by A Lonergan
Nico’s red hair met his hairline and his face turned red. He got embarrassed a lot but he was good at keeping it in at not being so readable. I frowned. “Ha, no.”
“I don’t know if I believe you.” Ailia leaned back and watched as the other demon, Raymond, heal another giant.
“I have to agree with the princess here,” I threw a smile in Nico’s direction just as Willow broke the surface of the water. She smiled at Raymond, but her teeth were chattering. Blood pooled around her in the water and her hair floated in it. It was oddly breathtaking. Balam broke the surface next. There wasn’t a drop of blood on his skin but his face was pale and his cheeks were gaunt. He wrapped his arm around Willow and helped her out of the water. The little amount of cloth that had been on her body before was now gone. Balam wrapped his arms around her and kept her modest as he swiped the cloak from the grass and wrapped it around her shoulders. Blood dripped from her skin and Raymond rushed to her aid. He ran his fingers down her cheek and a jolt of jealousy zoomed through me. I clenched my jaw and leaned against the tree. It could have been me healing her, but I was too busy licking my wounds. I had done this to myself and now I needed to get over it.
Chapter Forty-Three
Willow
Three days later all the giants were free from the Waters of the Damned. Balam was working on a sealing spell for the water and I was confined to our bed. I pulled at the thread at the end of the blanket and groaned. This was torture, this was madness. I was sick and tired of being confined to these walls and the whole kingdom was going to hear about it if I didn’t get some freedom and fresh air.
“Don’t look so grumpy,” Nico said from the doorway. He was wearing a gray tunic and soft pants. He didn’t look like himself without his leathers and weapons.
“If you had to be stuck in bed, you would be grumpy too.” I kicked the blankets off of my legs and got out of the bed.
Nico wagged his finger at me. “Rebellious one, you must get back in that bed.”
I could smell the food in the box he carried and I no longer cared about being in the bed. All I cared about was real food and not the rutting broth they kept bringing me. “Where did you get that?”
He sat the box on the table and started to unload all the goodies. “I went to Sector Six this morning for a run with the castle guards and there were a few food carts out. I couldn’t pass it up and I knew you would appreciate the food more than anyone else.”
I gave him an excited squeal and pulled my shoulders up to my ears before I raced to his side. Noodles, cakes, some kind of flatbread, and sauces. All the sauces. I moaned in delight as I tore pieces of the bread off and shoved them into my mouth. I tried all the sauces individually then together before I dug into the noodles. I didn’t even worry about Nico eating, I was already in heaven. I looked up at him with a mouthful and a noodle hanging from my lips and tried to swallow it all. He barked out a laugh.
“Sorry,” I swallowed again. “Did you want some?”
“I did, but this is far more satisfying.” He leaned back in his chair and gave me a sly grin.
I shrugged my shoulders. “More for me. All they have been feeding me around here is rutting broth! Who eats broth and gets stronger?”
I waved my fork around as I explained how angry I was at the food options in the castle. Nico shook his head and listened to my every rant and rave.
“You won’t have to worry much longer.” Nico took a piece of flatbread and dipped it in the sweet orange sauce.
“Why is that?” I devoured some dried meat next. It was smokey and had a strong spicy aftertaste.
“Because we are leaving. You completed our mission here.” I perked up at his words.
“The giants?”
Nico grinned. “Yep! That was the only thing that the king required of us in order to get his aid, either that or Cal marrying one of his daughters.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why didn’t he just marry one of the daughters? You would have received aid much faster. You wasted how much time here?”
Nico’s face went blank. “Cal doesn’t believe in mixing war with romance. I thought he explained that to you.”
I shrugged and shoveled some more food in my mouth. “I thought that was somewhat of an excuse for my benefit.”
“You’re taking this rather easy.” Nico scowled like he was upset I hadn’t been taking this harder.
“What do you want me to do? Fall apart? The world isn’t ending. There are millions of possible scenarios out there for me.” I paused as I dipped some flatbread in a maroon concoction.
“Cal has always believed in marrying for love and he still intends on doing that but you are married. So I don’t know why we are even having this conversation.”
I snorted. “We aren’t married, I thought for sure you would see through that rutting mess.”
“He sure loves to dote on you.” Nico lifted a goblet of water to his lips.
“No, he loves to get under Cal’s skin because he’s bitter about you all leaving us- well- me behind.”
Nico placed the goblet down and wouldn’t look at me. “I knew you weren’t married, but be careful with that one. He has never experienced any of this, just like you. Before you know it, you will be in love and he may or may not feel the same way.”
“You’re trying to avoid the fact that you left me behind.” There was pain there. There was hurt in my words and I had to blink my eyes to keep me from getting emotional.
“Why do you care what I did?” Nico leaned back and put his hands behind his neck.
“Because I thought we were friends.” My voice broke.
Nico looked at me and his freckled face stained pink. “You act like you hate me.”
