by C. J. Abedi
The more time went by, the more the odds worked against Rowan. I knew Devilyn understood this as well. He lifted his head to the sky and let out a roar of anguish.
“No!” he screamed.
The sky burst open, listened to his call, and in a flash thunder and lightning rolled in.
His eyes were bright with tears when he looked over at me.
Lightning struck ten feet away from us. The force of the hit caused me to fly away from Rowan’s limp body.
But Devilyn didn’t budge.
He placed his hand on Rowan’s abdomen. Another bolt of lightning struck closer.
“Devilyn!” I cried out. “You have to get away.”
I tried to run up to them but there was suddenly an invisible wall that separated us. I came up against it and could only watch the scene take place before me in horror.
“NO!”
I thought Alderon was trying to kill them both together. How could he do this? How could he make me watch this?
There was an eerie silence and then BOOM!
Thunder crackled in the sky above, a loud ominous sound. With a force like I’d never seen, lightning charged from the sky and hit Rowan right in the chest.
“Rowan!” I screamed.
But a fog had come up, and it blinded me from whatever was taking place on the other side of the clear wall.
I waited what felt like forever for the smoke to diminish. I banged against the wall like a mad woman, calling to Devilyn and to Rowan, the tears streaming down from my face in horror.
“Please!” I cried. “Please, God.”
In what felt like forever, as pain and anguish ravaged my body, the smoke began to dissipate.
When it was gone, Devilyn and Rowan were facing me on the other side of the wall.
Relief flooded through me. I fell to my knees and gave a silent prayer of thanks. My body was racked with sobs of joy.
Devilyn’s hand was on my shoulder a moment later.
“He’s okay,” he said softly.
I continued to cry, unable to form any words.
“Caroline,” Rowan told me. “I’m all right. I promise.”
I looked up at Rowan and tried to smile.
“I’m so relieved,” I told him. “I was so scared.”
“We’re okay,” Rowan said. “Both of us are now okay.”
There was so much meaning in his words. Whether he intended it or not. Devilyn took my hand in his and squeezed it hard.
“Thanks to you.”
Chapter Fourteen
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
—Buddha
Kingdom of the Dark Fae
Many Moons Ago
Tara
I was with child.
Months into my pregnancy and never happier, I lay in Alderon’s arms in our bed as he held me tight, his hands gently resting on my swollen stomach.
“What are you thinking about, my love?” I asked him.
“My son,” he replied.
“Our son,” I corrected him.
“Our son,” he said.
“I wonder what he will be like,” I mused.
Alderon moved to his side so that he could look at me.
“He will look like me.” His tone was rather arrogant.
I smiled.
“But his soul will be half of you.”
Our hands met and entwined.
“He will be the King of a new kingdom,” I told him as I thought of our child’s future. I wished for nothing but great happiness for him.
And the kind of love that I had with his father.
Alderon leaned in to kiss my forehead.
“A new kingdom,” Alderon assured me.
“He is strong. I can feel it,” I said. “I know he will be a warrior, like his father.”
“Yes,” Alderon told me. “He will be a formidable opponent.”
“But a peacemaker,” I replied. “He will choose his wits over a sword.”
Alderon seemed amused.
“You see the world in such a different way than I,” he told me. “It is not always so kind, Tara. It is most often very cruel.”
I moved my hand to his cheek.
“Doesn’t the world become what we see it to be?” I asked.
He took my hand and kissed it.
“I don’t wish you to be disappointed,” he replied.
“Aren’t you and I an example of what one can choose to be? I am Light and you are Dark, and yet we have found one another and our love defies all the odds. And even more, here we are, about to bring a child that is of both worlds.”
A contemplative look came over Alderon as he mulled my words.
“Perhaps.”
“I wish for our son to have a life filled with endless bliss,” I went on. “As the first king of a new world, I want him to have none of the troubles that have plagued us.”
“Tara,” Alderon replied with a smile. “It is inevitable. What you wish for is an impossibility. Trouble finds us all at one point or another.”
“But why can’t his life be like ours right at this moment?”
“Are you still happy, then?”
“Do I not look happy, milord?” I arched a brow.
“I don’t want you to miss your old life,” he said.
“I don’t miss my life,” I replied honestly. “I only miss my friends.”
Alderon didn’t look too pleased with my confession. I knew he wanted to be everything for me, but I was lonely and craved female companionship, especially now, during my pregnancy.
“You leave again in the coming days,” I began softly. “With your permission, I would like to go home—”
“This is your home,” he interrupted me harshly.
“Forgive me,” I rushed out. “You are correct. I mean I would like to go to the land where I grew up, to see my friends.”
“You are with child—” he began.
“I will be safe,” I said to him.
“I don’t feel comfortable sending you alone.”
“Perhaps Puck can join me?” I asked.
