by Jessica Cage
“I’m sure they are. Do you think he will go?”
“Honestly, I don’t think so. It almost felt like he wanted me to tell him not to go, but of course I wasn’t going to make it that easy for him. Or take the brunt of your anger!” He lowered the glass back to the bar. “I think it would be good for him, though. He has a lot of old issues he needs to face.”
“I don’t get it. Why is it so difficult for him to go back?”
“Well, to be honest, I can’t say that if I had the chance to go back home that I would. Sometimes looking backward is just too painful. You ought to understand that, right?”
“Well, he better get the hell over it. We need to save Praia.”
“Tell me again, why is that his problem?” Graham sipped from his drink. “It seems to me, you all have a pretty bad habit of making your issues other people’s to deal with.”
“Is that so?” She straightened in her seat with the verbal shot.
“Yeah. Think about it … every event turns into some wild rescue mission that the entire world has to jump in on, regardless or not if they have anything to do with it.”
“Is that how you feel? I mean, you sit here in your new suit, enjoying the drink which you claim is so much better than before, clearly benefiting from the last rescue mission, and yet you still complain?”
“Look, I didn’t mean to offend you here—”
“Really? Because I have to say it seems like that is exactly what you meant to do. And furthermore, I’ll have you remember that I didn’t ask you for your opinion on the matter.” Nitara stood from her seat.
“Leaving already?” Graham grunted as he knocked back the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on the bar.
“Give me one reason I should stay here, Graham.”
“Because we’re friends. Or at least I thought we were. Has that changed now that you are no longer forced to be here?” There it was, the anger that she could sense beneath the surface.
“What’s your problem?”
“My problem, Nitara, is that you seem to have forgotten everything that was done here for you. This place was nearly torn to shreds to save your life. Yet, you haven’t been back. Barely a thank you to anyone who helped, and no apologies to anyone who was hurt by your being here.”
“First, I don’t owe an apology to anyone. Your leader did those things to you. I was just a tool. Second, if you hadn’t had your head so far up your ass with your hatred for Mike and his people, you would have received the same show of gratitude that everyone else did.” She started to walk away but stopped and turned back to him. “Being in this place is to be reminded of the shit I was put through. Of being tortured and made to act out bull shit that I wanted nothing to do with! You think it’s easy for me to be here now? If I had my way I would never come back. The only thing that made that thought bearable was knowing that I would get to come back and see the people who I thought were my friends. Instead I get here, and I am judged by you and for actions that were not my own! If you have some issue with me, then talk to me about that. But don’t you dare sit on your high horse and act like you come with some pristine track record. There is shit that I could pull from your history books and rub in your face, but I don’t.”
“Nitara, I didn’t mean—”
“Save it, Graham.” She held her hand out to him. “As soon as Ardyn gives me his answer, I will be out of here and you don’t have to worry about me ever setting foot in this place again.” She left Graham sitting alone at the bar, drinking away his idiotic mistake. She would do whatever she had to do to speed up Ardyn’s decision making process. Whatever it took to get the hell away from Graham and his selfish view of the world.
“Ardyn, I would like for you to meet someone.” Nitara entered Ardyn’s new hub, a newly updated wing of the vampire estate. It was nothing in comparison to the cavern he once claimed as his own, but it smelled a hell of a lot better. “I think you two will really click.”
“Always good to meet a new friend.” Ardyn beamed as he turned from his project of improving his surveillance bugs to find Nitara standing with a short woman beside her with skin the deepest shade of brown he’d ever seen, and a mane of dark coils with cherry highlights.
“This is Zaria.” Nitara made the introduction and the dark-skinned beauty stepped forward.
“Nice to meet you.” Smiling, she held her hand out to him.
He stumbled forward, taken off guard by the radiance that came from her. He stuttered but finally got his words out. “Y-you as w-well.”
“Zaria will be joining us on our little journey. I asked her to meet me here so I could get her caught up on everything before we regrouped with the others. I hope that is okay, I don’t want to step on any toes.”
“Oh, of course, absolutely. It’s no problem at all. It’s good you are here.” Ardyn stared at the woman with rounded features. She sported wide eyes which stared at him with a question that made him uncomfortable and inspired more jumbled talk to fall from his lips. “Anything you desire, I mean need, anything you need, let me know.”
“Actually,” Nitara nearly laughed at the goofy expression on his face. “I was wondering if we could use your little lair here, since you have it all set up. I can allow her some visuals.”
“Of course, feel free.” He kept his eyes trained on Zaria who didn’t look away. “You know your way around, right? Same basic layout and all.”
“Think you could give us some privacy?” Nitara jabbed him in the arm to pull his attention away from her guest.
“Oh, right, yeah … I was heading out anyway.” He looked back at the dashboard that held all of his various gadgets. “Everything here is pretty much set up the same as it was in the tunnels,” he repeated the statement and Nitara rolled her eyes. “I’m a man of habit. If you have any questions or need any help you know how to reach me.”
“Thanks, Ardyn.” She smiled and gave him a physical nudge to get him moving toward the exit.
