by Candy Crum
Alaric's face fell as he sighed. Then he shrugged, bursting into laughter. "You know, if you didn't believe me, you could've just told me so. I'm sick and tired of hiding. I'm sick and tired of faking who I am. You seem to think I'm some dark, evil monster. That couldn't be further from the truth. If anyone here is dark and evil, it's you."
Alexander's eyes widened. "Me? How can you say such a thing? I've made mistakes just like anyone else, but my heart has always been in the right place. I've never wanted anything but a peaceful home and healthy people. Food. Shelter. Love. Basic necessities for any human being. You crave more and more of anything that you are handed."
Rolling his eyes, Alaric said, "See? That's exactly the shit I'm talking about. You seem to think the world is all about roses and what-the-fuck-ever else. It isn't. The Arcadians are demanding access to the Dark Forest. They want to put loggers in here to cut it all down. Our home! What would you do? Oh, wait—don't even bother answering. I know exactly what you would do. You'd roll over and let them do it. You don't have what I have. You’re pathetic. I'm the only one fit to rule over this community."
Alexander shook his head. "We didn't come so far and achieve so much just for us to lose everything we've worked for. I would never let anyone take our home from us. We will work day and night to create a barrier strong enough to keep them out. Nothing and no one will be able to get past it if they aren’t one of us."
Alaric smiled. "Well, look at you! There's something. Let's get to work on that."
Alexander shook his head. "Oh, we will, but you will have no part in it. You no longer have a place in the Dark Forest. You don't belong here anymore. I've allowed you to get away with far too much. I took you away from training children because I thought you just weren't very good with them, but it turned out you were tormenting them. Children! And now you’re a murderer. You have a lust for power, and I have no doubt in my mind that if I turned my back at the wrong time—if I did even one thing you didn’t approve of—you would take my life as well."
"You're damn right I would! If you were too weak to do what needed to be done, I would. And yes, I would kill you if it meant being strong enough for our people. You should be grateful for what I did. You should be grateful for the way I treated the children. They will grow up stronger for it. You should be grateful for everything I've done that you couldn't. Hell, you and everyone else should kneel at my feet."
Alexander couldn't believe the words coming from Alaric’s mouth. He couldn't believe how far his friend had fallen. He'd had some idea, but he hadn’t completely understood until then. He loved Alaric, so he hadn’t been able to face the truth before.
But he could now.
"Alaric, leave now, or you will be forcibly removed," Alexander said firmly, his fists clenched at his sides. Several warriors stepped forward, ready to defend Alexander and their people if necessary, each of them having heard the words Alaric had spoken as a threat.
Alaric smiled. "If you think for an instant I'm the only one who thinks this way, you’re dead wrong. You will regret this. We’ll see each other again, old friend, and when we do, my death touch will completely drain the life from you. I won't stop until you and anyone standing behind you—including that little brat of yours—either kneels at my feet or dies by my hands."
The Chieftain looked around at his captivated audience and Zoe slowly pulled her hands back. Everyone seemed to be as taken aback by what had happened with Alaric as Alexander had been that morning. Elysia was most affected, now knowing her life had been threatened when she was a toddler.
"As you can imagine, Alaric was escorted out of the Dark Forest. That night, we worked together—men, women, and children—until we had the barrier started. Every night after that, we each took to the barrier and grew it taller, thicker, and stronger. It took weeks, but once it was established it was easy for us to build outwards. As our community grew, we made it bigger.
"Alaric's brother, Jerick, left soon after, and several others with him. I didn’t ask questions, just allowed them to go. It was their choice. After that, we focused on ourselves. We cut off all deliveries to and from Arcadia, and we very much became the threat the city had believed us to be. Not even Adrien dared to mess with us once the barrier was erected. He knew better."
