The Keeper's Flame (A Pandoran Novel, #2)

by Barbara Kloss

  “No!” I screamed. “Stay away from him!” I jerked forward, but Thad’s knife dug deep against my neck. So deep my skin pinched and started burning.

  Eris observed me without expression, and then like a breeze, something cold reached inside of me, in my mind, sifting through my thoughts and memories. I winced against its chill, as though someone covered my soul with ice, and then it was gone.

  “Where’s her magic?” Eris asked Thad.

  “The king blocked it,” Thad replied.

  He knew? All this time…Thad had known? My throat clamped shut.

  Eris studied me, ruminating. “There is no block on her, now, but there is…something else. I think, perhaps, she—”

  “What do you want from me?” I yelled.

  He stood silent for a long and terrible second. “Daria,” he said at last, his tone sharp. “I don’t believe we have officially met.”

  “I know who you are,” I hissed.

  “Do you?” Eris moved steadily toward me, and I hated the very sight of him. “You are so like her,” he said, stopping before me, tilting his head. “Aurora. I can still see her face—” his fingers were like ice on my jaw “—the day she died.”

  My heart stopped, and then my anger burned inside. “You were there?”

  A shadow passed over his face. “Pity. Alaric must not have spoken much of me to you.”

  “Maybe he would’ve if there had been something worth speaking about,” I spat.

  Even though Eris didn’t appear to have eyes, I could feel them burning, and when he spoke again, his voice made me feel small and vulnerable. “What I’m about to do,” he said, “will be spoken about for centuries.”

  An explosion reverberated throughout the room and the doors blew away. Alex and Dad burst into the room. My father’s horror was smothering.

  “Ah, and there he is now.” Eris stood tall, moving forward. Even the air seemed to part for him.

  Alex’s gaze settled on me, then Thad, and a myriad of emotions crossed his face before it settled in anguish. Fleck rushed to Alex’s side. Alex whispered something to Fleck, and Fleck ran out of the room.

  At least Fleck was safe.

  “My niece and I were just talking about you, Alaric.”

  “Eris, leave her out of this—” Dad started forward, but with a flick of Eris’s wrist, Dad was thrown back against the wall, hard, as if he were no more than a ragdoll. Alex ran forward, but he rammed into an invisible barrier before he, too, was thrown back against the wall.

  And Eris hadn’t even broken a sweat.

  Dad staggered to his feet, eyes red with fury. Never in my life had I seen him so angry or afraid. “Let her go, Eris; she’s of no use to you. Wasn’t Aurora’s death enough?”

  My mom. Eris had killed…my mom?

  “Aurora’s death was an unfortunate circumstance of your unwillingness to cooperate,” he replied placidly. “I should hate for your daughter to meet the same fate.”

  A bolt of light shot from Alex. At first I thought Alex had missed, until debris and glossy black ceiling tiles fell all around. A chunk of ceiling fell directly above Thad and me, and Thad released his grip to shatter it to pieces before it hit.

  It was all I needed.

  I reared my head back in his face and rammed my skull into his nose. He staggered back in pain as I scooped up my daggers and ran, but a bolt of energy jolted through my body, knocking me to the ground. It was Eris.

  My father’s fury exploded and he attacked Eris. Light streaked overhead, rebounding against the walls, seeming as though they came from every direction.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this, Alaric,” Eris growled, ducking from a beam of light my father shot.

  “You made it so.” Dad hit the ground with his fist and the room shook violently. Cracks spread from his fist, running up the walls, arching through the domed ceiling. Chunks of ceiling and tile tumbled to the floor; I scrambled away from Thad, pausing to cover my head from fallen tiles and debris.

  Eris laughed, a terrible, demoniac sound. “Gaia has not been kind to you, dear brother. You are weak.” His dark pits narrowed as he stood poised like a predator. “You know you can never match the strength of Mortis.”

