Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

by C. M. Stunich

  I drifted once more in black, the light gone.

  Blood and sand and stone. I was having the bad dream.

  We’ve got you. Just hang on, Mila. We’ve got you.

  The words were faint. I hung onto them. They had me. They…

  5

  Water splashed my face, and I jerked. I lay on a thin mattress, coarse cotton beneath me. All around me was black once more, and I gasped in a breath. Had the last few days been nothing more than an elaborate dream? Was I finally going insane?

  Water splashed me again, and I sputtered.

  “Time to wake up, freak. Master Ishu wants to see you.” A latch opened, and a door swung open, letting in a stream of light and illuminating the small cell in gray.

  I reached up and found the pendant of feathers and talon around my neck. Not a dream. I gripped my talisman. What had happened? Where was I?

  No, not a dream. Audax, still with me. Orel was there as well, and Kunil, restless and prowling in my mind. Not a dream, Mila, but after you fainted, a new wave of soldiers attacked, and we… we lost you. We are having trouble getting to you. There is something blocking your scent and our sense of you.

  I thought back to one of the last things I’d seen, tarnished silver and gold crashing together.

  He is gone. Taken care of. A tone of shame entered Audax’s thoughts. Kunil had to come help me, and that is when the soldiers grabbed you.

  Orel?

  Alive. Injured, but healing fast.

  An image formed in my mind—streaks of color wove in and out of sand, more than the white-lavender, gold, and copper I knew. There was rose and mint and shining silver. One the pale blue of a cloudless sky and another that echoed the shades of a sunset.

  I’ve called to others, Audax said. I don’t know if they will answer or if they will arrive in time.

  Where—?

  We are here, with you. We seek you. But it is as though the soldiers know where we will be even before we manifest.

  The man in red.

  Yes, we suspect it is him, that he is like you. And the tarnished silver, as you think of him, was the red-robed man’s protector.

  “Come on,” the guard said, kicking the bunk. “He’s waiting.”

  Mila, no.

  I rose. He needs to be eliminated if we are to take the compound.

  Now, now. A new voice entered my mind, cutting off Audax. No conspiring behind my back.

  My steps faltered, and I stumbled. How had...?

  I know many things, young lady. And as I said, I have been waiting for you for a long, long time. A ghostly hand skimmed down my arm and dug into my wrist. I knew Fergus would die this day, but it is still a grand loss.

  “Hey, are you deaf as well as blind? He’s waiting.” The guard yanked me from the cot and dragged me out of the cell.

  I reached for my connection with the gryphons again, but it was faint and like reaching through the thick black dyes filled with rotten nutshells and urine. Disgusting.

  After four turns and eighty-four steps, the guard pulled to a halt and knocked on a door. At least I retained my returned—if feeble—sight.

  “Enter.”

  A latch clicked, and hinges squeaked as the door swung open. The guard pulled me in front of him and shoved. “Freak,” he muttered, then pulled the door closed behind me.

  “Mila.” The robed man stepped from the corner, a faint nimbus of silver surrounding him. “So kind of you to join me.”

  Sand beat against a window, drawing my attention.

  “They can’t get to you here. You have no need to worry.”

  “Why would I worry that they seek me. I want to be found.”

  “My dear, do you?” He let out a heavy breath and moved to a square table set to the side. He pulled out a chair and gestured.

  I stayed where I was.

  “No? Very well. I find it interesting that you can see. I was told you were sent to the compounds due to blindness. This is your flaw, yes?” He adjusted the chair and sat in it himself. “Or are there other flaws we just haven’t seen? Tell me, what do you see when you look at me?”

  I stiffened. What did he know? “Why are you here?” I asked.

  “For you.”

  “No. Why are you here? Now?”

  “As I said, for you. I knew you would be here.” He sat back in the seat, silver eyes trained on me.

  “And how did you know I would be here? I was sent to Eusos.”

  “Do you really think I will give away all my secrets?”

  He’d seen it. That was the only explanation. He was like me, just as Audax suspected, and he’d seen it coming, somehow. I took a step forward.

