“Roman, what are you doing?” I snap.
“I’m not doing this again. I suppressed my feelings for you for months back in Limacore. We’re not doing it again. No more avoiding. When were you going to tell me that you planned to marry my brother?” There is such fire in his eyes, it makes me flush. I didn’t think Roman capable of fighting for me, but perhaps I was wrong.
“Roman, it wasn’t something I’ve been harboring from you. It was a last minute decision. I needed a way for the Borderlines to trust me and this will make them trust me.”
“If you win the Trials.” he reminds me.
I quickly go on the defensive. “Thank you, Roman, for your vote of confidence.”
“I didn’t mean—you know that’s not what I meant.” he says defensively. The air around us drops a few degrees. Air users have many talents, including temperature. It’s where Missy gets her ability to freeze. Her air magic can lower the temperature and her water magic turns water to ice. But no ice she could ever give me can compare to the chill I feel now as Roman glances down at me, betrayed.
“I understand you wouldn’t want me to win. I’ll be a princess, not a queen. I’ll be free to marry whoever I want, even a prince who will be king one day soon, king of a country we’ve yet to align ourselves with.”
Roman looks guilty, dropping his eyes away from me sheepishly. “I would never assume that you would want…but if you did, if that was something in the cards, you could.”
“Roman,” I say patiently. “You can’t whip me out of an interrogation, demand I be upfront with you about my feelings, and then shy away from your own.”
“I think you know how I feel about you.” he says quietly.
“You have to say it.” I’m being mean, I know it. I can’t even bring myself to admit how I feel. How can I expect him to? But I do. Because if shy, brooding, put everyone’s feelings before his own Roman Novak can admit how he feels then I sure can.
I think he just might go for it too, until Kol approaches Roman from behind. “You’re gonna wanna year this.” he tells me. He ignores Roman completely. Why is he being cold toward Roman? He won. Or, he might if I win the Trials like everyone seems to think I will.
No pressure or anything.
Roman and I don’t hesitate to follow Kol back into the throne room where Haydan looks like he’s been hit in the face. I’ve only seen him once or twice around the palace, but he’s a handsome boy. Same dark hair as his brother, though his blue eyes are lighter than Kol’s. You couldn’t mistake them for anything, but brothers given their looks. Kol is the handsomer of the two. Of that I am infinitely sure.
“Tell them what you just told us.”
Haydan grins my way. “They’re coming for her.” Just four words, but enough to chill me to the bone.
“Kara.” I say back. “They’re coming for Kara.”
Theon turns to me, arms folded over his chest. He looks like he’s ready to go into battle right here and now. “We have to prepare for war. I won’t let them take her.” he says fiercely. Kara hasn’t told me much about how she feels about him or vice versa, but I see the love he has for her in his eyes. He will not let her be taken.
Neither will I.
“How long?” I bark at Haydan.
“By week’s end.” Haydan grins.
“I want an exact timeframe.” I say, leering down over him.
“You don’t scare me, little girl. I’m nether. Your magic won’t work on me.”
“No?” I slap my hands down on the table, leaning over, hovering above him. “Dariella Aguillon crumbled under my sister’s ebony fire. Perhaps we ask Niykee in here. Will we see you shake, just a little bit?”
“I changed my mind.” Haydan hisses, eyes searching for Kol who stands just out of view behind me and Roman. “She does scare me.”
“Start talking, boy or I will show you what your insides look like.” My voice is so dark, so menacing I don’t even recognize it. The fear is talking, breaking through in rage. If the Hunters come everyone I love will be in danger. They’re all here, except for my brother and Jayla. And Dad. Everyone else is in this palace. I won’t lose anyone else. I can’t.
“Seventy-two hours.” Haydan spits. “But I’m telling you this only because they won’t hesitate to kill me for talking to you. I’m dead either way.”
“How many?”
“Three companies at least.”
“They think they can take the whole palace with three companies?’ I ask Theon. “How? That’s barely four hundred men.” Kol raises an eyebrow at me. “Hey, I paid attention a little in school.”
