Venturers

by Bella Forrest

“Ronad!” she rasped, lifting her arms to embrace him.

  “Lorela,” Ronad whispered, leaning into her warm hug, wrapping his strong arms around her fragile frame. She almost looked like a child in his grasp, her thin arms clinging to him, her skeletal face buried in his neck.

  “I’m so sorry for what happened, sweet Ronad,” she lamented. “I loved my Naya more than life itself. She was my only daughter. There is always a special bond between a mother and a daughter.”

  Ronad held her tighter, though he seemed speechless.

  “She loved you, and I’m sorry you lost her. I’m sorry I lost her. I’m sorry for everything. If I could turn back time and change it all, I would,” Lorela murmured into Ronad’s neck, her frail fingers clawing at the back of his hair. I was desperate to turn around and see Jareth’s face, but I didn’t dare move.

  “This wasn’t your fault, Lorela. You didn’t hurt her,” Ronad said at long last. “I forgive you. You couldn’t have stopped it.”

  Lorela crumbled in Ronad’s arms, sobs wracking her chest, coming out as guttural chokes that seemed to shake her entire body. I couldn’t believe he’d forgiven her. Even if she wasn’t directly responsible, it was just like Kaido had said—she was a not-so-innocent bystander to Jareth’s wrongdoing. And yet, he’d forgiven her anyway. The relief that bristled through the air was as painful as it was palpable. From Lorela’s reaction, I guessed she’d been doing some soul-searching and had been longing for that forgiveness for some time.

  “I said not to rile her up!” Jareth barked, shoving his way through to his wife and tearing her away from Ronad. Immediately, Ronad backed off, leaving Jareth to perch on the edge of the bed, Lorela clinging to him instead.

  “I didn’t mean to,” Ronad murmured, tears glittering in his eyes.

  “Kaido, see to your mother,” Jareth demanded impatiently, his eyes narrowing at me and Ronad. “I’ll take these two to the tower room to get settled.” His tone was begrudging, but I guessed it meant we were allowed to stay the night. I just wished it didn’t sound so ominous.

  Backing out of Lorela’s room, we followed Jareth down the hallway and up another floor, pausing outside what appeared to be one of the spires. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing a circular room with two twin beds, one against either side, their outward edges curved to fit the wall. Two windows looked out over either side of the house, offering remarkable views of the neighborhood and the world beyond.

  “This will be your lodging, until Navan and Bashrik arrive,” Jareth said coldly, holding on to the key.

  “We don’t get separate rooms?” I asked, thinking the situation was a little bit inappropriate.

  Jareth gave me a withering look. “I have designated one room, and one room only. It is not my fault you have been brought here, instead of my sons.”

  “You can’t expect us to stay in here together. Riley needs a room of her own,” Ronad pressed, evidently as concerned as me.

  “There is no alternative,” Jareth insisted. “Now, let’s go over some ground rules. While you are here, you must remain hidden from Queen Gianne. You are not to go outside, and you are only permitted in certain rooms of the house. Kaido will draw these locations on some maps for you. Failure to abide by these rules will result in harsher restraints. I suggest you do not test me, as I am already close to throwing you both out. I doubt you would survive a Vysanthean night in those clothes… even with those ridiculous capes you have on.”

  I felt my cheeks redden, but I wasn’t about to let Jareth put me off course. “What about Queen Gianne’s pardon?” I asked. “She promised to pardon Navan if he returned here. Does that still stand?”

  A dark look passed over Jareth’s face. “The queen has become increasingly… unstable, of late. I believe she will honor the pardon for Navan, but you should not raise your hopes. I doubt she will lift a finger for a disgusting little pet and the deformed coldblood associating with her. Who knows, perhaps she will try you both for treason.”

  I was about to lunge for him, anger spiking through me, but Ronad held me back, his hand wrapping around my wrist.

  Jareth smirked. “Yes, you wouldn’t want to do anything rash now, would you?” he taunted. “Well, as you’ve taken up so much of my time, I shall retire to my lab for the evening. Please, do make yourselves at home,” he added coldly, before stepping out of the room. I heard the key turn in the lock, and knew we were trapped.

