by S. J. West
Right before I walk into Maximus’s room, I spy Coltan sitting in a chair beside my godfather’s bed as he reads to him from a book. The picture they make together is surreal. If you had told me two weeks ago that a Prince would be reading a book to the head of the Circle while he lay in a coma, I would have laughed at that person and called them delusional. Yet here we are. However, Coltan is most certainly not a regular Prince, which he’s always claimed. It was a little hard for me to believe at first because I’ve been hardwired from an early age to hate the Princes. Even that seems a bit strange to me now. We haven’t been attacked by the Princes on this side of the bridge for years. It makes me wonder if Sela Prince was the reason for the lull. Could it be that the attacks will start back up now that she’s gone? I’m not certain. I don’t know Edward Prince that well, but from what little I do know, he seems scared of Maximus. I get the feeling he would rather stay out of a war with my godfather, if at all possible.
When I open the sliding door to the room, Coltan immediately stops reading to Maximus and looks up from the book to smile at me.
I hate to admit it, but my heart aches at the sight of him, and I can’t help such a natural response. I’ve never met anyone who affects me the way he does. His heart seems so genuinely pure that I almost feel unworthy of him. I try to strike that thought out of my mind because it’s silly, but I can’t help the way I feel any more than I can make my body no longer need oxygen to live.
“Has there been any change?” I ask Coltan as I close the door behind me and walk over to the foot of Maximus’s bed.
Coltan shakes his head as he stands up to place the book in his hand on the seat of his chair.
“His doctor came by, but he said nothing was different. It’s simply going to take time for the swelling in his brain to go down.”
“I really need to talk to him,” I say as desperation sinks in. I can’t contain the knowledge I have any longer. I need to tell someone who understands. I look over at Coltan and find him watching me closely.
“What?” I ask, wondering if I have something on my face that he’s staring at.
“You seem troubled,” he tells me with a concerned frown. “What’s wrong? Can I help in any way?”
Briar Rose’s warning echoes in my mind. She said I should only share the information she gave me with the people I trust most. Do I really trust Coltan that much? To be honest, I don’t have to think twice about it. I trust him with my life, and the fact is, I already did on the island. He gave up his one and only chance to save his mother’s life so he could save mine. In my eyes, he’s proven his loyalty to me.
“Yes,” I tell him. “You can help me because I need someone to talk to right now.”
Coltan holds out one of his hands for me to take. I slip one of mine into his, and he leads me over to a love seat in front of the windows in the room.
I tell him everything that happened since I left the hospital to go to Shadowspire in hopes that he can help me find some answers.
“Wow,” he says as he sits back on the couch after I’m through telling him about my encounter with Suri and everything Briar Rose told me. “No wonder you needed someone to talk to. Thank you for trusting me with all of that.”
“At least we know that going after the golden apple is something we need to do,” I say. “Apparently, it’ll lead us to one of Briar Rose’s sisters.”
“There isn’t a lot known about her,” he says. “Did you know she has sisters?”
I don’t answer right away because I can’t tell Coltan that Briar Rose is actually an angel. It’s a secret I swore I would never reveal to another living soul, and even though I trust Coltan, I can’t tell him that part of the story. Maybe one day he’ll learn the truth on his own, but it can’t be from me.
“No, I didn’t know she had sisters,” I say, even though I’m pretty sure Briar Rose didn’t mean that in the literal sense. She more than likely meant that the other two I’m supposed to find are like her sisters just as the girls of my squad are like mine.
“Is Suri the one who cast the curse?” Coltan asks. “I mean, that seems to make sense if piercing her heart with this weapon you’re supposed to obtain will end the curse.”
“That seems like a logical conclusion,” I agree as I look over at Maximus’s still form. “I wish he was awake so I could ask him what we should do next.”
“I think you know the answer to that question,” Coltan says.
“Yes, but the problem with that is that the only person who might have been to this other world is in surgery right now, and we have no idea if he’ll make it through. I pray for Isabel’s sake that he does, but there’s no guarantee.”
“That bit concerning what Commander Ford told you about Isabel’s father, do you think that spot in the woods is where he entered this other world? If he was trying to get back to it, that makes the most sense.”
“It’s possible that I could find some record of his arrest in the archives at Shadowspire,” I say, pondering other avenues of fact-finding. “He also worked for the Guild at the time, so a record of his activities would have been kept. I can check both if it looks like he won’t recover soon enough to help us.”
“Why didn’t you tell Commander Ford any of this?” Coltan asks as he studies me carefully. “She’s your commander. Shouldn’t you trust her more than you trust me?”
“I probably should, but I don’t in this instance,” I say. “I’ve never told anyone else this, Coltan, not even my squad or Maximus, but I need to tell you.”
Coltan leans forward. “What is it?”
I take a deep breath. “Do you remember me telling you about the first time I stepped inside Thorn Hill Academy?”
He nods. “Commander Ford made you fight her.”
“What I’ve never told anyone is that when she cut me on the side of the neck, she looked like she expected to see something other than blood. And do you remember what Ari said about me? That I must be something more than human? I think she was right because her blood awakened something inside me.”
