Darkness Within

by Carli Castle

  Aiessa looked annoyed for a moment before she shuttered her expression, turned around, then walked away without adding anything else, her skirts billowing behind her.

  “Now, isn’t she delightful,” Eleanore said and took a seat on the bench as Lucas Ferrin looked at her.

  Without thinking, because he looked so heave laden with something she couldn’t know unless she did, she let her empathic power surface and opened up to him, to his emotions, and they punched her stomach so hard she almost gasped. Breathing in deeply, she took the negative feelings into herself and relieved him.

  He was staring, but he had the most peculiar feeling wash over him. It felt like that moment between sleep and awareness, and then that next minute when your head finally cleared up. Her face was nearly perfect, and he was only able to see that once his head was completely clear.

  “Sit.” She patted the space next to her on the bench. “Tell me what’s bothering you, Mr. Ferrin.” She turned to look at him with those gigantic eyes of hers when he sat. They were green, so green, framed by thick, long, black lashes. She had a small, straight nose, a high forehead, dark brows with a subtle arch, and full pink lips. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a long, wavy pony tail, which fell over her shoulder. She and her sisters looked very much alike, he thought. Especially Princess Eleanore and Princess Harper.

  “Has no one around here heard about it,” he asked her, looking away so he didn’t come across as a creep for staring at her so blatantly.

  “Heard what?” She crossed her legs and put her chin in her hand, resting her elbow on her knee.

  “A girl was killed in the forest this morning and I was the one that found her,” he said for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He wanted to forget about it, not repeat it over and over again.

  She straightened as a line appeared between her brows. She looked straight into his eyes.

  “Who?”

  “Her name was Lana Juren. She was a young spring fairy, only on her second week of work at her first job.” Despite his reluctance to keep talking about it, it felt easy with her, and the words just spilled out without any control on his part. There was such an air of calmness around her, so much serenity. “I had to meet her parents just now.”

  “That couldn’t have been easy for you,” she whispered.

  “I can’t say it was.”

  As he sat there with her, in silence, he felt a wave of relief washing over him. His shoulders felt light for the first time in that entire day, like that sack of potatoes had been taken off them, and the knots in his stomach unraveled. It felt like he was able to breathe again after a long stay under water.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  He found himself looking into her eyes, and suddenly, he realized what had just happened. A pang of annoyance had him sliding away from her on the bench.

  “You’re an empath,” he said, not able to stop the accusing tone in which he said it.

  She looked down, seemingly ashamed. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  “It would be nice to ask for people’s permission to intrude in personal feelings.” He wanted to be angry at her, even though he knew, deep down, she’d done it to help.

  “I usually do, I don’t normally intrude like that, Mr. Ferrin. I’m very sorry.”

  The look on her face deflated his irritation. He just didn’t have the energy, and she was nice, and beautiful, and so easy to talk to. Also, he felt so much better, he knew he couldn’t hold it over her head for another moment.

  She’d been trying to help, and he’d snapped at her. A woman.

  No, a princess! If his mother had been there to witness it, she would have slapped him.

  “Thank you,” he said and was pleased to see her smile, even if it didn’t reach all the way up to her eyes. “Am I in your way at all, Princess Eleanore,” he asked her, desperate to change the subject and also wondering if he was bothering her, because he assumed she was in this garden because she wanted to be alone, much like he was. Thankfully, she didn’t push trying to get more information, but she did cringe. “What?”

  “Could you just call me Elle,” she asked.

  “Elle?” He looked at her, puzzled by the request.

  “I like it much better than my title.” She shrugged one shoulder and lifted her brows. “It makes me feel like a human being and not an unattainable ideal.”

  “Uh, well.” He didn’t think he would be able to do that. It was wrong, even when she was the one asking for it. It was an unspoken rule in all of Esmeralda that no one was to call a royal—least of all a royal lady—by a given name or nickname. He could go to prison for it! He cleared his throat, unwilling defy her wishes, but he also didn’t want to break any rules. He suddenly thought he was between a rock and a hard place. “I’m not getting in your way, I hope,” he repeated, in hopes she didn’t press the subject.

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “I come here when I want to escape life in there.” She pointed toward the direction of the palace, though couldn’t see it from where they sat.

  “Can’t really escape anything if I’m here,” he pointed out.

  “True, but I don’t mind you’re here,” she sighed. “Sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone who doesn’t live under my same roof.”

  “In that case, I’m glad to be of assistance to you.”

  She smiled. “It’s appreciated.”

  “Why is this your refuge?”

  “Auroras are my favorite flower. I had this tree put in here a couple years ago. My mother was not happy about it, but she hasn’t complained since I had this garden built, because she can’t see much of it.”

  “You do know the tree will grow much more than this, right?”

  “I know.” She smiled wistfully. “I will enjoy it while it lasts.”

  “Isn’t the aurora the wrong flower to have as your favorite?”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, they die the minute you pick them, you could never have them in a vase.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of depressing now that I think about it,” she said, looking up at the buds on the tree. “I guess flowers weren’t made for vases anyway.”

