Palace of Moonlight

by Payton Taylor

  What or who was she going to find when she encountered him?

  She'd broken her promise when she'd commanded him to flee, thinking only of his safety and nothing more.

  Her only thought had been that Westin had to live. She never thought he'd end up in the Wastes.

  How did he even get there? she wondered for the thousandth time. The more she pondered, the more questions she had.

  She heard soft footsteps behind her before Jo threw her arms around Sunny shouting, "I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

  Sunny couldn't help but laugh. "I still say they both could have fit on that door."

  Jo grinned, "You and every other person with sense." Sunny snorted, "That's not setting the bar very high, then."

  What’s wrong? Jo's voice echoed in her thoughts.

  You looked very brooding and pensive before.

  Sunny sighed, You know what’s wrong.

  I know, but it’s better if you get it off your chest.

  Sunny side-eyed her with a rueful smile. Look at you, being all emotionally intelligent and shit.

  Jo flashed a peace sign. Now talk.

  This is all my fault. How could he ever forgive me?

  No one could forgive someone for something like this.

  Jo put her arm around Sunny. You couldn’t have known, Sun. You were just looking out for him. You were trying to protect him.

  Sunny averted her gaze. I promised him I wouldn’t use your Gift on him. I promised him that I wouldn’t take his choice away. . . like the king did.

  Jo's hand stilled where it was rubbing her shoulder soothingly and Sunny felt her eyes fill with tears. She took a few deep breaths, trying to push the emotion back.

  It’s okay, Jo, you don’t have to say anything. I know what I did was awful. It feels better just to admit it aloud. Or, well, in our minds.

  Jo's hand resumed its soothing circles. You shouldn’t have had to carry that for so long. You could have told me.

  They were quiet for a moment before Jo spoke again. I understand why you did it. I know you, Sunny, I know you were just trying to save him. You never could have known he’d end up in the Wastes.

  Sunny let out a shaky sigh and felt Gordo's arm wrap around her as well.

  Jo grinned warmly at him, causing him to blush before she stiffened.

  Leo’s coming.

  Sunny wiggled her brows suggestively.

  Jo rolled her eyes, but that didn't stop her cheeks from reddening.

  "Ayven says it's almost time to drop anchor," Leo's voice drifted to them on the wind.

  Sunny turned to find Leo standing several feet back.

  He arched a brow at Jo's arm around Sunny's shoulders. "Are you girls, like, having a moment?"

  Sunny smiled, "Yeah, we were, but it's over now." She walked up to him, "I never got to thank you for all your help."

  Leo waved her off. "It was about time I picked a side." His eyes strayed to Jo who gave him a soft smile.

  Sunny met his eyes and gave him her best shit- eating grin. He was good at hiding his emotions, but she could tell she was starting to bother him. "But seriously, thank you," she said, "for everything."

  With that, they all headed down to their rooms to get ready.

  *****

  They all met Ayven on the deck, each dressed in their weatherproof, body temperature regulating suits. The suits were an olive-green color made of a form fitting material that left very little to the imagination.

  Khione grumbled, "Great, now I'm going to be short," as she traded in her heels for waterproof combat boots.

  Seren covered his sensitive eyes with sunglasses and put in his small earbuds, filtering out background noises. This allowed him to focus on the people talking to him.

  Seren was more prepared than any of them. Kian and Zahra smiled as Seren went on and on about the different animals and plant life they would soon see, and how interesting it all was to him.

  Sunny felt the love and warmth flowing through Seren as he spoke. His hands were gesturing wildly in front of his face. Words left his mouth at a rapid pace, never missing a fact.

  As everyone straightened and made sure they had all their supplies in their bags, Sunny noticed some roaming eyes.

  First, she saw Marzanna and Khione glance at each other, taking the suits in. Then she saw Leo's eyes travel up and down Jo's body while Jo very obviously tried not to look at him.

  Likewise, Kian's gaze traced Zahra's curvy figure. Zahra, however, just grinned and said, "Like what you see, baby?" A smile tugged at Kian's lips, and though it was only a half-smile, Sunny knew that it meant that Zahra was his whole world.

  Ayven made a sweeping motion with his arms and the water rose up out of the ocean, circling around them all to form a bubble. Sunny felt the Water Elemental's power flow through her veins. The soothing silk of the sea trickled through her, begging to be used.

  The bubble lifted them all, carrying them out over the water before slowly lowering them beneath the surface. They were completely dry, surrounded by air, but they could see creatures swimming around them. Sharks and eels, huge and grotesque, bared their teeth as they passed.

  Sunny looked to the ocean floor and saw a scuttling sea spider, about six feet in diameter.

  She felt her heart speed up and her skin grew itchy as if insects were crawling all over her.

  This is it , she thought to herself. We’re actually in the most dangerous place in the world.

  "They're called Nids," Seren said when he saw her looking at it. "They spend their whole lives underwater, preying on shrimp and small fish."

  Sunny looked at him dubiously. "Then why is it as big as I am?"

  To her utter horror, Seren simply shrugged. Seren was a walking encyclopedia of animal knowledge. If he didn't know, she didn't want to know.

