Souls & Spectres: The Spectral Chronicles: Book 1

by Heather Wendlowsky

  Chapter 28

  Soleil

  Aurora chooses that moment to walk in with a couple of bags in hand. She immediately looks at me, and stops in her tracks. “Oh my god, Soleil, I’m so, so sorry,” I can hear her throat closing from the choked back sobs, “I didn’t know! I was just trying to help, but I made it so much worse.” A tear escapes her pretty gray eyes.

  “Aurora, it’s okay,” I assure her, “You didn’t know. I don’t blame you in the slightest.” I look pointedly at Reese.

  “I’m sorry, too,” he apologizes, “I was just scared and overwhelmed. You didn’t deserve my anger.”

  “Thank you, Soleil,” Aurora smiles at me, “And Reese, I totally understand. This isn’t my first rodeo.” She winks and I smile. She really is so much like her brother. “I brought Soleil some clothes as a peace offering,” she holds up one of the bags in her hand, “Real clothes. The kind that actually fit.”

  I fling my legs over the side of the bed and half run over to her. She hands me the bag, careful not to touch her skin to mine. “I’m going to go change,” I say over my shoulder to the people on the bed, “Be right back!”

  I hear a few words of confirmation and go back into the fancy bathroom. It seems crazy that only a few hours earlier, I had barricaded myself in here. I peel the navy shirt and gray joggers off, both caked in blood. Wow, I have ruined a lot of Reese’s clothes. I am surprisingly pleased at the thought. I get to be the one to ruin that beautiful man’s clothes. I smile to myself smugly.

  I look at my naked form in the mirror. My tan, toned skin is dyed red from the blood. I sigh and decide to attempt the fancy shower. I take one look at the dials and buttons and back down. Thinking for a moment, I wrap a clean towel from a towel rack around my body and crack the door open.

  “Reese?” I call quietly. He immediately spins to look at me. “Can you help me figure out the shower?” I ask tentatively. Reese smiles and gets off the bed where Aurora has joined them. I open the door a little farther to let him in, and click it shut behind him. He stands about a foot from me, and he looks over towel-covered body. He quickly blushes and mumbles an apology. We walk to the shower and he gets it started for me. He leans over and pulls small bottles of shampoo and conditioner from a wardrobe by the shower, and puts them inside the glass shower door.

  “Need anything else, angel?” he asks. I’m about to kick him out, but I hesitate.

  “Actually- and feel free to say no to this-” I say nervously, “Would you mind staying? I mean, not in the shower, but just in the room? I…” I take a deep breath, “I don’t want to be alone. Just in case, you know?” He looks surprised, but he smiles.

  “Of course, Sol,” he murmurs. Reese pulls one of the upholstered benches scattered around the bathroom over into the walkway in front of the door, placing himself between me and any potential intruder. I smile to myself at his thoughtfulness.

  I step into the giant shower and pull the opaque glass door closed. Once I’m sure there’s no way anyone could see through it, I take off my towel and drape it over the top of the door. I tentatively step into the spray, and have to suppress a moan. The warm water feels amazing. The water runs red as all the blood is washed away.

  My contentment in the water is cut short by the silence. I bristle. Is he still there? Did someone take him? I pull the glass door back just enough to peek my eyes out and see Reese sitting on the bench he pulled over.

  “Everything okay?” he asks.

  “Erm, would you mind talking or something?” I request.

  “Oh, um, sure,” Reese agrees, “What would you like to talk about?”

  “Anything is fine. How about… How about how we met?” I suggest. He smiles.

  “Perfect,” he says enthusiastically. I can’t help but smile back. I duck back into the shower, and slide the door shut. “Well, as you recall, there was a Resonation that morning,” he starts. I settle back into the warm water and start washing my hair. “I had decided to take the day off to find a nice spot in the forest to relax and unwind. As I walk up into the clearing, I see someone standing in the pool. I’m about to leave to find somewhere else to hang out, but then the person in the water goes under and doesn’t come back up. I run into the water, and there, at the bottom of the pool, I see an almost naked girl, still and eyes closed. I pulled her up and did CPR to get her breathing again, and when she woke up, I saw the most beautiful green eyes staring at me.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and I smile secretly to myself.

