The Chronicles of Winterset: Oracle

by K. G. Reuss

  “Because I control the flame, Ana. It does not control me,” he replied simply. Our hands warmed, and I gasped as Calix’s hands emitted flames.

  “Please,” I begged, trying to pull away from him. Instead, he held my hands tighter and stared me defiantly in the eyes. “I-I thought you couldn’t control fire! How are you doing that?”

  “I have a very unique gift when I’m with you, Ana,” he murmured, his hands still tightly clutching mine. “Like with healing, remember?”

  I nodded, feeling sick to my stomach. It just didn’t seem right.

  “Understand, we control these flames, Ana. Us. They do as we say. Believe in that, and nothing else matters,” he said fiercely. I nodded again and tried to calm myself as the heat grew intense on my skin again. “Breathe. Trust me.”

  “I trust you,” I whispered, believing the words as the flames grew higher.

  There was no pain, and I looked at him in surprise. He smiled and pushed the flames higher until they licked at the ceiling.

  “Flame is powerful. It’s the very essence of our hearts. It’s what fuels our desires, what drives us in anger, and what can bind us forever.”

  I nodded at his words, dumbfounded as the flames danced in our hands.

  He extinguished them immediately, and I was left staring into his eyes. Then he leaned in toward me without warning, and I opened my eyes wide as his lips pressed onto mine. He pulled me into his strong arms, and I nearly melted as his warm mouth worked its way around mine. I felt the flame he spoke of rising deep in my chest and I wanted to lose myself in it. His hands roamed my body and a soft moan escaped my lips as he held me tight.

  When he pulled away from me, I felt like he was taking a piece of me with him. I stared at him in wonder as he gently thumbed my cheek.

  “I’ve been wanting to know what that was like for a really long time,” he breathed out, resting his forehead against mine.

  “And?” I asked breathlessly.

  “Now I can never be without it.”

  Chapter 34

  I went home that night feeling lighter and freer than I’d ever felt before. Even with my uncertain future looming, I couldn’t shake my giddiness about Calix’s kiss. It consumed me, like he had ignited a fire deep within my soul.

  And I was genuinely happy.

  I had never felt this way before, and when I threw myself down on my bed this time, I was wearing a huge grin as I squealed into my pillow like a lovestruck teenager, which is probably what I was.

  I closed my eyes and breathed out deeply as the hopes for a peaceful sleep overtook me.

  There was nothing around us, just the two of us in a cold, gray world. I was a silent spectator to a heartbreaking madness. I wanted to look away, but I was pulled closer, my curiosity the devil on my shoulder.

  Calix was smiling sadly down at me, his dark eyes dancing with tears. He leaned in and caressed my face affectionately as the tears formed rivers down his porcelain cheeks.

  He loves me, I thought as I watched him. He’s hurting. I’ve hurt him.

  “Tas musa en primo, non finnas,” he whispered in my ear as a tear slipped down and fell onto my face. “Vos tia minas perpetum. Mi lita est lita tu. Lita.”

  It was then I was able to see what was happening, and I choked down the bile rising in my throat.

  I was lying dead in a pool of my own blood, my face battered and bruised, my brilliant green eyes open wide as they locked with Death’s. A thin streak of blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and I gasped as Calix reached down and pulled a thin dagger from his boot and cut his palm, the crimson blood leaking out immediately. He licked at the wound, his blood clinging to his mouth, and leaned down to gently kiss me, our blood attaching to his cracked, quivering lips.

  My body was bent and broken in so many painful ways, I had a hard time looking at myself. I must have fallen hundreds of feet to look that way.

  He placed his shaking hands on my chest and I felt a swell of electricity flow through me as he concentrated on his task, his long, dark lashes resting damply on his cheeks.

  There was nothing. No flash of light, no sounds other than his trembling breath. There was no warning. He smiled a small, sad smile before his body crumpled down beside me, his eyes just as glassy as mine, a prisoner of Death.

  “No!” I shrieked, trying to rush forward. “No! Calix!”

  I was pulled away before I could see the rest of the scene, my heart hammering painfully in my chest.

  We were both going to die.

