by Lindsey Duga
Because there was nowhere to go but down, we started our descent. For the most part, we were able to move along without one another’s help, but every once in a while, when Millennia wasn’t too exhausted from climbing, she would wave her hand, and the rocks would form a rough staircase.
By the time we reached the valley floor, the sun was already gone and we were able to see the first signs of stars. Millennia produced a small fire and, without a word, passed out on a flat rock, using only a small bundle for a pillow and her heavy robes for covers.
“I’ll take first watch.” Zach headed upward around a pile of rocks to get a good vantage point.
Bromley didn’t need telling twice. He unrolled his bed and covered up with a cloak, facing the small flickering fire.
I took my time getting situated. Occasionally, I would gaze at the stars and watch as the smoke from our fire drifted into the heavens like a hazy gray river. The moon and stars were so close it looked like I could reach up and snatch them out of the sky. At finally hearing Bromley’s breathing turn deep and rhythmic, I placed my hands flat on the cold rock and stared at them, thinking hard.
Did I dare go to Zach now?
Though every muscle in my body yearned to venture closer, the cold mountain air allowed me to keep my wits. Don’t go, Ivy.
What would happen if I went up there?
I clutched the sheet of paper with the spell I’d finally memorized. Gelloren told me to stay away from Millennia, a Romantica. They told lies. I’d always been taught that. But I’d seen the Golden Effect with my own eyes, so how could that be a lie? It didn’t mean Love was the trigger, though. So what was the trigger? Why, then, had the griffin burst into golden light when Zach sacrificed himself for me? Was it the sacrifice itself or the reason he’d done it?
I crumpled the paper.
Because he loved me.
I slammed the ball of paper on the rock and tried to smooth it out, my hands trembling. I had to stop thinking like this. I had to stop being swayed by him. Where was the princess who’d do anything, who’d Kiss anyone to stop a monster? To win?
I’d always been devout in my beliefs.
But I believed in Zach, too. I believed him when he said he loved me. But how could I believe in both things? Wasn’t that hypocrisy?
The spell words on the paper blurred, and I gritted my teeth. I stuffed it into my bag and stood.
I was tired of being confused and tired of being tugged in both directions. For so long I’d been able to ignore the Romantica and their beliefs, because they’d never been a part of my life. But now I had one who seemed to be taking over my every thought. Maybe I owed it to my partner to try to understand what he meant when he said he loved me.
Maybe that’s what was so frustrating about it all. I didn’t know enough about Love and the Romantica to make an educated decision about what I really believed. In a way, that was the most logical—the most Royal—thing to do. If I gathered all the information, I’d feel confident in whatever I chose.
Not like now, when I felt like I was teetering over a large abyss.
I needed to know what was down there before I stepped over the edge, or stepped back to safety.
The breeze picked up, and a strong gust loosened my hair and nearly blew out our fire. I threw some wood onto the pile and walked toward Zach, stepping to the edge.
He sat on a flat, elevated rock that allowed him total view of the valley. He saw me approach but made no move. I hovered above him, remaining standing, and looked at the valley below, thankful for the moon and stars that illuminated the mountain floor.
I shivered as another gust blew through us. “Aren’t you freezing?”
Zach had his arms crossed. He hadn’t yet looked at me. “I’ll survive a chilly night.”
I pursed my lips. “How was hunting with Millennia?”
He smirked, gaze still focused ahead. “Jealous I was alone with another woman?”
I stared at him, then sat down next to him, hugging my knees. “Maybe a little.”
His gaze snapped to me, lips parted in surprise.
It was true, though I’d felt only a slight stab of irritation, knowing she’d get to spend time with him when I didn’t.
Zach’s lips twitched. “You don’t have anything to be worried about.”
The moment he said those words, a rush went through me like I’d never felt before, and I ducked my head, determined not to show it. Yes, I blushed, but it was more than that. It was…a thrill that started in my spine and made me grin so wide my cheeks hurt. It was happiness in the strangest form.
