Savage Reign

by Melody Locklear

  “Hey,” I call to Malia. I don’t need to say anything else. She must see the determined look on my face because she excuses herself and comes over to me.

  “Everything okay?”

  “I need a favor.” I say, straight to the point. Amara doesn’t have time for anything else. “I need to see your Piscean.” She looks at me as if she doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “Come on, Malia. Wards like these are a full time job. It’s not a one-time spell. The Piscean who is holding up these wards is in this camp somewhere. Let me talk to them. I’m not gonna steal your spellcaster. I just need him to perform a spell for me, that’s all.”

  “What’s this about, Aaric?” she asks, heaving a sigh of exasperation.

  “The thing we were looking for at the abandoned house, our lead is sort of…broken. We just need your Piscean to tell us where it is and who took it.”

  “Our spellcaster as you like to call it stays anonymous for a reason. So people like you don’t come through here asking for favors.”

  The instinct to go on the defensive surges through me and, for a moment, I consider not using what small advantage I have against her, but decide saving my girls far outweighs my reluctance to piss Malia off.

  “It’s my price, for speaking to your people.”

  “My people?” she sneers. “These are Serpentarians. You are the prince of the serpents, Aaric. These are your people even more than they are mine.”

  Her rage sends a bout of regret through me for propositioning her like this, but the feeling is fleeting. “I’m sorry, Malia.”

  “It’s for Amara.” Bay interjects, speaking for the first time.

  “And why should that mean anything to me?” she hisses at Bay, but her camouflage, the thing all of us put up to hide how we truly feel inside, is not as good as many I’ve seen. I see right through her.

  “You people believe she is your savior, your ticket out of the shadows.” Bay says, livid. “If you really want your people to be delivered from the evils of this world than I suggest you help us. Helping us helps her. Do that and I’m sure your future king or queen will remember you when they take their rightful place on the throne.”

  The rage in my brother’s eyes is something not even I want to be on the receiving end of so I’m not surprised when he wins their battle of wills.

  “Only one of you.” Malia says evenly.

  Bay and I exchange a look and then he nods, leaving us.

  “Lead the way.” I prompt when Malia flicks her dark eyes my way.

  Without a word she starts through the camp.

  “Cold shoulder. Ooh, that’s rough.” I startle when I hear Amara’s voice in my ear. Beside me she struts in a billowy blue sundress and strappy heels.

  It makes my heart ache every time I see Phantom Amara. She has her face, but Braylie’s sharp tongue. The thought of Braylie prickles my skin, but Amara won’t let me live in my head. It’s when I start to that she shows up.

  “Ya know, she’s way out of your league.”

  “Shut up.” I hiss. “I have no desire for—”

  “Blah, blah, blah, brother.” she laughs coolly. “I’ve known you my whole life. I know when you’re interested in someone, Aaric. You can’t fool me.”

  “Haven, Kara, you. Don’t you think I’m juggling enough girls as it is? I don’t need any more, trust me.”

  “Haven isn’t here, Aaric. Malia is.”

  I don’t have a chance to respond when we arrive at our destination. Malia hovers outside a hovel twice as big as the one we were given, looking like she’s having second thoughts.

  “Malia…” I press.

  “Wait here.”

  I expect Amara to make some snarky comment while we’re alone, but I look around to find she’s gone now. It’s too late though. She’s already put the thoughts in my head. Despite not ever acting on my feelings for Haven, it feels like cheating, showing any interest in another girl, even if it’s just a distraction.

  Malia comes out then and cuts me a look, brown eyes ice cold. “Go on in.”

  “Thank you, Malia.” I say sincerely.

  The words hit her hard and she manages a nod. “Well go on then. He won’t wait all day.”

  Inside the hovel there’s a boy not much older than me setting a few crystals down on a small round table in the back. “Hey, you must be Aaric. I’m Ravi.” Looking at Ravi I have a feeling I know why Malia was so reluctant to let me meet him. He has the same dark hair and brown eyes as she does. There’s no doubt in my mind they’re siblings. Not her twin though. She’s a nether user so she has to have one, but Ravi isn’t it. “So Malia says you’re looking for something?”

