“Yeah, Adele. We already talked about it and we’re all okay with it.”
“Fine! Go ahead and keep it up but do not expect me to be there when it falls apart and you get hurt!”
“I won’t.”
“Oh, please! You’re involving Kole in this! It’s guaranteed to happen!”
“You know, you’re being really bitchy this morning, Adele.” Kole said.
“Just explaining the truth. You’re an expert when it comes to making her feel miserable.”
“Adele!”
“Okay.” Kole let Jaylyn’s hand go and got up to his feet. “I don’t need to sit here and take this. I’ll be outside preparing the horses because we leave the second they get back.”
“Good.” Adele muttered. “It was getting hard to look at you anyway.”
Kole didn’t reply. He just kept on going and it was a good thing he did.
“That wasn’t very nice.” Jaylyn said. “I already explained it to you.”
“Well, you know what?! Maybe I just don’t understand it! He’s a bad influence on you and just when we thought you finally got away, you go right back but this time you drag Troy into it!”
“I never asked him to. He suggested it.”
“It’s true.” I agreed.
“Okay, fine!” Adele sighed, just getting more frustrated. “I don’t care, okay? The outcome is your problem, not mine.”
“I’m fine with that.”
Silence hit the room yet again but this time for longer.
Several minutes went by where no one was speaking a word until a door opened.
“Jay, relax.” Ryon said since she was first to react. “They’re probably just coming out.”
“I know.” Darius walked out of the room first and it appeared that he was alone. “What happened? Where is he?”
He laughed from the sound of Jaylyn’s urgent questioning and glanced back at the room. “He’s fine. He’ll be back out when he wakes up.”
“Wakes up?! What does that mean?!”
Darius laughed even harder. “I was just kidding! He’s still conscious and right there.”
Jaylyn sighed from the sudden shock when she saw Troy step out of the room with Zayden and she got right up to go over to him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Of course I am.”
“They’re on their way back.” Zayden said. “We should get ready to go.”
I didn’t want to yet but we ended up getting ourselves ready just in time for Aleksander and Trever to make it back.
“Good.” Adele said. “We’re ready.”
“Good. Jaylyn, your horse.” Aleksander got down off of Rajet and gave her the reins. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh, no. Not at all. Glad he was here to help.”
“As am I. Thank you.”
“Well, it’s been a pleasant morning, hasn’t it?” Trever asked.
Kole seized from making eye contact with him and no one seemed to really seem happy at all. I only wasn’t because I wanted to do nothing some more but it was good that we were getting out.
“Perhaps a day out in the fresh air will do some good for everyone then.” Aleksander said.
Travel was silent. No conversations were made and hardly any eye contact between riders. Adele and Zayden rode together and were leading the front with Aleksander and Trever trailing behind. Darius and I were well behind them with Jaylyn and Troy just shortly after. Ryon and Kole held up the back and we kept it exactly this way as we traveled closer and closer towards the border. I wondered how things would change then.
Chapter 20
Zayden
We crossed the border into Seni by sunset through the great white stone arch.
My eyes were cautious tracing the rocky terrain for all I could see. I knew where we were. I knew we were home. Darkness was coming and I didn’t feel it would be safe for anyone to travel deeper into the unknown with visibility so low. Fog swallowed the mountain pass and with Adele riding next to me, I knew I couldn’t risk anything happening to her. “I think maybe we should stop for the night.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know. I feel something, something wrong like something’s waiting for us.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want. Just make the call. We’re in Seni now.”
I nodded and brought my horse to a stop. Adele stopped with me and we simply waited for others to catch up.
“What is it?” Aleksander asked.
“We should stop.”
Aleksander and Trever looked at each other.
“Any particular reason for that?” Trever asked.
“It’s going to be too dangerous to travel at night. I know we’re all going to hate it but it’ll save lives.”
“All right.” Aleksander replied. “Would you like to give the news?”
“What are we doing?” Ruby asked.
“We’re stopping.” I said, being the first to get off my horse with Adele, Aleksander and Trever following my lead. “The nights have become too dangerous from here on in. Troy and myself cannot be eyes for all of you and guarantee safe passage with just light from the moon.”
“So, now what?” Troy asked.
“We do it right. Adele will build us an impenetrable fortress with a place for the horses inside granted if she feels any of you are worth actually saving.”
She stood with her arms crossed and looked at everyone. “I suppose I will anyway whether any of it is true or not.”
“Good. We’re going to get this out in the open right now. We’re not alone out here.”
“What? What do you mean?” Jaylyn asked with a deeply concerned voice.
Ruby rolled her eyes as she said it. “You know how much you annoy me sometimes? You’re a killer, Jaylyn. Can you grow a backbone, please?”
“Well, it’s disturbing news. How could anyone sleep knowing that?”
“That’s why I want it to be looked into.” I said. “We need to know who’s been through here recently.”
