by S. K Munt
I turned my face up to him and cupped his freshly-shaven jaw gently, hoping he didn’t feel the tremble in my hand. ‘What do you mean your crew, Captain Kingslater? They are citizens of Raphael now and that puts them- and you- under my complete command, doesn’t it?’
‘That’s exactly right,’ Cairo purred, and despite all my fears, the look in his eyes made something inside me feel radiant again. ‘So tell me what it is that you would have me do, and it will be done.’
I’d have him behead Kohén then take me back to his ship for a private celebration to make me forget that the rest of the world existed, but it wasn’t a smart plan or the kind of thing that I wanted to say in front of my father or Lady Lucida so I simply guided his face down to mine and kissed his jaw gently, eliciting a pleased hum from him. Sam groaned and twisted away, either disgusted by my thoughts or my actions, but I fought to hold on to my composure, mindful of the fact that although there were a lot of things that I shouldn’t be thinking or feeling in front of my ‘friend’ just then, my feelings for Cairo needed to be flaunted, not concealed. Not just so that Sam would understand that I belonged to someone else, but so I would not forget that when I was forced to meet my former master’s eyes, should that moment come.
‘Just stay close to me until I get the chance to wish you Happy Birthday properly, Captain Kingslater- and to thank you for the wonderful job you did shaving today,’ I said, stepping back and taking his hand before leading him down the staircase, and though I felt a very pronounced absence of Sam’s thoughts as he laboured to conceal what he was thinking from me, I was comforted by the sound of his footfalls as he followed me down the steps and out into our new reality, because falling in love with Cairo had not changed the fact that I adored and depended heavily upon my best friend.
I just hoped that friendship would prove to be enough for Sam, because in about two minutes he was going to learn what happened to the men that decided that they were entitled to more than what I was willing to give them of myself.
35.
Libertie City, Raphael
Larkin Aztaroth
We made our way to the guardhouse, ushering everyone that was still loitering about the grounds back towards the Château, and though Sam offered me his cloak on the way, I declined it and reached over to snatch Lady Lucida’s elaborate lace fan instead. Reading my mind, Cairo turned and politely asked Jessamyn for her mask, which she handed to me.
‘He won’t be able to see me approach because there are no rear windows on the guard tower, and Cairo assures me that my eyes are a dark blue right now so if I hold this up in front of my face, I should be disguised enough for the time being if I’m accidentally sighted, right?’ I said, motioning for the other courtesans to hurry up. ‘Especially if they stay with me and do the same.’
‘I understand the logic of hiding a book in a bookshelf,’ Sam said, looking perplexed as he reached out and grabbed my arm, making my gold brand wink in the bright early-afternoon sunlight. ‘But what about this, hmm?’
‘I can help with that!’ Jessamyn rushed forward, reaching into her little satin tote and pulling out a tiny pot of face paint. She’d dressed up as winter and so her gown was a pale blue that was set off by white and silver highlights, but instead of wearing a mask, she’d painted a metallic silver and white one onto her face like I had before my last ball- the one I’d never gotten around to attending. Her own brand was silver (marking her as a former Companion but one that had been released and not a favourite), but when she smeared the silver paint over my gold brand, it took on a platinum appearance to match Lady Lucida’s. The others had stopped to watch, and they murmured their approval as I was transformed from being a favoured Arcadian Companion, to a Janielian one.
‘There,’ she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork, and I exclaimed how impressed I was with the others until Cairo ducked down to gently blow on my arm, making my skin sing and my mouth go dry. ‘That should set hard enough and stay on until you shower next so long as you don’t get it wet.’ She put the paint back into her bag then draped her purse strap over my head. ‘But you’d better keep that close by, just in case you sweat a lot.’
‘Oh, she’ll sweat it off,’ Cairo remarked, lifting his eyes to me and making my sex clench with a single look. ‘Just as soon as we’re done with this Arcadian clown-’
‘Can we focus please?’ Sam snapped, yanking on my wrist and propelling me forward. ‘Maybe you’ve got a one track mind, but if you care about her at all you’ll think less about making her sweat and more about keeping her alive!’
