by W. J. May
Brady didn’t hesitate to stand next to her, quickly pushing his chair under the table and taking her by the elbow. “Yes, thank you so much. It was, uh, extraordinary.”
Karis led the way past the front guards and outside. The light was departing, making the water around them sparkle with deep hues of dark blue.
She held on to his arm, afraid he would move away and she wouldn’t feel his closeness. “So what changed that made you come to dinner? Earlier you were so brash towards me.”
He smirked. “You. I saw you in my head. It was strange, like a daydream or something.”
She didn’t want to read too much into it, but it excited her just the same.
He stopped once they were away from everyone. “Hey, thanks, for saving me back there with Coron and the whole spitting...thing.”
She laughed. “I think I was destined to save you.”
He raised a finger and tapped the end of her nose. “Hey, one day, the role might reverse. I do come from a line of, what line was that again?”
“Aridam. They are the closest in likeness to Shamike and Humans.”
“So I really do come from a different world.” He raised his head to stare at the darkening water over them. “This is so strange.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “We all come from somewhere, and we all come from one entity that created endless worlds. Only some of us are better off not conversing with or knowing about the others. You come from a long line of prestigious beings.”
A Syrenae swam over them. Brady shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing that.”
“It is quite the sight.” She tipped her head back and watched with him. Her necklace began to warm against her throat. “Brady.”
“Yeah?”
“I need to know who is trying to talk to me.” She fingered the pendant.
“Let’s go back to your room where we don’t have anyone around to overhear what’s not meant for them.”
“Good idea.”
He grabbed her hand and led her back inside. They darted through the halls and hoped no one saw them. Karis wanted nothing more than to be alone with Brady, and if someone stopped them, it would prolong their wait.
They made it to her room unnoticed. She closed the door quietly behind her while Brady walked to the window and shut the drapes. “Is it still doing the thing when someone wants to talk?”
She already had the necklace off her neck and held it out in her palm. “Yes. It burns my skin.”
He took the pendant and examined it, turning it over and over. “It is pretty hot.”
“Let’s sit.” She walked to the bed and sat down. He joined her, making the bed bounce under his weight.
She let out a shaky breath. “Ready?”
“Bring it on.”
She smiled and let out a soft laugh. She concentrated on the message. Brady took her hand and squeezed it.
“Karis.” A familiar voice filled the room.
Her whole body tensed. No. It couldn’t be. Tarine wouldn’t have given him the power to communicate with her. Surely this was all wrong.
“What’s wrong?” Brady looked worried with his eyes narrowed.
“Karis, can you hear me?” the voice spoke again, this time much clearer.
She looked at Brady and shook her head. “I can hear you.”
“Who is it?” Brady whispered.
She held a finger up. “Marin, how do you know about this communication?”
Brady cocked his head and listened. “Marin?”
She shot him an annoyed look.
“Karis, who is with you?” Marin’s voice spoke through the pendant.
“Answer me first,” Karis demanded.
“Tarine trusted me with your secret. I am here to help you get back to Shamike. We need you.”
“Lies! You’re the reason I was banished.” She shook with anger.
“It was to save you. The King had plans to kill you. Without you, there is no future for Shamike.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I was alone for nearly a hundred years. Why didn’t you or Tarine talk to me before?”
“Is he with you?”
Brady spoke up before she could answer. “I’m with her, and I’m not leaving.”
Karis was grateful for his comfort. She knew he had mixed emotions about being there, but it was nice to feel protected.
“Yes, well, it's because we had to wait for him to arrive. Your powers were limited on Earth and not fully generated. You left at such an early age that I’m sure you don’t even know half of what you’re capable of.”
“Yes, and whose fault is that,” she seethed. Marin wasn’t telling her anything Tarine hadn’t already. “What do you want, Marin?”
“The King knows you escaped.”
Karis sucked in a sharp breath. “That could be disastrous for Coron and all of Perditus.”
“Yes. He is already planning a raid. I thought you should be warned.”
“Thank you.”
“Karis, I’m sorry I didn’t stop them from sending you away.”
Karis broke the connection with Marin, not wanting to open that wound again. She splayed her hand across her chest. Why would he say that?
Brady cast a wary glance around the room. “We need to leave.”
“What?”
“I’ve been in enough fights to know when to back away into the shadows and watch my opponent, and when to jump out and fight. Right now, we need to watch, learn, and plan how to take him out.”
She nodded. “You’re right. We should tell Coron though, so he can prepare.”
“Agreed.”
She was so confident with him near that she wasn’t sure she could fight this battle without him, but she also knew what it was like to be away from home. “Brady, if you want to go back, I mean to Earth, I understand.”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “There is nothing back home for me. My parents are dead, and all I have is my fighting, which apparently I can do here too.”
His answer made her insides flutter. He wasn’t going to leave—at least not yet. She wanted to ask him how his parents could have possibly died, but thought better of it and would wait to open that wound.
