Vardaesia

by Lynette Noni

  While she was eager to follow through on her plans to nap, Alex couldn’t help thinking that it was the perfect time to check in with her friend, since they’d had such little alone time in… longer than Alex cared to admit.

  “Come sit with me for a minute,” she said, nodding towards the couch.

  D.C. sent her a curious look but rose from the lunch table and followed dutifully, the two of them curling up beside each other.

  No sooner had they settled before Alex jumped up and moved back to the table that had been cleared of all but a crystal bowl filled with multi-coloured candies—‘juicy jewels’, as their name translated. Alex had become obsessed with them since her arrival, their fruity taste somehow both sweet and sour, offering an explosion of flavour that melted in her mouth. Since the Tia Aurans had yet to reveal a chocolate equivalent, Alex grabbed the bowl and returned to the couch, not at all disappointed by their snack of choice—and nor was D.C., given the way her eyes lit up as she eagerly reached for a handful of the sweets.

  “What’s up?” the princess asked as she sucked on one of the orbs.

  “Just wanted to see how you’re doing,” Alex returned, moving her own fruity globe around in her mouth and nearly moaning as her tastebuds rejoiced. “So much has been happening, and we haven’t had a chance to talk about any of it.”

  D.C. shifted into a more comfortable position, facing Alex fully as she answered, “I feel like I should be the one asking you how you’re doing. You’re at the epicentre of all this. And now that you’ve told us about Niyx… It can’t be easy dealing with that on top of everything else.”

  Alex lowered her gaze. “I’m doing as well as I can, considering. And I’ve had a lot of help.” From Kaiden. From Niyx himself. Even from Zaylin, oddly enough. “So let’s ignore me for once and focus on you. How are you handling everything?”

  “By everything, do you mean what’s going on here in Vardaesia?” D.C. cocked her head to the side and added, somewhat wryly, “I’m not a fan of these challenges, especially the ones involving heights, but I think I’m getting better at them. You’ll have me flying on the back of your draekon in no time.”

  Alex’s lips twitched at the very idea, certain D.C.’s shrieks would be heard all the way back in Medora. “What about the Tia Aurans? What’s your read on them?”

  D.C. shrugged. “I think they’re haughty and proud, and I think they could have decided whether or not they’d help from the moment they met us, rather than making us play whatever game they’re lording over. These Gates…” She shook her head. “Something about them doesn’t feel right. I can understand why they’d want to know if we have strength and courage before aiding us in our war, but a Gate of Secrets? How does that prove anything about ourselves? All it did was pull us apart. And then there were the other options we didn’t go through.” She paused. “What were they again?”

  Alex wracked her mind. “Hope, Reason, Dreams, Fears, Shame and Temptation.”

  “Even those don’t make sense,” D.C. said. “Why would a Gate of Dreams or Hope or Shame have any bearing on whether or not we’re worthy of them joining us in Medora?”

  Alex didn’t have an answer for her. All she could think to say was, “Maybe they just want to see how we react under pressure? As you said, the Gate of Secrets pulled us apart, testing our friendship more than anything. So maybe it wasn’t so much about revealing our secrets—my secrets—as it was seeing how we would survive the aftermath? Whether we’re strong enough in character to stand against an enemy from within.”

  D.C. considered for a moment, reaching for another candy. “That’s a good point. But still, I think six tests are unnecessary.”

  “One for each of us,” Alex reminded her.

  “But they’re not,” D.C. returned. “Not really. You heard what Saefii said—they consider you to be the representative from Medora, so the focus of the tests is on you. We’re just here to provide moral support.” She offered a crooked smile. “While trying not to die in the process.”

  Alex sighed. “I don’t see why they can’t make these challenges more equal and share the pressure around. I get a Gate, you get a Gate, Jordan gets a Gate… everyone has their own test. This feels way too much like The Alex Show.”

  D.C. snickered and said, “Yeah, but when has it not been The Alex Show? Ever since you arrived in Medora, that’s been your default setting. Face it, you’re the worst kind of attention seeker there is.”

