Vardaesia

by Lynette Noni

  And then they were off again, with Alex soaring them through the gilded walls and along decadent corridors, following the path she presumed Grimm had taken to find Jordan’s dad.

  In the back of her mind, she found it odd that Aven hadn’t just mentally communicated to Marcus himself, rather than sending Grimm to pass along the message. She wondered if it was possible that Marcus wasn’t Claimed; if perhaps, despite all his deplorable actions, he had simply chosen his side all along, without Aven having to steal his will.

  Alex had no way of knowing if that were true, just as she had no way of knowing where Marcus was—which meant they were flying blind to hunt down Grimm. However, in their favour was that the hallway was long and narrow, and after only a few wrong turns and incorrect staircases, they caught up with the gifted man who was limited to travelling at human speed.

  Confident that Kaiden and Hunter would wait until Marcus received the message to collect her parents before incapacitating Grimm and returning with him to the library, she squeezed Kaiden’s fingers in a quick, reassuring gesture, then nodded at both him and Hunter as she halted the Valispath. In the blink of an eye she released Kaiden’s hand and took off again, careful to make sure Grimm was oblivious to his tailing company.

  With another mental prayer that her friends would be all right—all of them—Alex headed straight for the sunroom, relieved to not cross paths with any other Meyarins along the way. She was even more relieved to find Niida already there, just as she had hoped.

  Alex knew speed was of the essence. Presuming Astophe had been right and the queen wasn’t Claimed, she could still yell for help loud enough that the entire palace would be able to hear her call. Just as she could activate the Valispath and escape to raise an alarm. All Alex knew was that she had to knock her out straight away.

  Without delay, she blurred directly over to Niida’s side, her hand stretching out just as the queen’s head lifted, giving her the perfect opportunity to blow the powder straight towards Niida’s face.

  But as if she’d been anticipating Alex’s arrival, in a whirl of movement, Niida ducked to the side, the powder sailing through the air to land like useless black dust on the ground.

  The queen’s expression as she locked eyes with Alex was so raw, so ravaged, as she said, “I’ve been waiting for you, Aeylia.”

  And then, before Alex could figure out what had just happened or scramble to devise a new plan, Niida surged forward, her nails glinting like claws as she lunged towards Alex.

  Thirty-Two

  Alex was too surprised to react in time to avoid the queen’s attack, and when Niida collided with her, the two of them crashed to the ground.

  Niida got in one good swipe of her nails, scouring open the recently healed flesh along Alex’s cheek, before Alex managed to grasp her wrists and roll them both over so that she had the stronger position above.

  Despite her royal lineage and immortality, Niida wasn’t a fighter, which meant Alex was able to swiftly overpower her without having to draw a blade. But as the queen bucked violently underneath her, Alex looked deep into her eyes, seeing nothing but a raging, savage beast.

  “You were like a daughter to me!” Niida screeched.

  Alex winced, both at the exclamation and at the volume. Desperately hoping no one was close enough to have heard, she kept her own voice down as she replied, “I’m not the one who changed.”

  “You lied to us!”

  Renewing her grip on the queen’s still struggling form, Alex said, “I have Meyarin blood in my veins, that was never a lie. Aven’s blood flows through me—I am what I am because of him.”

  “And he’s what he is because of you!”

  Alex winced again, unable to ignore the truth of her words. And yet she replied, repeating Astophe’s words, “Aven made his own choices. You know that, Niida.” The queen bucked under her again, and Alex tightened her grip and held her irate gaze as she repeated, “You know that, Niida. No one made Aven do anything. He started all this on his own.”

  “I lost my husband because of you!” Niida cried. Tears welled in her golden eyes as she continued to fight. “My son is dead because of you!”

  Violently, she surged upwards, almost managing to dislodge Alex. It was enough to snap Alex’s patience and she shook the queen, hard enough that her whole body flailed with the movement.

  “Roka’s not dead, Niida!” Alex said, trying to keep her grip on the female Meyarin. “He’s still alive!”

  The queen stilled, but then she renewed her struggle, even more fiercely than before. “Stop lying to me!”