The Chieftain finished the rest of his wine before setting his mug down. "After that day, everyone was in awe that I had put the community before myself, even casting away someone who had been very important to me to protect our people. It was because of that very day that everyone began calling me ‘Chieftain,’ and not sarcastically, as Alaric had done. Over the years, we've had several run-ins with Alaric and his people, but we never truly had the threat of war. Until now."
"We're not going to let them take the Forest. You didn't let them take it back then, and we're not going to let them take it now," Arryn said, her face full of defiance and fury.
Several people raised their mugs, everyone else following suit shortly after. "For the Dark Forest!"
The Chieftain smiled a bit sadly. He raised what was left of his mug of strong wine. "For the Forest."
He drank the rest of it before setting the mug on his chair and excusing himself, as he had each night that he forced himself to relive that terrible past.
10
Aeris usually walked alongside his Chieftain at the front of the line since they were the strongest in the tribe, but today was different. It had been different ever since they had left the Terres Forest. Alaric's brother, Jerick, was his righthand man now, and as such stood in the position Aeris had held dear.
Aeris had more or less been thrown to the side.
It didn’t matter to him that Jerick was Alaric’s brother. They’d been feuding for years, and Aeris had been by his side for a decade. Dedicated his life and purpose to him as well as his vision.
Now cast away, he realized exactly how expendable he was in comparison to the Chieftain's brother.
But then again, Aeris hadn’t always been there.
Aeris had been Alaric’s enemy for quite some time before he had come to realize just how unevenly the Chieftain of the Dark Forest operated. How he picked and chose his favorites, breaking the rules for them while enforcing them with others.
Arryn…
A child in danger…
Her age shouldn't have mattered, or that she was in danger. Arryn was an Arcadian—an outsider. That meant she was the child of an enemy. Aeris couldn't see it then, and he still couldn't see why in Irth the Chieftain broke the rules for such a spoiled brat.
Especially given that Adrien might have come searching for her.
Perhaps he would get to ask Alexander that question himself one day very soon. Maybe he would find out exactly why he had risked the lives of his people over some noble whelp from the city.
Of course, after overhearing some of the conversations Alaric had recently had with Jerick, Aeris was no longer convinced his own Chieftain was very different from the one he had abandoned.
It seemed Alaric would be just as ready as Alexander to sacrifice his people under the right circumstances.
Those circumstances being taking the Dark Forest, of course.
Aeris didn't plan to just sit around and wait for the moment Alaric decided he was no longer good enough to remain by his side. He wouldn't allow himself to be disgraced again—to be taken for granted.
And he wouldn't allow that to happen to Jenna either.
Poor Jenna…
When he left she had been stuck in the Dark Forest with people who were cold and judgmental, and he knew she had suffered a great deal.
While it was true that she had become a warrior, he had a feeling Alexander had put her in that place to prove a point. Surely it wasn’t because he actually trusted her, as he had told her. He had always wondered if it’d had more to do with proving he was in control—that the Chieftain wasn’t afraid of someone like Aeris or Alaric.
She’d had to force herself to train with them, fight for them
and alongside them, while they silently judged her for sins that were not her own. While Jenna herself still believed the Chieftain of the Dark Forest had once placed faith in her, Aeris knew better. That lesson had taken a long time to learn.
No one could be trusted.
Only family.
He and Jenna were all that was left. All he had. His parents had stuck around with them when they had been liberated, but they had still believed in Alexander—though they were smart enough not to say such a thing, so they could stay with their children, no matter what the cost.
Still, Aeris believed from the bottom of his heart that his parents would have turned on him and Jenna in a heartbeat if it had meant with absolute certainty they could get back into Alexander’s good graces.
Jenna might have her flaws, but she truly was all he had in the world. He planned to see to it that neither of them ever had to fear or worry about anything else as long as they lived.
Over the past hour, Aeris had gradually decreased his pace, allowing the dark druids to pass him and slowly dropping back so it didn't seem suspicious. His place had always been in the front, as next in line for power, and since Jenna was third in line, she always took the rear.
