She grimaced. “Yeah. I am.”
“Why don’t you two get ready and meet me in my rooms in an hour or so? Sagie, can you have Zwaantie wear the purple and green dress of yours?” Ari asked.
“Why, so she can impress Piscus?” She snorted.
Ari shook his head. “No, but there is someone she’ll want to impress. I can’t elaborate right now. Just meet me in my rooms.”
Chapter 18
The Slave
Sage, still half asleep, took Zwaantie’s hand and led her to her rooms.
“What’s all the fuss about?” Sage asked.
“They found vipers in my room.”
Sage’s eyes bugged out. “Vipers?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s too early for me to process that. Did you really say vipers?” Sage rubbed her forehead.
“Yes. If I’d slept in my room, I’d be dead.”
Sage disappeared into her closet and came back out.
“Here put this on.” She shoved a bright purple dress into Zwaantie’s hands and wrapped her arms around Zwaantie and squeezed tight. “I’m glad you slept with me last night.” Then she let go. Her hair was mussed, and she looked like she was about ready to fall over. Obviously not a morning person. Just like Zwaantie.
Zwaantie took the dress into the bathroom and shimmied it on. It was tight and short. But it sparkled in the light, and sometimes it would look green instead of purple. She would never get away with stuff like this at home.
Her hair was all knots and tangles. She ran her fingers through it, and they got stuck. She’d never even done her own hair before and didn’t know how to fix it. She was jittery from the viper experience. She had no idea what Ari wanted with her, but this seemed like too much. Zwaantie needed Luna to fix it and calm her nerves.
“Sage,” Zwaantie asked, coming back into the room. “Do you know where Luna is?”
But Sage was zonked out on the bed again. Zwaantie opened the door and peeked out, hoping to find a servant. Instead she found Luna, giggling with Viggo as she passed the room.
“Luna,” Zwaantie called.
She turned, surprised.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Luna said and gave Zwaantie a big hug. Zwaantie returned the hug, surprised by Luna’s statement. She’d been avoiding her.
“Can you fix my hair?” Zwaantie tried not to whine. She didn’t want to bring up the vipers and ruin Luna’s mood.
Luna frowned. “I’m not your slave anymore. But come with us. Viggo’s going to introduce me to the beauty mages. They can do your hair for you.”
Zwaantie sighed and followed her. She wasn’t in the mood to be primped over, but Sage wouldn’t be any help at this hour.
The beauty mages were located on the second floor. They were waif thin and absolutely in love with Viggo.
“Your hair,” one said to Zwaantie. “How did it get so long? And thick. My hair would never look like this even with magic. I’m so jealous.”
She ran her fingers through Zwaantie’s hair, and it smoothed instantly. The knots gone. It would have taken Luna a half hour to get the same results. Speaking of which, she sat in a chair next to Zwaantie, all smiles.
“How did we ever do without magic? I don’t think I’m ever going home.”
“What about Pieter?” Zwaantie asked.
“He’ll come here. We’ll find a way. It’ll be easy once you’re queen.”
Zwaantie nodded, not wanting to think of anything that would happen after she became queen.
Fifteen minutes later, Zwaantie was done. Her hair hung in ringlets down to her waist, and the top ringlets were colored a dark purple. Zwaantie’s face was painted and her eyelashes elongated. Her own parents wouldn’t recognize her.
Ari swooped into the room.
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
He pulled her up out of the chair and surveyed her.
“You look hot. Though I think I prefer you in longer dresses. This is perfect for right now, though. Come on.”
Ari held Zwaantie’s hand as he led her out of the room. She almost pulled away. Holding hands meant nothing in Stella. To her, though, it felt like more, and she wasn’t sure how to handle that.
Ari jabbered as they walked.
“If anything makes you uncomfortable, you need to tell me right away, and I’ll get rid of the prick. But he was a lot easier to find than I thought he would be.”
“What are you talking about?” Zwaantie asked.
