Candescent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1)

by Isabelle Gallo

  “What did Caspian tell you?”

  “He couldn’t tell me much. I know I don’t have much time. I can feel it.”

  “I don’t know why you would do this to yourself. Was it me? Were you so devastated just thinking that I was never going to wake up? You didn’t want to rule alone and I knew that. I worried about that. Sebastian’s destruction was very overwhelming, I know. I know he must have tricked you and promised you things. I know he starved you and we weren’t quick enough. I know it was hard to hear our plan, that we would consider killing you to destroy him. And I am sorry about everything.”

  “It’s too late to be sorry now. What’s done is done. I am already dying and I cannot change that.”

  “There must be a way to save you. There has to be something I can do. You can’t leave me now, not now. I just woke up.” He pleaded.

  “Yes, but at least you did wake up. You know who you are. Everyone was afraid that you would wake up as someone else. You were right. You woke up as my Eternal Mate.”

  “Please tell me why. Please tell me why you did it. What happened?”

  “I was upset when Sebastian was destroyed and when I was told that you may never wake up. I was warned that if you did, you wouldn’t be yourself. I was taken home after you destroyed Sebastian. The next day I had a feast with my Allies. We all talked about you, about Sebastian, and we became foolish. The plumeberry juice made them say things they didn’t mean to say. I was sure that without the influence of that juice, no one would have acted the way they did or said what they did.” I pressed my lips together. I would not even mention Raven. “That was last night. Last night I found the pouch. I don’t know what drove me to steal it. I don’t know what could’ve possibly made me swallow it. And when Caspian came like I knew he would, he was too late to stop me. I didn’t want to be stopped. If you didn’t wake up I would have gone in silence like I expected to.”

  There was a silence that formed between us, an uncomfortable silence. He let my words sink in before he could think and respond.

  “What did you take?”

  “According to Caspian it was a poisonous powder. It will eventually relax me and put me to sleep like how you were, almost in a coma. I will not wake up and reincarnation is very rare. I consider it dying. I know I won’t come back so if you can’t bear to keep me here and watch me sleep, just kill me and I won’t return. I promise.”

  “There must be something…anything. There must be some herb that can wake you once you fall asleep. Perhaps just time will pass and you will wake up like I did.”

  “Caspian told me that is not possible.”

  “Maybe if we do take a chance and I kill you, you might come back. I know it’s rare, but it’s still a chance I can take. It’s still something.”

  “That chance is slim to none. You know it as well as I do.”

  “Then what about-,”

  “Pete stop. Please don’t say anymore. I know it’s not worth it. I will die and I will not return. I don’t want to. And I don’t want my last words to be about this…nonsense. This talk is only a waste of time.”

  Pete began to tremble before me. He was faced with the sad reality that I wouldn’t come back. So he gathered me, his face twisting into deeper sorrow, for I was now as limp and defenseless as dough. He had to move my arms and legs himself since I couldn’t. He gathered me into his arms and pressed my aching body to his chest.

  He held back his own breathing to hear my own, letting the silence hang in the air if I had to speak. He needed to make sure he could hear me if I wanted to speak to him. He gently put the Ceremonial Rings on my hand, where he claimed they belonged. He pressed my hand to his lips in grief.

  I could feel how he gripped me, knowing these were my last moments. He could feel my strength escaping so rapidly like blood from a wound. He rested his chin against the top of my head and rocked me as if I was a child.

  “Why did this happen?”

  “It’s better this way. This is how it’s supposed to be. I was not fit to rule and now you are in your rightful place as King. You won’t be disturbed by Sebastian or me. You can come and go. You can rule the people again. You can restore the good back and make our City what it was. You can restore peace and regain the trust of the people. You can go back to the life you had before I returned from reincarnation.”

  “But my life before then was occupied by wondering when you would return.”

  “Please don’t say that,” I begged. “That can’t be true.”

  “It is true. When I wasn’t busy, that thought always lingered.”

  “You’ll just have to think of all of the good times then.”

  “You’re saying goodbye to me?”

  “Not yet…but I know those words are hard to hear.”

  “I don’t want to let you go. Before I fell, after destroying Sebastian, I saw you die. I never imagined it would be like this.”

  “Please do me a favor.”

  “Anything.”

  “Please take care of Versailles for me. Please continue to be a good King. Take care of yourself. And don’t take on my burdens.”

  “I won’t.”

  My pain stopped, for now I struggled to stay awake and look at him. He was so lachrymose. He pressed my hand to his trembling lips, struggling to push his emotions away. He moved me from his lap to the cold space on the bed beside him. Now he could see my face and how I struggled to keep my eyes open. Never had I seen him so mournful. He couldn’t cope with any of it. It was too much for him.

  “I can’t let this happen. I knew this would come of me.” He shook his head. “I won’t let you die.”

  “Please,” I whispered, “don’t waste any more precious time on me. You cannot help me.”

  “I will do what I can. I won’t let you go without a fight. We have come so far. It won’t end like this. I will make sure of it.”

  “You don’t know what the future will bring,” I said with optimism, struggling to give him a small smile, struggling to convince him to accept my fate.