  “Do you really believe it is that simple?” Dad yelled, but I could feel the strain on his energy. He’d spent much of his strength using magic fighting Eris. “Do you really believe the dark will not make you pay? You are nothing but a servant, and once you’ve filled your purpose, you will be treated as such.”

  Eris flung a bolt of light. Dad leapt to the side and it crashed into the wall behind him. A piece of wall hit Dad in the side, knocking him down with a soft cry.

  Dad.

  I staggered toward him.

  Thad came at me and I kicked him back hard. He tripped over a piece of ceiling on the floor and fell.

  “Get her!” Eris yelled at Thad while deflecting Dad’s bolt, and Thad came after me again.

  I leapt to my feet, waiting with my daggers in hand, and Thad extended his palms. A wall of light shot from his fingers, arching toward me, reaching for me like a transparent net.

  Energy pulsed through me from behind, shattering the wall of light, and Alex punched Thad so hard, Thad fell to the ground.

  Thad scrambled to his feet, nose bloodied. “Del Can’t to the rescue again,” he sneered.

  Tile exploded overhead, and we ducked.

  Alex yanked Thad up by his shirt collar and held him there. “I trusted you!” Alex yelled through clenched teeth.

  Thad smirked as blood dripped down his chin. “Guess you know better now, eh, Del Can’t?”

  Alex punched Thad hard in the gut. Thad bent forward, gasping for air, and Alex had started back to me when I glanced over my shoulder.

  I saw it happen as though I were removed from it, somehow. Seeing it from another time and place as though I’d seen it before and was watching it again: the way Eris’s cruel face twisted in rage, the way his arms reached toward my father, and when the blue lines of light arched from his hands, I was waiting for them. I was waiting for them to streak through the air like blue fingers of electricity, and I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came.

  Not even when the bolts rammed into my father’s chest.

  I heard his heart beating when they hit. I felt his blood pulsing as though it were my own, and when the light hit his heart, I felt it stop.

  My father’s eyes went wide as his legs gave out beneath him, and he slumped to the ground without another word.

  Eris turned to me next. He extended his hands, and a light suddenly exploded between us.

  It was Tran.

  Eris’s fury blazed hot. “Thaddeus!” he yelled, as a white-blue slit suddenly appeared behind him.

  Thad staggered as he ran, and the pair of them slipped through the light and disappeared.

  The light was gone.

  Chatter sounded as the Del Contes, Master Durus, and a few others burst inside the room, and I sprinted to my father.

  “Dad!” I dropped to my knees. “Dad, get up!” I cried, pressing my ear to his chest, even though I knew what I would hear.

  Silence.

  I pushed on his chest, over and over, shoving my palms against his heart. “No, Dad. You can’t leave me!”

  Nothing.

  No.

  No!

  “Somebody help him!” I cried.

  He had to be alive.

  He was just standing here a second ago.

  Someone grabbed my arms and started pulling me away, but I ripped free. “He needs help!”

  Silence.

  Stefan ran into the room and shoved his way through the paralyzed crowd. When he saw me, he paled.

  “Stefan, do something!” I screamed.

  Stefan didn’t move.

  Alex reached for me, but I shoved him back, choking on my tears. “Why are you all just standing there?” I shoved my palms against my dad’s chest, much harder this time.

  “Daria,” Alex whi
spered in my ear, pulling me back.

  I fought against him—kicked him and punched at him—but he wouldn’t let go of me. “Let go!” I shoved him back.

  “Daria.”

  “He needs help!”

  “Daria.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, and whispered, “He’s gone.”

  Gone.

  My breathing came quick and shallow as the world around me spun.

  Gone…what did it mean?

  “What is going…?” The king pushed through the small crowd and froze.

  His eyes moved to Alex and me, then they rested on his son, lying on the floor. He ran forward and stood there, looking as though he were lost—as though he’d lost his sight and rationale—and then he collapsed to the ground in a heap, sobbing.

  Chapter 25

  An Unexpected Farewell

  My entire world was grey. Everything looked dismal and dulled, and I knew it was cold—even the glass of my window couldn’t keep winter away—but I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel anything.

