“Yes, sir.”
Cali was confined to Soraya’s antechamber for the remainder of the afternoon to “think over her behavior.” The restriction was suffocating. She needed to find the gardens, but every time she attempted to leave, a guard informed her it wasn’t prudent.
He must have been one of the few guards still loyal to Soraya and her father, but again, Cali didn’t dare risk asking.
So she spent her time poring over the book on the Cressida family history. It also included some history on Lunae Lumen itself. An entire section was devoted to Undine Daray, the sea goddess.
“Goddess, indeed,” Cali scoffed, but still, she read, curious how the woman could mean one thing in Zara and another entirely in Lunae Lumen. She’d wondered the same when Lyric had first referred to Undine as a goddess, but the sickness, the potion to help her find a cure, had been more pressing at the time.
According to legend, Undine Daray was the goddess of life. Every new life, every beautiful thing, was created by Undine because she loved to watch things flourish and grow. She loved creation and adding beauty to every surface. Even that which humans perceived as ugly held its own kind of beauty. And Undine was the composer of it all.
Well, this was utterly maddening. Which version was she? The good or the evil?
The door opened, and Princess Soraya emerged from her inner chamber. The was a lightness to her skin, a relaxedness, as though she’d just woken from a nap.
She sank onto the arm of one of the gilded chairs around the star-shaped table. “Hello, Ana. My father tells me you had a scavenger hunt today. What else happened? What did you and Bae speak of?”
Cali sat up, leaving the comfort of the pillows on her makeshift bed, and set the book aside. “I—I told him I’d never been allowed to venture much around the palace,” she admitted. “It was the only way I could explain how I didn’t know where anything was.”
Soraya didn’t seem upset. “My apologies. I wish we’d given you a tour. This was such a hasty decision, and with getting you fitted into my dresses and having a room prepared—and answering what questions I could—we didn’t have much time for anything else.”
“I managed well enough.” And it was true, she had.
“What else did you talk about?” Soraya settled herself on the chair itself before smoothing out her skirts.
“Who your first kiss was.”
“What?” Soraya blanched, and Cali laughed.
“It was the first question he asked me!”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him of mine.”
“North stars,” Soraya mumbled under her breath. “Well, now you have to tell me about it.”
Cali grinned, grateful Soraya wasn’t out of sorts with her as her father claimed she would be. And she humored her, telling her of Darren and the kiss they’d shared beneath the deck of the Vigorous during her first sail away from Zara.
“Zara?”
Oops.
“I—yes. That’s where I’m from.”
“Are you really?” Soraya shifted, tucking her leg beneath her. “You crossed the boundary? How was that even possible?”
“What do you know of the boundary?” Cali asked instead, eager for her view of things and unwilling to tell her about Lyric. The book Ayat gave her to read mentioned it in vague terms. In fact, any mention of the boundary at all was then followed by a glowing tribute to their supposed sea goddess’s love of life and beauty.
“From my understanding, the two kingdoms had quite a lot to do with each other until a terrible misunderstanding was had. The goddess Undine created a barrier between the lands so very few knows the other even exists now. How did you know about Lunae Lumen? How did you come to be here?”
Cali hesitated. There it was again. Undine as a goddess instead of a villainous enemy of all goodness. How could she be so completely opposite here?
“I can’t say I knew much about it,” she said. “I was sent here, but I must find my way home.”
A heavy silence hung between them.
“So have you been kissed, Princess?” Cali asked, desperate to change the subject before Soraya asked anything else.
Soraya blushed again, lowering her eyes to her clustered hands. “It happened last month.”
“With who?” Cali hugged a pillow to her chest.
“A guard. My father wouldn’t approve, so we’ve kept our feelings hidden.”
“That’s why you didn’t want to meet Bae today.” Or at all. Cali wondered where the real Soraya had been all day.
She raised her head, appearing almost bashful. “Is he really as attractive as they all say?”
Cali remembered the agonizing pinch in her chest at the first sight of him. “He is. And excessively charming. And both he and his father know it. We got along fairly well today until I offended him.”
“Did you?” Soraya’s eyes widened with delight. Readjusting her weight, she straightened her dress again. “How?”
Cali warmed at this. She’d never had much by way of friends growing up—not besides Darren and Hannah. What with all her coronation preparations, this was the first girl-to-girl conversation she could recall having in a long time.
“I accused him of wanting to steal your kingdom.”
“And?”
“And he deflected and acted almost…offended.” Cali still couldn’t place what had bothered her about their parting words. He was a pirate. Shouldn’t that mean his skin was tougher than scales?
“And that’s a problem?” Soraya said.
“I don’t know,” Cali said. “There were things he said…things that make me wonder if he doesn’t want this any more than you do.”
“If he doesn’t, then we have to make that clear. I won’t give up my kingdom as readily as my father.”
Cali reflected on the negotiations Captain Kelsey mentioned. What was King Emir doing, having Soraya—a fake Soraya, but his daughter for all intents and purposes—parade around and court Bae when she should have been in on those negotiations instead? Definitely not the way Cali’s own father would have done things.
