Divided

by Rae Brooks

  His words were calm, though he was sure that the look in his eyes was anything but calm. He had seen a bruise appear out of nothing on Kilik’s wrist earlier this sun, and he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Kilik now. “You vain, common-kissing, miscreant!” she growled. “You presume to tell me what I can and cannot do? You may be the bloody prince of the kingdom, but in this house you are just some ill-bred lout that carted my friend off for an entire moon!”

  “Do you really need to slap something?” he asked resignedly.

  “Yes!” she shouted. He gestured for her to proceed, releasing her hand, and then she reared back once more and caught him across the cheek with unprecedented force. He winced, though he supposed he’d earned it for keeping Kilik away so long.

  “Alyx!” Kilik shouted, as though he was the one who’d been struck. Clearly, he hadn’t realized Alyx was going to slap the prince rather than himself. Kilik looked livid at the sight. “Are you out of your mind? How dare you hit him? He did nothing wrong! He is the prince. He could have you killed!” Kilik cried.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Kilik,” Calis offered cheerfully. “I did say that she could slap me.”

  This seemed to bring Alyx down a couple of pegs, and she looked at him with a gratified look in her eyes. “What were you two doing all shifts of the moon?”

  The two of them exchanged a rather awkward stare, and Calis grinned as Kilik’s cheeks turned a hot shade of red. “Oh…” Alyx said, requiring no more confirmation than the exchanged look to determine what they had done. Then, she had to work very diligently to suppress the grin that made its way onto her face. “How very indecent.”

  Juliet appeared a few moments later, and a relieved smile came across her lips as she saw Kilik. “There you are,” she said, with much more complacency than Alyx had. “We were beginning to worry where you’d managed to wander off to this time.” Then, she gave Calis a brief smile. “I suppose I’m not surprised you are involved, your highness.”

  A sheepish grin twisted Calis’s features, and he looked away from the older woman. Thinking about what he’d done to Kilik the moon before seemed a little disreputable in front of this very poised woman. “Kilik is…” Calis’s voice was cut off by Kilik’s clearing his throat. Unfortunately for Kilik, Calis had already made up his mind that if he couldn’t make sure that Kilik was safe—Juliet could do it for him. “Kilik is having very bad nightmares. I think it’s worth another look—it is my belief that there is something more going on.”

  Bruises didn’t appear from nightmares—that wasn’t nothing. Then, there was that frightening thing in the field outside of Telandus. “I… Calis…” Kilik said, and he sounded very much like he’d been betrayed.

  “Kilik, you can’t handle this on your own. This is bigger than you and your lack of self-preservation.” Moving forward, Calis took Kilik’s hand in his own, and he could see the memories all too vividly, and they sent a whole new bout of arousal through his body. He’d have thought that the worry would be enough to calm that—but apparently not. “I meant what I said. I can’t let anything happen to you. Please, be careful… for my sake.”

  Juliet and Alyx were watching them with scrutinizing gazes, and Kilik’s reddened cheeks were further proof of that. But Kilik needed to understand that Calis meant every word that he’d said the moon before, and that his feelings weren’t going anywhere. “I… I will, Calis, thank you,” Kilik answered quietly.

  Finally, Lee, who had been very quiet since they’d met him at the wall, cleared his throat. He had been waiting, and he’d look no happier than Kilik’s friends had. In fact, Lee had appeared even more agitated at their disappearance. “We ought to return,” Lee said. “Your father will already want an explanation.”

  Kilik’s brow furrowed, and he slowly pulled his hands from Calis’s. “I don’t want you to be in trouble with your father. I…” His words caught in his throat and he stared into nothingness for a moment. “Just don’t make your father mad, alright?”

  “I will do my best,” Calis promised. “I’ll see you soon, Kilik.”

  “Is that a promise?” Kilik asked playfully, and some of the light that had been in his eyes last moon returned. The blue eyes were bright, and he observed Calis with a trust, and affection, that he had not held previously.

