by Phoebe Nix
“Wait!” Karlol hollered.
Jocelyn’s face shrunk into prune lines, stifling her wailing as she loped through the hallway.
She heard the thundering sound of flapping wings coming up behind her before Karlol swathed his arms around her waist, scooping her up as he raced through the gates and into the sky.
The twins followed, but kept their distance.
Jocelyn’s eyes were brimming with rage and hurt, her shoulders heaving as she silently whimpered, her cheek pressed against Karlol’s chest. His grasp around her tightened. She slid her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, knotting her fingers at his nape.
“I’m sorry I brought you here. I shouldn’t have,” Karlol whispered.
“I’m sorry I’m such a drama queen,” she said through her tears.
“You’re human, after all. Seeing your own people suffer will have to strike a chord.”
“It’s not just that,” she blurted. “It’s the fact that we make the same mistakes over and over again. It’s human nature to destroy everything around us until there’s nothing left to destroy but ourselves. No matter how many wars we live to see, we never fucking learn. It’s almost like we’re drawn to chaos.”
Karlol was silent.
She looked up at him, heaving a sigh. “This city could have had so much potential. Humans here could have lived in peace with you, if they had truly settled. But they waged war because that’s how we are. We’re selfish. It doesn’t matter if we can coexist, because we don’t want to. History only repeats itself, and we never learn!”
With his wings spread wide, Karlol hovered over the stadium beyond, which was a vast space that looked like it had the town square. He caught enough air in his wings to slow him down as he descended.
Empty stalls were scattered in the square, behind which were dilapidated buildings, their stone blocks bare. There was a massive pothole in the middle, resembling an ominous abyss. Karlol took Jocelyn’s hand and led her around the fallen bricks and potholes to one of the stone benches that had miraculously survived the war.
He sat her down and took the spot beside her.
The twins landed by one of the empty market stalls. Karlol gestured for them to stay where they are. Darneel turned around to give them privacy, while Lore crossed her arms and watched them with a glower.
Jocelyn rested her head on Karlol’s chest. “I’m sorry to drag you into all this drama. It’s like I showed up, and I’m becoming a burden on everyone.”
“You’re no burden,” he comforted.
“Yeah, tell that to your guard,” Jocelyn muttered. “Not that I blame her. You’re a Prince, and you’re next in line. And here I am, making you risk your life to save me. If I were her, I’d probably hate me, too.”
Karlol glanced at Lore, who immediately looked the other way. “I’m sure she doesn’t hate you. And you shouldn’t pay much attention to her, she’s just a Royal Guard. She’s not allowed to take any action unless prompted to. She’ll never hurt you.”
“I’m not worried she’ll hurt me,” Jocelyn replied. “And it’s not about her.” She pulled back, looking up at Karlol.
His sea-green eyes had a hint of mint around his pupils, blending into an ocean blue. Jocelyn was silent for a moment, as she suddenly found herself studying the details of his face.
He’s flawless. Fucking beautiful.
His lips curled into a smile as her eyes flicked between his eyes and his lips. He had a squared, chiseled face with a shadow that ran along the hollows of his cheeks. There was something about the way he looked at her that sent a wave of warmth down her chest.
“Not…about….her...” she repeated as she spaced out into his eyes.
“What is it about then?” he asked.
“I, uh,” she stammered.
God dammit, Jose. Did you forget how to fucking speak? He’s just a man with wings. Get over it.
She turned her gaze to Lore. “I can’t think anymore. But I appreciate that you let me vent like that. Thank you.”
“I haven’t done much. If anything, taking you down here was my fault. I shouldn’t have done that. I merely thought you’d enjoy the sights. I never imagined we would run into-”
“Stop, it’s not your fault,” she blurted, placing a hand on his knees.
Karlol didn’t seem to pay much attention to the gesture, but Lore certainly didn’t like it. In the distance, her mouth twisted in disgust and rage. She stomped her way to them, her foot tapping on the floor impatiently.
