by SGD Singh
There’s something happening with the prince that I don’t understand.
But she forgot about the strange behavior when Asha took her hands and flooded Jax with renewed life, then wrapped her in a tight embrace. Then she pulled back, looked at Jax with eyes like blue-green dying flashlights, and declared Jax would go to Miami and stay with her grandfather.
“But… aren’t you coming, too?”
“I have to stay with the Seer,” Asha said. “You need to rest. None of us would be alive if not for you Jax. I promise we’ll meet up with you as soon as we can.”
“Is he… I mean, he’ll be okay, won’t he?”
“Yes.” Asha didn’t hesitate. “He’s going to be fine. Lexi too.”
Jax’s gaze had gone to Kelakha, before she realized it, panic filling her at the thought of being left alone again. But what had she thought? Did she expect Asha to force him to look after her indefinitely?
Asha followed her gaze. “Kelakha will go with you to Miami now, and make sure you’re settled in. Then he will join us in the Upperworld.”
“You’re going to Tapas? With Lexi?”
“Nidhan, too.”
All of her friends, it seemed, were leaving her. Like a vanishing dream.
Jax nodded at her lap.
“I promise you’ll be glad of the time alone.” Asha waited for Jax to meet her eyes. “I’ve seen it, okay?”
“Okay.” Tears filled her eyes, and Jax began to shiver. The logical part of her brain told her she was going into shock. She tried to hold her hands still and failed.
Fantastic. The helpless civilian loses her shit all over again.
Asha put a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment before she stepped away toward Lexi, and Kelakha crouched before her.
“Jax? Dinesh is going to get us out of here.”
“I just…” Jax sniffed.
They looked at each other in silence. “I’m sorry, Kelakha.”
“For what?” He looked baffled. “Jax, listen to me. There was nothing we could’ve done for those civilians. You did the right thing. Look at me.”
His eyes were the new-moon sky over the ocean.
“What you did was what they would’ve wanted.”
Jax shook her head. “No, I know. I mean, I’m sorry you’ve had to babysit me all this time. I’m sorry Asha ordered you to bother with a useless civilian. Especially you, the most… it must’ve been torture for you.”
Kelakha’s eyes widened, his lips parting in astonishment. “Is that what you think?”
Jax wanted to disappear, but found she couldn’t look away from him.
“That’s what you’ve thought all this time?” He blinked, disbelief filling his features. “Jax, Asha told me to carry you that first night in Vegas, mostly to surprise Ursala, I think. But…” He shook his head at the ceiling, then brought his gaze back to hers. “But I wanted to. No one told me to do anything I didn’t want to. Not once.”
“But… what? Why?”
“Because.” He looked suddenly pale. “You… you’re like no one I’ve met before. You are kind, and smart, and brave in ways we can only dream of being.”
Jax laughed despite herself. “Now you’re fucking with me. I could be in shock right now, you know. And you’ve decided to make fun of me.”
Kelakha extended his hand. When she looked, Jax saw his eyes were not laughing. He whispered, “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she said, and the realization of how much surprised her. She trusted him completely and absolutely.
The stars in his eyes sparkled. “Then let’s get the hell out of here.”
When Jax came to after Dinesh touched her hand, she saw the sun shining brightly outside a wall of glass. It flooded into the biggest apartment she’d ever seen.
Dinesh moved to stand at the window, ignoring her as he gazed down in fascination at the sparkling ocean far below.
Jax let go of Kelakha’s hand reluctantly and turned in a slow circle. A sunken living room looked out onto a turquoise pool. The main room was dominated by a training floor, a wall full of Guard-like weapons flashing blinding light in reflection from the pool outside. In the other direction, a giant modern kitchen of wood and brushed-steel spread out invitingly. A staircase of glass wound its way out of sight above the training floor, and a wide hallway curved away from the kitchen. Everything looked expensive, bright, and spotless, the whole place decorated by someone obviously in love with Asian culture and weapons.