  Ronad sighed, releasing my hand. “There’s no place like home, eh?”

  “Look, this is only temporary. We’ll find a way to contact the others as soon as we can,” I promised, staring out at the tempting horizon. “So, if you can think of any way to do that, now would be a great time to mention it.”

  After all, we were back in Southern Vysanthe, in Ronad’s old stomping grounds. There had to be some way out.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Ronad and I sat cross-legged on the edges of our beds, the early dawn light glancing in through the tower window, both of us chattering like excited schoolgirls at a slumber party. Neither of us had slept particularly well but wiling away the darkened hours had brought an idea to Ronad’s mind. He’d woken me at dawn so we could talk about it.

  “Ianthan had a cabin in the woods. We used to go there all the time, when we wanted to discuss things in secret: Navan, Bashrik, me, and sometimes Jethro,” he explained. “We all had these little black boxes that we used to transmit through. They sent private messages, so we could keep our work hush-hush.”

  “I’ve seen one before. Navan had one in his cabin,” I said, arching an eyebrow. “Did you all have these little man caves?”

  Ronad grinned. “Just Navan and Ianthan, though I always wanted one. Navan let me stay at his place when everything happened with Naya. I had nowhere to go when I left the Idrax house—did he take you down to the lake when you were there?” I smiled at the memory, nodding shyly. “When we were still keeping things quiet, Naya and I used to sneak down to the little glass igloo—without Navan knowing, of course. He’d have killed me if he’d found out.” He chuckled. I could see the remembrance was a good one for him, and I was glad. He deserved to be able to reminisce, without always dwelling on the pain of her death.

  “It’s beautiful out there,” I said wistfully, wishing things were as simple as they’d been back then.

  “Navan’s a very lucky guy, to have someone like you,” Ronad said unexpectedly, staring down into his lap. “I see the way you are around each other, and it makes me feel like there’s hope, you know? It makes me believe in fate, even though we were always taught that fate is a fiction. I think it’s the Earth air, making my mind soft.” He flashed me a cheeky smile.

  “You think Navan and I were supposed to meet?”

  “How else would you have ended up on the same side of the universe?”

  I frowned at him, his words making me feel weird. “Okay, we’re getting way off track here. Come on, Ronad, focus!” I said. “We need to find a way to sneak out of the house, get to Ianthan’s cabin, and ransack it for this device thingy that you guys used to use. Once we have it, we can send out a secure message to Brisha’s side, and hopefully track the others down.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me, though getting out is going to be the tricky part.” Ronad sighed. “Believe me, I lived here, and sneaking in to Naya’s room was hard enough! This place is like a labyrinth, even when you’ve been here for years.”

  A knock at the door disturbed us. A moment later, Kaido appeared, peering around the doorframe.

  “Breakfast is ready, if you would care to come down,” he said. “Did you manage to study the maps I left for you? I know you’re familiar with the layout, Ronad, but it has been a while, and I was concerned you might have forgotten. I know not everyone’s memory is as precise as mine.”

  I chuckled. “I haven’t had the chance yet, Kaido, but I promise I will.” There was something about the unusual coldblood that made it impossible to dislike him. He said arrogant thing
s without understanding that he was being boastful, and made amusing comments without meaning to be funny. It was almost refreshing.

  “You should not lie, Riley. It is unbecoming, and it demeans the time and effort I put into making those maps for you,” he chastised, before disappearing back out into the hallway. He was waiting for us at the far end of the landing, making me feel like we were in a videogame, and he was the waymarker.

  After making our way through endless corridors and down several elegant staircases, with Kaido always staying a fair way ahead, we ended up at the back of the house in a beautiful kitchen that looked out on manicured gardens. There was a central island, with a sink in the middle, while various bizarre devices were set up around the outer edge of the kitchen. I presumed they had something to do with Vysanthean blood cuisine, but I didn’t dare ask about their individual purposes.

  “I acquired some solid food for you, Riley. I hope it is to your satisfaction,” Kaido said, gesturing to a bowl of fruits and vegetables that had been set out in front of one of the island stools.

