The twins stood in the doorway grinning. They slowly entered the room, with Holly right behind them.
“Tsk tsk, big sis,” she said as she waved a finger. “Running off like that and breaking dear old daddy’s heart,” she said with a smirk.
The twins were a mere arm’s length away now. “Did you know we knew you weren’t dead?” Malik, the dark purple haired twin, asked Kalis with a smirk.
“Do you have any idea how long we’ve been looking for you, brother?” Mikalis said as he tilted his lavender head.
“You knew?” Es asked. “How? Father and I saw his body!”
“And yet here he stands before you, sis,” Mikalis stated with a glance in her direction.
“We didn’t know at first,” Malik said as he slinked closer. “It wasn’t until he had already fled the planet that his magick wore off and we discovered he had switched places with a guard.”
“Enough chit chat. Get them before the wolves come looking for them,” Holly said.
The twins pounced on Kalis and Zanan rounded the desk to assist his mate, the four becoming entangled in each other. As Es was distracted with the fight, she didn’t notice Holly moving toward until there was a sting to her neck. Holly had come up behind her with a needle in her hand. Es stumbled backward. “Holly, what have you done?” she said as her vision began to blur.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much, big sis. It’s a harmless little poison, really.” A malicious grin covered her lips as she came within inches of Es’ face. “You’re just going to take a little nap. We can’t have you using your magick against us, now, can we?”
Holly stepped away to help the twins, her bright red curls bouncing as she joined the fight. Es felt the poison trying to take over. She dropped to the floor, out of sight thanks to the desk. Feeling quite warm all of the sudden, she removed her cloak. Knowing Valdrik would come looking for her but might not make it in time, she also placed her bag beneath the desk. If she didn’t get out of this, the last thing she wanted was for her father to learn whatever secrets her mother had hidden from him.
She draped her cloak over the seat of her father’s chair, hoping that Valdrik would find it and see her bag when he collected the cloak. She tried to stand but found herself unstable. So instead, she began to crawl across the room. She made it all the way to the door when the sharp pain of being pulled up by her hair made her stop. Holly had stepped over her, almost straddling her as she hauled Es up onto her knees.
“And just where do you think you’re going, sis?” she said before she slammed Es’ head against the door frame, rendering her unconscious.
Ӝ
Valdrik caught a whiff of blood and he rushed down the corridor to find the source. He came upon another study, this one looking worse for wear. As he stepped inside, the scent of blood became stronger. He stepped around the mess on the floor to the blood covered books. He dipped a finger into it and sniffed. Kalis has been badly injured.
A sound behind him had him spinning on his heels and rising up in a single motion. Yasu stood in the doorway, out of breath and sniffing the air as he had.
“Kalis is injured, and by the smell of things, Zanan and Es were here with him,” Valdrik said as he stepped about the room and wiped the blood from his hands on his trousers.
Yasu stepped in the room, inspecting it alongside his brother. “You smell that?”
Valdrik nodded as Yasu continued, “That’s Holly.”
“And the twins, Malik and Mikalis,” Valdrik finished.
As they searched the room for clues, Valdrik caught sight of Es’ cloak in the desk chair and picked it up, wondering why it had been placed there. That’s when he noticed her bag. He snatched it up, noticing it was heavier than when he had helped her pack it earlier. He opened the bag and found that his mate had indeed been hunting without him. Two boxes and a notebook were in the bag that hadn’t been in there before. Figuring the notebook was his mate’s journal, he left it alone and opened the first box.
It contained two crystals, a necklace and a key. The other box he realized belonged to his mate, as it contained the many crystals he had given her as well as an orb. He pulled it out and was surprised to see a fire lily inside. He wondered what significance it held, when the memory of when he had placed one in her hair the day he had first kissed her in the lily garden he had planted flashed across his mind. He carefully replaced the orb into the box and returned everything to his mate’s bag.
He shouldered the bag and exited the room with his brother right behind him. His anger building, he slammed a fist in to the wall. Not only should Es not have left her room, he shouldn’t have left her. Now it seemed she and an injured Kalis had been taken to their father by their traitor siblings. Once again, his mate was in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.
Family
When Es awoke, she found herself lying in dirt facing a rock wall. She lifted herself up, wincing. Her body was sore and her vision blurry. At least the fever was gone now.
“Rev!”
She turned her head slowly toward the voice, and she blinked a few times, trying to focus. She was in another cell. This time the bars were not electric, but metal. She crawled to the bars in search of the voice.
“Rev! Are you okay?” Kalis asked.
Her vision clearing, she could see her brother in the cell across from her. She nodded her head, her mouth too dry to speak.
“Kalis, stop moving around so much!”
Es turned her aching head and saw Zanan in the cell next to Kalis.
“I’m fine, Z. I’ll be alright, I promise,” Kalis assured him.
“What are you talking about?” Es asked.