Everyone seemed to know what I wanted because everyone all turned their eyes right to Ryon after I said it. “There’s a group of Senian spies to the north that are still here and raiders farther to the east waiting for us.”
“Great. Thank you. Adele, you should cover us.”
She nodded and moved away from me, holding her hand up to the ground. It cracked loudly within the mountains and a large hole opened up with a steep slope going down inside. “Bring the horses in. It’ll be safer inside.”
We followed her instruction without a word and the horses were all led down into the large underground chamber.
Chapter 21
Jaylyn
“Ready yet?”
I was focused on what I was doing and didn’t even notice that Troy stayed behind. “Just go in. You don’t need to stand here. I’ll be right in. Promise.”
“Okay. Just hurry.” He kissed my head and turned to go inside.
By the time I got everything off Rajet and got him ready for a night of rest, I noticed Kole was out by the entrance by himself. I smiled and crept up to him. “Hey, Blackbird!”
I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind and Kole jumped to my presence but smiled. “Ah, hey, you can stop calling me that, Jay.”
He removed my arms from him and turned back around. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I knew better. “You’re lying. What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing, okay? Just go get some rest.”
“Well, are you coming to bed with us?”
“No. Not tonight, Jay.”
“Why?”
He lost his laugh by replacing it with a depressed sounding sigh. “Adele was right.”
“What do you mean?”
“This morning when she was yelling at me.”
“Oh, Kole, don’t—”
“It’s okay, Jay. You know she was anyway. I don’t want to make this complicated for you. I know you love Troy. This was
never about me. I realized I’ve just been trying to hang onto something that I’ll never have.”
“Kole—”
“Please don’t, Jay. I said it’s okay. Go ahead and be with him tonight. Someone’s got to stay up anyway. It’s not safe for us all to sleep while we’re here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am. About everything. You’re going to have a great life with him.”
My expression stiffened and my eyes began to water. “Why does is sound like you’re saying good-bye to me?”
“Go inside, Jay. I need to stay focused.”
I still didn’t understand his behavior but did what he wanted and slowly started to back away with a heavy head.
“Jay, wait.” He pulled me back to him, keeping me close into his body and kissed me passionately on the lips. “I’m sorry. About everything.”
“Don’t do that again.”
He laughed. “I won’t. Get inside. You need to take this time to rest.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning then?”
He seemed hesitant to answer. “Ah, yeah. Goodnight, Jay.”
“Goodnight.” I turned away with a smile, a better feeling and went right inside. I used my gift to feel Troy’s presence and went to the room he was holding for us.
“There you are. Where’s Kole? He joining us tonight?”
“No. He feels the need to stay up for the rest of us.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you know, we’re in Seni now. The reality of how dangerous it is, is hitting him.”
“Oh, you’re right.”
“What?” He had this look like he had to do something.
“I was thinking I should talk to Zayden about that. We should be the ones staying up.”
“Troy, no! Why?”
“This is our country. We know it better. I don’t want anything happening to you.”
I sighed and quickly kissed him. “Okay. If you say so. Go ahead.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll just go to sleep and wait for you.”
“Okay. I’ll come back when I can.”
I nodded and kissed him again. “Be careful.”
Chapter 22
Troy
Everyone seemed to be closed in their own rooms and I snuck out of the shelter. No one seemed to be outside either. I looked around and used my vision to see through the fog and the dark. Kole was north and I didn’t hesitate to go after him. I couldn’t let him do this.
“Troy!” Zayden’s voice stopped me before I could take another step. “What are you doing out here?”
“I have to go after him.”
“Why?” Darius asked, following close behind Zayden.
“There may have been something I left out this morning.”
Zayden sighed. “Oh, no. What?”
“Kole has it in his head that his destiny is to die tonight.”
“What?! Is that really why you were nice to him?”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s not going to happen.”
“What is it you plan to do?” Darius asked.
“I’ll prove him wrong. He can make his own destiny.”
“Why do you care so much?”
“I’m not doing this for me. It will kill her if he dies.”
“Troy, you’re being—”
“What are you doing out here?” Kole appeared out of nowhere through the trees, cutting Zayden off.
This was my chance. “Kole, this is stupid.”
“And I agree. We don’t all need to be out here.”
“You shouldn’t be at all. By putting yourself at risk, you’re just trying to make it come true.”
“I thought I already told you, Troy? It can’t be changed.”
“You’re being irrational about this. It can if you just come back and do nothing.”
He laughed. “You’re even more of a fool than I had you pegged to be. Talk some sense into him, Zayden before he explodes from thinking it’s his job to save everyone.”
I stood stiff with my eyes still on Kole and Zayden took a step for me, reaching out for my arm. “Troy, would you just—”
“No!” I pulled away but kept my eyes right on Kole. “I know you’ve said you’ve tried to stop it but you haven’t tried hard enough and I don’t think it’s my job. Jaylyn will fall apart if you do this. That I won’t have. It’s like you said; she’s emotionally fragile.”
