Discovery at Nerwolix

by C. G. Coppola

  “How long ago was that?” Reid asks.

  “Hmm…” Blovid strums his chin, thinking, “it must be a little over two hundred years ago.”

  “Is it still there?” Reid asks. “The Glass Chamber?”

  “No,” Sampson says. “It was destroyed.”

  “How?”

  “After Reuzkimpart told the Leaders what he saw and they declared it a World-endangering prophecy, many were angered. The Glass Chamber was not to be entered, so how did a child make entrance?”

  “Huge riots erupted,” Blovid goes on. “If it was not off limits, they wanted to see their own futures. Hoards stormed the kingdom, looking for its whereabouts and sooner or later, the location was leaked and after that…”

  “Some wanted to protect it. Others wanted to use it. In the process,” Sampson sighs, “it was destroyed.”

  “The whole thing?” I ask.

  “Well,” Blovid shakes his head. “Not everything…”

  “It was the last time the Lost Princesses appeared,” Qippert stands in the archway, the red curtain pulled back. “They said we were not mature enough to handle our Gift. They destroyed nearly everything that was not already shattered. All except one piece.”

  “What happened to it?” I ask.

  “They took it—hid it somewhere on Dellapalania or one of her moons. They said they would return it at the time it was needed, to the one who could handle using it.”

  “Who?” I glance around the Dofinikes.

  “No one knows,” Qippert shrugs, moving further into the very tight space. “And that was the last we saw of them.”

  “Or of it,” Sampson says.

  “We are the only World that lost our Gift,” Blovid frowns, a tinge of guilt and melancholy reflecting in his tone. “It is why Mybyncia and Nerwolix protect theirs so scrupulously. No one except their Leaders know the Gift’s whereabouts. They fear the same will happen.”

  “But Reuzkimpart will do what he must to locate them,” Clarence places the bowl of Vilbrees on the floor next to the bed. “He believes the fate of the Dofinikes rests in it. It is an act of pure survival, and he will bring war on the Worlds to do it.”

  “He already has,” Sampson sighs. “You heard Queen Ravan—she wants to go on the offense and strike Dellapalania. What stops her from this once Pryncbia is fully recovered? Chancellor Keller only has so much say in the matter.”

  “The queen wishes to invade Dellapalania?” Jothkore’s eyes widen at the news.

  “Yes,” Blovid agrees, “she spoke of it right before I fled to Larupip. That is why I wanted you to stay and assist,” he glances to Sampson and Clarence. “We need her as an ally, not an enemy—it could severely impact our role in this war. Tell me, even after the toxin was reversed, was she still discussing a possible invasion?”

  “No,” Sampson shakes his head. “Her focus rested with the recuperation of her people. She may readdress the subject at some point, but the Chancellor assured us we have their aide if we need it. I expect this would include sharing any invasion plans with us.”

  “But do you think she would?” Blovid raises a brow. “If so, I will need to warn the others.”

  “No,” Sampson shakes his head. “As a courtesy to us, and all we did for them, I do not believe an immediate counterstrike is something they are seriously contemplating. If it changes, I am sure we will be notified.”

  “Good,” Blovid exhales a sigh of relief.

  “But what about Nerwolix?” Reid asks. “They’re still neutral. Hozfin told Sampson he doesn’t want to get involved in any war. Unless Jothkore has good news from King Thias, we’re sitting on neutral ground.”

  “Not necessarily,” Blovid shakes his head. “Nerwolix will only stay neutral until they are invaded, which Reuzkimpart plans to do. Once he lands, he will make a fierce new enemy. We just need to be here to help the Zingfinolds defend their lands and we’ll gain an ally.”

  “What about Thias?” Reid asks.

  “It is most likely that Reuzkimpart will invade here, in the southern terrain. There is a good possibility the Nerwos won’t even be involved.”

  “Why?”

  Clarence folds his arms. “It is believed the Floating Ruby is here, in the southern terrain.”

  “And the Nerwos won’t help?” I ask. “It’s their home too.”

  “They are a separate people from the Zingfinolds now,” Sampson explains. “It would be a surprise if they assisted us in any invasion. What do you think, Jothkore?”

