Atlas’s eyes turned to slits.
“You expect me to force rule on my people? You can’t be serious. We are light.”
“So are the Lry, but you see how they treated you. Light isn’t always good. Darkness isn’t always bad. We can make this work between us. We can change everyone’s perspective. Let us change history. Together.”
“You are sly, I’ll give you that. Tell me this. What of Cara? Is she just your weapon?”
At Ri’s hesitation, I glanced up, seeing him for the first time. His dark, granite-colored skin was now a light gray, and his features appeared softer. He looked different. Handsome. Almost human.
“Every queen’s duty is to protect her king. This is no different.”
“It is! She is not Ri.”
“She doesn’t have be. All she has to do is know her duty.”
“And what duty is that?”
“Every queen’s duty. She’ll be the brains within the muscle. My light when I’m drowning in all this dark. Rationality to my annihilation. We’ll even each other out. Don’t you see?”
“I see a lot of things. Do I see truth in your declaration? No. What I know is what I just witnessed. You stole light. You took it into yourself. That is what speaks to me. Does it feel good? Like a drug to you? I bet it does. I bet you can’t get enough. And you’ll use her. Not only to take more, but to get what you want, like you’re doing with me right now.”
Ri adjusted me in his arms, lifting me so our faces were at the same level. Pale yellow stared into me, doused of the evil. There was a calming I could suddenly feel in our tie. And a love in his depths. Not of me. It just “was.” The light. It was a beautiful feeling. So much so, I didn’t want to blink for fear I would be disconnected from the wonderful peace it brought.
“Cara, come on. We’re leaving. Cara.”
Ri’s forehead pressed gently into mine as we continued to stare into each other’s eyes. In the distance, I could hear Atlas calling to me, but I couldn’t break away.
“Cara, look at me.”
“We’re going to get you better, Ina, and then you’re going to come home. You’re going to be my queen and help me change this world. They don’t see it like us. They can’t. We’ve done nothing but spend our lives fighting to live. That’s over now. We don’t know each other, but that doesn’t matter. What is here,” he said, putting his free hand over my heart, “is what’s important. You feel it. You want it, and want me, don’t you?”
It wasn’t a question. Deep in the trance of light, I knew that.
“She doesn’t know what she wants. Whatever you’re manipulating her to feel is bullshit.”
Our connection broke as Ri pulled back and looked at Atlas. “Don’t think I haven’t heard your thoughts or felt your emotions. Our tie only influences you so far. You can blame me for your guilty conscience, but we both know you’re angry at something you can’t have. Don’t ruin this for her because you do not understand my motives. Let me assure you, there are none. I’m trying to make peace. I could easily take her now and storm your race. How do you think the chips would fall? I know I’ll survive. How many of your kind will without their real leader there to protect them?”
I blinked. The fogginess made it hard to process their argument. I was so tired, and I hurt as if my insides were battered and bruised. But I wasn’t deaf to the hint of war. And my background in biology told me more than either of these men ever would. Ri needed my help to control what was ingrained in his very DNA. The light would balance him. But was his motivation real? The illumination I experienced within him said yes. Instinct told me there was something I didn’t know, and that made me suspicious.
“Cara.”
I turned, and Atlas’s arms came out to take me. He seemed impatient as he shuffled his feet and called to me with the gestures of his fingers. The nervousness on his face may have been hidden, but I could read his emotions so clearly, I didn’t even have to try. He was afraid. And not just at his lack of power against his enemy. He was afraid of where I stood.
“Look at him, Ina. Always the savior. Always the protector. He thinks he’s better for you than me. What do you think? Could you love Atlas? Do you think he could love you?”
As I stared into brown eyes, I wondered if some part of me already did. Maybe even a part of myself I didn’t know. After all, hadn’t I seen his eyes in my meditation before we even met? It could have been coincidence, or not him at all, but after all I had learned, I wasn’t so sure of that.
“You ask me to choose as if this is a game. I’m tired of not having a voice in any of it. You did this to me.”
