Moonlit

by Jadie Jones

  Careless! Lucas is drawing Asher’s eye, Spera, Lenya’s frantic voice calls out in my mind. I throw a worried glance at Asher’s throne. Lenya is right. Asher narrows his eyes as he stares hard at the pair. Spera reacts instantaneously and lunges at Lucas as he kneels to remove the cuffs around her slender legs. Surprise twists his scarred face, but understanding quickly follows, setting his mouth in a grim line. He draws his spear and presses the sharp end against her throat.

  “Behave, candidate,” he orders.

  “Enough,” Asher bellows from his high throne. “Lucas, you might pay for that little exchange if she becomes your queen. And my dear Spera, save your strength for the battle at hand. This is, after all, the beginning or end of your life. Treat this moment with respect.”

  Prickly relief washes over my skin as a thunderclap of cheering begins again, distracting Asher from Lucas and Spera.

  Thank you, Lenya. I will trust you in this, Spera’s mind whispers. Lenya locks eyes with her for a fraction of a second. My insides release and then knot again. Spera chose as I would have; there’s no way I could kill Vanessa to save myself. But now both of their fates are uncertain.

  “And so finally this day has come, this splendid moment,” Asher announces as the soldiers quiet down. “We have waited long enough, my brothers. Let it begin,” he growls and eases back onto his black throne.

  As soon as Asher’s words have left his mouth, Lenya charges across the sandy pit and leaps for Spera’s crouched body. Spera knocks her off easily and spins to face her, ready for another attack. Lenya again closes the distance between them. They claw at each other’s throats, feigning a desperate fight for a fatal hold. Lenya suddenly cries out and stumbles. Her palms clamp on either side of her head as she drops to her knees.

  Come for me, Spera. Make it look good, Lenya’s voice echoes in my mind. Spera rushes for Lenya’s seizing body.

  “Stop! Spera, I command you to stop!” Asher shouts as he leaps to his feet. Lenya collapses, lying face down in the shallow sand. Spera circles her limp opponent, lunging and snapping as she inches closer. “Lucas, restrain her!”

  Spera bares her teeth at Lucas as he moves to her with faked caution. He cuffs her arms and holds the head of the spear to her back. Lenya moans as she rolls to her side.

  “Asher,” Lenya whimpers and climbs weakly to her knees.

  “What did you see? What must have been so important that the stars decided to reveal it to you at this most crucial moment?”

  “My love, please do not make me repeat what I have seen.”

  “But you must, my dear one,” he croons, his curiosity blatant in the way his fingers tense over the arms of his throne.

  “But I do not want it to be so. I want you all to myself! Please tell me there’s another way.”

  “Lenya, love. Tell me what you have seen!” Asher commands. “What upsets you so? Name it, and I will destroy it,” he baits her.

  I glower at him and his silvery tongue from my invisible post along the arena wall.

  “I have seen that neither of us are enough power on our own. I cannot command the fire of the skies and she cannot see what is to come. The resistance we will face is great. If you are to be successful, I must share you with that wretched girl,” she cries, spitting her last words in Spera’s direction.

  Command the fire in the skies? Spera really can do that? I think back to the terrible moment she was thrown over the canyon ledge; the steady streak of lightning that lifted her from certain death. She did that?

  Voices murmur uneasily as Asher silently considers Lenya’s message. A devious smile slices his perfect face in half. “Do you see now, my brothers? Do you see how blessed our goal has become?” Asher shouts.

  Every soldier punches his spear into the air and shouts in celebration. Spera stares at the roaring crowd, shock rounding her haggard face.

  We’ve done it, Spera, Lenya’s voice rejoices in my head. If Spera answers her I don’t hear it. I cry out to them anyway, joy like a songbird in my mind.

  “Guards, prepare two rooms fit for my queens,” Asher calls down to the arena floor. “Keep my prizes separate until they learn to tolerate one another.”

  I let out the breath I didn’t know I’ve been holding as Calen and Lucas carefully guide their new queens from the arena.

  “We are done here,” my guide says in my hot ear. “It’s time to move on.”