“Puck?” Alderon seemed surprised.
“Your most trusted and loyal subject will watch over me in your absence.”
It took him a moment but then he closed his eyes and nodded.
“Only for a few days’ time.”
“I promise, my love.”
D
I knocked on my sister’s door and walked in before she could respond. She was sitting on her circular bed pretending to watch television.
“I didn’t say enter,” she said.
“Forgive me,” I said, moving to stand right next to her.
“For what?”
“For what I did to you,” I told her. “I am ashamed.”
I could see the tears shimmer in her eyes.
“You only answered your call,” she whispered.
“No,” I shook my head. “It was more than that.”
She avoided my gaze.
“Tatiana. Please. Look at me,” I waited for her to look up at me. “You could have succumbed when you saw me in that state. But you didn’t. Instead you tried to save Caroline. I am forever in your debt.”
“I could have fallen with you.” She shook her head. “I could feel the dark calling to me, Devilyn. It was overpowering—”
“But you didn’t,” I said. “I have two worlds flowing through my veins. You have one and you chose right, you chose a side that doesn’t even run in your blood.”
Tatiana remained silent.
“It gives me the one thing I’ve never had,” I told her. “Do you know what that is?”
She shook her head.
“It gives me hope.”
• • •
After I left Tatiana, I searched the grounds for Odin. I had to talk to him about what had come over me. What I had done to Rowan, who, in a strange sense, I now felt closer to. An understanding had passed between us during the lightning strike. He had seen
into my soul, and I into his.
And now we knew where each was coming from.
I could no longer fault him for loving Caroline. I understood that more than anyone. And I could not fault him for wanting to shield her heart from irreversible despair. He cared for her. I could relate.
After not seeing Odin anywhere, I walked into his study and waited.
The fire shot up quickly, indicating that my father was near.
“There are many paths in front of you now, my son,” I heard Odin’s voice say to me from somewhere in the room. “Ones that will afford you to right this wrong. So what will you choose?”
His voice echoed around me.
And then he was standing next to me.
“You didn’t interfere,” I stated. “Why?”
“What good would that have done?” He kept his gaze on the fire. “You were on a path. I can’t change your destiny, Devilyn.”
His intuitive gaze met mine.
“It is your choice.”
“Are you ashamed of me?” I asked him quietly.
Odin’s eyes flicked back to the flame.
“I know that I taught you better than the pain you inflicted on Rowan,” he stated.
Even though I knew I deserved these words, it still stung to hear.
“What came over you?” he asked.
“Caroline,” I whispered.
“No!” Odin shouted.
As he whipped around to face me, his cloak billowed out behind him and seemed to spark to life. He had never raised his voice at me.
“That is not what drove you.” Odin’s tone was fierce. “Answer the question, Devilyn.”
I met his gaze.
“Jealousy,” he uttered. “It was jealousy that drove you. And that is what I cannot accept. That vile emotion, reserved for the weak of mind and of heart. Not the son I raised. Not the man who is to be a king. Do you hear me?”
“I do,” I said back.
“And what do you say?” he asked.
“How can I argue when you are right?”
“Rowan is a prince of the Light,” Odin said after a long pause. “He loves Caroline as a woman and as his queen. When you consummated your relationship—”
I had to look away from the censure I saw in Odin’s eyes.
“You took from her that which should have been given to her king,” Odin went on. “And since you reject this role, it should have been given to a man like Rowan. Do you deny her that happiness?”
“How could you even ask me this question?” I shouted at him. “Everything I’ve done has been for her, every sacrifice—everything has been for Caroline’s happiness.”
Odin looked so disapproving, it hurt.
“And the intimacy you shared,” Odin said. “That was for her happiness.”
I flushed in embarrassment and turned toward the fire.
“As long as Caroline is under my roof, she is under my protection,” Odin said. “You will not touch her again. Do you understand me?”
I was quiet.
“Careful son,” Odin said softly. “Remember that I can read and hear your thoughts. She is not your queen. You alone made that decision.”
“I won’t touch her.”
With that, Odin was gone.
It wasn’t long before Caroline found me. She was freshly showered and wearing lounge pants and a sweatshirt. She came into the room and sat down in front of the fireplace. Famous followed and curled up next to her.
“How is Rowan?” I asked.
“He’s feeling stronger,” she told me. “He just needs to rest this evening, but he tells me that he should have all of his powers back tomorrow.”
I closed my eyes.
I did that to him. I almost destroyed him forever. My jealousy almost killed him.
“I am so happy to hear it,” I said, turning to meet her gray gaze. All I wanted was to pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her.
When she started to blush I remembered that our ability to read each other’s thoughts was back. I had to be more careful.
“And you?” I asked her. “How are you?”
I saw a flash of my hands around Caroline’s neck trying to choke the life out of her. How could she even look at me right now?
