by G. K. DeRosa
Fear permeated from the usually composed alchemist. “Are any other humans infected?”
“We don’t know.” Malcolm had been locked up and tortured in close quarters. Blood, sweat, tears—anything could have infected a soldier.
Delvin gave a curt nod. “All right. I’ll retrieve some supplies and return.”
I put my hand on his arm, stopping him. “Do I need to remind you this stays between us?”
The alchemist’s gaze flickered between Malcolm, Solaris, and then me, his mind probably coming up with a hundred different scenarios of how this fragile secret could explode. “I won’t tell a soul, but perhaps involving your father would be beneficial. You are king, but his advice could be useful.”
“I’ll consider it.” If this disease spreads in Imera, I may have no choice.
He quickly bowed. “Good. I’ll see you soon.”
Once Delvin was gone, Solaris began pacing the small room. “What if he can’t fix my father? What if he dies?” She choked on the word.
My gaze shifted toward the ill man. I wanted to tell her everything would be all right and her father would pull through. But we both knew it was a lie. Malcolm Levant could very well perish.
But Solaris wouldn’t. Not from this.
I couldn’t hide my happiness from her. It seeped through the bond and only made her movements more agitated.
“I’m sorry, Solaris.” I dragged my fingers through my hair, pulling on the roots. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
“You’re right,” she snapped, “it shouldn’t have happened. This is our fault.” She shook her head. “If we wouldn’t have been so careless and selfish, my dad wouldn’t be sick.”
I stepped in her path, putting my hands on her shoulders to stop her. “We couldn’t have known—”
“I’m talking about the prophecy.” She ripped out of my grasp. “What if this is how it happens, Kaige?” She motioned her hand to her father. “All the humans die, and the nocturnes go next. It sounds exactly like the prophecy. And we caused it.”
My nostrils flared. “That’s not going to happen. Delvin will find a cure.”
“And what if he doesn’t? Everyone dies all because we let ourselves be fooled into thinking we were safe from those fated words?” She bit her bottom lip to mask its trembling. “We should stay away from each other before we cause any more harm.”
A mixture of pain and fury erupted in me, causing Solaris to flinch as it hit her through our link. “You’re even more idiotic than I thought,” I growled.
Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
A humorless laugh tumbled out of my mouth. “There is no breaking up for us, Solaris. We’re bonded forever whether you like it or not.” I stepped forward, her honey and jasmine scent flooding my senses. “We can’t change what happened between us. It was bound to happen.” The moment I opened the door to the crashed plane and saw her, my fate was sealed.
Her eyes narrowed, the mossy color flaming in her rosy face. Her small hands shot out, shoving my chest. The lack of impact on me doubled her anger. “I hate you, Kaige Stramonox.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do!” She took a swing at me.
I caught her wrist before she could make contact and jerked her forward. “You feel a lot of things for me, but hate isn’t one of them.” Those long days I’d thought my little human was dying had broken something inside me. I could never shut my feelings off for her, even if it were somehow for the best.
Whether we really had triggered the prophecy or not, being separated wasn’t in the cards for us. Deep down, she knew that.
Chapter 11
Solaris
Icy numbness coated every inch of my body, running through my veins and ravaging my very soul.
After the overwhelming anger subsided, I was left with nothing. I squeezed my dad’s cold hand, trying to infuse some heat into it, but it was no use. The shadow of the man I once knew was splayed out on the lavish bed. Red puss-filled sores blanketed his yellowing skin, the remaining tufts of hair on his head were gone, and sharp bones stuck out at odd angles.
The disease had ravaged his body at an alarming rate. His heart pumped sluggishly, no longer rushing blood to his decaying extremities. Delvin had returned only to confirm that my dad’s organs were shutting down, and there was nothing else he could do except provide a potion for the pain.
At that point, I kicked both him and Kaige out of the room. Every once in a while a shuffle of footsteps would seep through the door. I could feel Kaige’s anxiety leaching through the bond, but I didn’t care. Not right now.