“They don’t need numbers, Amara.” Theon says to me. “All they need is the element of surprise and to be immune to our powers. Most Zodiacs will fumble when they realize their magic isn’t going to work.”
“Then we need to prepare the Nexus, now.”
“Agreed.”
“Gather your Echo girls. We’re going to war.” I say gravely.
Theon grins at me. “You’re in the Rebellion now, love.”
“What if he’s lying?” It’s the first question Aaric asks as we all stand in the council chambers, trying to figure out what to do. The Nexus will only get us so far. Once we render the Hunters no longer immune to our powers we will still have to fight. We need to be prepared for every outcome of this.
“He could be.” Roman nods, ever the soldier boy. It makes my skin burn with longing. “But I see no reason why he would.”
“He could be lying about the timeframe.” Niykee counters.
“I don’t think he is.” I muse. “Haydan is scared. He’s been outed here and he knows the Hunters will kill him the moment they find out he talked. His best chance of survival is for us to win.” I shift my gaze to Theon. “We need Keenan.”
“Why?” Aaric hisses through gritted teeth.
“Because while there are a lot more Serpentarians than any of us thought, our people will be even closer to extinction if we get hundreds of them killed. We need soldiers, Keenan’s soldiers. I’ve been to the Vakrovian palace. It’s a fortress. We need to be a fortress too. We haven’t had enough time to build and we’re already being attacked. We’re not prepared for this.” Theon simply shakes his head at me. “What?” I snap.
“Nothing. Just proud is all. You’re right. We’ll get word to Keenan as fast as we can, but he may not get here in time so we need to be ready in case he doesn’t.”
“We need to move Kara, now.” Aaric snaps. At his sides his hands shake. He’s scared, for her.
“We can’t move Kara. She could go into labor any day now.” I say. That’s when it hits me. My eyes fly to Theon. “That’s why they’re coming now. Back at the Limacoran palace all those months ago you told me that Hunters can sense when a Serpentarian child is about to be born. They know that Kara is about to give birth. They wanna get their hands on her before she does.”
“Probably.” Theon confirms. “I’m gonna need you with me, Amara.” He goes out of his way to lock me in his penetrating blue gaze. We both know what he means, how he means. No one else does. I nod. I feel Aaric’s eyes heavy on me, but he doesn’t question what we’re talking about. Perhaps he thinks Theon simply means to protect his asset, his queen.
“Niykee, I think it might be best if you stay by Kara’s side.” I suggest. “You’re as deadly as they come. You can protect her.”
“I’ll protect her.” Niykee says fiercely. Niykee was born for this, to defend, to protect. She won’t let me down. I know it.
“Three days.” Kol mutters, glancing over at us. “That gives us enough time to try and activate the Nexus and gather all the troops we can get and hope Keenan comes to the rescue before we have to call up too many of our own men.”
“Roman,” My eyes fall on him, solemn and ready. I know I don’t have to ask, one because he sees the question in my eyes and two, because I already know his answer.
“I’m with you, Amara Boudelaire. Till the end.” Keenan may be my pyramid, but
Roman is my bones, the very base of what I’m built on. Pyramids can crumble. But a house won’t fall if the bones are sound.
“Till the end.” I echo back to him.
—CHAPTER FORTY FIVE—
KARA
BREAKTHROUGH
When Amara and I were children we had a porcelain doll that we shared.
It was an expensive thing, far out of our family’s price range, but we wanted one so badly that for Christmas one year her parents and mine banned together to get us this doll. We loved it. We took care of it, together. Then one day Amara and I got into a spat and, rare as they were, this one ended in shattering the doll to pieces. I’ve feared the thought of having a real baby ever since.
That’s how I feel now. One wrong move and I could shatter, along with my babies.
Inside the training room, Roman and Amara are sparring, gearing up for the big fight. The two of them together is like the kind of magic you don’t see from ability, but chemistry.