  “What could possibly kill Spera if she survived that?” I ask her. Even though she doesn’t answer me, the darkness brewing deep within her frigid eyes says enough. However it happens is far worse than the end she could have met here.

  23 Chains and crowns

  My eyes sting to the point of blurring, and as the new memory settles around us I’m sure I’m hallucinating, my mind no longer willing to accept the pain and darkness that chase Spera down like a rabbit. Because beauty like this can’t possibly be real. The round room is made of translucent crystal, which glows the softest gold as sunlight saturates the smooth stone. Four circular windows are carved into the cylindrical wall like the points of a compass.

  Asher sits high on a throne made from the same crystal, a guard at each side. Several more guards arm an arched doorway on the opposite side of the grand room. I spot Lucas among them and follow his gaze across the room. Spera stares vacantly out of the window pointing to the afternoon sun. A breeze whistles by the opening and her silky white dress ripples in the free air.

  She hugs her arms to her chest. A golden snake cuffs each wrist. Spera’s long black hair is pulled back in a single thick braid. Precious stones glitter in each ear. Coils of gilded metal adorn her slender throat. Is she wearing the ring? I step beside her to get a closer look. Her hands are bare. I swallow my disappointment and follow her gaze across the vast nothingness.

  Red flat earth stretches for miles. A darker blue streak acts as a border between the desert and the sapphire sky. The faintest scent of salty surf rides the current of air that blows steadily past the opening. The ocean. Instinctively, I glance through each of the other three windows. The same navy barrier divides the land from the sky all the way around the tower. We’re on an island. How in the world are they going to escape? A feeling of utter helplessness settles within my core as I study her motionless profile. Even though she drips in gold and jewels she wears the face of a prisoner.

  “How long has it been since the battle between Lenya and Spera?” I ask my guide.

  “Nearly a year,” she answers vacantly, her mind as far away as my own. I shudder at the thought of a year in this horrible, stunning place.

  “Spera, darling,” Asher calls smoothly from his throne. She turns to face him. The third circle has been burned across the others, completing her mark.

  “She has the third mark,” I whisper. “Did he make them fight after all? Is Lenya dead?” As if on cue, Lenya glides into the room before my guide opens her mouth to answer. Her long dress is a black replica of Spera’s. She gingerly carries a silver tray to Asher’s throne, offering him an assortment of food. As she passes me I glance at her back. She has three rings now, too. What did he make them do for the last ring? And why didn’t I see it?

  “You are so caring, sweet Lenya,” he croons without taking his eyes off Spera’s bare back. “Might you offer your services to me as well, Spera?”

  “What is it that you require, Asher?” Spera’s voice is hollow and flat. My eyes dart to Lucas. He flexes his hands at his post.

  “Don’t be so cold, my queen. Haven’t I provided you with much? Could you have imagined a life filled with such riches?” Her gaze moves to the window again. “I find you most ungrateful.”

  “And how might I demonstrate my gratitude?” she asks curtly. I blanch at the possibilities.

  “All I want you to do is put on a good show for the men. They caught something just for you,” he says casually.

  “What did they bring?” Lenya’s voice is high with eagerness.

  “An alpha lion, and a big one. They
are in awe of your strength and are thrilled each time they see it tested,” he says. Lenya claps her dainty hands with enthusiasm. They both stare impatiently at Spera’s back.

  “I am delighted to do what pleases my king,” Spera concedes without facing him. I am certain she can feel his triumphant stare on the nape of her neck.

  “And I am glad to hear it,” he says and rises from his throne. “My vizier is on his way. He has sent word that he may have found the door to the veil and that the journey ahead will be long and difficult. Our armies need a morale boost before we mobilize. And I think watching their beautiful queen dismember such a formidable opponent should do the trick.”

  Lenya giggles and brings a hand to Asher’s arm, but he absently brushes it off. Her whole face falls in response. She seems genuinely hurt. I study her clouded eyes, watching for any familiar defiance to shine through. But she remains completely in character, obviously determined to secure her position in Asher’s deadly palm.