  Pausing a moment, he considers. “I have been around King Thias for only a short while and he is just now warming to my presence. I have spent most of my time with Rhester and he advises everything that happened is still fresh for the king—”

  “After a hundred and fifty years?” Sampson frowns.

  “I am sorry, Fychu…” Jothkore blanches. “He is barely able to tolerate my presence. I am not sure if he would be willing to assist with people who seceded from his great-great-grandfather, especially if Dofinikes and humans are present.”

  “Then the Nerwos will remain neutral,” Clarence sighs.

  “Until their Gift is endangered,” Blovid corrects. “Then their enemy will be the Vermix.”

  “Dofinikes,” Sampson corrects. “They will eternally loathe the Dofinikes… there will never be peace between us.”

  The room grows silent, the question burning on my tongue. I need to know. And we’re finally here—finally talking about it. Knowing I shouldn’t, I give in and ask about the secret Sampson has been hiding this entire time.

  “What happened a hundred and fifty years ago?”

  A quiet moment passes. Without looking anyone in the eye, he exhales softly, his voice infinitely morose. “I stole something from them.”

  Stole? Sampson?

  “What?”

  Another silent moment and I know this is incredibly difficult for him. Finally, when he’s able to speak again, he stares off at nothing, seeing into his past, into something he desperately aches over. “King Thias’s most precious possession,” he says quietly, his words sailing through the space. I’m dying to ask what it is, but he moves for the red curtain. “Excuse me.”

  Once he’s outside, I turn to Clarence. “You know, don’t you?”

  He nods, still staring after his friend.

  “Clarence?”

  “It’s probably best not to ask him about it,” he says. “The Fychu doesn’t like to talk about his past.”

  “And you can’t tell us?” Reid asks.

  “It’s not my business to tell…” Clarence looks at us, his eyes sinking into me in a way they never have before. It stirs something. “We all have our own troubled pasts. I better go check on him,” he heads out.

  “Fallon,” Blovid says, “I am ecstatic we retrieved you in good condition. Take the night to heal. We will reconvene in the morning,” he moves for the red curtain.

  “It is good to see you again,” Jothkore smiles, following after the Arizal Leader. Qippert offers a polite nod before he does the same, leaving me alone with Reid. Once they’re all gone and it’s just the two of us left, we turn together at the same time.

  “What was all that about?” he asks.

  “What do you think he stole?”

  “I don’t know…” Reid lies down next to me, tucking a curl behind my ear, “…must be something important.”

  “I can’t imagine Sampson stealing anything.”

  “Maybe he was different back then. You heard Clarence… ‘troubled past.’”

  “But from a king?” I ask.

  “Well,” Reid sighs, thinking. “He was a Vermix. Maybe it was Reuzkimpart’s first attempt to get the Floating Ruby.”

  “But he said he stole it, which means he’d have it. No,” I shake my head, dismissing the possibility. “That’s not it.”

  “We may never know,” he gently tugs my chin toward him. “Don’t think about it right now.”

  “But…”

  Reid leans in,
softly brushing his lips against mine, cutting me off. He hovers a moment and kisses me sweetly again, setting a fire loose deep in my belly. I’m short of breath, my fingers gripping his shoulder as my lips crave his in a way that’s nearly painful. He pulls back, our mouths less than an inch apart. His eyes look between mine, a thought building behind them.

  “What?” I ask when he keeps quiet.

  “I’m just glad we got you back. Everyone wanted to go—all the Rogues, Blovid, even some of the Zingfinolds.”

  “Why didn’t they?”

  “Sampson said a smaller group would be better. Less chance of losing someone. He…” Reid glances down, playing with a curl, “…he didn’t want me to go at first.”

  “Why not?”

  “Thought I’d kill them.”

  “Who?”

  “Everyone.”

  I frown, waiting for him to continue.