  “Yes, I saw it. Just as I see you. Even now, the emperor has troops on the way to your precious compounds. Those three gryphons will be no match for what comes their way. You can’t stop it. Maybe they will return to their desert, or maybe they will bring the sands. It matters not because those you like to think of as your people will be dead, gone, wiped from existence. The little girl, what is her name? Jamie? Strung up and the flesh flayed from her back. I’ve seen it. Your albino friend? Gutted by a guard’s blade.”

  My stomach twisted as his words sank into me. The visions bloomed before me. Were they real or conjured by this man?

  He stood and approached, stopping within arm’s reach. “Pity the compounds ruined you so,” he murmured, studying my face. “I prefer the unscarred. Though your eyes are lovely.” He stepped back. “I will offer you one chance. You may join us and help the empire keep this land. The gryphons will follow you. They will not be able to resist the pull of a seer. In exchange, I will ensure mercy is shown to your friends. Think on it.”

  With those words he was gone, the door closing behind him, followed by a loud click.

  His offer wasn’t something I needed to think about. What he proposed would never happen. I wasted no time in exploring. Square room, one small window covered in an iron grill, a small mirror beside it, one door. The table, two chairs. A lounging bed in a corner, the cushions dusty. A side table with a clay pitcher and washing bowl. That was it.

  Audax? I sent the thought but didn’t hear back. The brothers were still muffled. It must be something about the room or something the robed man had done. I began my search again. My attention turned back to the window. The iron grill was built into the stone, the mortar securing it soundly, no chips or deterioration. The pattern allowed no more than a few fingers to slip through. No escape here.

  Minutes passed, then hours. I paced. I explored the stone walls once again, looking for cracks or weak points. I paced some more, thoughts racing.

  One thing stuck with me. The emperor’s soldiers were on the way. They needed to be stopped. And if my earlier vision was correct, the workers of Saar were ruining the food supply and would soon be slaughtered, if they hadn’t been already.

  How to stop it? The easy answer was to accede to the robed man’s terms. I was done doing things the easy way. This had all started with dreams and visions. Maybe I could end it with the same. Or the lack of them.

  Sitting on the dusty lounging couch, I gripped my connection to Audax and sent a message. I only hoped he got it.

  Empire troops already on the way. Stop the death. Then a last one. I’m sorry.

  With that, I pulled into myself, imagining a steel vault with no seams—something impenetrable. It would hide me from the seer, from everyone. I pushed the idea into my mental shield. As the last of it formed, my sense of the gryphons was severed.

  A roar of rage sounded in my head before being it too was cut off. The gray lines of the room faded to black. I gripped the edge of the table and looked down. No fingers, no cast of purple. I hoped that when the empire’s seer had been dealt with, I could put this to rights.

  Ignoring the hollow feeling in my heart, I created a second vault within the first, and sealed my new instinct within it. I probed the edges, checking for cracks or seams. Nothing. For all intents, I should now be invisible to the seer’
s predictions.

  A wiggle-worm of doubt crawled through me. It was probably useless. I had no idea what I was doing. But I had to believe I could do something or give up hope right this second. And I was not giving up.

  I ensured the clay pitcher and bowl were in easy reach, then folded my hands in my lap. Only thing I had left to do was wait. When the empire’s seer returned for my answer, I would be ready.

  The sandstorm continued around the compound. In the distance, the occasional scream reached me, mostly from men, but also a few women. I traced the brocade of the upholstery and paid no heed to the tears that escaped and ran down my cheeks. All I needed to do now was wait. Just wait.

  The air had chilled, the last warmth of the sun gone, by the time the robed man returned. Except this time, I didn’t see him, not at all. Only the rustle of robes and shuffle of feet clad in soft leather told me it was him.

  As the door closed behind him, I slid my eyes closed. Other than mine, only one heartbeat, one set of lungs working to breathe were in the room.

  Good.

  “What did you do?” the emperor’s man hissed, his voice no longer smooth or assured.

  I shrugged. “Nothing. I’ve been right here since you left me.”

  He closed the distance between us and gripped my arm. His fingers would leave a bruise.

