by H. D. Gordon
A smile. “I’m appealing?”
I nodded. “Very, actually,” I said, allowing a little hope to bloom in my chest. He looked very much like he was considering it.
Arrol’s eyes never left mine, and I suddenly could see through his cool mask and into the pain that he hid there, and I wondered what in his history could have caused it, but was pretty sure that was a mystery I would never get to know. It made me feel bad for asking this of him, as it seemed like I had been asking for a hell of a lot from the people in my life lately. But what choice did I have? Time was ticking and ticking.
“As you wish,” he whispered. “I’ll do my best to secure your passage…but I want a kiss.”
The relief that had jumped up in me was squashed by his last words. “Arrol, I—”
He put his fingers to my lips. “Just a small one,” he said, his voice low. His fingers reached up and trailed through my hair. “You smell so much like her, you know. My Sun Warrior that I told you about.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and I couldn’t help but hear my black heart breaking a little for him. “The one that was never truly mine. You both smell like summer and sunlight and spun sugar. Just one kiss.”
This whole world is filled with heartache, Warrior.
“Maybe all worlds are filled with it, Monster.”
I wasn’t sure why, but I really didn’t want to deny him his simple request. Really, it was such a small thing to ask for. By the look that had crossed over his face when I had asked for my favor, I knew that it would probably not only be difficult, but unpleasant for him to secure our passage. I stood there, trying to convince myself that I could give him what he wanted, that I should be grateful that he didn’t want more, and that it would be okay to do it. But I couldn’t. Every time I was about to agree, Kayden’s face popped into my head, and I found that I could not betray him in such a way.
I closed my eyes, completely unable to believe that this is what it came down to. A single kiss. I wished really bad that Nelly were here to tell me what to do. It was incredible how much I missed her already.
Something warm and soft pressed against my lips, and my eyes flew open. Arrol stared back at me with his silver ones, only inches from my face, and though I kept telling myself to push him away, the look there keep me from doing so. His hands went around to the small of my back and pulled me to him, and my hands rested on his bare chest between us, where I could feel the beating of his heart. His eyes slipped closed and mine followed suit without my permission. And though I felt nothing at our contact, no fire in my stomach and lightness in my chest like when I kissed Kayden, I felt warm and wanted.
I pulled back at last, the sweet taste of Arrol still on my lips. I could see in the way that he looked at me that he was not thinking of me, but of the Sun Warrior he had loved so long ago, and though I felt like the world’s biggest asshole, I also was glad that I could ease his pain, if only for the smallest of moments. If I’d learned anything in this crazy world, it was that nothing was ever black and white. I’d done something wrong, but I’d also done something right. I could just never win.
“Thank you,” Arrol whispered, his warm breath stirring my hair.
I nodded, thinking that he really hadn’t given me much choice in the matter. “You’re welcome, Arrol.”
He stepped back from me. “Okay, I must go now. But I will be back by sunrise. I will do everything in my power to secure your safe travel through the Fae Forest. If I were you, I would begin to prepare my people to get on the move. When the Fae Queen makes an agreement, it usually has a time limit.”
I stepped forward and pulled him into a hug before I could stop myself. “Thank you,” I said, and then because my big mouth always said what it wanted, I added, “What are you going to have to do, Arrol?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
Arrol patted my head, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He laughed. “Don’t you worry, little Sun Warrior. I told you, I have a way with the ladies, and her Majesty is rather…fond of me.”
Somehow I knew that this was only a half truth, and that Arrol was making a bigger sacrifice than he was willing to tell me. Just by the way he said her Majesty I knew that the Fae Queen was not someone he was excited to go see. But that was just one trouble too many, and before I could allow myself to dwell on it, Arrol’s wings sprung back into the air and he flew off like a fallen angel on a mission of revenge. I watched him for a minute, amazed at how graceful he could look in flight. When he was out of sight, I sighed and headed back down the red path the way I’d come. I walked a little slower than I probably should have, not really wanting to go back into the sitting room where Malcolm and the rest of them were waiting for me. More so, I didn’t want to go back and face Kayden, knowing that I had just completely betrayed him.
Just tell him what you did, Warrior. Lies never make anything better. And, really, he deserves to have the truth from you.
“I will…”
But?
“But if he hates me for it, I’m not sure I’ll be able to take it. After Nelly, Kayden is all I have left.”
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Yeah, maybe. I reached Silvia’s cottage and pushed open the glass door. Tommy was waiting for me in the hallway. I glanced around, hoping that he was the only one whom Kayden had let leave the room.
“What did he say?” Tommy asked, taking a deep breath. I hated seeing him so wound up.
I gave him what I hoped was a hopeful smile. “He thinks he can get us safe passage through the Fae Forest. We should be able to leave by midday.”
Tommy’s shoulders relaxed a fraction and he blinked slowly. Then he pulled me into a hug so unexpectedly that I had to keep myself from jumping in surprise. “Thank you, Alexa,” he said. “Thank you so much.”
I pulled back a little and gave him a half smile. Reaching up, I brushed some of his messy blond hair out of his face. Again, I felt like crying, and couldn’t really understand why such a small thing as Tommy thanking me would warrant tears. Of course, they could not be allowed to make it past my eyes. The time for crying about all of this had long since passed. Action was the only thing I needed right now.
