Genesis

by Christie Rich

  “Sure,” he said. “But I meant wraiths.”

  The word brought frightening images into my mind. I faced him. “Do borderland creatures have access to Uldran too?”

  He frowned at me. “Not that I am aware of; why?”

  “It’s just a few times I felt like I was being watched. I thought maybe you might know who it was?” Or maybe Cerberus had been checking on me? “Are you afraid of wraiths?”

  As much as he tried to cover the fear under his expression, I saw through it. “I do not wish to encounter a pack.”

  That was good enough for me. “Let’s go then.”

  “I’m sorry, Rayla. I didn’t mean to ruin our fun.” He edged closer. “You were having fun, right?”

  I nodded, finding my voice vacant. Absentmindedly, I nibbled my lip. Jett was a different person than I had taken him for. First impressions aside, I now counted him as a friend, and I was loath to change that emotion. I liked the comfortable connection we shared.

  Tenderly, his fingers brushed my shoulder. “Ready to go?”

  He set off, and I followed him out of the pool. Before I could even wish myself dry, new clothes covered me.

  “Thanks,” I said. “One day I really need to learn to do that myself.”

  He grunted in reply then whistled. Bastion appeared in the sky and touched down in a matter of moments. I shut my eyes tight against the blowing sand, covering my nose and mouth against the musty wind.

  When we were halfway back to the castle, I asked, “What exactly is a wraith?”

  “I will explain later,” Jett called over his shoulder. “Hold on.”

  I barely got my arms around him when Bastion leaned into the final turn. She whinnied like an ordinary horse. I wished, once again, I could contact her mentally.

  Just in case she could understand me but didn’t want Jett to hear us, I waited until he set her free in the pasture to try again. She didn’t respond, so I decided to ask him what had been bothering me since I saw her again. This could shove a wedge between us, but I had to know.

  I cleared my dry throat. “Why do you have Bastion? I mean, you don’t exactly need her to get around.”

  Jett glanced at me sidelong. “I wished for a different mount initially, but someone else took him before I could lay claim.”

  I had a pretty good idea who that other mount was. “I’ve spoken with Styx. He hates you.”

  Jett shrugged. “I am aware.”

  “You still haven’t answered my question.”

  “Not all fae have the ability to drift. I have only recently mastered it myself. As head of our army, I required means of transportation between realms.”

  “You took his mate,” I said, stiffening my spine.

  He released a sigh. “I’ve made mistakes in the past, Rayla. I cannot undo them.”

  What kind of excuse was that? “If you feel bad, just let her go.”

  His head snapped toward me, showing a face full of contempt. “Things are not so simple. When the pegusi came here, they agreed to servitude. If I didn’t have her, another would swiftly claim her.”

  Justification if you asked me. “But that’s not right.”

  He gave a slight grimace. “I do not mistreat her. She has become my closest confidant. I value her more than you can know.”

  “Styx loves her, too. He misses her.”

  He whirled to face me. “Enough! I will not release her. Styx had his chance.”

  My hands found my hips. “So you are punishing him for picking Zach.”

  His face flushed. “I’m not punishing anyone. He did this to himself, and I am supposed to lose a valued member of my army because he now regrets his choice?”

  I touched his hard shoulder. “You should do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Right for whom, Rayla? Can’t you see I need her?”

  I didn’t know about that. “I can see you think you need her.”

  He clenched his teeth together and quickened his step.

  This had gotten out of hand so fast, I hadn’t been able to ask him about Bastion. “Why can’t I talk to her?”

  He glanced at me. “What?”

  “I couldn’t get into her mind.”

  He shook his head. “You’d have to ask her that.” With that he stormed past me into the courtyard and through the doors that led to his chambers.

  What the heck just happened? He implied Bastion was the one blocking me. Why would she do that?

