by Cici Wickens
He read the confused look on my face. “Oh, you didn’t know? Ask anyone. Any Human. Apparently, I’m a monster. But the only monsters I see in this school, are all the people in it, who judge people just because they’re different. Who go out of their ways to make others’ lives a living hell, just for the fun of it. As if we don’t already go through enough. Then, they treat you as an outcast when you skip school, but who would want to go to a place where the picture of the person they’ve painted you as is shoved down your throat every time you turn a corner. If you could spend a day being me here, you would see why I don’t like people.” He shook his head, teeth clenched, fists balled, and jaw ticking.
I hadn’t expected—
“Look around you, Iris.” I look around at the people inside the chain link fence that surrounded us. Some students were laying in the grass, some doing homework, others walking while they chatted with their friends. I watch as a group of girls stop chatting when they walk by the two of us, moving to the inner side of the track even though we were several feet away from it. Their stares and whispers don’t go unnoticed. My eyes fall from the incident. I wonder if they always did that. I wonder how I could’ve missed it all this time.
“I’m…sorry.” I say.
“It’s not your apology that’s needed here.” Blaze shook his head, his blue-black hair falling into his eyes, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Just be careful now that they saw you talking to me. They might start spreading rumors about you too.” He strolled away from me without another word.
I close the book in my hands and lay back on the grass, letting out a long sigh. I’m beginning to realize how cruel this world can really be.
Chapter 41
I Am King
Janelle
Janelle wrapped her knitted scarf more securely around her neck. The cold of Hiems had always been a bitter one. In the past she could’ve tolerated it. However, her days in Cruor had taken its toll on her body. She waited until Pippin opened the door for her, her blood sparking with excitement. If things went well here she might earn Queen Valencia’s favor and have her banishment lifted. She had denied her request many times before, but the information Janelle carried now would be her ticket this time. She just knew it.
She stepped into the room, bracing herself against the subtle shove of condensed dark magic that would roll over her skin upon entering. As with all the rooms this far below the castle, it had been tainted with darkness. Even deeper still, she could feel the shadows writhing in the dungeon beneath her, a telling sign that Valencia had been dabbling again. The Queen knew no end in her search for power.
The door was pulled shut behind her, swallowing up the light that had once sliced through her murky surroundings.
“Queen Valencia?” Janelle called into the pitch.
The rustic sound of the door’s lock sliding into place caused her to stop walking. She waited for a long moment, still unable to see or hear anyone who might be in the room with her.
A low, rich laugh began to echo around her. Janelle tightened her arms around herself, trembling with hatred and fear. Caesar. She should’ve known. This would not bode well for her. She could not use gate magic within these rooms of darkness. They were sealed. She should not have come.
“Oh, Janelle.” King Caesar tsked from her left. A gust of frigid wind blew through the room and lit a single candle above her. The light cast them in a flickering orange glow. “You are good at what you do, or at least try to do, I will give you that. Nevertheless, I am King for a reason. I rise above all. I can look down and see the board beneath me. I am familiar with my players, and my enemies. None make a move without my say-so or me being aware of it.”
Janelle’s hands shook. She stared ahead. She would not dare meet his eyes. She should’ve seen this. She cursed Cruor for all but diminishing her abilities due to its lack of Lux.
“I am sure that you know why I mention this.” Caesar stood in front of her and cocked his head. “Look at me…look at me!” He gripped her face with one of his hands, his gloved fingers biting into her skin. His calm demeanor had vanished. His voice beat at her ears with harshness. His eyes became lightning in a storm of escalating madness. “This information you told Pippin that you possessed, it would not regard my meeting with the girl, would it?”
“N-no.” She lied immediately. She felt foolish afterwards. Caesar could see straight through her.
He growled and shoved her onto the floor. She cried out as her knees hit the compact ground. He circled around her, shaking his head. “It is a shame that you have the ability to lie when you do it so poorly. Think Janelle. I knew that the girl would come to you about my request. Why else would I have scribed the most important detail in our language? I was testing you. You failed, by the way. As I thought you would.”
“What was the point of it then?” She asked in exasperation. “Why give me the information if you knew I was going to tell Valencia about your secret meeting with Iris?”
“I wanted to see you here, on your knees. I needed to make sure that you never tried to cross me again. If you ever think about doing so, I will murder your son and daughter and husband, with my bare hands.”
“And am I supposed to believe that after all this you will not tell Iris that I came here?” Janelle spat. “Why not kill me now?”
“I like having people in my pocket.” King Caesar said with a smirk. “You know, thanks to this girl, there are Prophets being killed in the streets as we speak. Your brothers and sisters.” He rubbed his chin. “She has caused a lot of trouble for me. I have rebels raiding Towers south of the kingdom. There is talk of pacts being formed amongst the Supernatural from the Southwest to the Northwest. They want to ‘overthrow’ us. Valencia could end it all, yet she refuses to. I fear the darkness has spoiled her mind.” He shook his head. “I do not have time to spare on dealing with a pest like you. Leave.”
