The Vine Eater (The Magic Eaters Trilogy Book 2)

by Carol Beth Anderson

  Nora pressed her lips together.

  “Say it!” he demanded, standing and stepping toward her.

  “Fine.” She stood and lifted her chin. “Eira doesn’t trust you. Neither do I.”

  Krey’s jaw muscles tightened. His chest swelled as he drew in a deep breath. “I’m the same person I always was. I did one thing wrong. One thing. I’ve followed every one of Eira’s rules. I wish she’d give me even a little bit of trust! I wish you would too, for that matter.”

  Nora looked to the side, muttering something under her breath. Krey wasn’t about to let this go, though. Nora had spent plenty of time in this room. But since that first day, when she’d yelled at him about how she couldn’t trust him, they’d both avoided talking about where they stood as friends.

  Krey wasn’t sure why he’d spent eight weeks not confronting her. He wasn’t exactly afraid of conflict. Sometimes a good fight was what you needed to clear the air. He missed their old friendship, the one that was both deep and easy. It was still easy, but it was shallow now. They were dancing on top of everything they weren’t saying.

  “Krey.” Nora cleared her throat; the word had come out as a croak. “Yes, you’re the same person you always were, but Eira doesn’t know who that is anymore. And you know what? Neither do I. I want to trust you, but I don’t know what else you aren’t telling me. Or what you’ll hide in the future.”

  Defensive words sprang to Krey’s tongue. He opened his mouth to spew every one of them . . . then closed it. Something told him he needed to be really careful here, or he’d screw things up. More than he already had. Though his muscles were still tight, he unfolded his arms. Once he’d taken a few deep breaths, he felt capable of speaking without making an ass of himself. Nora watched him the whole time, her brows furrowing.

  “Listen,” he said at last, “you’re my friend.” He turned to Ovrun, who was now standing behind Nora. “You too. Between the two of you and Zeisha”—he turned and, finding her awake, gave her a sad half-smile—“well, besides my aunts, you’re the three people in this world I trust the most.”

  He spread his arms wide and said words he’d been wanting to say for some time now. He wasn’t sure what had stopped him. “From now on, no more lies. I’m serious.” His gaze locked on Nora, and his breaths came quicker. Okay, maybe not all the anger is gone. “But I haven’t forgotten that I’m not the only one who lied.”

  Nora’s shoulders dropped. “Can we sit?”

  They all joined her on the floor.

  “I lied,” Nora said softly, “because I was scared. I didn’t think you’d help me if I told you the truth. If I could go back and change it, I would. I’m sorry. To all of you.”

  Ovrun took her hand. Zeisha murmured words of acceptance.

  Krey found her eyes. “Thanks.” When she nodded, he said, “Ovrun and Nora, I didn’t tell you I was a brain eater because I didn’t want to lose your trust. Seems stupid now, since I ended up betraying you all. But that was it. Plus, I was embarrassed.” He spread his hands wide. “But you’ve all seen me at my worst now. Ask me all the stuff you’ve ever wanted to know about brain eating. I’ll tell you anything.”

  Nora leaned toward Krey, biting her lip. Unspoken questions danced in her eyes.

  “Just ask,” he said softly.

  She swallowed. “Is there any hope for my father?”

  All at once, she seemed different. Younger. It wasn’t just her soft voice; it was her eyes, wide and vulnerable. Krey didn’t look away from her, though he knew his words wouldn’t be what she wanted to hear. “I don’t know, Nora.”

  Gone was her girlish hope. Her brows drew together, and she thrust both hands out. “What do you mean, you don’t know? You’re the expert! Just tell me the truth!”

  He didn’t rise to her bait. “I am telling the truth. I don’t even know how long it took the guy next door to go past the point of no return. And I certainly don’t know how long it would take your father.

  “He’s been doing this for years. That shouldn’t be possible. But we all know his magic is different somehow. He’s way more powerful than he should be.” Krey shook his head. “Nora, maybe he can still recover. But you told me you talked to him when we were at the palace. If there’s any chance of him changing, he has to want it. And he clearly doesn’t.”

