Bloodthorn

by Tamara Grantham

I couldn’t meet his gaze. “You were?”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I said.

  “You don’t? Why not?”

  “I believe that you would have felt guilty had I been killed, which would have been bad for your quest and would have led to the fairies’ stone being transported to a place where it could never be found again. So, yes. I can see why my death would have frightened you. It would have spelled doom for your mission to rescue the gemstone. Defeat is a hard thing to live with.”

  “I was frightened for other reasons, Olive.”

  “No, you weren’t.”

  Up here, away from Earth, secluded from the rest of the world, those dark times seemed like they’d never happened—a nightmare I had trouble remembering.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “It doesn’t matter now. None of it matters now.”

  He nodded, then moved his hand away. “At one time, when I was a child, I hated it out here. My parents would send me down to Grandamere’s cottage while they went away to battle or made a pilgrimage. This was a cage to me. I spent most of my time wondering when I would get to leave. But now, it has become a sanctuary. It’s funny how your perspective changes as time passes—funny how your feelings change, as well.”

  He propped his elbows on the railing and rested his chin in his hands, his gaze seeming a million miles away. “I suppose you’ve come here to demand that I return to the keep?”

  “Yes, that had been my intention.”

  “I see.”

  “They need you, Kull. Rolf—he’s no king. He sticks his foot in his mouth every chance he gets. If he’s supposed to negotiate with the other races, then every nation on the planet will go to war by the end of the week. He has no tact. He’s offensive—and although I know he has a good heart—he isn’t observant like you are. He once told me that Ket was prettier than me—”

  Kull laughed. “Did he?”

  “Yes. Also, he was baffled as to why you had chosen me over Ket. Although,” I said with a sigh, looking out toward the mountains, “I realize that isn’t the case any longer.”

  Kull didn’t answer, so I ploughed ahead. “I think you know as well as I why Rolf shouldn’t rule.”

  He shook his head. “No matter how bad he is—how tactless, how inept, how young—he will do a better job than I ever could. I am the king no more. I am broken. I deserve nothing. I know you don’t understand, but that’s the way of it.”

  “So, you will stay here, hiding in Grandamere’s cottage, forever?”

  “Yes, if I must.”

  Honestly, it didn’t sound like such a bad idea. The fairies would become dark creatures, the plants would suffer, the magic would fade, and the world would most likely die. But if one refused to face the consequences and think only of the moment, then the plan was flawless.

  “Kull, I know you’ve been through a lot. The death of a parent is one of the worst traumas a person can go through, and you never had a moment to grieve—”

  “He is not the only one I lost.”

  I didn’t make a reply. If he was referring to losing me, then he shouldn’t have. He’d made the decision for us to separate, not me. If he was unhappy about the decision, then he only had himself to blame.

  “Once I return,” he said, “I will be king once again. I will have to make decisions based on the kingdom’s well-being first, not my own. I will be forced to marry out of duty. For now, my engagement to Ket has been dissolved, but if I return, that may no longer be the case.”

  “Your engagement is off?” I asked, surprised. “What happened?”

  “I haven’t told anyone yet, but Ket hates me just as badly as my men. I admit that I have no feelings for her. I went forward with the engagement because it’s what my father would have wanted. But when we arrived back at the fortress two days ago, I found that she had cleaned out my father’s chambers without permission, and while I was upset, it was my mother who sent her away. Believe it or not, she can be worse than my father at times.”

  “Are you sure Ket will take you back if you return?”

  He shrugged. “Whether she does or not makes little difference. I will still be forced to marry out of duty. There are others in similar positions who would make a suitable match, someone for whom I have no affection.

  “My own personal feelings have no place in that world you’re asking me to return to. I tell you this so you may fully understand what you are asking me to do.”

  Did he want me to support his decision to abandon his duties as king? I couldn’t do it. No matter how hard it was to say, I couldn’t let him leave his people. At a time like this, with war looming closer every day, with the fate of the fairies’ stone hanging in the balance, they needed him more than I did.

  “I understand that you will have responsibilities again, and that you will be obligated to marry. But before that—and more importantly—you will fulfill your oath to the fairies. You will search for the bloodthorn and reclaim the stone, and then you will most likely return to the Northlands, where you will negotiate territory with the elves. There, does that sum—”

  He grabbed my waist, pulled me to him, and pressed his lips to mine. Shock overrode all rational thought. His lips were firm and commanding, and he kissed me with a passion so intense the hairs on my arms stood on end. Sounds faded. The world blurred. I existed only in that moment. He and I together, my heart beating wildly.

  He ran his hands down my arms, then cupped my elbows and trailed his fingers along my fingertips.

  The kiss deepened, and my entire body tingled with excitement. A tiny moan escaped my lips, which only goaded him more. He pressed his hands to my back, drawing me closer, so close I felt his hardened muscles pressed against my chest, our breathing heavy. Need welled inside me, an ache so intense it was almost painful.

  When he pulled away, I stared, shocked, wondering what had provoked that. Was he well? Perhaps he’d had a momentary lapse of judgment. Perhaps he’d forgotten that he’d dumped me.