“Most days I do.” I gave him a smug smile. “But I love to hate you. You’re one of my favorite people to hate.”
Nico let out a huff and shook his head. “You’re very strange, Willow Bane.”
“I know.” I pointed my fork at him. “So why?”
“You have to know that Cal didn’t know what would happen down there. He thought you two would be out and he wouldn’t have to answer strange questioning from his men. He thought you would possibly be a day behind us and then weeks went by. He sent me back. He sent others back. Your rift was gone.”
I sat there for what seemed like hours and looked at the food covering the table. Balam was to return soon and I wondered if my stomach could take anymore bingeing before I exploded. The door opened up and Balam strolled right in. He smiled at me before his mouth dropped open at all the food on the table.
“You are such a heathen. Do you ever learn?” Balam sat across from me and picked at some of the leftovers.
“Nope,” I took a sip of water and watched him over the brim of the glass.
“I heard we will be leaving soon.” Balam searched my face for emotion.
I pouted. “Yes, goodbye luxurious bed and baths.”
“I have to say, I don’t think I will miss this place.” Balam leaned back and kicked his boots up on the edge of the table.
“Well, you’re silly.”
“Ailia told her sisters that we aren’t married. They have been following me around like lost sheep for the last two days.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that.
“It isn’t funny. You would think they had never seen a man before.”
I waggled my eyebrows at him. “The king is looking to marry every single one of them off.”
“Abaddon knows and has bedded a few of them.”
I spit my water at him. “That’s awful.”
“I told him he couldn’t feed on their souls, not their bodies.”
My eyes grew big. “You feed on souls?”
“It’s not a requirement. But yes, sometimes it’s nice.” Balam acted like it wasn’t a big deal and I was ready to sink into oblivion.
Time to change the subject. “What are you keeping from me?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “My body, my inner t
houghts, my truest confessions.”
“You’re insufferable. Abaddon keeps trying to bring things up and you’re hiding it.” I pushed my chair away from the table and paced the carpet.
“I don’t know if this is the right time to talk about this.” He scrubbed his hands down his face.
“We will not leave this kingdom until you tell me your assignment and you’re honest about it. Don’t make me bring Nico in here and have him give me some insight. He loves being able to call people out on their lies.”
Balam groaned. “You have to promise me that you won’t be angry.”
“I can make no such promises.” I folded my arms across my chest.
“I told you that I won and that I was the most powerful to be here. But it was only a headstart to the race.” Uh, oh. “The race to win you over. The race for your hand in marriage.”
He was right, I wasn’t ready to know. The world spun around me and I had to hold onto the back of the chair to keep myself from plunging to the ground. “Who gets to determine that?”
“Hel, of course. You are her successor.”
That did me in. I sunk to my knees and threaded my fingers in the thick carpet. My head spun. I should have known that. They weren’t just competing for my hand in marriage, they were also competing to rule the realm of death. “Why me?”
“You’re the most powerful.” Balam wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Because I was the first winner, I got to choose who could tell you.”
“If I’m her successor, then am I immortal?” My chest heaved and nausea held me tightly.
“That isn’t something I’m allowed to disclose.” Balam stood up from the chair. “We will be marching out in a few days. Put on your training gear, it’s time we got back in shape. We will be marching to war in probably a week’s time.”
Get into shape? He didn’t know who he was speaking to.
Chapter Forty-Four
Willow
Balam laid his weapons out on the table in the training arena below the castle and walked back and forth in front of it as he ruled which weapons we would be using. He ran his fingers down the knives and then put them back in the holster. Then he touched the whip and I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream and fight. That was the last weapon I wanted to fight with.
“I can feel your panic and fear.” He picked up the whip and I knew I had sealed my fate. “You have to stop being afraid.”
I had received lashing after lashing under the emperor’s rule. I couldn’t and wouldn’t get bested by it again. I wouldn’t let him use it against me. Except, he didn’t. He turned the handle around and handed the whip to me, for me to use. The leather was warm in my palm. The feeling made me want to vomit.
He held his sword up and I shook my head. “I can’t use this against you.”
He had gone through similar things at the end of a whip. I would be a monster to use it against him. I would be a monster to go through with this training.
“A whip can be a valuable ally for you, especially in war. Most of the men out there will be using swords and knives with their magic. What if you could kill three or four all at once with the flick of your wrist?”
“I suppose that would be nice, but apparently I can bring down armies with my magic.” I shrugged.
“Hel will not let this war go on with you in it if you try to do this the easy way.” Balam twirled the sword around and pointed the end at me.
“Hel can’t do that!” I unrolled the whip and closed my eyes.
“Hel is a goddess, she can do what she pleases. She will be very displeased if you fight unfairly. You must have honor to rule in her chair.”
“What if I don’t want to rule in her chair?” I shouted at him.