  Nora’s jaw clenched as she drew in a loud breath through her nose and blew it out. “What are you saying, Krey?”

  “I’m saying I hope he recovers . . . but you should start thinking about taking him down.”

  “I’m not giving up on him!” she snapped.

  “I’m not saying you should.”

  Nora sat up straight, pulling her eyes away from his. She swallowed. “Okay, another question. Why did you tell me you’d fly me to the palace?”

  Krey sighed. As hard as it was to talk to Nora about her father, it beat talking about himself. “I just . . . I wanted to stop you from doing something stupid. And then . . .” He ran his hand through his thick, shaggy hair. “Once my plan was in place, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want anyone to stop me.” He lowered his head. “The cravings, they came back so fast. I wanted to . . . to taste it again. I wanted to . . . control people.” He looked up, trying to read his friends’ reactions.

  “Do you still want all that?” Ovrun asked.

  “Yeah. But not as much as I want to be free of it. And all of you—I don’t want to control you. I’m telling the truth, okay? You’re too important to me. I . . . I broke my parents’ trust when I controlled them. Even when I imagine controlling people, it’s never any of you.”

  “So you still imagine it?” Zeisha asked softly.

  He took her hand and didn’t shy away from her gentle gaze. “I try not to, but . . . it’s been less than two months. I still want it, Zei. I don’t want to want it, but I do.”

  Ovrun said, “If you can’t stop thinking about it, tell one of us. If you admit it when it’s just a thought, maybe it’ll never be more than a thought again.”

  Krey groaned, his shoulders drooping. If there was only a way for all of them to forget this. But there’s not. So deal with it. “This is gonna suck,” he said. “But yeah—yeah, I can do that. When I can’t get it out of my head, I’ll tell you.”

  Nora rested a hand on his knee. “And we won’t judge you.”

  He gave her a little smirk. “You sure?”

  Her lips twitched. “Well, maybe I’ll judge a little, but I’ll hide it really well.”

  Krey laughed—a real, chest-shaking laugh. It felt good.

  The door opened. Eira stood there, holding a bag and a large basket. Her white braids dripped rainwater. Despite being soaked, she looked somehow regal. “Nora and Ovrun, shall we go?”

  They all stood. “I’d like Krey to come,” Nora said. “Zeisha too, if she wants to.”

  Eira didn’t respond, other than a slightly tilted head.

  “Krey should be in on our plans,” Nora said. “We can trust him.”

  Those four words pierced Krey’s chest, then traveled to his throat. He swallowed to prevent himself from crying. Eira might not take him along if she thought he was weak.

  Eira fixed her gaze on him for an uncomfortably long time, and he knew his attempt at hiding his emotions had failed. At last, she gave a slight nod. “Very well. Come along.”

  Nora felt a new sense of lightness as she followed Eira to Elo Golsch’s room. Yes, Krey still craved brains; her father was ruining their nation; and she was about to meet with a spy who had uncertain loyalties.

  But her friendship with Krey was back on solid footing. Until this moment, she hadn’t let herself admit how much she’d missed that.

  Eira gestured for a guard to unlock Golsch’s door. Nora wiped the smile off her face. Time to act like a princess.

  Golsch was standing by the window. His hair, which had been very short upon his arrest, now stuck out straight in all directions. His lips were curved in a tight, tentative smile.

 
Nora stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Elo, it’s good to see you again.”

  “Your Royal Highness.” Rather than shaking her hand, Golsch bent both arms, holding his hands straight in front of him, and lowered his head briefly.

  Nora almost laughed. “You know you don’t need to bow. Or call me that.” And I know you’ll do it again, no matter what I say.

  Eira took the room’s single chair, while everyone else sat in a circle on the floor. Zeisha distributed food, not giving any to herself or Krey, since they’d been last-minute additions to the meeting. “We’ll grab lunch after this,” she said.

  Nora ate her sandwich, chatting easily with Golsch. Even after several meetings, she was surprised he had anything but contempt for her. After she’d screamed at him and nearly punched him the first time they met, she figured she’d ruined any chance of connecting with him, one Cellerinian to another.

