by Jaymin Eve
“It’s weird that we’re all eighteen and basically married, right?” Emma snorted that out. “Like, when Lexen first explained the mating thing to me, I kind of freaked out on the inside, but I never thought for one second I didn’t want it.”
I felt Callie shrug next to me. “When you know, you know. I don’t think age is really that big a factor. And … life is short, relatively speaking. I say embrace whatever good comes your way and worry about the future when it arrives.”
Their confidence in their mates and the future of their relationships, was enviable. For the first time since meeting Xander, I had hope for the same thing. And sometimes hope was all that got me through.
The cave opened wider as we crept deeper, and thankfully the light remained consistent, despite the doorway no longer being visible behind us. “No sign of the stone yet,” I said, my eyes locked on whatever was coming up ahead.
“So what happened with you and Xander in the water?” Callie asked out of nowhere. “Did he say you bonded?”
My throat tightened. “Yes, the stone bonded us … like a Royale marriage.” I pressed my free hand to my chest. “I can feel him in here. But … I still don’t know about the future. In Royale, overlords choose the mates of their children. His mother already has a caramina picked out for him. If he goes against them, he might have to step away from his entire family and responsibilities. I’m worried he will eventually come to resent me if that’s what happens.”
“He loves you,” Maya declared. “Anyone can see that. I don’t know Xander well, but the side of him we all know is sort of arrogant and self-centered. But he’s not like that with you. He’s softer … kind. He shows that he cares, and not just about you. About all of us.”
Xander had pretty much said the same thing. “Sometimes love isn’t enough,” I said sadly. “I mean, if we were no longer welcome in Royale, where would we live? What would Xander do? He’s used to being a leader … he would be unhappy if that was gone.”
Before any more of this depressing conversation could happen, I caught sight of a gleaming reflection ahead. Slowing, I pulled Callie back.
“Did you see it?” I whispered, shifting my head to the side to find the glimmer again. “There’s something back there.”
With more caution, and staying quiet now, we shuffled forward. The cave widened considerably, and I reached out for Maya’s hand so that the four of us were linked—she was already holding Emma’s.
Warmth and energy filled me, and with that came a sense of calm. “Just in case we’re about to die,” Emma said, slight amusement in her tone. “I just want to say that I love you all. I’m grateful that we met.”
“Love you all too,” Maya added.
Callie sniffled. “Yes, same for me.”
Overwhelmed, I choked out, “Meeting you guys and Xander is the best thing that has happened to me.”
It hit me very poignantly then that a true friendship wasn’t always about the length of time you’d known another person. Sometimes it was the people who came into your life in the right moment and stayed for the tough stuff. We were new friends in some ways, but our souls had known each other for our entire lives.
Our bond thrumming between us, we took a step forward, and another, the far wall closing in on us. It was the end of the line. The last part of this cave. A round space opened up from the tunnel we’d been in, and I noted how different the rock in this round section looked. It was smooth and refined, almost manmade.
As the four of us stepped over the threshold into the circle, we all stumbled. It was only the combined grip we had on each other that kept me on my feet.
“Holy fuck,” Callie exclaimed. “The power….”
She sounded as breathless as I felt. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to suck air in. It felt like the energy in here was so thick the oxygen couldn’t fit.
“We need to find the stone.” I coughed, hunching forward.
All of us sucked in whatever air was left in the room, filling our lungs. With determination, we stepped forward.
“We can do it,” Maya chanted over and over.
I joined her, and then so did Callie and Emma. Our voices got louder and louder as we pushed through the power. It was only at the last second, when one of us put on the brakes, that we managed to stop before hitting the back wall. I didn’t think. I lifted both of my hands that were joined to my friends and slammed the bottom of our palms against the wall. The others followed; a ringing, like the ding of a bell, sounded around the cave.
Then the room fell silent.
The energy died away.
The rock before us slid across, like it was an automatic door, and light burst in from this new entrance. When my eyes finally adjusted, I was able to clearly see the stone rising from the floor.
“He literally buried it right at the equator,” I said, shaking my head. The stone would have been almost impossible to find had Laous not pushed us into this situation.
The four of us stumbled forward, crossing closer to the stone. It was huge, about the size of a loaf of bread in width, and two loaves in length. The color was next to impossible to determine, sort of opaque and opal, with shifting galaxies of stars inside it.
“We should pick it up together,” I suggested, hoping like hell the energy wasn’t going to rip us apart.
Callie cleared her throat, and I jerked in surprise when she removed her hand from mine in one quick tug.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, stepping back as she let out a flare of strong heat.
She shook her head a few times, her short hair falling forward across her forehead. “I … I don’t kno—”
Before she could finish her sentence, her flames burst to life. Emma, Maya, and I slammed ourselves back against the closest wall, barely escaping an agonizing death by flames.
“Callie!” Emma shouted, the roar of the fire was noisy inside the cavern. “What are you doing?”