“Then you will die like all the other mortals,” Then he smiled and laughed. “Just kidding, I doubt you have a choice on the matter. You will simply be punished for not listening to my warnings. We don’t do things the easy way. Just because you can do it the easy way doesn’t mean you should. You fight a war that isn’t yours. You will master all of these weapons and you will fight with honor.”
After hours of training and my hands wanting to fall off, I managed to get past Balam’s guard and the end of the whip wrapped around his neck. We were both bloody and tired but I was determined. I yanked the whip and he fell to his knees in front of me. Blood pooled from his mouth and his hair was disheveled. I released the whip but he stayed on his knees in front of me.
I snorted. “You’re ridiculous. Get up.”
He shook his wild hair. “No, I will do no such thing. This is where I will serve for the rest of my existence.”
I blinked in surprise. “I don’t want you to bow down to me.”
“Then you will be disappointed time and time again because you deserve all the praise.”
My throat closed up and I took a step back. Who was this man because he certainly wasn’t Balam anymore.
“Are we having a training session without me?” Nico called from across the room. His voice echoed around us as Cal came in behind him. Balam slowly got up from his knees and removed the whip from his neck. He winked at me.
“I think it’s time we see who’s the best, eh?” Balam smiled and his teeth elongated.
This was very bad.
Chapter Forty-Five
Balam
We trained every day from that day on. We didn’t stop to recover, we just kept going. We kept preparing and I kept my distance from the boy-king. I knew that if I started with him, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I had too much pent up anger toward him to be able to stop.
The entire castle knew we weren’t married now but after seeing what we did for the giants, they didn’t dare separate us. I didn’t mind it. I wanted to be close to Willow. There was something about reaching over in my sleep and feeling her breath. I didn’t want to let that go just yet. I knew my days with her were numbered and my time would be up before both of us knew it. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving, especially with her being a magnet for danger but I knew my duty. If Hel called me home, I had no other choice.
So instead of sleeping those nights, I illuminated the room with my magic and watched her sleep. I watched her chest rise and fall. Listened to her speak in her native tongue and watched as she scratched at her tattoo. During the day she didn’t put any attention on the brand, but at night in her dreams, she tore at it. She tried to rip it free from her skin. Every morning she would wake with no recollection of it. Her hair was fanned out around her face and there was one piece that had fallen over her nose. I usually stayed on my half of the massive bed, but tonight I couldn’t let the hair stay there. There was an itch in my hand to move it. I scooted close to her and lifted the strand away from her face.
Her bright eyes snapped open and she stared at me. “What are you doing?”
“You had hair on your face.” My voice was soft as I tried to reassure her I wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“If you had been sleeping you wouldn’t have known.” She pulled the covers over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Why is there light on?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was going to try to read.”
Her eyes found my lies as they searched the area around me for a book. “Were you watching me sleep?”
“Yes,” She had caught me and I could no longer lie. I didn’t want our friendship based on that. I adored her and I wanted her to know it but as much as I wanted to, I could not act. There were other suitors lined up and I was only the first.
She let out a soft sigh and rolled on her side, away from me. “As long as I don’t drool, I guess that’s fine.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Cal
We were preparing to leave and only had a little time left. Madam Colver was getting food together and taking care of the goblins. Nico was talking with Willow and Balam was smiling at me like he always did. Like he knew something I didn’t know. I had no doubt that he knew plenty I didn’t know but it irked me because I knew he was doing it in refe
rence to Willow. They had, after all, shared a room together during their stay here. I doubted it was romantic because Willow didn’t return the heated looks but it bothered me all the same.
“You love her,” Ailia said as she watched Willow march by.
“I do,” I admitted.
“Why don’t you marry her then? What’s holding you back?” Ailia braided her hair over her shoulder. Her fingers worked quickly as she plaited the blue mass.
“I don’t ever want to hold her back. She is fierce, wild, and she deserves to be free.” I clutched my hands in front of my body. “When we see something wild, we usually try to tame it and make it ours. That will never be the option for Willow. I would never try to break her.”
Ailia nodded her head in understanding. “Thank you for what you have done for my people and my friends. You will always have a place here and with the giants. They had returned to their homes but they have much vengeance and will be waiting for your call. Our people will march with you and I am sad to see you go. I have enjoyed your friendship.”
Lawrence approached us and Ailia bowed to me before she walked away. Bea met her at the castle doors and gave me a look of hatred. I waved to her and she turned around quickly.
“I want you to marry one of my daughters. I want to bridge our kingdoms but Ailia is insisting on being an advisor only. She is headstrong and intelligent. She would report back to us on your kingdom and trades. We know these lands better than anyone and trade would benefit both of us. I’m sure you have raw materials that we would find valuable.”
“King Artrovia, we are in the middle of a war. I can’t establish a trade route at the moment. But I do appreciate how you get right to the point.” I kept my voice soft as I tried my best to explain the situation.
