Deciding Skies (Fate's Intent Book 2)

by Bowles, April

  I quickly turned around and saw Lamar step out of the shadows. I wasn’t in the mood for him right now. “What do you care?”

  “More than you think. I can help us both get what we want.”

  I was about to just turn away but interest struck and I stayed to hear what he had to say.

  “You want what it is your father won’t allow you to have and as a result, I want what you’re stopping me from getting.”

  “Which is?”

  “The throne.”

  My brow creased and I kept my scowling eyes on Lamar. I never once thought that’s what his goal was and no one had to ask, I already disapproved of it—greatly.

  “It’s clear that you don’t want it. You never have so why deny my right? After all, I’m the son your father should have had. Take the girl, runaway with her and you shall have the happy life you’ve always wanted so long as you never return.”

  In a way I wanted it. I knew I wanted Adele but I also knew I couldn’t let Lamar get the throne and break the line of Kings laid down by my ancestors before me, no matter how much I never wanted it. Seni would be ruined. It was the most powerful country in the world and I couldn’t let that change. I wouldn’t. At least that’s how I needed Lamar to see it.

  “No. I can’t do that. You’ll never get the throne as long as I’m alive.”

  I turned before he could say anything else to me or even before I could see the hate on his face.

  My mind was heated as I took the stairs.

  Lamar’s true colors were showing and I couldn’t believe his request but is that what I was really doing anyway? If I left, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to come back and my throne would be reassigned to a lesser one than I. That thought has never really crossed my mind until now and I was beginning to feel split in my decision even if it only lasted a second.

  “Your majesty, these just came for you.”

  One of the servants was walking towards me with a vase of blooming blue roses.

  “Thank you.” I took them with me and carried them back to my room.

  When I saw Adele laying in my bed under the blankets, I smiled and placed the vase on the empty table where our morning activity took place and went to her. I placed my crown back in its box on the stand while kicking my shoes off and climbed in bed next to her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Is it wrong of me to lay in my own bed?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why ask?”

  Adele let out a long sigh and held onto my arm in front of her. “I’m sorry about walking out on you back there. It’s just—”

  “I know, Love. You don’t have to.”

  Adele sighed again and turned. “Yes, I do. I would have liked to tell you but I never thought it meant anything and it still doesn’t.”

  “It’s not necessarily your fault.”

  “I know but now so do you. I’m a polluted mix breed.”

  I laughed. “It’s okay. I’ve always known you were polluted.”

  “Oh, thanks a lot!” Adele backed away from me in a hurry with her mouth hung open.

  “Joke, Love! Relax! I was just kidding! I don’t care what’s in your blood. That doesn’t make you who you are.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “Well, I certainly don’t believe that. If I did, none of this would be happening and you would have been dead by now.”

  “I should be.”

  “No. I’d never take back what we did. I feel like a changed person because of you.”

  “That’s what makes this worse. I’m still me. I haven’t changed.”

  “I wouldn’t say that completely. Some part of you had to change or you wouldn’t be here with me.”

  “I suppose so but maybe that’s what scares me the most. I know that when I leave here, you’ll be gone and I’ll be alone.”

  Her tone was only lowering and I took her tighter in my arms. “Don’t think about that now. We still have time.”

  “But I already feel it happening. I miss you though you’re right here with me.”

  “You don’t have to. We’ll figure something out.” She sighed and I knew how I could change her mood. “I brought you something.”

  She lifted her head. “What?”

  I pointed with my eyes and she looked. I’ve never seen anyone get out of bed faster than she did when she saw the roses and she went straight to them.

  “Zayden! They’re beautiful!”

  I sat up a little and enjoyed her happiness while it lasted. “I’m glad you like them. First batch of the season.”

  “You really didn’t have to go out of your way for this.”

  “It really wasn’t. Besides, you’ve never seen one before. I couldn’t let that last.”

  “Well, thank you. I love them.”

  Her mood completely changed, maybe even a little more than I expected. She came back to the bed with her smile and crawled from the foot of it to get over me with a simple kiss. Then she sat up on me with a smile, taking a quick glance at my covered chest.

  I smiled back, knowing what she wanted now and we both started taking our clothes off without hesitation. I wasn’t going to stop this. I ripped my shirt off while still laying down and sat up to help Adele take both hers off. The last one came off over her head and I pulled her body close to me, rejoining our lips while my hands were firm around her bare back.

  Adele leaned me back on the pillow as we continued and started to move down my body. I was knocked out of my rhythm by the surprise but let her continue and she started removing my pants for me.

  I helped and Adele seemed she didn’t want to waste any time. She moved back up and kissed me while she united our bodies. I wasn’t fully prepared and held my breath for a brief second from the sudden urgency of her wanting me so badly. She didn’t do it slowly by any means and it was like instant pleasure.

  She smiled at my reaction and started moving her hips over mine while I put my hands on her back, keeping her down close. Breathing got heavier as our movements hastened and I guided her hips to where I wanted them to go. The pleasure seemed exceedingly greater the longer it lasted and the passion we had for one another only grew with it.

