No one was fooled though because the real ruler was the Voice. His influence was everywhere, and people were docile and obedient. Stellans changed their style so they looked more like Solites. Magic was tempered. The people learned fast that if they disobeyed the Voice, pain was imminent.
The Ticker was downright boring.
Zwaantie and Leo read as many books as they could get their hands on, but most of them didn’t contain any new information. When they couldn’t keep the words straight, they would watch movies and cuddle. He’d made no more moves to kiss her.
Her belly swelled. At night, she would talk to her baby and tell him stories about his father. He would grow up thinking Leo was his dad, but for now, Zwaantie could pretend otherwise.
“Let’s go swimming,” Leo said, late one afternoon.
Her hand went to her stomach. She’d been wearing clothes that hid it from him. If they went swimming, he would see it.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on. It’s hot. We’re not finding anything in these books.”
She let out a breath. “Okay.”
She changed and put on the only swimsuit Leo had brought over. It was bright blue and tiny. She threw a sundress over it, suddenly self-conscious. What would he think when he saw her? She let out a breath. This was silly. Why did she even care?
Leo stood in the entryway with a couple of towels slung over his shoulder. He took her hand, and they strolled outside. Zwaantie tried not to think too much of him holding her hand. He’d done that a lot since they’d been on the island. He was ready for things to go beyond just friends, but Zwaantie wasn’t. In the last few days though, she’d been increasingly aware of him.
Ari still lingered in her mind, but the pain had lessened. Her future lay with Leo, and it could be a future cut short by any number of things. The thought of running the kingdoms on her own wasn’t a pleasant thought. Though, she was more likely to die than he was. After the Voice turned off the necklaces, she didn't take anything for granted.
Down on the beach, Leo dropped the towels and slid off his sandals. She gathered up her sundress and pulled it over her head. A blush crept up her cheeks as she met Leo’s eyes.
Leo stared openly but didn’t say a word. She wished she could tell what he was thinking. He took two steps toward her and slowly reached out his hand and placed it on her belly. It was warm against her skin.
“There’s a baby in there,” he whispered. His face was so serious.
“Yes, there is.” His touch was gentle and sent a shiver down her spine.
He met her eyes, searching them. “We’re going to raise this baby together, right?”
“As far as the child will know, you are his father.” She wanted nothing more than for Ari’s child to grow up happy.
“If it’s a boy, we should name him Ari.”
She blinked back tears. Her heart hurt, but she could feel it starting to heal. “We should.”
“And if it’s a girl, we’ll just name our first boy after him.”
Zwaantie’s breath caught in her throat. He was speaking of future children. Of future love and happiness between the two of them. Words failed her, so she nodded, afraid tears would come if she opened her mouth. For the first time in a long time, those tears would be of happiness, not sorrow.
He dropped to his knees so his face was level with her stomach, his hands on her hips. He planted a kiss on her belly, and warmth flooded her.
“You’re going to be very loved, little baby.”
He pulled her close to him, searching her face, and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “So will his mother. You look stunning, by the way.”
Leo had kissed her many times before they were married, but Zwaantie hadn’t enjoyed them. This time, as he dropped his lips toward hers, she knew it would be different. She was ready to be loved again.
“Hey,” a voice called, and Leo leapt away, pushing her behind him. She crouched down. No one had set foot on the island since they arrived. It wasn’t safe for Zwaantie if they did. Everyone knew this. Fear crept into her heart. They’d been safe for so long. Would the Voice finally succeed in assassinating her when she’d finally started allowing herself to be happy again?
Chapter 24
The Truth: Part 1
Zwaantie peeked around Leo. Sage and Phoenix strolled up the beach. Relief flooded Zwaantie. She rushed around Leo and crushed Sage in a hug.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered into Sage’s ear.
“Me too,” Sage said, her voice flat.
Zwaantie pulled away. Dark purple lines were under Sage’s eyes, and where her lips were normally turned up into a smile, they formed a tight line.