“Are you done?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jocelyn said. “I forgot I’m keeping you from a mission or something. Are you sure you want to take me?” she asked, addressing Karlol.
“I’m personally uncertain about such a decision,” Lore swiftly replied before Karlol could.
“Lore, go back to Darneel,” he ordered.
She glared at him.
“Now!”
Lore let out a huff before she turned around and flew to her former position.
“See?!” Jocelyn exclaimed. “And like I said, I don’t blame her.”
“Forget about her, but we really do need to leave. It has already been a few days, and my uncle is awaiting my arrival. I wouldn’t want him to think I’m dead. Again.”
Jocelyn nodded as she slowly rose.
“My father won’t be very happy, but he’ll need to meet you sooner or later.”
Jocelyn’s jaw dropped. “Wait, your father? The King?”
Karlol shrugged. “Yes?”
Holy hell. I’m meeting the king of the Vogel folk.
Chapter 12
Karlol’s wings furled as he flew through the wide skylight leading into the catacombs. He flew out of the tunnel mouth and, with a firm grasp, held Jocelyn tightly to his chest, his warm breath beating down on her skin.
As they flew out of the cave and pierced through the clouds, the bright sunlight kissed Jocelyn’s cheek, her eyelids narrowing. Her skin glistened and her long locks spiraled over her head in umpteen directions. She looked up at him with compassion in her eyes – she looked broken, yet grateful, and he wondered if she was struggling with the same torrent of conflicting emotions that rushed through him.
Her body was lithe and smooth under his grasp. A tingling ran through his fingers and he couldn’t stop the hardening in his pants. Karlol struggled to contain his arousal, but excitement belted in his stomach and it roiled, as though someone was tickling his innards with a feather. He quickly shook his thoughts away.
She’s a human. You’re not attracted to a feeble human.
Looking down upon her once again, he could see her ribs outlined under her reflective skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself higher to his eye-level. She hovered closer to him, staring deeply into his eyes before resting her head on his chest.
“Thank you for choosing not to leave me behind when you had every reason to,” she muttered.
“I have more reason to keep you with me than you think,” he said, beating his wings strong enough to send ripples of soft turquoise light around them.
“You keep saying that,” she replied, looking up at him.
He shook his head. “I’ve said this for the first time to you.”
“You say things that imply it. Sometimes, I feel like you speak in riddles. You didn’t think twice before you saved me, and you’ve been nothing but patient with me. It’s like we’ve met in an alternate universe and I’ve yet to find out who you are,” she said, caressing his nape with her thumb.
“That’s not entirely true.”
“There you go again. Speaking in riddles,” she jokingly chided.
“We need to get you home so you can rest,” he softly retorted. “I think you’ve seen and heard enough for today.”
For the rest of the flight, Karlol avoided looking his human companion in the eye. He couldn’t fathom how this fragile being could possibly be the savior. He had always imagined himself with a warrior that woul
d fight by his side, and this creature seemed far from it. He couldn’t imagine himself falling in love with a woman who was the farthest from anything he had dreamed of. Taking this stranger home was as exciting as it was perilous; for all he knew, she might have been another human who had lost her way, or a black sheep that had rebelled against the corruption of her own people.
But she’d said that she had fallen from a spaceship. It must be her.
He whipped his wings in the wind, the trees around them tinted in crimson from the fleeting rays of the setting sun. His nostrils widened; they were getting closer to the Vogel city. Jocelyn was dozing off, but whimpered every time he tightened his grasp around her waist.
Karlol recalled the way she touched his knee in the ruins. The woman had screamed the first time he touched her, and now seemed completely comfortable in his arms. Behind him, he could feel Lore’s eyes burning into him, judging him for taking an enemy home. But it wasn’t just their safety she was worried about.