  “All the Vermix. He thought…” he wraps the curl around his fingers, “…he thought I’d slaughter them all. Everyone I saw. We didn’t know if you were alive or dead and I… I couldn’t bear…” he gulps, closing his eyes as he shakes his head. It’s a long moment before he starts again. “I went through five before I reached you. And then I got to that room and…” his breath hitches, his words coming out in whispers, “the sight of you like that…hanging there.” Reid opens his eyes and looks at me, searing my insides. “I would’ve killed them all. If it wasn’t about getting you out, getting you to safety, I would’ve slaughtered them all, just like Sampson said.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “I killed eight Vermix. If you weren’t alive, it would’ve been every last one. I would’ve kept going until they killed me. That’s why Sampson didn’t want me to go. He thought I wouldn’t come back.”

  “Reid…”

  “I’m dead if you’re gone,” his eyes flicker between mine again, swelling my heart. “You know that, right?”

  “You wouldn’t go home?” The words are out of my mouth before I realize I’ve said them. I want to take them back. Not because of his answer, but because I’ve brought up Reid’s home. It hurts him; I know it does. To think about his family… to think about… her. But it’s the truth. If I die, he doesn’t have to stay. He can go back. He can always go back.

  Reid frowns as he stares down at me. He starts to speak but pauses, rearranging his words before he says them. After a long moment he trails a finger down my cheek, ending on my lower lip. “I have a past life… we all do… but this is the one I belong to now,” he looks between my eyes. “I wasn’t lying when I told you there was no choice. If something happens to you, that’s it. There is no going home,” he gulps, his voice softening. “There’s only following you.”

  My heart feels like it’s about to combust. It’s growing too big for my chest and I wonder briefly if it’ll expand, bursting straight through me and onto Reid. Holding my breath, my blood boils as he leans in and softly brushes his lips against mine. My pulse quickens, my body heating at the touch of his. At the feeling of his mouth on mine. At his scent. Just as I’m drowning in him, Reid pulls back and gently reaches for my arm. I’m not sure what he’s planning until he brings my wrist to his mouth and starts kissing it again.

  I bite my lip, watching as he closes his eyes, gently working his mouth along my irritated skin. Once he’s done with the first wrist, he moves to the second and moving his Callix out of the way, he keeps to the same slow torture as his lips undo the harsh grip of the Vermix restraint. Watching him do this, tend to me like this, I want to tell him. I want to tell him that he’s the most important thing to me, the most important thing I could ever have. But I don’t know how to say it. I don’t know how to tell him that if he ever left me, I would do the same. I would follow him into the dark.

  “Reid…” my heart takes off, my words getting lost in my throat.

  “Yeah?” he opens his eyes, gazing down at me. He smiles and I think I might lose it—right now. How can he do this to me? Make me feel like this? He leans in, pressing his mouth against my neck, his lips moving with infinite tenderness. I’m shattering. The feel of him… the scent of him… I’m overheating quicker than ever before as a strange new ache grows in my chest. He gently kisses behind my ear. “What is it?”

  Can I just say it? Just tell him?

  He brings his lips to mine, his hand resting at the base of my stomach. It sends tingles over my entire body. I’m burning up, especially as his fingers slip under the fabric of my tee, teasing the hot skin below. On impulse, I open my mouth and he slips his tongue in. Bringing his fingers over the shirt again, Reid inches them higher while keeping dedicated focus on kissing me.

  I need to tell him now.

  His hand moves even higher, over my rib cage and I’m starting to tremble. He’s touched me like this before—why is it so different now? I break away from his mouth and arch my back, getting ready for him. His hand sails up, slowly inching over my breast and my mouth drops open again. This feels so good. He feels so good. He takes me in his palm, squeezing gently as he brings his lips back down to mine.

  “Please…” I whisper against his lips.

  “Please what?”

  I want to tell him. I need to tell him.

  Reid’s hand trails even further up, toward my neck and pinching my chin as he kisses me. “You are so beautiful.”

  I hold his hands which are on me. “Reid…”

  “So beautiful…” he kisses around my mouth, sending me into a dizzying whirlwind. I close my eyes, getting lost in his touch until he finally pauses, his hands softly cradling my face. I look at him and he’s gazing down at me, an awed power emanating in his stare. It’s like he doesn’t believe what he’s looking at, like he can’t believe I’m real. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  That’s it. The words I’ve wanted to use, the words I’ve wanted him to hear can’t be kept in any longer. My need to tell him is swallowing everything else, overpowering every other thought as I gaze into his eyes. It’s time. It’s time he knows.