  Calis laughed. “That is a promise.” He leaned forward, and he knew that he wanted to kiss Kilik’s soft lips one more time before the two of them parted. Unfortunately, he was standing in front of Juliet and Alyx. Forcing all of his willpower to coalesce, he stepped back and smiled at Kilik—forcing pleasantness despite the throbbing ache running through him.

  In a sort of capricious manner, Kilik laughed and pursed his lips, as though he were trying to decide how he wanted to handle the situation. “Calis,” Lee’s voice was a low, warning growl.

  Well, Calis remembered what he’d done last time he’d had the unachievable, unquenchable desire to kiss Kilik. He grabbed the young man’s hand, where it rested casually at his side, and then he pressed his lips to the top of it. He couldn’t help the smirk that took hold of his features, and he nearly laughed at the way Kilik’s eyes widened. He really ought to expect this sort of thing. “Till next time,” Calis said, putting his promise into his words.

  Leaving a rather stunned Kilik and a squealing Alyx—or Calis assumed it was Alyx—he didn’t think a woman as mature and composed as Juliet should ever make that sound. They walked for a little ways, and Calis could feel the anger that Lee was refusing to share with him. His advisor walked with quick, purposeful steps, and he did not so much as glance back at Calis. Calis had never felt fear of Lee, and he did not feel it now—but he did know that the only reason Lee would be angry with him was because Lavus was.

  Lee hated when Calis was in trouble with his father, mostly because Lavus—despite Lee’s not wanting to admit it—frightened his advisor. Lee had always said that Lavus was unpredictable, and that Calis should not play so frivolously with his father’s wishes. After all, an execution was not out of the question for even his sons.

  As they reached the Shining District, Lee spoke. “I nearly told him that you’d hung yourself and that you would not be returning. After all, I feel like you’d be happier living in the Light-forsaken Dark District. I cannot keep up with you, Calis. I realize that you have feelings for him—and I can’t possibly ask you to forget that, but you cannot be so irresponsible. You missed an engagement with Miss Avyon entirely. I’m fairly certain that she was crying.” He sounded flabbergasted, at best.

  Calis had forgotten that he’d been supposed to meet with his future betrothed at sun up, and he could scarcely bring himself to regret the decision of staying with Kilik. “I’ll find a way out of it, Lee. I understand what you’re saying, and I know my father is nothing to toy with—but… I just… I wanted to spend the time with him.”

  A weak breath escaped Lee’s lips, and they finally stopped walking so that Lee could turn to stare into Calis’s face. “I cannot hope to fathom what you are going through, and I can see on your face that it is both difficult and remarkable. Just be careful, Calis—for your sake, and for his.” He spoke with concern, and Calis felt a brief appreciation for Lee, which was different from his usual.

  “I know,” he answered. “I am sorry, Lee.”

  “You owe me no apology,” Lee quickly corrected. His green eyes flashed with another bout of concern and then it disappeared. “You intend to see him again. You intend to see him… many more times. Of course you do, I don’t know why I deluded myself into thinking that this might come to an end—you were obviously smitten with him from the start. It is like an addiction for you, following him around.”

  Calis offered no disagreement, and Lee simply took his silence as confirmation. Once that was concluded, though, Calis spoke. “Lee, he has nightmares. He has terrible nightmares… and while he was sleeping, I saw a bruise forming along his wrist. I wasn’t touching it—nothing was touching it. The bruise formed in a matter of second
s.” His words were quick, panicked at the memory. He wanted to return to Kilik immediately and make sure that he was alright.

  For a moment, Lee opened his mouth as if to respond, and then he closed it and stared at Calis, dismayed. “It may have happened the moon before, after all, I’m sure the two of you did more than frolic through the forest.”

  Calis laughed a little at the thought, but then he shook his head. “No, not that I couldn’t see it happening, but the bruise looked like a rope mark. Then, after I’d woken him up, he ran off… and when he finally stopped there was this black… abomination in this grove. I threw a rock at it, and the rock literally crumpled. There is something very wrong, and I am not going to let Kil—let him get hurt by it!”

