“Not anymore. Also, you are no longer allowed to speak to Solite guards. They will report to me or Ajax. You are done. If you try anything at all, I will have you locked up.”
Mother opened her mouth, but a knock sounded on the door, and Sage burst into the room followed by three giggly teenage girls. She threw herself at Zwaantie in a hug. “You’re in big trouble, missy. Leo told you not to come. Now I have to keep an eye on you.”
“I have guards.”
“Amateurs.”
Sage’s hair was a mess, and she reeked. “You smell like a farm.”
“I know. It’s so much fun. I’m moving to Sol.”
“Does Leo know this?”
“No. He’ll deal. The horse and I made up.”
Zwaantie laughed, grateful for Sage’s interruption. “Good.”
She looped her arm through Sage’s and left the room. Part of her hoped she never had to see her mother again.
Chapter 19
The Spell
Raaf was close to a breakthrough. He had to use magic, which he despised, but he had no other choice. He was losing. Magic always had the upper hand. So he would use his enemy’s weapon against them. Wilma had brought him a necklace the day they invaded Sol, and he’d been studying it nearly non-stop ever since.
He’d been testing the magic it used and found a handful of spells he thought would work. He drew one of the darkened orbs to him.
It was late. Long past midnight. He should sleep, but when at war, there was little time for that. Zwaantie would die one way or another. She had to. Chaos had already begun in his beautiful country. He rubbed at the scars on his arms.
The door slammed behind him, and he spun around and glared at Wilma. “Don’t you ever knock, woman?”
“Who else would bring you food?”
“I’m fine.”
She leaned on the counter next to him, ruffling his papers. “I have news.”
“What news?” he asked, flipping through a book.
“Zwaantie is in town.”
He shrugged.
Wilma nudged his arm. “I thought that would make you happy. She’s under this very roof. You could take her out easily.”
“She’s going to die soon enough anyway. It doesn’t matter where she is.” He wanted this wretched woman out of his workroom. She was distracting him.
Wilma gave him a look. “You’ve said that before.”
He flicked her necklace. “Why are you wearing one of those?”
“It’s not real. I got sick of people trying to force one on me.”
“Makes sense. You don’t have to worry much longer. Soon, everyone’s necklace will be as useless as yours.”
Wilma’s eyes lit up. “You’ve figured out how to turn them off?”
“I’m very close. If you leave me alone, I might actually finish.”
She cackled. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Good luck, Raaf.”
She clacked out of the room, and he continued working on his spell. He wasn’t sure what time it was. Late. Maybe two, when he nearly gave up. He threw the necklace into the air in frustration.
It fell through the orb in front of him. The clatter of the necklace dropping to his desk never came.
He stared at the orb. The necklace floated inside of it, and suddenly the orb lit up bright white.
He laughed and snatched the necklace out of the orb, running to the large orb in the middle of the room. He tossed the necklace inside and watched it sink into the milky center.
For a moment, nothing happened, and he held his breath. A small light flickered out of the corner of his eye. Then another. Soon lights were turning on all over the room. He sank to his knees. He’d succeeded. Tears of relief flowed down his face.
He waited until nearly every orb was lit and called out.
“Kill the queen,” he commanded.
Tomorrow would be a very different day.
Chapter 20
The Complication
Leo couldn’t sleep. He was worried about his and Zwaantie’s shared future. He paced late into the night and didn’t arrive to his room until near two. His guard stopped him before he went in and bowed. Leo was already tired of being king.
The guard stood tall again and hesitated. “Your Majesty, something is wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a voice in my head, like before.”
Leo gripped his arm. “Do you still have your necklace on?”
“I do. The Voice is telling me to kill the queen.”
Leo felt the blood drain out of his face. He pushed open the door where two more guards sat, looking confused.
“Can you hear it? The Voice telling you to kill the queen.” Leo was being rude and urgent, but he didn’t care.
Both hurriedly stood as he entered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Dammit. Zwaantie wasn’t safe. He flew out the door with only goal. He had to save her.
He might already be too late.
It was still the middle of the night when Leo hopped on the boat and headed out. He hoped against hope everyone was still sleeping. It would take him several hours to arrive, but he should be able to get a hold of Sage or Ajax when they woke up, and maybe they’d protect her. He’d tried both of their discs on the carriage ride to the boats, but neither answered. He tried Zwaantie as well, but she must’ve still been sleeping.
He collapsed on the couch in the hull of the boat and pulled out his disc once more. He had to talk to someone. There was no telling how far this had spread. Everyone he’d spoken to had the Voice. Why didn’t he?
“Call Mother.”
Lyra appeared almost instantly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“The Voice turned off the necklaces.”
She fiddled with her own. “I don’t hear a voice.”
“I don’t either, but everyone else does.”
Lyra tapped her chin for a moment. “Our necklaces are different.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, they have the spell to turn off the Voice, but they also contain protection and other spells.”
“Mine is a little different than yours though, right?”
“Yes.”