  It was like we were made for each other as lame as that may sound. We knew exactly what the other wanted without having to express those feelings through words and ended it perfectly, letting us fall asleep in each other’s arms.

  Nothing could have ruined this moment.

  Chapter 19

  Kathryn

  I knocked on the door but nothing happened.

  Another knock.

  Still nothing.

  I opened it myself and smiled by the surprise or maybe not so surprised to see Adele sleeping with Zayden in his bed.

  I walked over to the right side and gave Zayden a gentle nudge. “Your majesty?”

  He woke up just slightly. “Hmm?”

  “You’re supposed to meet your father for the luncheon.”

  Zayden’s eyes sprang open and he sat up a little bit, resting his upper body weight on his elbows. “Oh, yes! Am I late?”

  “Not yet. I thought I’d check in just in case.”

  “Thank you.” Zayden started to get out of bed then stopped, glancing next to him at Adele. “Ah—”

  I smiled again and began to back away. “Of course, your majesty. I’ll leave you to prepare and there’s no need to wake her. Your father requests just his sons meet him this time.”

  Zayden sighed while he hung his feet over the edge of the bed with a voice to match his mood. “Oh, great. I’ll be right down.”

  “I’ll inform him at once.”

  Zayden nodded and I left the room. I’ve always enjoyed seeing him just be himself and I’ve seen it more since he’s been with her.

  I walked briskly down the stairs to the King’s quarters and went in unannounced.

  Izin was standing inside, buttoning up his coat in front of a tall mirror. “Is he ready?”

  “Getting
ready—my love.”

  He smiled and turned to me, putting one hand on my lower back and touching my face with the other. “Everything will be fine, my Queen. You need not to worry about a thing.”

  I smiled back as we leaned into each other and kissed but it didn’t last. When Izin pulled away to continue readying himself, my once smile left me and solemn thoughts of Zayden replaced it. “How long are we going to keep this up, Izin? I don’t know if I can.”

  “You must. The time is not right. You know that I never wanted to keep his mother from him either but he could not understand why we had to do it.”

  Izin turned his back and I stayed where I was, folding my arms to hug my body, my eyes focused on him with some hope forming inside me. “I think he would. He was with her again.”

  Izin’s brow flattened and his eyes narrowed under them while he slowly turned back. “Was he?”

  “They’re in love, Izin.” I pleaded. “I can feel it.”

  “No!” He snatched, putting up his hand to still even my words with his deep voice. “I cannot let this continue. Not after knowing who she is.”

  “But is what they’re doing so different from us?” My eyes began to water and Izin started to calm and listen. “I once knew of a young Prince who found his happiness where he least expected to and though he knew it was wrong, he couldn’t let it go. Why won’t you let our son have that?”

  “It’s not the way for him. I can’t allow Zayden to live in hiding for something he loves. He will marry the Leccan Princess and he will learn to love her.”

  I turned away. I couldn’t hold myself together anymore and tears fell while I left the room, leaving the King to his awful plan. All I wanted was for Zayden to find happiness and now that he has, his father was ready to take it all away. It was childishly unfair and I cried for him. Izin was a great man and I love him but sometimes he wasn’t right in what’s best for our son. I knew I would have to be the one to correct him.

  Chapter 20

  Izin

  I waited in the conference room while my boys probably tried prying themselves away from those women so they could join me. It was almost nice to see them this way but some things had to change. Kathryn was wrong. It wasn’t true happiness. I was ready to tell them about some things that would hopefully get them to see it. At least for Zayden. This girl was not for him for several reasons.

  “Father.” They walked in anxiously like they already knew I was up to something. “You didn’t call us down here for just lunch. What’s going on?”

  “I was about to ask you the same question but it seems I already know. I’ve seen it before.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Feel free to eat while I tell you a story of a man I once knew. You see, he refused to understand the reasons this world was broken apart and because of it, it led to a time of secrecy and lies.” They sat quiet while they started picking at the food laid out in front of them and listened as I continued with my story. “He pretended to be someone he wasn’t on the outside out of respect for his family because he didn’t want them to feel shame for who he really was. He kept up with this life for some time until it wasn’t possible anymore. He was forced to give it up and as a result he was pushed into the life of war and his understanding for the world changed with time, turning his once friends into his enemies.”

  “Who was he?” Troy asked, getting a little interested in the plot.

  “He was me.”

  They were all completely caught off guard with surprise and almost choked on what was already in their mouths. “What?!”

  “You’ve never told us that before.” Zayden said.

  “Because I didn’t think I’d need to but now I’ve seen that I do. It was a hard learned lesson for me and maybe if I tell you about it, you’ll rethink what you’re doing here.”

  They looked at each other again.

  “What are we doing?” Darius wondered.

  “Let me finish. I was a little older than you when I started to rethink this whole war thing and that’s when things really changed for me. I traveled into enemy territory in disguise to find someone that shared my vision and I found him.