“But she’ll handle it because she’ll still have you.”
“But I can’t save her from this hurt that will never go away.”
“You haven’t tried hard enough.” Kole smiled to quote me this time.
“Kole, I don’t think—”
“Shh!” He held up his hand and turned his head to the east, listening to the sound of night echoing in the distance.
“What is that?” Darius asked.
I could hear it too. It was like a distant wind but Kole drew my attention back to him with a sudden louder voice. “Get down!” He threw his hand up in a hurry and the three of us were all pushed down to the ground.
Whistling sounds of arrows passed by, hitting trees and stones around us and I made sure to keep my head down, covered by my arms. The terrifying seconds of it stopped just as fast as they came and I looked up. I saw the arrows for myself and Kole standing in front of us with his back turned. His wings were out. They were massive and black as night but I noticed the several arrows punctured through them. He used them as a shield; for us.
I watched him touch his hand to his abdomen and slowly lift it to look at it. When he did, he dropped down to his knees and his wings fell limp.
We went right over, me leading the way. “No.”
Blood was on Kole’s hand and he was touching a single arrow embedded in the flesh of his stomach.
“No.” I muttered again, getting down next to him and sitting him back so he was almost laying.
“I told you.”
“No, you are not going to die.”
“You already know I will.”
I was in denial about the whole thing. There had to be away around this. “But—but you can heal fast, can’t you?”
“Not like Jay. This would take a day or two and I have maybe a minute.”
“What are you doing out here?”
It was Trever’s voice but I couldn’t look.
“What did you do?”
Now he was down next to me but I still couldn’t look.
“If you think we did this, you’re sadly mistaken.” Zayden said.
“He just saved us.” I muttered.
Kole was still breathing but it was deep with the sound of fluids gargling in his throat and Trever took his hand, trying to keep his grip strong. “Kole, stay with me.” He looked down at the arrow in his gut and put his hand near the blood. “Oh, fuck.”
“Don’t.” Kole muttered. “You know I won’t make it.”
“Don’t say that. You’re going to. You have to.”
I was glad he was hopeful but I didn’t know if I was anymore after hearing him speak like that.
“I’m sorry about this.”
“Don’t be.”
“And the times when we were kids and you were always punished for my mistakes and all those times I could never do what you asked of me. I only wish I could have served you better instead of thinking of myself.”
“No. You didn’t. You did well. I could have never of wanted anything more.”
Kole’s grip started to get shaky and his words were becoming weaker. “Still. It has been an honor growing up beside you—my King.”
His breaths faded and his eyes stared still towards the sky. It really happened. Kole was dead.
“No.” Trever was in complete denial about the whole thing while trying to shake him awake. “No.”
When that didn’t work, he broke down in front of us. He leaned over Kole with his forehead to his bloodied chest, gasping for his own breath like he were suffocating.
The reality of
it all started to hit me next and I felt his pain. I reach for his shoulder, to give him some kind of comfort but he wouldn’t take it. He shrugged my hand off and looked back at me with those winded breaths but his eyes; his eyes were a glowing gold and the rest of them black.
It startled me enough to back away and ask. “What is that?”
His skin looked translucent and black veins crawled up his neck to his face, heading straight for his eyes.
He didn’t say anything to me. He gripped his own chest in agony after this low cracking sound and his body began to convulse.
I looked at Zayden and Darius still standing feet away. They looked horrified but I was scared, scared for him.
“Don’t touch him.” Zayden said.
I didn’t know if I could help myself. Something was happening to him and someone had to help.
Trever sucked in the deepest breath I have ever heard when an arm wrapped around the front of his shoulders but it wasn’t mine. Bryce was with us, trying to subdue whatever was happening to Trever. His other hand was held at the back of his head and Trever’s breath finally started to wither to a more normal speed, his eyes fading back while the visible veins slithered back down his face and neck until they could no longer be seen.
When it was done or over enough that he looked normal again, Bryce pushed him forward so he was hunched over Kole’s body again. “You’d risk everyone’s lives for one simple loss? It’s weak and my son cannot be weak.”
“He was my friend.”
“King’s don’t have friends. They have people who do their will.”
“I’m not a King.”
“You should be. I cannot hold back the lion’s call for you again. You know what he wants.”
“I can’t. I was never that person.”
“You’ll always be that person. Show a little decorum for your family.”
“How can I? He just died.”
“What do you want from me?”
Trever got up and turned to him. “You know what I want and I’ll do anything for it; I’ll be King. Just—send him back to me.”
“I cannot. It was a miracle he survived this long.”
“What are you talking about? Kole was—”
Raining Light (Fate's Intent Book 5) Page 12