  I tried to keep the disappointment from my face. After eating the delicious array of Zaian food, I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to cold fruit and vegetables, especially not in this climate. Then again, I knew I was in no position to be picky.

  “Thank you,” I replied, sitting down.

  Ronad had just sat down opposite me to start drinking his vial of morning blood, when Sarrask stormed into the room. His eyes glittered with fury. He marched right up to Kaido and gripped him by the scruff of the neck. I thought Kaido was going to fight back, using some of the skilled Aksavdo moves he’d shown on the battlefield, but he didn’t. He just stood there, his face blank, letting his brother’s grip tighten.

  “It finally happened, crabweed. You totally lost your mind!” Sarrask hissed, getting right in his brother’s face. “What in Rask’s name do you think you’re doing, bringing these two here? Don’t you care about Father’s reputation? Hasn’t our ‘beloved’ brother done enough to drag our name through the mud?”

  I wondered what a crabweed was, and why Sarrask was calling Kaido one. It was sibling bullying at its most textbook, but it looked like Kaido had long since figured out how to deal with his brothers.

  “There is logic in my plan, Sarrask. You would understand that if you took the time to listen, but you choose violence over concentration,” Kaido remarked. “It has always been your biggest flaw.”

  I nearly spat out my bizarre fruit, knowing how well that statement would go down with someone like Sarrask. Even so, it was a shock to see Sarrask standing there, after our last encounter. Back then, he’d promised that he would kill me and Navan, or see Queen Gianne execute us both, if we came back. Yet here I was, sitting at his kitchen table.

  “Was my warning not clear enough?” he spat, turning his attention to me.

  Kaido frowned. “You know this female?”

  “Let’s just say we’ve run into each other before,” Sarrask muttered. “I look forward to telling Queen Gianne about your arrival and seeing you suffer for your treason. I might wait until Navan comes running for you, but it’ll happen—you mark my words.”

  “So you do understand what we’re doing here,” Kaido said. “If you know Riley, then you know Navan will come for her, as you say. That is the plan, Sarrask. Navan and Bashrik will cure our mother with their presence, and they will reduce Father’s embarrassment when Queen Gianne pardons them both.”

  Sarrask shook his head defiantly. “I’m reporting them to Queen Gianne, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to know where this defector has been, too,” he said, shoving Ronad in the arm.

  “No, I was definitely right the first time—you do not listen, and you do not understand.” Kaido sighed. “If you report these two to Queen Gianne, you’ll get our parents in trouble for harboring ‘traitors.’ You will utterly destroy Father’s reputation and send Mother over the edge, in the process.”

  Sarrask released his brother, giving him a nasty shove. Evidently, he’d expected Kaido to stumble or trip, but the wiry coldblood did neither, keeping his balance and stepping gracefully forward. I still had a spoonful of fruit hovering halfway between the bowl and my mouth, the interruption having taken me by surprise.

  “I suppose you have a point, crabweed. If Mother and Father have agreed to this circus, then I guess I have to as well,” Sarrask muttered.

  It seemed that, when it came to their parents, they were all united in their loyalty. Personal opinion didn’t matter, as long as their parents were happy. It reminded me of what Navan had said to Sarrask the last time they’d seen each other, at the bottom of the Idrax garden—they had all blindly forgiven their father for accidentally killing Naya, and there had been no repercussions for his actions. They had rallied around him, despite the awful thing he’d done. Now, I understood it. Jareth was the cult leader, and they were only too happy to drink the Kool-Aid.

  “Why are you wearing that?” Ronad said quietly, his eyes fixed on a bronze cuff on Sarrask’s wrist. An oval stone sat at the center, seemingly made from the same material as the house, the threads of silver and gold glinting in the morning sunlight.

  “Why shouldn’t I wear it?” Sarrask countered.

  “It belonged to Naya.” Ronad was visibly trying to hold himself back.

  Sarrask shrugged. “And? She was my sister. She would have wanted me to have it!”

  “No, she wouldn’t. That was her favorite bracelet. She wouldn’t have wanted any of you to have it. You didn’t stand up for her when she died; you don’t deserve to wear it.” Ronad cracked his neck from side to side, evidently trying to calm himself down. I had a feeling it had come from the box of belongings to which Navan had given Sarrask the code.