  “Then I said something stupid, and you went barreling into the woods. I ran after you to apologize, and watched you climb this huge willow tree. I didn’t want to scare you, so I walked under the branches and introduced myself. I just talked at the tree for forever about nonsense. Finally, you dropped out of the tree and introduced yourself, then left to head back to your camp. And that’s it.” Reese finishes the story. Perfect timing. I just washed out the conditioner he had given me, and pull the towel around me. I carefully step out of the shower, and Reese hops off to turn off the water for me.

  “Thanks,” I smile at him. He grins back at me, and then looks nervous again.

  “Do you remember any of that? Our first meeting, I mean?” he asks. I think for a moment.

  “I keep getting glimpses of a willow tree,” I reveal. He smiles again, apparently pleased with my answer. I’m relieved that my half-answer got such a positive response from him. Reese goes and grabs the bag of clothes Aurora brought me, and brings it over. I reach out to take it from him, and my fingers graze his knuckles. He stiffens and I wait for the onslaught of pain, but nothing comes. I look up at him in surprise, and he looks scared that I’m about to break down. I look back down where our hands touch, and instead of pulling away, I place my full palm on the back of his hand. I slowly push my hand up to his wrist and wrap my fingers around his muscular forearm. I hold it there for a moment, and then drop my hand. I look up shyly at Reese, and he’s staring at me with such compassion that it knocks the air out of me for a moment.

  I clear my throat to break the tension, and grab the bag from him. “Umm, I’ll wait outside,” he says breathlessly. I nod and wait for him to close the door, leaving me alone. I take a few deep breaths to collect myself. He felt… good. The thought of someone’s touch feeling anything other than terrible is bizarre to me.

  Moving the thoughts into the back of my mind, I pull the clothes Aurora gave me from the black bag. It’s a light gray, long sleeve jumpsuit, similar to my soldier’s uniform. Well, at least it’s familiar. I pull it on, and it's the softest material I’ve ever felt in my life, and much more fitted and flattering than my old uniform. I leave my hair down to dry, and open the door.

  Chapter 29

  Soleil

  The bedroom is utter chaos. All four of my friends are back in the room and yelling at each other. Aurora is holding a garment bag and yelling at Juniper, and Wren is in Reese’s face yelling at him. Juniper catches a glimpse of me and is instantly silent, throwing an elbow into Wren’s side to quiet him as well. Then four pairs of eyes are on me, some guilty, some defensive.

  “Ummm, hey guys,” I say with a nervous smile, “I’m afraid to ask, but what’s going on?” The four of them look between themselves, daring each other to be the one to tell me. “You guys only know that the silence is making this way worse, right?” I speak a little louder, anxiety seeping into my tone. Finally, Juniper walks over to me, Reese and Wren glaring at her back, and Aurora looking on nervously.

  “Remember how you freaked out earlier today?” she asks. I nod in confirmation. “So, I’m going to need you to not do that right now because we are in plotting mode.” I look between her and Reese nervously, and nod again. Reese sighs and walks over next to Juniper.

  “There’s going to be a gala tonight hosted by my mother and father to celebrate our union,” Reese says cautiously. I blink in surprise.

  “Oh, wow, okay,” I remark, “Meeting your parents for the first time at a huge party in front of
everyone. No pressure.” I give a lame chuckle at my attempt at humor, but nobody else smiles. “Oh god, have I already met them? Okay, you guys have to fill me in on what I said so I don’t look like a dumbass in front of the King and Queen of Mont Tien.” I glance around, but nobody will meet my eyes. “Somebody needs to tell me what’s going on right now!” I demand.

  Reese takes a breath, and meets my eyes. “Yes, you’ve met them,” he admits, “But it didn’t exactly… go well.”

  Juniper snorts. “That’s the understatement of the century,” she mutters. Everyone flashes a death glare in her direction.

  “Soleil,” Reese pulls my attention back to him, “My parents are the ones who did this to you.”

  “Did wha-” I cut off my own question when I understand. Oh. “They did this?” I whisper and touch some of the still fading scars on my chest. Reese looks down. “But why? What did I do to make them…?” Horror chokes me. Horror and fear.