  Gaping at her friend, Alex grabbed a cushion and threw it into D.C.’s laughing face. If anything, it just made her laugh even louder.

  “You’re a horrible best friend,” Alex grumbled.

  “If by horrible you mean wonderful, then yes, you’re right, I’m amazing,” D.C. returned, shameless. But then she sobered and said, “Speaking of best friends, I’m worried about Bear.”

  “Me too,” Alex said quietly. “He’s putting up a good front, but…”

  D.C. nodded her agreement, before saying, “Jordan’s doing what he can, just being there for him, but I think having Declan here is what’s really helping.”

  Alex looked at her in question. “Why is Declan here? Not that I mind, it’s just… He’s never really hung out with us as a group before.”

  Sending her a sly look, D.C. said, “Nor has Kaiden.”

  Heat touched Alex’s cheeks, and her eyes flicked quickly towards his door, making sure it was sealed. “That’s different.”

  D.C. grinned, but only said, “With everything that happened between Jordan and me—”

  “You mean how you started making out in every spare moment you could?”

  “—Bear gave us some space—”

  “I can’t imagine why he’d want to miss that.”

  “—and he spent some of that time with Declan,” D.C. finished over Alex’s interruptions, spearing her with an unamused look. “The two of them got… close.”

  “Close?” Alex repeated, wondering just how close she meant.

  D.C. understood her implication but only shrugged. “Not sure. I think they’re just friends—good friends. But who knows?” She shrugged again. “Either way, I doubt Bear is thinking about anything other than his dad right now. Just trying to get through it all, day by day.”

  Alex made a sound of agreement, placing another candy on her tongue. “He’s probably worried about the rest of his family, too,” she said, recalling the future vision she’d seen of the Ronnigans perishing in the war, Bear included. Already that vision had been proved false, since William hadn’t had a chance to be strung up and left for dead—she only hoped it remained false for everyone else.

  “I think we’re all worried about our families,” D.C. said quietly. “I know I am.”

  Alex reached out and placed a hand on her friend’s arm. She thought about her own parents, safely locked away in the Library, but regardless, she still couldn’t help fearing for them. Aven, she knew, was able to access the Library—thanks to her—so nowhere was truly safe. No hidden environment, no other world. Until the Rebel Prince was defeated, no one was free from his reach.

  “Your parents have a whole palace full of people watching out for them,” Alex reminded gently. “Plus General Drock and General Tyson and the armies they command. And don’t forget all the Wardens, including Nisha and Jeera. They—”

  “Since when did Commander Nisha become simply Nisha to you?” D.C. interrupted, her fear vanishing like a puff of smoke as her focus zoomed in on Alex with obvious glee.

  Waving a hand, Alex said, “I meant to say Commander.”

  D.C. grinned. “No, I don’t think you did.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You seem pretty comfortable with Kaiden’s aunt and sister. Anything you want to share?”

  Shoving another candy into her mouth, Alex just shook her head in the negative. But D.C. was unwilling to let it go.

  “Remember what I said when we first saw each other here in Vardaesia?”

  Alex drew a blank. “Hello?”

  Lips quirking, D.C.
replied, “I said we were going to talk about you and Kaiden. This seems like the perfect time.”

  Again, Alex’s eyes flicked towards his door, slightly more panicked now as she willed him to remain in his room.

  D.C. snorted. “I’m kidding! I’m not that sadistic—I know that’s the last thing you probably want to talk about right now.”

  Alex loosed a relieved breath.

  “And just so you know,” the princess continued, “I’ve come to realise that we don’t need to talk about you and him at all anymore, so you can rest easy.”

  Alex blinked, wondering about her friend’s turnaround. Ever since D.C. had found out about whatever might be brewing between Alex and Kaiden, she’d been loudly in favour of the two of them being together. For D.C. to forgo her interrogation was unexpected, to say the least.

  Just as Alex was about to offer her gratitude, D.C.’s face turned devious as she said, “But that’s only because there’s nothing you can say that isn’t already obvious anytime you’re near him. You mightn’t be shouting declarations from the rooftops, but everything else you do is a dead giveaway.”