Her death touch was strong like Alaric's. Her dark magic had been acquired much faster than her pure nature magic ever had. It had more or less made her the Chieftain’s second adopted child, which had pleased Aeris.
Perhaps she had been meant to be a dark druid all along. It was where her powers were the strongest.
"Is everything okay?" Jenna asked, knowing it was unusual to see her brother at the rear.
He nodded and said quietly, "I wanted to speak to you alone."
That certainly caught her attention. "All right. What's going on?"
He paused as he judged the distance between them and the rest of the druids ahead of them. "I know you came here to get away. I also know you wanted to support me and even Alaric, but things have changed."
Jenna's eyes narrowed a bit as she searched his expression, though she could only see it from a side angle. "Of course, I support you. I'll ask you one more time: what's going on, Aeris? What’s changed?"
There was a pause before he continued, "I don't think Alaric has our best interests at heart. I truly believe he would send every one of us against Alexander, even if he knew it meant certain death."
Jenna kept her expression as level as possible as she nodded. "Do you have a plan to do something about this, or are you just planning to wing it?"
"I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help. It involves Arryn," he said, turning his eyes toward his sister’s as they continued to walk behind the crowd. "You’re absolutely sure she's powerful?"
Jenna almost laughed. "Oh, I'm positive. You didn't see the level of magic she used in the Versuch. It wasn't allowed, but she got away with it like she gets away with everything. I'm sure by now she's learned how to control her abilities better, too. If she has, she's probably strong enough to take down Alaric on her own."
Aeris thought about his sister’s words carefully. He couldn't quite guarantee his idea would work, but if everything went according to plan, he certainly stood a good chance.
"Years ago, shortly after Arryn arrived, I went after her father, Christopher. He was still alive, and I took him because I knew one day he would be useful. I didn't care about anything else—not power, not control of the Dark Forest, none of that. I just wanted to kill Arryn. I didn't give a fuck if she was ten or a hundred and ten. She deserves to die, and her father deserves worse."
"I know all that," Jenna said. "The question is, what exactly do you plan to do with him?"
He smiled. "I'm going to lure Arryn out of the Dark Forest, and I'm going to use Christopher to do it. If we can get Arryn here with us, maybe I can use her to kill both Chieftains. Once they're dead, the people will follow me. There are several who put as little trust in him as I do. They want new leadership, and we can give that to them. They know we would respect them. We wouldn't throw wave after wave of them at Alexander just to watch them die like Alaric would."
Jenna smiled. "No. We'll formulate a foolproof plan that will win us our prize. We have supplies in the cave. Parchment and ink. I know I brought some with me when I first came, but I think others stole some as well. I'm betting Arryn will remember Daddy Dearest's signature. Maybe we should have him send a letter."
Aeris had to control his excitement as he realized just how easily everything would fall into place. "We're close enough now that if we sent a bird ahead to Jace, he could get the letter written and sent off by the time we got back home. Within a day or two, that bitch would find her way to us."
"What if she shows the letter to Alexander? Wouldn’t he convince her it was a setup?"
He shrugged. "I'm going to make sure we have backup. I plan to tell the Chieftain about this. If he knows we intend to separate Arryn, he’ll believe it's to make the druids of the Dark Forest weaker. In reality, we’ll seal his fate. If Arryn comes to us, fantastic. If Alexander convinces her it's a trap, it won't matter because we’ll be on our way to get her. My hope is that we’ll meet her in the middle and avoid confrontation with the others altogether. We will burn the leaves and use the wind to fan it through the barrier toward the villages."
Jenna nodded. "We can send men to the southern side of the border as well as the eastern side. With that smoke blowing in from both directions, there will be nowhere to run. The problem is, Alaric will want to take the Dark Forest right then if we convince him we’re ready to attack and remove Arryn."
