The Forgotten World

by Robin D. Mahle

  I squeezed my eyes shut against his reaction, not able to bear the disgust any longer. Of course, he wouldn’t want me now. I had let the king break our vows. Had let him mar my skin, first with his brand, then his lips.

  Shame burned from the inside out, and I couldn’t even form the words to deny what the king had said.

  The Idealist

  What had been soothing when Gunther was sleeping, bordered on awkward now that he was awake. He had dreamt of his mother rubbing soothing patterns on his scalp, only to awaken to BeLa’s fingers intertwined in his red curls.

  He cleared his throat and she jumped back, taking a fair amount of his hair with her. Gunther winced, which, of course, sent the girl’s lips racing once more.

  When she realized what she was doing, she paused and used her hands to slowly sign the word for apology.

  “It’s all right. I have a lot of hair.” Gunther couldn’t hold back a smirk. “I didn’t need that handful.”

  BeLa’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red, and something inside of him warmed.

  “Isn’t there a saying about ingrained habits desisting with difficulty?” She forced herself to say the words slowly.

  There was a long pause before her meaning caught up to him and he couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Yes. I believe you’re right.” He grinned.

  BeLa nodded and went on to explain how when he was unconscious she would talk to him every day. She’d gotten used to having a friend again.

  He watched her as she chattered, smiling every time her nerves caught up to her and she spoke too quickly. Barely resisting the urge to kiss her when she would blow a strand of hair out of her face, frustrated with herself, when she realized what she was doing.

  She was unlike anyone Gunther had ever met before. And he was fascinated.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Clark

  Addie’s speechlessness was like a physical stab wound, but her expression was even worse. Her eyes were shut against the accusation, like she couldn’t bring herself to deny it, even when I could see how she despised him.

  Does she think it’s true just because the bastard burned his name into her skin? Or did something else happen?

  Once again, I remembered the serum I had found in her room. Had she been planning this before? Gunther didn’t think so, but he admitted their chances to talk had been few and far between.

  Xavier cleared his throat, a reminder that none of this mattered if we would all be dead soon.

  “Your mutilation of her skin only proves what a psychopath you are,” I said with deliberate casualness. “Something I’m sure no one in this room doubted to begin with.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Adelaide.” One word, a command. Like she was a dog.

  I fumed.

  She opened her eyes to stare at him incredulously.

  “You can’t honestly expect me to hurt any of them?”

  “While your loyalties, My Queen, are dubious at best, so are your capabilities.” He turned to his guards. “Fetch me an example. No one important yet. This will be painless.”

  The hulking man grabbed one of the Levelian locals whose name I didn’t know, a middle-aged man, and hauled him away from the others.

  The king raised his hand in a gesture to stop, then waved the guard away. Before the man could even think about running, the king had pushed a single finger to his bracelet and the green beam near the “example” glowed brighter until the man disintegrated into pink mist.

  Cries rang out around the room, but I was frozen. I had seen more than my share of death, much of it these past few weeks, some of it by my own hands, but this was something else entirely.

  The Levelians we worked with and fought against had all manner of weaponry we had never seen or even dreamed about before. Shields that could be called with the press of a button and glowed a see-through purple when activated, arrows that seemed to flame of their own accord, and even a few higher-ranking soldiers had the ability to shoot what could only be described as lasers from their crystal-hilted daggers.

  None of it had come close to this. The way a person had been standing there moments ago and was now nothing more than scattered molecules in the air around us.

  I fought back a gag, something I hadn’t had to do since the beginning of my training with...the general. For the first time since we went over the plan, rather than being suspicious of his whereabouts, I was just glad he wasn’t here.

  Though it rankled that I still cared at all what he thought of me.

  My eyes slid back to where Addie was holding her own stomach, tears in her eyes and rage plain on her face.

  “I won’t stand by and let you hurt anyone else,” she told him, hand going to her necklace.

  “Don’t be too hasty with that threat, dear wife.” He shot her a condescending smile. “We both know you are limited. The amulet can only do what you can do. You can’t focus your mind on a dozen specific guards spread out amongst your friends.”

  “I can, however, focus a great deal of power on one person.” Addie’s face hardened, something in her tone reminding me uncomfortably of the man she was so boldly threatening.

  “You could,” he allowed. “But if my heart stops beating, and these crystals no longer sense my pulse, the room does have a fail-safe mechanism.”

  “And once again, everyone dies so you get what you want.” She shook her head.

  “Were you ever truly planning on staying married to me?” There was an edge beneath his curiosity.

  “Of course not.” Addie actually breathed out a laugh. “No more than you were planning on treating me with any sort of dignity or respect.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I have a great deal of respect for you, Adelaide. So much so that I almost felt guilty about my plans for your unfortunate accident once you had outlived your usefulness. Tell me, will it be even more difficult for you to play the dutiful wife, knowing that’s what we have in store?”

