Red Rose Rising

by A J Manney

  Zalia stepped right up next to him and tipped her head back to look up at him. She was beyond angry. “You listen to me, Prince Valen,” she spit out. “Just because I bear your marks, does not mean you get to tell me what to do. We don’t even know if we are getting married. At this rate, that is a big fat no! You don’t get to order me around. I will return to my kingdom and take back the throne that is rightfully mine. I don’t need you. Grandfather told me his men would return with me and fight with me. I will return as the rightful heir of Arrosa, and nobody will stand in my way. That includes you and you,” she said looking first at Valen then Beckam. “Now please leave my room, both of you. I need to pack, and I don’t need your help to do it.”

  Beckam stood there for a moment, looking sorry. Then he turned and walked out. Valen wasn’t going to be so easy. “Out, Valen,” she said.

  “Or what?” he asked calmly.

  Zalia just stared up at him. He was making her furious. “Or I’ll make you,” she said.

  He smirked at her. Zalia was so angry. Her emotions were all over the place, and his smirk was the final straw. Zalia stalked towards him, calling up every ounce of training she had been through. She began a series of punches and kicks meant to bring him down. His eyes showed just a hint of surprise at her first hit, but years of training kept him from taking her hit. He deflected each hit she threw at him but didn’t fight back. Zalia was angry. She hit harder and moved faster.

  “Zalia, stop,” he said as he continued to deflect her blows. “You’re going to hurt your arm.”

  Zalia didn’t stop. She didn’t think about her arm, she didn’t think about her pain, she just let her feelings of rage consume her.

  “Zalia stop!” Valen ordered. Zalia kept going. “Enough!” he roared at her. Then he took her down hard on the floor. Just as her head would have hit the floor, he put his hand there, cushioning the hit. His full body pressed into hers on the ground, effectively pinning her down. An instant later, he had her good arm pinned above her head with one of his hands and her other arm pinned between their bodies. He leaned his body weight on his other arm, so he didn’t crush her. He stared into her eyes. His gray eyes had darkened.

  Zalia couldn’t move. He had effectively pinned her. This made her even more furious and she glared at him.

  Valen took a deep breath. “You can’t come with us into battle,” he began.

  Zalia opened her mouth to respond in anger but Valen cut her off. “Let me finish, and then you can attack me again,” he said calmly. “If you were with me, I wouldn’t be able to focus on what I need to do. I would be worried about you the entire time, and I could make a mistake.”

  Zalia opened her mouth again to argue, but Valen leaned close to her face. “I lost the only woman in the world I ever loved. Please don’t ask me to put myself in position to let that happen again,” he spoked the words so quietly, Zalia almost didn’t hear them.

  She looked up at him in shock. Did he just admit he loves me? Zalia didn’t have a clue how to respond.

  Valen continued in his quiet, low voice, “My mother was the light in our very dark world. She made the long days bearable. She loved my brother and me. She sang us to sleep at night; she stood before my father on a regular basis for us, defending us. When she died, I didn’t think my world would ever have light in it again. I’d grown so accustomed to the darkness, but you brought light back into my life. You brought hope and joy for the first time in a long time, and I started seeing the world in color again. Zalia, you are my light. I can’t lose you. If I lose you, I will be completely overtaken in darkness. I will become my father. You keep me from that. You have to survive. I have to know you’re safe. That gives me the power to carry on.”

  Zalia was completely shocked. She didn’t know what to say. Her heart felt such sorrow for this man and all that he had been through. She felt her cheek dampen as a tear slid down her face. Valen let go of her arms and very carefully wiped the tear away with his thumb. He cradled her cheek in her hand. He looked carefully in her eyes as if seeking permission, then slowly lowered his head, giving her plenty of time to pull away.

  Zalia closed her eyes as Valen’s lips descended on hers. It didn’t last nearly long enough, and Zalia was already craving more. She felt him gently kiss her eyelids and then her forehead before he pulled back. Zalia slowly opened her eyes and met his. He was staring at her with such deep emotion that Zalia forgot how to breathe for a moment. She wasn’t used to emotion from Valen. He always seemed so cold. Zalia was just about to open her mouth and probably say something stupid when her door abruptly opened, and Raven stuck her head in.