They quickly found Coron, who still sat at the dinner table drinking a bottle of Mirum by himself.
Karis did a small curtsy and proceeded to the table. “Coron, I have news. King Tharious is planning a raid on Perditus. He knows I escaped.”
Coron looked up sharply. “How do you know this?”
“Marin. Tarine gave him a way to communicate with me.”
Coron glanced down, avoiding eye contact. “Do you trust him? Wasn’t it him who set you up for banishment?”
“It’s hard to trust him, but I can’t take the chance if he is telling the truth. Brady and I will leave tonight.”
Coron slammed his glass down, red liquid spilling over the top. “You will do no such thing. You are safe here in Perditus. You are the true Princess of Shamike, and I will protect you.”
She glanced at Brady, who said nothing. She appreciated how he trusted her to speak for both of them. “If something happened to anyone because of me, I don’t think I could live with that.”
“You doubt our abilities to protect you?” Coron stood up.
“No.” Brady moved in front of her. “We just don’t want anything to happen to our new friends. We know you wouldn’t stop at anything to protect her.”
Coron placed his hands on the table, using it to hold his weight and leaned over. “Stay. Together we can help you take over the throne.”
Karis stepped to the side of Brady. “Why are you so concerned about helping me?”
Coron’s eyes bulged, and a corner of his mouth sneered into a grin. “King Tharious killed many while you were exiled. Many of us from Perditus and Aridam died. We didn’t agree with his demands to turn over our world and follow him.” He feigned an indifferent sigh. Karis felt something was off but couldn’t catch it. “We are not w
orlds with a strict monarchy. I am the ruler here but do not call myself King, nor does Rais from Aridam. Our people trust us to lead them fairly and protect them. I do not need to be called King for them to follow me.” He took a swig from his glass. “Shamike would follow you too. Whether you call yourself Queen or not is up to you.”
She tried to ignore and shake off the cold feeling Coron projected. “So he is trying to overtake everything.” Karis pondered this in her head. “It’s just power that he seeks. You’re afraid he will overthrow you and your throne?”
“I worry for my people. Syrenae are strong and will not be taken down without a fight. With you on the throne, it would spare all of Perditus and Aridam, as well as other worlds. I’m invested in your future, so to speak.”
“Makes sense. If she is Queen, then no war would break out.” Brady relaxed a little.
“Besides,” he pointed to Brady, “you can’t leave yet because he needs to train. You can’t expect him to protect you without knowing his full abilities. It would be unfair.”
Brady tensed back up. “I can protect her.”
Coron held his hands out. “I meant no disrespect. I just mean that you aren’t up to your full potential as an Aridam warrior. There are things out here that humans have only imagined. How would you defend her against a kinetic blast?”
“A what?”
Karis touched his arm. “There are a few with kinetic energies. They can take energy from around them and make it into a ball of energy. Not always, but most of the time when they release their power nothing is left that stood in their path. Think volcano eruption in super speed, but with a wall of energy.”
Coron took another swig from his drink. “We can train you. If you stay.”
Karis placed a hand on her chest. “Coron, thank you. I will stay. Once I have the throne, we will have a strong alliance between our worlds.”
“I’d be honored to learn from you.” Brady was still tense, but Karis could tell he was handling it.
“Good.” Coron raised his glass to them before downing the rest of his drink.
“I feel like something is off. What if it’s a trap?” Brady paced the inside of Karis’s room.
Karis nodded slightly and licked her lips. “Then we will find a way to escape, again.” She took the pins out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders and down her back. She grabbed a brush and ran it through, untangling her dark tresses. She was used to doing this with him around.
“Well, I don’t like it.” He clenched and unclenched his fists as he continued to wear down the carpet.
“Brady, everything will be okay.” She laid the brush on the dresser and pulled out a short nightgown from a drawer. She held it up. It wasn’t longer than her knees and was black and soft to the touch. She bit the inside of her lip. None of her other nightclothes were ever so revealing, but she didn’t have those with her.
“You aren’t wearing that.” Brady stopped pacing long enough to notice her holding up the garment.
She lowered her arms and held the nightgown close to her stomach. “And why not? I can’t sleep in this.” She pulled out the skirt of her dress.
“Find something else.” He pointed toward the dresser.
“What does it matter what I wear? You’ve seen me sleep in much worse.”
“Because I have decided to stay in here with you to make sure you’re protected, and I won’t get much sleep with you in that.”
That was all she needed to hear in order to make up her mind. She was wearing it.
She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room with the nightgown to the bathing room. Brady had become protective of her and it made her feel adored, but she wanted more.
Karis slipped out of the silver dress and pulled the new garment over her head, then splashed water on her face and cleaned up. The black gown hit right above her knees as she suspected it would, but she never thought it would fit her so well. It accented her every curve. If Brady didn’t notice her as a woman in this, then nothing would work.