  “True.” He looked at the line of her throat. “Why auroras?”

  “Why are they my favorite?” She glanced at him and he nodded once. “Because it’s different than any other plant. It’s unique.”

  “So are all other flowers. There are no two plants that are exactly alike.”

  “This one changes colors, though, it’s not like you can say that about other flowers,” she argued, leaning her head to the side.

  “Maybe around Esmeralda, but there is a flower called hibiscus, which changes colors depending on the temperature. It isn’t like the aurora exactly, but it does change colors.”

  He had all her attention with that comment, and it was nice to have her whole attention. He had a lot of knowledge of useless little things. People seemed to be impressed with it, but he just really loved reading and learning new things.

  “And where do these hibiscus grow?”

  “They grow in tropical climates in the sleeper realm. I can’t remember which countries, but they seem to be quite interesting. There is no medicinal purpose to them, and they don’t even have a scent to them, as far as I have read, but they’re quite pleasing to the eye.”

  She was biting back a smile when he finally looked at her. Now he felt like an idiot.

  “You’re right, they seem very interesting.” She did smile then, a dimple flashing on her cheek. He liked her smile. She became even prettier, which didn’t seem like it could be possible, since she was one of the most beautiful girls he’d met in his entire life. That included her sister, Princess Aiessa, who was absolutely gorgeous. The warmth in Princess Eleanore’s eyes made her that much more appealing to him.

  “How do you know all these things about flowers that change colors, Mr. Ferrin?”

  “Lucas.” He didn’t even think before he said it and want
ed to kick himself.

  “Excuse me?” She blinked at him.

  “My name is Lucas.” No point on going back on it now, he thought. “Every time I hear ‘Mr. Ferrin’, I turn to see if my father’s behind me. Figuratively, that is.”

  “And you don’t want to be confused with your father.”

  “Actually, I don’t mind. My father is the best man I’ve ever known, I would just rather be called by my given name.”

  “Very well, Lucas.” She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. “Wouldn’t people call your father Healer Ferrin, instead of Mr. Ferrin, though?”

  He wasn’t startled by her knowing who his father was, everyone pretty much knew him or of him.

  “I guess so, but I’ve heard it both ways,” he explained lamely. “I would still rather be called Lucas.”

  “Sure, I can do that, Lucas.” She crossed her arms under her chest and he averted his eyes. He didn’t want to, but he still did. The last thing he needed was to be accused of staring at her breasts. “But only if you call me Elle.”

  He started shaking his head, but she twisted her body on the bench until one of her legs was across the stone and she was facing him.

  “Look, I noticed how you avoided calling me Elle when I asked earlier. You can’t fool me one bit. Call me Elle and I will call you Lucas, otherwise, Mr. Ferrin it is.”

  “Then, Mr. Ferrin it will have to stay.”

  “Come on, what’s the big deal? It’s just a name.”

  “I can’t do that, Princess, I will not break the rules.” He stood, knowing he’d really done it. He’d opened up a can of worms.

  “And yet, you will have me break rules by calling you, a man whom I am not related to, by your given name.” She stood as well, facing him evenly. It should have seemed comical, because she was so small compared to him, but she was actually quite intimidating. It was in her eyes, in the set of her jaw.

  “That’s different, you’re a princess.”

  “So I don’t have to follow rules because I’m a princess? Someone should have told me about that one,” she muttered.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Then, what did you mean?” She lifted both her eyebrows, as if an invisible string were pulling at them by the arches. It made him want to cower like a child.

  “I just meant you can call anyone by their first name and it would be fine, but if I get caught calling you by your first name—no, a nickname—I could definitely get into some trouble.”

  She pursed her bottom lip and let her arms fall by her side.

  “Fine. I guess I can’t make anyone call me by a name I prefer much more than my given name, so I won’t try with you either. Sorry.”

  “You don’t like your name?”

  “Eleanore?” She frowned, thinking. “I like it fine, it just sounds so formal and makes me feel old. I like Elle.”

  “That’s fair.”

  “So will you call me by it or not?”

  “I thought you weren’t going to bring it up again.”

  “I say things I don’t mean sometimes.”

  He took a breath and thought about it. He was enjoying talking to her so much, he thought maybe he would also enjoy being her friend. Not that he knew if they could manage that. If he wasn’t even allowed to call her by her nickname in front of people, how could they even begin to become friends? Also, she was really nice to look at, and that never hurt.

  “Fine,” he finally sighed. “I will call you Elle.”

  She made a little squealing noise and clapped her hands twice. She looked like she’d won a difficult battle. He found it so cute he had to bite back a smile.

  “Only when we’re alone together, though,” she said. “My mother doesn’t approve of my nickname.”

  “Neither would she approve of you speaking to me here without any kind of supervision.”

  “You’re right, of course, but mother rarely approves of the things I like to do. I decided long ago not to care about it too much.”

  “I really would like to keep my head, Princess.”

  “Calm down, you won’t get your head chopped off. What is this, the eighteen hundreds?”

