Now it only provides a quicker way to lead the dragon straight to their heart.
“Thankfully, I’ll be relieved of your whining soon,” he says, causing us all to startle with the sound of his words. His tired eyes find mine in the low light, a whisper of heat trailing my face where they roam, watching to see how I’ll react to his next words. “We’re nearly at the city now. Actually, I can’t believe our shining escort hasn’t arrived yet.” His eyes burrow into mine once more, and this time, I see something else… something I don’t expect. Anger, yet laced with something more.
Jealousy?
I’m saved from response when another light shines in the distance—a fire so bright it could consume our puny torches in one gulp. My eyes turn to Vivi, surprised to find a look of uncertainty gracing her face. Sireen watches in silence, before slowly reaching out to grab my free hand. Together, we are linked. The three lost sisters waiting to face down our mysterious guest. But I’m not waiting, not once I catch the honeyed waves that fall neatly across our escort’s confident brow.
No, my feet can’t move fast enough.
Dropping my torch, I slip my hand from their grips and dart past Aras’ scowling form, headed straight for the one boy who I didn’t know I had missed. Greeting me with a brilliant smile, he places his own torch on the ground, just in time for me to slam into his arms.
“Ian,” I whisper into his chest. His cheek grazes lightly across my forehead, and his arms pull me in tight.
“Penelope,” he whispers back. I tilt my gaze up to peer into his face, elated to find that his joy mirrors my own.
I pull back, keeping my arms latched on his shoulders, unaware of Aras’ approaching chest until I smack right into it. “That sure was a healthy greeting for a complete stranger, wouldn’t you agree, Penelope Brave?” Unbridled anger drips from his voice, and it takes me a second to realize my mistake. If Aras doesn’t remember his time with me, he doesn’t remember my time with Ian either. For all he knows, I’ve committed the greatest treason there is. If I’ve befriended the enemy, then he can hurt Vivi.
And I can’t have that.
Ignoring Ian’s questioning stare, I drop my arms, swinging around to meet his face. “Well, strangers who have only met between the pages of Mother’s journal. She had described him with such vivid detail I could only guess it was him.”
“You’ve never met, yet you throw your arms around the first boy you see, hoping you’ve betted correct?” he asks, narrowing his gaze as he speaks.
I square my shoulders, tilting my chin in line with his glare. “He’s not the first boy I’ve seen, Aras; he’s my betrothed. You, of anyone, must recognize the importance of this union.” Aras watches me for a second too long, as if he’s not sure he can trust my implication—that this is all a ruse to further our false alliance. But then he allows a begrudging nod before he backs away, closing himself off to me once more. Catching my breath, I turn to the golden boy beside me. “You are Ian, right?”
“With a greeting like that, I’d say he could pretend to be anyone you wanted him to be,” Vivi chimes as she comes to a stop by my side. “Great skies above, I think he’d even pretend to be me, though you’d have to grow out that nice hair,” she adds with a wink.
Ian responds with a proud smile, as if he thinks it’s a blessing that my little sister has inherited my mouth. Clasping her shoulder, he looks to me as his grin turns playful. “And this must be Viviana, my soon-to-be little wolf of a sister-in-law. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
I risk a glance at Vivi, worried she’ll take offence to the use of her given name, but I’m happy to see she doesn’t even bristle. Instead, she beams under his words and careful praise. I find myself grinning in return.
“Though I have to admit,” he continues, his tone turning serious. “When I first saw two heads of dark hair stomping through these tunnels, I was worried for a moment that you might have brought along Lo.”
Without a thought, laughter spills from my lips, echoing through the low rocks and filling my heart with joy. Ian’s easy laughter joins my own, and the look he gives me is enough to nearly send me crashing to my knees. For Ian has also found joy. He’s found it within me.
As if out of habit, as if I’ve done it all of my life, I take his hand. A soft desire floats in his eyes, and he starts to speak, when his gaze sharply drops to my side. “Viviana?” he says, causing my shoulders to jump at what I see.