  My words come out in whispers, my heart beating against the hollow of my chest. “I have to tell you something.”

  His brows pinch together. A small smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, waiting. But I can’t speak. My heart is pounding too fast now, threatening to explode again. Do it. Just do it. But Reid leans down and places a gentle kiss on my lips. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

  He moves back to my neck and softly brushes his lips against my hot skin. Oh God I have to tell him. I’ll break if I don’t. Closing my eyes, I focus on the feel of his mouth, on my thumping heart, on this swelling inside my chest and give in.

  “Reid, I love you.”

  He stills, his breath warming my skin. Panic takes over as I wait for him to move. But his mouth is still at my neck, his body motionless. Finally, he pulls back and shifts focus between my eyes. It’s silent and for a moment I think I’ve said the wrong thing. My pulse races as I watch him process what I’ve said. Have I messed everything up? Should I have kept it in? No. It’s what I feel. It’s what I’ve known for a while. How can telling him be wrong?

  My breath hitches as Reid looks down at me. What do I say? Do I even speak? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I should—

  “Fallon, I…” his words are soft, tender. A giant knot grows in my stomach as he rubs the back of his neck, searching for a response. “I haven’t said…that… to anyone in a while. I…” he gulps, his breathing coming in labored gasps. “You mean more to me than anything. Anything. You know that.”

  “It’s fine,” I start to shake my head, ignoring the painful crater in my chest.

  Reid holds my face in his hands, stilling me. “You know that I lo—” he inhales, trying to find the words getting stuck in his throat. “You know how I feel. You are it for me.”

  I nod.

  “Just give me a little more time,” he frowns. “Please? The last time I said those words…” visible pain emerges as his
breath hitches. He closes his eyes and it breaks my heart. “They’re not just words. They’re a promise. And I want to keep it this time.”

  “I understand.”

  And I do. He’s not ready to tell me. Part of my heart is breaking but I have to remember how hard this must be for him. He made a promise to another girl that he’d spend his life with her and he’s here, with me. And Reid isn’t the type to break a vow like that. And he did. Even though there’s a stinging ache deep in my chest, I do my best to suppress it. It isn’t fair to him. I said what I have to and I know how he feels about me. Reid just needs time. And I can give him that.

  He leans in and places a gentle kiss on my lips. It’s sweet like the ones before, but there’s something else in it. Apology. Faith. He pulls back, the ghost of a frown on his face. “Let’s get some sleep. You need to rest.”

  I am tired after everything that happened with the Vermix, but sleep is the last thing I want. I want to crawl away and maybe quietly cry to myself, tend to this aching wound. Not that I think Reid doesn’t love me—I’m sure he does—but I guess I was hoping he’d say it. Expecting he would. And the fact that he didn’t stirs an uncontrollable ache I wish would just go away.

  Reid covers the jar of fireflies, darkening the room. He lays back, wrapping an arm around me, pulling me close. He nuzzles closer, resting his nose in the crook of my neck. “You okay?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  We lay in the quiet darkness after that. I’m not sure when Reid falls asleep but I stay up for a while, just staring at the wooden wall, wishing the tight pressure in my chest would stop already. It’s hard to breathe so I count to ten over and over again and finally, at some point, succumb to an overwhelming slumber.

  Chapter Six: Reunion

  A curved, wooden ceiling hangs over me.

  Blinking, I rub my eye, bringing myself to a fully conscious state. Where am I? We’ve been all over the place lately and I’m trying to remember where the last stop was. Oh right—this is Nerwolix. They brought me back here after I got left behind with the Vermix.

  Bringing the heel of my hand to my other eye, I stare up at the dark mahogany, finding golden veins traveling through the deep bark. I follow them across the way and to the other end of my home where Reid sits in his tribal wear on one of the red cushions. Arms crossed, he’s leaning back, his focus comfortably centered on me.