I couldn’t look at Kaige and not see what we’d done to my dad.
Malcolm’s eyes were squeezed shut, the wrinkles at the corners deeply creased. He was suffering, and I’d caused it. I followed the line of the IV stuck in his hand to the hanging medical bag, and I cringed. My memory flooded with images of the blood slaves back in Imera. I’d failed. I couldn’t save them, and I sure as hell couldn’t save my father.
A sigh slipped from his parched lips, and I scooted onto the bed, leaning in closer. “Dad?”
His eyes opened into tiny narrow slits, the green barely visible. “Solaris?” he whispered.
Tears blurred my vision as I squeezed his hand more tightly. “I’m right here, Dad. You’re going to be okay. The alchemists are formulating a cure, and they’ll have you good as new in no time.”
He swallowed and winced, his lips twisting down. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry for what? This is my fault.”
He shook his head almost imperceptibly. “I wasn’t there for you when your mom died. I should’ve been. Instead, I buried my head in my work—” A hacking cough wracked his chest, sending tremors across his frail body.
I grabbed the oxygen mask and placed it over his pallid face. “Don’t talk, Dad. You’re just going to make it worse. You need to save your strength.”
He inhaled a ragged breath and then pushed the mask aside. “You must stop Turstan. Make him pay for what he did…” His head drooped back against the pillow.
“I will, Dad. I promise. He’s not going to get away with what he did to mom or all those poor people,” I rasped out. Choking back a sob, I draped my arms over his emaciated frame and curled into his side.
“I love you.” His whispered words were like those of a ghost, tragic and haunting. They’d stay with me for the rest of my life.
I peered up from the crook of his shoulder. His eyes were closed again, but now the deep creases at the corners had lessened. Whatever was in the IV must have been helping with the pain. My head moved gently up and down with the rhythm of his slow breaths.
For a second, I was a kid again. When I was little, Mom had often worked overnights at the med ward. I used to sneak into my parents’ room plagued by bad dreams. Dad would always let me sleep with him until mom got home. If I closed my eyes just right, I could pretend that’s where I was now. Dad was just sleeping, and my mom would be home soon.
I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that in a few short hours, I’d be an orphan.
The steady rise and fall of my dad’s chest abruptly stopped, ripping me away from my childish fantasies. I jolted upright, my fingers clutching his damp shirt. “Dad? Dad?”
No.
“Kaige! Get help, please! Get someone!”
The crash of the door mingled with my shrieks and pounding heartbeats roared through my ears. Kaige’s arms were around me, holding me and whispering soothingly. I had no idea what he was saying, but somehow his presence helped to quell the rising panic.
Kaige pulled me into his shoulder and turned me away from my dad so I faced the doorway. I felt Kaige lean over the bed, and then release a sharp breath.
“I’m sorry, Solaris.”
“No! He can’t be gone.”
Kaige’s hand ran through my hair, coaxing my head into his chest. I tried to pull away, to escape his warm arms, but my traitorous body sunk into him. “I’m
sorry. I’m so sorry.” He repeated the words over and over again in a hushed plea.
My fingers dug into his back, clinging onto his soft shirt. Tears streamed down my face as my shoulders heaved unrestrained.
My dad was gone, and I’d killed him.
A day or maybe even two passed in a blur of tears and some sort of calming potion Delvin had brewed up. I refused to take any more; it numbed my senses and I was tired of feeling nothing.
As I sat up to push the covers off, a yellow piece of paper on the nightstand caught my eye.
Went to talk to my father about our return. Be back soon.
~ Kaige
I crumpled up the note and threw it on the floor. Delvin had been true to his word and hadn’t told a soul about what had happened. No one except Garridan even knew we were back—or so we assumed since no one had smashed through the door threatening to send me back to Imera or kill me. Yet.
I glanced over at the empty side of the bed. The side where my father’s motionless body had laid only a few days ago. Where was he now? Delvin had said he’d take care of it, and in my stupor I hadn’t even thought to question him.