“I’ll show you.” He opened the door to his room and pulled Zwaantie in. Seated in a chair across from the fireplace was Phoenix. He seemed utterly relaxed and hadn’t looked her way yet. He wore lose fitting pants like most of the men in Stella and a black vest. He’d never looked more handsome.
He wouldn’t look toward her. She knelt in front of him, ignoring the way her dress tugged and bunched. She grasped his hands and sought his eyes.
“Phoenix,” Zwaantie said.
He jerked his hands out of hers and snarled.
“Get away from me.” His eyes narrowed, and his mouth twisted. He looked horrid.
She stood up and backed away, stunned. Ari caught her as she started to stumble.
Phoenix spoke again, his voice full of anger. “I didn’t want to see her. Don’t you people get that?”
Tears pricked at Zwaantie’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “Why don’t you want to see me?”
He stood up and paced the room. Zwaantie kept her distance. She’d never seen him so agitated.
“Because, Zwaantie, I don’t want to be with you. I never did. The day those bands came off I realized my mind had never been mine. We speak of magic in Stella, but the magic in Sol is so much more sinister. You bewitched me to fall in love with you, to run away and leave my family and friends behind. And for what? So you’d have someone worship you every day? Have someone who kisses you whenever you ask? If I married you, I’d still be a slave, but to you, not Sol. No way in the darkness would I commit myself to such an awful prospect. You disgust me.”
He said the last words with such spite, such malice. Zwaantie fought to keep control in her voice as she answered him.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. But if you didn’t love me, you should have just told me instead of leading me on.”
“No!” he roared. He came after her and yelled right in her face. Ari made a move toward Phoenix, but Zwaantie placed a hand on his arm.
Phoenix’s face contorted as he continued to scream. She didn’t move, allowing him this anger. She still loved him, and he deserved the right to express his feelings. Even if she couldn’t figure out what he was talking about.
“You will not do this to me again. You forced me to love you with that stupid Voice. The Voice who told me to love you, to want you. And when I discovered what you did, I fled so I would never be bewitched again. How could you do this to me?”
His face relaxed, and his breathing slowed, but his eyes. They still promised murder, but when he looked at her, her heart burned. She still wanted him, and she wanted him to love her. She’d give up anything to be with him again.
She placed her hands on his cheeks.
“But I still love you, and I don’t understand.”
He eyes flashed with anger, and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. He had his hands around her neck, and her vision was going spotty. Zwaantie could see Phoenix’s angry face, and then everything went black.
Chapter 19
The Sister
“Zwaantie, say something.” Ari’s face swam into view over hers.
She blinked at him. She wasn’t sure she could talk.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, but the movement felt like her brain was sloshing around in her head.
“Can you sit up?”
She shook her head. More sloshing. Her brain raced through what happened. Phoenix. Why had he tried to kill her? What was wrong with him?
“You hit your head pretty hard w
hen you went down. I tried to catch you, but I was busy making sure Phoenix didn’t kill you. I’m sorry. I had no idea he’d do that.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about what had happened.
“You didn’t know. My head hurts.” She was terrified by what she saw in Phoenix’s eyes and what he did.
Footsteps reverberated on the floor.
Ari barked instructions to the men around him. For some reason his words didn’t make sense. They sounded odd and foreign. Zwaantie’s eyes would flash open and shut on their own. The room was bright, then dark. Then an odd shade of blue. Nothing made sense.
“Zwaantie, look at me.”
She focused on the face above her. His eyes were gray and beautiful. He smiled.
“The healer will be here soon. How can I help until he gets here?”
“Dunno,” she muttered. “Everything looks funny.” She couldn’t keep her eyes open.
“Well, you nearly suffocated.”
Something bumped her arm, and she looked up. Another man knelt next to her. He had a kind face and bright red clothes.
“What hurts the worst?” he asked.
“My head. It’s sloshy.” Her words came out slurred.