It was the exact opposite of the cold and dark Underworld Jax had just come from.
Or the streets.
“So, this is where Asha lived before… I mean, before joining The Guard.”
“I guess so,” Kelakha said, shrugging. He moved toward the hallway, speaking quickly, as if he were nervous.
“She told me you would stay in her room, which she said is down here. Everything you need is supposed to arrive tomorrow through Miami Headquarter’s, and she said you can use anything of hers you want in the meantime.”
“Must be nice…”
What the hell am I supposed to do here?
Jax had met Asha’s grandfather at the graduation, briefly. He had been kind to her, although she found him intimidating in the way of people whose very presence demands respect. She imagined it was like meeting a real-life Gandalf. Not exactly someone she could imagine living with.
But still, the thought of returning to the streets without Lucas sent a shudder of repulsion through her. It was a life spent wanting: wanting food, wanting warmth, wanting a bath, wanting a roof to keep out the rain, the wind… wanting a bed. Jax was amazed at how quickly she had gone soft, how quickly she had grown used to the comforts she had only recently been disgusted that others took for granted.
Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, and she decided to follow Asha’s orders, at least for tonight. She could think about what to do next tomorrow, once Kelakha was gone.
Once she began trying to forget him.
Jax felt the tears spill from her eyes, and the next moment Kelakha’s hand was on her cheek, warm, as comforting as Lucas and a million times more reassuring. She couldn’t imagine feeling safe ever again without him, now that she knew what it was to be near him. To feel his touch.
“Jax. It’s just a place.” He wiped her tears, his strong hands gentle. “BapuJi is a good, kind man and an excellent Healer. And we’ll be back soon.”
Jax leaned into his touch, too tired to tell herself not to. Her hand covered his without her telling it to, and every nerve along her palm ignited as she felt her pulse escalate.
Where will I find the strength to never see him again?
To forget him?
Impossible.
Jax opened her eyes. Kelakha stood bowed protectively over her, his face inches from hers. He grimaced slightly, as if her tears were causing him physical pain.
Jax didn’t recognize her voice as she said, “You promise?”
His dark eyes shone, and in that moment, Kelakha no longer looked like a warrior. He was just a boy standing with a girl. And Jax knew with certainty she did not imagine what she read in his eyes.
She felt the warmth of his breath on her lips as he whispered. “Ji.”
“You keep saying that.” Jax tilted her face to him. “What does it mean?”
“It means…” Kelakha closed the last few millimeters between them, his lips brushing hers like liquid fire. “Yes.”
Chapter 49
The Seer couldn’t be healed in Satya.
It turned out there were some things that couldn’t be transported across the realms, and apparently tanks of special healing herbs only found in Tapas were one of them.
So the Seer must be taken to the Upperworld.
Asha had insisted on staying with the Seer, and Aquila had insisted on staying with her.
As Asha had known he would, Zaiden threatened some kind of tantrum of inter-realm proportions unless Lexi was also brought to Tapas to fully recover from her su
bstantial injuries. He didn’t trust Guard Healers to possess the Talent to bring Lexi back to her full former badass self.
Sashi had declared that Lexi would make a full recovery once her bones were given time to mend, and Asha assured them that if that required Lexi to remain immobile, it was wise to keep her unconscious.
Nidhan had refused to leave Lexi’s side since the moment she regained consciousness long enough to say, “Nidhan? Stay with me.”
Ursala and Kelakha had determined to stay at Aquila’s side since he had “gone completely bat-shit and nearly murdered three Upperworlders while suffering a bad case of Soul-Mate-Crazy” making the total party of Satya-realm travelers seven.
Sashi, the green Upperworlder with peacock feather hair who seemed to have more in common with Lexi than Asha would have thought possible, had informed them that the healing of their Seer wouldn’t take longer than eleven days.
It had now been ten.