  “I must depart for my own chambers. My vizier should arrive at any moment.” No sooner have the words left Asher’s mouth, the heavy doors swing open and a willowy being enters the round room. He is nearly identical to my own guide and moves with the same otherworldly grace. But where my guide looks like she was carved from a pearl, this Unseen is the color of gunmetal and seems every bit as hard and capable as the barrel of gun.

  “And so here he is,” Asher eagerly greets the new arrival. “Raffin, punctual as always.” They exchange a dark, knowing look as they clasp their hands around each other’s forearms. My eyes move from Raffin to my guide.

  “Do you know him?” I whisper.

  “I do,” she says, her resentment of him too fierce a thing to come from anger alone. Whoever he is to her now, I can tell he used to be something much different. She fixes her icy stare on his charcoal face. “We are done here,” she says flatly as Asher and Raffin stride to the open doors.

  The last thing I see before the scene dissolves is Spera leaning ever so slightly out the window, closing her eyes as the wind catches her hair and angrily snaps it free from its braid like the crack of a whip.

  24 An offer

  This new memory could be a tropical paradise, unless you factor in the armed guards and the pair of locked doors fit for a maximum security prison. The walls and ceiling are the same incredible, bewildering crystal as the high tower we just left. Sunset makes the clear stone glow blood red and casts deep shadows over the two guards standing at attention by the side of a circular pool. I immediately recognize Lucas’s backlit outline and assume that the other guard is Calen.

  Spera sits opposite Lenya, submerged to her bare shoulders in water hazy with heat. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen her yet. But she still won’t close her eyes. Lenya plucks an orange blossom from the rainbow of flowering lily pads adrift in the pool and pulls the petals off one at a time. Spera reaches absently toward water tumbling freely down a cascade of unfinished white rocks and stares blankly at her hand. The ring! She has the ring on. My eyes dart to Lenya. I press my lips together in anticipation as I catch sight of Lenya’s ring.

  I am thoroughly enjoying Asher’s absence, Spera calls out silently to Lenya. A little smile tugs at the corners of Lenya’s mouth as she pretends to glower at her fellow queen. Do you know how long he and Raffin will be gone?

  At least a couple of days more. He said that the journey is very far. He once told me that he has tried opening the veil in nearly ten thousand places but none of his attempts have made a dent, she snickers. I can’t help but smile at their playful exchange, grateful to see some of Lenya’s true self make a return appearance. She reminds me so much of Vanessa when she’s not fawning all over Asher.

  Do you think he’s right this time? Do you think we will be asked to open the veil? Spera asks.

  Who knows. Calen seems to think so, but I overheard him talking to another guard this afternoon. Some of them have their doubts. I don’t think Asher ever believes himself to be wrong. But there are whispers that Raffin located an important piece of the ritual scroll. Something about the elements.

  I only wish there was a way to be certain. Spera lets out a frustrated sigh and drags her fingers across the milky surface.

  “Are you weary, my queen? Shall I escort you to your quarters?” Lucas calls out, keeping his voice distant and reverent.

  “Not yet, Lucas,” Spera answers without turning her face. “A few minutes more.”

  Have you had any visions? Seen any way for us to escape yet? Spera asks tentatively.

  No. Asher has doubled the guards surrounding the exterior of the fortress. Unless you plan on tunneling to the sea, there’s no way to get out undetected. Vanessa’s eyes flit to Lucas. But perhaps you could have a little escape of your own.

  What do you mean?

  You and Lucas should spend some time alone while Asher is gone. You don’t get very many chances to touch each other, do you?

  No. She bites down on her lip and stares at the water. What if he comes back early and catches us together? He’ll kill us for sure.

  Would that be such a sorry fate?

  Not if he killed us both.

  My eyes move to Lucas’s stoic face as he forces himself to stare straight ahead. The only thing keeping me from losing my mind at this point is the knowledge that he survives whatever Spera doesn’t. She must not know that Lucas would never come back if he was to die. Not in this form or any other.

  Use the garden off my room. If Asher does come home early, I will make myself visible in the main area of the compound. He won’t look for you in my quarters. I should be able to buy you a little time together.