“Nothing. I’m fine. Are you sure you are okay? Holly knocked you out pretty hard,” Kalis continued.
“Well, well. It seems everyone is awake now.”
The three turned to see Holly had come to visit. She walked over to Es, swinging her hips with a ‘cat ate the canary’ grin. She bent over slightly. “Welcome back, sis.”
“Holly, father said for you not to be down here. He’s still mad at you,” a female said out of sight.
“Pfft. Like I care. I did what he told me to do. I brought them to him, didn’t I?” Holly replied, flinging her red curls into the air as she spun her head toward the voice.
“Father asked me to take care of them and I don’t want to get into trouble for you being down here.”
“Alright, alright, you little scaredy cat. I’m going.” Holly said. She turned back to Es and whispered, “I’m not done with you.”
Holly left and Rose appeared. Her white hair wrapped around her head with the curled purple tips hanging down. She knelt before Es, holding out a container. “Here, it’s water. Please drink it, sis.”
“Rose, I’ve brought their food. Is sis awake yet?” yet another new voice asked
“Yeah, she is,” Rose looked in the direction of the new voice.
Rose’s twin, Roth, appeared. They both had their mother’s gray eyes with purple-tipped white hair. Roth used to keep his hair long, but it was short now. He smiled at Es, then walked over to Kalis and Zanan and gave them food. He returned to Es with a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread.
“Why are we here, Roth?” Kalis asked.
The twins exchanged glances before he answered, “We’re not supposed to talk to you, but Father has plans for all of you.”
“What plans?” Zanan pushed.
Rose took a breath before relying. “Father is planning to throw the two of you into the pit, and if Roth and I don’t cooperate with him, he’ll throw us in, too.” Her eyes met with Es’, and Es could see how afraid and concerned she was.
“Rose,” she said and reached through the bars to touch her arm. “I won’t let him do that.”
Roth scoffed. “What can you do locked up in there? In case you haven’t noticed, this planet is full of Novma. So none of us can use magick, not even you. None of us have been able to stand up to Father, let alone stop him
. That’s why we obey. To survive.”
“I know,” Es replied. Roth raised his eyebrows, blinking slowly in surprise. “Don’t you remember?” Es continued.
The twins simply stared at her bewildered, so Es went on. “Before I left, do you remember what I told you?”
The twins remained silent. Es pushed a little further. “The night I left, I went to your room and told you I had to leave to protect you. Do you remember what else I said that night?”
Rose spoke up. “You told us to be brave, good little children. And to make sure we continued our studies.” She looked up at Es, then to Roth.
“And to do whatever we have to do to protect each other,” he finished.
Es nodded. “You have followed it until now. If obeying Father is what you have to do, then do it. I may have been gone for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I no longer care for you.”
“When we get out of here, any of you that want to leave Father behind can come with us. You will come with us, right?” Kalis said.
The twins shared a terrified look and shook their heads.
“They won’t go,” another new voice said as she stepped into view, her thick, golden hair framing her face and her blue eyes aimed at the twins. “They won’t go,” she repeated. “Because Father has threatened all of us.”
Kalis stood. “Chrys, what’s going on? Can you tell us? What threats has Father made?”
“I can’t tell you everything, but I will tell you this. Father has grand plans for all of us. He has chosen mates for all of us. And there will be a wedding in two days,” Chrysanthamum looked in Es’ direction.
“Father is marrying me off? To who?” Es asked.
“I’ve already said too much.” Chrys said. “Come, you two, before Father becomes angry.”
The three left and Kalis sat back down, looking at Es. “We have to get out of here.”
Ӝ
Valdrik and Yasu found Kira lying unconscious in the foyer of the castle. He had run into Holly and the twins but their magick had been too much for him. The pair carried Kira to Valdrik’s ship’s med bay and returned home. Draconis was still standing guard, but he seemed agitated.
“Draconis, what happened?” Valdrik asked.
“You were right to move them,” he replied. “They came here.”
“Who?” Yasu asked.
“Some of the King’s children came. Three got inside while I was handling Mori and Krelik, the tricky little bastards.”
Valdrik looked up at his family home. The heavy wooden door was damaged and would need to be replaced. “Is anyone hurt?”
“No,” Able appeared from what seemed like thin air. “We’re all fine. What about you? Where are the others?”
Valdrik and Yasu exchanged glances and Able drew a breath. “What happened?” he asked his boys.
“I went out to do a perimeter check. Kira offered to help. Valdrik left his mate with Kalis. At some point, all of us were on our own. Kira came across Holly and the twins, Malik and Mikalis, and has been rendered unconscious. We determined that Kalis has been badly injured due to the amount of blood he lost. He and the Princess have been taken,” Yasu answered.
“And Zanan has returned. Although right now, we don’t know whose side he’s on,” Valdrik finished.
Able drew a breath, knowing his son wasn’t taking this lightly. Fates knew if Delphi were ever taken from him, he’d go full wolf and rampage until he found her. “So, what’s the plan then?” he asked.