  Ayven's Gift kept the freaky fish at bay, though, which Sunny was thankful for. But it just made her worry that much more for Westin's sake. They'd only just arrived, and she'd already seen creatures that looked like they came from a nightmare. What had he seen?

  They spent about forty minutes of floating through the water before they reached the shore. Ayven must have been a talented Water Elemental to keep fresh oxygen circling in from the water.

  Kian had told her that for that reason Water Elementals weren't kept in the Wastes. It was too easy for them to escape. Instead, they were kept in a prison in the middle of the desert in Thaerene, where there was no water for miles and miles.

  When they neared the shore, Ayven stopped and looked to Sunny. "Alright, Thief, it's your turn. This is where I turn back."

  Sunny nodded and took over control of the bubble, and it wobbled as she tried to hold it in place. They bounced up and down as she tried to keep it under control.

  Leo raised his hand, looking seasick. "It is too late to turn back?"

  Sunny grunted as the bubble finally stabilized. "No, go ahead. I'm sure one of those Nids would be more than happy to give you a ride back."

  "Actually, they wouldn't like that very much,"

  Seren said, fingers fidgeting with his necklace.

  Ayven turned to go. "Until next time. . ." his voice trailed off only to echo in Sunny and Jo's minds, Princesses.

  They just nodded in return. They had already been inside his and every sailor on the ship's minds the moment they boarded. They knew that he knew who they were, but that he was willing to help them for Leo's payment and some old debt he felt he owed the royal family. He would keep quiet of their whereabouts.

  And then he was gone, separating into a bubble of his own to head back to the ship.

  They made their way to the shore and, before they broke the surface, Sunny nodded to Leo. He nodded back and closed his eyes in concentration, and each of them vanished before Sunny's eyes. They had decided early on that Sunny and Leo would take turns making the group invisible not only in the Wastes, but also as they snuck in. For guards had trysks circling around the perimeter, spotlights rotating through the water and shor
e.

  Their feet touched the sand, leaving footprints they had to carefully seal over so that the guards wouldn't see.

  And then, Sunny felt him.

  Sunny had only taken a few steps onto land when the electrifying sensation hit her. Their Match bond was a low hum in the back of her skull.

  He was far, but she knew exactly how to find him.

  I feel him! She practically shouted in everyone's minds. I’m going to get him, Jo will know what to do.

  She heard a few protests behind her, but she had already taken off, her feet pounding the ground as she ran as fast as she could.

  Jo's mind was linked to hers. Wherever she went, Jo would be able to track her. She was still invisible, but she didn't know how long that invisibility would last as she got further and further away.

  She ran for at least an hour straight before she stopped to catch her breath. She took a drink of water from her canteen and she was off again.

  After a while, she heard growling and small, coyote-like creatures leaped in front of her. More circled her from the rear. Her heart raced as she reached for her staff.

  At once, two coyotes leapt at her and she twisted her staff, turning it into a whip. She spun around, her whip arcing through the air, the sharp spike on the end slicing through the creatures completely.

  I don’t have time for this, she thought as she twisted her weapon, turning it back into a staff. She took a running leap, stabbing the spiked end of her staff down through one of the coyote's heads, pole-vaulting herself over it.

  Her feet hit the ground running, her stride never faltering as she collapsed her staff and strapped it back to the belt on her suit.

  The more she ran, the closer he felt, and the stronger and faster she became as she tapped into his Gift. Before she knew it, she was running faster than the eye could track. She cut what had to have been a six-hour trip in half.

  Using his advanced eyesight, she saw a tiny shelter take form ahead. He was there. She knew it. She could feel it.

  She skidded to a stop outside the door, dirt and leaves spraying. The door was blocked by a huge slab of wood that would be impossible for her to lift on her own.

  "Westin?" She whispered, her keen hearing listening for a reply. When she didn't hear one, she decided to open the door. Her hands shook badly as she reached for it and her stomach churned with nausea.

  With Westin's Gift, it was easy to lift the makeshift door and set it aside. She entered the tiny hut and her breath left her at once as she took in the single table and woven grass bed that sat on the floor.

  Moving silently into the hut, she searched for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  But he has to be here. I can feel it.

  Standing completely still, she listened closely. She could hear him breathing.

  Slowly, she looked up.

  His body was braced on the rafters of the ceiling, covered in shadow. All she could see was the whites of his eyes before he dropped down to land directly in front of her.

  She gasped, "Westin?"

  His hand didn't stray from the dagger at his side as he stared at her, some internal debate happening behind his guarded eyes.

  She took him in. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of tattered pants. Her eyes lingered on the jagged scar that cut across his torso before drifting to the dozens of other smaller scars that dusted his body.

  His body.

  He was nothing but bone and sinewy muscle, not a drop of fat anywhere on him. His cheekbones stuck out sharply, his face gaunt. It was as if he hadn't eaten at all the entire time he'd been there.

  Her hand came up to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. The only thing she could think to say was, "I'm so sorry," over and over again.

  What have I done?

  Chapter 14

  Westin

  Writhia, 5220

  The Wastes

  "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry-" "Quiet!"