  “Soleil,” Reese says firmly, looking back at me, “You did not do anything. My parents are sadists. They were planning to have you held long before we arrived.”

  “But why?” I repeat. Tears overflow from my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I rub at them angrily. Stop crying, you weakling.

  “I wish I could tell you, but with them, there is no why,” Reese explains angrily.

  “I just don’t understand!” I cry out.

  “Guys? I hate to butt in, but…” Aurora chimes in from across the room, lifting the garment bag up for us to see. I look frantically back at Reese.

  “What do I do? Do I confront them? Pretend nothing happened? ‘Oh hi, Your Majesties, great party. Remember when you tortured me?’” I ask hysterically.

  “Angel, I’m not going to make you go if you don’t want to,” Reese soothes me.

  “Umm, that may not be the best course of action,” Wren pipes in, “They have delegations from every nation in the continent. If you don’t show up, you’ll just embarrass them and there will be consequences.”

  “Reese, obviously I don’t want to go, but Wren is right,” I confess, “If they did this to me without even meeting me, I don’t want to think what they would do to any of us if we disobey them.” Reese opens his mouth to argue, but just closes it with a resigned sigh.

  “Fine,” he reluctantly agrees, “Juniper and Aurora, you guys get her ready. Wren, come with me.” Reese and Wren adjourn to the sitting room, leaving me with the girls and the foreboding garment bag.

  “Now what?” I ask them nervously.

  “Well, while you’ve been gone the past week, I’ve been trained to be a lady-in-waiting, which includes dressing you, doing your makeup and hair, etcetera,” Juniper explains, “We are technically supposed to be doing this in your own room, but we can make it work.”

  “I have my own room?” I inquire, then mentally smack my forehead. Duh. Of course you aren’t going to share a room with him.

  “Yes, it is just next door,” Aurora confirms, “I am actually going to run over there and grab some cosmetics. Juniper, you want to start on her hair?” Juniper gives her a thumbs up, and Aurora ducks out.

  “If I promise to touch you as little as possible and be super gentle, can I do your hair?” Juniper asks me. I hesitate, then give her a nod. She grins a little too excitedly, and I know I’m going to regret this. Juniper leads me back into the bathroom and pulls the bench Reese was on earlier in front of the sink counter. I sit down and face the mirror. Juniper opens a large wardrobe behind me and rummages around for a minute. “Ah ha! Here it is,” she pulls out a hair dryer and a hairbrush. She comes back over and starts gently working the tangles out of my hair, blowing the warm air through the strands. Once my hair is dry, she pulls more sprays and serums out of the wardrobe and runs them through my hair. The smells are sweet, like roses. I can’t help but relax under her gentle touch.

  “Okay, I’m back!” Aurora pops into the bathroom holding a small bag. “Ooo her hair looks great, Juniper! What are you thinking for style?”

  “I was thinking I’d leave it down in the back, and do some of those thick braids around the sides?” Juniper explains as she gently pulls my hair into place.

  “That sounds good! I’m going to start on her makeup,” Aurora says, then stops and looks at me, “If that’s okay with you, Soleil?”

  “Umm, yeah that’s okay,” I say nervously.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll touch you as little with my hands as I can,” she promises, and I nod for her to continue. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, with Juniper in my hair and Aurora working on my face, but I take a few deep breaths and I’m fine. With a base coat on my face, Aurora jumps up, “Hold on, I’m going to peek at the dress they sent to consult the color scheme,” she declares. She’s gone and back in less than a minute. She giggles and whispers in Juniper’s ear. Juniper squeals, and I frown at them.

  “Well? How’s the dress?” I inquire, suddenly interested in their conspiratorial whispers. The two exchange a knowing look.

  “We are going to keep it a surprise!” Juniper divulges. I huff and the two just giggle some more.

  After what seems like forever, they announce that they’re done. I start to look up into the mirror, but they stop me with indignant, “Don’t spoil the surprise!” comments. I roll my eyes and Aurora brings in the garment bag. They order me to take off my jumpsuit, so I awkwardly take the cozy thing off and stand naked in front of them.