Barefoot, she tiptoed down the hall back to her room. Brady was stretched out on the bed with his legs crossed, wearing just his jeans. She closed the door and pretended not to notice his bare chest, or how his body made her ache in ways she never thought were possible.
He kept his eyes closed, but she knew he was awake. She pulled the blanket down on the bed and climbed inside, covering her legs. Disappointed, she let out a sigh. “Okay, I’m covered.”
He peeked out one eye as if to make sure she told the truth. “Good. Now how do I shut the lights off?”
She smiled. “Kinetic energy.”
“Huh?”
She held her hand out, palm up. The lights grew dim until they were out.
Even with the lights out, she could see the glow of his brown eyes and the outline of his masculine body.
He rolled to the other side of the bed. “Okay, that was creepy.”
“Is there something wrong with me?”
His head shot up as he rolled onto his stomach. “What? Hell no.”
“Then why do you avoid me?”
He climbed under the covers and scooted over to her, raising his arm so she could rest on his shoulder. She did so eagerly and placed her hand on his bare chest.
“I avoid you because once I start I won’t be able to stop. You deserve so much more than me.”
“Shouldn’t I have a say in it?”
“Karis...” He ran his fingers through her hair and reached down to kiss the top of her head.
She couldn’t help but feel broken hearted about his rejection. She let her sleepy eyes close and listened to his heartbeat, letting it lull her to sleep.
* * *
Chapter Eight
A knock on Karis’s door jolted her awake. Sleepily, she looked around and smiled down at Brady, who was still in her bed. She moved to get up and answer the door.
“Wait,” Brady whispered. “I’ll get it.”
She smiled. He was so sweet.
He opened the door a crack then all the way. “Good morning, Coron.”
Karis blushed. Now Coron knew Brady stayed the night with her. If only it was for other reasons than sleeping. She yawned. “Good morning.”
Coron looked back and forth between Brady and Karis then cleared his throat to compose himself. “Well, I didn’t know you two were together.” His gaze lingered on Karis long enough to make her nervous.
Brady ran his hands over his short hair. “We, uh, we didn’t want to cause any...” He looked at Karis with wide eyes.
“What he’s saying, is that people don’t need to know anything right now.” She thought about getting out of bed to stand with Brady, but remembered her short nightgown and kept the covers tucked in around her.
Brady winked at her, causing her to blush even more. “Yeah.”
“I see. Well, you would make a good companion for her. A good king puts his people first, which is what you’ve just elected to do.”
Brady rubbed his mouth and chin.
“Coron, if you could give us a moment to gather ourselves, we can meet you in the dining hall.” Brady shot Karis a grateful glance.
Coron dipped low. “Of course, My Lady.”
Brady closed the door behind him. “Wow.” They both laughed.
Karis jumped out of bed and hurried to the closet. She heard Brady suck in a long breath. He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her middle, and spun her around. “I told you not to wear that.”
She swore her heart stopped in anticipation. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers. A hot electric shock filled her body as she melted into him. He pulled her in closer to him and ran a hand up and down her back. She didn’t care that she was half exposed from the short gown. At that moment, it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and restricted her from the closeness she craved.
All too soon, he pulled back, ending the kiss. She wanted more, needing his lips on hers. He leaned his forehead down on hers while they stood
there and caught their breath. “Karis, you make me feel so alive.”
“I could say the same about you.” She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm. She heard him groan in his throat. The noise excited her.
“We better get going before he comes back.”
She didn’t hide her disappointment as her shoulders fell. He was right, Coron would come back soon if they didn’t show up, and what would her excuse be? He already presumed things were happening between them. “You’re right.”
She grabbed a lightweight dress that was the same color as her cerulean eyes and tied in the back. Slipping on her sandals, she headed for the door.
Brady was ready in his jeans and faded t-shirt that he arrived in. “Wow, you look beautiful. I’m still not used to seeing a woman wear a dress so much, but you look incredible in it.”
His compliment made her insides catch fire. It thrilled her to know he thought she was beautiful.
They found Coron at the table filling his mug with a type of coffee. Brady inhaled the rich aroma deeply. “Now that I might like.”
Coron must have overheard him because he pointed to the empty cups on the end of the table. “Help yourself.”
Brady let go of Karis’s hand and poured himself a hot cup.
Tension radiated from Coron.
Karis walked over to him. “What was so urgent that you needed to speak with us so early this morning?”
He pulled out a chair for her to sit then sat next to her. “You are right about King Tharious. He is indeed planning a raid on Perditus. My scouts reported early this morning a mass of two hundred soldiers are readying themselves near the portal gates in Shamike.”
Karis held her breath. Brady sat down with them at the table. “How many portals are there in and out of Shamike?”
Coron exhaled and shook his head. “Twenty-five, but there are some only royalty know about, so there could be more. Just like here, there are some that only I and certain others in my bloodline know about.” Both Coron and Brady looked at Karis.
