The Dark King

by C. J. Abedi

  I walked directly in front of Caroline, and Rowan walked behind her. Despite how I felt about him, I was grateful to have the added protection. We both felt comfortable in the forest.

  When we first arrived, I had been worried about the area the school had selected for setting up camp, as it was a wide, u-shaped space. Our section happened to be closest to a wooded area, which wasn’t ideal. I would make sure that Rowan and I surrounded her at all times and would even enlist Tatiana to help out.

  “So let’s get started. Dinner will be ready at eight, which gives everyone another hour or so to get situated. Please let me know if you need any help setting up your tents,” Mr. Copeland continued.

  Caroline stepped over to ask him something, so I decided to take this opportunity to talk to Rowan.

  “Once we are all situated, I want to make sure that our tents are on either side of Caroline’s,” I stated as I pointed at the ground. “I will sleep closest to the forest, and you can watch out for her from the other side.”

  “That makes sense,” he replied without argument. He stepped forward to help place her things outside her tent.

  “I’ve got it handled,” I told him. “Go ahead and finish setting yourself up.”

  I could tell from the look in his eyes that Rowan didn’t like being told what to do. But nevertheless, he did as I asked again, without putting up a fight. Caroline approached me when I dropped her bags on the ground.

  “I can put my stuff away myself, Devilyn,” she said. “I think I got it all now that Rowan’s given me my other bag—”

  “Just hold off a bit. I’m going to put my tent up and then I’ll help you with whatever else you need,” I told her. I started unpacking my bag and pulled out the tent I had purchased a few days ago. Five minutes later, it was assembled and was shining like a beacon among the others.

  “Holy cow! You have a North Face Dome?” Teddy practically screeched as he came up to stand next to Caroline.

  Caroline was too shocked to answer and could only stare in awe at the five thousand dollar, giant, and very orange round dome I had just erected.

  “Wow, you certainly don’t know how to slum it with the regular folk,” Teddy joked.

  “My grandfather is an outdoor enthusiast. He collects all sorts of equipment—I just picked the first tent I could find,” I lied, suddenly feeling like an ass for buying the ostentatious monstrosity.

  “Fits right in,” Rowan chuckled as he walked over and checked the tent out.

  “Aren’t you worried the bears will be drawn to the color?” Teddy asked.

  “I’ve actually got one, too,” Tatiana said as she looked at Rowan coldly. “And all of you are welcome to join us if you get cold, which judging by the rather thin piece of plastic you picked, Rowan, you no doubt will. Knowing my brother as well as I do, he is beyond generous and always takes care of his friends, so he’ll probably end up switching with you if you want. I’m sure he can handle the conditions better.”

  “I doubt that.” Rowan fumed.

  I ignored Rowan and grabbed Caroline’s bags and placed them by the entrance to my tent.

  “What are you doing?” She blushed. “I’m not sharing a tent with you.”

  “I wanted to show you inside your tent,” I told her as I unzipped it and held out my hand to her.

  “My tent?” she asked, confused.

  “Yes. Surely you didn’t think I would be sleeping in here?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Caroline. I’m not letting you get sick or be uncomfortable or cold. And I need to make sure that you’re safe. This is where I need you to sleep. Please. Do this for me.”

  She immediately blushed and looked down, wavering but then suddenly falling, finally understanding that no matter what, I would always catch her.

  • • •

  She took off her UGG boots and slowly walked in, taking the hand that I had extended. Once inside, she gasped in shock. I had made sure it was the perfect temperature—there was no way she would ever feel a chill in here. I had a full, thick airbed set up for her, with a warm goose-feather duvet and pillow. Nothing looked more inviting. A battery-operated reading light was also sitting next to the bed as well as a case of bottled water and a bowl of fruit and snacks.

  “You used your magik to do this for me,” Caroline stated.

  “Yes.”

  She turned to me with her hands on her hips.

  “Why would you invite more darkness into your life just to give me a comfortable tent?” she asked in disbelief. “Do you think this matters more to me than your soul?”

  She took a step toward me but kept a safe enough distance, even though the closed space in the tent made us both acutely aware of one another.

  “Thank you for doing this, but please, please, I beg you, don’t use your magik like this again. I can’t bear the thought of what this will bring you.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said quietly.

  “You’re just going to ignore what I said?”

  “I just want you to be comfortable.”

  “I know. But this makes me worry for you.”

  “This gives me pleasure, Caroline,” I said as I turned to leave the tent. “Just to know that when you go to bed tonight, you’ll feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud.”

  I stopped when I reached the entryway and turned to look at her.

  “Because of me.”

  C

  I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. My tent was beyond description. Beyond anything I had ever seen before or imagined, and he had done it all for me.

  All of it.

  Once he was gone I sat down on the beautiful bed and wiped away a tear. It came out of nowhere.