  “No peeking!” she scolds. I sigh and close my eyes. “Don’t open them yet!” Aurora’s voice chimes. The two gently guide and instruct me into the dress. I feel a strap over one shoulder, and hear a zipper. It feels heavy and a little scratchy.

  “Okay, open your eyes!” Juniper says.

  My eyes fly open and stare into the mirror. I gasp. I barely even recognize myself. My brown hair is braided back to the back of my head, where it turns into a cascade of curls down my back. I don’t know what stuff Juniper used on my hair, but the brown seems warmer, and I can almost see natural highlights. My makeup is the most startling. A base coat covers my face and hides all blemishes I didn’t even know I had, with a darker tan accenting my cheekbones. My lips are a shade of red that nearly borders on purple. Tan eyeshadow covers my lids, with a gold eyeliner streaking across my upper and lower lids out onto the sides of my face in some sort of decoration. Finally, I look down at the dress. It’s the most beautiful gown I’ve ever seen (not that I’ve actually seen many). A strap crosses my chest and hooks over one shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. The top is a soft silver, and turns into a geometric brown and gold triangular pattern toward the bottom of the skirt. It fits perfectly, and makes me look way curvier than I actually am. I look like some sort of mountain goddess.

  “Wow,” I whisper breathlessly, “You guys made me look amazing.”

  “Sol, you’ve always looked this good,” Juniper smiles at my reflection in the mirror, “We just accented a couple of things.”

  “Last but not least,” Aurora reveals a pair of flat bronze sandals from the bottom of the garment bag. She drops them on the floor in front of me and helps me step into them, then pulls the straps around my ankle and up my leg. “Perfect!” she exclaims proudly.

  “Ready, Sol?” Juniper asks me softly. I nod wordlessly, and the two walk out of the bathroom. I look at myself one more time in the mirror, and exit the bathroom. Wren and Reese are back in the bedroom. When they see me, their jaws drop. It would be comedic if I wasn’t so nervous. Reese is in a decorated Mont Tien formal military wear. Suddenly, I’m hit with a bolster of confidence. For the first time, I actually look like I belong with a prince.

  Chapter 30

  Icarus

  This is just typical of my parents: torture someone in a dark room for a week then force her to go to a big party. What a power play. I’m absolutely disgusted that we have to go to this gala tonight. When the servant dropped off the garment bag with instructions for arriving tonight, I nearly killed him just to send them a message. Wren practically
had to peel my hands off the guy’s throat.

  I tried to talk Soleil into staying away, but I couldn’t deny that would have just put her in more danger than she would have been in the public place. I leave the girls in the bedroom to get ready, and Wren and I walk into the sitting room and sit down.

  “I know we decided earlier that we would make our move against the king and queen during the party, but with Soleil there and all these delegations, I just don’t see how we could do it without raising more problems,” Wren starts, “It was supposed to just be Mont Tienent courtiers and Geochroman ambassadors, but now, it’s ambassadors from every nation, according to that servant.”

  “I hate to say it, but you’re right,” I concur, “A public dethroning would have worked before because the Geochromans would have supported us, especially since Soleil would be queen. But now, with all these different nations present, they would use it to grab power themselves. We can’t afford that level of international upset.”

  “So, we’re in agreement: we wait on assassination,” Wren confirms, “However, we do need some sort of plan in place for tonight to protect Soleil and Juniper.”

  We’re interrupted by Aurora storming through the room. We immediately jump to our feet. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I demand. She rolls her eyes.

  “Calm down, Reese,” she exasperates, “I’m just going to her room to grab some makeup and stuff.” She looks us over critically. “You two need to get ready too, ya know.”

  “Fine, let me grab my uniform and we’ll go to Wren’s room,” I agree. She heads to Soleil’s rooms, and I go into my closet to grab my military formals. I can see Juniper doing Soleil’s hair in the bathroom when I walk by, and I can’t help but smile at my Soulmate, even if she doesn’t see me. Wren and I walk across the hall to his room, passing Aurora as we go. “Take it easy on her!” I call after her. I can practically feel her eyes roll.