“What’s wrong?” Zwaantie asked, searching for some clue as to what might be going on.
Sage wiped sweat off her forehead. “A lot. I want to get out of the sun though. Can we go inside?”
“Sure.”
Zwaantie put her sundress back on and looped her arm through Sage’s. They pulled ahead of the boys onto the path in the middle of the trees. Soon they couldn’t even hear Leo and Phoenix talking.
“I’m glad you’re here. Things were getting rather dull with just Leo,” Zwaantie said.
Sage raised an eyebrow. “It didn’t look like things were very dull to me.”
Zwaantie giggled. “Maybe things were just about to get exciting.”
She expected Sage to come back with something funny, but she was quiet. This was so unlike Sage. “Please, tell me what happened.”
Sage shook her head. “No, not until we’re inside and can talk. This is going to take a while. Plus, I’m starving. We rushed out of there so fast we didn’t even bring food with us.”
Something horrible must’ve happened. Though, everyone she loved was either on the island or already dead.
“You could’ve stopped in the City of Stars or something.”
“No, I couldn’t. I’m in as much danger as you now.”
Zwaantie wanted to press her for details, but she had a feeling that Sage wouldn’t give up anything until they were together.
Once inside the castle, they settled in at the dining room table. Leo brought in fruit and sandwiches. Sage and Phoenix scarfed down the food before they said anything. Zwaantie wasn’t sure what Phoenix was doing here. He’d tried to kill her twice and was susceptible to the Voice. If he was here, things were really bad.
“What’s going on?” Zwaantie asked, now impatient.
Sage met Leo’s eyes. “I can’t tell her the story without telling her the truth.”
Zwaantie’s stomach fell. “What truth?” Just when she was starting to feel like they were being honest with her, she discovered more secrets. This was so unfair. She was queen of the entire world. There should not be secrets anymore.
“You might as well tell her. When this mess is cleaned up, we’ll have to replace you anyway, since as king, I’m not supposed to know who you are.”
Zwaantie furrowed her brow, now thoroughly confused, her anger slowly building. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not a spy,” Sage said.
“Well then, what are you?”
“I’m Stella’s assassin. I work for the head mage and only do what is in the best interest of Stella. I kill powerful evil people. The king if necessary.”
Zwaantie’s head spun. “You assigned your assassin to be my guard?” she asked Leo.
Leo shrugged. Red crept up his neck. “Yeah. If you posed any threat, she would’ve taken you out. I know this seems brutal, but Zwaantie, when I came to Sol, I knew nothing about you. I was slightly suspicious of your intentions in Stella, especially because you rebuffed me so thoroughly when I arrived. Your sudden decision to marry me was unnatural. By the time I felt comfortable with you, Sage had become your friend and refused a reassignment.”
Zwaantie dropped her head into her hands. This was unbelievable. From the very beginning, her life had been on the line. Not just from the Voice but fro
m Sage as well. They could’ve easily told her the whole truth when she found out Sage was a spy.
She brought her head up and met Phoenix’s eyes. “Why does he know?” It came out whinier than she’d intended.
“He didn’t until a few hours ago. He thought I was a spy, just like you did. He’s been working with Lyra and me. It’s why he had a different necklace when everything fell apart. The entire spy network is intact, which is the only reason we’re all still alive.”
Zwaantie wanted to stay angry, but this was not the news Sage came to tell.
“Explain,” Zwaantie said.
“I found the Voice,” Sage said with a grimace.
Zwaantie paled. “And did you kill him?”
“No. I tried, but failed. He is far stronger than any of us could anticipate.”
Zwaantie’s anger disappeared. They were finally close to killing the Voice. She wanted to know everything. “Back up. Please, tell me the whole story.”
Sage let out a breath. “Phoenix and I had been watching the castle and studying the comings and goings. There was an old woman who came quite frequently, but as far as we could tell, she had no real reason. Today, we followed her. She went deep into the castle into a secret passageway.”
“Which one?”