"Leave Alaric to me. I’ll be able to compel him not to attack before we get Arryn. I’ll use his paranoia and ego against him.” He sighed as he smiled. “No one will be able to stop us. We get in, take Arryn, and get her back to the south end of the Forest. When she sees her father, she'll see exactly how far off he is—how crazy he’s become—and she'll lose her mind."
Aeris laughed with excitement, realizing just how close they were to having a full strategy. "And if she's as strong as you say she is, she'll rip that place apart to get to Alaric and Jerick. She will think it was all them, and she’ll do the hard work for us."
"That's brilliant," Jenna said. "Why don't you find your messenger? If anyone asks, I'll tell them you went to take a leak."
Aeris smiled again and nodded once before looking around to make sure no one was watching. Once he was satisfied all eyes were on the road ahead, he ran toward the edge of the woods to call a fast bird he could use to send his message.
It had taken two days of travel, but Bast, Cleo, and the rearick all made the trip safely to Arcadia. When they arrived, the guards at the gate stopped all of them, as was usual.
Adam, one of the guards, stepped forward and smiled. "Hey, Sven! It’s good to see you. Who are your friends here? I haven't seen them before."
Sven jerked his head in their direction. "These lassies right here saved our arses on the road from Craigston. Had it not been fer them, we’d ‘ve been dead fer sure. In fact, that ‘un right there leanin’ over a bit, she damn near kicked the bucket. She needs medical attention, but she's stable all right. Stitched ‘er up meself."
The guard's expression turned serious then, concern spreading across his face as he looked at Cleo. He nodded once. "I'll escort her to the medical building right away." He turned to Bast. "Ma'am, you're more than welcome to come with us. You’re both safe now. No harm will come to you here as long as you mean no harm to anyone else."
Bast looked at her wounded sister. Cleo slumped over her horse a bit, but she was alive. A bit of hope lit her eyes, matching Bast's. Not only had they made it to Arcadia, but the first person they had met was a kind and gentle soul.
"Thank you," Bast said. "She took a sword across her chest. Sven stitched her, but I know she could use some herbs and proper cleaning."
He nodded before motioning to his fellow guards. They quickly ran over, and he gave them orders to take his place and find another to replace him. He wal
ked them inside, stopping at the Guard post to get a horse for himself before leading the way through the city.
Bast and Cleo admired the large, beautiful trees that graced the main street. Some of the buildings looked like they had recently taken damage, and there were men and women working on a couple of them. Stones were being lifted and put into place with telekinesis, while on others, people were using wood to fix some of the walls.
It was a sight to see. Magic everywhere, just like they had been told.
"Once you get us settled, would it be possible for us to speak to a woman named Amelia? Do you know her?" Bast asked.
Adam nodded. "I do. She's our governor. If you wish to speak to her, I’ll bring her the message. The medical building isn't far from the Capitol building. May I ask what it's regarding?"
"I'm sure you can tell by looking at us that we aren’t from around here," Bast said, referring to her creamy, mocha-toned skin and obsidian hair.
Normally, it was very kinky and curly, but she had straightened it to more easily put it in a single long braid for fighting. Cleo liked to wear hers in thin, tight box-braids and tie all of them together. Both girls had emerald-green, catlike eyes, and they wore eyeliner to accentuate their beautiful, dramatic features.
Their look was customary where they were from, but very unique in a place like Arcadia. People stopped to look at them with genuine interest and what appeared to be awe as they made their way through the city.
Bast smiled at a little girl who flashed her a big toothless grin. "We traveled for two weeks from our homeland to get to the Temple, where we were told by a mystic there to come see a woman named Amelia in Arcadia. They said she might be able to help."
Adam nodded. "I don't know exactly what you need help with, but if anyone can help you it's Amelia. Though… I don't know if the mystics told you or not, but we have been through hell over the last year. A lot of things have happened here, and Amelia went to the deepest circle to pull us out. While I hope your journey here wasn't for nothing, I want you to keep that in mind."