The calming potion hadn’t cured anything. It only masked the swell of emotions bubbling under the surface, and now they were returning with a vengeance. The concoction hadn’t only numbed my feelings either, but also Kaige’s. The sudden onslaught of warring emotions pummeled me like an iron fist to the chest.
I gasped, sucking in a haggard breath. Clawed fingers wrapped around my heart, tearing gashes into the already broken flesh.
Malcolm… Dad.
I’d been terrible to my father over the past few years; I’d done everything to torture him, spiting his every word. Half of the reason I’d stolen Turstan’s jet was to punish him. And for what?
I laid back in the bed, curling into the fetal position, and let all the emotions in until I drowned in them. I clenched the soft feathery pillow against my chest, sobbing into the fine material. After a few minutes, the hollowness in my core began to fill, first with anger, then it gradually built up to red-hot fury.
Turstan. All of this was his fault. If he hadn’t been trafficking blood, none of this would’ve ever happened. Kaige would’ve left me to die in the Shadow Lands and that would have been the end of it all.
Xander. He was the one who triggered the accursed prophecy. It wasn’t only Kaige and me.
I leapt out of bed, a dark thought taking seed in my mind. Both of them would pay for what they’d done. I’d save Turstan for the end, but Xander, well, Xander was within my reach, right in these very walls.
I stepped into a pair of jeans Kaige had left on a chair by the bed and pulled a silky blouse over my head. Darting out of the bedroom, I searched the outer chamber. Unlike my first quarters at Castle De La Divin, this lavish space had its own kitchen. I yanked open a few drawers before my gaze settled on a sharp blade. I clasped it in my hand and inhaled a slow breath.
Xander would pay.
Chapter 12
Solaris
I crept through the dark halls of Castle De La Divin, my thundering heart matching the slap of my soles on the stone floor. The castle’s winding passageways had proven more difficult to navigate than I’d imagined. I felt like a rat caught in a maze.
I finally found the correct stairwell, which now led me up to the more populated upper levels. Thanks to Garridan’s cloaking potion, and the fact that the blood bond with Kaige masked my human scent, I was free to roam wherever I chose.
Until Kaige found me, anyway.
I hurried up the final steps and nearly barreled into two young taranoi girls as I turned the corner. They wore the black and white uniforms of the kitchen staff that I’d seen scurrying around the outer corridors the night of the victory ball. Right about now, that magical night seemed like a lifetime ago.
The pair immediately lowered their gaze, muttering apologies, then continued down the hall.
An inane bout of laughter bubbled up in my gut. They thought I was a noblewoman—a nocturne like them. A crazy idea coalesced in my mind. “Wait!”
The girls spun around, keeping their eyes trained to my chin or my forehead, scared to make eye contact. Who did I look like to them?
“Yes, ma’am?” the blonde one asked.
“I’m to meet Prince Xander, and I’m afraid I’ve gotten a bit lost. Could you direct me to his chambers, please?”
Matching wry smiles curled both girls’ lips. Clearly, I wasn’t the first female looking for Xander’s bedroom. Bleh. I swallowed down the nausea crawling up my throat and schooled my expression into a coy smirk.
“It’s just this way, ma’am.” The blonde pointed down the hall, and the servants led the way.
I slipped my hand in my jacket pocket, my fingers clenching the solid handle of the knife. Just breathe, Solaris.
As I followed the taranoi girls, I went over the litany of Xander’s offenses in my head. He’d imprisoned me in the dungeon, bitten me, tried to suck me dry, then attempted to poison me, not once, but twice. He’d tried to blackmail Kaige and steal the crown. Who knows what other underhanded things he’d done?
He was ultimately responsible for my dad’s death. My chest tightened, my breath coming faster. Xander deserved to die.
“It’s just down that hall, ma’am, the door on the right,” said the blonde taranoi, motioning down a dark corridor.
I nodded, pressing my lips into a tight smile. I waited at the corner until their footsteps faded away, patiently peering down the hall to make sure no one else was around. Then, I zipped down the passageway.