  “He was a young soldier who’s seen too many battles but never any reasons. He was seeking out the same things I was, thinking that there’s no reason for the world to be split. He became my best friend and we frequently crossed borders just to stay that way and have a civil conversation without the atmosphere of war. Soon others started to join us from both sides and we continued to all live this secret life.”

  “Who was the guy you met?” Troy asked.

  “Well, you’ve already met him actually, on your last mission.”

  Eyes shifted in a curious slow motion and Zayden started getting wide eyes but spoke quietly. “No way.”

  “Way. It was the current General of the most unfavorable place in the world, the esteemed Aleksander Balwin himself. He was just Aleks to me back then.”

  “Oh, shit.” Darius muttered still in dismay from the news. “That’s unbelievable.”

  “Well, believe it.”

  “But you hate him.” Zayden said.

  “And now he hates me but it wasn’t always that way.”

  “Well, what happened?”

  “We hid from war for a long time until it finally found us. It’s time you knew who my father really was and the actions that eventually led to his death. He was a heartless, brutal man who cared not for me but only had me because he needed an heir born of the royal blood of Seni. He found out what I’ve been doing and he was furious. It wasn’t the way he wanted his heir to reign with whispers of hope and peace so he sought to teach me a lesson.

  “The last time I traveled to the border to meet Aleks and the others, my father had a company of soldiers waiting there for us. Most from our group were killed, only few escaped but Aleks and myself were neither. We were detained and that’s when my father arrived. He was even more furious than when he found out and he ordered for Aleks to be killed by my hand. I couldn’t do it of course and I told my father that I wouldn’t. I begged him to spare his life, to let him live but he kept refusing until we came to an agreement.

  “Aleks would walk free back to Kalu and I’d never see him again but I wouldn’t walk free. I traveled back here as my father’s prisoner; his own son and when we got here, I was to take Aleks’s punishment for him on top of my own.

  “I received twenty lashes for my actions which was easily accepted as I took them rather well but what my father had happen next is what he used to break me.” I pushed up my right sleeve to my elbow where there was a thick straight scar the entire length of my forearm.

  “Whoa.” Darius muttered. “He tortured you?”

  “Well, not personally but he ordered it and was there to watch. I was chained to the wall immediately after my lashes where I had someone standing on each side of me, cutting up my body like a mirror image and I have all the scars to prove it. This is nothing.” I put my sleeve back down to hide it; a cruel memory. “My father was surprised about how I handled it. He wanted me to break down and beg for mercy but I never did. Instead, I turned every drop of my blood into anger and hate for the world as I started to see things the way I’ve always pretended to.

  “The world is a cruel place and it doesn’t necessarily have to come from an enemy but from your own. As soon as he thought I had enough and called off the torture, my mind had completely changed and my anger towards Aleks was strong but the day we parted at the border was not the last time I saw him. He found a way to make it to me shortly after we found out that Zayden’s mother was pregnant. Aleks heard about what happened to me because of him and apologized countless of times but I was too proud and angry to accept.

  “I wanted to kill him. I wanted to make him feel every bit of suffering I went through because of him but something from the past kept me from actually doing it. Instead, I told him to leave and never come back, that I didn’t want to see him again and I didn’t want him ne
ar my unborn child. We parted on those terms for the last time and he left, never to return.”

  “You must be telling us this for a reason. Why?”

  “During my time on the other side, I became quite close to those I’d never expect to see again but now my sons have seemed to fall in my path and brought me their offspring with the painful memory of our parting.”

  Breaths halted and hearts stopped. I was good at feeling that.

  “Father, I—”

  “It’s all right, Zayden. I know why you did it.”

  “Do they know you know?”

  “Why don’t you ask them?”

  The door to the conference room opened and a guard stepped aside, forcing the girls to enter. Adele was barely dressed from being pulled from Zayden’s room and the Black Wings of Death marks were visible on her hips.

  “Leave us.” I said to the guard.

  The door was closed and everyone stood in silence.

  “Allow me to introduce them to you properly, boys. Jaylyn Chamberlin, daughter of Bryce and whose mother is unknown to me. Both deceased, I imagine. Neither of them a fault of mine, in case you’re wondering. Ruby Paige, daughter of Gwen and whose father is—well, unknown to the world. Both deceased? Most likely sad to say. Gwen was a unique breed that is hopefully being carried on through her daughter. Then finally, Adele Balwin, born of her Kaluian father, Aleksander and her Senian mother, Cynthia. Any questions?”

  “Yeah.” Zayden said. “What are you going to do now?”

  Everyone looked at each other but I sat quiet in my chair only to make them more nervous. “Well, I know what I should do. The charges are quite severe, lying to me is probably the worse one though I knew it the moment I saw them standing at my door. It was like looking my past in the face. I could very well see that things are taken care of as they should but just speaking of the past is making me feel merciful because I am not my father and you boys better be thankfully lucky that I’m not. I do care about you so I’ll tell you that this is going to be hard. I can see just as well as any other of the bonds you’ve created in your short amount of time together.” I sat back in my chair and thought to myself, letting out a light chuckle. “You know, there was a time when Aleks and I actually planned for our children to be together.”