Coltan waits patiently for me to continue.
“I can see spirits that haven’t departed from this world after their death,” I reveal to him. “And . . . please don’t freak out on me after I tell you this, but I saw your mother today at her funeral.”
Coltan remains quiet at first, but he begins to breathe heavier, and his eyes look startled by what I’ve said.
“Did she . . . speak to you?” he asks, focusing all of his attention on me.
I nod my head and wait to see if he wants to know what she told me.
Coltan sits back heavily on the couch and runs his fingers through his hair as he attempts to take in what I revealed to him.
When he looks back over at me, his questioning expression tells me that he’s ready to hear more.
“What did she tell you?” he asks.
“She said that you need me more than you realize and that you’ll need to lean on my strength in the days to come. Apparently, your father has some information that he needs to tell you now that your mother is dead, but she wouldn’t tell me what it is you need to know. She also said that we need to look out for one another because we’ll be facing obstacles that neither of us will be able to handle alone.”
I choose not to tell Coltan that his mother suggested we have Maximus tell us the real history of Briardale. According to my godfather, it’s a truth that’s better left unknown for now.
Coltan places his left hand on the couch between us, palm up. I accept the invitation to hold his hand. As his fingers wrap around mine, he sighs deeply.
“I think you’ve had the worst possible day of anyone I’ve ever met,” he declares before pulling me closer until I’m resting against him.
Coltan’s warmth and tenderness soothes my mind and body. I allow myself to close my eyes and soak him in. The longer I rest against him, the more my body is lulled into contentment. All of the adrenaline that’s been keeping me going since this morning
completely fades away, causing me to enter an uneasy sleep.
Chapter 8
I awaken with a start. Darkness settled over the city some time during my slumber, and I have no idea how long I’ve been asleep. I sit up on the love seat and look behind me to see if Maximus has woken up yet, but he hasn’t. He’s still unconscious and in the same exact position on his hospital bed that he was when I fell asleep. I look around the room but see no sign of Coltan.
The sound of Maximus’s heartbeat monitor fills the quiet room, and I head for the door because the space feels eerily empty without Coltan in it. Once I’m in the hallway, I see Thorn Grace standing across from the elevator where Thorn Stone was when I first got here. Thorn Grace is a statuesque brunette with short hair and brown eyes. As soon as I exit Maximus’s room, she turns her head to look at me.
“Do you know where Coltan Prince is, Thorn Grace?” I ask her.
“He left a few minutes ago,” she tells me. “He said he wanted to check on Thorn Hollan. Apparently, she tried to contact you over your com bracelet, but you were sleeping at the time.”
“Thank you,” I say before calling the elevator to the top floor to head down to the surgical wing.
I wish Coltan had woken me up when Isabel tried to contact me instead of leaving me sleeping on the couch. I’m sure he thought he was doing the best thing for me by letting me rest, but now I feel like a slacker as a Thorn and as one of Isabel’s best friends. Needing sleep shows weakness, and that’s the one thing I never want people to see me as.
When I reach the surgical wing, a nurse on the floor tells me that Isabel’s father has been assigned a room in the recovery unit. He’s kind enough to escort me to the room where I find not only Isabel, Gus, and Coltan, but also Gretel and Scarlet. Seeing all of my friends together brings me peace of mind because I know they are all safe now. Sometimes when bad things happen, people lose their minds and chaos overrules reason. I realize now that I was more worried about my friends than I allowed myself to acknowledge after I left them at the blast site.
Both Gretel and Scarlet walk over to me. Isabel stays seated in a chair by her father’s bedside as she holds his hand.
“We heard a little bit about what happened at Shadowspire,” Gretel tells me as she briefly hugs me in order to give Scarlet a chance to do the same. “I assume you’ll give us the full details later.”
“I have a lot to tell all of you, actually,” I say. “But that can wait for now. Were you able to find any more survivors at the asylum?”
“No,” Scarlet answers. “No one but Isabel’s father lived through the blast.”
I look over at Isabel and see the grim toll her father’s surgery has had on her. I silently berate myself for having fallen asleep upstairs. I should have come back down so I could be with her during his surgery.
“How is he doing?” I ask Isabel.
“The doctors say he’ll make it through,” she tells me. Even though her words should bring her relief, her worry is still evident. “He hasn’t woken up yet, and I don’t think I’ll be able to rest until he does.”
“Have you eaten anything since you’ve been here?” I ask. My own question makes me realize how hungry I am because I haven’t eaten anything since Kalder’s pancakes this morning.
Isabel shakes her head. “I can’t leave. Not until I’m certain he’ll be okay.”
“Then I’ll bring something to you,” I tell her.
“I’ll help,” Coltan volunteers.
“Is anyone else hungry?” I ask the group.
Everyone says they could use something to eat.
“Stay here and look after her,” I tell Gretel and Scarlet. “Coltan and I will bring up some food.”
After Coltan and I leave the room, he does something unexpected. He reaches out and takes one of my hands in a loose hold as we stroll down the hallway. My first instinct is to pull my hand away, but on second thought I leave it where it is.