“So that’s Ardyn, huh?” Zaria peered over her shoulder at the door that the bumbling fool had just left through. “Not exactly what I imagined from your description.”
“Yeah, he’s an interesting one,” she laughed. “He doesn’t normally have such a tough time with the English language either.”
“He’s so guarded.” Zaria still stared at the door as if he might reappear.
“Yeah, I was hoping you could help with that.”
“Ah, I knew there was a reason you really wanted me here, and why you lied to him about bringing me here to fill me in on everything.” Nitara had already told Zaria everything she needed to know about their mission. It wasn’t that complicated. Rescue mission into the land of wolves to save a fae girl. She understood that. What she didn’t understand was why Nitara suddenly wanted to change the time and location of where Zaria joined them.
“Yeah, he needs a bit of help getting over a hump. I thought with your similar backgrounds, the two of you would be able to connect and you could help him get over his hang-ups.”
“You know, you really are a sly one, Nitara. That much hasn’t changed.”
Nitara tapped the side of her forehead. “Always calculating.”
“So, what do we do here, now that you’ve kicked out our host?” They hadn’t really needed the space but Nitara couldn’t help messing with Ardyn, and Zaria of course had played along.
“I figured we have a couple hours before anyone bothers us, and he has this massive television.” Raising a brow, she pointed over her shoulder to the 100-inch screen hanging in the air from two industrial strength wires bolted into the ceiling.
“Wait, do you think we can get it here?” Zaria pulled an elastic band from her jean pocket and began to pull her massive hair back into a bun. Things were about to get real.
“If not, I need to see someone about my lack of awesome djinn magic!” She laughed with joking manic. “There has to be some perks to this lifestyle after all.”
Zaria waved her hand and a large sof
a appeared in the room. Nitara worked the television, and moments later the screen lit up with the image of Dwayne The Rock Johnson. The two fell into the plush comfort and sighed at the glory of the man who was displayed on the screen.
“Such a shame he was merely human.” Zaria pouted.
“I know, it would be awesome to have that specimen still hanging around here!” The two laughed as popcorn and wine appeared.
“Are you enjoying your time here?” Ardyn approached Zaria who stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Their movie had ended and Nitara headed off to find Jinn who she said had been quiet too long for her liking. That left Zaria to roam until she found herself standing above a courtyard that reminded her of her home.
“To be honest,” she turned to him, “not one bit.”
“Oh?” He joined her and leaned against the banister. “Why is that?”
“Vampires, I’ve never liked them.” She shuddered. “Never had the best experience with them.”
“Ah, yes. Most do have an aversion to them,” Ardyn agreed. “Hell, I was no fan of them before being dropped here.”
“Sure, we can call it an aversion.” It was more like a total sense of disgust. Vampires were, at one point, the biggest threat to her people.
“So, how do you know Nitara, and why has she never mentioned you before?”
“She found me. Some years ago. I was out there, on my own, and she helped me get a handle on this djinn thing.” Zaria sighed, casting her gaze up at the stars. “I was a complete mess, left to figure things out without any guidance. It was terrifying.”
“Same with me.” He smiled. “She has that mothering thing, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, and I’m glad that she does. I don’t know what would have happened to me if not for her …” Her voice lingered for a moment before she continued. “I guess she hadn’t mentioned me for the same reason she hadn’t mentioned you until now, she wanted to protect our privacy.”
“There’s something different about you. Isn’t there? You’re like me?” Ardyn had picked up on that much when they first met. He couldn’t place it, but he knew that something wasn’t exactly normal about her. For whatever normal meant in a world of supernatural beings, it didn’t apply to her.
“Yes, I am.” She turned away from the sky and leaned her back against the banister.
“Do you mind sharing?” He sighed at the sight of the setting moon on her skin. Soon the sun would rise and the world of Reverie would go still again, but she would be there, with eyes that danced with a spirit like no other.
“Not at all. I am, or I was, a phoenix.” Sighing, she rubbed her neck with her hand. “Honestly, I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to classify myself anymore. I’m one of a kind, but maybe not so much now that I know that you exist.”
“That explains it.” Ardyn nodded his head and pulled the dark hair which had grown past his shoulders back into a messy bun atop his head as he considered the woman in front of him.
“Explains what?”
“The way your eyes sparkle, and how you seem to glow from within.” He moved closer to her unknowingly, his body gravitating to hers. “It’s captivating.”
“Thank you.” She smiled again, and he cleared his throat and took a step back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” he began to apologize, but she cut him off.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” She touched his arm to reassure him that she wasn’t offended by his actions. “Like you, I was trapped by Daegal and changed into this thing that I am now. It was back when our people were ordered to return home, when the wars first started here. I was gathering my things, foolishly attempting to carry all of the useless possessions I could take with me. I’d come to love my life here and was pissed that I had to give it up. Looking back, I don’t know what the hell I planned to do with my laptop and scented plugins when I got back home, but I wanted them. I didn’t know how long I would be forced to stay away.