My heartbeats skyrocketed as I neared the thick wooden door, my breaths coming in short ragged spurts. I clenched my jaw to help steel my nerves, and I tightened my grip around the knife handle. Catching Xander by surprise was my only chance. He was stronger and faster than I was, and I didn’t plan on dying today.
I lifted my knuckle to the dark timber and knocked. Footsteps shuffled across the floor, and the door whipped open. I yanked the knife from my pocket and Xander’s devastatingly familiar navy eyes widened. Time stopped, and everything moved in slow motion. I pulled my arm back and lunged forward. His eyes met mine, and I froze. My brain told me to keep going, to plunge the knife in his chest, but my heart clouded my vision. All I could see was Kaige.
The moment’s hesitation was all Xander needed. He grabbed my arm, wrenching the knife free from my grasp and sent it clattering to the floor. He yanked me into his room, slamming the door shut.
His nostrils flared as he scrutinized me from head to toe, his fangs extending. “Solaris?” He stepped closer. “I’d recognize your scent anywhere. No matter what face you wore, even if you’re supposed to be dead.”
Terror slammed into my chest as he spun me around so my back was pressed against his torso. He ran his nose over my shoulder, igniting a wave of goose bumps. I shivered as his fiery breath trailed up my neck.
“Let go of me, you bastard!” I shrieked, panic coursing through my veins. Not only was I afraid of getting bitten, I was utterly repulsed by the idea. Something about it felt wholly wrong, like I’d be forsaking Kaige.
“How are you alive, might I ask?”
I angled my head and spat in his face.
A low growl reverberated in his throat as he released one of my arms to wipe the spit off his cheek. I struggled against the other arm, squirming to get out of his iron grasp, but it was useless.
“Did you really think you could kill me? With a common kitchen knife?” Xander chuckled and fire raced through my veins.
I eyed the fallen blade on the stone floor. It was less than a yard away from my foot. If I could just stretch… I kicked my foot out as Xander blathered on and slid the knife under my boot.
“Does my father know you’re here again?” he hissed in my ear, setting off another wave of crawling spiders over my flesh. “You do understand that Kaige is the king now, right? He can’t be seen with a human. The nobles would eject him from the throne before
the day was out.”
He stilled, and I could almost hear the wheels spinning in his mind.
“Kaige is talking to your father right now, and I’m sure he’s telling him all the horrible things you’ve done,” I hissed.
“Not if I tell the nobles what Kaige has done first. Then he’ll be the one that has to answer to their wrath. A king who puts all his people at risk for the sake of a little human tail is no king.”
He pushed me forward, keeping only one hand on my arm. His fangs had retracted, but silver swirled in his irises. “You’re worth much more to me alive than dead. It’s a shame because your blood is all I can think about, but there’s always tomorrow. You’ll be the cause of Kaige’s downfall yet.”
The sharp blade of the knife peeked out from under my boot, but Xander was too preoccupied with plotting against his brother to notice it.
I fixed my gaze on him, infusing as much venom into my glare as possible. “You’ll never be king. You’ll never be anything, Xander. Kaige will always be better than you, no matter what you do.”
His face fell, like he’d been slapped. I dropped to the ground, yanking the blade from under my boot. Xander jerked me up, and I used the force of his momentum to drive the knife straight into his chest.
His jaw dropped, and a gasp tore out of his mouth. He staggered back, clutching the protruding blade. “You bi—”
His curses were cut off by thundering footsteps and the crack of wood splintering across the floor. Kaige crashed through the door, his eyes wild.
“Get away from her!” he roared.
A half-smile tugged at Xander’s lips as he slowly stepped backward. “As you can see, I’m in no place to do anything to your little human right now.” He slunk down on his bed, panting as blood poured down his fine shirt.
Kaige’s arms clamped around me, pressing me into his chest. “Are you okay?” he breathed.
“No.”
“What were you thinking?” He pushed me out to arm’s length, his navy eyes piercing into mine. “He could’ve killed you.”