And even if he had, Cali would’ve insisted on being part of those meetings, not dating the enemy during them. Soraya’s relationship with her father was clearly lacking. Seeing Soraya smile and relax around Cali, hearing about her first kiss with one of her guards, Cali felt protective of her. She wanted to help her.
“Why doesn’t your father let you in on meetings? Where have you been all day?”
“In my room,” Soraya said, gesturing to the inner door. “Father told me I’m not to be seen. It would raise too many questions.”
Had he even told Soraya what was discussed today about her future? What conclusions had the king come to with Captain Kelsey? Whatever it was, the pirate king seemed far too pleased when she’d asked him earlier how everything went.
“That doesn’t seem right,” Cali said. King Emir and Princess Soraya were going about this in all the wrong ways.
And if they weren’t careful, they were going to lose their home.
She dressed for bed with the help of her chatty maid, Mina. Cali had determined during her confined afternoon that she would sneak away the moment the palace seemed asleep. Either that, or she’d have to slip out after breakfast and hope the plants were labeled. Perhaps one of the guards could tell her the names.
She opened the pouch of glitz foil again and stared inside, inhaling its smell of dead leaves and vanilla apricots. Would this be enough? Lyric hadn’t specified an amount. But with half Cali’s kingdom ill, she’d need more than a small pouch of it.
A pocket of her ached for Darren. How was he doing? Was he coherent? Was he thinking of her? When the morning dawned, he would only have three days left.
Three.
That didn’t give Lyric much time to prepare the cure once Cali got the plants to her. Cali didn’t know much about concoctions, but she knew sometimes they needed to stew for days, so the elements had enough time to blend togethe
r properly.
That settled it. Cali would go down tonight, find the plants she needed, make her sacrifice, and be home before sundown. She had to.
Cali nestled onto the edge of the comfortable spread of blankets and feathery pillows, waiting until the clock hanging near the door slowly ticked its way toward midnight. She felt guilty for being so at ease, and for what an enjoyable morning she had. She’d liked Bae Kelsey. He was friendly, funny, and he piqued her curiosity in more ways than just one. A well-mannered pirate who sought to rule a kingdom instead of the sea? Who joked with her as easily as if they’d known one another for years instead of a single day? She hadn’t been able to rid her mind of him since they’d separated at lunch.
A knock sounded on the door. But it wasn’t Soraya’s inner chamber. It was coming from the hall.
Cali rose from her bed, slipped into the fuchsia robe lined with decadent gold ribbon and dragons twisting in the lace, and uncertainly opened the door.
Bae lingered in the shadowed hallway, one hand resting on the frame. His eyes danced with secret delight and dark promises. His mouth twisted into a smirk, and his attention was focused directly on her in a way that made her stomach flutter.
“Good evening, Princess,” he said in a soft voice. “I hope I’m not interrupting your bedtime routine.”
“Of course you are,” she said, feeling her neck flush at the thoughts she’d just been having of him. “But that doesn’t mean it’s unwelcome.”
Movement rustled from the connecting chamber behind her. Did Soraya hear his knock? Would she emerge? Cali kept the door tightly fixed so only her face could be seen through it. The blue tiles were cold beneath her feet.
He smirked at this. Just a half quirk of his lips.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“We never got to finish our game. But I’m here to declare myself the winner.”
“Are you?”
“I found your garden, Princess.”
Her heart jolted. The garden. Pinching the pouch of glitz foil, she opened the door wider. “You did? Where?”
Taking a step back, he offered her his hand. He was in a loose shirt and breeches. His vest was gone and his shirt was temptingly open, displaying a triangle of his smooth chest and a few more tattoos. “If it’s not too improper, would the princess care to join me for a midnight stroll?”
Chapter 11
Cali closed the door. Heart racing, she tucked the pouch of glitz foil into the inside pocket of the robe and tied its woven, dragon-ridden sash around her waist. After she fluffed her hair a few times, she opened the door once more. Part of her hoped he wouldn’t be standing there, that he’d been a figment of her imagination.
He was still there. She fought against the sense of relief coursing through her.
The hall was deathly quiet behind him, lit only by the glowing fish tanks every few feet. Bae glanced at her with a satisfied smirk as he offered her his arm the way he’d done on their way to the aviary. Veins pulsing like beating wings, she slipped her arm through his.
“A prize was never declared for winning,” he whispered, guiding her down the hall.
“But you think you’ve earned one,” she assumed.
“Of course.” There was a pause. “So what is it?”
“What’s what?”
“What is my prize?”
“I’ll tell you when you prove you’ve actually found the garden.” She hoped that gave her enough time to think of something. “How did you find it?”
“I simply continued the game without you there. I asked the guards until I found my way to it.”
“That, sir, sounds like cheating.”
“You never said we had to do it together. You need to be clearer in your rules.”
They traipsed down the staircase. Bae released her arm, instead moving to take Cali’s hand. His skin was so warm. The touch burned directly in the pit of her stomach. She knew she should pull away—Soraya would have pulled away—but she couldn’t help enjoying the feel of being held, even in so small a way.
It wasn’t only that. His touch was like the stars inked into his skin, snippets of helpful light in the darkness. He’s only guiding me. It’s nothing more.