  My eyes go to the entrance of the hovel, wary that someone might hear. “We’re looking for an artifact that was stolen from a house in Baal.”

  “The Nexus?”

  “How did you—”

  “I’m the real Seer in the family. Seers aren’t exclusively Piscean, but what Malia does is mostly just feeling and instinct. Me, however, I knew what you guys were looking for the moment you stepped into this camp. I know why and how you lost it. I figured you’d find your way to me eventually.”

  “Well then, why was Malia so reluctant to let it happen?”

  “Ah, she likes to kick ass, ask questions later. Also, I’m quite skilled at what I do. A lot of people like to take advantage of that. She’s quite protective.” The way he says it tells me he is not a fan of her overprotectiveness. “Now, can I see the note?”

  “The note?” It takes me a minute to realize he’s talking about the note we’d found in the book back at Cambridge Manor. On the note, three words. You’re too late. I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to him. “Is that supposed to help somehow?”

  “Well, the person who left it has the Nexus now so I might be able to use it as a foothold to locate the Nexus. But you have a better shot at following its magic.”

  “Its magic?”

  “Well yeah. The Nexus is a very powerful magical device with the ability to infuse all six elements into one so something that powerful leaves behind a magical trail.”

  “My friend Jayla is a Piscean and she’s only just learning what her power can do, but she spelled this.” I say, producing the amulet. “It’s supposed to point to wherever the Nexus is on the map. It’s what led us to Baal, but it’s stopped working ever since the Nexus was stolen.”

  “Whoever stole it is probably blocking the system somehow.”

  “If that’s the case will you even be able to track it?”

  “Just let me see what I can do, alright? Give me…six hours.”

  “Six hours? That’s oddly specific.”

  “Yes. Come back in six hours and I’ll have a solution for you.”

  A thought occurs to me, a knee-jerk reaction. “What do you want in return?”

  Ravi turns to me with raised eyebrows. His lips quirk up into what can only be construed as a smirk. “You get these people out of the funk that they’re in. That’s payment enough.”

  An understanding passes between us. He is not like most people. An open book. A trustworthy man. “I’ll do everything I can.”

  “Thank you, Prince Aaric.” The title stings a little. Instinctively I want to rebuke it, but maybe that’s the wrong approach. Maybe it’s high time to embrace it.

  “Thank you, Ravi.”

  I leave Ravi to his work and go in search of Malia, hoping to smooth things over.

  A scream rings out suddenly, stopping me in my tracks. Almost immediately Roman is at my side, all soldier. “This way.” he says and the two of us amble forward, following the screams.

  We’re not prepared for what we see when we arrive on scene though. Mangled bodies, at least four of them, gushing blood and sickly wounds anywhere from their heads to their limbs. Their skin looks bruised, like they’d been rammed head on by a transit.

  Beside them there’s someone hunched over, someone I don’t recognize, though that’s not saying much. This camp is bi
g and we’ve only been here a short time. But Malia, who’s also just arrived on the scene, doesn’t seem to recognize the figure either.

  “Who are you?” she demands.

  The figure turns on its heel, revealing a boy dressed in a Hunter’s uniform, which seems to be black cargo pants, black t-shirts, and jackets. There’s some kind of emblem sewn onto his jacket, over his heart, like a crest or sigil. It’s a circle in black ink with bars going across, depicting some sort of animal cage and inside the cage a serpent with hollowed out eyes.

  “They couldn’t see you, but I could.” The boy grins, making my blood run cold.

  “He’s a Serpentarian.” I breathe.

  Looking at the wounds I see on the dead, they look a lot like the bruises Theon Beleros left on me when he blasted me with nether the night of Tristan’s funeral. Only these are so bad they were fatal. I wonder, for a moment, if Theon had been capable of killing me with just a blast. He’s a thousand years old so something tells me he could have, but didn’t. If he had he’d never get Amara’s allegiance. It’s probably the only reason I’m still breathing.

  “Zodiacs are working for Hunters now?” Roman chokes out.