  “I miss her as much as you do, Ronad. I miss her every single day, but it was an accident. Everybody knows that; everybody has forgiven and let it go, but you insist on clinging on, like the martyr you always were!” Sarrask snapped back. Even so, I wasn’t sure Sarrask knew how to respond to Ronad. Where Jareth had showed out-and-out hatred, and Lorela had shown deep remorse, Sarrask showed confusion—a clash of feelings, borne from a shared loss.

  “Where did you even get that?” Ronad asked, heartbroken.

  “I found it among her things. I wanted to wear it as a tribute to her. She always used to wear it,” Sarrask said firmly, his anger fading.

  Ronad smiled sadly. “I know she did.”

  “What’s it made from?” I asked, wanting to break the tension in the room.

  “The stone is onyxscye. It’s what the house is made from,” Kaido replied finally, as the silence dragged on. “When the house was built, as is customary in Vysanthean culture, a small block of the foundation stone was kept. When Naya was born, our father had part of that block made into the bracelet that Sarrask is wearing. A sentimental trinket with a very high market value, though I believe it is priceless to our family.”

  Sarrask flashed his brother a cold look. “Why do you always have to do that, crabweed? It’s like talking to an automaton.”

  “I think people show emotion in different ways. You show it with anger and sadness, and your brother shows it in his own way, which not everyone will understand,” I chimed in, coming to Kaido’s defense, with no idea why. Even as a kid, I’d hated seeing people get bullied or mistreated, and had always stepped in to help them. I guessed Kaido was bringing that side out of me again.

  Sarrask sneered. “Trust an outsider to come to your aid, crabweed.”

  “Are you finished here?” Kaido asked suddenly. “If all you wanted was to come to tell me my idea was stupid, I believe we have found an alternate conclusion. In doing so, your work here is finished.”

  Sarrask frowned. “Yeah, I’m done, though I still think what you’re doing is stupid,” he muttered, before storming out of the kitchen. I didn’t know if Kaido had spoken to spare me from more of Sarrask’s taunts, or whether he was simply following w
hat his mind wanted him to do. Either way, I was grateful that Sarrask was gone. There was too much anger in that coldblood, even if it came from a place of sorrow.

  “Can we visit Mrs. Idrax again? I wasn’t happy with the way we left things yesterday,” Ronad said, downing the last of his blood. I still had half a bowlful of fruit left, but Sarrask’s interruption had ruined my appetite.

  Kaido shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Your presence seems to have a positive effect on my mother. I’m sure she’d be delighted to see you again.”

  A thought crept into the back of my mind as I looked toward Ronad. It was true, he did seem to have a positive impact on Lorela, and the two of them had evidently shared a warm relationship, once upon a time, which still endured now. After all, before he began his relationship with Naya, they had accepted him into the family fold with open arms. I had to wonder if Lorela and Ronad’s mutual affection, combined with Ronad’s reciprocated love for Naya, had made Jareth jealous, somehow. After all, it meant that the two main women in Jareth’s life had lavished their attention on this lowborn boy, leaving whatever was left for Jareth himself.

  It would certainly explain the lengths Jareth had gone to take Ronad out of the picture. No sane father hated a boyfriend enough to wipe his memory, unless there was something darker lurking beneath the surface of his actions.

  “What’s a crabweed?” I asked as we got up from the kitchen table and made our way to Lorela’s bedroom. The question had been pestering me ever since Sarrask had first uttered it.

  Kaido sighed. “It is a lanky, thin weed that grows in Vysanthean gardens, stealing the sunlight from other plants. It is perennial, and smothers much of what grows around it.”

  I frowned. “Why do you let Sarrask call you that?”

  “Words do not bother me, Riley. They are only words—they cannot inflict any actual damage upon me, and so I ignore them. If they were throwing knives instead of taunts, it would be a different matter,” he replied, giving that short, sharp bark, which I was sure now was supposed to be a laugh. “Indeed, since we have happened upon that subject, I must say, you are very adept at throwing knives. I have never seen such accuracy in an inferior species. I can only assume Navan taught you how to throw like that.”