by Ashley Nemer
“Bow your head, little okht. It’s time.”
Nikole and Zayn both lowered their heads, and her tears stopped for a moment as they offered a final prayer for her beloved.
“Gods up above, please bring into your salvation Alec Palermo. He was a hero, someone who looked after his duties and purpose in life with an outlook that more men should have. He loved my okht Nikole. He kept her well when she was ill, and he kept her safe when I was gone. He is the definition of a hero. Please bring him into your light and let him pass safely and without hesitation, for he is deserving.”
“And please help him find peace with his family who has passed by the hands of my amm. May he ever forgive the Kadins and all the pain we have caused him,” Nikole added. She leaned over and placed her lips over his one last time, her hands wrapping around his shoulders and chest as she held him. His lifeless body already rock hard.
“I’m ready,” she said. Zayn went out into the hallway and called the staff back in as they left the room. Standing outside, Nikole saw Mehmet approaching her, and she could tell he had something to say.
“Your Majesty, I am sorry for the error in my ways. Please allow me to rectify the situation by continuing to accompany Nikole until everyone is safe. I promise she won’t get the better of me twice.”
Nikole left the men talking; state business was ever boring and tiring. She would much rather deal with the real people down in the fields, not just a handful of people high up.
“Nikole, let me take you home. I know you must be tired and would like some rest. My car is out front. I simply parked it. Come, let’s go home.”
Nikole had nothing left to give. Her fight, her spirit, had just died in that room with Alec. She pushed herself off of the wall she’d been leaning on for support and followed him out of the building. She accepted condolences from the head staff at the hospital, but she wasn’t in the mood to hear the words everyone kept saying. How did they know how this felt, to have lost a love she spent her whole life looking for?
Mehmet walked her to the car and she got inside. She wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t allow her to. “You have to stay with me, this helps with the overall security. You have nothing to fear. We will keep you safe, Princess.”
Nikole didn’t care about her safety at this point; everything she had loved was lost. “I don’t care about my well-being, Mehmet. Just keep Zayn, Adara, and the baby safe. I’ll be all right just staying at home.”
“You know that’s not acceptable. I’ll get you home and make you something to drink. Nikole, you are not alone in this. I’ll be here to help you. You are going to need a friend, and that’s what I am.”
“You haven’t been a friend for a long time, Mehmet. However, I do appreciate your companionship.” Nikole looked out at the mountains as they left the hospital on their way back to her home. This whole scene was far too familiar, the death and heartache. Haydar had brought the war of 1777 right back to their front yard all over again.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Zayn watched his okht walk out of the room with Mehmet close beside her. The situation had gotten so out of hand. Haydar needed to be put down quickly. He watched as the hospital staff rolled a gurney out that had the black body bag lying on top of it. One of the men moved to the side of the gurney and unfolded the black bag, the unzipping noise breaking the silence in the room. The two staff members took their respective places at the head and foot of Alec’s bed. They grabbed the sheet that was halfway down his body and straightened it out over him. Nasir walked up beside him and together they watched the sheet tuck just under Alec’s chin. They made sure there were no wrinkles as they tucked it in around his body.
“One, two, three, and lift!” one of the humans said. The men grabbed the edges of the sheet and transported him onto the gurney. His head bounced off the metal frame a bit before they had him settled in place. The clicking of the security belt was loud and disturbing.
“May we have a moment alone with the body?” Zayn asked the humans. His eyes were shining. Neither of the men wanted to make eye contact with him.
“Yes, we will come back in five.” The two of them left out of the back room, and Nasir walked around to the opposite side of the body as Zayn stepped forward. They both reached out and placed their hands on Alec’s chest. He had only been gone a short amount of time and already his body had stiffened to that of a board-like quality. They both closed their eyes, and the smell of death plunged through their thoughts, engulfing their being as they both paid reverence to this fallen hero.
“Thank you for your service to your fellow Algula and to the crown. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and your service will be memorialized. You were a good soldier, and a great supporter of Nikole’s.” Zayn paused for a second, the impact of the moment taking him back a bit.
“I will protect her; your life will not be taken in vain. We will avenge your death, and I will see to it that she moves on with her life. You have my word.” Zayn’s stoic expression gave Nasir the faith that his earlier message to Zayn was resonating. Nasir knew it would be a hard event for both Kadin children to overcome.
“We should go check on Adara. She’s most likely wondering what’s happened, and I’m sure she heard Nikole’s screams.”
“You go check on your future queen, and I’ll stay with the body. I’ll see to it that his remains are burned, and I’ll bring the ashes home to Nikole.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Nasir lowered his body and bowed his head, his right hand making a fist and crossing it over his heart. “Sire.”
When Nasir opened his eyes, he noticed Zayn had left. Good, he needs to be with his family, he thought. His left hand was still on Alec’s body. Death never scared Nasir as it was a natural part of life. That didn’t make the moment any easier for him; he knew how much Alec and Nikole had meant to one another. Their love had been quick and instant, the Nightingale Syndrome he was sure. Hopefully, Mehmet would do as he was instructed and take care of her.
