Golden

by Melissa de la Cruz

  He reached for her hand. “We’ll go together.”

  They turned to the portal, but the Queen stopped them, moving with unnatural speed to block their path. “She cannot pass,” said Nineveh, pointing at Nat. Her face was as cold as the words she had spoken. “She stays behind.”

  “Me?” asked Nat, not quite believing what she was hearing. She stared right at the Queen, but it was as if Nineveh did not see her; the Queen’s gaze pierced right through Nat. “But why?”

  The Queen addressed Wes, as if she were loath to speak directly to Nat. “She is not welcome in Vallonis.”

  Wes was right, Nat thought. Something is wrong with the Queen. Something is wrong—and a terrible thought occurred to her. What if the something that was wrong—was Nat herself? What did the Queen know? Why did she refuse her entrance?

  Nat looked at Wes, suddenly fearful, but the doubt in his eyes was completely gone now, replaced by a calm decisiveness. “I’m not leaving her,” he told the Queen. “She comes with me. She’s with us.”

  He tilted his chin at the Queen. “Move it.”

  Nineveh remained where she was, implacable, unruffled. “The girl stays behind.”

  “Wes . . . ,” said Nat hesitantly. “Maybe I should . . .”

  “I said, move,” Wes repeated, his hand still holding Nat’s. He squeezed it to assure her he wouldn’t leave her, but Nat wanted to tell him that maybe they were in the wrong. Maybe they should listen to Nineveh. If the Queen didn’t want her in Vallonis, there had to be a reason. Nat felt she had to do something, because Wes looked like he was going to throttle the Queen, no matter how powerful her magic might be.

  There were only the three of them left, and the ground shook from another explosion. “Look, this is no time to argue! Let us through!” She could hear the roar of the drones above, the sound of more tanks headed their way. When she arrived, Nineveh had pushed back the soldiers, she’d cleared a path for everyone to enter the portal, but now the soldiers had returned.

  “Move! I’m not leaving her!” Wes yelled. Nat knew what he was thinking. Their friends were already across the portal, and there was no other way out of the burning city. The clop of heavy boots striking concrete echoed all around them. A soldier shouted orders in the distance.

  “She is forbidden to enter,” Nineveh said.

  But I am the Protector of Vallonis, thought Nat.

  This time, the Queen looked directly at Nat, her ice-blue eyes boring into Nat’s green ones. Her voice was cold as the air around them. Colder. “Vallonis has no protector. Only a pretender.”

  The words stung and found their mark. Nat stared at the Queen in disbelief. But in an instant, she understood why she was cast out. She saw the grief on the Queen’s face. It hung there, heavy and motionless, like a death mask. She might as well have been carved of ceremonial clay.

  Of course. A death mask. That’s exactly what it is. It’s Faix.

  Nat had brought death to Faix, the Queen’s consort. She blamed Nat for his death. The loss had crushed Nat herself, leaving her empty and lost. She could only imagine what it had been like for the Queen.

  “Go,” Nat told Wes, pulling him aside to beseech him to save himself at least. “Leave me. I don’t belong there. I know why she doesn’t want me. Because of Faix, because Faix is dead, and it’s all my fault.”

  “No! I’m not going without you. Never.” He tightened his grip on her hand. There were soldiers in the street, coming closer. “What happened to Faix wasn’t your fault. He knew the risks, he knew what Eliza had become, and he went to her freely. Faix gave his life for yours. He wouldn’t want this.”

  “Let him go,” said the Queen, her cold gaze resting upon Nat once more.

  Nat winced as she heard the Queen’s cold voice in her head.

  Let the boy go.

  You will kill them all.

  You will bring death to everyone around you, death to all whom you love.

  If you stay with him, you will destroy him.

  Nat squeezed her eyes shut, but she couldn’t keep from hearing the truth in Nineveh’s words. She was no protector. She couldn’t protect her friends. She couldn’t save Faix, couldn’t do anything while Farouk was decimated right in front of her.