Amara grins back at Roman who stands behind her. You can’t see their magic move like you can my fire or Kol’s water, but as they move their arms around each other I can almost see the air and nether twisting under their command.
Roman sends a wave of air Amara’s way. I know this because when it hits her she leaps back, gasping for what air she can. Roman chuckles and Amara laughs at the sound. It doesn’t happen often. She retaliates with a blast of nether, pinning him to the opposite wall. Roman fights against it, but fails miserably.
Amara approaches him slowly, giggling. She’s flirting. Roman flushes, affected by the sound, by the come hither look in her eyes. When she reaches him her hand brushes his chest, shirt soaked in sweat from their sparring. She’s momentarily distracted, releasing her hold on her magic that keeps him pinned. He steps toward her, so close their noses are practically touching. Both in love and neither one of them brave enough to admit it.
“Force to be reckoned with, those two.” Theon says, appearing at my side. “It’s a shame when she wins the Monarch Trials she’ll lose him.”
“I just hope we don’t lose him. We can’t have Limacore as an enemy.” I say.
“That boy is as honest as they come. If Limacore becomes an enemy it won’t be at his hand.” Theon steps closer to me, scooping a chunk of my golden hair in his fingers and brushing it back tenderly. “How are you feeling, love?”
“Scared I guess. Every time someone leaves the room I’m afraid they won’t come back.”
“We’re all going to make it through this, Kara.”
“That’s a lie.” I return. “Not everyone will make it out alive. Because of me.”
“No,” He grabs hold of my arm and forces me to face him. “Not because of you. You are not to blame for this. If they get their hands on our son, Kara they’ll destroy us all. It’s not just about you. It’s about the world as we know it. So don’t blame yourself for this. This isn’t on you. If we hadn’t conceived this baby someone else would have. Prophecies are predicted years before they happen. No one could have controlled this if they wanted to.”
I let his words fall where they may. I don’t want to feel better. Right now I just want to wallow in it. “Did you manage to get a message to my brother?”
“We sent it. Now it’s on him to say yes or no.”
“What’ll happen now?”
“Now we will prepare to activate the Nexus, hopefully disrupt the magic that allows Hunters to be immune to our powers, and then we fight.”
“And me? What’ll happen to me?”
“Do you trust me, Kara?”
It’s a loaded question if there ever was one, but I know the answer. I’ve always known it. “Yes.”
“Then rest assured, my love, you and our babies will be safe.”
“Oh, hey guys.” Amara finally notices our presence and rushes over, panting. I’d missed it, but I wonder if it’s from the work out or Roman Novak. Roman delicately lifts the strap of her top back up onto her shoulder. She swings her head in his direction, hair whipping behind her. She smiles up at Roman shyly. “Thanks.”
“Getting in one last workout?”
Amara flushes scarlet. “Why would you say that?” she snaps defensively, blue eyes somehow getting bigger.
“I mean before the battle.” Theon amends, but there is a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. But while he chooses to hide his amusement I smile wide, teasingly.
“What uh—what are you guys doing in here?” Amara looks away from my face, busying herself with a stray hair hanging from her shoulder. She plucks it off, shaking her hand to rid herself of it, but it isn’t working and I know she feels our eyes heavily on her. I laugh quietly to myself.
“Ah, I was wondering if you’d like to grab something to eat before you go meet with the Royal Guard.” Amara’s meeting the Captain of the Royal Guard for the first time today. Theon’s been slowly showing her the ropes, readying her for a crown that will inevitably be hers one day soon, but Amara has surprised him this whole way. What he doesn’t know about Amara is she’s a fast learner. She always has been.
“We’d love to.” Amara nods, her smile returning. She’s still panting a little. Now I know it isn’t because of the workout. It’s all Roman.
“We?” I ask hesitantly. “No offense, Roman, but I had hoped for some time with you, just us.” I add to Amara. Today is the last day before the Hunters arrive. When the battle is over I’ll most likely be a mom. It might be the last time we have any semblance of peace before chaos ensues.