  “How could you tell me that? Look at yourself. Look at your own decision. Now tell me you shouldn’t make a decision based on the future. You thought you’d be a bad queen.”

  “And I was very stupid.”

  He clenched his teeth together, took a breath, and swallowed hard. “Then I will have to save you myself, even if I die trying,” he said through his teeth, suddenly more determined to see me live. I would have smiled at his words, at the determination in his voice, if I had the strength.

  “Make it stop,” I begged, feeling the herbs flood through me.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I can feel it. I can feel the herbs inside of me. I should be asleep by now. I shouldn’t be feeling any more pain. But I can feel it. I can feel the toxins eating away my precious flesh from the inside out. My very skin is burning from the acid of these herbs. Pete make it stop! Make it stop!”

  My eyes stung with the bitter toxin that hurt my flesh as tears ran down my face. I could taste it in my mouth. I could feel it on my lips. It hurt so bad.

  “Caspian promised it would be quick and painless, but I still suffer!” I cried. Pete stared at me in shock, taking it all in, thinking of what he should do next. “Do something!”

  His eyes flicked to the door instantly. I knew he would go to get Caspian in attempt to have him save me. He would make Caspian save me and would not give the healer a chance to say he couldn’t.

  He bent his head down toward me hastily and kissed me, hopefully not for the last time. There was poison on his lips and I enjoyed it. I hadn’t tasted his addictive poison in months and now I knew how much I’d missed it. It was so good, so merciful to me, this poison that I dreaded and cursed before. It numbed me, overtook the damned toxin for me and made me feel at ease.

  He broke away, looked down at me while I managed a smile, suddenly feeling revived from his poison. Somehow it made me feel better. He pressed his forehead to my own for a moment and turned h
is back to me to face the door. He knew the doctor was his last hope, even if he could not save me.

  While our attention rested on the door, where he would head in a final trek down the stairs to get to the doctor, there came a crash. The nearest window shattered and our attention flew in curiosity and alert toward the sound.

  It took me longer to register that the window was broken and, confused, my eyes searched for the object that had broken it. My eyes flicked back to Pete then, suspecting he would have the answer. But he only turned to face me and stared down at me with his mouth agape in shock.

  Instinctually my eyes flicked back to the window, wondering what horrid thing he must have been looking at, what horrid thing I did not see that probably rested on the floor near the bed. Pete’s stunned face filled my thoughts again and I turned back to him in disbelief, hoping I was mistaken, hoping for once in my life that my eyes had failed me.

  A long, slender arrow protruded from his chest, had stabbed him in the back. My eyes settled on the image before me, of my Eternal Mate suddenly suffering, his face white with horror as he reached to touch the space below the object, against his clothes where his blood spilled.

  Blood dripped down onto his hands, soaked through his clothes. And then I saw red blood, mortal’s blood. The arrow had slain Lucian’s heart. That would mean he wouldn’t have a reincarnation. A slain half-mortal’s heart was a guarantee for one to die.

  “Pete,” I managed to say.

  “Sebastian did this,” he said through his teeth.

  I knew that was not possible. Sebastian was destroyed. But that did not mean his army was too. There was bound to be at least one of his followers that would avenge his death. And whoever it was, had been successful.

  Pete reached behind him to take the arrow out of his back, but he cringed in pain, unable to do so, sending his body on top of me. The arrowhead, protruding from my own Eternal Mate’s heart, closed the space between us. I felt it pierce through my own chest, perhaps through my own heart as well. Pete turned toward me now, filled with sorrow. He had wanted to save me. He would have had a chance to live on and save our planet, even with me gone. But now, it was too late for all of us.

  I heard his gasps, or were they my own? I knew we only had a few moments left. I felt his soft, warm skin against my face. His face rubbed against me with affection. His hand left my own for only a moment to reach back and retrieve the arrow that caused us both pain. It barely made a noise as it fell to the floor, but the sound echoed in my ears, the sound of what had been responsible for our demise.

  We could barely think straight. We were dying so we could not exchange our final thoughts. If we had something to say, we’d have to speak it out loud.

  I felt his lips brush against my face, near my ear in attempt to speak. My head felt so light. I struggled to listen, hoping he would speak now before it was too late.

  “I love you Chenille.” He said. His hand flew back to mine and his fingers wrapped around my own hand that could not move. I could not hold his hand back. “I love you,” he whispered again, his breath dying with him.

  “I love you Pete. I always will.” I whispered back. I couldn’t hear his breathing any longer now. But I felt a gentle squeeze to my hand and I knew he had heard me. Those words consumed my final breaths. I knew it was over.

  The King and Queen of Catastrophe were no more. Chenille and Pete Silver were no more, left their planet behind, and in fulfilling their own destiny, spelled out its fate.

  * * * * *

  Part 3

  Clandestine

  Chapter 28 - Awake

  Iwoke, startled from my haunting nightmare. I looked around hoping I was alone, but I saw Louie. I then noticed his hands on my face. His head was bent down, his face no longer hidden from his plastic mask. He was sobbing.

  “Louie.”

  He lifted his head to face me. His eyes were filled with fright. “Chenille,” he replied softly. His hands held me tighter. “You’re ok.” It was more of a statement to inform me.