The humans walked back into the room, and Nasir stepped away from the body. They brought the edges of the black bag up and covered Alec’s form. Nasir watched the zipper slowly slide from his feet up to his head. They unlocked the gurney and began wheeled him away. Nasir’s heart broke for the pain the family was enduring yet again. The humans shut the back door to the room, and Nasir was left alone in silence. Just another example of life’s events he would miss out on if he didn’t find his own happiness and family. He would never have a love to say goodbye to, someone to bury or pass on traditions with.
Nasir had been content with his lot in life up until lately. He would speak with Zayn once Haydar had been neutralized. It was long past time that Nasir found a family and happiness of his own.
Zayn appeared at Adara’s bedside. She was sitting up in bed, talking on the phone. He leaned over and kissed the crook of her neck, listening to her speak.
“Mama, I am fine, I promise. The baby is well; it’s a girl. We are going to name her Zahra.” Adara looked over at Zayn, smiling. Her king was here to comfort and protect her. “Mama, I told you I got a ring. It’s official, yes!” Adara pulled the phone away and whispered, “She doesn’t believe that she is going to have to call me Queen Adara.” Zayn tried to smile at how cute she was acting, but given what he just witnessed, he couldn’t, all he could do was nod.
“Mama, stop it. I’ll call you when I’ve settled in.” Adara hung the phone up, and Zayn couldn’t help noticing she was glowing. She looked amazingly happy and at peace.
“What did your mama have to say?” Zayn sat back in the chair next to the bed as he settled in; thinking that tonight was going to be long. He had completely forgotten the fact her parents were still alive, and that since her baba was a former Ghul, about what their joining would mean to them.
“Of course they want to meet you. Well, Baba knows you, but Mama doesn’t. She wants to know if we will have a full ceremonial shin dig, or if it will just be you and I.”
“I would love to meet your mama, and we will have the nexus just us and the full crowning for you; one where all of our subjects are invited. They will expect to see you by my side from the first moment you are queen. We will need to commission a crown specific to your powers and your lineage.”
“Forgive me if this sounds crazy, but I feel like the little girl screaming at the top of her lungs, ‘I’m going to be a queen!’”
Zayn just laughed. She was an innocent, and her smile was overpowering. “I am glad you have had a change of heart about all this. Maybe I should have enlisted your mama’s help from the start.”
“I don’t know, Zayn, but talking to her, making it official, changed something. We are going to have a bent and be a family. What normal Algula female wouldn’t be giddy?”
“You’re right. Forgive me for my mood. I was just with Nikole and, well, I have some bad news to tell you, Adara.”
“Is she okay? Is Alec okay?”
Zayn shook his head; he still couldn’t comprehend everything that had happened in the recent months.
“Alec, he’s, well… He’s gone. The torture was too much, and he’s gone.”
“Oh…I’m so sorry for Nikole. Is she still here? I should go see her.”
“Mehmet took her home. I didn’t want her staying here while they prepare the body. She was quite devastated. My heart breaks for her.”
“Is there anything that I can do?”
“No, just stay out of harm’s way. She will probably withdraw, and we hope that Mehmet will keep her grounded, but I don’t want you worrying about it or going to seeking her out. You have your health and our bent to concern yourself with.”
“I know what you are saying, but she is my best friend. I am going to find time for her, since she’s about to be my okht. There isn’t any way you can keep me from at least trying.”
“Fine, but you come first, all right?”
“Of course, our little bent is most important. If you want to go home and check on Nikole, you can. I’m going to be fine at the hospital. There is enough staff around that, if I need anything, all I have to do is ask. Go on; go be with your okht.”
Zayn stood up and leaned over, placing his lips on her forehead. “You are an angel. I’ll be back soon. You have them call me should you require anything. I love you, Adara.”
“I love you too, Zayn. Now go and be with Nikole.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Throughout most of her life, Leigh had known the pain of death. Not just the pain for the victim, but for the family. There was only one time in her life that she was allowed to weep for someone dying, and that was when her omm passed on. Unlike her abb, she didn’t blame Dominic for her death. As a woman you are taught at a young age that childbirth is very complicated and dangerous. To have one healthy child is a blessing. It’s why she chose never to have children. The life of a child wasn’t worth the risk of her own life. She applauded her omm for taking that chance three times. She was a far braver woman than Leigh.
Each time her omm had been pregnant, she remembered how her abb would dote on her. For a man who said weakness was a curse and forbidden, he knew a lot about it. She watched as her abb learned to cook, take care of the laundry, and tend to her and Derrik. For those months her omm was pregnant, her abb was almost a ‘human male’ with how compassionate he became.
Leigh walked through the forest, the ground underneath her shaking with each step she took. With her shoes off and her clothes stowed away, she recharged her faith in herself the way her omm and her used to do as a child.
“Leigh you have to let go of all your inner angst and free your mind to accept Mother Nature into your soul. It’s there that your roots will grow and your spirit will rejoice.”
Leigh watched and listened to her omm’s actions, how she communed with nature. At one hundred, Leigh was still considered a young Algula. She was trying to branch out on her own and take control of her life, but she still had at least one hundred more years of development left before she would be allowed to live on her own.