“You hit your head when you fell. Here drink this.”
He tipped a bottle in her mouth that tasted like blueberries and walnuts. Instantly, the sloshing in her head vanished, and her mind cleared. Stellan medicine was amazing. She sat up slowly, expecting the pain to return, but it didn’t.
“That’s much better. Thank you.”
The healer smiled.
“Sounds like you got lucky. You could’ve died.”
Ari held out his hand and helped her stand up. “What the hell was he thinking? He tried to kill you. Has he ever been violent before?”
Zwaantie shook her head. The tears came without warning. She loved Phoenix, desperately, and he hated her. Enough to want to kill her.
What had she ever done to deserve such hatred? Was she really that unlovable that he had to pretend like he was bewitched into loving her?
Through her tears she saw the healer rummaging in his pockets.
“Here, take this too. It will make you feel better.”
She drank it without thinking. She wanted her internal pain to go away. The potion tasted of watermelon, chili peppers, and chocolate. It was such a strange combination. But her insides warmed, and she forgot about being unlovable.
The healer left, and she and Ari sat down on a couch.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would behave that way. I knew you wanted answers, but probably not those.”
She leaned against the squishy cushions. “I don’t understand what he meant. I never bewitched him. Why did he say those things?” Not that Ari would have answers. She just needed to talk, and he was there.
“Your guess is as good as mine. But there have always been rumors about the magic in Sol.”
“We don’t have magic in Sol.”
“It’s supposed to be psychological. Mind control. Phoenix spoke of a voice. Did you ever have a voice in your head telling you what to do?”
She sat up. “Of course. Everyone knows about the Voice.” Oh Sol, could Phoenix hear the Voice as well? Maybe it was telling him to kill her. Poor Phoenix.
“What are you talking about?” Ari asked, and Zwaantie startled.
“The Voice of Sol. It makes sure we don’t do bad things. It comes from God.” She rattled it off without thinking. It was what she’d been taught from a child, but maybe she was wrong about the Voice. She’d certainly had doubts in Sol.
Ari shook his head. “I doubt that. You probably have some pretty strong mages you aren’t aware of. If I were about to take over as the ruler of my kingdom, I’d want to know who was controlling the Voice.”
“Sol is God of the Sun. His Voice is a good thing.” Even as she said the words, she wasn’t sure she believed them anymore. She didn’t want to think badly about the Voice, but being in Stella had her confused.
Ari’s eyes sparkled as he leaned forward. “You’re telling me you like it better there than you do here?”
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. What I don’t understand is why the Voice told Phoenix to love me.”
“Maybe it was something else. Could someone impersonate the Voice?”
Zwaantie rubbed her head. “I don’t know. I really can’t think about this. It’s too much.” She actually liked his explanation better. If someone was pretending to be the Voice, could it have started in Sol? And if it had, then how did the real Voice let it happen? No, it made more sense that the Voice wanted her dead. Her headache was coming back.
“I still have to go home after I marry Leo. I’ll be queen.” Where the Voice would likely try to kill her. Maybe she was trapped in Stella forever. She didn’t want to abandon her kingdom.
“You’ll be able to come back here to visit.” Ari shifted on the couch so he was sitting right next to her. “You want to watch a movie?”
“What’s that?” Zwaantie asked, grateful for the change in subject. She needed time to process what had happened and maybe even enlist some help in figuring out how to handle the Voice, but for now, she didn’t want to think about anything.
Ari gave her a grimace. “No movies? I’m never going to Sol. Do you understand? You come here to visit, but I am not setting foot on that soil.”
“No, I’m sorry. I have no idea what they are.”
“Well, I know what we are going to do for the rest of the day.” He took out his disc and spoke into it. “Sage, get over here. We’re going to watch movies with Zwaantie.”
Sage’s voice floated out, groggy with sleep. “Okay, give me a few.”
“What kind of stories do you like?”