  A month ago, Eira had told Nora that Golsch didn’t seem interested in talking any longer. Nora had offered to try speaking with him again, though she’d doubted it would help.

  Golsch had seemed genuinely touched when the Princess of Cellerin apologized—again—to him. After begging her forgiveness for the sarcastic words he’d spoken to her, he talked to her like he’d known her for years. Her position as a Cellerinian royal instilled trust in him. Beyond that, she was his connection to home.

  Eira asked Nora to continue meeting with Golsch. Over the last month, he’d opened up about his army experiences. He’d listened with genuine concern when Nora told him about her father’s faltering leadership. Yesterday, Nora and Eira had agreed it was time to ask for his help. They both thought he’d react better if Nora led the discussion.

  After a casual lunch with no topics more serious than the weather, Nora rested her elbows on her crossed legs and leaned forward. “Elo, you and I have discussed our concerns over what’s happening to our nation. As you know, I’m trying to turn things around. Our first step is to ensure that the trogs remain free. From there, we can tackle other issues, like the army’s occupation of New Therro.”

  He nodded. “We should all be free, Your Highness.”

  Nora locked her eyes with his. “We could use someone on the inside to help make that happen.”

  He sat up straight, swallowing hard. “You want me to turn against Cellerin.”

  “No, Elo. I want you to fight for Cellerin.”

  After a long pause, he asked, “What . . . what would that involve?”

  Eira opened the bag at her feet and handed Nora a stack of papers from it.

  Nora held up the papers. “These are diagrams of the Derogan Extrain tunnels.” Seeing Golsch’s blank stare, she described the old method of transportation. “Last time the army came,” she said, “the trogs hid in these tunnels. We want you to tell the military leaders you stole these papers.”

  While the diagrams she was giving him were real, they didn’t show the trogs’ current Extrain access points, nor the tunnels they used. This was worthless information, and Golsch probably suspected that. What he did with these papers would show where his loyalties lay.

  “When you give this to them, it’ll build trust,” Nora said. “Then you can gather information to help us defend the city.” And we’ll hope like hell my father doesn’t have time to interrogate you, she added silently. At least Golsch didn’t have any information of real value, except that Nora lived with the trogs—and the king already suspected that.

  “How would I communicate with you?”

  “Someone will be in touch,” Nora replied. Hatlin and his people would help with that part of the strategy if they got that far.

  Golsch picked up a piece of fruit he’d left on his plate. Eyes lowered, he took a bite. The rain had finally stopped, and his chewing was the only sound in the room.

  Nora watched him, wishing she knew where he really stood. She wanted to tell him about the army uprising Hatlin, Wallis, and T were working on. A successful rebellion would force the army out of New Therro. Hopefully the chaos would also delay the army’s attack on Deroga.

  If Elo Golsch truly wanted to stand against the king, he could help facilitate the uprising from within the army. But Nora would leave it up to New Therro’s rebel leaders to determine if Golsch was trustworthy enough for such a position.

  Golsch ate the whole piece of fruit before he returned his attention to Nora. He held his hands out and bowed his head, then said, “I’ll do it, Your Highness. For Cellerin.”

  24

  I recently met an elderly couple who married young, at twenty-one. I’ve talked to other sixteen-year-olds about this, and none of us can imagine marrying in five years. Sure, we’ll fall in love, but marriage? We’ll be too busy living to think about that.

  -“Love Without Marriage” by Genta Ril

  The Derogan Chronicle, dated Cyon 12, 6293

  Ovrun helped clean up the rest of the lunch food, but he barely saw the sandwich crusts he was tossing back in Eira’s basket. His mind—and his eyes—kept drifting to Nora.

  He hadn’t said a word during the meeting. He’d been too busy watching the girl next to him. Once again, she’d gone into princess mode. And damn, she’d done well. Ovrun loved the take-charge confidence Nora put on as easily as a hat.

