“Good. You should.” Zwaantie rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking of the Voice in spite of trying to forget about it. They had to destroy him. “What are we going to do about Raaf?”
“I don’t know.” Sage’s eyes went wide with fear. “Zwaantie, I’ve never been so scared in my life. I’m pretty sure we can beat him if we get him out of his room, but there was so much power in there. Thousands of glowing orbs. It was such a strange sight.”
“What do you think the orbs were?” Zwaantie asked, trying to picture the room.
“Probably the source of the Voice. My guess is if we destroy those, the Voice goes away.”
“So maybe then we don’t have to kill Raaf.” She knew this was foolish, but she loved him.
“He’s been trying to kill you for months, and he killed Ari.”
Zwaantie rolled over onto her back. “I know. But he’s my brother.” She squeezed her eyes shut. She’d been so sure he was under the influence of the Voice that she was having trouble reconciling he was, in fact, responsible for Ari’s death.
Sage let out a breath. “I have an idea, but you aren’t going to like it.”
“What’s that?”
Sage hesitated. “We bring down the castle. The room is deep inside. He won’t survive and neither will the orbs.”
“I don’t care about the castle. We’ll have to evacuate it though.” It was actually a great idea. They could rebuild.
“We can’t evacuate.”
“What? Why?” That changed everything. She was fine with the castle, but not killing everyone else inside.
“Because the Voice will figure out what we’re doing, and then we’ll have dozens of people trying to kill us.”
“But we’ll kill everyone else inside.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t like it.” Sage’s face was so serious. Zwaantie wanted this to be over so she could have her carefree Sage back.
Zwaantie closed her eyes. They would kill dozens of people. Plus, she had no clue how they could take down an entire castle.
“I don’t like it. We can’t kill innocent people just to get rid of him.” She couldn’t believe Sage even proposed such an idea. Though, now that she knew Sage was Stella’s assassin, she shouldn’t be surprised.
“Dozens of people dead or thousands under his tyranny. Pick your poison,” Sage said matter-of-factly.
“I refuse to believe there isn’t another way.”
“There probably is a way to kill him, but we won’t get close enough to find out. We could lose dozens of people just attempting to kill him. We simply don’t have time. The longer we wait, the worse things get out there.”
Zwaantie wasn’t convinced. “I need time to think about this. How do you bring down an entire castle anyway?”
“A lot of magic, you wouldn’t understand the logistics. Since none of the spies have fallen, they can help. It will take several people.”
“I still need time to process this. I’m not going to okay this yet.”
“I know, but, Zwaantie, we don’t need your approval.”
How dare she. “Excuse me, I’m queen.”
“Leo is king. If he’s okay with it, we’ll move forward.”
Zwaantie clenched her jaw. “Leo and I will have words about that.”
They both grew quiet, lost in their own thoughts. If Zwaantie authorized bringing down the whole castle, she’d have the deaths of all the innocents inside on her head for the rest of her life. Would she be able to live with herself? Would she forgive Leo if he went ahead and did it without her permission?
She needed answers. Answers she would never receive without talking to Raaf. She didn’t want him dead. Not really. She just wanted him to stop controlling the country. He would pay for what he did to her and Ari, but there had been too much death already.
Chapter 26
The Allies
The next day three more people arrived on the island. Nerves settled in Zwaantie’s stomach. She never knew who wanted to kill her. Sure Leo said they were safe, but there was no real way to tell until they were around her.
Ajax and Lyra stepped off the boat first. A woman Zwaantie had never met threw her arms around Sage.
“Zwaantie, meet Titania, my mother,” Sage said.
She smiled, and Zwaantie instantly saw Sage in Titania’s face.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Zwaantie said.
“Likewise. I’ve heard so much about you, my queen.” She gave a small bow and followed Sage up to the castle. Zwaantie wondered how many people were hiding from the Voice. She hoped it was a lot.
Once inside, they gathered around the dining room table, with Leo at the head and Zwaantie next to him.
“Thank you for coming. You’ve all been briefed on the situation. We’re here to discuss how to take out the threat with minimal loss of life. We’d like to hear any and all ideas,” Leo said.
Sage stood up first and presented her idea to take down the castle.
“No,” Zwaantie argued. “Too many innocent people die. Find another way.”
“You’re right,” Lyra said. Zwaantie turned to her. She hadn’t expected Lyra to agree. “What about taking out only the room. We don’t have to be in the room to do that, just get close. A handful of mages could destroy the room from the hallway.”
“That would work, except the Voice has increased his guard after Sage’s failed attempt to assassinate him,” Titania said. “I’ve been in touch with a few of the spies we left there. The hallway into the king’s quarters has anywhere between eight and ten guards at any given time.”
“So murder the guards and take out the room,” Zwaantie said. There had to be a way to do this without killing so many people. A few guards would be a small price to pay.
“The spell takes time. If we do anything that draws attention to ourselves, we risk the Voice finding out and retaliating,” Sage said. “It’s much easier outside of the castle where we don’t risk detection.”