  And what of the others? Might they get suspicious if Lucas and I are absent?

  If anyone asks too many questions I’ll demand that his life be forfeited to me, Lenya says.

  I have to hold back a laugh. That sounds exactly like something Vanessa would say. Except I can tell that Lenya is dead serious. I can’t help but think of the man in the alley that night. The way Vanessa nudged him with her bare toes. The way she didn’t mind his blood pooling onto the street.

  The two queens lock low eyes over the top of the swirling water. Calen is a lazy fool with Asher away. He leaves his post by my door soon after he escorts me from bathing and doesn’t come back again until well after sunrise. Spend the night with me tonight. Tell Lucas to come just before dawn as the guards’ shifts are changing. You two can spend the whole day in my courtyard if you like. I will make sure that you are undisturbed.

  I am grateful for you, Lenya.

  And I as well for you, my friend, Lenya agrees. Even though this dangerous favor happened nearly a thousand years ago, I feel even more in debt to Vanessa than I did upon discovering she’d paid my hospital bill. Her generosity is transcendental.

  “I am finished here, Calen,” Lenya says, making her voice flat and bored. He opens a length of plush, ivory fabric and she wraps it around herself as she emerges from the steamy water. “Asher really ought to see that this pool is made bigger. I found it too crowded today,” she jeers.

  Calen casts an amused glance at Lucas over Lenya’s nimble frame and then follows her out of the iron gates. Spera watches them leave and then steps into the middle part of the pool. Lucas’s eyes follow her as she reaches for a white blossom and plucks it from its floating pad. His hard face melts into adoration as she sweeps the flower behind her ear.

  “They’re alone now. Why are they still being so careful?” I whisper to my guide as quietly as I can. Even though I know they can’t hear me, it feels like a crime to disrupt the silent spell between Spera and Lucas. My guide nods at the crystal walls, which are as clear as glass now that the sun has set. Guards pass by on two sides in fifteen second intervals. Their heads don’t turn as they march down the hall on the other side of the translucent divide, but nothing out of the ordinary is happening to draw their eyes.

  “You seem in good spirits, my queen,” Lucas calls out softly to her.

&nbs
p; “I am, Lucas,” Spera replies without taking her eyes off the water. She turns her back to him so that her face is shielded from the guards rounding the hall outside. “Lenya has an idea, a way for us to be together if only for a day. And I think it will work.” Spera tells Lucas about Lenya’s offer with her back still turned. Her hands absently skim the water’s surface as she talks.

  I can’t take my eyes off Lucas, mesmerized by the storm of want and fear that clouds over his face. His chin begins to tremble so slightly that at first I think I’m imagining it. But then a single tear drops from his eye and rolls down his scarred cheek.

  “It is time,” my guide says. Her voice seems so out of place in this most tender moment. I forcibly resist the overwhelming impulse to argue with her and instead let out a hard breath as conflicting emotions fill my chest to bursting.

  I long to be a part of what they have, to believe that I am connected to the devotion I see on Lucas’s face. But as I watch them together, the only thing I feel is distance. I know I’m invisible here. But each time he turns his eyes to Spera instead of me, it widens the gap between us. My grasp on where I belong in this is disintegrating to dust. One swipe across its surface and it scatters in the wind.

  25 Burned

  I’m not sure what I expected Lenya’s enclosed garden would look like, but I’d underestimated it by a long shot. Every inch of the two acre yard is covered with something blooming. For just a moment I can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to leave.

  Is this even real? I reach for the closest thing to me: an arbor made out of thousands of braided morning glory vines nearly ready to open their petals to the new day. Shimmering flower dust leaves a silver streak on the tip of my finger.

  Asher’s tendency to cage everything has only added more surfaces for plants to climb. Blossoming white vines stretch skyward along the crystal walls, giving the effect of a flowering spider web. The first light of dawn filters through the uncovered spaces of the crystal barrier and makes the mossy ground shimmer with a blanket of faint rainbows. I stretch my arms in front of me and marvel at the same effect the refracted light has on my bare skin.