  Chapter Eight

  Dinner was awkward. Jett kept silent throughout the meal, so I was left to talk with people I didn’t really know. They asked me how I liked Eldrea, and I had a hard time covering my current emotions. Jett was being plain stubborn. I’d tried to pin him down with a stare several times, but it hadn’t worked.

  After giving up completely I excused myself then headed for my room, eager to get some rest. This was the last night I would spend here, and I was ready to leave now. If Jett couldn’t even discuss something as simple as getting a different horse, how would he be with important things? No, that really wasn’t fair. He loved Bastion, but so did Styx.

  Love complicates everything.

  My shoes came off first when I shut the door. They sailed through the air before slamming into the wall with a thwap. How was I going to help Styx? Even if Jett released Bastion, he made it clear someone else would snap her up. Would they allow Zach to have two pegusi? At least she seemed happy with Jett. I groaned. Somehow, I needed to find a way to talk to her, to find out what she wanted. If she was content, who was I to interfere?

  An hour later, I still couldn’t sleep. The night sky descended, blotting out the glow of day. Stars twinkled above my enchanting canopy. Beautiful as it was, it didn’t take away my anxiety. I still didn’t know what to expect from the future. No one really does, but it’s nice to have the illusion sometimes.

  I slipped out of bed and stepped into a pair of fluffy slippers. Nights here held a beauty I related to. The desert has a feel not easily replicated. Even on the sultriest of nights, a chill can take hold of your bones.

  This was one of those nights.

  I wrapped myself in a robe and wandered to the balcony. The door stuck when I tried to pull it open, so I put my whole bodyweight into it. It didn’t budge.

  I stepped back, studying the door. No way. Was I on lockdown?

  When I checked the door to the hallway, it opened. Relief calmed me a little. The balcony door was probably locked.

  I tried again. It didn’t yield, yet the handle turned. Weird.

  Or maybe not. If borderland creatures roamed Eldrea, I could see why they would take such a precaution. Still, knowing I couldn’t breathe the fresh air made my lungs ache for it.

  I’d just have to find something else to keep me occupied. Silent as I could be, I peeked up and down the hallway before I headed for the courtyard. At least there I could get some fresh air and practice manipulating earth.

  I would have rather taken a nice long run, but lopping along the corridors this late wouldn’t make me popular with the locals. I shouldn’t have even cared, but somehow knowing my mom was the queen here gave me motivation to at least try to be thoughtful.

  It couldn’t have been more than ten pm, but the deserted halls made me wonder if I had dozed off without knowing it. I made it to the courtyard without encountering a single person along the way. Something intangible held me just outside the threshold.

  Something? No.

  It was the night. Once again, familiar fear tickled my neck.

  I couldn’t let it control me. I had to face it eventually. Why not now? Determination overrode my faulty instincts, so I took in a slow breath.

  The bright moonlight may have given me a bit more courage than usual, but I was ready to face this demon. I picked up my foot, yet instead of going forward, I stepped back. What the heck? I tried again. One more step that went the wrong way.

  Okay, someone was messing with me. “Where are you?” I hissed into the deserted
space.

  No one answered me. Yeah, now I was pretty much freaking out. Since whatever force had stopped me from going into the courtyard seemed reluctant to reveal itself, I pitched forward, only to be flung against the opposite wall.

  “Ow!” Stumbling to my feet, I rubbed my neck. “That was uncalled for.”

  “No miss,” said a familiar raspy voice. “Refusing to keep yourself out of harm’s way is what’s uncalled for.”

  My heart jumped. “Gibbit?”

  He materialized three feet away from me. He was just how I remembered him. Little orange eyes, pale purple skin, stumpy body, and lazy smirk. I nearly flung my arms around him, but I couldn’t do that right now. It was his fault the Order had captured me. He left me to face them alone even though he knew I was walking into a trap. “Let me show you something,” he said, as if we didn’t have trust issues.

  Too bad he didn’t seem to see the gaping chasm between us. “I will never go anywhere with you again!” I barked. Who cared if I woke the entire fortress?