  Since their quiet fight in Krey’s room, Ovrun had spent way too much time considering Nora’s question. Could he become the person she needed him to be?

  Could he be a king?

  He’d always assumed the future king should be an amazing leader. An expert strategist. A shrewd negotiator. But Nora herself was developing all those qualities. Did she really need a king with strengths she already had? Maybe all she needed was a partner by her side, someone—

  Eira’s firm voice drew Ovrun’s attention back into the room. “Tonight,” she told Golsch, “you will leave when it is dark. You must act as if you are sneaking out, in case other spies are watching you.”

  “But nobody will stop me?” Golsch asked. “Even in the other clans’ territory?”

  “I will give you directions to avoid them. They know to ignore you if they see you.” Eira turned to the teens who’d joined her in the meeting. “You may go. I will talk to Elo alone.”

  In the hallway, Zeisha said, “Krey and I need to eat. Want to meet back in his room later?”

  “Sure,” Nora said.

  Ovrun slipped his hand in hers, and they left the prison house. The rain had finally stopped. They strolled down the street, breathing in the fresh, damp air. “You were amazing in there,” he said.

  “All I did was talk to him.”

  “That’s not all you did. You put him at ease, and he responded to that.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you think he’s really on our side?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why we didn’t tell him about the New Therroan uprising.” She shrugged. “If he’s on our side, he’ll be a spy for us. If he’s not, he can tell his leaders every detail of his experience here. All the ways the trogs tortured him, like giving him a comfortable bed, blankets, and plenty of food.”

  Ovrun laughed. “Good point.” They turned a corner. He halted, pulling Nora close. When she slid her hands over his shoulders and smiled up at him, he surrendered to a plan he’d been considering for weeks now. “There’s somewhere I’ve been wanting to take you.”

  “Oh? Where?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  He led her through Star Clan territory. When they left the inhabited portion of the city, Nora said, “We’ve hunted over here. You know I’m not gonna scope out shimshim dens on my day off, right?”

  “I promise I won’t even say the word shimshim.”

  “You just said it.”

  “What, shimshim?”

  She let out a half-groan, half-laugh. “Lead on.”

  He draped his arm around her shoulder. She responded by sliding her hand around his waist. By the sky, she fit him so well. Could there be a better feeling than holding her close to his side like this?

  Yeah
, idiot, there could be way better feelings. A quiet laugh shook his chest.

  Nora looked up again. “What?”

  “Nothing. You’re just the best.”

  One dark eyebrow lifted. “And that’s funny?”

  “No, I was just—thinking about things that’ll get us in trouble.”

  “Oh.” She gave him a flirtatious smile. “I like getting in trouble.”

  “Believe me, I know.”

  With the mood they were both in, it might not be the best time to take her to the place he’d found, but Ovrun couldn’t make himself turn around.

  After several minutes of comfortable silence, Ovrun led Nora into a green, overgrown area. “We passed this place when we were hunting last week,” he said. “It reminded me—”

  “Of the first place we kissed.” Nora’s voice was soft.

  He looked down and found her smiling in a way that made him melt. “Yeah,” he said. He led her to a large tree. Rainwater dripped from its lush fronds. They took off their jackets and laid them on the damp ground.

  “You”—Nora sat, pulling him down next to her—“you, you’re so . . .” She completed the thought with a kiss that left him breathless.

  “Glad you like this place,” he whispered in her ear.

  She laughed and moved as if to kiss him again, but he lifted his finger and put it on her lips.

  Nora grinned, opened her mouth, and bit his finger. A raindrop plopped on her nose, and they both laughed.

  Taking one of her hands, Ovrun slowly wove their fingers together. “I didn’t just come here to relive our first kiss.”

  “No? You had more in mind?” She leaned forward. The fingers of her free hand trailed down his neck, then his chest.

  He captured her hand. “Yeah, but not in the way you’re thinking.” His heart pounded, and not just from the excitement of her touch. I didn’t expect to be this nervous. When her eyes lifted to meet his, he licked his lips and spoke again. “Nora, I need to tell you something.”