“You’re welcome,” I said, glad that my voice came out strong, unwavering.
I led Tommy back into the sitting room, where everyone was just as I had left them. I clenched my hands into fists behind my back as I told them the news, and I could not tell by their faces whether or not they thought that it was good news or not, but no one argued. They would follow me. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing, either.
Silence settled for a moment, and the unacknowledged coward in me was hoping that one of them would have an objection, a reason that we could not go through with this plan. I hated to admit it, but now that the time was pulling near, I was scared. I was really, really scared.
Malcolm rose slowly from his seat and nodded once, and like that, the matter was decided. “All right, Warrior,” he said. “I will prepare the others. Today we will leave for the Fae Forest.”
I swallowed, returned his nod. No one said anything as they rose to exit the room, but Gavin gave me a pat on the shoulder as he passed by, and most of the others nodded their approval as well. Soon, it was just Tommy, Kayden and me in the room. Tommy glanced between the two of us and ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, I’ll just go sharpen my battle axe or something,” he said, giving me a sympathetic look as before leaving. Alarm rose in me for a second, wondering if Tommy had witnessed the kiss between Arrol and me, but then it vanished as I realized that it didn’t matter. I would tell Kayden what I had done. I had to.
Something else took the place of the panic, though. Something worse. I had to force more tears back as I realized that I was even more scared of telling Kayden what I had done than I was of going into battle against the King’s entire army. Fucked up world, ain’t it?
“That’s what I’m here for, Warrior. I am not afraid. In fact, it’s all very…exciting.”
Yup. Fuc
ked up world.
Precautions
“How many Warriors do we have in Silver City at the moment, Andre?”
“There are a thousand there awaiting our arrival, your Majesty. Just as you ordered. And a thousand at each of the other cities, as well.”
King William nodded, sipping a cup of black liquid as he rode along through the tunnels. “Very good. And the Sun Warrior? How many does she have?”
Had Andre been a more fearful man, he would have swallowed hard, but his face and soul were made of the same stone. “We can’t be sure, my King. If we assume that everyone who was not accounted for at Running Rivers has joined her, and that others have escaped the other cities as well, the number could be anywhere from one thousand to three or four thousand.”
King William had to stop himself from throwing his teacup against the wall of the train car in which he was riding. He couldn’t afford to waste the stuff. “Four thousand?” he growled. “How could they have four thousand, Andre?”
Andre didn’t blink. “That is a very high estimate, your Majesty. I doubt they have that, but even if they do, the Warriors traveling with us plus the ones waiting in the cities mean that our numbers double theirs no matter where they plan to attack.”
“You forget that they have a Sun Warrior on their side, Andre. I made the mistake of underestimating her once, and that will not happen again.” King William’s jeweled hand came up and stroked his gray beard. “I think it would be best if some precautions were put into order, don’t you?”
Andre nodded.
The King sat silently for a long time, and his Warrior waited without word for him to formulate his plans. The sounds of the metal train rushing over its tracks in the concrete tunnel were all that was heard. There was a way to ensure that even if he lost this battle, he would not lose the war, but it would involve delegating a task that he only trusted himself with.
Each of the Five Cities had a Queen that saw over them in his stead, a Searcher he had hand-picked for their strength of mind. Camillia had been one of the strongest, even when she had only been a child, and it was a shame that now when he needed her power, it wasn’t at his disposal. He didn’t fret over this too much. That backstabbing bitch would get what she deserved right along with the rest of them. But it really was an awful waste.
It was too bad that he had not been able to woo the Accursed girl over to his side. Now, she would have been a real asset. But what had the letter said? Oh yes, she was out of reach. That was good. At least if he didn’t have her, the other side didn’t have her, either. The Sun Warrior’s love for her sister really was her biggest enemy. He would have never sent such a useful weapon away in the middle of a war. And that’s exactly why he was going to win, because he had no such weakness.
And with that, his precautionary plans clicked into place in his head, and a wide, black-stained smile spread out across his face. “Andre,” he said, “get word out to the Queens. Tell them to wait for my order, but to be ready to dam up the rivers of all Five Cities should they receive my word.”
Andre nodded.
Not Pissed Off Enough?
The Sorceress flicked her wrist, and the oak wood double doors to her father’s study flew open like unhinged shutters in a wind storm. Surah stood there, her eyes drawn as always to the enormous fireplace, where a stack of wood as wide and tall as a small car sat ablaze, filling the large room with its flickering red and orange light. Her father, Syrian, sat in front of it in his wingback red leather chair, his legs crossed, with the fingers of his right hand wrapped around a snifter of his favorite brandy.
Syrian’s eyes never left the fire, but he greeted his daughter as she stood there. “Surah,” he said, putting the accent on her name that only he could ever accomplish, making it sound more beautiful that she thought it was. “I am glad you are home.”
Surah stepped into the study and flicked her wrist again, shutting the doors with a little more force than she intended.
“Useless application of power,” Syrian said, still gazing into the blaze of the fireplace as if the secrets to the universe burned there.