  “Not just any Zodiacs.” Felix says from my side, voice deadly. “A Serpentarian.” He says it like a curse. Felix has got a lot of anger in his heart, especially when it comes to Serpentarians given they’re the reason Tristan and Braylie are dead.

  “Cease him!” Someone shouts and Serpentarians from all over the camp descend on the boy.

  He reacts, blasting them all back with his nether. But I’ve recently learned how to use blasts too and I catch his blast with my own, sending him flying back into a tree. I hear a crack and his lifeless body tumbles to the ground. I don’t know if he’s dead, but he’s unconscious for the time being.

  This time when we hear a scream it’s one of sorrow. My body quivers with fear when I hear the name the woman is screaming.

  We round the corner to see a ghastly sight. Revilie is hunched over a body far too small to be an adult. It isn’t until I step closer that I see that it’s Willow. There’s a blow to her head, one no child—Zodiac or human—could survive. Beside me, Bay vomits into a bush.

  After a painful beat of silence, I speak up. “When the camp is secure, gather everyone in the square.” I whisper to Malia. Her hand is covering her mouth, like she’s holding her bile down, but she manages a nod.

  My eyes fall on the grieving parents. I was going to fake it, give these people a good speech to lift their spirits, to convince them to continue to fight. But now it’s personal. Now a child is dead because of the hatred infecting Endecore. I want to give this speech while the rage is fresh in my veins.

  The square is dead silent when I enter it, despite the hundreds of people gathered to hear what I have to say. Everyone has been affected by little Willow’s death. A bout of pain surges through me at the thought. I will have the image of that little girl’s skull caved in imprinted in my mind forever.

  Malia walks with me as we make our way up the hill to stand, looking down at the still gathering crowd. Every soul is here. It seems there are at least three hundred people or more.

  “There are no words to describe the pain we are all feeling today.” I start. At my sides my hands shake. “I know what all of you must be thinking. How are we supposed to fight this enemy who is immune to the elements, who can sense us wherever we are? And I’m sure you’re all scared now, with our own people working for them. But this can only benefit us. They’ve given us an enemy we can fight!” The crowd erupts into a fit of cheers and applause.

  I take out the crinkled up piece of paper I’ve been carrying around for days, a hurried speech I’d written for them all. “My name is Aaric Boudelaire, prince of Llìria, prince of House Serpentarius.”

  Gasps ring out all around. People mutter throughout the field below, surprise and disbelief falling over them. I wait for silence to fall again. I had an idea of what I wanted to say tonight, but suddenly I don’t care for it.

  “I came here today with a speech, a story, and a message for all of you.” I pause and toss the paper away. “But what I need to say, what you all need to hear cannot be scribbled down on paper. I know a lot of you are wondering if I am who I say I am, but the only thing that I can do now is give you my story and hope that you will see the truth within it.”

  I can see the proud look on Malia’s face out of the corner of my eye as I begin the story of my life.

  “We all know how House Serpentarius was dismantled. We all know how me and my sister came to be at Limacore, but what you don’t know is why we only just resurfaced all these years later. We were raised in hiding, cut off from our powers, unaware of the royal blood running through our veins, unaware of the Zodiac world entirely. Until an attack forced our powers to resurface. My father is a good man, but he thought we were safer in the shadows, without the powers everyone in this world fears. But he was wrong. Our kingdom has been stolen from us and we need to fight for what’s ours. The prince of House Serpentarius himself abandoned his kingdom due to the tyranny within the walls of that palace, my palace. The kings and queens of Endecore have taken away what is rightfully ours and I am here to tell you that it is time we take it back.” The applause and the screams echo through the camp. “Four hundred years ago Theon Beleros failed to defend what was ours, so I ask you now, find it within yourself to do better than our ancestors. Put away your differences and decide to fight back! Decide that our kingdom deserves their rightful heir on the throne. Decide that our kingdoms, our homes, our children are worth fighting for!”

  As their applause deafens us Malia comes up behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “You did it.” She kisses my cheek and laughs excitedly. And it seems I am forgiven.

  It’s dark by the time we get to Ravi’s hovel later that night. Inside there are candles and torches lit, casting a golden glow on the sides of the hovel.