“Is this all right?” he asks me, lifting our joined hands to indicate what he means. “Or are Thorns not allowed to hold hands in public?”
“I don’t remember there being a rule against it,” I admit. “But if you see Commander Ford approaching us, we probably shouldn’t let her see.”
“Why?” Coltan asks, looking perplexed.
“We’re supposed to go to her first and ask permission to date someone we’re interested in,” I tell him.
This seems to confound him even more.
“Are you serious?” he asks, turning toward me in surprise. “Why does she have that kind of control over your lives?”
“Normally, it’s not a big deal,” I tell him. “For the most part, it’s a formality so she knows whom we’re spending time with outside of our duties.”
“Normally . . .” he repeats thoughtfully. “I assume you’re indicating that our relationship isn’t exactly normal since I’m a Prince.”
“I seriously doubt any Thorn has ever asked her for permission to date someone from your family,” I say.
“So you’re open to the idea of dating me,” Coltan says, looking rather pleased. “Does that mean you’re going to ask me out soon?”
I smile at his gentle ribbing.
“And if I did,” I say coyly, “what would be your response?”
“Hmm,” he says, considering his answer. “What would we do on this date?”
“That’s a good question,” I reply, dropping my gaze to the white tiled floor. “What do people normally do?”
Coltan immediately stops walking, and since our hands are joined, that means I stop walking too.
“Are you telling me in your subtle way that you’ve never been on a date before?” he asks, grabbing my other hand with his.
“I never had time before,” I tell him. “I’m not even sure I have time for it now, but if we’re ever going to figure out what this is between us, I think it’s something we should try to do, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” he replies without any hesitation. “I just have a hard time believing you’ve never dated. That had to be by choice.”
I tug one hand away from him to get him moving again. “Like I said, I didn’t have a lot of spare time for social events. You don’t become the best at something by goofing off. We all worked really hard to get to where we are.”
“But your friends have all dated before, right?”
“One or two people while we were at the academy,” I reply. “But the relationships didn’t last very long because work came first. That’s something you’ll have to understand if we do date, Coltan. I’m a Thorn first and a woman second. Protecting this city and Briar Rose are my two main priorities. If we go any further with whatever this is between us, you need to be all right with that.”
“And if we break the curse and free Briar Rose, that would free you of those responsibilities, right?” Coltan says this like it is a certain outcome rather than a hope.
“I’m honestly not sure what that would mean for the Thorns or the Guild, for that matter. It could be that being reunited with the rest of Faloria would change everything, or it’s possible we’ll have more to do. It’s all going to depend on what the outside world is like now.”
“Do you think joining the rest of Faloria is the best thing for us?” Coltan asks. “It’s been almost a hundred years, and we’ve pretty much been stuck in the time period the curse started in. There’s no telling how the world has advanced around us. We’ll be an ancient oddity to them.”
“You’re sounding a bit like a Prince,” I joke. “Don’t you want to see a mountain or even a desert? We could sail around the world and finally go to the places that we’ve only been able to read about. We shouldn’t fear what we don’t know, Coltan. We should embrace the possibilities that the outside world can provide us.”
“I think that’s one of the first times I’ve heard you sound optimistic about something,” he says.
“Am I usually cynical about things?” I ask, taken aback by his assessment.
> “No. It’s just nice to see you enthusiastic about the future. I guess I need to borrow some of that from you.”
“I thought you would be excited about what’s in store for you next now that you’re over here with us,” I say as an idea suddenly pops into my mind. “You didn’t come here just to be with me, did you? Please say you didn’t.”
Coltan shakes his head. “I came here for me, but being closer to you motivated me to do it sooner rather than later. I also couldn’t take the risk of the other members of my family finding out about the books in the crypt. If my father had ever discovered them, he might have had them destroyed.”
“Why do you think your family has kept them for all these years? If they do hold the key to breaking the curse, it seems like one of your ancestors would have burned them by now.”
Coltan shrugs. “I have no idea. I suppose I should have asked my mother that question, but she fell ill not long after I found them, and I never got the chance.”
By this time, we’ve reached the cafeteria in the hospital. When we step inside, there are only a couple of people present, drinking coffee at their tables. One of those people is Kalder.
He’s sitting alone at a round table meant for two people. From the distant look in his eyes as he stares at his cup of coffee, he’s a million miles away.
“Would you mind getting the food?” I ask Coltan. “I want to make sure Kalder is okay.”
“Sure,” Coltan says as he lets go of my hand and goes to the counter to see what food is available at this late hour.
Kalder is so lost in thought, he doesn’t realize I’m in the room until I sit down across from him at the table.
“How are you doing?” I ask him.
“Could be better,” he replies as he meets my gaze and sits back in his chair. “How is Isabel’s father?”
“He’s out of surgery, but he hasn’t woken up yet,” I say. “Is that a bad thing?”
Kalder holds his coffee cup tightly as if trying to fight off a chill. “No. It simply means his body needs some more time to recover. If his doctors think he’ll pull through, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. They have a good crew here. You can trust them.”