‘I’ll not be lectured about keeping my feelings prioritised by someone that doesn’t have any, matey,’ Cairo retorted tersely, and I groaned, shaking off Sam’s grip and putting my mask on before I whipped out my fan.
‘Both of you can knock off the squabbling,’ I fanned myself, zeroing my gaze in on the approaching guard tower as we stepped off the common and onto the esplanade that led towards the gates. My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure it was going to bust open my too-tight corset. I could not believe I was striding towards Kohén Barachiel- I’d sooner go for a second round with a salt and pepper bear! ‘Honestly, you sound worse than the brats that I grew up with in the harem!’
‘Amen to that,’ Lady Lucida whispered, falling in step beside me and we exchanged a genuine smile under the shaded reach of the Fallen Forest- the first genuine smile that we had ever exchanged.
We made it to the tower that was nestled between the corner of the forest and the spiked brick wall that cordoned off the city gates without any more arguments, but by the time we were there, I was too nervous about seeing Kohén again to register that Sam and Cairo were present at all. Sensing that I was having a minor panic attack, Sam took charge of the situation, ordering all of us to stay outside except for Cairo, who would stand in the door and look threatening without revealing who he was- keeping his mask down of course. Then he positioned me on the top step so that I’d be able to hear everything that was said out loud in addition to listening in on Sam’s thoughts while remaining safely out of sight. Then, once the other Courtesans had perched on the steps beneath me, Sam drew his sword and marched into the room, leaving me on the sidelines for one of the most pivotal moments in my life.
Everything happened much too fast for my liking, but I forced myself to sit on the top step and breathe deeply, clutching Claress’s hand when she offered it to me in silent support from where she sat from the next step down. We looked so odd- four flouncy, frilly little statues sitting behind that giant knight, (Kohén was going to think he’d stumbled straight into a fairytale!) but I felt our strength and determination course through us as succinctly as I felt the connection between the witches in the coven whenever I was in their presence and I knew that even though we were not all pure and like-minded in Raphael, we were equal and united in our desire to keep our homeland safe.
‘What’s going on?’ I heard a low male voice demand the moment that Sam entered the room, and a jolt of recognition ran through me at the sound of it. Was that truly Kohén? He sounded so different! ‘I asked to speak to your king, not a guard again!’
‘The king will give you audience, Prince Barachiel, but only after I, the King’s Guard, have cleared you-’
‘I am not to be addressed as Prince Barachiel! I am Guardian Barachiel of the third Arcadian division of the Royal International Defence Force and I have surrendered to you only on the grounds that my wounded soldiers will be cared for! Please, provide us with food and medical care immediately, or know that I will have no choice but to report back to General Alvarez that we were mistreated at your hands and after a surrender, which is considered to be a war crime!’
My mouth popped open. Where the hell was Kohén, and who was this commanding stranger inhabiting his body? What if it isn’t him at all? I tried to sneak a peek around the corner, but it was too dim in there and too bright outside for me to make out more than a few shapes, and Cairo gently nudged my face back with
a shining, armoured leg anyway then tossed Sam's cloak at me, making me pout. This damsel thing was already going to his head! I’d bite him, if he weren’t wearing metal!
‘We have no intention of mistreating you, Guardian Barachiel,’ Sam said quickly and flatly, while I gazed to my right and towards the bridge that was the real entry into town morosely, ‘but rumours of how your army have been ransacking villages that do not fall under your sovereign’s banner have made their way back to us, so I’m sure you can understand why we need to make sure that you are truly surrendering and not attempting a Trojan horse attack this day before we allow you within a stone’s throw of our king, yes?’
‘We have been ransacking hostile, Godless villages, but if this is a legitimate, God-fearing kingdom like you say it is, then we’ll have no grounds to attack you on, will we?’ Kohén snapped, and his scepticism regarding our claim to this land was obvious. ‘Introduce me to the heir of your Archangel’s crown right now and if I am convinced that what you say is true then we would be delighted to bow to him!’