“Stop it,” she said to me. “You have beaten yourself up enough about all of this, for your entire life. You slipped, you came back—”
“Barely,” I interrupted.
“But you came back,” Caroline insisted. “So now you have to let it go.”
“How can I?” I asked her. “How can I, when all I see in my head is a vision of me trying to kill you?”
“Devilyn, I think you make your life harder than it really is,” she said to me after a moment. “That person who did those vile things isn’t you. That man isn’t you. And everyone knows that but you. You made a mistake. A big one. But luckily you were able to rectify the situation—”
“And what if a few more minutes had passed?”
“But they didn’t,” Caroline replied.
She was right. I knew I had to let go, but it was easier said than done.
“All right,” I finally said. “I’ll try to do what you ask of me.”
“That’s all I can I wish for.”
We stayed silent for a moment. I watched as Famous rolled onto his back and begged her to pat him on the belly.
“He needs a companion,” I told her.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll think about it,” Caroline replied.
I watched the way the Light from the fire hit her profile and sucked in my breath.
“We haven’t had a chance to tell you about the play,” Caroline said, breaking the silence.
“What about it?”
Caroline quickly filled me in on everything.
“Puck,” I said when she was done.
“Yes.”
“He’s hoping to get a standing ovation.”
“Let’s just hope we’ll be the ones left standing.”
C
I expected him to lash out.
Yell.
Stake his claim, and demand to know the details.
I expected him to forbid me from going to school. But I never expected this. This indifference. This distance. This was worse than silence.
And I was thrown off.
“Are you worried?” I said.
“The danger that it puts you in is completely different from before. Now we are truly fighting an unknown battle,” Devilyn said. “The better question is: how do you feel about this new development?”
I shook off his response. Honestly, what difference did it make? It would inevitably be something that I wasn’t prepared for. Because even though Devilyn had darkness in his blood, and Odin was all-knowing, none of us actually thought like them. We weren’t bred to be evil, sinister, or cunning.
“I think we should proceed as planned,” I told him. “There’s no point in prolonging the inevitable.”
“That’s not what I’m asking you,” Devilyn said softly. “How do you feel, Caroline? It’s your parents’ story now.”
My biological mother and father.
Two people I’ve never known and wished more than anything I had met.
“I guess more than anything I’m anxious,” I told him.
“I admire your strength,” he said. “You’re taking all of this in so well—it’s more than any of us could have ever hoped for. It’s a testament to your character and how great of a queen you will be.”
“Those words scare me,” I said with a smile.
“Being a queen?” Devilyn replied.
“Yes. That’s the part that has me more frightened than anything. The rest of it seems easy in comparison.”
Devilyn laughed. “You’ll be fine. You’ll be more than fine. I think you’ll be incredible.”
We locked eyes.
Flashes of the night before went through my mind. Funny, I didn’t even feel shy, even now that Devilyn could
see my thoughts again.
His eyes warmed with desire, and even though it killed me, I stood up to leave. We didn’t need to go down that path again, not when everything was so raw. It wasn’t fair to either of us. I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
“Don’t stay up too late,” I told him.
“Good night, Caroline,” he replied. “Sweet dreams.”
• • •
As I made my way through the school hallways the next day, I realized that my dreams were now all I had. And even though I couldn't control their story, last night they had been good to me. Peaceful and calm. A feeling I hadn’t experienced in so long.
That pattern continued for the rest of the day. Even though I had drama, Mr. Copeland just had us practicing by reciting lines from different Shakespearean plays. The day was turning out to be pretty uneventful.
Rowan hadn’t come to school, texting me in the morning to let me know that he needed more time to heal. He said he would be available later to continue training where we had left off.
After drama, Teddy had pulled me aside and asked if we could have lunch alone. I actually smiled at the novelty of the idea. I let Devilyn and Tatiana know and they said they would maintain their distance, though it seemed to sadden Tatiana that she wouldn’t get to hang all over Teddy for the hour.
“So spill the beans,” Teddy said as he placed his lunch tray across from mine.
“What about?” I asked.
“Something went down yesterday,” Teddy said. “You guys all missed school. You ran out of drama like the devil was chasing you and Tatiana followed. I know something happened.”
Since Teddy was already privy to everything, I recounted every detail of the story. When I was done he let out a low sigh.
“Holy cow,” he said. “That’s really intense.”
“Yeah,” I told him. “Tell me about it.”
“Is there something else?” Teddy asked curiously.
I stared at him. Even though he knew every secret about me, I did not want to tell him about what had happened with Devilyn the night before. It was sacred to me, and I didn’t want to discuss with anyone.
“No,” I shook my head. “That’s it.”
He took a bite of his turkey sandwich.
“Well, that’s a lot to take in,” he said to me. “So Devilyn actually turned to the dark side and came back from it?”