Leo let out a breath. “Okay, this is good news. Zwaantie’s is different as well. Ajax and Sage too.”
“Zwaantie’s guards don’t have different ones though.”
Leo clenched his fists. He had to get there before everyone woke up.
“Mom, can you get to the necklace maker and see if he can make a few different ones and test them. If they work, get the mass production started. Maybe we can fix this whole problem in a few days.”
Lyra nodded. “Let’s hope so, or Zwaantie will not survive.”
Chapter 21
The Rescue
Zwaantie woke late the next morning, the vipers still pounding at her door.
Vipers. No. That couldn’t be right. She was in Sol. She sat straight up. The thumping continued. Wait. What?
She grabbed her disc. She needed Sage, but it buzzed in her hand before she could do anything.
“You’re in danger,” Leo said as soon as she answered. “The Voice turned off the necklaces.”
“What?” she hissed. Then reality hit her. The people banging on the door wanted her dead. She thought for a half second before she jumped out of bed. “I have to go. Don’t call me again. I’m going to hide. I’ll send you a message when I’m safe.”
She ran to her wall where she had a secret passage and pressed the brick that opened the small door, then ducked in and quietly shut it. She hadn’t been in the passageway since she was a small child. As far as passages went, it was useless since the exit had caved in centuries earlier. But it had its advantages when playing hide-and-seek.
She hoped none of her assassins would find their way inside because then she’d be trapped. Her hope was that if they searched her room and found her gone, they would assume she escaped and would search
for her elsewhere.
She heard a clatter on the other side. “We know you’re in here, Zwaantie. Come out and play.”
She snorted. Yeah, right.
A silent message from Leo appeared on her screen. “Where are you?”
“Safe.”
“Are you in your room?”
“Yes. Secret passage.”
“Stay there. I’m about two hours away.”
Two hours. She’d only survive if they didn’t find their way inside.
Gruff voices sounded on the other side. “All these old castles have secret rooms. She must be hiding in one.”
Zwaantie stopped breathing. She wouldn’t be able to hide if they found the brick. She heard banging on the bricks. It was far from her, thank goodness. They’d never find her.
She held her breath as the banging got closer. Her heart raced. If they got lucky, they’d hit it. Even if they couldn’t find it, if the brick echoed, they would know she was on the other side, and they might break the door down.
A loud thud sounded way too close to her, and she jumped. She clutched at the necklace she wore. How was this happening? How come she couldn’t hear the Voice?
Another loud thud, and she jumped again.
“There’s nothing here. She must’ve climbed out the window.”
Loud footsteps led away from her, and she let out a sigh of relief. Now she had to hope no one else would search her room.
Time crawled by. She froze at each tiny noise. She wondered how Leo would get in there and why he didn’t have the Voice in his head either.
If the Voice figured out how to turn the necklaces off, she was somehow immune. Now more than ever she needed to find a way to destroy him. She’d have to disguise herself, but she’d find a way to kill him.
Something scratched on the wall, and she held her breath. The door opened, and she pressed herself as far into the passage as she could get. She picked up a stone in the hopes she might be able to knock her attacker out.
Footsteps crunched down the hall. A small part of her hoped it was Leo, but the face that appeared was unfamiliar.
“Lookie here. I found the queen.” He didn’t have a sword, but held a deadly curved dagger. She kept the stone next to her side, knowing her only advantage would be surprise. He advanced, and she pressed herself against the wall, planning to use it as leverage.
He lunged, and she moved right, putting all her strength behind the stone in her hand. She crushed it on top of his skull. The dagger grazed her arm, but the blow she’d delivered caused him to drop. Hard. She scrambled over him and out into her room, no idea where she would hide next.
She stopped dead. There were five soldiers, each with a sword pointed at her.
“Please don’t hurt me. I have no weapon. Take me to the Voice. Let me talk to him.” Maybe she could reason with him. Maybe she’d find a way to kill him. Maybe this was better than being skewered.
One of the guards cocked his head. “Kill the queen,” he said and advanced. Zwaantie stumbled backwards into the tunnel, knowing it was a dead end, and she was about to die. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the sword come at her.
She heard a squelching sound, but no stab came. She peeked. The guard fell to the floor, and Zwaantie met Leo’s eyes. She scrambled over the guard and threw herself at him. He held her tight.
“I was so worried. Are you hurt?”
“No,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
“Okay, lovebirds, let’s get you out of here.”
Zwaantie let go of Leo and found Sage standing near the entrance with four more guards dead at her feet. “Where have you been?” Zwaantie flung herself at Sage.
“Around.” Sage pushed her away. “We need to get out of here before anyone else comes.” She placed a finger on Zwaantie’s forehead and then Leo’s.
Zwaantie’s arms had gone wrinkly, and Leo was now as pale as a Solite.
“These illusions don’t last very long, but it should get you back to Stella. Leo, take her somewhere safe. I’ll stay and see if I can figure out how to make the necklaces work again.”