  “Where’s Pete?”

  I saw a sudden shock that flew to his face from hearing Pete’s name. I looked into his eyes and saw sadness. “He’s not here. The party has ended.”

  I looked down at my hands and noticed the charm. “Monty saved me. And he got the charm back for me too?”

  “No, I got it back for you,” he replied stiffly.

  “I had another dream.” I gazed over the charm. “It was horrible.” I handed back the charm, remembering its powers were the cause of the dream. “Please take it.”

  “No!” he said angrily, releasing my face. “You have caused enough trouble with that charm. You wanted it so bad so now it’s yours. No one will touch it again.”

  I was taken back at his sudden rage toward me and the charm but it made sense why he was angry. He had a point.

  “Are you mad at me Louie?”

  “No. I’m not mad at you. I almost lost you.”

  “But I’m here now.”

  His hands rested on my shoulders and his eyes turned sad again. “Please stay with me tonight.”

  “Ok Louie.”

  There was a sudden relief that came over him at once. He laid down beside me and I could hear his shaky, uneasy breaths. He was still strangely upset.

  “What’s wrong Louie?”

  “Nothing.” He held his breath, convinced that I had heard his shaky attempts to breathe.

  “Are you sure Pete is ok?”

  “He’s fine.”

  “You know what happened before,” my voice trailed off. “I didn’t say anything to him. I never told his father anything regarding his eyesight. I just found out recently.”

  “I know,” he breathed, “don’t worry about it.”

  “How can’t I? I feel as though our friendship has been jeopardized…and I didn’t do anything!”

  “Shh, don’t get yourself upset. There’s nothing you can do about it now.”

  “Why not? Why can’t I talk to him? Where is he?”

  “He’s not here.”

  “But where is-,”

  “Shh,” he said again, this time holding me tightly. “Let’s talk in the morning.”

  My eyes flew to the open window that revealed the darkness of the night sky. I could almost see the calm milky glow of the moon. It was probably late, but why was the party suddenly over? What could’ve canceled it?

  I closed my eyes, rested against Louie and fell asleep. I didn’t have a single dream and I woke up refreshed and relieved. Louie wasn’t next to me when I woke up. I pulled myself out of bed and made my way down the stairs.

  I found him sitting at the kitchen table. His head hung over his bowl of cereal. He swirled the milk with his spoon until is scraped the edge of the bowl.

  “Good morning Louie.”

  His sad blue-gray eyes gazed up at me. I wanted him to be amused. I could imagine I looked atrocious. My hair was a mess and my dress was untidy and wrinkled. I was sure he would laugh at me. He barely acknowledged me. His reply was a mere mumble.

  “Are you all right?” I knew it was about the fifth time asking him and I knew what his reply would be.

  He only stared at me. I barely had a chance to sit when Monty practically flew into the room.

  “Where have you been?” Louie yelled, flying from his chair. His hands gripped the edge of the table angrily.

  Monty was still dressed in what he wore the day before. His eyes were wide and pained. He disregarded what Louie had said and how he acted. He noticed me, looked me over, probably noticed how hideous I appeared, and rested his head in his hands.

  “How did this happen? How could this have happened?” He cried.

  “What happened to him? Tell me Monty!”

  “Is this about Pete?” I asked, clueless.

  “You don’t know what you’ve caused,” Louie hissed. “If you had just stayed away from him and just gave that charm back-,”

  “Louie shut up! Chenille did nothing wrong and you know
it!”

  “Don’t try to cover all of it up for her!”

  “You only added to the whole thing!”

  “What’s going on?”

  They both stopped and looked at me. The brothers were silent, exchanging glances. At last Monty looked at me, swallowed and finally spoke.

  “Pete is dead.” He struggled to say the words. And now I understood, knowing that Louie must have suspected something like this. That’s why they were both acting the way they were.

  His face changed, seeing my expression, and faded from my view as I fell to my knees. My breathing choked me. My own anxiety kept me from breathing. I couldn’t bring myself to understand why or how it happened.

  I felt Monty’s presence before me, on his knees to meet my level. His hands held my shoulders. He struggled to tilt my chin to meet his gaze.

  “Please tell me what happened,” I whispered.

  “When Pete got a hold of your charm he threw it, sending it over the balcony. You launched for it and I stopped you. Pete also attempted to stop you so he went forward, but I pulled you out of the way. His own motion sent him over the banister…and he fell over, with the two story drop to meet his death.” Monty looked away, unable to finish. Louie finally spoke up.

  “You fell into a dead faint in Monty’s arms. He took you to the guest bedroom. And then together we went outside to see Pete laying there in the dirt, barely alive. We were sure he was paralyzed. Monty took him to the hospital. I had to stay and end the party and make sure you were ok. I found the charm in the dirt where Pete had been.”

  I looked up at Louie. “You didn’t tell me any of this before.”

  “Why should I have told you? I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “But you didn’t say anything. You were being secretive.”

  “I had to be. I couldn’t have you rushing off to the hospital– to see him the way he was.”

  I got to my feet. “I need to go home.”

  “Let me take you home,” Monty offered.

  “No, I-,”