“Love stories.” Those had been her favorite books, but she liked adventure as well.
Zwaantie giggled at the expression on Ari’s face.
“Then Sage should pick the movie. Love stories, really?”
Sage arrived and they watched three movies. The moving stories fascinated Zwaantie. She’d never seen anything like it before. She could stay there for days. She was so absorbed that she forgot about her problems. Near the end of the last one, someone pounded on the door. Ari answered.
“What have you done with my brother? Why is he in prison?” Luna shrieked from the doorway.
Zwaantie jumped up and raced for her.
“How did you know he was in prison?”
Luna held up her disc. A picture of Phoenix floated there. Guards hauled him away. The words next to the picture read, “Former Solite slave arrested and sent to prison. No one will talk about why. Are they all dangerous?”
Ari inserted himself in between Zwaantie and Luna, giving her a wary look. “Your brother tried to kill Zwaantie. We put him in prison so he cannot hurt her or anyone else.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” she shouted. “You let him out!”
Zwaantie pointed to her neck. “Look Luna.” She showed her the bruising. “He tried to strangle me. I don’t understand it any better than you do.”
She glared at the bruising. “Why would he do that?”
“He said I bewitched him. But I didn’t.”
“He must be out of his mind. He wouldn’t do that. Please let him out. Send him home if you have to, but don’t let him rot in prison.”
Ari stepped between them. “Let’s give it a couple of days. He’s fine right now. He’s being fed and has a bed to sleep in. Then I’ll talk to my father about deporting him.”
Luna seethed, and Zwaantie kept her mouth shut. She was pretty sure she wanted the same thing as Luna, but she was terrified of what would happen if he got out. If the Voice was telling him to kill her, Phoenix would just try again.
Luna spun.
“Wait,” Zwaantie called. But Luna stormed off without a glance. Viggo followed. Zwaantie wanted to chase after her, but suddenly she didn’t know her best friend. She’d become a differen
t person since they arrived in Stella. She’d been distant and more confident. Luna stood up for herself more, which Zwaantie was glad for, but it was as if she didn’t even want to be friends anymore.
Zwaantie had no idea what would become of Phoenix. Her thoughts and feelings were so mixed up. She wasn’t going to lie to herself. She still loved him. Part of her wanted to seek him out and see if he really loved her. Maybe he did. Sol, she was confused.
Another knock sounded on the door. Sage jumped up and pulled it open.
Leo strode in and pulled her into an embrace.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
This was the last thing she needed. Not only did she have to try to figure out what happened to Phoenix, but she also had to face Leo, another responsibility she didn’t want.
Chapter 20
The Reality
“We’ll let you guys have some peace,” Sage said, dragging Ari toward the door.
Leo kept his arm around her. Everything about it felt uncomfortable. She would never be happy with him.
“Wait, don’t leave. Zwaantie and I will go to my rooms. She hasn’t seen them yet.”
Zwaantie closed her eyes. She had no idea what he would expect of her. She couldn’t kiss him and pretend like everything was normal. Not today. Not when Phoenix had tried to kill her. She had to protect her heart today.
She opened her eyes and met Sage’s, who gave her a small smile.
“Why don’t you two join us for dinner in my rooms in an hour,” Leo said. “I’d like a briefing from both of you on what happened with the vipers. I’ve already met with Lyra, but I want to know what you think as well.”
One hour alone with him. She could do this. He dropped his arm and grabbed her hand. This she could handle. Leo pulled her out of the room and stopped in front of a door that was only four doors down from Ari’s.
The room was sleek and very Stellan with sharp lines and dark colors. The wall behind his bed was a large mural of a glowing City of Stars skyline. On the deep gray bed was Molly, sound asleep. She peeked an eye open when they walked in but didn’t move. Stars, Zwaantie was not going to sleep with a dog in her bed. She didn’t have to think about that until they were married, but she was sure she and Leo would have words about Molly. The cats were one thing, but the dog?
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