Callie slowly lifted her head then, and I gasped loudly. Her eyes were glowing … and they were empty of all recognition as they brushed over us, looking right through us like we weren’t even there. She stepped forward and picked up the stone.
It felt like I might be in a little shock, because I just stood there openmouthed and stared at her. “What is happening?” Maya cried, clutching my arm.
I shook my head, refusing to believe what I was seeing. “This is not her,” I told them, completely sure. “This is not our Callie. Something is happening to her.”
Laous. This had to be him.
Callie started to walk toward the new opening. “Callie!” Emma screamed, straightening to go after her.
We followed, but there was no way for us to get close. Her flames were hotter than I’d ever felt before, the rocks on the walls around her turning red as she passed.
“We need the guys,” Maya said. “You two follow her, keep trying to get through to her. I’ll go get them—they’re going to be waiting for us to come back the same way we entered. They need to know about this new exit.”
I hated separating, but she was right. We needed help with this. Only Lexen and Daniel could touch Callie when she was burning like this, so we had to get them here now.
“Be safe,” I told her. “If you get to the front entrance and no one is there, do not step outside. We have no idea what Laous might have done.”
I knew that bastard had been up to something. Whatever was happening to Callie, it had to do with him.
Maya nodded, hugging us both and sprinting back the way we’d just walked.
Emma and I wasted no time hurrying after Callie, who was just about to step out of the cave and into the morning light beyond.
“Come on,” I said, gripping Emma’s hand, picking up the pace so we could catch up.
Luckily we did, because the moment the stone left the round room, the entrance started to close. We had to dive through to avoid being crushed, and I felt the burn of stone right across my arm as I leapt.
“What is happeni
ng to her?” I asked, trying to piece it together in my head. “How is Laous controlling her like this?”
Emma’s face went pinched. “It has to be the … the Soulstealer goo.”
The what now?
“Callie was taken by him and placed in this tank of goo,” Emma explained. “It’s a weapon, designed to wipe away the enemy’s mind and make them more compliant to suggestion. Laous wanted to use it to control her … all the secret keepers. We thought Callie had fought it, that her bond with Daniel kept her mind safe. But what if…?”
“He’s still managed to control a small part of her,” I finished.
Emma nodded. “Yes, it must have been dormant, just lying in wait until he could use her.”
She tripped over a stick and I caught her before she faceplanted. We were pretty close to Callie now, who had also started running.
“Come on,” I said, “we can’t lose her now.”
The fields were catching fire behind our fireball of a friend, which definitely made the chase more difficult as we dodged flames that were starting to spread across the dead grass and scrub. The sound of a helicopter grew louder in the distance, a few miles away across the open area. When it appeared, I let out a relieved sigh—it was the craft we had taken here. But then as it landed and the first figures appeared on the steps, I knew we were in big trouble. Laous, the bitch, and the dude who never said anything had somehow commandeered the aircraft and were now waiting for their prize to run to them.
They were here for Callie.
“Maya should have gotten back to the guys by now,” I said, fear lacing my tone. If Laous was here … where were our guys? There’s no way they would have let him just walk away from them without a fight, especially when we were out of sight.
Emma didn’t say anything, but her grip got tighter on my hand and I knew she felt the same worry.
“Callie!” I shouted, praying with everything I had that something would get through to her. “Fight him, Callie, you are stronger than Laous.”
Her footsteps slowed, but she didn’t turn back to us.
Emma joined my chorus. “You got this, Cal. There is no one tougher in this world. You can fight him.”
Her footsteps slowed again, and she shook her head more than once.
“We’re getting through to her,” Emma cried, picking up the pace, her breathing heavy and gait uneven. But she didn’t slow down or stop, she kept powering along.
“Come to me!”
That voice boomed unnaturally across the land, and I looked past Callie to see Laous standing on the top of the stairs, his hands raised to the sky. Whatever small part of Callie had been trying to fight was lost then. She started to full-on sprint, the stone held out in front of her.
More of the land lit up in her wake, and the heat and smoke from the fire was starting to get to me. My breathing turned into a series of coughs. Emma was in the same position. The next time she tripped, both of us went down in a heap, barely managing not to land in a bush blazing with flames.
The fire moved fast, so I rolled to the right, dragging Emma with me. My skin screamed as I scraped it across the ground, but hitting the fire would be much worse, so I just gritted my teeth and kept moving.
The air was a lot clearer down here, and both of us sucked in deep breaths when we got out of the main path of the flames. Cool wind brushed across my skin, and I looked up to find Lexen in the sky above. I could have cried as he zeroed straight in on Emma, diving down for her.
She was on her feet in an instant, screaming and pointing toward Callie—who was almost to Laous. Lexen’s fury washed across the sky in a rush of dark clouds and lightning, and when I peeked around the corner of our bush I was relieved to see strikes slamming into the area where the bitch and quiet creep had been. We needed to take out Laous’s backup. Then we would only have him to deal with.
“Avalon!”
I swung my head around to find Xander running so fast he was almost a blur. Daniel was close to his side, moving just as quickly. The moment Xander reached me, I was up and in his arms, his chest heaving as he held me close. “What the hell happened?”