They passed the aviary, where sleeping birds nestled behind glass, and he took her out a door to their left.
The night air was heated and humid, adding moisture to her skin almost the instant she stepped outside. Palm trees reached toward the moon, which winked down at them. The tiled rooftops of nearby villas peeked over the tall fronds.
Bae squeezed her hand. “Not far now.”
Cali realized how dangerous this was. He could be leading her anywhere. But he stopped before a pair of columns, and she heard the slow, deliberate trickling before a lovely fountain came into view. Water spewed from a jaguar’s mouth. Moonlight flecked off the droplets, reminding her of the sight of the glitz foil on her fingertips as she’d rubbed them together.
“Here is your garden.” His voice was just the right depth for forbidden whispers. His hand was on her back, guiding her toward the open collection of shrubbery with jewel-tone leaves stalking along a flagstone path. At the end lay a beautiful pond reflecting the moon’s ascension, capturing hues of brightest amethyst and deepest aquamarine.
A long stretch of water trapped in a concrete feature fed into the pond. And flowers—so many flowers. To Cali’s surprise, they glittered and glowed, gaping in wide blooms, not folded in while away from the sun’s reach. In this darkened garden, these flowers were the light.
Curling jade vines crawled along the sides of a cement jungle, a breathtaking structure open to the sky and the elements. Birds of paradise gaped with their colorful heads. Other plants dripped blossoms Cali couldn’t name.
How would she know which was which? How would she transport them home?
“Everything seems so awake,” she said.
“It’s my favorite part of Lunae Lumen,” he said. “You should see your kingdom from the sea. It always gleams brighter than the other lands. The moonlight here draws magic out of hiding. Even the plants blossom in darkness instead of daylight.”
“It’s extraordinary,” Cali said, trying her to best to sound as though this wasn’t new to her. In truth, she was fascinated. She’d never heard of such a thing. Lyric had described the plants as magical, but she’d never imagined they would glow and dazzle like colored stars.
“And are you pleased?”
“Very much,” she said, staring. There were no labels. Nothing to indicate which name the plants belonged to. Of course not, she’d probably need more of a greenhouse for that kind of treatment. Still, she tried to see if she could identify more glitz foil, but the plant in her pouch was dried, not fresh like these.
“And my prize?” he said softly behind her.
She stood in anticipation in the heated hum of the garden. The plants added an additional hush, cocooning around her and Bae and adding their own security, as though anything could be said in here where it couldn’t be said anywhere else, where plants tipped their heads and made promises to keep the words to themselves. This was a garden of secrets.
Slowly, she faced him. “What is it you want?”
Rubbing his chin, he began pacing across the stones. Small flecks of light swayed along the flowers, and she allowed herself to roam with him, enjoying the beauty, trying to memorize the appearance of certain plants.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t already have something in mind,” Cali said after a few moments.
He stood before her. “Okay then. I’ll tell you what I desire from you.”
The word desire on his lips made her stomach flutter again. “You’d better not say this kingdom.”
Grinning, he stepped closer.
Her feet rooted to the spot.
“That much is already public knowledge. What I want from you right in this moment is a kiss, Princess.”
Cali swallowed. She should say no. But his request, his face, the curve of his mo
uth, were the stuff of hypnosis and taunting assurances. She was more drawn to him than she wanted to be, and she gazed long enough he took it as an invitation to move closer.
He slipped a single hand around her waist.
“Absolutely not,” she breathed, unable to step away, ensnared by him. What was happening?
“You said I get a prize.”
“You said you should get one. A prize was never a condition of our game.”
“Games always have prizes,” he countered, his hand bunching the fabric of the robe at her back.
He oozed confidence and a trace of cockiness that Cali assumed only pirates possessed. It was worse than royalty—royalty got what they wanted from their subjects out of respect. A pirate got what he wanted because of the unspoken otherwise…
Otherwise—ships were waiting at the shore, ready to attack the palace.
Otherwise—he would step away, taking his drug-like presence away from her.
Otherwise—she’d go back to her senses.
The worst part was she wanted to kiss him. He looked dreamy in the moonlight, with his hair slicked away from his face, with his features in the shadows, with the heat of him close enough to burn her.
He was temptation itself. His eyes sparked with potential trouble and discovery. His presence fed her curiosity, and she began to imagine her lips with his, feeling his hands arresting her, never letting her go.
“The prize was finding the garden,” she said, her voice too breathy. “My kisses are worth more than something given to random men I’ve only known for a single day.”
“You’re telling me I have to try harder to win your affections?”
“If you can.” What was she saying? She made it sound like she was offering him a chance!
Was she?
This wasn’t why she was here. She was here for Darren. Undine’s wrath, Darren.
“I accept the challenge.” His voice poured out like spilled honey. He held her a few seconds more before stepping back and allowing her to breathe again.
Cali turned away, waiting for the drug of him to seep from her skin. It was a challenge she could never let him win. How would that be if she were here kissing other boys while Darren and her people were dying? She had only three more days here. What good would it do to give him any kind of hope? She wasn’t who he thought she was. Three more days and she would be gone.
Princess of Death Page 9