‘It is not the heir of a guardian angel that you will be bowing to, Guardian, but the guardian angel himself-’
‘What?!’ Kohén sounded aghast, and I couldn’t help but smirk. ‘Surely, you’re jesting! There’s no way that one of God’s originals could have stayed on earth this long- God commanded them all to return as soon as they had established their kingdoms!’
‘Well, Raphael took his time establishing one so-’
‘RAPHAEL LAZARUS?!’ Kohén thundered, and I saw Cairo stiffen. ‘You expect me to believe that this kingdom was created and blessed by the Raphael Lazarus? And you say that he still LIVES?’
‘Yes-’
‘No! I’ve heard enough! And I retract our surrender!’ Kohén snarled, and suddenly, I heard the sounds of a commotion inside. I moved to get up and defend my new best friend from my old one, but Sam silently assured me that he was fine and that Kohén’s soldiers didn’t look fit to peel themselves off the floor, let alone rush anyone, so I hovered somewhere between sitting and crouching while I gripped the steel rail that edged the steps, feeling like a feral cat ready to spring while Kohén continued on with his tirade as he tried to urge his soldiers to get up off the floor. And as he rambled on audibly, Sam started relaying the things that Kohén wasn’t saying to me:
He doesn’t believe us, not one little bit, but he’s scared Larkin- he’s really scared. These soldiers aren’t more than just his comrades- they are his friends- and because there are two women with them, he’s afraid that something awful will happen to them if they don’t get away from people that would tell such vicious lies.
Ha! I thought, eyes bugging out of my head. Kohén Barachiel wants to protect women from being raped? That’s new!
I know and I agree that it’s a laughable notion, but his fear for them appears to be genuine. He doesn’t know where they’ll go because he’s certain that they’ll drop dead if they’re forced to walk back home, and though it’s me he is audibly telling off, he’s mentally congratulating his eldest brother for getting him killed.
Say what?
Well, I can’t make out a lot of the things that he’s thinking because he’s got quite the inner tirade going on, but I can tell that the relationship between himself and his brother has completely deteriorated, and that Kohén believes that the king sent him on this mission in the hopes that it will be the death of him.
My mouth fell open. But that’s too heartless a plot for Karol to be capable of orchestrating! He’s an oversexed asshole, but he was always protective of Kohén!
I don’t know how much of it is true, but that’s what Kohén believes, Larkin. So how do you want to proceed from here? Please tell me you want me to knock him out- nothing would please me more.
My mind was racing, but no matter how many laps it did around the facts, nothing changed the fact that it didn’t know what conclusion to arrive at. I was fairly certain that we’d have to kill them all but if we did, it couldn’t be here and now- we’d have to make it look like a wild animal attacked them and possibly scatter the bodies back in the foothills of The Sleeping Giants, which were still frozen in an eternal winter. Karol would probably send another plane over to investigate our colony anyway once the bodies were found, but at least we’d be able to attempt the charade again without them believing that we’d slain the crowned prince, right? And that way we’d have a few more weeks to prepare.
We could take them as hostages like I said? Sam suggested again. Possibly even take them in as guests, act hospitable and respectful to their crown, but then poison the lot of them at once via the food and medicine he’s demanding? The witches will be able to think of a poison to do it with that will dissolve from their systems by the time we leave them for the wild animals, right? That way, we avoid a scene today and our asses are covered.
I nodded, standing up and holding up my hand in surrender to Cairo when he moved to block my entrance to the tower again. ‘Yes, I like that,’ I whispered, letting him know that I was speaking to Sam and that I had my wits about me, and he relaxed somewhat. ‘Well, I don’t like it, but it seems the safest plan. How about I go speak to the witches now, while you pretend to give in to Kohén’s demands, all right? We have that hospital set up in the palace’s basement to lock them up in-’
He won’t take kindly to being led down into a basement!