“The door is next to the king’s rooms.”
“That’s where Luna was going,” Zwaantie said, finally understanding.
“Yep. As soon as she pushed open that door, we knew we were close to the Voice. The entire hallway hummed with energy. The door led down a winding hall that ended at an ancient wooden door. We let the woman go first, and we listened at the door and heard two voices. I’m very good at what I do, so I thought it would be easy to take on just two people, but, while the Voice can probably be killed, it will never happen in his own room.”
Sage paused and took a sip of her water. Zwaantie wanted to ask questions but thought it might be better to wait until Sage spilled the whole story.
“I put an invisibility spell on both me and Phoenix, and we slipped into the room. But as soon as we crossed the threshold, the spell broke.”
Sage scooted her chair close to Zwaantie and gripped her hand. “Zwaantie, when we crossed the threshold, we found the old woman with Raaf.”
Zwaantie couldn’t breathe. “Are you saying my brother is the Voice?”
“I am. I wasn’t sure at first, thinking maybe it was the old woman. I took nothing for granted, but once the fight started, it was obvious it was him.”
The Voice, her own brother? How could this be? He loved her and she him. Even when he tried to kill her at the wedding, she thought it was because of the influence of the Voice. This was so much worse than her father. How many times had she confided in him? How long had he been trying to kill her? This was impossible.
Zwaantie let out a breath. “What happened?”
“The old woman attacked me first, and I killed her. Then Raaf attacked me. It was the strangest thing. He never laid a hand on me, but I could feel his blows anyway. I’ve got bruises all over my body. I couldn’t even get close to him. When Phoenix started bleeding from his eyes, I grabbed him and escaped. We didn’t stop running until we got on a boat. Raaf’s got wicked magic like I’ve never seen before. I’m so sorry.”
Zwaantie pushed up and away from the table. “I need to be alone.”
She made it to her room before she lost it. She slammed the door and slid down and let herself cry. Her brother wanted her dead. She’d never done anything to him. Yet, here she was exiled because she became queen, a job she never wanted in the first place. If he wanted to be king, why didn’t he just ask? She would’ve gladly given him the position, married Phoenix, and everyone would’ve lived happily ever after.
Phoenix.
He only loved her because the Voice told him to. Raaf had been trying to dethrone her even before Leo had come into the picture. How could he want power that much?
Now, he held the entire world in his hands. He had to be stopped. Zwaantie was still upset Sage hadn’t been honest with her, but she wished Sage had succeeded in killing Raaf. His death was their only hope. She couldn’t believe she’d defended and pitied him after Ari died. He was a monster and had to go.
She wasn’t ready to face her friends, and she’d have to come to terms with Raaf’s betrayal. Trust was so hard to give, and now she wasn’t sure who else to give it to. She felt herself becoming hardened, and she didn’t like that. She longed for the time before she met Leo and came to Stella. When she was innocent and carefree.
She took a shower and let the hot water soothe her aching eyes and stiff shoulders. When she was ready, she went in search of Sage. Together they were going to devise a plan to kill Raaf. They would make sure he never hurt another person.
She headed toward the dining room, but heard Sage’s voice coming from one of the guest bedrooms. She paused next to the door and then pushed it open.
She froze in the doorway. Phoenix had his arm around Sage and his lips pressed against her cheek. It wasn’t indecent by any means, but that was definitely was not the way friends or colleagues treated one another. This was a lovers’ embrace. Sage looked up and met Zwaantie’s eyes. Zwaantie didn’t even say a word. She turned and ran. She thought nothing else could hurt. But this cut deep into her soul. She had no idea why.
Her relationship with Phoenix had been over for months. But he had been her first love. She didn’t begrudge Sage’s love for him, but this felt so wrong. She understood now how Leo must’ve felt when he caught her and Ari in the garden.
An anger welled in her chest like she’d never before felt. All reason left her. She had the urge to break something. She picked up a small dish from the table and threw it across the room. It shattered, but she didn’t feel any better.