  “I don’t know,” she spat back. “I suppose if you wish to know how I play wife, you’ll have to ask my real husband.” She gestured to me, defiance lighting up her amber eyes.

  “Well if that’s your main setback, that can be remedied quite easily.” He moved his hand toward his bracelet. I dove for the ground, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I wasn’t even halfway there when a brilliant green light exploded from Addie’s direction, blinding in its intensity.

  Silence, deafening and tangible, descended on the room. Like the day of the explosion, only I couldn’t quite figure out what Addie had done.

  She collapsed to the floor near the king. He made no move to help her, of course. He looked as confused as I felt about whatever she had done, though.

  Until I lunged for her, and he pressed another button on his bracelet. And nothing happened.

  For that matter, the purple-tinged wavy air around a few of the guards had disappeared. SuEllen furrowed her brow and touched her hand to her armband.

  Nothing.

  Addie had disabled every piece of technology in the room, which meant we had gained the advantage again.

  I looked at her prone form.

  But at what cost?

  I ran toward her, ready to murder the king or anyone else who got in my way. Sure enough, the man jumped to his feet, producing a sword from somewhere in his layered garments.

  I heard the clang of battle beginning behind me. It didn’t matter right now, though. I only had one goal.

  Addie. I needed to see if she was okay. I didn’t have time to engage the king right now, even if he did deserve it.

  Fortunately, I didn’t have to. A figure appeared at my side, and the king’s eyes widened.

  “I don’t truly blame you, you know,” SuEllen said.

  He gaped at her, and a small, grim smile crept onto her face.

  “For sending me away. You were right to be afraid of me.” He backed away, but it was too late. In one swift motion, she had drawn her bow and shot an arrow cl
ean through his skull.

  It seemed an easy end for all that the detestable man had done, but if the general had instilled anything in me, it was that justice was rarely ever served the way we wanted it to be.

  I stepped over his motionless body, not giving the former king, the person who had wanted glory above all, so much as a glance in death. Behind me, I heard soldiers dropping their weapons and surrendering.

  I didn’t care about any of that right now. I knelt beside Addie, placing my hands on her small neck. Relief crashed over me. Her pulse was light, but it was there, steady and real. I touched my forehead to hers, breathing in her scent, just grateful she was alive.

  “Remove him before my daughter sees.” SuEllen pointed to her fallen former husband. “I’ve sent for her and Gunther,” she added to me.

  Because BeLa was interested in medicine, I realized. Xavier was at my side in an instant, already checking out Addie’s vitals before SuEllen’s soldiers made it to the dais.

  The women unceremoniously dragged the usurper’s body out the back door while the Court muttered anxiously amongst themselves. SuEllen placed the crown on her niece’s head, and Nell sat proudly on the throne.

  “What of the traitors?” one of the Levelian soldiers from the ship asked.

  “There has been enough blood spilled within these walls for a lifetime.” Nell’s expression dared anyone to argue with her. “I said I wanted peace, and I do.”

  “Sometimes peace comes at a cost,” the captain whispered to her.

  “And I dare say we have paid it in spades.” Nell didn’t look like someone who had just won a kingdom, but in that moment, there was no doubt that she was Queen.

  The Idealist

  There were things Gunther loved about being at the palace. He loved catching up with his father and getting closer to the girl who was like a sister to him.

  He loved spending hours talking with BeLa about their lives or theories, inventing things with her, throwing stars with her, kissing her. Especially that last one.

  But he hadn’t seen his brothers since he nearly died. Knowing that after everything, they believed him dead, knowing what that would be doing to them…it was like being stabbed all over again.

  So when his father and BeLa came to him with a chance to go to them, even though it killed him to see the tears forming behind her eyes, he had no choice. He had to go.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Adelaide

  The second time I woke in the gilded bedroom, there was no pain. I was warm and safe. Strong arms wrapped around me, and I started to wonder if it just a rare good dream.

  But there was something licking my face.

  I snapped my eyes open.

  “Shensi!” I threw off the arm that was around me so I could squash my feline to my chest, burying my head in her fur while she purred so loud that it nearly drowned out the sound of grumbling from behind me.

  Familiar grumbling.

  I turned slowly around, not quite sure whether I was more elated or alarmed to find Clark there, shirtless and propped up on one muscled arm. He was peering at me with a bemused look on his face from underneath his sleep rumpled black hair.

  All I could do was stare at him in silence. I didn’t know what had happened. Didn’t know where we stood. Didn’t know if I had the energy to talk about any of it right now.

  But he was in my bed. So that half-answered at least two of those questions. Maybe.

  A low rumbling sound distracted me. Clark wasn’t the source of the thunderous snore. Not this time, anyway.

  “What is that?” It seemed an easier question than the thousands of others going through my head.

  He blinked, as though he was surprised to hear my voice.

  “Biscuit is not a that.” He finally answered, feigning a look of offense. “Biscuit is a she.”