  “Hey Zalia, do you need help...” her words died off suddenly before she said, “Oops, sorry. I’ll come back later.” She was gone a second later.

  Zalia felt her cheeks turn bright red, and she felt more than heard Valen’s low chuckle through his chest. Valen rolled off her and stood up fluidly. He reached down and took her hand to help her off the floor. Once she was on her feet, he didn’t let go of her hand right away. “Did you hurt your shoulder?” he asked softly.

  Zalia rolled her shoulder a bit. It was sore, but not nearly as sore as it had been after training this morning. “It’s okay,” she told him. She tried to pull her hand away to start packing, but he didn’t let go of his hold on it.

  “Please promise me that you will stay in your grandfather’s castle and under his protection,” he asked her with pleading in his voice.

  Zalia’s heart felt heavy. “Valen, I want to, but I just can’t. Those are my people. It’s my battle.”

  Valen pulled her towards him and looked at her with such intensity in his eyes that it almost frightened her. “Then let me fight for you. You’re a princess. You shouldn’t have to be a warrior too. Let me be your warrior. I’ve trained my entire life for this. Your life is way too valuable.”

  Zalia frowned up at him, “Your life is just as valuable, Valen. I don’t know why...”

  Beckam stuck his head in, “The guard is here. We leave in five. Let’s go.” He was gone as quick as he came.

  Zalia tried to pull away from Valen, but he didn’t let her arm go. “Promise me, Zalia.”

  Zalia looked up at him. She knew when to fight a battle and when to surrender. She knew instinctively this was not a battle she could win, and she didn’t want to strain their very tentative relationship. “Fine. I promise. Now please let me go. Beckam’s going to kill me.”

  Valen pulled her close to his body and exhaled. “Thank you,” he said against her hair. Then he pulled away and was back to business, “I’ll deal with Beckam if we need to. You just pack. Do you have your dagger?”

  Zalia nodded as she kept packing. It only took her a few minutes, as she didn’t have much to pack. The last thing she packed was her sketchbook and pencils. Valen looked at them in interest but didn’t say anything.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” she said moving towards the door. Valen took her bag from her. With one hand on her back, he hurried them through the door. As they walked down the hallway towards the front of the building, Valen looked down at her.

  “I packed your sword for you,” Valen told her.

  Zalia nodded. “Thank you,” she said. They quickly arrived at the front of the training center. Mari stood there, next to the door. She approached Zalia and wrapped her in a huge hug.

  “Zalia, my dear, I’m going to miss you. Don’t be a stranger,” she said as she stepped back.

  Zalia looked at her in confusion. “Aren’t you going with us?”

  Mari just shook her head. “This is our home. This is where we belong.”

  Zalia opened her mouth to argue, but Mari continued on. “We will be fine. Don’t you worry about us. We will keep this training center in optimal shape so you can come back and train again soon.”

  Zalia was sad to be leaving her. She had become like a mom to her after losing her own. She was surprised to find tears leaking from her eyes as she hugged Mari. Mari hugged her tightly. “M
y dear, you’ve been through so much for someone so young, but you’re a fighter. You keep fighting. Don’t let life keep you down. Your parents would be so proud of the woman you have become.”

  Zalia’s tears fell in earnest now, and her throat clogged so that she couldn’t say anything. She felt Valen move in close behind her. Mari pulled back and looked over Zalia’s shoulder to Valen. “You take care of our girl. Protect her but don’t crush her spirit.”

  Zalia didn’t know how Valen responded, but then he stepped close and put a hand on her shoulder. She knew that was her cue to keep moving. Zalia said one more goodbye to Mari and turned to head out the door. Before she opened it, Valen stepped in front of her and stopped her. “You okay?” he asked in his quiet, low voice. Zalia still didn’t trust her voice, so she just nodded. Valen put a finger under her chin and tipped her face up to meet his eyes. Zalia looked up into his dark eyes. He seemed to approve of whatever he saw, because he nodded. Then he reached down and grabbed her hand, opened the door, and led her out to the waiting group of soldiers.