When he caught me smiling, he took my chin and lifted my face to his. “Are you happy about that?”
The smallest smile played on his lips as he waited for me to answer.
“M-maybe a little,” I repeated.
It was possible that Zach hadn’t expected the same reply, but whatever the reason, something had rendered him speechless. With his fingers still holding my chin, we stared into each other’s eyes until I could no longer take it and turned my head away from his grasp.
I cleared my throat. “Did you and Millennia talk about anything interesting during your watch?”
Zach didn’t take his eyes off me. “Not particularly. She asked me about Saevall. My first mission as a member of the Legion. Wanted to know why I had never agreed to a partner before and”—he paused and finally glanced away—“why you were the exception.”
I swallowed and raked hair behind my ear. “And you said?”
Zach grinned, a full-blown smile. “None of her business.”
I laughed, now enjoying the cool wind on my hot cheeks. “For the record, I’m glad you agreed to be my partner.”
Zach raised a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s a load of griffin dung.”
It was understandable that he didn’t believe me—I hardly believed it myself, since it was only a few days ago when I was screaming at him for tricking me.
I smiled and shook my head. “It’s true.”
“Okay, I buy that you may not hate me anymore. But I’m still not going to Kiss you, and that’s the whole reason you wanted me as a partner…so what changed?”
“I—” My voice caught, the giddy happiness I’d had rapidly transforming into bouncing nerves. I closed my eyes to make sure I couldn’t see him when I said, “You were right.”
“About what?” he asked, his voice close.
“You said…tell me I’m wrong. That I’d be better off with someone else. And you’re…you’re not wrong.”
Without warning, Zach’s hand wrapped around my ribcage, while his other slid under my hair and cradled the right side of my neck.
“You’re not making this easy.” His hot breath tickled my neck for a moment before his lips made contact with it.
I inhaled more slowly than a gasp with ten times more tension in my lungs. My eyelids fluttered as the muscles in my back contracted. He held on to me, moving his lips across my skin in deep, sensual kisses.
Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I thanked the Sisters that Zach didn’t seem to know that a Kiss could be placed anywhere, lips to skin, and the magic could still be triggered. But I didn’t dare try anything. For one, I wouldn’t have even been able to think of a spell, but more than anything else, he would’ve never kissed me like this again. And I…I wanted him to.
I brought a trembling hand to his shoulder and pressed my fingers into his strong muscles. His hand on my neck moved gently over my skin, the base of his palm coming to rest on my throat. His kisses moved up to the corner of my jaw, right below my ear.
I’d heard other girls describe the feelings of Lust before—that it felt like hot flames were licking your body. Or that Lustful kisses were like fiery scorch marks all over.
But I disagreed. Zach’s kisses didn’t burn me in a way that fire would. Instead it was like being out in the snow and practicing with your sword until your hands were numb, then placing them in a basin of warm water heated by coals. The moment your fi
ngers touched the heated water, all you wanted was to plunge your entire frozen body in. You were desperate to feel the warmth spread to your body and shiver with the pleasure it brought.
As his lips passed over my throat and back to the edge of my jaw, a sound escaped me. I was desperate for more. My hands groped at the back of his shirt as he tilted my head upward, kissing at the base of my throat and moving toward my clavicle and farther down. His hand that rested on my shuddering lungs traveled down my hip and onto my thigh.
There was nothing that could keep me up now. I lowered myself down to my elbows and he followed, his lips now kissing my shoulder, fingers tugging down my sleeve to allow more bare skin for his kisses to travel over.
Without thinking, simply following the signals from my own body, I twisted under him. I didn’t even have to guide him—my hands simply brushed across his neck, and his face came up to meet my own. His breathing was low, labored, and hot against my lips.
My fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.
I should’ve seen his reaction coming.