Who cares, once he’s in there? I demanded. Bastien will be able to lull him into a false sense of security, I know it, and that’s all we need to keep him from running. Besides, those cellar rooms don’t look too bad now that we’ve fixed a few up and got the bathhouse working- he won’t even know that he’s a captive until the door locks behind him. I smirked. And he’ll know his death is nigh once I reveal myself to him anyway, because there’s no way I’m allowing him to leave this earth until he realises that I survived him and his fucking ‘love!’
So you’re going to confront him? Good!
I don’t think confront is a powerful enough word to describe what I’m going to do to him for ruining this day with his arrival, I thought meanly, standing up and dusting off my skirts. But yes, we’re going to have words- just as soon I’ve switched these high heels for rubber boots that will protect me from his powers!
‘Guardian Barachiel, please calm yourself-’
‘Don’t tell me what to do!’ Kohén retorted hotly. ‘I’ve stared death in the face almost every day for two years and so I’m not afraid of you or that gargantuan knight over there now! You will let us go, or I’ll-’
‘Kohén, please…’ a papery female voice demanded. ‘You’re in no shape to fight these people-’
‘I will fight for all of you until the only shape I’m in is a puddle of my own blood!’ Kohén snarled, and I lifted my eyebrows in surprise as I motioned for the girls to retreat down the stairs with me. Wow, he’d gotten feisty in his old age! Not that he’d ever been a pushover, but it struck me as odd that he’d become the throw himself on the sword sort after years of being taught to believe that preservation of his life and his precious bloodline was his only priority.
‘A puddle of blood is what you’ll be if you don’t sit the fuck down and listen to reason-’ Cairo began as he advanced, but then there was a flash of blue light and I watched with horror as my knight went flying back over the railing of the staircase and landed in a heap on the grassy ground with a heavy crash of armour. The bolt of electricity that had struck him was nowhere near as bright as Kohén’s most powerful outbursts had always been, but it was twice as terrifying because it was Cairo that it had hit.
‘No!’ I screamed, vaulting myself over the fence and landing by his side in the shadow of the fence. He was groaning and still moving, thank Satan, but he had to be badly hurt or at least stunned because he couldn’t seem to get up. I reached down and yanked off his helmet and gasped when I saw how pale he was, and that his eyes were practically rolling back into his head. ‘No!’ I pulled him into my lap, leaned down and clamp
ed my lips around his, breathing into his lungs when I saw that he was struggling to do it himself. He choked and wheezed and for a moment I thought I was going to scream in terror, but when I did it again, his mesh gloves tangled in my ruffled sleeves, hanging onto me and life.
‘I’m okay!’ he gasped, wrenching his face out of my grip so that he could splutter out a cough away from my face again. ‘Just winded… the fall…’
‘Are you sure?’ I sobbed, looking up when I saw movement near the tower door. ‘He hit you with-’ I sensed the movement behind me before Sam screamed into my head to look out, and whirled around just in time to see a man dressed in a black leather jacket, hood and black combat pants run to the railing and lift a gun, training it back on the door as a line of dirty, scared and weak-looking people in matching, dirty uniforms hobbled out behind him. His face was half-blocked by the way he’d draped his scarf around his head like a hood, but I knew that profile anywhere, even under all the dirt.
Kohén!
‘Let them by!’ the hysterical prince screamed, bounding over the edge of the railing so he could get us all within his sights like a bloody Kangaroo, his voice hoarse and his eyes wild, and because he’d changed so much in the two years since I’d seen him last, I could scarcely believe that it was him once he straightened to his full height. He’d passed the six foot mark and though his uniform was filthy and covered in tears and bloodstains, his physique beneath it was muscular enough to inspire awe. ‘I mean it!’ he clicked the trigger, and I heard the telling slide of the bolt being activated, making my blood boil. ‘Let us all leave unharmed, and you’ll all survive it too! Fight me again, and you’ll-’ his eyes slid to me, and his jaw dropped, and I felt every cell in my body turn to dust. This was it! The moment I’d waited two years for! The moment when he looked at me and either hurtled himself at me like a wild animal, or collapsed into a pile of guilt.