  Chapter 35

  I woke up struggling to breathe, my head spinning as I tried to focus my eyes in the dark bedroom. In my disorientation, I caught sight of a flurry of activity as a dark form scurried toward my mirror.

  Without bothering to think it through, I launched out of bed and threw myself down on top of whatever it was with such force, it even took my breath away.

  Oomph! The figure let out a whoosh of air as I fell on top of it. We rolled around on the floor, struggling with one another, my hands punching whatever I could come in contact with.

  The figure rolled me roughly onto my back and pinned my arms above my head, its breath ragged from the struggle.

  “Calm down, Ana. It’s me,” Kellin’s deep voice commanded from above me. Hearing him did nothing to calm me. I kicked and bucked at him, and he tightened his grip on me and leaned down closer to my face.

  “I swear I will Faze you, Ana. Stop!”

  Hearing the word “Faze” made me immediately stop fighting. “Why are you creeping around in my bedroom in the middle of the night while I’m sleeping?” I demanded breathlessly.

  “Because it’s my job,” he answered thickly. “And I wanted to make sure you were OK after everything.”

  “Well, I’m fine. Now get off of me!”

  Kellin released me and offered his hand. I took it and allowed him to pull me to my feet. I leaned over to flick on the lamp by my bed and sat down on my rumpled covers.

  “Explain yourself,” I said evenly, looking up at his tired face. “Why are you in my bedroom?”

  “I’ve been lying to you, Ana,” he started and sat down beside me.

  “Clearly,” I answered dryly, wondering if this was the moment when he revealed my worst fear—that he was in league with my enemy.

  “It’s not that I wanted to,” he continued. “It’s just we were hoping to take out Zaros before any of this started affecting you.”

  “Wait. So you don’t work for Zaros?” I demanded. “For the Ascarians?”

  “Work for Zaros? The Ascarians? Are you kidding me? No!” he practically shouted, his blue eyes wide.

  “So when were you thinking would be a good time for me to know all of this?” I gestured around irritably. “We’ve been friends for ages, Kellin!”

  “I know, Ana! I was going to tell you. I swear I was.”

  “When? After I’d burned down the school because I couldn’t control the fire that magically bursts out of my hands? Or was it when I accepted I was so crazy with hallucinations that I had my parents check me into the nearest psych ward?”

  “I wouldn’t have let those things happen,” he replied fiercely. “I was trying to protect you from all of this.”

  “Well, great warrior, you failed! Now tell me, whose side are you really on?”

  “Side?” he asked, blinking his tired, blue eyes. “I’m on your side, Ana.”

  “Do you even know which side is mine, Kellin?”

  “Don’t you dare talk like that,” he hissed, his eyes flashing painfully. “Zaros will not take you. I’d die before I’d let that happen.”

  A memory from one of my visions prodded my mind, and I shook my head, not wanting to deal with that barrel of monkeys at the moment.

  “What are you, Kellin?”

  “What do you mean? I’m Fae, the same as you,” he replied, obviously confused by my question.

  “No, I mean, how are you able to manipulate Wind and rip portals into other realms like it’s
nothing. Calix said you’re very powerful to be able to do those things.”

  “Did he now?” Kellin mused. “Well, I assure you, Ana, I am on the side of the Light. I was born in Bornia, one of the realms of Winterset. I am the son of King Renius. My realm and yours, Dar’ish, have a treaty. I have sworn myself to serve King Lauris in his endeavor to extinguish Zaros. I was sent here seventeen years ago and I have succeeded—until Calix arrived.”

  “Calix?” I snorted, folding my arms across my chest. “Wait. Seventeen years ago?”

  “Yes,” he answered solemnly.

  “H-how old are you exactly?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “In human years?” he asked, apparently thinking about it. “I’m roughly one hundred and thirty, give or take.”

  “A hundred and thirty!” I shouted, my eyes wide as I took in his impressive one-hundred-thirty-year-old form. “I don’t understand. H-how are you even alive, let alone look like that?” I gestured at him, feeling my face flame.

