by Jaymin Eve
The world continued flashing at me. Bright, loud, quiet, dark. I’d stumbled a little. Brace must have reached out to help me. It took me a few moments to notice his warm hands cupping my elbows.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. But I did understand. I couldn’t lie to myself any longer about what the truth was here.
Brace pulled me closer. “Tenni is behind the Seventine.” He was quick to put the clues together. “I would say they’ve been aided by Josian and Que. They needed puppets. Original powers can’t directly influence the end of the worlds.”
Tenni was listening closely. “We’ve never hidden our intentions from those that we required to know; the worlds are corrupted, evil, greedy, and warring. A cleanse is needed, a renewal. The Seventine were simply the easiest tool for us to utilize.”
“Aren’t the Seventine original powers?” I asked in breathless tones. Not to mention so were the half-Walkers.
Tenni nodded. “Yes, but the Seventine are simply doing what they were created for. Severing tethers, dispersing energy. This shouldn’t directly end the worlds, but the timing of the convergence was our perfect opportunity.”
So as long as we were doing what was natural, it was okay to save or destroy the worlds. Even with original powers. Sounded like a gray area to me.
I touched my father’s arm. He didn’t move or acknowledge me, but I sensed the swirls of energy inside him.
“Everyone answers to someone more powerful,” Tenni said simply, her crazy logic rearing its head. “Josian has no choice.”
“And we all know that you answer to someone powerful also,” Brace all but snarled. “You won’t get away with this.”
Tenni’s small glittering eyes looked from one of us to the other. “We already have. All the pieces are in place and the countdown is on. You have no hope to stop this. The Seventine are powerful, a well-oiled machine. They will never rest until their task is complete. In the end, we will remake the worlds, which was always the lalunas’ role.”
In that moment I gathered together the fragments of myself. Put on my big-girl panties and accepted the truth about what had happened.
Josian was our betrayer.
But it was not as simple as that. He had not known of his actions; it was no different to someone being drugged and raped. They had no control over the actions of others, and neither had Josian. Right then I forgave my father for anything he’d been involved in. I didn’t even need to know all the details. In reality, I didn’t want to know them.
The blue bracelet on my wrist started to heat and suddenly, for the first time, I wanted to be away from my stone. I clenched my fist around the cuff. Damn the lalunas. They’d rolled Josian, controlled him because he was bonded to them. I did not want the same fate from my own stone. Although, as an original power … would I have a chance to fight them?
The crazy faerie stepped closer. “You can leave now. We are done with this.”
Keeping the hand with my laluna hidden behind me, I dropped down to reach the same level as Tenni. “Just so I understand your barely veiled threat, if Brace and I reform our melding bond, then you’ll do what to Josian? Kill him?”
She sucked in sharply, her flowing gown shifting as she swayed. “We love Josian. We would never hurt him.”
Hell to the no. As if they knew what love was.
“But, we can make life very difficult for him, trap him here with us for all of eternity and bar this world to any. Removing him from your life, his mate’s life, and the Walker clan that he governs.”
Which was pretty much the same as killing him. If we could never see him again, then he was still gone.
“And if we don’t reform the bond?”
Tenni pursed her lips. I could see the mind calculating behind her tiny face. “Then we will do nothing, and as an added incentive we’ll free Josian from all obligations in this war now, allow him to regain full control of his mind and powers. We will step back from our battle and allow it to play out as it would in the natural order.”
“You have no choice but to do that,” Brace said. He was standing right above me now, and I could tell he wanted to yank me back from the crazy faeries. “My guess is that you’re treading awfully close to too much involvement, and you’re about to get your ass stomped by the mother of all.”
Tenni didn’t say anything, although I could sense a tension that filtered through the laluna.
“We will give you a moment to make your decision.” She dismissed Brace’s words by turning her back on us.
Brace hauled me up and dragged me away. Josian still didn’t move. They weren’t letting him leave until we agreed.
The moment we were out of the garden, words burst from me. “What do we do?” I was shaking as adrenalin and fear warred inside me. “We can’t fight lalunas as well. Josian always said they were so strong, they have the power of creation.”
In that instant Brace’s arms were around me. As he held me close I used his calm and even heartbeat to ground myself and slow my own racing pulse. He didn’t pull back until I was composed, moving just far enough away to see my face.
“They’re powerful, but they also have rules and order to follow like the rest of us.” His hands were gently running over my back, offering comfort. “I won’t lie to you, Red, it’s not an ideal situation, but at least now we know who’s been controlling these events. We can adjust our plan.”
My face flicked back to my motionless father and tears filled my eyes. “What do we do about Josian?” He was so strong and to see him reduced to nothing but a puppet. I was devastated, and resisting the urge to sob my heart out. “We have to help him.”
“You know that Josian is probably the one who has facilitated much of the lalunas’ plans. Que was a pawn, but Josian is bonded to them. He would have been there since day one.” Brace’s quiet words cut through my heart.
“I don’t care,” I said strongly. “This is not his fault, and I refuse to place one ounce of blame on him.”