  Even though her mouth was already full, Alex shoved in another candy and, with her voice muffled by the sweets, said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure, sure,” D.C. said, winking. But then she turned serious. “You know it’s okay to do something for yourself every once in a while, Alex. When it comes to this, the rest of the world can wait.”

  Alex was about to argue, but then realised that, at least for the next few days, D.C. just might be right. They were all doing everything they could to save Medora, but until they finished the final three tests, there was nothing further they could do to defeat Aven—not until they returned home. Which meant…

  “You’ve got time, Alex,” D.C. whispered, offering a soft, encouraging smile. Her eyes flitted pointedly to Kaiden’s door before they returned to Alex and she finished, “I suggest you use it wisely.”

  And with that, she pulled Alex in for a quick hug and then rose and headed to her room, saying over her shoulder that she was going to have a ‘Princess Siesta’ for the next few hours and not to wake her unless the world was ending—a morbid attempt at humour, given everything.

  Feeling unbalanced and unsure of herself, Alex stood and retreated into her own room, eager for some quiet time in the hope of regaining some equilibrium. But her peace lasted all of about two seconds, because with a bright flash of light, she was no longer alone.

  Instead, she was being shoved up against the wall by the angriest Tia Auran she had ever seen.

  Sixteen

  Zaylin’s hands were pressed against Alex’s shoulders, pinning her to the solid wall beside her bed. With eyes like blazing quicksilver, the Tia Auran’s face was a mask of fury, her rage visible in every line of her body.

  “What the hell!” Alex cried, struggling against her immovable grip. “Let me go!”

  “You deceived me,” Zaylin hissed through her teeth in her native tongue. Her fiery eyes swept along Alex’s now glimmering skin. “With your bond, you’ve been able to understand me all along.” She pushed Alex deeper into the wall and leaned right into her face. “Haven’t you?”

  “Like you’re one to talk,” Alex returned, still trying to break away from the immortal’s hold. She clenched her teeth against a surge of pain along her upper chest, a stark reminder of the bruising caused by the male Tia Auran. “You can understand me, too. Don’t try to deny it.”

  Zaylin’s eyes narrowed even further. And then, between one breath and the next, she released Alex, but she didn’t step back. Instead, she continued looming threateningly over her.

  “When did you realise?” Zaylin said, swapping over to the common tongue now that her guise was over.

  “This morning,” Alex answered tersely. “The question is, why didn’t you want me to know?”

  Zaylin did back up a step then. But only to cross her arms over her chest, her stance belligerent. “You have your secrets, mortal. And I have mine.”

  A beat of silence passed between them, until Alex said, “Fine.”

  Zaylin jerked slightly at the easy acceptance, enough for a startled expression to dissolve her rage. “Fine?”

  Shrugging, then wincing as the move jostled her now aggravated bruising, Alex said, “If you’ve been watching our tests like everyone else, you’ll know I understand more than anyone that sometimes there are valid reasons for keeping secrets.” She only just managed to keep from shrugging again when she finished, “And besides, it’s not like I said anything I wouldn’t have wanted overheard. You didn’t either, so I don’t know why you’re so angry.”

  “I’m angry because you deceived me.”

  “So we’ve already established,” Alex said, almost insolently. “But tell me this: Calivere said you wouldn’t be able to understand me, so what would have been the point in me trying to communicate that I could understand you?”

  “Calivere doesn’t know everything.”

  “Apparently not.”

  “But he does know I’m fluent in your native tongue.”

  Alex blinked. “So he lied?” It was her turn to narrow her eyes. “Why would he do that?”

  Zaylin’s shoulders rose and fell, her gesture apathetic. “Why do the empress’s advisors do anything? They have their reasons, I’m sure.”

  Eyes now fully slitted, Alex guessed, “You’re a spy, aren’t you?” She threw a hand out in the direction of the shared common room. “All of the other helpers can understand the common tongue too, can’t they? You’re all here to watch us.”