Lore had once fallen from atop a sequoia after her wing had been shot by an arrow, and she had fancied herself the savior – the woman that Karlol would fall in love with and who would fight by his side. But the incident had happened weeks after the prophecy was announced and even Fareej himself had once said that Lore was not fit to be a princess.
But how could this feeble human be?
“Are we there?” Jocelyn moaned. “All I see are trees.”
“Almost,” Karlol answered. “You’ll know when we are. It looks nothing like this.”
Darneel hovered overhead and flew past them, furling his wings back to take a swerve to the left. Karlol followed at breakneck speed, making Jocelyn jerk and wrap her legs around his waist.
“Don’t let me fall,” she hollered through the thundering wind.
“You won’t,” Karlol growled.
Lore had caught up with him and was now whipping her wings aggressively on his right, her eyes fixed on Jocelyn’s legs.
“Do you want us to stop for a rest?” Karlol asked.
Jocelyn glanced at Lore, who was shooting her the death glare.
She nodded. “If it’s just for a little while.”
Karlol spread his wings, allowing them to fill with air and slow his descent to one of thick tree branches. Lore and Darneel landed beside him, the latter immediately reaching into his pocket to hand Jocelyn another plum. She snatched it like a thief and ferociously bit into it.
“You know, you could always say when you’re hungry,” Lore chided. Her tone was aggressive with maternal undertones.
Jocelyn looked up at her, her lips dyed in purple juice. She shrugged. “I feel like you’d rather let me starve to death,” she said with a mouthful.
Lore crossed her arms and looked the other way. “Don’t take it personally, child. I feel this way about all humans. If I’d sensed that you were a danger to our people, you wouldn’t be in one piece.”
“That’s always comforting to hear,” Jocelyn muttered under her breath.
Lore glanced at Karlol then back at Jocelyn. She rolled her eyes. “Here,” she said, pulling a citrus fruit out of her pocket. “Try this. You need to stay hydrated.”
“Is it poisoned?”
“If I wished to kill you, swinging a sword at you would be how I’d do it,” Lore said, her arm still outstretched. “Take the damn fruit.”
Karlol nodded at Jocelyn to reassure her. She was about to take a bite, but Lore let out a huff and kneeled beside her.
“God, you’re like a child. You’re supposed to peel it. Like this,” she snarled, digging her talons into the top of the oblong fruit to pull the peel off in one piece.
“Oh, it looks like an orange, but it’s blue,” Jocelyn commented.
“I don’t know what that is, but I think you might enjoy this. It’s very filling.”
Jocelyn took a wary bite and grinned. “Holy shit, it tastes like blueberry flavored candy.”
Lore shook her head, patiently watching her eat. “I will never understand a word you’re saying.”
For a moment, Karlol presumed that Lore was trying to prove something to him, that her intentions were not as ill as he had thought, but it seemed that her actions were out of guilt. She had been unfair to this woman because of a prophecy that she hadn’t even learned of yet. There was still hurt in Lore’s eyes as she helped the powerless human – who seemed to always be hungry and needed much more sleep than his species did – but seeing Lore on her knees, feeding a being she was conditioned to hate reminded him of the days he had fleetingly considered her to be a potential mate.
Those feelings never materialized for him, but it was moments like these that made him long for the days when they would hide from his uncle in abandoned tree houses, just to spend hours chasing one another and exploring lands they weren’t allowed to. It had been fun while it lasted, but it was doomed to end before it even began.
Lore had grown too attached to him, and it seemed she had clung to her feelings like bark around a tree. He still recalled the day she was promoted to Royal Guard, and although it was a position appointed to the most trusted folk in the city, it had pained her like a fresh wound that never healed. He had heard Lore wailing in her cabin and, in her inconsolable state, she had pushed him away and told him she had wished to be a warrior, not a scarecrow that doubled as a babysitter.
She wasn’t wrong.
But word had gotten out about what the Prince shared with a commoner, and his uncle had to put an end to it once the prophecy was proclaimed.
The two women now basked in the glistening glow of a full moon, finally coexisting despite their differences.