Asha was still getting used to the bright sun, the rooms that were more like enchanted forests, and the slow, lazy days. Asha, Aquila, Kelakha, and Ursala had spent most of their time in Tapas staring at the Seer while he slept, being ordered to leave the healing-forest only while he had his treatments. For Asha and Aquila, this gave them time to enjoy the pleasures that hours of off-duty time presented.
Their accommodations could only be described as a giant tree house, and the bed Asha and Aquila shared was made of the softest moss and finest silks. The showers were warm waterfalls, and food grew ready to eat within the kitchen.
Each dawn, she and Aquila would sit on the edge of the cliff near their tree and marvel at the fading stars. They tried not to think about the future, but simply enjoyed the present as they watched spectacular sunrises illuminate a paradise they could only dream of at home.
It was impossible not to have hope.
Asha and Aquila waited for the dawn of the eleventh day to clear away the darkness of the night, and for the warmth of the sun’s rays to touch their skin and erase the memory of Ranya’s nightmare.
“Do you think he’ll wake up today?” Aquila asked.
They sat shoulder to shoulder, leg to leg, Asha’s arm twined around Aquila’s, her fingers laced through his. They had hardly spent five minutes not touching since being reunited, and Asha knew if they were ever separated again, the sensation of having her heart ripped from her chest and shredded would only be worse.
“Yes.” Asha leaned her head on his shoulder, marveling at its firm perfection. “And I think he’ll be able to tell us that the Witch Prophecy is nothing but a giant load of horse shit.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what this Prophecy was?”
Asha closed her eyes against the memory of a future filled with nothing but death and destruction.
“You know that seeing a future doesn’t mean that’s what the actual future will be, right? What the Witches and Asura were attempting with this Prophecy, it’s the most unreliable of spells. Because the future is not set. I may be able to see an immediate future at times, but the big picture? There are too many variables, infinite possibilities.”
“That bad, huh?”
“It’s more like one possible future, one they want. Their Prophecy gave them motivation that it’s even possible, so they can work to push it forward. Like a vision of a future to help manifest. Does that make sense?”
“You’re not going to tell me what it was, are you? I felt it that day, you know… when you held Inala and Yoki’s hands, before Ranya.”
Asha sighed, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing it. “If, when the Seer wakes up, he thinks everyone should know it… if he says it’s a legitimate concern, then yes, I’ll tell you. Otherwise, I refuse to spread a homicidal maniac’s wet dream.”
“Just tell me it wasn’t as bad as what I felt.” Aquila twisted her rings on her fingers, his touch sending shivers of electricity traveling up her arm and along the back of her neck. “I mean, tell me we aren’t sitting on our asses in the Garden of Eden, basking in the pleasures of the flesh—and I’m not saying I’m not immensely enjoying said pleasures—but tell me we shouldn’t be back home making sure Ranya isn’t destroying our world.”
“It was… bad,” Asha admitted. “Of course it was bad.”
The sun turned pinks to oranges, setting the sky on fire as it burst over the horizon, filling the world with golden light. “But you know what? There will always, always be a darkness to balance the light. There will always be a negative to every positive. But here’s the thing. It only takes one light to banish the darkness of an entire world. He is that light, Aquila. We’re where we’re supposed to be, with him. Making sure he’s safe. And soon he’ll know what to do about Ranya, and every other plotting Underworlder, I’m sure of it.”
Aquila nodded, then turned to Asha and took her face in his hands. His mind filled with a longing that took her breath away, love reflected in his eyes like mirrored sunrises of their very own, and just as beautiful. Her arms were around him, pulling him against her as their lips met and the brilliant sun warmed their skin.
“Oy!” Ursala’s voice rang out, startling them apart. “Lovebirds. Cease your disgusting display before clothes begin to be shed and I lose my appetite for an entire week.”
They turned to see Kelakha and Ursala grinning down at them.
The silence stretched.
“What?” Asha said.
“He’s awake,” they answered in unison.