Zwaantie exhaled. This wasn’t going well.
“What about Raaf’s room? Surely there is a way in from there. He didn’t go near the king’s chambers every time he went to his room,” Leo said.
“There are guards as well. Not as many as by the king’s chambers, but they are there. Plus it might take too long to find the way to the room with the orbs from there. The entryway must be hidden from Raaf’s rooms,” Sage said. Zwaantie sat back and crossed her arms.
“Sage, you said the room was tall. Is there a window on the roof?” Ajax asked.
Sage squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. “I think so. It was hard to tell. Most of the castle roof is windows though, so it would be difficult to find.”
“But not impossible. We could use no magic, break the window, and send an arrow right into his head,” Ajax said.
“Possible,” Zwaantie said. “But that runs a lot of risk of discovery. Look what he did to Sage. If we open the roof, does that allow out more of his power?”
Lyra rubbed her forehead and frowned. “We don’t know. His power is unknown to us, so we have no idea how it will behave. We also can’t risk killing him and leaving the orbs intact. For all we know, if we kill him, someone else will take over and use the power. We need to kill the source. I would say that’s more important than killing Raaf himself.”
Which meant they had to destroy the room. Now Zwaantie understood why Sage told her ahead of time. This was the only viable plan. The others continued to bounce around ideas, each shot down for one reason or another. Eventually the table quieted.
“This leaves us with only one option,” Leo said.
“What?” Zwaantie asked, already knowing the answer.
“We have to take down the castle.”
Zwaantie closed her eyes. Part of her knew this was coming. But it still made her sick. She would live with those deaths for the rest of her life. She would never forget.
She stood, needing to get away from everyone. “If that is what yo
u think is best. I will have no part of this, but I will not stand in your way. Excuse me. I will be in my room while you finalize your plans.”
Zwaantie made it to her bathroom and threw up her lunch. So many people would die. This was wrong, but also, as Leo pointed out, it was the only option.
Chapter 27
The Walk
It was late when a soft knock came at her door. Zwaantie threw on a light robe and answered it, worrying that something bad had happened.
Leo stood there with a bottle of wine, two flutes, and a crooked grin. “Come for a walk with me.”
She let out a breath of relief and gave him a small smile. “Of course. Let me get dressed.”
She moved to shut the door, but he grabbed her wrist. “Don’t be silly. Who are we going to see? There are only seven of us on this island, and I can guarantee three of them are asleep.”
“What about the others?” Zwaantie asked.
“I heard Sage giggling in her room. I don’t expect she or Phoenix has any intention of leaving.”
Zwaantie frowned. Though she was okay with Phoenix and Sage together, she didn’t want to think about that.
He tugged on her hand, and she stumbled out of the door.
“If you insist. Do I need shoes?”
“Nope, we’ll just be walking on the sand.”
He didn’t let go of her hand as they snuck outside quietly. Though Zwaantie had been sorely tempted to bang on Sage’s door.
Her hand tingled where Leo held it. She shivered at the thought of what might happen on the beach. This was not just a friendly visit.
Zwaantie was very slowly falling for him. If Sage hadn’t showed up when she did, Zwaantie would probably be feeling very different about things.
The feelings she had for Leo were real though. What had been so hard when Ari was around was suddenly much easier. She’d tried to love Leo before, but not really. Ari had taken ahold of her heart, and it wasn’t possible for her to love another. Ari still held onto her heart, but she was beginning to see that there was life after him.
They walked out to the water’s edge and sat on the sand so the water lapped at their feet. The water was warm and relaxing. Zwaantie wondered how this would feel if the world wasn’t falling apart. Leo poured her a glass and handed it to her.
She sipped at the sweet liquid and laid her head on his shoulder, suddenly needing his affection. She wanted to be loved again, and she wanted to fill the empty void in her chest that Ari left.
“The stars are still so beautiful. Do you remember showing me the stars for the very first time?” Zwaantie asked.
Leo nodded. “I do. I consider it one of the best days of my life.”
She exhaled. “We ought to replace that.”
“Why?” he asked, looking her deep in the eyes. His eyelashes were so long.
“Because it wasn’t one of my best days. I was in a new country and terrified. That was the first time I heard the vipers, and I delivered Candace’s baby. I was scared, not happy. Let’s make a new best day together.”
He traced a finger down her cheek and looked away, taking a sip of his wine. Her skin burned where he touched her. Why was he taking so long to kiss her? Perhaps she’d need to take things into her own hands.
“I would like tonight to be that night, but it won’t be,” he said.
“Why not?” she asked, nervous and grateful she hadn’t tried anything. She didn’t want to be laughed at again.
“Because today we decided to take down your home. I don’t feel right about it. I want to say I’m sorry, but we still have to do it.”
She snuggled into his side. “I know. I understand. There was no other good solution.”
He put his arm around her and placed his finger under her chin, lifting her face so she was only a breath away.
“I want desperately to kiss you right now and make this a memorable night though.”
“Why don’t you?” she whispered, feeling vulnerable. She was nervous about what the future would look like after tonight.