  Saying Kilik’s name did not seem advisable, as they were in the Shining District during the sun—which meant that all ears were listening for the latest gossip. Lee seemed uneasy at this newfound information. “That is ominous, to say the least. But for now, you must speak with your father. We will discuss this in more detail later.” His words were sincere. Lee, for whatever reason, never seemed to doubt Calis—and for all the times he’d watched Calis lie through his teeth, that was saying something.

  They continued towards the castle, and a few of the nobles managed to wave greetings to them. Calis found them all far more repulsive after the freedom, and happiness, that he’d experienced the previous moon. The entire Shining District seemed to be lacking in reality, as if everyone here was living in a dream world. Didn’t they know that a war would kill them? Didn’t they see that Lavus was a monster?

  No, they didn’t want to see—and so they didn’t. Lee kept walking with his quickened pace, and Calis found himself hurrying to keep up. He obviously had quite the battle waiting in Lavus’s throne room, if Lee was bothering to walk this quickly.

  They entered the castle, and the guards bowed graciously at his return. Not bothering to acknowledge them, Calis waved Lee off to another section of the castle. Lee was already aware that this wasn’t going to be pretty, and his presence would only make trouble for them both.

  Calis shoved the door open to his father’s throne room unceremoniously. After all, Lavus rarely had people in there—and when he did, he had always told his sons to feel free to interrupt the less important people. Lavus’s eyes burned as they found Calis. “Where have you been?” he shouted furiously. “Your advisor said you had gone out for a walk! You think walking is more important than establishing political relationships, you foolish, empty-minded child.”

  Calis didn’t even flinch. He’d heard the words many times, though they were usually directed at Tareth. A frown twisted its way onto his lips, though. “I ended up caught up in a few affairs. I wasn’t paying attention to the sun.”

  Lavus didn’t relent. He stepped down from his throne, though he wouldn’t dare walk down the stairs to be on the same level as Calis. In fact, Calis was a bit taller than his father, and that just killed Lavus. “Weren’t paying attention to the sun? Do you understand the consequences of such scatter-brained embarrassment? You humiliated yourself and me! This family does not miss appointments. Lady Avyon was crushed and insulted.”

  Calis thought of asking his father when he’d started caring about the feelings of those around him. Then again, this had nothing to do with how Miss Avyon felt, and everything to do with how her parents would react. “It’s irrelevant, Father,” Calis said dryly. “Lady Avyon will not have changed her opinion of me for a single, missed appointment.”

  This seemed to move Lavus in the right direction, but his fury was still there. “And what affairs were you handling, you whelp?”

  That had probably been a question Calis ought to have weaseled his way around. Unfortunately, now he was forced to come up with an answer. “Affairs that you would not understand, but that I find incredibly important.” The moment the words left his mouth—he wanted them back. He had unofficially challenged Lavus.

  “You think I would not understand them? No affair in this kingdom is above me! I am the ruler of everything that happens here, and I could crush any single person within the walls of this city with a mere thought!” His voice boomed off the walls of the throne room. Despite Lavus’s mediocre stature, he had perfected the art of carrying his voice.

  Calis let out a breath. He didn’t need to have anyone following him around, investigating the affairs that Lavus would not understand. “What I meant to say, Father, is that they are unworthy of your attention. Simple, social matters, of people far too out of the power circle to have any effect on our family.”

  The brief ease in Lavus’s stormy eyes sent a shot of relief up Calis’s spine. He hadn’t wanted to bring trouble down on himself, and indirectly, Kilik. “Well, then those matters should not entangle you so that you forget matters that will influence and affect what truly does matter.”

  Calis stared at his father, imagining the hundred different ways that he could leap up and rip out his father’s throat. Oh, how he wanted to. What truly matters, Father? Oh, you must mean the power that you have forced upon me. The power that I would no sooner fight for than I would a piece of broken stone. Calis’s mouth twitched in irritation. “I apologize for that.”

  “I ought to confine you to your room, refuse to let you leave the grounds for this misdemeanor, you errant boy.” The words sent a jolt up and down Calis’s body. The idea of being away from Kilik for any expanse of time, bothered him, especially now. And if Lavus had issued a formal sentence, then Calis would be followed fastidiously.