  How many more would die from her mistakes?

  Nat pulled her hand away from Wes’s and moved away from the portal. “You should go. The crew—they need you. I can take care of myself, you know I can. Don’t worry about me. I’ll meet you on the other side.” But the other side of what? How would Wes find her? She knew that the odds were against her, that without her drakon and their crew she would never make it out of New Kandy and that she would never see him again.

  She also knew she couldn’t let him stay.

  A soldier’s voice shot through the air. “You there, you three. Put your hands up.” Someone was telling them to surrender. It was time to make a decision, to stay or to go.

  If he stayed here with her, he’d die, too—and that would be worse than her own death. Seeing him almost die in her arms today had only made her more certain. He had to go.

  And she had to say something to make him move. “I’ll find you, I swear I will.”

  8

  IF NAT THOUGHT WES WOULD BE ABLE TO leave while she remained in this burning city, she didn’t understand him at all. She wouldn’t have a chance without him—and he wouldn’t have a life, without her. He wouldn’t even bother trying.

  As if to better make the point, a whole battalion crashed into the alley, guns blazing. The soldier who told them to put down their hands just shook his head. He’d tried to get them to surrender. Now they’d have to fight.

  When Nat had pulled away, Wes had been taken aback by her actions. For a moment he thought it meant Nat had found a reason to slip away from him, to leave him again, because for an awful second he thought that maybe she’d changed her mind about him.

  But now he realized she was leaving him because she loved him too much. She would sacrifice her safety for his, no matter what it cost.

  His heart swelled and he wanted to tell her there was no need for such a terrible sacrifice. They would be together, always. He had sworn an oath to her.

  Nat was slowly backing away, and Wes knew if he didn’t act quickly, she would soon disappear into the smoky, destroyed city.

  I’ll meet you on the other side? I’ll find you? What kind of crap promise was that?

  They were together now, and nothing would separate them. Wes glared at the Queen, at the person who had stolen his sister and who was threatening his dearest love. He glared at the soldiers who surrounded them. “I don’t care whether Vallonis wants her or not, I do, and she’s coming with me.” Without warning, he grabbed Nat’s hand, pulling her back to his side, while at the same time he flung his body forward, meaning to jump through the portal.

  But something barred his way. A spell, some kind of magical barrier, blocked the entrance. He should have known there was no forcing their way past this door.

  Wish I had the same luck keeping the White Lady out of my head.

  To make things worse, a bullet shattered against the barrier, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

  “The pretender is not welcome in Vallonis,” Nineveh repeated calmly, as bullets began to rain upon them. “I will not allow it.”

  Wes put a finger in the lady’s face. “Let us through this door or it’s your death as well, Queenie.”

  Nineveh stared him down, impassive.

  He didn’t care. “In fact, I’ll make sure that all we all die here. Whatever you want from me, I’m no use to you dead.”

  “Is that so?” The Queen remained expressionless. “But you have already proven useful.”

  She did not appear to be moved by his threat—or by the bullets that whizzed in the air or the soldiers that filled the streets around where they stoo
d. Her face was as cool as white marble. There was no sweat on her brow, and not a trace of fear in her eyes.

  It’s like she’s not real, Wes thought. Like she’s untouchable. She reminded him of someone he knew, and the nagging feeling of doubt returned.

  Nineveh’s long hair fluttered in the wind as a hail of bullets hurtled through the air, then broke upon some sort of magic aura that seemed to protect every bit of her pale skin. The shells burst and shattered in the air around her, leaving her unscathed. Her magic was keeping the soldiers at bay.

  “Wes, please—it’s all right,” said Nat, tears in her voice. “You have to go. Please, or you’ll die here.”

  “I’ve already died twice before,” he said, smiling down at her. “Somehow I’m not worried.”

  Nat flushed. “I can’t fix this one. Listen to her.”

  “I am, but I don’t like what she’s saying.”