“Because I need to show you something.” He turned his head, but kept her tucked into him.
“I’m pretty close with a mage who discovers the magic and gods associated with various stars, so I asked for some help.”
“And?”
“They found Ari’s star.”
Zwaantie let out a gasp. “Where?” She searched the sky. She’d been looking for so long.
A green light lit up high in the sky. “It’s the star just above the light.”
Zwaantie stared at the star, which was much bigger than the lights around it. “It’s bright.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. That was Ari.
“Did you expect anything less?” Leo asked with a chuckle.
She studied the area around his star. She wanted to burn the memory of that spot in her head. She would find it every night before she went to sleep and talk to him. It was a large star, right above a cluster of tiny ones.
“Do you know what magic it controls yet?” She didn’t care if she had zero magic. She’d figure out how to do Ari’s.
Leo grinned. “Not completely. But in true Ari fashion, it has something to do with sex.”
“Oh my Sol. How do they know that, but not the exact magic?”
“Because magic funnels. You can typically use any magic to do what you want, but it won’t work very well. If you want it to work better, you need to try several different broad categories, like light or love, and then you can funnel further. The furthest they’ve gone with Ari’s was sex, but everyone finds it amusing.”
Zwaantie would’ve liked to have been in the room that day. They probably laughed and raised their glasses to Ari. He would appreciate that.
“Thank you for showing me this. I know it has been hard for you.” She wanted him to know she understood not only his own grief but his struggle to trust her.
He didn’t say anything, but held her tight as they watched the stars. After several moments, he let out a breath. “I counted him among my closest friends.”
“That makes me feel worse.” She’d been so stupid, playing Leo like that. How was it possible for him to love her now? If the tables were turned, she wouldn’t have been as nice.
“Don’t. Ari and I talked long into the night the day before he died. The way he spoke of you wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen in him before. He was completely and entirely smitten and happy. Ari was carefree most of his life, but I’d never seen him extremely happy. He was with you. I don’t begrudge that. I forgave him, and I forgive you.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. “Thank you.” She hoped it would be adequate enough to express how much his forgiveness meant to her, because no other words would be possible right now.
There was another beat of silence, and then Leo chuckled. “You know, one time, he almost locked me out after midnight.”
“What? No.” The vipers had been a bad nightmare to her for a short time, but to the Stellans, midnight hours had been full of danger and death for years.
“Yep.” Leo launched into his tale of Ari and continued with the stories until far into the night. Part of Zwaantie was sad, but a bigger part of her liked learning everything there was to know about Ari. It was like getting to know him all over again.
Chapter 28
The Truth: Part 2
Leo woke up the next morning entangled in the arms of the woman he loved. It was something he had never really experienced before. She’d been the only one he ever loved, and this was the first time they’d really been close. It would also be the last, and that saddened him.
They lay in the sand, her bare leg thrown over him, her head on his chest. As much as he wanted to stay here and love her, he was leaving with the others to destroy the castle. He didn’t really want to, but he’d invented the spell to destroy large buildings, and they couldn’t take any chances. He had to be among them. He wasn’t a fool though. He wouldn’t survive.
He planned on leaving Titania with Zwaan
tie. She was the best babysitter around. Plus, then, when the news of his death came, Titania would be good at comforting her. It was the reason he brought her over instead of someone else like Candace.
The rest of their party would meet up with several others before they crossed the Solite border. If they were lucky, this time tomorrow, the entire kingdom would be free of a madman. It was a sacrifice he had to make.
He shifted a little, and Zwaantie pressed closer into him. Her whole body was warm against his, and his heart began to race. Oh, yeah, he was completely slayed. He didn’t have to move yet; he could stay in her arms.
He’d barely closed his eyes again when sand sprayed across his face. He rubbed his eyes as Sage plopped down next to him.
“Have fun last night, bro?”
He smiled up at her and then spit out the sand from his lips. “Did you?”
“You know it. We could all die today. Gotta make the best of things.”
He looked down at Zwaantie, sand on her face. She hadn’t so much as flinched. She was out.
“You scared?” he asked.
“You sure she’s asleep?” Sage asked.
“Yeah. She hasn’t moved, and her breathing is still steady.”
“Okay, well, we’ve never done this before. With the probability the magic will probably take us out, yeah, I’m scared.”
“It’s a sacrifice we have to make. Raaf can’t be allowed to keep enslaving people, even if it means we all die.”
Zwaantie moved against him, and he put a finger to his lips. She would never let him go if she thought he could die. He and Sage probably shouldn’t have been so open, but he was fairly certain Zwaantie was still asleep.
“We’ve got to go. Everyone else is up and getting ready. We want to make it to Sol before the sun sets.”
Leo gently shook Zwaantie awake. She blinked, stretched, and gave him a smile. He let out a breath of relief. She hadn’t heard a thing.
“Morning, you sleep good?” Leo asked.
She nodded. “We should sleep in the sand more often.”
“We should. Listen, I have something to tell you.”
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