Surah helped herself to a seat opposite her father, making herself stare at him rather than into the burning hole in the wall. “So you’ve told me,” she said. “And I won’t be staying long.”
Now Syrian looked at his daughter. “And where will you be going?”
Surah’s face was as cool as ever, but her teeth were pressed together a little too tightly. “To kill the man who murdered my brother,” she said, and the words were much too simply brutal for the soft sweetness of her voice.
“And what man is that, my precious Surah?”
“The one who calls himself King of Vampires and Wolves.”
Syrian brought his snifter to his lips and swallowed its contents in one gulp. “So,” he said, staring into his glass, “my only son is dead, then.”
It was not a question, so Surah did not answer. She only watched her father as he studied the bottom of his snifter as though he could find Syris there. She had to bite her tongue a little to keep from losing her cool. Her father looked so much like her lost brother when he stared down into an empty glass, long black hair spilling forward and violet eyes filled with so much pain. It reminded her so much of when they had lost Syra so many years ago. Her father had the same look in his eyes as they all had had back then, and Surah would no doubt adopt it herself. After the matter of killing this King was taken care of. Until that happened, the only thing she had room inside of her for was revenge.
“I want to take some of the Hunters with me, father, to help me complete my task,” Surah said.
Syris looked up at her again, and now fear as well as loss hid behind his eyes. “No,” he said. “No, Surah, you cannot.”
Surah’s eyebrows shot up, and she was sure that she had misheard. “What do you mean I cannot?”
Syris set his snifter down on the small table beside him and leaned forward in his chair. “I cannot allow you take Hunters and go after King William,” he said. “I cannot allow you to go at all. You are the only child that I have left.”
The Sorceress was on her feet in one fluid movement. The expression on her face and the tone of her voice remained as soft and gentle as ever, but her words were enough—as they usually were—to convey her feelings. “That King is the reason that I am the only child you had left. If not for his relationship with Syra, I would still have a sister, and you would have your other daughter. If not for his murdering Syris, I would still have a brother, and you would have a son. You intend to sit here and do nothing? How is it that you can call yourself a King?”
“That’s enough,” Syrian said. “I will hear no more of it. You will do nothing. That is not a request from your father, but an order from your King. I will not start a war and lose you along with your sister and brother. You cannot understand such things. You are not a King, and you are not a parent.”
Surah tilted her head back and breathed out a slow breath. “I will return with his head, father,” she said, and then she snapped her fingers and vanished into thin air.
Alexa
Finally, it was time to call it a day and get some sleep before the festivities tomorrow. I showered and pulled on a t-shirt and waited for Kayden to return with the food he had promised. I was starving, but I was not particularly anxious for him to return. I hadn’t told him yet about the kiss between Arrol and me, and the longer I waited, the bigger the betrayal grew in my mind, like a cancerous tumor on a fast track. I absolutely had to tell him, but I really didn’t want to.
When the door opened and Kayden came into the room, I licked my dry lips and tried for a smile that hopefully didn’t look as guilty as it felt. When I looked down and saw the tray that he was holding in his hands, and the cheeseburger and fries that sat atop it, the guilt slammed into me deeper. Why did Kayden have to be so damned perfect?
He set the tray down on the table by the window and raised an eyebrow when I made no move toward it. “Not h
ungry?” he asked.
I patted the bed beside me, and he took a seat by me and waited as quietly as he always did when he knew I had something to say. I swallowed once and let the words spill out before I lost the nerve. Looking down at my hands, I said, “I kissed Arrol.”
Silence. It went on so long that I had to force myself to look up into his golden eyes to see his reaction. His face was as unreadable as I had ever seen it, but his eyes were burning with something that I hoped hadn’t been struck by me. I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, but then shut it again. It seemed like such a weak thing to say.
“I didn’t enjoy it,” I said instead, because I’ve always had a bad habit of saying the stupidest thing there was to say in any situation. I should have just gone with the apology. If I wouldn’t have looked even more stupid doing it, I may have slapped myself in the forehead.
“I would hope not,” Kayden said. “So that’s what he wanted in return, a kiss?”
I nodded. “Yes, and I did it. I’m sorry.”
Kayden’s hand came up and he rested his rough palm on my cheek. “It’s okay,” he said, his deep voice low and gentle.
I think my jaw fell open and landed in my lap. When I realized this, I picked it back up and snapped my mouth shut. Then I opened it again. Closed it. I didn’t have even the slightest clue on how to respond to that. Why couldn’t he just be like a normal person and yell at me, call me a cheater and a liar and ungrateful, or something? I deserved that. I didn’t deserve to be told that all of my selfish actions were okay all the time. This response somehow made me feel even worse about what I had done.
“Kayden,” I said. “Just yell at me or something. If I were you, I would be out with my Gladius right now going to cut the head off of the girl who’d kissed you. Then I would probably come back and cut your head off, too.”
Kayden smiled now, just the slightest lift to his lips. I could not at all see what was smile-worthy here, and I had to force down anger that he should have been feeling for me. Kayden brushed my hair off of my forehead. “No, Warrior,” he said.