  As if to prove his point, the Queen spoke again. “The pretender belongs to the gray world,” she commanded, her face placid. “She stays here.”

  “To hell with that,” said Wes, “and you know what? To hell with you too. Ice it.”

  The Queen blinked. She faltered only for a moment, but Wes saw the façade slip, ever so slightly.

  So I can rattle you, he thought. It gave him an idea. A simple one, but an idea, nonetheless. He was still weak from the first time he’d used his power, weak from his many wounds, but he didn’t care. If one façade could drop, perhaps another could.

  Either way, he had to try. It was time to go, it was time to put a stop to this nonsense. Even as he thought the words, a bullet whizzed past his nose, and another grazed his shoulder, drawing a line of blood.

  We’re running out of time.

  “I’ll find another way,” said Nat. “Please, Wes. Just go.”

  “No, this is the only way.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it, wondering as he did so whether they would ever survive the day, whether they would survive to live their lives together. He had so many plans for them. So many dreams he hadn’t even begun to share.

  Then he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her tight, pulling her closer to him, so that she couldn’t run away again.

  Nat whispered in his ear so softly he had to strain to listen. “You heard what the Queen said. She doesn’t want me. I don’t belong in Vallonis.” Her voice was so soft and defeated.

  “It doesn’t matter, because you belong with me,” he said, nuzzling her so that she leaned into him, and he could rest his chin on her head. They fit so well together he wished he had more time to enjoy it.

  The Queen regarded them thoughtfully, but appeared unmoved as before.

  Wes moved his lips to Nat’s ear. “On my count—one—two—”

  “Wes—wait—what are you doing—” she whispered, agitated.

  “NOW!”

  Before Nat could protest, Wes tightened his grasp on her waist and rolled them both right into the portal, at once diving and falling and slipping past the Queen. They flew into the bright light of the doorway at full speed, and as Wes threw the whole weight of his body—and Nat’s—into the great bubble of nothingness in front of them, he turned the full force of his mind toward the barrier before the portal.

  He had used his magic to dispel Eliza’s illusions once. Could he use it on the Queen? Could he break whatever magic prevented them from entering the portal?

  Time to find out.

  As they fell, Wes focused on the invisible obstacle, tearing it to shreds with his mind. You are nothing—meaningless—weak.

  His power sent shock waves rippling through the air. The great and hazy doorway undulated, sending a stream of energy rippling in all directions. The Queen’s magic had not simply faltered—it was utterly destroyed. She was made of magic, and her spells were a part of her. To break the spell, he needed to break Nineveh. When her magic fell, when he struck down her spell, the Queen cried out, falling to her knees in a fit of anguished cries.

  I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but she gave me no choice. I couldn’t just leave Nat.

  The portal opened and the Queen collapsed, her entire body shaking. She looked up at Wes in confusion. Was this the first time she’d met someone who could match her strength?

  Maybe. She flashed him a look of shock, then recovered as her lips curled into a snarl.

  Wes ignored her, tightening his hold around Nat as they fell through the doorway and dropped, spinning into the light beyond.

  9

  SHE FELT HIS HAND SLIP AWAY FROM her waist as their bodies came apart at the force of his magic pulverizing the door. Wes! she cried, panicked and afraid to lose him again so soon. She had tried to hold on to him, but the strength of the magic was too much. Now she was alone, spinning, dropping, and racing toward oblivion. From oblivion to oblivion—from world to world—from gray to blue.

  Nobody else but Wes would have even dared to try to break into Vallonis like that. And not even Wes could have prepared her for how it would feel when they’d actually done it. The force of his power, the sensation of falling. The rage of a broken Queen behind them.

  As Nat felt the solid world drop out from beneath their feet, her panic was soon replaced by fearlessness and wonder.

  All around her was light, a million stars bursting into life, hurtling across space and time, the universe all around and the universe inside her; she was the universe. She was something out of nothing.

  Magic.