  Calis squirmed a little, actually phased by his father’s punishment for the first time in what felt like a very long time. “Father, that isn’t necessary…” he entreated. No, he would not be forced to stay in this castle while Kilik writhed painfully from his nightmares.

  “I ought to, but I will not, given that you carry out my wish for your next meeting with Miss Avyon. You have very clearly insulted and offended her, and the only way to amend that would be a proposal of marriage.”

  A spasm ran through Calis. Being engaged to Krystal—after everything? No thought had ever twisted Calis’s mind with such complete disgust.

  “A mortal should never have to make sacrifices for a god, for it was as a mouse making a sacrifice for a lion.”

  -A Hero’s Peace v.i

  Chapter xxiv

  Aela Lassau

  Aela waited, nervously, by the tavern, waving a brief hello to Nardin, who seemed to have forgiven her for the mishap. Leif had vanished into the crowds of Dark District, and Aela was pleased to see that he was impossible to spot. She was sure that she would have flushed and given him away if she’d seen him, in fact, Leif probably knew that as well.

  Inevitably, she began to pace, moving around the tavern warily. The sun had already risen considerably in the sky, and she felt herself beginning to worry that she had made it all up. That book had consumed enough of her thoughts to destroy any preconceived notions that she’d had of sanity. Her fingers drummed quietly on her trousers. She had determined that wearing boy’s clothing was actually much more comfortable than the dresses she’d had back in Cathalar.

  However, now even these clothes felt too tight and stifling against the Telandan heat. Whatever the architects had done with Telandus’s walls—they had done it incorrectly. Cathalar had never felt this hot, even in the midst of summer. She paced a little more, wishing fervently for any sort of breathe.

  Everyone that passed by seemed to look very much like Taeru, and then they morphed into people that were most certainly not him. Very few people actually entered the tavern, as was usual during the sun. She was glad too, since the few people who did looked a little suspicious of her standing outside of it like some sort of scoundrel. Where was Taeru?

  Perhaps he’s not coming, because you’re insane and you never saw anyone that moon!

  A small voice in her head snapped at her, and she glared back at it. She had not been so crazy that moon to imagine an entire scenario in which she had interacte
d with her older brother. That would have been positively ridiculous. No, Taeru had been there—of that she was sure. That, or the person that she’d seen was not Taeru at all. But he had most certainly been a kind person, who would not stand someone up!

  Or you are insane, and the person knew you were insane, since you couldn’t even hold a stack of plates! Therefore, he will not show up, and will most likely work very hard at avoiding you for the rest of his life!

  Furious, Aela clenched her fists and shook her head with an iron will. Perhaps she had imagined it, and if she had, then that book would have gotten considerably less strange. The book could have been an unfinished copy—or an earlier rendition of the book that she’d already read. After all, if Taeru wasn’t in Telandus, then the book wasn’t about him. Perhaps she really had let all of her stress and worry for her brother get the better of her. Curse her imagination, though. Her heart sank, and she could feel a weight on it, constricting and pushing it down into her stomach.

  With tears stinging in her eyes, she shook her head another time, trying to remove the blue eyes from her mind. Then, she turned, furious with herself and the situation, to find the very same helpful blue eyes looking at her. “Hi?” he said cautiously.

  “Hi!” Oh, that was far too high—that did not sound at all like a male voice. She worked to fix it, pretending to clear her throat. “Hi.”

  He glanced around, pursing his lips. She hadn’t been wrong—she hadn’t made any of it up. He was here, and this was most certainly him. He was the perfect height, the perfect build, the perfect color—and his face was completely the same. “Were you waiting long? Apologies. I live with a mildly overbearing family.”

  Family. She thought about the people mentioned in the book. Was that who Taeru was talking about? She felt jealousy in its rawest form. She was Taeru’s family, not a bunch of commoners from Telandus! How dare he say that anyone but she was? She calmed herself, though, offering him a smile. “Oh, I wasn’t waiting long. I’m glad you showed up—I was beginning to think you forgot.” Or that you were a figment of my imagination.