Janelle bowed her head and made her way to the door. She paused, waiting.
“Why are you still here?” Caesar demanded.
“T-the door. It’s locked.” She stammered.
“Pippin!” The king bellowed in frustration. Janelle flinched at the loud sound of his voice. “Open the door!”
Janelle listened to the scrambling of Pippin’s hasty movements on the other side of the door.
“That damn fool.” Caesar murmured.
Chapter 42
Jen’s Mystery Guy
Iris
There’s only eight more days until I meet with Caesar. But first, there’s something else I need to do. Someone I need to check on. Jen. Earlier at school today, I had seen her rush into the bathroom, tears streaming down her face.
I park my car on the street in front of her two-story brick home. It was placed between two houses that replicated hers, just like the several other houses that lined each side of the road. It was pretty plain, save for the pink and red wreath that hung in the center of its front door. There was a countdown in the middle of it. Ten days until Valentine’s Day. I had almost forgotten about it.
I ring the doorbell, seeing that Jen’s compact, little red car was parked in the driveway. After a few seconds, the door opened.
“Iris?” Jen asked. “W-what are you doing here?”
I bite my lip. I guess it was a little strange for me to show up unannounced. It isn’t like I come here on the regular. “I um…I saw you today, and I just thought I’d come by and make sure you were okay. You seemed upset, and I wanted to see if there was any way that I could help.”
I saw a blush appear on her cheeks, and she pushed up her glasses. “Oh, I’m fine. I was having some trouble with a class.” She waved off my concern.
“Jen having trouble with a class?” I ask disbelievingly. “Let me guess, your grade went from a high A to a low A.”
Her smile was tight. “Yes, actually.” We stand there in a moment of awkward silence before Jen asked, “Did you…want to come inside?”
“Sure!” I say cheerily. I sit
down on a too firm couch and try to make myself comfortable. “So, which class are you having trouble with?”
“Calculus. I haven’t been understanding the concept of this whole lesson, really. I just can’t get anything to stick.” She seemed deflated.
“Well, some things are easier to grasp than others. I’m sure you probably still have the highest grade in the class.” When my words don’t seem to uplift her I add, “I might not be of much help, but we can work on the Calc homework that’s going to be due Monday. Maybe we can compare our work and help each other out. This is one of the lessons that I actually partially understand, so maybe I could help you.” I give her a warm smile.
“I’d appreciate that a lot.” Jen nodded in gratitude.
“I just have to run out to my car and get my backpack real quick.” I say, standing up.
“Okay, would you like a bottle of water?”
“That’d be great.” I dash out to my car and grab my backpack, grateful that I could finally be of use to somebody. This was a good distraction from everything that was going on, and it felt nice to nurture my friendship with Jen. She had always been so supporting of me, but I’ve been falling short on my end.
I walk back up to the door, shouldering my heavy bag to one side. My hand hovers above the doorknob when I hear stern voices.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable. We should have never enrolled you at Shady-Pete High School. I told your mother that I wanted you to graduate at a private school! Now you’re doing projects with delinquents—”
“I didn’t get to choose my partner, they were assigned. And…and he’s not a delinquent dad. He needed his part of the project done just like I did.” I could barely make out Jen’s sheepish voice.
“Are you interrupting me now? Need I remind you of your manners too?” The man questioned harshly. “I’m not surprised since you’ve been hanging around with that boy! As if I would let my daughter be seen around the likes of him.” He spat out, voice loud and laced with anger. “Your grades were perfect until you started hanging around that hood rat. I don’t want him around you. Now is not the time to let your GPA drop. You’ve got several good colleges interested in you.”
“He is not…a hood rat.” I could hear her voice clearly now.
I open the door, feeling guilty for eavesdropping. The middle-aged man gave me a dirty look. “Who are you, and why are you barging into my house like a maniac?”
I’m silent, realizing how this situation looked. “Sor—”
“Dad, this is my friend Iris, from school. She’s helping me with the Calculus lesson that I’m having trouble with.” Jen explained.
I don’t meet the man’s eyes for too long. I’m afraid that he’ll see how I truly feel about him. I do perform a quick sweep elsewhere though. His brown hair was close-cropped, his face clean shaven. He wore a nice suit, so I assume that he worked a professional job. He was average height for a man and didn’t seem like the muscly type, but he stood tall and held his head high so that he could look down his nose at others. I already didn’t like the guy, and I felt bad for Jen. It had seemed like she was used to his condescending tone.
“Yeah.” Is all I can muster without getting an attitude.
Her dad gave me a tilt of his head. “Good, Jen could use the help.” He told me before walking upstairs to leave us alone.
“Sorry about that.” She started. “My dad can be…”
“A jerk.” I finish for her. The words had just sort of flew from my mouth, and I wondered if I had overstepped. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, but then she giggled.