  “What did you expect?” came Zaylin’s sneering reply. “That we’d welcome you with open arms?”

  Alex hadn’t expected anything of the sort. But that didn’t mean she appreciated being monitored like some kind of deviant criminal.

  With a longsuffering sigh, she attempted an olive branch. “You’re angry, I’m angry, so let’s just agree to move on from this.” Alex gestured between them. “In a few more days, you’ll never have to worry about me again. Until then, I’d be grateful if we can get along enough for you to resist the urge to attack me.” She held Zaylin’s eyes as she deliberately finished, “Even if I am just a lost cause sent here on a fool’s errand.”

  She felt a flare of vindication when Zaylin flinched at her own words being thrown back at her.

  In response, the Tia Auran said, if slowly, “Perhaps I was too quick to pass judgement when we met.”

  It was as much of an apology as Alex could hope to get from the proud immortal, and in return, she quietly said, “Or perhaps you were right. We’ll know one way or another soon enough.”

  They looked at each other then, silent understanding flowing between them. They were both pawns in a much larger game—a game neither of them were thrilled to be a part of, but nonetheless, both had to see through to the end.

  Clearing her throat, Zaylin said, “Grewan hit you hard when he pushed you from Lendasa Marna.” She nodded to Alex’s upper body, the change of topic her own attempt at an olive branch. “Is anything broken?”

  “Just bruised, I think,” Alex answered softly, careful not to say anything against the male Tia Auran that might shatter the tentative peace she and Zaylin had reached.

  With a flash, the helper vanished, reappearing again before Alex could wonder where she’d gone. Upon her return, she held a steaming chalice of laendra in her hands, passing it over.

  “Thank you,” Alex said, trying not to reveal her surprise at yet another indication that the Tia Auran was capable of compassion.

  “Grewan never should have struck you,” Zaylin said, her eyes flashing dangerously—but for once, not at Alex. “What he did went against all that we stand for.”

  Alex took a sip of the healing drink, feeling it take effect immediately, and wondering what the helper had meant by her statement.

  “Peace,” Zaylin answered without being asked. “It may not seem like it from what you’
ve experienced here, but we are a race that strives for peace at all times, at all costs.” She held Alex’s eyes as she declared, “Grewan shall be punished for his actions. Make no mistake about that.”

  While grateful that Zaylin seemed to be warming to her once again—or as much as she seemed capable of doing—Alex was alarmed by the idea of an angry immortal seeking her out for revenge. “Perhaps that can happen sometime after I leave?”

  A small, knowing smile tugged at Zaylin’s lips, the effect making her striking features even more stunning. “I’m sure that can be arranged. You won’t need to worry about facing his wrath, not before you return to your world.”

  “Did Saefii mean what she said?” Alex couldn’t help asking, her voice unable to hide her uncertainty, especially after the conversation she’d shared with D.C. “If we pass all six challenges, will your people truly come back with us? Or is this all just one huge wasted effort?”

  Zaylin didn’t answer for a long time—long enough that Alex feared the latter might be true, the laendra sitting heavily in her stomach. But then, finally, the Tia Auran replied.

  “I told you that we seek peace at all times,” Zaylin said, “but that wasn’t always the case. It was only after the brutality we suffered during the Nesana Karn—the Immortal Wars—that we decided to put aside our desire for vengeance, despite the losses we suffered.” Her eyes unfocused as she became lost in memory. “We could have wiped the Meyarins from existence. Instead, we offered them mercy by banishing them to Medora. It’s the reason why the empress is hesitant to come to your aid without due consideration. Long years have passed since our people have known anything but amity. Our battle prowess is not what it once was; our skills diminished by lack of use. As a whole, we are weakened.”

  Zaylin’s voice grew stronger as she continued, “At our prime, we were just—only just—able to defeat them. But the sacrifices made in order to do so were not small, nor were they without lasting consequences—many of which are still felt to this day. Much of what we were, we have lost. And if this Aven Dalmarta is as strong as you claim, then there might be little we can do even if we come and fight by your side.”