  “It’s not a lie,” Alex hissed. “Listen to me, Niida—listen to me!”

  But the queen was beyond listening, so Alex did the only thing she could think of. In one swift move, she drew the dagger from her thigh and pressed it up against Niida’s throat.

  The queen’s body froze just as her eyes narrowed. Between stiff, ruby-red lips she said, “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I won’t kill you, you’re right about that,” Alex confirmed. “But this blade is laced with Sarnaph blood. One small scratch and you’ll be much easier to deal with.”

  Alex wasn’t bluffing—if she had to take Niida out with the Hyroa blood, she would, and she’d just hope Fletcher had some of his antidote in his medical bag back up in Draekora.

  With the queen now stilled beneath her, Alex quietly said, “Roka’s alive, I swear it. Whatever Aven told you was a lie.” When Niida opened her mouth to protest, Alex spoke over her and said, “He was in the middle of fighting Roka and Roka was winning, so Aven used one of his gifted followers, Grimm Helkin, to send Roka into a catatonic sleep.”

  Niida’s face whitened.

  “But Lady—Aes Daega was there, and she escaped with Roka before Aven could kill him,” Alex continued in a hurry. “Roka’s been in a coma up in Draekora ever since Aven took control of Meya.”

  The queen shook her head, tears again welling in her eyes. “I don’t—I don’t believe you.”

  “Why would I lie?” Alex returned. “You were there, Niida— you know how close I was with Roka in the past, just as you know how much I care for him now. I’m telling you, he’s not dead.” She paused, then softened her voice to admit, “But he will be soon, if we don’t get Grimm to Draekora so he can wake him.”

  Quickly, Alex explained Roka’s current state and why such a desperate act had been needed so that she, Kaiden and Hunter could sneak into Meya. She also took a risk and shared her plan to abduct Grimm so that she could Release him and he could in turn deactivate the gift still holding Roka in its grip, thus allowing the true king of Meya to reawaken.

  When she was done, there was a long pause as Niida just looked at her with wide, shining eyes, until—

  “You killed my son?”

  It was a question rather than an accusation this time, but it was still screeched loud enough that Alex hissed, “Keep it down!”

  She was amazed no one had yet come running—that no one had heard their struggle or the queen’s shouts.

  But then Niida said, “No one can hear anything. This room is warded with soundproofing—a gift from Astophe so I can enjoy peaceful mornings.” The last was said in barely a whisper, the heartache clear in her voice.

  Hearing that, Alex looked closely at the queen and saw that the fight had left her. Somewhat warily, she said, “If I let you go, are you going to attack me again?”

  Slowly, Niida shook her head.

  It took a moment before Alex was willing to move, but a new plan was forming, and she needed Niida’s cooperation for it to work. So, inch by inch, she removed the dagger from the queen’s neck and rose to her feet, holding out her free hand that only trembled slightly with doubt.

  Just as hesitantly, Niida reached up to grab hold and allowed Alex to pull her to her feet. They then looked at each other, neither quite sure what to say, until Alex whispered, “You know we have to stop him.”

  The tears that had been welling in the queen’s eyes
suddenly leaked over as she whispered back, “I know.”

  Relief filled Alex, relief that only grew when Niida went on to say, “I’ve known ever since I realised what he’s been doing— what he’s become—what he’s been… eating.”

  The look on Niida’s face was so stricken that Alex couldn’t bring herself to ask how the queen had made the discovery. Instead, she sheathed her dagger and, in a quiet, careful voice, said, “Astophe told me to come to you.”

  When the queen’s eyes jumped back to hers in shock, Alex explained what the king had said inside the Gate of Lost Souls, what he’d suggested Alex do.

  “I’m the leverage,” Niida whispered, but instead of looking appalled by her late husband’s proposal, she appeared to be steeling herself for it—just as Alex had hoped. The Niida who had once been her friend, the Niida who had once considered Alex like a daughter, was still in there, regardless of the queen she had let herself become after her beloved son’s exile.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Alex said, “but you’re now the best chance for us all to get out of here.”