  Her lips stopped moving. "Are you real?" he asked. "What?"

  "ARE YOU REAL?"

  Westin wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real.

  Noelani.

  Standing in front of him. Alive.

  He had felt her coming. Over the last weeks, it seemed as if she was getting closer, their Match bond shaking itself to consciousness. He had felt the moment she stepped foot on the island, had felt their bond tighten around him as she rapidly got closer and closer.

  He had dreamed of it before. Noelani coming for him, taking him from the horrors of that place. But this felt different than his dreams, so he had hidden himself to wait.

  To see if whatever came through that doorway was the woman who had betrayed him or if it was just another nightmare.

  And now that she was standing in front of him, he wasn't sure if he could tell the difference.

  "Is this another dream?" breath.

  She closed her eyes and released a shuddering

  He reached for her face slowly, afraid she would disappear the moment he touched her.

  She didn't disappear, though. When his palm cupped her cheek, she leaned into it, inhaling deeply. Where his skin touched hers, their Match bond sang.

  "I've dreamed of this a thousand times," he whispered.

  Home, security, comfort, his heart crooned.

  Pain, betrayal, uncertainty, his mind hissed back.

  As those thoughts echoed through his mind, he slowly drew back his hand causing Noelani to open her eyes.

  They were still the bright blue he remembered. He cleared his throat. "How are you here?" She sighed, "Where do I even begin?"

  Then she explained. Or, at least, tried to. She skipped around to different parts of her story, stuttering her way through it. What she told him didn't make much sense, as if she couldn't focus on what she was saying.

  Something about the king wanting to marry her and her fleeing during a distraction. At one point she mentioned pirates, then dropped off to circle back to talking about meeting Seren in the woods somewhere. Tears lined her eyes as she told Westin about Seren's vision.

  As she spoke, she looked around his small shelter, her eyes taking in his meager living situation, unable to focus on any one thing in particular.

  Her emotions flared out at him, the way they had when he'd been with her before.

  Her guilt and desperation hit him like a punch to the gut.

  She really regretted what she had done, what she'd forced him to do. He wondered if she only regretted it now that she'd seen the consequences of her actions. Had she thought herself in the right before? Before she saw the fallout of what she had done?

  As he searched her emotions, barely paying attention to her story, he found something there, under the guilt, that made him want to look deeper. Something like rage mixed with helplessness.

  But as he searched her emotions, he stopped short when he found her pity. Pity that laced her every word, her every thought, as she looked around the hut that had been his home for however long he had been there. Pity when she looked at him, taking in his scars and all the weight he had lost.

  That pity sparked his anger.

  "If I had known you were in the Wastes, I would have tried to escape sooner. I swear I tried-"

  She kept babbling nervously, sputtering excuse after excuse. He tuned her out while he looked her over.

  Look at her, he thought. Perfectly fine and healthy.

  She definitely hasn’t missed any meals. He knew his thoughts were bitter, but he also felt they were justified.

  "You're the reason I'm here," he interrupted.

  She stopped speaking and her face crumbled. The tears that lined her eyes finally spilled over. "I know," she whispered.

  "You told me you wouldn't control me. You promised you wouldn't take away my choice! I wanted to stay with you!" His voice got a bit louder with every word.

  The more he spoke, the angrier he got.

  She quickly wiped a tear from her eye. "But you would have-"

  "I know I
would have died, but that was my choice.

  You took that away from me, and I ended up here!" He threw his arms out, gesturing around him. "Welcome to my humble abode, by the way. I'd offer you something to eat, but I haven't eaten in two days myself."

  He flinched at her quick movements as she took off her backpack. He hated that he flinched.

  "Here, I have some food." Her voice was ragged as she held the pack out.

  Westin glared at her for a moment before begrudgingly taking it. Inside was days' worth of food and he tore into it, not caring how he looked. He almost moaned at the taste of the dried meats and fruit he found there. For the first time in months, he was able to drink water without the added texture of silt and insects.

  Noelani sat crouched beside him, watching him with big blue eyes.

  When he was done, an awkward silence fell over them. Noelani sat there like a chastised child. Whenever he looked at her, her eyes filled with tears and she quickly looked away.

  Her tears only made him angrier. No longer able to sit still, he stood abruptly and now Noelani was the one who flinched, her body cowering as she brought her hands up in front of her.

  That spiked his rage. "Oh, what, now you're afraid of me?"

  Fire sparked in her eyes as she stood up, coming closer until her face was inches from his chest as she glared up at him.

  "I know that what I did was wrong, and I know you're never going to forgive me. I don't even deserve forgiveness. But don't you ever think that I'm afraid of you," she seethed. "I fear no man."

  "Oh yes," Westin replied, voice full of sarcasm. "Brave Noelani. We've all heard the tales. That bravery didn't seem to be enough to help your sister though, did it?"

  Now she was mad. With an intensity to rival the fiercest gang leaders of the Wastes, she brought her fist down on the table, shattering it to splinters.

  He gave a humorless laugh, "Great, that was the only nice thing I owned!"

  She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead, she turned and ran out the door.

  He heard her footsteps recede into the woods surrounding his hut before they stopped.