✽ ✽ ✽
Within decent time, we had finished and gone over the homework from the past week. I had also reviewed the lessons with her. I’m absolutely positive that she got the hang of it about halfway through. She even started correcting me a time or two on my math, her excitement growing with every bit of progress. It was easy to engage in a little small talk with her now uplifted spirits, but the conversation took on a more serious tone when we found our way to the topic of Valentine’s Day.
“So, do you have a Valentine’s? Or maybe a secret admirer?” I tease, trying to figure out who her father was talking about earlier.
Her cheeks flushed. “Well, there is this one guy that I like, but…” She pushed her glasses up for the hundredth time today, pressing her lips tightly together to keep the words from coming out.
“But?” I press, determined to get down to the bottom of it.
“My dad doesn’t really approve of him.” Her shoulders slumped as she let out a loud sigh. It was crushing me to see her so un…Jen-like.
“Your dad is pretty hard on you, isn’t he?” I ask softly. “For what it’s worth, you’re probably the smartest kid at school. I’ve never seen someone so dedicated to their grades like you are. It takes a lot to stay home and study while everybody else gets to do whatever they want. I think it’s cool that you care about your future so much, but don’t be too hard on yourself. Nobody is perfect, and nobody should expect you to be perfect. Trust me when I say that there’s a lot of people at Shady-Pete High that are way worse off than you. You’re doing an amazing job, and whichever college you choose will be lucky to have someone as smart as they are kind in their student body.” I take her small hands in mine. “I mean it.”
She looked into my eyes for a minute, seeming to read them and make sure I was telling the honest truth. Next thing I know, her arms are wrapped around me in a tight hug. I squeeze her back, needing a hug just as much as she did. We pull apart, and I strike up conversation again.
“So, who’s this mystery guy you speak of?”
“Well, he goes to school with us.” She said. I figured that much.
“Is it Blaze?” I guess, wiggling my eyebrows at her.
Jen blinked in surprise and then burst into a loud fit of giggles. “Of course not! No way. Gosh…I could never imagine dating someone like him!”
“What do you mean by ‘someone like him’?” I ask in confusion. She made it sound as if no one would ever date him. Sure, he was a slightly pessimistic Shifter who didn’t favor many Humans, but she didn’t know all that. Blaze was cute in my opinion. And had a likable personality when he actually let it show.
“By that I mean complicated. I prefer simple, funny, charming guys. The kind with bright smiles and who always know the right thing to say.” She had a dreamy look in her eyes. “What about you? Are you expecting anything on Valentine’s?”
Valentine’s Day hadn’t crossed my mind until I saw the wreath on her door earlier. I didn’t expect anything aside from some flowers from my dad. It wasn’t like I could eat chocolates. My mom usually got me some jewelry. I smile to myself at her memory. My heart clenches at the thought of a Valentine’s Day without her. It’ll be so…dull. I’ll have to remember to pick something up for dad, since he won’t have anyone else to think about him.
“Um, besides my dad…not really.” I say. “I know, I’m boooring.” I drawl.
“Not as boring as Calculus.” She murmured.
We talk a bit more about random stuff and get to know each other a little better, before I decide to head out.
“Thank you so much. For everything.” Jen told me from under her door light.
“Anytime.” I grin. And for the rest of the night, I was genuinely happy.
Chapter 43
I Will Be Queen…Eventually
Iris
I strum my fingers against the slightly sticky table, my nerves wreaking havoc on my insides. Where is he?
The coffee shop was decorated in pink and red. Each table was set with a vase and a single sweet-smelling rose. Balloons floated at the register, only $2 each. Patrons sat together in booths, whispering and snuggling when they thought no one was watching. Love was in the air.
It’s why I picked this place to meet Caesar. I hoped that some love would rub off on him.
My fingers scrub at my eyes. I was exhausted, having been unable to sleep in the days lead
ing up to this meeting. Half an hour had passed since I sat down and ordered a glass of water. I worry that Caesar is at the wrong place. He had told me to pick a time and place, but never said anything about how he’d know what I chose. I had said the words ‘Town coffee shop. 4 pm.’ aloud this morning, and even wrote them down on the back of his message. Weird precautions, I know. Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try them out. At this point I realized that I should always expect the impossible to happen when the Supernatural are involved.
I look up when I hear the bell on the shop door jingle. Maybe that’s him, I think when a lanky man who sported a long trench coat walked in. I had been suspecting everyone who came in, remembering what Trace told me about glamour. He could be anyone.
I slouch down in my chair when the man joins a few other men at a table in the corner. I chug down my glass of water to calm myself. He can’t fault me if he’s the one who didn’t show up for the meeting. At least I tried. Maybe Minerva had somehow gotten the date wrong. She had done the math pretty fast. Dread makes my gut churn. What if I missed it?
The bell jingles again. I don’t look up this time, having already given up hope. A hush falls over the patrons and a frigid breeze blows through the room, despite the decent weather outside. I sit up, my heart beating so fast that he can probably hear it from across the shop.