As the night fell and the moon hung high and bright, Jocelyn’s bare body began to shiver. Lore shot out her wings, wrapping them around Jocelyn like a shield. She shot Karlol a glare.
“She won’t survive in this weather with this attire. We need to get her a coat,” she chided, as though it was his fault.
Karlol raised a brow at her sudden interest in Jocelyn. He gestured to speak to her in private. Their digits morphed into talons, bending their knees before they kicked off into the air and landed on a branch far enough to grant them privacy.
“What the hell are you doing?” Karlol whispered.
Lore shrugged. “What do you mean?”
“You’re suddenly looking after her. What do you want? Are you trying to be her friend so you can launch your blow when she least expects it?”
Lore’s face fell in disgust. “I know that my character can be flawed in many ways, Prince, but I am no traitor and you know that well.”
Karlol’s opened his mouth to say something, but she raised a finger to hush him.
“I saw the way she had her legs around you and held you close,” she muttered, her voice faltering.
“And that makes you hate her less? Come on, Lore,” Karlol retorted.
“And that made me see that she’s a weakling who poses no threat. That woman could use all her force to try and kill you in your sleep and would end up likely killing herself. I was worried that she was faking it, but she’s harmless.”
Karlol was unconvinced. He shot a glance at Darneel and Jocelyn in the distance, the latter holding up a fruit in the light of the moon, examining it like a child fascinated by a jester’s tricks.
“I see what you mean,” he gave in.
“Besides, if there’s anyone I’m cross with, it’s you. The woman is innocent. I still don’t like her and will continue to keep an eye on a stranger you’re bringing to our already falling city, but I was wrong to mistreat her.”
“Why would you possibly be cross with me?”
“Because you led me on. Because even after the prophecy was declared, you would show up at my cabin and try to reconcile. You promised you would never forget the memories we made.”
“And I never did, but I never meant to give you the wrong impression,” he swiftly replied.
“That’s not the point. Whenever I seemed to forget about everything
and move on with my life, it was like it was hurting your pride. You wanted me around. I thought you wanted me, but I can see now how wrong I was.”
She may have been right, but he hadn’t meant to do it, and he hadn’t meant to be that cruel. In the distance, Darneel whistled a tune to signal for them. Karlol shifted his gaze to his other guard, who was waving at him to resume their journey.
Chapter 13
Jocelyn latched onto Karlol’s neck as he launched into the air, his guards twirling around them in circles, almost ritualistically, as they approached the Vogel city.
All three Vogels pursed their lips in a tune, which was ear-splitting but euphonious nonetheless. They soared so high that Jocelyn couldn’t see the ground. The cotton clouds floated brightly around her, painted in hues of orange and pink by the rising sun.
She lifted her head and felt her jaw drop.
All around her, giant rocks of land floated in the air as if weightless, scattered across the sky like grassy clouds. They were everywhere, divided by nothing but air, hovering in place as if held by some invisible force that would not let them move. They were magnificent, spanning many football fields in width and length, covered in thick forests and some of the most interesting foliage she had ever seen. Large trees burst out in various shapes and sizes, species she was unaware of, leaves as big as cars and branches as wide as highways.
Houses were carved into the thick bark of the trees, others were secured on the sturdy branches to form an interlaced colony, connected by wooden bridges with rope railings. Some of the branches jutted out of the houses, where fruit dangled by the doors. Jocelyn spotted a Vogel woman snatching fruit from her round window, and she smiled at how convenient that must have been.
The corners of Jocelyn’s mouth lifted in a fascinated smile as her eyes flicked from one house to the other.
“Whoa,” she exclaimed.
“You’re awake,” Karlol said, grinning at her.
Jocelyn pulled her face away from his chest, her cheek reddened and creased where it had been resting for hours. She looked below and witnessed Vogel children chasing one another on the bridges, their wings too small to lift them higher than a few feet above the ground, and even then for only a few seconds.