  “When I leave this place,” he said, “I cannot be who I am now. Do you understand?”

  “You’ll become King Skullsplitter again. Yes, I get it.”

  He lifted my chin, a bemused smile on his face. “Skullsplitter?”

  “It’s your nickname.”

  “I see. How long have you been calling me that?”

  “Since I first met you.”

  “Were you ever going to tell me this?”

  “Of course not. I only tell you now because I know we’ll never be together again. I’m entitled to calling you whatever names I like.”

  “Fair enough. Then by all means, call me what you will. You should do it now rather than later.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m curious to know what you think of me.”

  I blew out a breath of air. It was getting more difficult to keep the tears away. “You’re selfish,” I said. “And prideful. You’re also arrogant, rude, and you don’t listen.”

  “Really? Is that all?”

  “No. You are a liar. Even more, you are an oath breaker. You promised you would always be there for me, and then you left.”

  He grabbed my hands between his. “I meant what I said. I did not know what the future held.”

  “It doesn’t matter. An oath is an oath. Once you give it, you can’t change it—I believe you are the one who told me that.”

  “Olive—”

  “You are also infuriating. You are a scoundrel, a coward, and I regret ever falling in love with you. I regret it every day of my life, and if I had the ability to erase my memories, I would erase every single memory I have of you.” I looked away. “There. That pretty much sums it up. I’m done.”

  He held me close. “I still love you, too,” he said quietly.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Kull and I watched as evening turned to dusk across the Wult mountains, ocher light turning gray as the sun disappeared behind us. We
’d stood on the deck overlooking the river until the air had grown chilly and we’d descended to walk the forest path. We held hands, and I refused to let go of him, because when I did, I knew it would be one of the last times I would ever be close to him again.

  “What happens next?” I asked.

  “I will walk you back to the keep,” he said, “and then I must return to Grandamere’s cottage,” he said. “She’ll worry if I don’t come back.”

  The moon rose over the forest, dappling the ground with its bluish glow, enveloping us, casting its moonbeams on our entwined hands. Kull didn’t say anything, but I held his hand so tight I was certain to have crushed his bones.

  He shouldn’t have kissed me, because now, leaving him behind would be a thousand times harder.

  “Tomorrow,” he said, “I will return to the castle.”

  “You will?”

  “Yes. I can’t hide any longer. Now that you’ve recovered, we cannot afford to delay our quest anymore. I will complete the journey to track the bloodthorn, but I will make no promises to succeed. If I choose to take back the crown, it will be when I am ready.” He sighed. “I don’t know how we will track that cursed creature. He disappeared into the wild lands, and tracking anything in that wasteland is suicidal.”

  “I suspect the wild lands aren’t his final destination,” I said. “He’s trying to get to the top of Dragon Spine Mountain—that’s where he tried to make me take him. That’s where the entrance to the undiscovered land is located. If we take the light-rails, we may be able to catch up before he gets there.”

  Kull stared out over the mountains, his face pensive. “Something’s not right, Olive. I feel we’ve been tricked from the start.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. “Something feels wrong. I don’t know how to describe it in more detail—except that I suspect we’ve been misled.”

  Sighing, I couldn’t deny that I felt the same way.

  “What do you know of the undiscovered land?” he asked.

  “Nothing. A year ago, I didn’t even know it existed. Geth took me there once, after he’d captured Mochazon, but I know that dark magic exists there, and I know that the Regaymor, the bloodthorn, and the spider we fought in the unicorns’ forest all come from that place.”

  “So, there’s a dark world beneath our own, and no one seems to know anything about it?”

  “Yes. Not even my stepfather could tell me more, which is why I suspect the entrance to the undiscovered land is impossible to get through except by creating a portal. It’s also possible that this is the case inside the undiscovered land.”

  “If that is so, then how were the creatures we have battled able to escape?”

  “The Regaymor created portals, which explains how they were able to navigate from their world to ours, but it’s my suspicion that the bloodthorn and spider did not have strong enough magic to open the sort of portal they would need to break through the barrier.”

  “Then how did they escape?”

  “I don’t know. We may not have our answer until we reach the top of Dragon Spine Mountain.”

  “The elven girl we met in the unicorns’ forest, could she have opened a portal?”

  “I don’t believe so. Her magic would need to be incredibly powerful, and since she wasn’t even able to stop us, I doubt her power was strong enough.”

  “Then we are left with a mystery as to how the two creatures escaped, and I fear we won’t like the answer.”

  “I agree. It doesn’t bode well for us—or for anyone, for that matter.”

  The path broadened, and I spotted the tops of the fortress’s towers, dark parapets against a star-flecked sky. I squeezed Kull’s hand, not wanting to let go, never wanting to let go.

  I had trouble understanding why he refused to let me into his world of war and politics. His own father had married and found balance between being a king and husband, but perhaps the relationship I had with Kull wasn’t to the point of discussing a future between us. Still, I could only assume that he didn’t want me because I was not a Wult, and—as his father had told me once—if Kull chose to marry, it would be for the purpose of unifying the kingdom.