His eyes snapped open, as if finally waking up from a trance. With a groan, he rolled off me, smoothing back his hair. “Troll’s breath, Ivy.” He dragged one hand down his face and covered his mouth. “You’re more dangerous than the vipers.”
For a moment, I was dumbstruck and still basking in the glow of that warm, heavenly bath. Then I shook my head, clearing it. “I didn’t initiate…that. I just came up here to talk.”
To try to understand Love, I’d told myself. Had that just been a pathetic excuse?
“Ivy, don’t patronize me.” His gaze landed on my bare shoulder. “You know how I feel about you. You came up here and told me… What did you expect to happen?”
I couldn’t answer that, not when I wasn’t sure myself. “I should go to bed.”
He stared at me for a few weighty moments then turned his gaze back to the stone valley. “Yes, you probably should.”
I stood, wobbly, and climbed off the rock. I was halfway to the fire when I heard Zach unsheathe his sword.
The Swordsman Prince must’ve had better ears, or his brain was much clearer than mine, because he had already recognized the crumble of loose pebbles and the hiss of goblins’ tongues.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
“Galleek Okk ak Yawk.”
I cursed myself over and over. This was why I had promised myself I wouldn’t surrender to Lust. Why I’d keep my focus on our mission. If I hadn’t been so distracted by…other feelings, I would’ve been able to sense them sooner.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on my mistakes. I ran to wake Millennia and Bromley.
“Attack!” I screamed, my voice echoing through the rock valley.
Goblins—three-foot-tall creatures with big heads and skinny limbs—climbed down the side of the cliff like spiders. From the look of it—close to thirty in all.
The moment my shout cut through the night air, the first two goblins leaped off the rocks toward Zach. He raised his sword and, with a flash of silver, sliced one down the middle, dust flying up and disappearing in the darkness. He pivoted just in time to slam his elbow into the side of the other goblin’s head. The creature went down, bouncing off the rocks.
Bromley jumped to his feet, awake and shaken. But, bless him, he had quick reflexes and tossed me my sword, then began loading his crossbow. Millennia, too, had woken quickly, neither bleary-eyed nor frightened. She was already running past the fire and into the battle.
Zach took on four at once. Swinging, dodging, and cutting, he tore through the goblins. The goblins drew back, snarling and muttering curses in goblin tongue under their breath. Unlike trolls and dwarves, goblins used only their claws and curses for weapons, making them difficult to dodge but easy to cut down.
“Don’t let them hit you with a curse!” I yelled, remembering Kellian’s comatose form lying in a bed in Myria. Another wave of the creatures jumped off the rocks. Zach had taken out five, but there were still at least twenty left.
Bromley swung up his loaded crossbow and fired arrows with pinpoint accuracy. He took down two, and with piercing shrieks, they fell to the rocky floor. I darted forward to finish off any that survived, swinging my sword into an upward cut on the first goblin. With an arrow sticking from its shoulder, it tried to twist away from my swing, but my strike was true. As my sword sliced open the tiny chest of the goblin and its shriveled gray skin crumbled into dust, I froze. Something was familiar about that goblin’s face.
Before I had time to consider it, sharp claws scratched my back from behind, and I yelled and twisted around, slashing down and killing my attacker. Pivoting to my right, I swung my sword in a great arc, lopping off another goblin’s skinny arm before it had time to cast a curse on Zach. The little beast screamed something in goblin tongue and struck me, its long nails managing to cut only the fabric of my tunic.
With the creature so close, I got a good glimpse of its twisted face, and my muscles locked in place, my breath freezing in my chest.
I knew this goblin.
Like all goblins, it was short, bald, with wrinkly gray skin, red eyes that blinked like a serpent’s, forked tongue, and long fingers and toes. But this one’s face was scarred.
And I knew by what. Because I’d seen it happen.
From its forehead, through its eye, and down to its jaw, there was a deep, long purple scratch that turned its eye a bright pink instead of the normal crimson. Through Minnow’s memories I had seen Kellian make that same scar.