  And just as quickly as she had entered the infinite, she was already on the other side, having left one world and fallen into the other, back in the land she was sworn to protect. The clear-skied domain of Vallonis, the fabled Blue to which she had once fled, took shape in front of her, as if it were stitching itself together into reality from the air and light surrounding her.

  So beautiful, it made her heart ache, except her heart was already aching. In fact, it was pounding in her chest, her fear of what the Queen had told her ringing in her ears. You will bring death to everyone around you, death to all whom you love. If you stay with him, you will destroy him.

  What did that mean?

  When she was a captive at MacArthur, when she had been a prisoner of the RSA, she had also been their favorite weapon.

  A weapon of darkness.

  A vessel of rage.

  Nineveh was the Queen of Vallonis and she had rejected Nat. Vallonis has no protector, the Queen had said. Only a pretender.

  I’m a monster, she had told Wes once.

  Weapon. Monster. Pretender.

  What am I? Who am I truly?

  But then she had no time to think about it further, because the land had become real, the dust flying and the rock crumbling and the green growth springing beneath her toes.

  And then she was there. Here. Standing straight and tall, back in the land that she had sworn to defend.

  “Nat! Where are you?” She heard his voice before she saw him. Wes. She ran to him and flew into his arms.

  As impossible as it had once seemed, they had escaped the city of the White Temple. They were here, and they were saved.

  Nat blinked her eyes at the bright sun of the fabled land. Wes was by her side, shaking the melting snowflakes out of his hair, looking dazed but alive. He’d done it. She rested her head on his chest, listened to the steady beat of his heart.

  “Look,” he said.

  The rest of the team—down to every last one of the prisoners they had rescued—were not far away. Liannan was breathing deeply into a handful of honeysuckle. Shakes lay back in the solid dirt. Brendon tried to help Roark out of a tangle of brambles where he seemed to have fallen.

  The grass was soft under their feet, the air clean and fresh.

  It was too good to be true. She was home.

  Except it wasn’t much of a homecoming.

  “What have you
done?” a horrified voice called out from the meadow. From every direction they emerged, from behind rolling hills, from the dense groves of exotic trees, from the tangled crags that lay in the distance, from the sky, riding winged horses. The sylphs of Vallonis came with their golden hair glowing and their robes of deep green and silver, shining in the pale morning light. They came with their mouths gaping, eyes wide, staring up at the sky. “What have you done?” they asked again. There was shock in the voices, horror.

  “Nothing we could avoid,” Nat said.

  “We just took a fall,” Wes added.

  “No.” A violet-eyed elder shook his head and repeated the question, pointing upward. “What have you done?”

  They looked up.

  The portal had been ripped wide open. It was now a jagged black hole in the sky, extending all the way down to the earth—nearly as large and as wide as a tank that barreled through the woods, rolling over everything in its path.

  Exactly like a tank, in fact.

  Because Wes and Nat and the others hadn’t escaped the war. The war had followed them to the Blue. For years the RSA had sought a doorway into Vallonis, and now they had one.

  Soldiers blasted their guns, claiming victory. Above them, the horizon seethed with mechanical drones.

  Liannan screamed in horror.

  Wes cursed like the soldier he had been.

  “Nat, I swear—I didn’t know! I didn’t mean to—” he cried, his voice already hoarse.

  Nat stared at the sky, at the battle that was brewing above them. No, no, no, no. What have we done? Nineveh was right. I should have known. I should have realized what would happen. This is all my doing. The Queen was right. She was right about me.

  “Where is Nineveh?” the same sylph demanded.

  Nat shook her head miserably. “I don’t know. Didn’t she come through after we did?” But Nat knew she hadn’t. She had seen the Queen fall to her knees. It had taken all of Wes’s strength to break the Queen’s magic. There was no way he could have known what would happen next. He’d only tried to save her, to bring Nat with him, to save the one he loved. But to do that had taken all of his strength, and that power had torn the portal open, leaving it vulnerable to their enemies.