“And I told you why. I’m saving you from certain death. Now, save us. You are Ri, Ina. You’re one of us. Feel it. Here.” He pressed against my stomach where he’d forced his way in. “Our people are counting on you. If you could see their anticipation to your arrival, you would understand why this is so important.”
“Maybe it is, but what you did was wrong. You never gave me a choice. You made me a ghost. My friends don’t know me. It was like I never existed. I do not accept that.”
Ri walked past Atlas and sat on the bed with me on his lap. I tried to stand, but his grip was firm on my hip.
“You don’t have to. It just is. That timeline is dead. When you met Atlas through my influence, it shifted. Your frequencies attuned and both of your lives in that part of the world disappeared: his pretending to be human, and your life after your battle with cancer the first time. Reality for the two of you changed to the timeline of my choosing. You didn’t work as a biologist. I chose the path where you didn’t really work at all. You see, depression and guilt will do that to a person. That is why no one you are acquainted with in that city knows you. You stayed isolated. Alone. Until Atlas arrived at your door.”
“How did you do that?” Atlas’s voice was angry as he glared in our direction. “Why would you do that?”
“Love. I’m so much more powerful than you can imagine. Shifting timelines is nothing.”
“And me? You said there, as in Los Angeles. I’m assuming—”
“I can’t bring back the dead, Atlas. Those timelines are gone.” His head dropped as Ri continued. “Your life was about the same as Cara’s. No fancy living. No nice luxury vehicle in one of the most third density, materialistic, cities there are. You took the same depressive route until I allowed you to hear Cara. You were so starved for something from home, you grasped to her call like someone handed you your old life back. You feel it, don’t you? That need for her. That want.” Cara is a craving you’ve had for over five years.
“I hate you,” I whispered.
Ri brushed back my hair, sighing. “Don’t say that, Ina. You don’t. Not really. Behind the surface, you’re happy I introduced you to Atlas. Aren’t you?” At my silence, he continued. “You are. And I don’t blame you. He is light. I’m curious, though. You seem attached to your old friends and timeline. It makes you upset to have that bond gone. Believe it or not, I didn’t expect you to react so strongly to me changing it.”
“Did you consider me at all?”
Ri’s head dropped a little. “No. Not as I should have. I tried to pick the easiest way to make you disappear from that life. I’m sorry. I don’t want you to feel pain. If I could…would you want me to change the timeline to a different one?”
“What do you mean? You can change it again? You can make my friends remember me?”
“I can. They won’t know you as the Cara they worked with, but they’ll know you in other ways.”
“Yes,” I rushed out. “I want them back. I want…” My voice caught as emotions that weren’t mine rolled through.
“You’re sensitive right now. You feel my dilemma.” Ri pulled me closer. “If I change the timeline, they’ll notice you’re missing. And even if I put in a timeline where we gave them an excuse for your departure, how would you explain your new position as queen? You can’t go back. And even if we did on occasion, how would you explain me?”
I glanced to Atlas, frowning as I brought my stare back to pale yellow eyes. For the monster I had viewed Ri as before, he was actually beautiful as a man. Where Atlas was rugged and good-looking, Ri had a God-like aristocratic vibe. Evil, yes. But also good…in the moment.
“If you change the timeline and let me talk to them, I will tell them I left for experimental treatment. That I will not be back for some time, but that I will keep in touch. If I choose this life…if,” I emphasized, “then maybe I met a man while I was there who I agreed to stay with—to build a life with.”
A smile tugged at the side of Ri’s mouth.
“Perhaps that’s not a bad story.”
“Tell her.” Atlas’s lips were tight as he came closer. “Tell her the truth.”
“What truth?”