“On my way out, I spotted this old man. He looked so helpless in a world that was crumbling around him. Despite the sense of danger in my gut, I went to him to try to help him. Long story short, the old man turned out to be Daegal. He used poison to disable my abilities while he worked whatever magic was necessary to do this to me. He tried to bind me to a vessel like he did with the others, but it wouldn’t work. All I had to do was … well, die.”
“And be reborn.” Ardyn nodded in understanding as he noted the similarities in their origin stories. Daegal really wasn’t that creative using the same plot to capture them both.
“Right. Whenever I died, the magic that bound me to the vessel would die as well. And I would be reborn a free woman. He realized he couldn’t control me, so instead he abandoned me.”
“He didn’t do well with failure, did he?” Ardyn stifled his laughter.
“No, not at all.” Unlike the wolf, she laughed freely when she remembered the expression on Daegal’s face after she set herself ablaze for what had to be the hundredth time. It was defeat, anger, and if she were right, a slight bit of fear. He’d created something with untold power and he couldn’t control her. He couldn’t force her to bend to his will.
“Is that why you’re really here? We’re two peas in a djinn hybrid pod.” He caught her gaze for a moment before redirecting his sights to the moon. “Nitara really is brilliant.”
“You caught on to that as well.”
“It’s not as subtle as one might think after hearing your story.” He scratched his chin pensively. “Taking a wild guess, I would say that Nitara thinks you can convince me to change my mind about not wanting to return to my home?”
“I’m not in the business of trying to change people’s minds on topics they are firmly placed in. It’s messy. I think she just figured you would benefit from speaking to someone who might understand where you’re coming from.”
“Yeah, how so?”
“As I understand it, your refusal to return home is because of the way you have been changed. You think that they will not accept you back. Am I correct?”
“You are. And let me guess, you went through the same thing?” He turned a smug expression on her and continued. “You refused to go home for fear that you would be rejected, but then when you finally bit the bullet, everyone accepted you with open arms.” The wide smile that spread across his face was intended to mock what he thought was her grand reception.
“Don’t be so arrogant.” She tapped him on the shoulder. “Remember, I’m just a friendly visitor. I didn’t ask for this any more than you did. If you intend to be rude, I’ll fly my ass out of here and never look back. I have no stake in this.”
“Sorry.” He backed down. She was right, his attitude was being misdirected. Not only that, her threat to leave caused a tightness in his chest that seemed completely unwarranted, yet he knew it would only get worse if she actually took flight.
“Apology accepted. And to answer your question, no, for me, going home isn’t an option. I will never see my people again, unless they were to come here. Considering how things are here, I highly doubt that is ever going to happen.” It was her turn to gaze at the sky longingly.
“Why can’t you go home?”
“I’ve been changed in a way that won’t allow the passages to my home to open to me. The phoenix realm is bound by a very strong magic. It’s stronger than anything found here on Earth, or in any other realm I’ve seen. My people are born with that magic engraved on our souls, and only those with that signature can get through it. My magic, thanks to Daegal, is changed now. To the magic that protects my home, not to my people, I am a foreigner and it means that I can’t get through.”
“Wow.” Ardyn watched her, the sadness that touched her voice and her eyes, and he wanted to comfort her, but he refrained from pulling the woman who was still a stranger to him, into his arms. Her feisty attitude didn’t make him think she would welcome his touch. Not yet anyway.
“Yeah, as much as I would love to go home and to
be with my family again, it’s not even an option. I have only been able to use very limited communications, I haven’t seen or heard my mother’s voice in over a century. My sister was just a kid when I left. Hell, she still is technically with the difference in how time works there.” She breathed heavily. “I wish I could just hold her in my arms one more time and tell her how much I love her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?” Zaria dropped her eyes from the sky to find his face again. “You didn’t do this to me.”
“Maybe not, but that’s still a shitty deal you got.” That, and the fact that the guilt he was sure Nitara hoped for, was beginning to weigh on his mind. The woman really was diabolical.
“Yes, but life isn’t fair and we all know that. I hope you can better understand Nitara’s logic in bringing me here.”
“I refuse to go home, while you wish you could but cannot.” There it was, the pang of ignored responsibility in his stomach. It was exactly what Nitara wanted. Ardyn should have went home a long time ago and he was finding it harder to deny that fact.
“What if I said that I really am joining you on your trip?” She touched his arm and his eyes dropped to the point of contact. “Would that help? I’d promise to be by your side through it all.”
“I suppose it would. Though I’m not sure why.” He placed his hand over hers and nearly pulled back from the tingles that erupted on the palm of his hand where his flesh met hers. He looked from their hands to her eyes and could see that she felt it as well.
“I understand, your life was taken from you and changed. It’s a big deal. You lost so much more than anyone will ever know. But you have a chance at reclaiming some of that. Sure, maybe they won’t be accepting of you, but at least you will know for sure. You won’t spend the rest of your life speculating on what would have happened.”
“You promise to be there, huh?” He sighed. He would give in, not just because of the dark beauty that sent tingles up his arm, but because of Nitara. Like it or not, he’d made a promise and he always intended to keep his word. Having Zaria brought in was just a bonus that he’d never admit to.