  He actually frowned at me. “I didn’t have nothing to do with you choosing to go to that island. I told you to stay away, but you wouldn’t listen. Don’t be getting angry with me over something what is your fault.”

  “My fault?” I stepped closer. “My fault!”

  He crossed his stumps for arms.

  I studied him, not wanting the truth to be real. He had warned me. Something within me still thought he knew more than he had shared. How could I trust him? How could I trust anyone for that matter? “If you want to show me something, it will have to be here. I am not leaving until tomorrow when Jett takes me to Altasia.”

  He mimicked my movements like a two year old. “I weren’t asking you to go nowhere. You assumed that. Haven’t you ever heard what assuming does?”

  “Haha, Gibbit.” I gave him a fake smile. “Get on with it.”

  “All right, miss snooty pants,” he said. “I will.” He snapped his fingers together and a gigantic leg of…something appeared in the air between us.

  I immediately pinched my nose. “Eww. Did you have to pick a rotten one? What is it for, anyway?”

  He gazed out into the courtyard then flicked his wrist. The meat sailed into the moonlight and within seconds was gone. Clean picked bone clattered to the dirt.

  Ice crackled over me. “What’s out there?” I whispered.

  “Them’s the nasty things I told you about before. You once asked me what was worse than hellhounds, well, my lady, you’ve just witnessed what the Alpluachra can do to the unsuspecting traveler.”

  I blanched. “The Alp-what?”

  “Joint eaters,” said Jett from over my shoulder.

  I nearly jumped out of my fuzzy slippers. The name I couldn’t pronounce was much better.

  Jett stepped between me and Gibbit. “Out doing your master’s dirty work, I see.”

  Gibbit’s pale purple skin blanched to nearly white. “I have no master, as well you know.”

  I sidestepped Jett so I could see what was going on better—not to mention to tell Jett off. I bumped his shoulder. “Why didn’t you mention these things? I could have been eaten!”

  He cocked his head. “I didn’t think you would be foolish enough to wander an unfamiliar castle at night—especially after I told you the creatures from the borderlands roam our lands.”

  I pointed at the courtyard. “This isn’t your lands; this is your castle. If it isn’t safe to wander, you should have signs posted!”

  He laughed. “Who other than you would need them?”

  Good point, but I wasn’t going to concede that to him. “Well, it’s a good thing Gibbit showed up when he did.”

  He shook his head. “Gibbit showing up is never a good thing, and for your information, I was watching you.”

  “Perve,” I said because nothing else came to me.

  Gibbit laughed. “You fight with him the same way you do the lord of fire.”

  Why did he have to mention Heath? I’d come down here to avoid having to spend an entire night dreaming about him. Besides, no I didn’t. “I’m not the problem here.”

  Jett licked his lips, not commenting, but the light in his eyes and his smug grin told me all I needed to know.

  I faced Gibbit. “So why are you here?”

  He lowered his eyes. “I came to warn you.”

  “Ha,” said Jett. “More like wrap your master’s tendrils around her neck.”

  Gibbit stiffened. “I already told you I don’t have no master. Stop insisting I do.”

  “Who sent you here?” I asked.

  “I come on my own accord, miss. Thought we were friends.”

  I’d thought that too before I found myself smack in the middle of hell all because he had taken me from Ignis. I wasn’t being very fair, but it was how I felt. “Okay. Let’s assume you are here because you like me, and you don’t want me to get hurt.”

  He nodded, his white hair floating above him like a plume of feathers. “That’d be a safe assumption.”

  I tilted my head at him. “Okay, what message of doom do you have for me then?”

  Jett chuckled. I shook my head. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “The hell it doesn’t. Don’t even start to think I am leaving him here with you alone. I know what happened in Ignis. Be assured—that will not be a part of repeating history.”