  Holding her gaze for a long moment, Niida straightened her spine and said, “Do it.”

  Before she could lose her nerve, Alex drew in a deep breath and summoned A’enara. With an apology in her eyes, she reached for Niida’s hand—a hand that was offered willingly and wasn’t pulled back, not even when the sharp blade sliced straight across the fleshy part of her palm.

  Having the slightest moment of hesitation, Niida whispered, “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

  As Alex slashed A’enara along her own palm, she whispered back, “So do I.”

  And then she joined their palms together.

  When Alex and Niida arrived in the library, it became evident that things hadn’t improved—but they had worsened.

  Exponentially so.

  While Hunter was waiting as planned behind the bookcase with Grimm unconscious at his feet, Kaiden wasn’t with him. And that was because, after a quick, panicked glance out into the middle space of the library, Alex found him bound and tied up where D.C. had previously been hanging. One side of his face was bloody, but otherwise he appeared unharmed. Likewise, Jordan seemed to have avoided further injury in the time since Alex last saw him, but he was in a bad shape. Held upright by only his wrist bindings, he’d fallen unconscious from his wounds—but he was just unconscious, despite the crippling fear Alex experienced before she saw the movement of his chest taking alarmingly shallow breaths.

  Unlike Kaiden and Jordan, Bear hadn’t been left alone. As Alex watched, Gerald Togen, who had joined them in the time she’d been gone, waved his hand in the air. A streak of a black tattoo whipped out from his skin and lashed against Bear’s torso, cutting through his already-tattered shirt, the flesh of his chest bleeding freely as he loosed a hoarse cry.

  A quiet gasp had Alex reaching across to silence Niida, who was watching the scene with horror clear in her features, enough that Alex feared the queen would either pass out or throw up. But aside from her gasp, Niida managed to contain her reaction, and Alex turned back in time to watch as Gerald leaned towards Bear and spoke.

  “How does it feel, knowing this was the last thing your father felt before he died?”

  And with another blur of movement, Gerald’s whip-tattoos lashed out again, causing another gash and prompting another cry of pain that trailed off into an anguished moan.

  “He didn’t last long,” Gerald went on, his eyes glinting maliciously. “I’ll make sure to take my time with you.”

  After one final lashing, his tattoos retreated back into his skin and he sauntered over to sit at the table beside Calista, who was blankly watching from her position, just as she’d been ordered.

  Somehow Alex forced her eyes away from her friends— away from Bear’s slumped position, Jordan’s unconscious form, Kaiden’s bleeding but defiant face, and D.C.’s stock-still body still holding the Myrox dagger—and cast her gaze over the rest of the room. Her heart fell when she realised that her parents hadn’t arrived. That meant they couldn’t leave yet, even if now was the best chance they had, since despite the three Zeltora guards watching alongside Gerald, Calista and Lena Morrow—who had also joined them— Aven hadn’t returned, either. Now was the time to act, and yet, they couldn’t do anything until Alex’s mother and father appeared.

  Moving her eyes to Hunter, who was eyeing the queen warily until Alex nodded with reassurance, she tried to mime out a question, asking if he’d heard anything about her parents. He shook his head, a clear ‘no’, but before she could follow up and try and find out how Kaiden had been captured—and if Hunter had any escape ideas—she was interrupted.

  “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?”

  Alex’s head whipped around at Kaiden’s honeyed words— words that most definitely weren’t said to her. Instead, they were said to Lena, who was standing only a few paces away from him.

  She didn’t speak, but Kaiden didn’t stop.

  “I’ve always loved red-heads,” he said, looking at her fiery ginger hair. “My girlfriend’s a brunette, but she’s told me she’s going to dye hers red just for me. You and I could save her the trouble, you know. If you’re… interested.”

  Alex scrunched her nose, wondering what the hell he was doing, what the hell he was saying. But as she watched, she saw Lena’s attention focus on him.

  “Is that so?” the woman said, one red brow arched as she moved a step closer. Then another. “This girlfriend of yours—is it serious?”

  Kaiden snorted. “Hardly.”