“I think we should go after them, but we don’t have any idea where they went,” Yasu replied.
“I know where they are,” a female said from the shadows. They turned to see one of the King’s children slowly walking toward them.
“Lily. What are you doing here?” Able asked.
“I’m here to help,” she replied, brushing a stray white hair back behind her ear. “At first I came here under Father’s orders, but once we got here, after I attacked you guys, I sort of reacted to my mate.”
All were silent and she continued. “I don’t know how it happened, exactly, but I reacted to Rai,” she said quietly, licking her lips.
“Pops,” a voice behind them said. They turned to see Rai had joined them as well. “I was going to tell you, but I can hardly believe it myself. Mom saw it happen though, so she already knows,” she said with a shrug.
“I don’t really remember big brother Kalis or big sis very well, but they are family. And I think for family to hurt family is wrong. So I want to help,” Lily continued. She looked at Valdrik and gave a sad smile. “You’re her mate, right? Big sis Revlis belongs to you?”
Valdrik nodded.
“She won’t be for much longer,” Lily replied.
Valdrik growled and Lily backed up. Rai stepped up to her and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. I really am. That’s why I stayed. After I reacted to Rai, I knew I couldn’t go back to Father and marry the mate he had chosen for me. I know Father kept you away from sis before. I understand now that once you react to your mate, if you lose them, you lose a part of yourself.”
Lily looked at Rai and back at Valdrik. “Please. Father already took our mother away from us. Big sis took over as our mother for a while. I don’t remember much from back then, but I do remember how she always treated me with love. Please. Please save her.”
Valdrik stepped toward Lily, Rai puffed up her chest and stepped in front of her mate, prepared to fight her older, and much bigger, much stronger, brother to protect her mate. Valdrik stopped and smiled at his little sister then looked to Lily. “You have only just found your love, while I found mine long ago. This isn’t the first time she’s been taken from me, so I know I will see her again. I always find her, no matter how long it takes. And if you are willing to help, you should come with us. You know where your family is and how to get around where they are. If you will guide us, we will protect you.”
Lily nodded, grabbing Rai’s arm as she stepped out from behind her.
“So it’s settled, then.” Able said as all turned to him. “Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we leave to save our family.”
Ӝ
Es awoke to a loud banging as Holly ran a metal cup across the bars of her cell. Seeing her sister finally awake, Holly smirked and squatted before her elder sister. “Wakey, wakey, sis,” she said with a grin. “Time for a bath. Father’s orders.”
Holly stood with a scowl on her face as she unlocked Es’ cell and dragged her out. Kalis and Zanan were already gone. Probably in the pit like the twins had said earlier. Holly’s grip on her arm was going to leave a bruise, but right now that was the least of her problems. Her younger sister dragged her up a staircase and through several hallways, crossing this way and that way, most likely in an attempt to confuse her in case she tried to escape.
Holly shoved her through a doorway and there was a large hot spring in the center. Chrys and Orchid were already waiting for them and took Es as soon as she stumbled in. Holly left them to get her cleaned up. The three sisters bathed quietly, not saying a word to each other but often glancing in each other’s direction. As they dressed, Es saw she was to wear a blue dress with various blue accents. Orchid finally spoke up as they were brushing out their hair.
“It’s good to see you again, Rev,” she said softly with a sad smile. Chrys also smiled at Es and Es couldn’t help but give her own tearful smile and hugged her younger sisters.
“Listen, I know you can’t tell me what you know and I’m sure Father hasn’t told you everything. But I want you to know, I may have left, but I never stopped loving any of you. I thought you were all safer with Father. I became a human and went to Terra. Without my magick or any kind of battle skills, I had no way to protect you. Especially not all eleven of you,” Es said with a small giggle and a smile. “I still love all of you. You are my family. And when Valdrik comes for me, I will take you with me. Whoever wants to go, that is.”
Chrys and Orchid exchanged worried glances and looked back to Es.
“I know he’s made threats, but has he actually carried any of them out?” Es asked.
Again, the two women exchanged looks. Orchid reached up and twirled some of her purple-tipped blue hair around her finger while she bit her lip. Chrys gave a slight nod and answered while looking at her feet. “He got rid of Holly’s mate by tossing him into the pit.”
Es gasped. “Father got rid of Holly’s mate? Is that why she’s so angry with me?”
“That’s not why I’m mad with you, sis.”
The three turned to see Holly leaning against the doorway with her arms across her chest and her legs crossed. She untangled herself as she made her way over to the three women. “You two were told to keep quiet, unless you want to be punished like the twins. And you,” she said glaring at Es and swiftly smacking her across her cheek. “Stop asking questions. You say you love us, but we’re getting into trouble because you won’t stay quiet. Hurry up and finish. Father is waiting.”
Lotus: Dark Lotus Chronicles One Page 12