  “We age differently in Winterset, Ana,” he said gently. “I am only twenty in Fae years. I was sent to watch over you when I was seventeen, in Fae years, of course.”

  I breathed out and shook my head, clearly not understanding any of it. “So, what am I? Like four in Fae years?” I looked at him; it was a crazy notion.

  “Hardly,” he snorted, looking me up and down. “while it is true you would be quite young according to our standards, you’ve spent nearly your entire life here in Earth Realm. You are as you stand at seventeen. You’ve grown as humans do.”

  “That is so confusing,” I muttered.

  “Maybe this will help you to understand. If we Fae take a human from Earth Realm and place him in Winterset, he will age slower, as we do. The human will never be a Fae, but will be able to gain what our realm offers in the way of aging. If a Fae comes to Earth Realm, the same laws apply. You will age as they do here. Fae don’t often come to Earth Realm simply because it can shorten our life span. However, there are some who opt for a shorter life because, in Winterset, it can seem like an eternity before death claims us, if it ever does.”

  “Why would my parents send me here knowing I’d age quickly? The sooner I reach eighteen, the sooner Zaros can claim me!”

  “I don’t believe King Lauris and Queen Emeline were terribly concerned about that at the time. They just wanted you to be safe until they could figure out a solution. Your brother, on the other hand, was livid about it, which explains why I was sent.”

  “My brother?” I ventured, knowing I must have one, but I hadn’t really come to terms with it. I’d been a single child my whole life as far as I knew, and now all of this was thrust on me.

  “Prince Soran, yes. He asked me to stay with you, and so I did. He is my best and most loyal friend. Your family is quite close to my own. I would do anything for them. For you. I have remained near you since I brought you here, never once returning to Winterset. My duty is to protect you.”

  “You don’t even know me,” I answered dazedly. “I was just a child then. Why would you leave your life in Winterset for me? Regardless of your allegiance to my family, Kellin.”

  “I understand you are filled with questions, Ana,” he murmured. “Some I simply cannot answer because I swore I would not, at least until I had your family’s permission.”

  Kellin paused and stared intently at me, his blue eyes wavering a little.

  “You were the most beautiful child, Ana. You still are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon. Your parents, your brother, would be happy and proud to see the person you have become.”

  “And yet they never came for me,” I replied, my lip trembling. “They left me here. They left me to believe this was my life when it clearly wasn’t. What sort of people do that?”

  “The kind who love you,” he answered fiercely, stooping down in front of me. “Aside from how terrible it all looks, the most important thing to remember is that they love you. We love you, Ana.”

  “You’re a prince?” I asked faintly. “You said your father was a king.”

  “Yes,” he murmured. “I’m also more than that, Ana. I want to tell you—”

  “But you can’t,” I finished lamely, already knowing what he was going to say. “Why you, Kellin? Don’t tell me it was because of some loyalty thing, either. Why are you really here?”

  Before he could answer, Calix appeared from out of nowhere, causing me to nearly fall off of my bed in shock.

  “Kellin, somehow I’m not surprised to see it has been you skulking around Ana’s bedroom in the wee hours of the night,” Calix’s voice dripped poison.

  “Calix,” Kellin replied, standing up and reaching his impressive height of over six feet tall, tall enough that he could rival Calix.

  “I thought we’d agreed you’d keep your distance from Ana while she worked through all of this,” Calix said, taking a dangerous step forward.

  “I was keeping my distance while she was awake. It’s still my job to oversee her, though, regardless of my agreement with you,” Kellin replied easily, not backing away. I couldn’t see why he would, either. It was clear he could handle himself, even against a force like Calix.

  “Well, you see, that’s a problem for me,” Calix chuckled darkly. “I don’t want some guy creeping around my girlfriend’s bedroom while she’s sleeping. That borders on disturbing. People go to jail for that sort of thing here.”

  My attention snapped to Calix at the mention of me being his girlfriend. We hadn’t had that discussion, and while it was surprising to hear it come from his mouth, I wasn’t upset about it. In fact, my heart beat quicker at the prospect.

  “Girlfriend?” Kellin asked sharply, looking from Calix to me. “Ana? Is-is that true?”