My father was my rock, my pillar of strength, and knowing the cause of his strange behavior, well, I was almost relieved. Plus I was steadfast in my belief that none of this was his doing. The blame lay squarely with the laluna. It was kind of nice to have a place to lay blame now, even if it freaked me out that it was something so powerful.
Brace kissed my cheek. “That’s my girl. I was just checking on your true feelings.”
I blinked up a few times, my eyes caressing his masculine features. The urge to throw myself at him was as strong as ever. Our bond, as always, was pushing us to be together. The next words were painful as they ripped from my throat.
“We can’t reform our melding, not right now. We have to figure out how to save Josian first.”
Brace nodded; in his thinned lips and crinkled brow I saw the lines of his pain. “I understand, and while I want to protest, I won’t do that to Josian. But …” He sighed. “Maybe for the next little bit we’ll have to spend some time apart. Otherwise, the bond will be forced on us.”
My heart tightened, that heart-attack-stabbed-in-the-chest thing happening again.
“We need your answer.” Tenni’s high voice cut across the space to us.
I clenched my fists until my nails cut into my skin, but when I turned to face her I knew my expression was calm. Without pausing I strode back into the garden, Brace right behind me.
My eyes were cold when I rested them on her. “These are my terms: we will not reform the melding, and you will free Josian of all obligations in this battle … and you will return all the memories you stole when the melding was broken.” I narrowed my eyebrows. “Every single memory to every single person who lost them.”
“Agreed.” Tenni didn’t even hesitate. Which told me how concerned she was about our bond. “But if you meld, either by accident or choice, you will lose Josian forever.”
I wanted to scream. Like at the top of my lungs, until all breath fled my body and I collapsed from exhaustion. This was so unfair. I needed Brace
, I couldn’t handle the pain any longer. But I also needed my dad.
“You’re strong, Red, you can do this.” Brace’s whispered words brought me back from whatever dark place I’d gone to.
Tenni raised her hands and the same bursts of light which had stolen our bond and memories blasted out into the atmosphere, spreading to return a fraction of what was lost. Brace didn’t fall, but he stumbled as he was hit, his hands rising to clutch at his head. It was over in seconds, and I froze waiting for the reaction. How would Brace feel now that all of our memories together had been returned?
Arms encased me and lips crashed into my own. I groaned as his taste flooded me and the passion washed over us. I opened my mouth, inviting him in, and his tongue boldly stroked my own. And then it was over, as fast as it had begun. My head swum as I stumbled against him.
“I’ve missed you, Red,” he said.
My heart buckled as I stared into his eyes. It was all there again. Our love, our history, all of it. The new and the old feelings combined. In some ways I was the luckiest person in the world. I had a man who had fallen in love with me twice now, seen all my flaws and mistakes, and still wasn’t walking away. On the other hand I couldn’t bond with him, my father was a puppet, and the fate of the worlds rested heavily on my shoulders.
I burst into full-on ugly sob-my-heart-out tears. I must have cried for a long time because when I finally pulled myself together, Brace’s shirt was wet and we were out of the garden and in the living room area of Josian’s cave. I hadn’t even felt him carry me. He was simply holding me, his large body cradled protectively around me as I shook and cried.
“I’m sorry,” I stuttered out. “The more I try to do the right thing, the worse everything seems to go.”
“I disagree.” Brace’s voice was smooth, but I could hear the huskiness beneath. “So far I think you’ve done the very best you could and far better than most. You’ve found four of the six girls, prevented the Seventine from destroying Nephilius. Freed many First Worlders who were marked for death.” He gently captured my chin, before laying the lightest of kisses on my lips. “My calculations have your good deeds far outweighing the few … rash choices you’ve made. And, Abigail, you’re eighteen years old. The fact that you’ve managed to achieve anything speaks of your old soul and strength of character.”
My eyes were locked on his face.
“We’ll beat them, baby; we’ll save Josian and the worlds. I refuse to consider any other option, because I want a life with you bad enough that … well, there’s no other way.”
Hot damn. I’d be proposing marriage right then if I didn’t already have him locked up for eternity.
“Baby girl?”
I lifted my head and looked back over my shoulder. Josian stood there, strong, tall and glowing softly as he always had. I had been a little worried how I might feel the first time he was back with us. But I knew immediately: I still trusted and loved him. The same emotions he’d invoked in me from the first moment he’d burst into my life. I accepted that he had made a colossal eff-up in trusting his laluna, but it was time to rebuild and move on from this.
I untangled myself from Brace, stumbling forward until I was before my father. “I think you have some explaining to do, Dad.”
He blinked a few times, before running his right hand through his hair and leaving the smooth red waves in disarray.
“You must hate me.”
His first words were rushed, and I could see the anguish in his shiny bronze eyes.
I let the slightest smile cross my lips and took another step toward him. “No, had you betrayed us willingly, then I would hate you. But as far as I’m concerned, this is the same as Samuel: you were used by something much more powerful, and I’m sure …” I hesitated here just briefly, “that feels a lot like torture or rape; when you have no control over your mind and actions. Forced to do something that you hate.”
A single tear fled the corner of his left eye. I followed its slow trail as it drifted down the sculptured lines of his face.