  “What did you do to yourself? Why can’t I sense you?” He shook me. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  I tilted my head back and sent a smile in his direction. “What I had to.” With that, I gripped the edge of the bowl and swung it up in the direction of his voice with all my might. Water splashed over my hand and into my lap. Metal met bone with a hard crack, and his grip slackened. With a small grunt I swung again, putting everything I had behind it. All my rage, my anger at the years of abuse, my need to see my friends survive. My hurt at the loss of the connection to my gryphons. Every dark feeling that had stirred in me over the years went into that last blow.

  He dropped. Without another sound he fell, his body thunking to the floor like a drunken goat. I rose, poised above him, monitoring for any other sounds. When none came, I knelt and, keeping my weapon in one hand, fumbled for his pulse with the other. Nothing. I felt the other side of his neck, my fingers slick with blood.

  Still nothing. I sat back on my heels and pulled the bowl to me, waiting. I wasn’t convinced he was truly gone.

  Minutes passed, the air filled with the sickly copper scent of cooling blood. Finally, I began to relax. When the guards returned, I would be in trouble, but I’d removed the empire’s advantage. Trembling with adrenaline and relief, I rose and stumbled to the window, fumbling for the edge. Maybe my gryphons would hear me now. It was an empty hope, I knew. I’d cut myself from them.

  My bloody palm met the cool glass of the mirror. Light flared, a hot white, then faded to black just as quickly. What new thing was this? I had just begun to get a handle on the old-new stuff. I couldn’t handle new-new stuff.

  “Ishu? Is the deed done? Is she dead? I don’t like this plan of yours. The prophesy sai—” The man cut off. “You are not Lord Ishu. Where is he? This mirror is keyed only to him.”

  I pulled my bloody hand from the surface. Oh. Blood. Why did everything seem to involve blood? “Who are you?” I asked.

  Silence, for so long I wondered if the magic was over. “You’re her.” A low whisper with a slight tremble at the end. Fear and loathing.

  What did someone say to that? “Maybe. Depends on who ‘her’ is. And who you are.”

  “Present Lord Ishu. Now.”

  I waggled my fingers. “No.”

  “Who. Are. You?”

  “I’m Mila Inovi. Of Eusos.” The title felt correct on my tongue. “Who are you?”

  The voice hardened. “I am the chosen of the Great One and the father of kings. I am the man you should be kneeling before, flawed.”

  I stilled. It was the gods-be-damned emperor. My lungs stalled, my heart skipped, and my muscles locked. Then my blood rushed. “In that case, you are just the person I wanted to speak to. You’ve probably figured this out, but Ishu is dead, as is his protector.”

  An indrawn breath.

  I didn’t let him speak. “Your emissary is on the way back to you. He has our terms. But I will present them to you here. Now. New protectors have claimed these compounds. You will cede us these lands, or the sands will come down around you. I don’t know if you have more seers or gryphons. I don’t care. We don’t care what you send, who you send. These lands have been claimed. And if you do not agree, we will claim more until your empire is nothing but sand.”

  Silence.

  “Your choice,” I said and grabbed the frame of the mirror, ripping it from the wall and slamming it to the ground.

  6

  I sat at the table, trying to pry my mind open again. Considering I didn’t know what I had done in the first place, I wasn’t sure where to begin. The cries of workers blended with the screams of the guards and the roars of my gryphons. They would find me eventually; I knew they were looking. And I had so much to fill them in on.

  The edges of my vault were tight, though, and no matter how I tried, my imagined openings never appeared.

  There was a commotion beyond the door, and it crashed open.

  “Mila, there you are,” Orel said, his butter voice relieved. He let out a small oof, and feet trampled closer.

  “What did you do?” Kunil ground out from my left.

  A gentle hand skimmed down my head. “I can’t feel you. You’re not there anymore.” Audax stood behind me. Sorrow echoed in his tone.

  “I can’t get my mind back open. I’ve been trying.” My voice was low and steady, even as my eyes darted around, straining to locate any of their light. Nothing. No gold or copper or white-violet. I was stuck in the dark again. “I had to. I had to.”