  “I-I guess,” I replied dumbly, feeling the tension in the room wrap around me like a thick, uncomfortable blanket. The wool kind. The kind that pricks your skin and makes you itch.

  “He … you … you cannot be with him, Ana,” Kellin said, his hands shaking. “You don’t even know him! He entered your life a few weeks ago from a world you knew nothing about! I don’t even know who the hell he is! It’s unsafe!”

  “And you!” he hissed at Calix, his voice thick with warning. “You know who she is and what lies in her future! I don’t care if King Lauris and all of the Sentries sent you, you know she is spoken for! You have no right—”

  “I have every right,” Calix growled, shoving Kellin. “Do not pull the prince card on me, Bornian!”

  “Ana,” Kellin said, turning to me, his eyes frantic, begging. “Please, listen to me! This is a dangerous time, a time when you need friends, real friends. You know me. You can trust me. Please. I will go back to Winterset and find out what is going on and why Calix is here. Why no one told me about another Sentry. You don’t know enough about our world to start trusting everyone who walks into your life.”

  “I’d have known about that world if you’d have told me about it instead of lying to me!” I snapped at him. “If anyone is to blame in all this, it’s you! You’re the one who has ruined everything!”

  A muscle tensed in Kellin’s jaw. He turned his back on me and walked to my antique, floor-length mirror and pressed his hand on it. The glass shimmered and turned into the same strange silver liquid I’d seen in the Ascarian kingdom.

  “I have only obeyed my orders. Had I obeyed my heart, you would have been mine long ago,” he said, looking over his shoulder at me before disappearing into the mirror.

  The shimmering liquid shuddered before solidifying, and I was left staring at it, dumbfounded.

  Chapter 36

  I asked Calix to leave shortly after Kellin disappeared through my mirror. He nodded tightly and left abruptly without so much as a good-bye.

  I felt torn.

  I had been a whole person only a few weeks ago, and now I was being pulled in different directions by two people I deeply cared for, each taking a piece of me with him.

  I’d been angry with Ke
llin over the whole woods incident, but I hadn’t known then what I knew now. I felt like I’d been hit with a storm and the rain wouldn’t stop coming. I didn’t know who to trust since I’d been lied to so much. Even Calix, just randomly turning up out of nowhere, left me with an inkling of doubt. Regardless of that doubt, though, I wanted him. I needed him. It wasn’t just a lovestruck thing. We were meant to be together. I knew that much, and it was frightening.

  Deep down, I think he knew it too.

  The skies were dark and cloudy the remainder of the weekend, and when I awoke on Monday morning for school, they were so dark it was difficult to discern night from day. The rains came down in torrents of huge drops that hurt when they hit you. The wind was blowing so hard, the trees were bending from the pressure being exerted on them. There was really only one reason for any of it.

  Kellin.

  I rushed into the school with the other students, completely soaked and shivering. I made my way straight to Kellin’s locker and saw him standing with the door open, not really even there, his mind somewhere far away.

  “Kellin?” I said softly, coming up behind him. He didn’t turn around to look at me. Instead, he shook his head and reached into his locker for his books.

  “I’m sorry for what I said,” I continued, biting my lip.

  “Why are you sorry for speaking the truth, Ana?” he asked after a tense moment of silence.

  “Because it hurt you,” I whispered. “That wasn’t my intention.”

  “I think it’s fair to say the journey to good intentions can leave a path of destruction,” Kellin said dryly, turning to me. The dark circles beneath his eyes made me draw in a sharp breath. He was exhausted beyond measure. He was hurting.

  “Everything is happening too fast. I’m lost, Kellin,” I said softly.

  “I can only make sure no harm comes to you, Ana. I can’t change your mind about how you feel. You’ve clearly moved on from any semblance of affection you had for me. I’m sorry I messed up. I can’t apologize enough for it. But this, you with him, it tears my heart out, Ana,” his teeth were clenched tightly as he hissed the words through them, his blue eyes shining with a layer of tears. “I’m gone after today. I’m going back to Winterset, and you will be assigned a new Sentry. If Calix is who he says he is, he will be your new Sentry.”