“I should have never come to you, Cara. He fooled me too. Everything he’s telling you is a lie. Timelines, maybe. But he’ll never give you your friends or life back. You’re dead to them. He doesn’t want peace, he wants a weapon against the light. That weapon is you. He will not make you happy. Once he has you back in the shadow dimension, your own light will dwindle until you’re dead. He can’t help these lies any more than he can help who he is. It’s just their kind. Truth is a myth. Peace is a joke. He can’t help himself. He is the ultimate deceit wrapped in a pretty package to get what he wants. Like your human myth of the devil, he is the equivalent. Nothing good will come out of this, I can feel it.”
Atlas shoved against the invisible wall, glaring in Ri’s direction.
“Feel, you say? You feel very little since you’ve lost your gifts. We all know that. But you’re wrong about me this time, Atlas. When you return, you will see what I mean. The Paltenians are in trouble. Not just for their continual attacks on the Ri, but the takeover of the Kaw. They are neighbors to you no more. I’m afraid Kelu has ended that. The ones who didn’t die in the attack are no more than slaves to you now.”
“She’d never.”
“I’m afraid she did. Don’t believe me, ask our dear Rayl. He knows.”
Atlas spun in the king’s direction only to get rigid postures and silence.
“You see, without you on the throne, the Paltenians have become quite the problem. Power does that to people, I guess. It really changed your sweet sister. It changed us all.”
A growl flooded the room.
“Take me to her. You take me to her right now!”
“You know I cannot do that. I could supply a portal to cut your journey in half, but the mountains are forbidden. We cannot help you once you are there. Well…” Ri ran the tip of his nose along my cheek, “for you, Ina, I would risk death. But I could go only as a retrieval to your call. If I were to take you, we could never go back. Do you understand?”
I breathed deeply. “Yes. If you get me before I’m healed, I’m as good as dead.”
“Yes. Atlas’s people are your only hope. No other lightbeing would dare give a shadow king his queen. Especially not one with light. This is our only chance. The trip through the mountains will take every ounce of strength you have. Our tie will weigh you down. There are rituals against darkness that will take their toll. You must push through. I won’t be able to see or feel you, but if you call through this,” he said, pushing against my stomach again, “I will come. Be ready if I have to.”
Atlas slammed his hand into the wall, but Ri ignored him as he looked toward his men and the ones they kept cornered.
“Take the Lry home. Then wait outside the door for me. I may be a little while.”
As they shuffled, Atlas looked between us, confused. Within seconds, the other men disappeared completely. My jaw dropped as I gasped.
“How did they do that? None of this seems possible.”
“You’ll get used to it. It’s quite simple, really, and one of the easiest things a shadow species can do. I guess millions of years of fighting for survival will do that to any race. We’re just the best at it.” Ri grabbed my waist, turning and placing me on the bed as he stood to face Atlas. “I assume you’re ready?”
“Come on, Cara.”
Atlas reached for me, his voice filled with an edge of emotions. The multitude only grew through the light aura I could still witness around him as Ri shook his head.
“She’ll join you later. I think it’s time me and my mate got to know each other.”
Chapter 12
Atlas
Before I could reach Cara, I was gone, surrounded by large trees and a familiar smell of home. The Andes mountains were an outline in the darkness, and so was Ri. I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing in his moonlit appearance. It wasn’t normal or right. If there were ever an abomination, it was staring down at me. Dark could not become light. What it could do was manipulate those too naïve to know the difference, and that was worse than anything I could imagine.
“Don’t do this. Cara’s not ready for what you have in mind. You can’t…” I trailed off, angry at him being so close to her. It was nerve-wracking to see, but to not know, to not be able to help her if she needed it, was worse. “I feel your lust. You’ll kill her.”
Ri laughed. The evil he carried reflected in his tone.
“You underestimate the human race. They can withstand more than you know.”
“Not her. Not with you.”
His dark brows drew in. “You don’t think she can handle me? I happen to believe she’ll be just fine. I also think she’ll like it.”
“She won’t,” I exploded. “She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want you.”
“And you think she wants you?”