“Omm, I’ve watched you do this a hundred times. I know what I’m doing.”
“Just because you have watched me do it doesn’t mean you truly know. That’s why we are practicing. You are going to start training with your abb and his men; you need to be able to keep up with them. This is how you gain the upper edge.”
“I have my magik. Why do I need to add this to it? My magik doesn’t wear out.”
“That is only because we have not pushed you far enough yet. You have something other’s desire. Because you came from me and your abb, you will have both the magik of our people and then the magik of your omm. What we can do with our minds is unlike what anyone else can do. Remember that. You are special. Now silence, we will continue.”
Leigh opened her eyes from the memory of her omm. She looked around, and the trees vines had started to grow in spirals out of the ground, building a bridge across the way from one another. She dropped her head back and looked up into the sky. Her face was warmed by the sun’s heat. She felt her body soak in the rays as the natural energy and strength took hold.
Omm, how did this happen? Why did I grow compassion for a man just to have him killed?
Her questions went unanswered. She didn’t expect to hear a response, but she had to ask it. She continued to seek comfort from her omm since her death, but she knew it was forever childish. She knew she should be grateful she wasn’t her akhs, for their fate was far worse than hers. She understood their abb never loved them like he loved her. He made sure everyone was aware of that.
Growing up, she had always been proud that her abb loved her and felt the need to reward her successes. She liked being the leader’s bent. She had used this to her advantage when moving up through the ranks. However, now she was tired of playing second to a man who was stuck in the past. All he cared about was righting the wrong that happened a thousand years ago. It was time her abb moved into the modern day and realized there was much more at stake than a title.
Haydar appeared behind her, off in the distance. He had known where she would be. Every abb knew where their bent was, especially a controlling one like him. He watched her walking through nature; she was naked like his Sarah used to be. How he missed doing this with her, the many doors she had opened just by helping him relinquish the hold on his mind. Yes, Leigh reminded him a great deal of Sarah.
“Haydar, I’m going to kill you!!!” Sarah screamed as she pushed their bent out of her body, the little cries picking up in pitch, echoing throughout their compound.
“Sire, Mistress, it’s a girl,” The midwife said.
“What do you mean a girl? I need an heir. There must be an ebn’ in there.”
Both of the women paused for a moment and looked at him. “Give him his bent.”
The midwife handed her over to him, a single towel wrapped around her body, the umbilical cord cut from her stomach. Haydar cradled the baby girl in his arms while she cried.
“Sounds like she has your temper,” he said to Sarah.
“She should to put up with you as her abb and all the men she will be around.”
“Since she was born in Westleigh, that’s what we will call her.”
“Sire, that’s no name for a bent, it will be confusing.”
“Imbecile, I’m not going to call her Westleigh; I’m going to call her Leigh. Be glad you are the only wet nurse around, or that would have cost you your life. It still might.”
Haydar had been proud of that little girl he’d cradled in his arms not so long ago, well, eight hundred years ago. But she was rebelling, and he couldn’t have that. He needed to rein her in, if nothing else for her own good. He started to move towards her to confront her about her attitude change and demeanor when something told him he needed to be at the hospital. His services were more important there. So, after taking a few steps towards his naked bent, he vanished.
Leigh heard the twigs snapping and turned around. No one was there,
but she knew she hadn’t been alone. Walking over to where the grass was trampled, she knelt down, her breast grazing the grass blades as she inhaled the scent left behind.
“Abb.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Nikole hated the silence in the car on the way home from the hospital. She felt like Mehmet was coddling her, and she didn’t want that. She needed to mourn her lover alone and not have someone hovering over her every moment. She could see her home up ahead in the distance and thought about vanishing form the car and just appearing in her room. But that required effort, and she had none to give.
Mehmet watched her stew in the passenger seat for the entire ride home. “When we get home, can I get you anything, Your Royal Highness?”
“You don’t have to call me that, and no, I don’t want anything from anyone.”
“You said we stopped being friends long ago, thus, I should be formal. If you need something, all you must do is ask, and I’ll get it for you.” He was keeping his tone steady not overly aggressive but also not weak. He wanted her to know that there was someone around her strong enough to offer comfort, but not pushy enough to invade her space.
“Stop the pretenses, Mehmet. Do not act like you are the innocent one with all this formality bullshit. You left me back then; you used me for one moment and then vanished. At least Alec was willing to be with me publically. He didn’t let the fact that I was from the Royal Family get in his way.” She thought about that statement, unsure if it was even true. He wasn’t willing to come live with her …yet he had kept her in his home.
“You do not know what you are talking about, Nikole. Don’t work yourself up over the past. Let’s focus on the here and now and make the necessary arrangements for Alec.”
“I don’t know what I’m talking about? I DON’T KNOW?!”
Nikole’s body language came off as very aggressive and lethal. Mehmet slowed the car in front of the door, and Nikole huffed out of the car, slamming her door shut. He could hear her mumbling under her breath when she stormed inside. He had known this would be hard; it was why Nasir had given him this task.