Acknowledgements
Once again this book would not have been possible without the bankrolling efforts of my mind-blastingly wonderful husband, Sukhwinder Singh. Your support of every creative endeavor I dream up and your patience with my non-genius brain continue to astound me every single day. Here’s to two more twenty-two years on this adventure together.
Writing wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without the best first readers anyone could wish for in the entire Universe: my brother-in-law, Amrit Khalsa, and my mother, The Divine MataJi. This sequel had more romance and less gory action than they would have liked, but they complained only very nicely.
The unwavering support of those who find joy in cheering their friends on makes all the difference in the world, and I am so fortunate to have the loving support of GuruPrakash Khalsa, Lakshmi Khalsa, Tori Egenstiener, Erlene Seybold-Smythe, and SatPurkh Khalsa. Thanks to you guys, the entire process of writing this book was more like a vacation than a trip to Mauritius.
But the most joyous vacations are made even sweeter by the enthusiasm of beautiful fans, which, much like Asha’s healing Talent, infuse renewed life into any struggling author’s heart. No one taught me this more than Elianna DeSota. Eli, your infectious laughter and enthusiastic encouragement—along with your brother Joel, and your sister Shalom—reminded me that sales be damned, this is fun! You guys should never, ever underestimate how uplifting your kindness is.
I want to send ten thousand giant e-Hugs to my beyond-amazing Facebook friends and fellow LUNARtics Amanda Freedman, Summer Burns, Claire Kavanaugh, and of course, Kasey Leigh Miller. You guys are true superheroes! I am astounded and eternally grateful for your continued generosity and patience, your willingness to take time out of your ginormous TBR piles to give my stories a chance. You freely offered your help, extensive expertise, and kind suggestions to ensure this book was the very best my humble efforts could produce. I haven’t met you guys in person (yet), but, stars above, I love you all to the moon and back.
Heaps and heaps of love for Kasey Liegh Miller, Amrit Kaur, GuruSadhana Kaur, and Marisa Bodell for scouring my manuscript to find typos and other horrific embarrassments—which, anyone who reads knows, isn’t very fun or very easy. You guys truly rock. Let me know what to cook for you anytime. I’m here to follow orders.
My editor, Beth Jusino, deserves one of those super shiny glass-sculpture trophies for Manuscript Wizardry, plus a medal for putting up with, among other things, my persistence in the use of the non-word ‘alright’. All right, all right, all
right! (Yes, I heard Matthew McConaughey in my head every single time I fixed it.) I hope you know how blessed I feel to have found you as my editor, Beth. You are an ocean of inspiration all by yourself, and no joke.
If you love the cover of this book and the one before it, look up Rick Schroeppel at Elm Street Design Studio. He is not only a pleasure to work with, but he is also a designer who will toil tirelessly until you are happy, guaranteed. (And if you don’t like the cover, fine. Be that way.) Rick, I hope I haven’t driven you too crazy with my picky-artist antics because I plan on testing your good nature with many more covers in the years to come.
My elder daughter said she would be “really upset” if she wasn’t in the acknowledgments, so… thank you, thank you, thank you, and a big, slobbery smooch on the cheek to SatKartar for the hours of brainstorming you courageously endured, the beautiful eye rolls, the use of your math skills when I couldn’t figure out the time difference between realms, and permission to turn the names of your beloved childhood story characters into a gory Underworld game.
And finally, thank you, dear reader, for taking the time out of this precious life, in this wonderful world filled with more fantastic books than a single human has years to consume, to read my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it at least half as much as I enjoyed writing it.
About the Author
SiriGuruDev Singh lives in New Mexico and Punjab with her husband, two daughters, and various extended relatives and animals. The Infernal Guard Descentis the second in The Infernal Guard Trilogy.
You can visit her at www.sgdsingh.com or www.facebook.com/sgdsingh.
Table of Contents
Emergence
Copyright
Dedication
Worlds 1
Worlds 2