  Zalia took a deep breath as she headed outside. This was the next step of her journey. She had a feeling it was going to get worse before it got better.

  Chapter 21

  Once outside, Zalia let Valen lead her over to two horses. Beckam headed their way, angry. “Took you long enough,” he said by way of greeting. Valen dropped her hand and turned to step in front of her before Beckam got to them.

  “Leave it,” Valen said. Beckam looked at him for a moment, then spun away.

  “Let’s ride,” Beckam called out to everybody.

  Valen loaded Zalia’s bag on to her horse, then put both hands on her waist and boosted her up. “Thank you,” she said quietly. He quickly moved to the horse next to hers and mounted up. Several riders, warriors from the blue kingdom, quickly surrounded Zalia. The way they positioned themselves made Valen have to pull his horse behind Zalia.

  As they began riding, the solider to her right looked over at her with a smile. “Princess, I’m Edgar. It’s an honor to be guarding you.”

  Zalia turned towards him and gave him a kind smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Edgar.” She looked at him for just a moment. He appeared tall with blond hair and blue eyes. He was good looking and knew it. He would be a danger to women. Good thing he didn’t do anything for her. She was more into the silent, brooding type. As she looked at him, he gave her a rakish smile and waggled his eyes.

  Zalia couldn’t help it, she laughed out loud. “I bet you’re popular with the women,” she said with a smile.

  “Well, a gentleman wouldn't agree to any such thing,” he said with a wink. Zalia relaxed into her ride as Edgar kept her entertained with stories the entire ride. She found herself relaxing. He kept her entertained. He was telling her an enthralling tale of one of his conquests as the castle came into view.

  “Then out of nowhere, we were surrounded. We had to fight our way out of there in the darkness. The smell was terrible. We cut our way through the band of soldiers and found ourselves facing something that none of us ever expected.” He paused for a moment for effect.

  Zalia looked up at him, “What was it?” she asked out of mild curiosity.

  “The serpent of Apep,” he said, his eyes twinkling. Zalia knew he had her. She smiled at him.

  “That’s a pretty great tale. All you’re missing is the beautiful maiden at the end of the story,” she laughed.

  “Aw, that’s where you’re wrong, Princess. There is a beautiful maiden at the end of this story,” he said as he winked. He then flashed her a mischievous smile.

  Oh boy; this guy is trouble. Zalia smiled and looked away. She hadn’t looked back at Valen and was wondering if he was catching any of this conversation. Zalia cringed and hoped not.

  When they arrived in front of the castle, they were instantly surrounded by more of Beckam’s warriors. She glanced up and saw more of his warriors up on the walls of the castle in the ready position.

  Zalia pulled her attention from all the security and looked back in front of her. Everybody had stopped and started dismounting. Edgar was off his horse in a flash and reached up for her. Zalia paused, knowing this probably wasn’t going to end well. But knowing she didn’t want to make a scene, Zalia allowed him to put his arms around her waist and pull her off her horse. When he put her down, he didn’t drop his arms but took a step closer to her with his hands on her waist.

  Zalia panicked for a moment. A second later, she heard him. “If you want to keep both hands, I suggest you take them off her,” she heard Valen’s low, deadly voice.

  To her horror, Edgar didn’t even flinch but drew her a step closer. She looked up at him in alarm. He bent down to her ear and asked, “How far do you want to push him?” He pulled back and grinned at her. Zalia couldn’t form a reply. She didn’t need to. Valen grabbed him from behind, spun him around and cracked him across his jaw before Edgar even saw it coming. Edgar spun back after his hit with eyes blazing. Zalia saw his intent and moved between the two men before they made something more of this.

  “Enough,” she said softly so that they could hear her but nobody else around them could. She put a hand on each of their chests. She glanced at Valen and saw his eyes were black. His jaw was locked, and he was mad. She needed to diffuse this situation quickly. Before she said anything, Edgar stepped back and gave her a cocky smile.

  “No worries, Princess. I’ll back off.” He backed away slowly. He started to back away from Zalia and Valen. Zalia took a deep breath of relief, and then he threw out, “Just keep your door unlocked at night,” he said with a cocky smile.