All the betrayal. It was too much. The rage in her heart roared. She picked up a fire poker and smashed a lamp on her bedside. That was for Raaf.
Her own brother turned his back on her. Made her life a living hell. She lashed out again, leaving a wide gash in the wall. Seeing the destruction to the pretty flowers only encouraged her. She let out a yell and slashed again.
Sage was not who Zwaantie thought she was, and now she was sleeping with Phoenix. Phoenix! Zwaantie went after the flower statues on the top of the fireplace, smashing one after another until they were gone.
She collapsed on the floor and sobbed. She couldn’t believe she had come to this. A powerless queen who trashed her bedroom. A large vase caught her eye, taunting her. She stood above it, letting her rage build. All her anger at Raaf, Sage, and Ari. She was mad he’d died and left her here to deal with this. She knew he hadn’t done it on purpose, but rage felt good.
She yelled out again and put every ounce of energy she had into destroying the vase. It shattered in a satisfying crack.
“Zwaantie,” Sage said.
She spun and found Sage taking a few cautious steps into the bedroom.
Zwaantie was certain she looked like a deranged housecat. Her eyes were wide, her hair was half out of a braid. Tear streaks stained her cheeks. The fire poker in her hand. She glanced around, seeing this as they would. Her room was trashed. Lamps were shattered, a small chair was in smithereens, and pillows were strung about the room.
“Would you like me to come back later?” Sage asked and backed toward the door.
“No,” Zwaantie shouted and lunged at her. “You stay here, and you listen to me.” She stood about three feet from Sage, fire poker pointed right at her face. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but Sage was the only one here to yell at. Everyone else she was angry with was out of reach.
“You won’t hurt me,” Sage said with her hands up.
Zwaantie wiggled her stick. “Don’t be so sure. How could you do this to me? You know how I felt about him. There are thousands of good men in Stella, and you fell for the one that I loved. You’re my best friend. How could you do this to me?”
“Zwaantie, I’m sorry,” Sage said.
“No, you’re not,” Zwaantie screamed and threw the fire poker across the room. It left another wide gash in her wall.
She stood in front of Sage, breathing deep, and Sage stared back. Zwaantie’s anger flushed out of her. She loved Sage. Her real anger lied with Raaf. Zwaantie reached out and pulled Sage into a hug. Sage returned the hug with force, and they fell to the floor.
“I like what you did with the place. It needed a new decorator.” Sage gave Zwaantie a toothy grin.
Zwaantie lost it then, laughing hysterically, and so did Sage. It wasn’t that funny, but the release of her anger left only laughter.
Chapter 25
The Plan
Sage and Zwaantie lay on the bed. Zwaantie couldn’t quite bring herself to stay upset with Sage, and she felt a hundred times better getting out all of her anger. She would need to clean up her room eventually, but for now, the mess was there to stay.
“Sorry,” she said to Sage. “You and Phoenix, that was kind of a last straw.” It was. She was happy for both Sage and Phoenix, but in the moment, it seemed like one more betrayal.
“I understand. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about us. It’s just been so much lately. I didn’t want to add to it.”
“How long has this been going on?” Zwaantie wanted to hear about their relationship, but she also wanted the distraction. If Sage was talking about Phoenix, Zwaantie didn’t have to think about Raaf.
“Mmm. He didn’t kiss me until after you married Ari. But I’ve had a thing for him since I wrestled that necklace onto him.”
Zwaantie was surprisingly okay with this. So many bad things had happened. There was no reason one couldn’t take advantage of the good things. Plus, she wanted her friends to be happy.
“So what’s next?” Zwaantie asked, curious how serious they were. Maybe this was just a fling.
“What do you mean?” Sage asked, not meeting her eyes.
“Are you going to marry him?”
Sage screwed up her face. “I’m not a queen. I don’t have to think about those things. For now, I’m gonna enjoy him. We’ll see where it goes.”
Stella and Sol Box Set Page 62