  I really had thought that the moment they found me, the connection would snap back into place. No, it was truly gone. I slumped, unable to imagine anything but the dark. It seemed fate really was cruel, holding out to me something I hadn’t even been sure I wanted, or believed in, and then ripping it away.

  Maybe this wasn’t the worst thing. I leaned toward the heat generated by Kunil’s large frame. Hadn’t he been dragged into this? Maybe this was an opportunity for him. The connection was broken. They could move on and go where they now chose.

  “Hey, we aren’t going anywhere. Didn’t we search for seven years?” Audax whispered to me.

  He could still hear me?

  “Of course I can. Just as I could before the blooding.”

  “You didn’t search for me for seven years,” I pointed out. “And—” I swallowed. “And now you are free from fate.” My voice faded at the end. I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to let them go, but…

  “Stubborn,” Orel muttered from my other side. “They may not have, but I did search.” He gripped my chin and turned my face in his direction. “And I’m not letting you go.” Then his lips met mine, warm and insistent. He tasted of cool spice, like a refreshing concoction on a hot day. He pulled away.

  I hadn’t expected that kiss, or my reaction. I wanted more of it, of him, even without the bond in place. It was a revelation. I wanted to sink into him, hold him close. And not just him. All three of them.

  He pulled away and whispered in my ear, “What a gryphon claims, it keeps. I’ve known since the first dream. I’ve known it would be you. The Mila of old,” he continued, “who knew exactly how to get what she wanted. The Mila of the flawed who is anything but and who could not be broken. The new Mila who fights.” His lips pressed against the side of my neck. “Mila of Eusos, who is stubborn and beautiful and everything a gryphon could want.” His voice caught on the last. “I feared—”

  Air swirled, and he grunted. Then Kunil’s hot spice surrounded me. A hard and callused hand cupped my cheek. No one spoke.

  I let out a shuddering breath. Was he glad the connection was severed? He had submitted the first time, but no
w… And Audax…

  Even if they said they wanted the bond, did they? How could they? Orel had had the dreams, as had I. In a way we knew each other through those. Or at least the essence of the other. But Audax and Kunil didn’t remember theirs. A few days weren’t enough to be certain of such a decision, no matter what they said. I had gone through with the bloodings initially because of impulse and instinct and a need to see the other flawed safe.

  There was no instinct guiding me this time, and the flawed would be safe and protected in this territory regardless.

  Audax’s hand tightened in my hair. “No. No, no, no.” His fingers loosened and fell away. “I am not losing you. There but not. It’s not right. I don’t understand what you did, but it’s not right.”

  “No,” Kunil said from in front of me, the one word curt.

  Is that all he would say? It told me nothing.

  His heat faded from in front of me, and glass clinked. “No, it is not right,” he continued, lower. Cloth rustled. “Red robe is dead.”

  It wasn’t a question, but I answered. “Yes.” I had so much to tell them. But I didn’t know what “no” meant, and though I should probably leave it, I couldn’t. “What of you, Kunil?” I twisted to face where he had last spoken. “Now that it seems fate has released us, what will you do? What does ‘it is not right’ mean?”

  “I’ve told you, stala. I don’t believe in fate. I believe in treasure. And what I’ve claimed, I don’t let go of.” He was closer. In a moment I was scooped into strong arms, and hot spice once again surrounded me. “There’s broken glass in here. I don’t want you stepping on it. And you don’t need to be in the same place as that man a moment longer.”

  He strode for the door, and I sank against him. That wasn’t quite what I’d meant, but I let it go for now. In a way, it was reassuring. I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what.

  “Mila.” Sweet butter soothed me further. “What happened?”

  “I spoke to the emperor through the mirror. I delivered our message. Then I smashed it.” I wasn’t telling this in the correct order. “No, I need to back up.” A door creaked open ahead of me. “It was the only thing I could think to do. I… hid myself—I don’t know how else to describe it—so the red-robe couldn’t see me. See what I planned. But it cut me off. Then I bashed his head in.” A smile stretched my lips as I bared my teeth. Maybe wild Mila was still there.