  “Shoot!” Zalia blurted out and turned in an instant to throw herself against Valen. He was going to kill Edgar! Zalia pushed back against Valen with both arms as he moved to push her away from him, his eyes locked in fury on Edgar.

  Zalia didn’t know what to do to stop him, so she did the only thing she could. She stepped up on her tiptoes and threw herself into kissing him. He held himself rigid for a second then he grabbed her and pulled her close to his body as he deepened the kiss. This kiss was much different than their first kiss. This was a claiming kiss. He kissed her with so much passion. Her entire body was on fire. She needed to get closer to him. He must have felt the same thing, because without breaking the kiss, he lifted her closer to him. She straddled his waist with her legs and he cupped her backside. Zalia felt like she was drowning in his kiss. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, breathing hard. Zalia looked up at him in shock and ran her tongue over her swollen lips. He groaned and kissed her again. Zalia was totally lost in her emotions, until she heard a throat clear.

  Like a splash of cold water, it brought Zalia to her senses. She looked down and realized she was off the ground in Valen’s strong arms. She wiggled and he put her down gently but didn’t step away from her. Zalia peeked back and saw that Beckam was standing there with his arms crossed and a big grin on his face. “You done, or do you need me to show you to a room?” he asked slyly. Zalia could feel her face heat up and knew she was a horrible shade of pink.

  Valen looked down at her and smiled. Zalia could no longer look at him, mortified at how she had responded to him. She kept her head down as she asked quietly, “Is everybody watching?”

  Valen quietly responded, “No. They all took off after you jumped me,” he said with a smirk. Zalia just groaned and put her head on his chest.

  Beckam said, “Everybody took off after your showdown with Edgar.” At the mention of his name, Valen turned angry again.

  He looked down at Zalia and cupped her face in his hand. “Don’t ever stand in front of me when a guy is angry and coming at me,” he said in protective mode. Then his jaw clenched, and he said, “And keep away from Edgar. He's trouble,” he said angrily.

  “I will,” she said seriously. “And I will lock my door at night.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” he said darkly.

  “Why not?” Zalia asked.

  �
�Because you will be in my room, and I will keep you safe,” he said matter of fact.

  Zalia sputtered, “I can’t stay in your room! We’re not married or even engaged!”

  Valen just smirked, “I’m a prince. You’re a princess. We can do whatever we want.”

  When Zalia opened her mouth to argue, he interrupted her. “But there’s nothing to worry about. Our room is a two-bedroom suite. Now, let’s get inside and unpacked.” He grabbed their bags and gave the groundskeepers the horses to take away. He put his hand on her back and guided her towards the stairs. Beckam was waiting for them right in the entryway.

  “Come on. I’ll show you to your room. We have two hours until supper. Valen, my grandfather will want to meet as soon as possible.” Valen nodded, and Beckam walked ahead of them.

  He showed them to their room and left them. Valen opened the door and ushered Zalia inside where they found a large bed and a small table. Further into the room was a decent size sitting area, and off of there was a door that led to a smaller bedroom. Zalia took her bag from Valen and took it into the smaller room. She made quick work of unpacking and putting her clothes away. She decided to take a bath and try to get the dust off from their afternoon ride. She started gathering fresh clothes when she felt Valen’s presence. She turned to look at him.

  He stood in the doorway of her room with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

  “My shoulder’s feeling really good. I think it’s almost one hundred percent. That healer’s brew works wonders,” she said.

  He studied her quietly for a moment, and Zalia knew something important was coming. Zalia held herself perfectly still and waited for him to say something. She didn’t have to wait long, and she was right. It was huge!

  “I want to bond tonight,” Valen said calmly.

  Zalia stared at him in shock, then she opened her mouth and her thoughts came tumbling out. “Tonight?” she squeaked. “I mean, I know we’ve talked about it, and it’s inevitable. But it’s so soon. You don’t even know if you like me. What if you want to kill me after we bond? I mean it’s not like we get along great. Half the time you just put up with me. We don’t even...”