile. Mom’s the best. Within a few seconds, my parents and G are gone. I refocus on Walker.
“What’s got you worried?” I ask. “Tell me everything.”
Walker’s all-black eyes fix me with a bleak stare. “If Lianna thinks Zephyr’s after her, she’ll do what she always does. Run. She’ll find a new safe house, somewhere that she thinks won’t endanger you or your people.”
“But you always set those up for her. She wouldn’t leave without talking to you, would she?”
“I’m already getting a new place ready for her. The problem is Fisk.”
An electric sense of alarm charges through my brain. “What about that guy?”
“I keep in touch with some of the lesser Valta,” explains Walker. “I heard that Fisk feels terrible about what happened at the Water Palace.”
“Good. He should feel like shit.”
“Now he wants to make it up to her. I’m worried that he’ll jump the gun and get a message out to her before we can talk to her.”
“What he should do is get her crowned. Once Lianna is the monarkki, she’ll be connected to the power of her people. She’d have a better chance against Zephyr.”
“You think he’ll do that?” asks Walker.
“No,” I say. “The guy’s thinking with his dick.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think with my dick a lot; I would know. Fisk wants Lianna back and he isn’t thinking things through. He won’t try to get her crowned; he’ll try to get her alone. That means a safe house.”
Walker steps closer to me, his mouth thinning with worry. “And that’s what I’m afraid of. If Fisk tries to put her in a safe house, it won’t really be safe.”
I pace the room, my mind churning over this news. “Lianna’s not a prisoner here. She’s free to get messages or leave any time she wants.”
Memories flood my head. The feel of her liquid-soft body under mine. The scent of strawberries on her skin. The rush in my heart, knowing what we were sharing.
“She wouldn’t leave,” I say. “Not now.”
Walker fixes me with his all-black eyes. “There are a lot of confusing forces around Lianna right now. Are you willing to take that chance?”
Damn, he’s right. I need to get to her.
“Can you portal me to my front door?” I ask.
“You got it.” Walker closes his eyes, and a large black door re-opens before us. I stare into the darkness. My heart thumps so hard in my rib cage, it feels like it might crack.
Hell, maybe it could even break. And for good, this time.
Lianna
BAM, BAM, BAM!
I keep dreaming about sledgehammers in my sleep. When I finally open my eyes, I realize that the sledgehammers are real. Sort of. Someone’s pounding the hell out of Maxon’s front door. I rub my groggy eyes. I’m still in Maxon’s bed.
BAM, BAM, BAM!
“Maxon, is that you?”
BAM, BAM, BAM!
“Okay, not you.”
The sleepy haze in my brain starts to clear. Maxon went off to have breakfast with his grandmother. After he left, my goal was to sleep, not have my eardrums implode.
BAM, BAM, BAM!
Holy hell, that’s annoying. Time to make it go away. I sleepwalk out of bed, pull on one of Maxon’s robes, and shuffle to the front door. I grip the handle and pause.
“Who’s out there?”
“Royal courier. Open up, please.”
I blink hard. Royal courier? Whoever this is, they must not know that Maxon’s away. I’ll give them the update and go back to snoozing. Swinging the door open, I find a young man standing outside. He has a small face, red hair, loads of freckles, and ears that stick out sideways from his head.
“Royal courier.” He bows low. “My name is Pip.”
“Pip?” My sleepy hearing must be off.
“Yes, Pip.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
“I bring a message.”
“Maxon’s not here to take it,” I say through a yawn. “You’ll find him with the Queen Emeritus.”
Pip nervously shifts his weight from foot to foot. “No, the message is for you.”
My eyes narrow with suspicion. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s the other monarkki,” says Pip quickly. “Zephyr. He’s threatening to cut off our air unless we hand over some stones and…” He looks guiltily at his boots.
“And he wants you to hand me over, too.”
Pip nods.
A chill of worry crawls up my neck. Last night, the Air Valta sealed off the cavern, easy peasy. If I hadn’t left to get help, Maxon could’ve suffocated.
My limbs tremble with worry. Maxon will never hand the Kristalli over, let alone me. I can’t stay here and put his people in danger. And I can’t ask him to leave his homeland while it’s under threat.
“How’d you learn about this?” I ask.
“The news is all over Antrum,” explains Pip. “Everyone’s in a panic. Our environment is very delicate, Your Eminence. If Zephyr makes good on this threat, we won’t last long.”
My mouth thins to an angry line. This has gone far enough. I’ve lived in fear of Zephyr for years. I won’t allow him to terrify the thrax as well. “Is that what you came to tell me?”
“No, Your Eminence. I’ve another message for you. Telling you about Zephyr wasn’t part of my orders.” He shifts his weight from foot to foot. “It just slipped out. I hope you’re not angry.”
“I’m fine. In fact, I’m glad you told me.” I extend my hand, palm upwards. “Now give me your message and you can take off.”
Pip quickly sets the envelope in my hand and then races away like his life depended on it. Hell, with the threat from Zephyr, maybe it does.
I close the front door and tear open the message. The note is written in Fisk’s confident script.
Dearest Lianna, I’ve gotten news that Zephyr is attacking Antrum. It’s no longer a secure place for you. I’ve found you a new safe house. Let’s meet at Charybdis and discuss how to lead our realm safely away from Zephyr’s threat. I’ll bring the Kristalli of Water. There’s no time to lose; please meet me as soon as you can. —Fisk
I stare at the words. My insides coil with worry. Zephyr is attacking and Antrum’s at risk. Can I trust Fisk? I pace the room and sort through the facts. Fisk risked everything to save Maxon and me at Silas’s lair. Plus, Fisk trained me for years, placing his life on the line the entire time.
Maybe we’ve had issues, but any way I look at things, my final view is always the same: I can trust him.
And my role is to follow the elemental way. We hide from other creatures and care for nature. We don’t seal off realms and murder entire populations. As monarkki, my job is to prevent this threat; Maxon’s is to protect his people.
My gaze falls on the front door. I should go. Still, my soul screams that it’s wrong for me to leave.
Screw elemental roles and royal obligations. Maxon and I make a great team. We’ll figure this out together, right?
I turn toward the bedroom. Maybe I should just get back into bed. A quick nap can work wonders, not to mention buy time until Maxon returns. I take a few steps toward the bedroom door. From the outer hallway, a wave of worried chatter freezes me in my tracks.
“He’ll cut off our air,” says an older woman’s voice.
“I hear the Wastelands are already suffering,” answers another.
“We need to get to a Pulpitum. Run!”
An anxious shiver twists down my back. If I make the wrong call here, all these people could die.
It feels like ages pass as I stand in place, my mind locked between thoughts of the Kristalli and Maxon’s warm arms.
Crap. I have no idea what to do.
Maxon
I rush through the door to my chambers, my heart pounding up a storm in my chest. Walker’s right behind me. I wave at him over my shoulder.
“Wait here, all right?” I ask.
Maxon Page 17