My lips parted. “No. Cara just wants to go home. She wants to be well, and to live a normal human life. Give that to her. Let me get her healed and you can put her in her highest timeline. The best one she could have. You and I can go from there. Just leave her out of it. Find another mate. Another queen who is more like you.”
“Like me? Of the shadow species, you mean?”
“It’s the right thing to do. If you want to talk peace, we’ll get with Kelu and we’ll talk. Cara can’t be part of that, though. I can’t even guarantee Kelu will heal her once she senses Ri inside her. Especially if she learns Cara is to be queen.”
Eyes narrowed as he stepped in. “She will heal her, or the Paltenians will pay. She owes me this.”
“Owes you?” My hands shoved hard into Ri’s chest leaving him stumbling. Here, in my territory, he was weak. “If anyone is owed, it is me. Me! You may be able to overlook the murder of my queen and child, but I can’t. I have tried every way amongst the light to do what is right by karma and forgiveness, but the truth is, I will never be able to let this go. Never. And if you hurt Cara, so help me, I will kill you. I’m not the same man I was before. Gifts, power, it won’t matter. Nothing will stop me.”
For long moments, he stared.
“I was not happy about what I had to do. Nevertheless, it had to be done. A king’s duty is not always an easy one. My people expected payback for my parents’ death. It was years of planning. The opportunity presented itself, and I had to act. You would have done the same had the roles been reversed.”
“I would not have. Women and children are off limits. They are always off limits! It was my life you were meant to take. Mine. Not theirs.”
Tears burned my eyes. Voices pleaded within for me to attack. I wanted to. Cara was suddenly the only thing stopping me. If I were dead, she would be too. And he still had her. Not me.
“I feel your pain. For the first time, I really do. And I’m sorry, but I can’t change the past.”
With that, Ri disappeared, leaving me floored at his apology. It wasn’t real. If it was, his sympathy wouldn’t last. The moment the light left him, he’d be back to the greedy killer he was born to be.
“Dammit!”
I kicked at the long grass, turning in a circle to take in the scenery. Where I was in proximity to Paltenia Anew, I hadn’t a clue. I could only guess and go off instinct, and that told m
e it wasn’t close. From the brisk air, all I could smell were Araucania trees, not associated with my home. Couldn’t Ri have manifested us closer?
I groaned, letting time pass as I began to collect firewood and work on a small shelter. The temperature was dropping colder than it had been in the lower elevations. Smoke puffed from my mouth while I hit the rocks together, praying the ancient method would work. Every king went through training to survive. What to do was ingrained. I just never thought I’d be without my gifts to where I’d have to use them.
Sparks cut through the night, failing to light the kindling I had collected. My fingers were going numb from the cold. With each minute that dragged on, it was getting harder to stop the trembling that was causing me to shake. The constant chattering of my teeth only added to the fury holed up inside. This was Ri’s fault. My gifts...Trying to tap into them was pointless. Had I wanted, I could have started the fire with my mind. I could have taken Cara directly to the front fucking door of my kingdom, and Ri would have never had a chance to get his hands on her. Yet, here I was, more drained than the day I had left. All thanks to him.
I threw the rock in frustration. What was taking him so long? What was he doing with her?
Flashes of her breasts had me growling as I fell to my back and looked up at the stars. They shouldn’t have been on my mind at all. I shouldn’t have even seen them. Yet I had, and it would have been a lie if I said I didn’t want to see them again. Ri was right. It wasn’t entirely the tie causing this insatiable need to have her. True, it was easier to force myself to believe that, but it was a lie. I wanted her. I wanted a woman who was not my wife. What kind of man did that make me? What had I become? I was so lost in every facet of my being.
Twigs broke in the distance, a quick snap as crunching came closer. I sat up, seeing a figure approach. The closer it got, the more I had to squint. Damn Ri for draining me. I was more human than Paltenian—more third density than fourth.
“I got a tent.” I sighed in relief at Cara’s voice. “Ri thought we might need one. He’s given us a pack with food and supplies too.”
Atlas Lost Page 9