  I knew he cared as much as I did.

  His feelings were all around me.

  He was too good to be true.

  He was everything.

  He risked falling down a deeper chasm of darkness for my comfort, and that hurt my heart more than anything, even though I knew I would do the same for him. Just like his mom said. The only difference was that he wouldn’t let me. He wouldn’t let me in. Always keeping me at a distance. At arm’s length.

  But now I knew he was protecting himself, just as he protected me.

  I wiped my eyes and reached for my duffel bag. I needed to find a mirror and make sure I didn’t look like I had been crying. That was the last thing I wanted him or anyone else to see.

  Everything about today had made me so distracted that I realized I hadn’t even thought about how to tell him about my dream. I knew I’d inevitably end up speaking to him about it, but it had to be the perfect time, especially since I knew that they weren’t on the best of terms. I guessed I’d just wait for the opportunity to show itself.

  “Knock knock,” Teddy called out.

  “Come in!” I said as he unzipped the tent and stepped inside. When he looked at my bed, he let out a low whistle.

  “He just told us that you’re using his tent. I can’t believe you got an inflatable bed. Holy crap! That’s so unfair!” He looked around in awe. “And your tent feels so much warmer than mine. I might have to move in.”

  “I’m sure you won’t need to worry about staying warm. Tatiana is practically inviting you to stay with her.”

  Teddy smiled in pleasure. “I know. I might just have to take her up on it. This whole situation is just way too cool. I could totally hang out in here all day. All we need is a flat screen TV and this would be perfect. I’ll bet you their grandpa has one when he goes camping. I hear rich-people camping is called glamping. And if this how they do it, I’m all for it.”

  Thanks to Teddy, I was laughing in seconds.

  “I sincerely doubt that Mr. Westmoreland is camping or even glamping.”

  “You’re probably right.” Teddy laughed.

  The smell of chicken and whatever else they were cooking started to make my mouth water. My stomach growled.

  “Is the beast hungry?” Teddy asked with a smile.<
br />
  “Starving.”

  “My hands are filthy from my tent. Let’s walk to the bathrooms and clean up and then head out to get some food,” Teddy said.

  “All right, let me grab my hat and gloves. I have a feeling it’s not going to be so warm out there.”

  “Nope. Not so much, especially after you’ve been in here.”

  He waited while I put on my hat and grabbed a scarf, and we walked back outside the tent. We quickly put on our boots and Teddy pulled out a flashlight.

  “You didn’t bring one of these, did you?”

  “Crap. I forgot it inside.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “I’ll try to only leave your side after someone tells a ghost story.”

  “I knew I could count on you.”

  I looked around for any sight of Devilyn and Rowan, but they were both strangely absent.

  “Where’s Tatiana?” I asked Teddy as we made our way across the lot.

  “She wanted to take a quick nap,” he said. “She said she might even skip dinner. I don’t know if she’s really equipped for life in the forest.”

  “I think she might surprise you.”

  “Doubtful.”

  I wondered how he’d feel if he only knew the real story.

  “I’ll meet you outside in five minutes. Cool?” Teddy said once we’d reached the bathrooms.

  “Sounds good.”

  When I walked in, there were a few girls standing by the mirror, primping and gossiping excitedly. As soon as I leaned over the sink to wash my hands, they turned to leave, giggling on their way out.

  My reflection in the mirror surprised me. The tiny compact I brought clearly hadn’t given me the full picture. It was like I had gone to war against every element of nature. And this was only day one. What would I look like on day seven? At least I didn’t look like I had cried. I dried my hands and decided to do a fishtail braid to control my hair—quick and easy.

  I heard a rustle in one of the stalls. I hadn’t realized someone was inside the bathroom with me. There was a rattle and I whipped around as the door to the stall slowly creaked open.

  An old lady slowly shuffled out.

  She looked tired and run down. Her stringy white hair was greasy and long around her wrinkled face. She wore loose clothing, with a long poncho to ward off the cold. Her features were sharp and very prominent. If I had to guess, I’d bet she was Native American.

  I wondered what she was doing up here. There was no way she was with our group.

  She limped her way out of the stall and stared at me. There was something about her gaze that had me hypnotized.

  “Caroline?!” Devilyn called out, his voice strong.

  I turned away from the woman and addressed the worry I heard in his voice.

  “I’m here,” I said as I rounded the corner.

  Devilyn let out a breath when he saw me.

  “I thought—” he began. “You had me worried.”

  “I came out here with Teddy.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m okay.”

  He didn’t seem to think I was.

  “Are you finished?”

  “Yeah.” I looked back in the bathroom and thought of the old woman. “I’m all done.”

  “I’ll walk with you to dinner, then.”

  “Have you seen Teddy?”

  “He just left. I told him I’d wait for you.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled as I stole a glance at his profile. “I’m not used to all this attention. It’s like I have my own temporary bodyguard.”