“Why do ours still work?” Zwaantie asked.
“Probably because they are different than everyone else’s. Lyra is working on testing other kinds. If they work, we’ll get them distributed in the next few days,” Leo said.
Sage nodded and motioned for them to follow. “Go hide. We’ll keep in touch.”
“Don’t they want to kill me there too?” Zwaantie asked.
“Yes, but I know where to hide in Stella. Let’s hurry,” Leo said.
Chapter 22
The Flight
Leo didn’t breathe easy until they were on the boat. Sage’s spell had held well enough that no one looked twice at them. Once he was far enough away from land, he sat next to Zwaantie, who hadn’t said a word.
Her illusion had fallen, and her beautiful eyes stared at him. He wasn’t used to feeling such panic. He’d been terrified he’d lost her. At first he thought his fear was because of losing the heir and the future of Stella. But as he traveled to Sol, he’d come to realize the carefully constructed wall he’d put around his heart had crumbled.
He loved this woman.
She’d crushed him more than once, and she could do it again, but he couldn’t imagine his life without her. She was a brilliant queen, gorgeous, and wonderful in ways she probably didn’t even understand. She was also reckless, but that was part of her charm.
He resisted the urge to kiss her. That wouldn’t go over well, not yet. He needed to give her time to grieve Ari. But he wanted a full life with her, and for the first time in a long time, he saw their future.
He took her hand in his own. “How are you?”
She let out a breath. “Scared.”
“I can imagine. Lyra, Sage, and those who work with them will get this all fixed. It should be safe for us in a few days.”
Zwaantie snorted. “Right, she’ll fix the necklaces until the Voice does something else, and then I’ll still die.”
“Have faith.”
“Faith? How can I have faith right now? My life is a living hell.” Her face twisted in pain, and he ached to comfort her but didn’t know how without crossing boundaries she might not want crossed.
He placed his hand over hers. “At some point, things will start getting better.”
She pulled her hand out from under his and crossed her arms. “Or I’ll die. It might be an act of mercy at this point.”
“You can’t mean that.” Leo couldn’t lose her. Not now.
She rubbed her forehead. “I know. It’s so frustrating to be constantly on edge. Never knowing what’s around the corner.”
“I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
Her face softened, and she scooted closer to him, putting her hand on his knee. He tried not to read too much into it. “Thank you for rescuing me. It means more than you know. I would be dead right now if not for you.”
“I will always rescue you. As long as you are alive, I will protect you.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I’m worried about the others. Will Ajax be safe?”
“He’s hiding as well. He’ll return to Stella if the Voice is still a threat after a few days. We can’t risk the Voice putting an assassination order on him as well.”
“The Voice needs to be destroyed.”
“We’ll find a way. I’m having several books that we can use to research possibilities delivered to our hiding place,” Leo said.
“Books on what? I thought you didn’t know much about Sol.”
“Old books. Histories of how things were before the wall was even created. If we can find the source of the Voice, we can learn where it is and how to get rid of it.”
“That’s a good idea. Everyone I love is in danger.”
“Everyone is taking precautions. At the moment, you and I are the most at risk.”
She nodded. “Where are we going?”
“To a private island. Just me and you until th
ey work things out.”
Her jaw clenched. “You know, Ari and I stayed on an island right after we got married.”
He hated thinking about that time. “Yes, I know.”
“Is this the same island?” Her eyes were full of tears.
“No. This is one near Deep Sky. It’s Candace’s retreat. The castle is larger than the one you and Ari stayed in.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Okay. Good. I’m sorry. I can’t go back there.” She wiped away a few tears.
“I understand.” It had actually been his first choice, but when he remembered she’d been there, he wrote it off. He didn’t want to stay in their love shack either. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be there, and he didn’t want it tainted with memories of Ari.
“Is this wise for you? Obviously, I need to go into hiding, but shouldn’t you be supporting your people.”
“This is the best thing I can do for them. I’m no good to my people dead.”
“It feels sort of wrong hiding when there is work to do.”
“We’ll be doing work. Trust me. But until we find a way to free them from the Voice, we’ll need to stay safe.”
“I need to go make sure the magic is guiding the boat correctly. I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you,” she said and looked out over the ocean.
He only had been gone a few minutes, but when he returned to her, her shoulders were shaking.
He forced her to look at him. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” She sniffed. He pulled her into him and just held her.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
She clutched at his vest. “I miss him so much.”
Those were not the words he wanted to hear, but he understood her pain.
“I know. Me too.”
Her blonde hair blew in the breeze. He wasn’t sure what the future would hold for the two of them, but he did know one thing. He’d do everything he could to keep Zwaantie alive. She was his everything.
Chapter 23
The Island
Several hours later the boat docked, and Zwaantie took a tentative step onto the island. It was different than the one she visited with Ari. For one thing, the sun beat down, and everything shown bright. The island she and Ari went to was mostly beach, but this one was very jungle-like. There was only a few feet of sand before lush green trees grew up around her.
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