  Gibbit clamped his thin lips together. “It don’t matter none if he’s here anyhow. What I have to tell you has to do with a certain courtesan we all know.” He paused. I didn’t know if it was for emphasis or what, but my heart plummeted at the thought of Ainessa.

  “Go on,” I prodded.

  “She has enlisted the help of the Altasian Raiders.”

  “Who?”

  Jett’s expression fell to grim. So this was a big deal. He clenched his jaw. “Luthais would have informed me if there was a threat within his lands.”

  “If’n he were able, sure he would.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “That particular lord is under her spell. I’ve seen his kind before.”

  Jett cleared his throat. “Nonsense. Tabitha would have known.”

  Gibbit turned away from us and hobbled toward the front of the castle. He was just going to leave after saying something like that?

  I rushed to his side. “What makes you think Luke has been compelled?”

  His beady orange eyes blinked at me. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Didn’t you? But I thought—”

  “Mistress has other ways, Rayla. You’ve seen what she can do.” His cold hand covered mine. “Don’t go to Altasia. Make an excuse for why you have to go elsewhere. You have to believe me. I’ve risked much by coming here, but as I said before, you are my friend. I couldn’t stand to see you hurt again or worse.”

  Before I could say anything else, he vanished.

  Jett escorted me to my room. He also insisted on coming in and checking to make sure I would be safe for the night. How was I supposed to sleep? Come to think of it, I hadn’t slept well since I came here. Fatigue knew me pretty well now. As far as I was concerned it was all Heath’s fault. The next time I saw him I was going to do something about it.

  Jett seemed reluctant to leave, so I led him to the couch. I still had questions, and he was going to answer them. “Okay. I have to know who these Raiders are, and what they could do to me.”

  Unbelievably he yawned. “Forgive me. This has been a long day.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  He gave me a lazy smile. “Within Altasia reside several rebel factions. The Raiders are the worst of the lot. They’ve been taking trips into the human realm even though it is forbidden for any fae below lord status. They have also been working with other dissidents within each house of fae to weaken our government. Most think them no more than a rumor, they supposedly disbanded long ago, but I believe they are merely the cover of a deeper organization.”

  “So they’re meant to
be a distraction?”

  He nodded. “Many have been locked up for centuries, but more just take their place.” His slight frown deepened. “I’m beginning to think they’ve found a way out of the prison, too.”

  I shook my head in utter disgust. “You people have a lot of nerve asking me to fix this kind of garbage. How am I supposed to unite something that has been splintering for millennia?”

  “Begging your pardon, Rayla, but I’ve never asked you to do anything.”

  I cocked my head. “Yeah? What about bonding with you?”

  His skin tone deepened with a blush. “I don’t exactly recall asking.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Anyway…like I was saying—”

  His reply made me stop mid sentence. “All I need is your power to fix this problem. I never wanted your help.”

  What an arrogant idiot. I let that thought slip through the new formed barrier in my mind.

  Jett snapped his neck around, glaring at me. “Why would I risk you getting hurt when I wouldn’t have to?”

  “I can’t believe you want me to bond with you. What kind of weird relationship did you imagine we’d have? Me as the little wife waiting at home, cooking your dinner and washing your socks?”

  His brows furrowed. “I would never expect such a thing from a queen.” He just as quickly smiled. “Yet the image is quite appealing.”

  I cuffed him on the shoulder. “You would think that. Does the word Neanderthal mean anything to you?”

  “Very funny, Rayla. You know what? You should start an act.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll call it—twenty-one ways to ditch a fae.”

  “You’d have to succeed in such an endeavor first.”

  I laughed. “I’m working on it.”

  For whatever reason, the teasing light drained from his face. “In all seriousness, I couldn’t ever allow you to do anything that would put you in danger if there was even the slightest chance of another option working.”

  “Good thing for me you don’t get to make decisions like that.”

  He tipped his head back a bit, staring down his nose at me. “Yet.”

  I shook my head, smiling. “Ever.”

  “Oh, Rayla, what am I going to do about you?”