“I think maybe you should tell us everything though, Josian.” Brace’s voice was a little harder than mine, but still sympathetic. “Your laluna wasn’t that forthcoming with information, but they seemed to think they’d stacked events in the right direction, the damage had been done. They weren’t that concerned about concealing their involvement any longer.”
Josian laughed a few times. It was harsh and in no way did he sound amused. “No, trust me they didn’t want to tell you. They just believe it’s of utmost importance to keep you and Aribella unmelded.” He turned to me. “And I’m here right now asking you to meld with Brace. Don’t worry about me. I might be stuck in these caves for an eternity, but you need to beat the Seventine.”
I sucked in a loud, ragged breath. “I would accept their offer, Dad, except I know that they have another plan, and another. In the end, I won’t forsake you, only to lose to the Seventine anyway. Not to mention we’re going to need your help to eliminate the lalunas.”
“Don’t say anything more, Red,” Brace bit out. “Can they hear your thoughts?” he asked Josian.
My father shook his head. “No, they’ve never been able to do that. They contact me, and can force themselves into my head to control me. But I know when they’re there; their presence isn’t hidden. They don’t hear thoughts the way a mate would.”
That was a relief.
Over the next hour Josian told us everything that he could remember about his laluna. Even though I hadn’t wanted to know the details, it was actually good to feel there were no more secrets.
I was thankful to know that he hadn’t been aware of his actions for a lot of the nasty shit. Every one of his reactions when he first met me had been genuine, and that was important to me. His love and unwavering support was a precious memory I held on to.
I had to bite my lip when he spoke of kidnapping Lucy, which had allowed her to be goddamned tortured on Earth by Olden. I might have had a few nasty thoughts about Josian then. But in the end I accepted what he said. It could have been any of us; it could have been me. Brace had it right: the laluna needed a puppet. My poor father was just the easiest one to manipulate. Samuel and Lucy’s dreams of the strings on Josian’s arms and legs made perfect sense now.
Brace had tightened his grip on me a few times during the story. But he refrained from expressing too many thoughts. Right until the end when he chimed in.
“You need to tell everyone of this, Josian. All of the princeps and the Walker clans. I’m guessing they’ll ask you to abdicate as princeps.”
Josian nodded. “I’ve tried many times to reveal this information, basically from the moment I started to be aware of my actions. Tenni wouldn’t let me. They tied up pretty much any avenue I had to confess.”
“No!” I said, Brace’s words running through my head. I didn’t want another princeps for Doreen; Josian was the best. “I don’t want Dad to lose everything because of this. We have to fix it.”
Josian reached out and captured my hand in his huge one. “Thank you, baby girl, but as long as I have you and your mother, I’ve lost nothing. Besides, no one is going to trust me anymore. You can’t hold the mantle of leader without trust. It’s fundamentally important.”
Brace’s gaze softened as he met my angry stare. “Josian speaks the truth. I’ll throw my support a hundred percent behind him, but he’ll have a battle to regain trust.”
“I’m ready now.” My father stepped a few feet back and in the same instant opened a doorway. “Let’s go to the war council. The princeps should all be there. It’s time to figure out how to break these lalunas down.”
As he spoke the cuff on my wrist started to heat.
“Is my laluna going to do the same thing to me?” I spilled my current worry. “Why has it attached itself to my wrist?
Josian’s eye flicked down to my arm. He stared at it for a few tense heartbeats before exhaling loudly. “Lalunas aren’t bad. In fact, they don’t even under
stand the concept of good or bad, right or wrong. They’re original powers and have one real job to do: keep the balance in the universe. But something happened to Tenni. Once they burst from their stone, they started to develop a consciousness. Feelings. Emotions. And with this allowed the seeds of crazy to bleed in.”
He looked from Brace to me. “They’re certain that they’re doing this for the greater good, that the worlds are corruptible and need cleansing. There’s no malice or greed in their actions. They still don’t have the capacity for that.”
That was the scariest part. Those who believe very strongly in their cause will do anything to make sure it comes to fruition.
“So you’re saying that Tenni is a once-off and there’s very little chance that my laluna will be going bonkers anytime soon?” I double-checked.
Josian gave me a real smile then, the first I’d seen from him in a while. “Yes, baby girl.” His strong arms wrapped around me and I didn’t tense; I truly was not mad at him. “I don’t deserve you.”
I patted his arm. “If it hadn’t been you they used as a pawn it would have been someone else.” I knew that. Powerful beings don’t stop in achieving their end game. “And now they can no longer use you. I promise that we’ll do everything to make sure you remain free.”
He was more serious as he pulled away. “You and Brace have to be careful. A bond as strong as yours … it’s going to try and force you to meld. If you’re serious about remaining unmelded for the period of time it will take us to dig through a million years of ancient scrolls to find if there’s any way to contain a laluna, I think you two will have to stay apart.”
Brace growled low then, shaking his broad chest. “I can’t let Abby go off to planets by herself. It’s too dangerous.”
Josian sucked in deeply. “I understand. Maybe you two will be strong enough, but try not to be alone too much. Take others as a buffer between you, and try not to touch too often. Touch increases the need.”