  All I could see was my father. The smiles and laughter, all of his tender embraces. The safety of knowing that he was there and would do anything in the world to protect me. The one person in this world I had counted on with my life; the one person in this world that would have never, ever left me.

  And he was gone.

  Just like that.

  Taken from me and I wasn’t ready. Taken from me and it was my fault.

  If I had never entered the games to begin with, none of this would have happened. I would have stayed locked up in the castle, but my dad would have been right here with me—alive. I wouldn’t have gone into the room. I wouldn’t have seen Eris or Thad, and my dad wouldn’t have tried to come in and save me.

  Loneliness twisted like a maelstrom inside of me. It was a loneliness I’d never felt before, like my life had been ripped from my hands and I was left a stranger on a vast planet, without a home, disconnected from its people and its ways. It was a loneliness that was smothering.

  I felt as though I were being squeezed all over, and I was afraid to move because the slightest twitch, the slightest motion, would shatter me into a thousand pieces and I’d never be able to pull myself together again.

  My door creaked open, but I didn’t turn around.

  Boots scraped along my stone floor and stopped somewhere behind me.

  “D, I…” Stefan’s voice rattled. “I don’t know what to do,” he whispered. His voice was so weak and fragile. So desperate. If his sorrow was to be my punishment, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

  A little voice inside of me told me to comfort him. That he needed it, and I needed it, but how could I? What would I say? That it would be okay? It wasn’t going to be okay.

  It would never be okay.

  “Please, D…” Stefan’s voice strained. “I don’t know what to do. He wasn’t…it wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He stepped closer to me. “He wasn’t supposed to…go.” The last word fell in a whisper.

  Tears welled in my eyes as I stared at the window. I wanted to say something but I couldn’t. Not without losing myself.

  I felt the edges of another presence enter my room, heard a few soft murmurs, and a few more seconds passed before a pair of strong arms slipped around my waist.

  Alex pulled me against him and rested his chin on my shoulder. He said nothing, just stood there, holding me tightly in his arms and letting me feel his warmth and his love.

  “You don’t need to endure this alone,” he said gently, squeezing my waist and turning me around in his arms. His eyes were warm and tender, his features soft and loving.

  “But I…if I hadn’t…”

  “No,” he said, squeezing my waist tighter. “Daria, it isn’t your fault. Don’t you ever believe that.” His eyes didn’t let go of mine as he reached out and brushed the hair from my face.

  A tear spilled down my cheek, and he pulled me forward, pressing my head into his chest. He rested his palm on the side of my face and kissed my hair. “I love you,” he whispered.

  I held him tightly and shuddered—shuddered from the pain and the sorrow, the agony and misery, and while I stood there, secure in his embrace, I finally felt safe to feel.

  And I shattered into a thousand pieces.

  I don’t know how long I stood there, sobbing in his arms. I don’t know how long he held me without loosening his hold, or how many times he kissed and stroked my hair, but he did without ceasing and he never said a word. He didn’t need to.

  His love was my comfort, and I held on to it with everything I had. It was the solo spark that shone in my bleak world, growing brighter and stronger until I had the strength to pull myself together again.

  And when I did, once I cried my last tear and gazed up into his face, he was waiting for me with eyes full of tenderness and love. He wiped a tear from my cheek and slowly pressed warm lips to my forehead. “They’ll be starting soon,” he said.

  The funeral.

  He had been standing with me for hours. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice raw.

  Alex rested his forehead on mine. “I hope you’re not apologizing for my being here with you.”

  His tone made me grin as I wiped my eyes.

  “Daria.” His voice turned low and serious. “I would stand here with you forever if you needed it. Thank you for letting me stay.” He searched my eyes.

  I leaned into him and squeezed him tightly, and he squeezed me back. I never wanted to let go.

  “When did Stefan leave?” I asked.

  “A while ago,” Alex said.

  “Do you know where he went?”