  I was half-elf, half-human, hardly what one would consider noble blood, and I spent most of my time on Earth. I had a job there that would be impossible to part with.

  Perhaps we just were never meant to be together. He was a king now, and I was still a nobody. But did that really matter to him? It never had before, and I didn’t think it would now. What then? Why did he feel he needed to keep us apart while he ruled the kingdom?

  The thought nagged me until we reached the steep steps leading to the back entrance. I stood on the bottom step, but instead of entering the keep, I faced him.

  My stomach suddenly soured. He was leaving me. It was happening all over again. We’d shared a moment together, but now the pain and heartache—my two closest and constant friends—would come back again.

  This time, I wanted an explanation.

  He’d told me it was because he was king and he’d had duties and obligations, but there had to be more to it. If it was because he didn’t love me, then I didn’t believe him. I saw the intensity in his eyes when he looked at me. He felt the same way about me that I felt about him.

  “Kull,” I said, cupping his cheek, “Why?” I asked. “Why can’t I be part of your life?”

  He rested his hand atop mine, then gave me a gentle kiss. “You already know the reason. You made the decision for me, and no matter how much we both hate it, we also know what’s best—not for us, but for everyone else.”

  He turned away, leaving me alone on the castle steps.

  I watched him go, feeling resolute. I wouldn’t cry. I’d wasted too many tears on him already. He’d left me twice now, and I wanted to hate him. I wanted every name I’d called him to be the complete truth. But instead of anger, I only felt emptiness.

  When I entered the castle, unanswered questions plagued me.

  Why can’t we be together? Is it really for the good of the kingdom, or is there more to it—something he isn’t telling me?

  I stopped by a tall set of windows that spanned from floor to ceiling. As I looked out over the landscape, the bright moon glow lighting the forests and snow-capped peaks, a thought came to me. What if Kull wouldn’t take me back because I made him happy? Would he be betraying the memory of his father if he lived here in this castle where his father had lived, enjoying life and living happily? If that were the case, then perhaps I still had a chance with him. I only had to make him understand his own motivations. But now, I wasn’t sure I would ever get the chance.

  I turned away from the window. My thoughts distracted me from keeping track of where I was going. Soon, I didn’t recognize any of the hallways I was passing through, when the sound of footsteps echoed behind me. Rounding, I found Prince Terminus walking with light footsteps toward me. His skin was paler than I was used to seeing, and the dark circles under his eyes made it look as if he hadn’t slept for a while.

  “Prince Terminus,” I said, “are you well?”

  He gave me a curt nod. “Yes, although it seems the crossing was quite a bit more difficult than expected and did not change us back to our true forms. I suspect the magic must not have been strong enough to transform us—or to heal our injuries. However, I am glad you have recovered. We were all worried about your health. I cannot help but feel responsible for putting you in harm’s way. This mission to retrieve our stone has not gone as smoothly as I’d expected, and now I fear I have caused great harm to not only you, but to others on Earth as well.”

  His words reminded me of Brent. Was he okay? I hadn’t seen him get attacked, but in all the confusion, he could have easily been hurt… or worse. I tried not to let my thoughts go to a dark place. Brent could take care of himself. Still, when I got a chance, I’d have to return to Earth and make sure he was okay.

  “Now that I have found you,” the prince said, “would yo
u be able to come see my sister?”

  “Is something wrong?”

  He hesitated. “She is physically well. However, she has become quite distraught. I thought perhaps you could help her.”

  “Sure,” I said to Terminus, “lead the way.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  I followed as he led me down the hallway and up a staircase. When we reached the top, we entered an open foyer and made our way to a door on the opposite end. He stopped at the door, knocked quietly, and then cracked it open.

  “Sister,” he said, “it’s me. I’ve brought Olive.”

  I followed him into the room, where I found the princess sitting in a high-backed chair near the room’s only window.

  Delicate moonlight seeped through the window in spiderweb tendrils, lightly draping its beams on the stoic features of her young, childlike face. With her puffy eyes and swollen, red nose, it didn’t take a genius to realize she’d been crying.

  “Hello Princess,” I said, coming to her side.

  I found a stool and placed it near her. As I sat, I noticed she was holding a bouquet of flowers with dark purple petals that fanned out around a yellow center.

  “The flowers are lovely.”

  She glanced at the flowers. “Molfüsbane. They only grow here in the Wult Mountains. Terminus found them.” She glanced up at him. “He is very good to me. He takes care of me when our parents cannot.”

  “You are fortunate to have him.”

  She nodded, then pressed a handkerchief to her nose.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked.

  “I am fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Esmelda,” Terminus said from his spot near the door, “she is here to help you.”

  “I understand, but… I really don’t need help. You shouldn’t waste your time worrying over me, Olive.”

  “But I’m here, aren’t I? What’s troubling you?”

  She shook her head. “Well, it’s…” She glanced at her brother. “It’s just… will I be stuck like this forever? It is so hard to walk about everywhere you must go—always walking.”