  “Nothing about us is temporary.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Deep into that darkness, peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”

  —Edgar Allan Poe

  Kingdom of the Dark Fae

  Heartbreak not only shatters dreams; it shatters the mind. And she was heartbroken.

  All hope was lost. He would never love her. She would never have his heart. She would never be desired by the Dark King. Instead, he coveted another. His soul would always belong to the half-mortal spawn Caroline Ellis, and this reality, this pain, was greater than any other she would ever bear. She roamed the great halls in fury, feeling the madness take over, her anxiety over the sentence that would inevitably fall upon her heightening the wrath brewing in her soul.

  Katya had never been a fool.

  She had never been played.

  Yet here she was, a victim of both.

  She knew that the King’s vengeance would be great. Her encounter with his beloved would mean that she would be banished for eternity. If she were lucky it would mean a swift death instead of some other cruel sentence.

  All for this love, so that his dear Caroline would never be at risk at Katya’s hands.

  There had to be something she could do. She couldn’t just sit back and wait for him to take away the existence that she knew. But what option did she have?

  She knew she was being watched. She knew that he had informed the guards of her betrayal and knew she would face the harshest sentence if she didn’t move quickly. But they followed her every move, making sure she didn’t disappear before he returned. She was only allowed to eat her meals in the dinner hall; the rest of her time was spent in her chamber. The home where she once roamed free had become a prison.

  She paced back and forth in her room. In her rage, she had broken every article made of glass.

  There had to be a way.

  Anything.

  She knew of only one option, and it had been one that she avoided since her incarceration. For opening that door meant embarking on the darkest of paths that would either bring the demise of her soul or an exalted position within a new court, depending on who was victorious. She weighed her options, knowing that if she took a chance, she may prevail. But if she stood by and awaited his return, there would be nothing left for her, so she finally conceded and threw caution to the wind.

  She placed her hands on the blackened stone floors and chanted the old prayer. Within moments, the floor moved and an ancient chest emerged. The keeper of all her magikal amulets and the secrets of her entire existence, the spells she used, the curses, all gathered in this one great chest waiting patiently beneath her, like the foundation of her being. Hers for the taking whenever she needed them.

  Alderon had trusted her and appreciated her loyalty. Many months before the great King had fallen in battle with Devilyn, he had given her a gift. A simple token of his undying affection. An ornate comb that had once been a sacred treasure belonging to Tara, his mate. He had held on to it for so many years. Perhaps, thinking that one day he would give it back to her.

  But when he knew that day would never come, he gave to the woman who he knew would never cross him. He gave it to Katya and in doing so, he told her of its powers. A moment of weakness for Alderon, one she had never seen or even imagined. He never showed emotion, and certainly never offered gifts, but perhaps he knew that this day would come, and despite her perceived love of Devilyn, that she would need him above all others.

  The comb had great power. It was the only thing Katya had of his, the only object she could use that he had held in his own hands. He had said that it called out to him; the connection was so strong. If she ever needed him, he would find his way back, and he would be there for her.

  And now, she needed him more than ever.

  She took the jeweled comb and brushed it through her long, lustrous hair, chanting out to the universe as she did. She called out to Alderon. Begged him to hear her. She sang the chant over and over again until it seemed as if the words had taken over her body. Hours passed as she repeated one verse after another.

  The air around her dropped in temperature, her breath now icy cold as a black wind began to twirl in magikal circles around her body, protecting her from the outside world, shielding her from any Fae who dared enter her room.

  “Great Lord Alderon, our one and true Dark King,” she said with strength. �
��I call upon you.”

  The wind hissed past her ears, stinging her in its fury as it grew in strength until a face began to take shape against the dark cloud.

  “My King,” Katya said in desperation as she bowed her head to the image. Little did she know that the magnitude of his power and his rage slowly began to seep her own away.

  “Why have you called me?” he asked as his face morphed into a thousand different images of his past.

  “I needed to speak with you, my King,” she whispered as the wind continued to hit her hard, slowly weakening her magikal abilities. She was feeling faint but still she continued. “I have news.”

  “Now, after all this time, you choose to call out for me?”

  “I know what you must think of me, but my love for your son was blinding,” she admitted. “I needed you back in my life so badly that I clung to him instead. I was just so desperate, dear King.”

  “Perhaps you show signs of desperation now.”

  “No, my King.”

  “Tell me your news.”

  “Your wife—”

  “Tara!” Alderon roared. “Why do you speak of her?”

  “She—” Katya could barely speak now as the force of Alderon’s darkness began to consume her, the wind slowly seeping into her pores, sucking her life energy.

  “Tell me!” he screamed, and a gust of wind followed his fury.

  “She lives,” Katya could barely choke out. “In the mortal world. She lives.”