  The grin he sent Lena had Alex fisting her hands even as she began to realise what game he was playing. And more importantly, why.

  “I’ve never met anyone more high maintenance,” he went on. “There’s no way it’s going to last. But you…” He paused, licked his lips and huskily lowered his voice. “We’d be something else.”

  And then Lena was right in front of him, raising a hand to trail a finger down the undamaged side of his face. “You’re nice to look at, I’ll give you that,” she told him, leaning in to whisper into his ear—something Alex was able to hear only because of her Meyarin hearing. “But I like my men older. By thousands of years, preferably. And royal.”

  Alex couldn’t keep the repulsed expression off her face as Lena pulled back and sauntered past Calista and Gerald, hips swaying seductively, before leaving the room entirely. Gerald was barking with laughter at her rejection, but Calista was still staring blankly under the command gripping her mind.

  More and more, Alex was becoming able to tell the difference between who was content under Aven’s thumb, Claimed or not, and who was fighting it. Because while Lena and Gerald both seemed to relish in their sadism, Calista’s eyes were like D.C.’s—vacant and glassy, the two of them gazing inward as they battled for control of their own minds.

  Edgy and impatient for her parents’ arrival so they could hurry up and get the hell out of there, Alex was just about to start miming to Hunter again when the door to the library opened and Marcus strode in. She felt the air rush out of her and she nearly whimpered with relief when her mother and father walked in behind him, both thinner than she’d last seen them, but otherwise they showed no signs of the torture she’d feared they’d endured in their fortnight of captivity. She drank in the sight of them, willing them to hold on just a little longer— willing the same for everyone she cared for in the room.

  Spearing hateful eyes towards Marcus, Alex alone noticed his steps stutter upon seeing Jordan’s unconscious, bleeding form; a hesitation too small for anyone who wasn’t watching to see, but she did, and it was enough to make her frown. But then her gaze moved back to her parents when he ordered them to stand up against the bookshelf beside Kaiden, who they were looking at with unveiled alarm—him being the only Medoran other than Darrius who Alex had ever introduced them to. They knew who he was—just as they knew who he was to her.

  Marcus drew her parents�
� attention again when he ordered them to stay put, his words firm enough to keep them in place without the use of physical bindings. Despite loathing the man to eternity and beyond for everything he had done in their short acquaintance, Alex was grateful for the small mercy that he’d unknowingly afforded them, their escape now just that much easier.

  Knowing that the time to act had come, Alex gave Hunter a quick nod, receiving his in return as he drew weapons into both hands. They didn’t have a plan for this part, but Alex trusted her teacher’s skills enough to know he could help create enough confusion to rescue everyone and hurry out of there. But just as Alex prepared to summon the Valispath, Aven beat her to it, soaring back into the room alongside Skraegon… and with at least a dozen more Zeltora streaming in behind them.

  With Hunter clutching Alex’s arm in warning, she watched powerlessly as Aven eyed the people she loved most in all the worlds lined up beside each other, his expression one of wicked delight.

  “Kaiden James,” he said, his tone causing Alex’s heart to convulse. “I heard you had arrived. I presume this means Alexandra is close by.” He cocked his head. “I must say, I’m curious how you slipped into my city without detection. I’m even more curious why you then allowed yourself to be caught.”

  Alex’s surprised eyes shot to Hunter, but then understanding pooled like a horrible weight inside her as she thought about that single moment he’d shared with Lena before the woman had sashayed from the room.

  “I’m looking forward to breaking into that fortified mind of yours and learning what secrets you hold,” Aven said, retrieving the Myrox dagger from D.C.’s limp grip before moving threateningly closer to Kaiden. “I do believe I’m going to enjoy this.”

  Just as swiftly as he’d done with D.C., Aven sliced the blade along his own palm before pressing his wound to Kaiden’s bleeding face.

  Hunter’s fingers around Alex’s arm turned bruising, as if he feared she wouldn’t be able to keep from running to Kaiden’s rescue. But his grip was unnecessary since she was paralysed, incapable of doing anything other than watch numbly and wait to see what would happen next.