“Don’t worry, Kara.” Roman smiles kindly, understanding fully. “She’s all yours. I’ll see you later, gorgeous.” Roman pecks Amara on the cheek and her still lingering flush deepens.
“Amara Boudelaire,” I say once Roman is gone with a teasing tone. “You have got it bad.”
“What?” she scoffs. “I have nothing. I have…hunger. Let’s go eat.” She glances at Theon where he’s laughing. Then she turns me toward the door and starts to push me out by the shoulders. I can’t help, but let another laugh slip.
In the dining hall, Amara and I find a table to ourselves. We eat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. It’s been so long since we just sat and ate and talked. It makes me sad to think that it won’t always be this way. One day soon she’ll be a queen, I’ll be a mom, and no one knows what our lives will look like when that happens. It scares me to think about.
“So, Roman or Kol?”
“Kara!” she cries in reproof.
“Oh come on, Mar. Even without you two being so obvious, I know my best friend.”
“Alright.” She places her fork down and rubs her hands together like a super villain cooking up some evil plan I’m not privy to. “You know me so well. Tell me exactly what I’m thinking.”
I rise to her challenge. “Okay. You’re thinking that you really like Roman. Actually you might even love him, but you two boneheads are too stubborn to admit it out loud. Stubborn, and scared, because once you do you can’t take it back. If you do win the Monarch Trials and you do have to marry Kol you never said it out loud so it can’t hurt as much. And there’s Kol, of course. The boy you’re willingly choosing to marry, for your people, for his, maybe even a little bit for yourself because there are worse matches, like my brother. And then you’re thinking, how can I be thinking about any of this because just a couple of months ago I was kissing Kara’s brother on what I thought was my deathbed?”
Amara’s mouth sort of drops open and she stares for a minute, probably wondering how one person could understand her so deeply. We have an Echo for a reason. “How did you know about me and your brother—”
“Haven and I do talk ya know.”
“Right.” She drums her fingers together on the table, peering over at me. Now I know it’s my turn. “It’s okay ya know.”
I quirk an eyebrow at her. “What’s okay?”
In a very low, very chilling voice she says, “To love him.”
My mind goes straight to T
heon. Though she can’t mean Theon. Because I could never love him. He murdered two of my friends. He kidnapped me. He tricked me when we first met. I could never love him, but it seems Amara knows me better than I do, just as I know her.
I sigh. “I can’t, Amara.” I whisper.
“Except that you can.” she says gently. “Because I understand. Despite everything he’s done, I love your brother. Maybe nothing will ever come of it, but I do love him. We have to be strong, in a world that wants us to be weak. But we don’t have to be miserable. Love him, if that’s what makes you happy. Love him even if it feels wrong. No one’s going to judge you, and if they try I’ll beat them up for you.”
I just laugh. Our eyes meet once more and I know our talk is over. “Okay.” I smile.
We eat our food and then she walks me out into the hallway. It certainly won’t be our last moment together, but Amara feels what might be the last moments as us, as Kara and Amara, Baal’s famous little duo. So before she heads off to her meeting with the Guard she smiles and says, “I love you, Kar.”
“I love you, Mar.” We smile again and then go our separate ways.
While Amara goes for her meeting I decide to head down to the library. I’ve gone over the books there dozens of times, trying to find more information on this prophecy of ours, but in the off chance this whole place goes up in flames in this fight, I take one last look.
I start in the section that is designated to arcane magic. I started in the prophecy section last time and got nowhere. I must be there for a couple of hours before I start to lose my temper and throw a book across the room. “Damn it.” I snap, kicking the leg of the table I’m sitting at.
“What did that table ever do to you?”
“You really don’t wanna be around me right now.” I snap back at the voice. Haydan Kasanoff.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because I’m frustrated and I don’t like you.”
Haydan chuckles, walking over and lifting up the book I’m reading to see the front. “The Art of Arcane magic. Little light reading?”
“It’s none of your business.” I say, slamming the book back down and trying to focus. “How are you walking around a free man anyway?”
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