  He had the strongest urge to laugh. “You do have to admit there are laws around here that belong in the eighteen hundreds,” he said, looking down at her. When she just nodded, he found himself staring at her again. “You have amazing eyes.”

  “What?” She was obviously startled by his abrupt change of subject.

  “I was just looking at them, and they’re amazing. They’re so green. There is no blue, no gold, and no gray, just pure emerald. It’s fascinating.”

  She angled her head and crossed her arms again. “Are you flirting with me, Lucas?”

  “Uh, no.” He could feel the heat creeping up his neck. “I just notice things like that. Also, if this is the kind of flirting you’re used to, you’re being given the short end of the stick, to be honest.”

  She pursed her lips. “Why’s that?”

  “Why are you being given the short end of the stick?”

  “No, why do you notice those kinds of things?”

  “Well, um, I draw.” He sounded like a bumbling idiot even to his own ears.

  “You draw,” she repeated softly, and something inside him jumped at the interest in her eyes. She wasn’t just trying to make conversation, she was actually interested in knowing the little things. Now, that was the kind of friendship a guy wanted in his life. Not that the rest of his friends weren’t good ones, but they were mostly people from work, and most were older than he was, so he didn’t have much in common with them.

  Maybe this would work after all. A friendship with someone outside of the council? He’d take it.

  “Tell me, what kind of things do you draw?”

  Before he could answer, the clearing of a throat had them both turning toward the fountain. Caleb was standing there, looking at both of them with a curious expression on his face.

  “Excuse me, Princess Eleanore.” He inclined his head slightly.

  “President Sillen,” she greeted him, stepping away from Lucas slightly.

  He noticed it right away, the absence, even though she hadn’t even been that close. He wanted to slap Caleb for being so inopportune.

  “It’s nice to see you, Your Highness,” Caleb said, more politely than Lucas had ever seen. He still couldn’t get used to seeing Caleb in his role of president, despite how much he saw him in it.

  “Likewise, President Sillen,” she said. “I hope you had a good visit.”

  “As good a visit as I could, considering the circumstances.”

  “Oh yes, I was very sorry to hear about that.”

  Caleb gave her a wry smile. “I wish we could chat for longer, Highness, but we must return to the council for official business.”

  She nodded, turned to Lucas, and gave him a big smile that made her eyes sparkle like jewels. Something in his chest jumped, and he tried hard to ignore it. He found himself smiling back before he could stop himself.

  “It was great speaking to you, Lucas,” she said. “Have a good evening.”

  “Thank you, likewise for you, Elle.” He lifted his hand awkwardly. He didn’t even know why he lifted it, or what he was doing, so he ordered himself to put it down and stop acting like he’d never talked to a girl before. He had, and though he wasn’t good at it, he wasn’t completely inept in social situations. She was probably thinking he was not good looking enough to be that dumb, and he would not blame her if that were the case. “Bye.”

  She was smiling when he turned away and left the garden ahead of Caleb, and could swear he felt the burn of Caleb’s stare on his side and did his best to ignore it. He knew what was coming, and there was no way he could stop it.

  “Elle?” Caleb muttered the minute they stepped in front of the council building.

  Lucas threw his brother a sidelong glance. “Shut up.”

  “You don’t get to say that to me, man, I didn’t hear incorrec
tly. You called Princess Eleanore by what I can only assume is a nickname.”

  “She asked me to call her by it. What was I supposed to do?”

  “You do everything people ask you to do,” Caleb asked.

  “Of course not.” Lucas kept walking up the stairs and revealed his tattoo to the knights at the door at the same time Caleb did.

  “I see.”

  “What do you see?” Lucas didn’t spare his brother a glance as they entered the lobby. Callie immediately looked up from her work and beamed at him, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t care. Callie was cute, but she was no Elle. Boy, was he already in trouble.

  “You did what she asked because she’s good looking.”

  “There are plenty of good looking women out there, you don’t see me doing their every bidding.”

  “Yeah, but this isn’t just everyone, this is Elle.” Caleb’s emphasis on her name came in a mocking tone he’d used countless times when they’d been little. It annoyed Lucas to no end. He wasn’t a child anymore and Caleb was an annoying dork.

  “Let it go, man,” he muttered as Callie stood from her desk and came to them.

  “I can’t promise you anything,” Caleb mumbled as Callie handed him a handful of envelopes. He looked like was trying really hard not to laugh.

  Chapter Three

  Elle watched them go, wondering how it was that ten minutes of conversation with one person could make you wonder so many things.

  He was interesting and cute, with his little trivia on hibiscus plants, and was even kind of funny when he wasn’t brooding. And when he wasn’t snapping at her.

  She did realize that was entirely her fault. She was sorry for intruding in his emotions, but his psyche had been screaming at her. She rarely sensed vibes that strongly, to the point where she couldn’t ignore them. She was very good at blocking other’s emotions out, but with him, that had been nearly impossible.

  There had been so much going on inside him. So many feelings, some even contradicting each other. At first, when she had opened herself, she could have sworn there were more people inside the walled garden, and it mostly boiled down to him being intensely unhappy.