Right before he’d killed it.
“Ivy!” Zach roared, throwing a dagger into the goblin’s head, just as it had been about to rip into my stomach with its claws. “Pay attention!”
I gasped and blinked, whirling to face the battle. Focus, Ivy. It could’ve been a mistake. A trick of shadows. A coincidence, even.
Not thirty paces away, a tight tunnel of wind surrounded Millennia. Captured in the tunnel were three more goblins, screeching and howling. She jerked her arms upward, and the tornado arched into the sky and opened, spitting them out to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Still on the rock, Zach engaged in a heated battle with five new foes. He would’ve killed them all within a minute, maybe two, if not for their curses. Zach was able to lash out only when he wasn’t busy dodging the curses that arced out of their fingers like lightning.
Brom and Millennia battled the last few goblins on the ground as I scrambled up the rocks to help Zach with the remaining five. Reaching the edge of their battle circle, I struck at a goblin with my sword. It managed to dance away from my blade and then turned on me, raising long fingers and licking its shapeless, shriveled lips with its forked tongue.
When my gaze landed on its reptilian face, I choked.
It was the same. The same face as the other one. The same face as Kellian’s goblin.
I saw the green lightning shake Kellian’s body all over again—his scream filling my head. How could I forget this last memory of Kellian and his fate? Through Minnow’s memories I had watched him kill it. With the power of a Kiss, his body pulsing with blue battle magic, Kellian had driven his blade into the goblin’s chest. It had dissipated into smoke. It had died.
Yet here it was. Alive. Miles away from the place he had killed it, only three weeks later. And there seemed to be…copies of it?
I turned to look at the goblins Zach was battling. The ones Brom had shot with his arrows. The ones Millennia had in her wind tunnel.
So I hadn’t been imagining it. How could there be so many of the same goblin?
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.
The goblin lunged for me.
Thankfully, Millennia saved me, hurling a rock into the side of its bald head and knocking it down. I darted around the rocks to where the goblin had fallen.
The beast was barely conscious, but I waited until Millennia and Brom joined me.
“Hold it down,” I told the mage.
Castin
g me a sideways glance, Millennia raised her hand and curled her fingers. The rocks on either side of the goblin crumbled and reformed around its hands and feet, pinning it to the ground. Its body twitched and struggled against its stone bounds.
I knelt down, ignoring the ache in my knees as the rocks dug into them, and pulled out my dagger. “Kellian killed you.” I lifted the blade over its chest. “I know he did.”
The goblin hissed, “Galleek okk ak yawk.”
Enraged, I drove the dagger into its chest all the way to the hilt. The goblin didn’t even have time to scream before it crumbled. The dust flew in my face, sticking to my wet cheeks, catching in my eyelashes, and flying into my hair.
“What did it say?” Brom whispered behind me.
It was Millennia’s voice that answered. “Yet I live again.”
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Hatching a New Plan
We plunged on into the mountains, regardless of the darkness. If there were more creatures coming, we had to put distance between them and us. I was thankful for the travel, though. It allowed at least part of my mind to stay sane. The other part of it pounded with the same horrid thoughts, and no matter what look anyone gave me or what anyone tried to say, nothing penetrated my outer shell.
I had shut them all out.
I wished to curl into a ball and disappear, then reappear in my bed back in Myria, with Colette and Robin begging me to tell tales of my adventure.
But this wasn’t an adventure. This was a nightmare.
How many creatures had my Kisses helped slay, to later be brought back to life?
And somehow then multiplied?
Had everything I had done, everything my comrades had sacrificed—I thought of Minnow, Tulia, and their princes, and Telek and Kellian—all been for nothing?
I spent a long time staring at Zach’s mark on my hand, realizing with horror that it could mean nothing. That my own mark perhaps was only a mark of death.
When dawn crested over the peaks, I led us to a stream.