  “Alright, little prince. Wait until you see what I have found, all from just the note you gave me.” He sounds mighty pleased with himself given everything that’s just happened. “Oh, Malia, I’m sorry about Willow, sweetheart.”

  Malia stiffens at the mention of that poor little girl, but she shrugs off her pain, like me. “I’m fine. Just tell Aaric what he needs to know, okay?”

  Malia starts to leave, but I catch her wrist in mine. Brown eyes fly up to me, moist with tears. “Stay. I want you to hear this.” She looks surprised, knowing this is my way of showing her that I trust her. She just nods and moves to stand by me. “What have you got, Ravi?”

  “Alright. Well, I was able to determine who took your precious Nexus.”

  “The Nexus?” Malia gasps. “You’re going after the Nexus?”

  “Sister, please. Men are working here.” Ravi chides his sister. Malia throws her hands on her hips and cuts him a look, one he seems to be immune to, but one that might bring lesser men to their knees.

  “What’d you find, Ravi?” I ask, flinching under Malia’s cold stare.

  “Does the name Dariella Aguillon mean anything to you?”

  Malia and I look at each other. “No. Should it?” I ask.

  “Well, it would help if you did. She’s the one who took your Nexus.”

  “So how do we find her?”

  “Oh I know where she is.” Ravi says proudly. “She’s in Llìria, but the Nexus isn’t with her.”

  “What? She stashed it somewhere?” It seems like a lot of trouble to go through to get her hands on the Nexus only to hide it somewhere she can’t get to it easily.

  “Yes, but because I am very good at what I do, I made you this.” He produces a leather bracelet with an ebony gem set into the center. “That ebony will glow blue whenever you’re close to the Nexus. It’s tied to the magical energy the Nexus gives off. So if you can get yourself to Llìria, the capital to be precise, you should be able to find it. It’ll get brighter and brighter the closer you get to it.”

  “So we’re goi
ng to Llìria.” I say.

  “I guess we are.”

  My eyes fly to Malia. “We?”

  “You gave the speech of a lifetime today, Aaric, and if we wanna do all the things you said you’re gonna need help rescuing your sister. So I’m coming.”

  I don’t argue. I’d be stupid to with her knowledge of the Hunters and this world in general. My only hope is that I don’t get her killed like I did Braylie.

  —CHAPTER TWENTY ONE—

  KARA

  ARCANE

  It’s a beautiful day to try.

  That’s something my mother used to say. Unlike a lot of moms in the village who spent all their time grooming their daughters for rich husbands, my mother was content with us trying to do our best, no matter what. She didn’t care if I married into a rich family. Only that I would be happy.

  If I ever see her again I’ll tell her I tried. I’ll tell her I wanted to make it work. I’ll tell her I had to, for Amara and whoever else would have lost their lives because of my baby.

  The tonic sits in a vial in my hand. I’m outside in the cool morning air on a bench in the courtyard. Taya, very reluctantly, did as I asked and made me a tonic that would put this little baby out of its misery. She said it might take up to twenty four hours for the tonic to pass the pregnancy and for all the side effects to pass. Cramping, bleeding, maybe some nausea.

  I pop the cork out and drink it quickly, lest I change my mind. The taste of the tonic makes me lurch forward. My body instinctively wants to lose my lunch, but I clap a hand over my mouth, holding it down until I’ve swallowed it all. When my stomach finally settles I run my hand over my stomach again. “I’m sorry, baby, but I just can’t lose anyone else.”

  Maybe if they’d been Tristan’s. Maybe if they weren’t the children of a killer I might have tried harder. But the thought of giving birth to two children from the man responsible for Tristan’s death makes me physically ill.

  When I get back to my chambers I sleep. Taya told me to take it easy, though it feels anything, but. Still, I’m able to fall asleep rather quickly.

  When I wake it’s the next day. I slept all through the night. I had some stomach pains in the night, but nothing remarkable. It’s been nearly twenty four hours since I took the tonic. I go to the bathroom to see if there’s any bleeding, but there’s none to be seen.