  Alex pulled back, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “With Fleck and my parents. He couldn’t bear to see you like this.”

  I glanced down, but Alex lightly touched my chin and lifted it, gazing into my eyes.

  “You don’t realize how much Stefan looks up to you. He’s not as strong as you are, Daria, and he needs you…now, more than ever.”

  Strong. That was an adjective that should never be applied to me.

  Alex stared into my eyes, holding me tight. Always holding me tight. “Ready?” The one word was slow and quiet and filled with all the patience in the world.

  I nodded.

  He slipped his arms from my waist and threaded his fingers through mine. He led me from my room, never letting go of my hand, and guided me through the corridors. The castle was quiet and dark, like it, too, was mourning its lost prince. It was silent and somber, shadowed as though the sun would never show its face again.

  Alex squeezed my hand as we stepped out into the cold.

  The wind blew hard all around and the spindly trees swayed against the force that ripped through them, moaning and creaking like they were in pain.

  We eventually made it down the hill and to the beach, where a large crowd had gathered. So many people. A cloud of misery and sorrow lingered in the air, making the air sour and uncomfortable to breathe in. Alex watched me as we walked, but I didn’t look at him. If I did, I’d never make it through.

  I saw Stefan first. He stood off to the side, staring out at the ocean as the wind blew his golden hair.

  Alex squeezed my hand and let go, nodding toward Stefan encouragingly.

  With a sigh, I walked toward him, my feet crunching softly on the damp sand. I stopped beside him and followed his gaze. He was staring at our father.

  Dad lay on a bed of dried grasses, but somehow it didn’t look like Dad at all. It was just his body, a still, empty shell. The man that had been my father was not there anymore.

  I had turned back to Stefan and opened my mouth to say something when Stefan spoke.

  “He was going to show me your home on Earth,” he whispered. “After this. He said I’d like it there.”

  “You would,” was all I could say.

  He opened his mouth to speak again, but then he closed his lips and clenched his jaw, and a tear welled in the corner of his eye. I reached out, and the momen
t my hands touched him, he crumbled.

  He shook in my arms, struggling to breathe—struggling to stand. My throat clamped down, but I didn’t cry. I didn’t have any tears left.

  The ceremony came and Master Durus spoke. The king stood off to the side, eyes wide with disbelief and horror as he stared at the body of my father, his son. He heard nothing and said nothing, paralyzed in sorrow and torment.

  Many people stood to speak about my father, but I couldn’t focus on their words. I kept seeing images of my dad when I was a little girl. Wrestling with me, playing with me, burning pasta sauce on the kitchen stove.

  I could still hear his laughter—boisterous and heartwarming. It was a sound I would never hear again, yet could never forget. It was a sound I would cherish for the rest of my life.

  My chest squeezed and Alex wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into him.

  Once everything had been said, the guild moved around my father and pushed his bed into the water. The waves carried him away, farther and farther, out to sea.

  A row of archers stood, stringing their bows with fire-tipped arrows. With a single shout they released them, and fire arched through the sky, toward my father, landing in his bed and igniting it in flames.

  The fire might as well have consumed my heart.

  Alex kept his hand laced through mine, never leaving my side. Not even when people approached me to pay their respects to my father. Alex stayed there beside me like an anchor, quiet and constant and strong.

  “It is a great loss,” Ehren said, bowing his head. “If there’s any way I can help, please,” his voice was sincere and laden with respect, “I would consider it an honor.”

  “Thank you,” I said softly. “For everything.”

  He held my gaze a long moment, then nodded and joined the other Arborennians who were walking back to the castle.

  A woman stopped before us with long white hair and exotic dark eyes; she was wrapped in a sort of silver cloth that made her look like a winter queen. It was the same woman I’d seen in the courtyard before, only then she’d been exchanging words with Vera.

  “Mercedes Bellona of Gesh,” she said in an accent very similar to Vera’s, and she extended a slender hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met—” she tilted her head “—officially.”