Daniel didn’t wait for an explanation, storming past in a rush of heat and growling.
“Laous is controlling Callie somehow,” I said, already tugging him out into the open so we could follow.
“It’s from the Soulstealer goo,” Emma added. “It has to be.”
Xander swore, then the three of us were sprinting. Xander had to slow down to keep pace with us—we had no chance of catching Callie at this stage. Even Daniel and Lexen looked like they weren’t going to make it in time.
“Are Chase and Maya okay?” I asked, wondering why they weren’t here.
Xander nodded. “Yes, we had a little trouble with some of the locals right after you left. The timing was conveniently good. I’m guessing Laous and his guys used the distraction to slip away and get the aircraft. Maya and Chase are just cleaning up the last of the trouble.”
Xander didn’t sound worried, so I tried not to stress about it either. They’d be here as soon as they could.
“We’re not going to catch her in time,” Emma cried.
She was very right. “Go ahead,” I said to Xander. “Your friends need your help, and our human legs are too slow.”
He hesitated for a beat, then kissed me hard and sprinted away in a flash.
“Come to me,” Laous shouted again, his flames warding off the worst of Lexen’s storm.
“No!” I screamed, seeing that Callie was only a few feet away now. We were too late!
Out of nowhere—or so it appeared from my angle—a figure raced in from behind Laous. A tall, bulky man. For once his head was held high, scarred face filled with determination. He ran at full speed toward Callie, tackling her down to the ground.
She immediately started screaming, kicking and fighting.
“Rao!” I gasped, wishing we were closer so I could see better.
Emma choked on her next words. “He’s … trying to stop her. He’s giving our guys time to get there.”
Callie’s flames rose higher then and I couldn’t see her anymore. She had completely covered herself and Rao in fire, and I hoped Rao was immune to Imperial flames. Otherwise he had just sacrificed his life to save the stone.
22
Callie
Darkness held my mind, the same way it had when I’d been trapped in the concrestia goo, the Soulstealer, running through an endless land of nothing, screaming, desperate to get back to my family. The only positive this time was I knew what was happening to me. I knew it, but I couldn’t figure out how to fight it. My bond to Daniel flickered on and off, but I could never hold on to it long enough to actually free myself.
Words flashed across the darkness again, one of the few differences to last time. It reminded me of a computer doing an update, where the script would appear on the dark screen, scanning down the page.
Some of the words were in English too. I’d catch glimpses of familiar phrases, but they moved too fast for me to read them. My stupid fucking brain was useless.
Calm, Callie. Breathe and calm your mind. You’ll never be able to read when you’re trying this hard. Your brain is stressed.
Emma’s words came back to me, something she’d said often in the hours we’d spent learning together. She was so patient, never getting upset or frustrated by my shortcomings.
Her voice wasn’t the only one I had heard. There was Ava’s too, calling me back to them.
“Help me,” I screamed.
Why was I back here again? What had happened to the starslight stone?
“Come to me.”
That insidious voice slithered inside of me and my legs picked up speed, moving even faster than before. Toward what, I had no idea, because there was only darkness around. When I tried to stop myself from moving, I found that I had lost all control of my body. It didn’t run because I wanted it to, it ran because someone else did.
Laous? Could he have ha
d done this to me again?
I couldn’t rely on Daniel this time. I had to figure out how to save myself, because I sensed that this was bad. Time was running out for us all. I would be strong enough. My mom didn’t know me as well as she thought when she called me stupid and weak. I would be more than she’d ever dreamed for me.
Words appeared across the sky again, and I found myself focusing on the first word. One word at a time, Emma always said. Don’t look ahead or you’ll get confused.
“Sto-ne,” I said slowly. “The stone.” Moving on to the next word, I sounded it out, one by one. Each time the words disappeared, I came back to where I’d been up to, just like Emma had been drilling into me.
“The stone will … set … you … free.” I sobbed. “I read it. I actually freaking read it.”
The stone will set me free? What did that mean? The starslight stone? Or another completely random one? The words faded out again. I was trying to stop my legs again, because there was no way I could find a stone sprinting like this, when something hit me hard from the side.
I got my wish to stop, because the heavy weight knocked me right off my feet.
“Come to me!”
I began to scream, kicking and fighting and thrashing to be freed from whatever held me. Sweat dripped down my brow as the heat kicked up a notch.
“Callie, stop fighting me.”
It was another voice, low and thrumming with pain. “Just let go,” he said. “Don’t fight any longer.”
I wanted to stop so badly.
“Callie.”
The low, stilted way he said my name … I recognized it.
“Rao!” I shouted back to him, knowing he wasn’t here in this world, but wondering if he might be in the physical plane. With my body.
A scent of burning flesh hit my senses hard. I thought of his burned face. The fresh burns. The old burns. And now … there was so much heat around us.
No! Oh, my gods, no. Please … no. Please don’t let me be the one burning him this time. He’s already been through so much. Too much.