  At the sound of its name, the dog lifted her head and perked up her ears.

  “You adopted her?” I asked, laughter in my tone.

  “More like she adopted me,” he smirked.

  My teeth gnawed at my lower lip, that expression eliciting reactions from me I was still too tired to act on. If he even wanted me to. Then again, he was sleeping next to me, so there was that.

  “What happened?” I didn’t have the nerve to ask about his presence or what it might mean yet.

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “He was going to kill you, and I just knew I couldn’t let that happen...” I trailed off. “So, I guess the amulet reacted to my panic?” I put my hand on the necklace that once again dwarfed my clockwork locket.

  “That might be something to keep an eye on.” His tone was serious, for a change. “You could have died.”

  Emotions swirled in his eyes, panic and fear and pain and relief. But I couldn’t force myself to respond to any of them just now.

  “I’m working on it,” I said wearily instead. “Now, your turn.”

  “The captain killed the king. My father protected Nell. The Court slunk away with their tail between their legs. Am I missing anything? Oh, Nell is Queen. Obviously.”

  “Well then.” It was a lot to take in. But it sounded like we kind of won. “Is it over?” And if it was, where did we go from here?

  “For now,” he answered, his eyes still studying mine. He wanted something, but I wasn’t sure what. Finally, he asked me outright. Kind of.

  “Did he...are you...” He trailed off, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

  Oh. We were talking about that now.

  “Nothing happened,” I assured him.

  His eyes squeezed shut in relief, and I realized that wasn’t the entire truth.

  “I mean, he kissed me,” I admitted. Now it was my turn to look uncomfortable.

  Clark swallowed, and I looked away.

  He put a hand under my chin, pulling my gaze back to him. “I wish I could bring him back to life so I could kill him again, Addie. But don’t you dare get it in your head that any of this is your fault.”

  Then he steeled himself once more.

  “Are we okay?”

  Were we? I wasn’t sure how to answer that. I could have turned the question around, and a few months ago, that’s exactly what I would have done. But if he had the nerve to ask, I could muster up an answer for him.

  “There’s been so much,” I began. “But, I think…” I reminded myself that Clark loved me. That he had taken chances on me, and it was my turn to put myself out there. “I think the short answer is yes.”

  His expression shifted from worry to a satisfaction that bordered on cocky.

  He leaned in, slowly, carefully gauging my reaction just as he had the first time he kissed me. I met him halfway, relishing in the way he pressed his warm, soft, incredible lips to mine.

  That kiss, that moment, was everything to me. And I hated to ruin it. But...

  “But what about this?” I lifted my branded wrist.

  “What about it?” Clark asked nonchalantly.

  I scowled, punching him lightly in the arm.

  “Hurt your hand?” he asked.

  “Oh, shut up. You know what I mean. We aren’t married anymore.”

  “Well, technically I’m still married to you.” He lifted his wrist. “Does that mean that you’re my wife but I’m your...mistress?”

  I glared at him, though in truth, his making light of it kept me from breaking down.

  “This is not funny, Clark!”

  “All right, all right.” He raised his arms in a gesture of surrender before crawling out of bed.

  “That’s not what I—” I started to say, fighting back irrational tears at him leaving me or my bed or my arms again. That was just one of many things we would need to address, at some point.

  But instead, he walked around to my side of the bed and knelt down. My eyes widened.

  “The first time you married me, we didn’t know what we were doing. I guess you could say that’s still true, in a sense.” H
e smirked, and I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. “I told you then, I was willing to see where this went.

  “And now, I’ll tell you that it’s so much more than that. I love you. I love your stubbornness and your brilliance, the kindness and vulnerability you try so hard to hide from the world. I love you even when I hate you, even when you scare the hell out of me.

  He paused, his expression going dark.

  “I know that our relationship started out rocky. Merde, it’s still that way. I know that I hurt you after Gunther died, and I have spent every single waking moment of the last few weeks wishing I could take that back.”

  I opened my mouth to respond to that, though I wasn’t honestly sure what I would say. I was grateful, in a cowardly way, when he didn’t let me speak just yet.

  “I can’t take it back, but I can promise you it will never happen again, and that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

  They may have just been words, but they were a start. And he had said the rest of his life. I held my breath when I could see he wasn’t finished.

  “We were married by Levelian law, on a technicality. Now, I’m asking if you will spend the rest of your life with me because you choose to, because you want to, like I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Tears brimmed in my eyes, and it was a moment before I could speak.

  “And Shensi?” I asked, mischief in my tone.

  “I’ll take everything that comes with you, Addie. Your stupid cat. Your pain-in-the-butt best friend. And even your overbearing bodyguard.”

  I couldn’t take another moment without my lips on his. I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked against my mouth.

  “That’s an, I’ll think about it while I take a bath.” I smiled. Mostly, I was joking, but I did want to mull over what he had said in the light of everything we knew now about each other.