There my precious Vivi stands, her strong face lined with fresh tears—a flooding, untamed river washing down her pale cheeks. She reaches out to cup my chin, and my hands scramble up to cover her own. “Vivi?” I gasp, searching her eyes. “What is it, my heart?”
Her blurry gaze turns soft as she takes me in, shaking her head and willing away the tears that mar her vision. “You laughed,” she whispers, crumbling my heart with her innocent words. Words she should have been able to say to her big sister long ago, had I not drowned her with my sorrow. “You laughed, and I’ve never heard it before. It’s beautiful, Brave, like the clapping of the stars when we do something good. It’s our mother’s laugh, and I didn’t realize how much I needed it until now.”
Her words, so careful and full of truth, scatter into the cramped air and fill my soul with the greatest longing I’ve ever known. The longing for my mother, for my papa, and for happiness untold. I want to laugh, and I want to spend the rest of my life sharing it with those who I love most.
Tears spring to my eyes, and I open my mouth, ready to tell her so, when a kind voice takes all of my troubles away. “Then you should trust me, Viviana, when I say there is much more laughter where that came from. Now, come, friends,” he says, looking up to address Aras and Sireen, who have remained eerily silent during our recent exchange. “Theron awaits.”
He grabs Vivi’s hand, while he retrieves his disregarded torch with the other. Together, they surge ahead down the long and winding tunnel. Too stunned to breathe, I watch as his golden hair and blue tunic disappear into the dark with my sister happily bopping by his side.
“Very gracious, the new prince,” Aras says, his torch flashing as his shoulder joins mine. “Perhaps too gracious, I think.”
My chin rises, but I refuse to glance his way. “Perhaps you should keep an eye on him.” I motion toward the tunnel, watching as the dot of gold grows smaller with every step. “And spend less time torturing me.”
A low growl leaves his lips, but a hesitant figure slides between us, blocking his wrath. “She’s right, Aras,” Sireen says with the clearest voice I’ve heard her speak with since we left on this nightmarish journey. “Your focus should be on anyone who may keep our king from succeeding, and right now, that isn’t Brave.”
Then she tugs me forward, leaving my burning torch to light Aras’ hard stare. Together, we relish the darkness. Its cool fingers reach out, pulling us in and swallowing us whole.
Eighteen
True to Aras’ words, the remaining walk to Theron is a quick one, and as we near the massive blue gates that rise to the lowering sun and back, I can’t help but wish I had more time. More time to think about my burned mother. My cursed papa. My lost friend. My Theron prince. Not to mention the swelling doubt that fills me every time I begin to ponder how I’ll actually defeat my father and save this kingdom from ruin. But the more pressing issue might be how I’m going to walk into this new territory, wearing nothing but a dusty, black tunic and matching pants.
Even a lost princess must look the part.
Beside me, Sireen gives my shoulder a soft bump with her own. I startle, realizing my boots have somehow caught hold on the hard, cobbled road that leads us to our new home. Or our temporary home, at least. Sireen’s gaze follows mine to tall, and curiously unmanned, gates. Exactly the kind of gates that wouldn’t stand a chance against my father’s wrath, should he ever try to test them.
Ahead of us, Ian must sense my sudden debate, because he stops his animated conversation with Vivi about the lively markets in Theron’s main
square and looks back over his shoulder with a slight frown lining his face. “Having second thoughts?” he asks, the humor evident in his tone. It’s the first time he’s spoken to me since our unfortunate hug in the tunnel, and his voice captures me, stealing my breath and fueling the oddest need to wrap him up in an unfortunate hug once more.
“Look at me, Ian,” I answer, gesturing down to my unkempt appearance. “Surely you must be having second thoughts now that we’ve emerged from the dark and out into the unflattering fresh air. If you take me through those front gates looking like this, I’m afraid your own people might run you right back out.”
Ian laughs, immediately ruining my self-pity. He tugs Vivi along to where I stand with an air of dejection, not mere steps from Aras’ broody exterior. The sorry guard hasn’t spoken a word since our last conversation within the heart of that awful mountain, and I’m disappointed he hasn’t at least offered something unflattering about my attire. Though Ian’s easy nature and uncanny good looks do have a way of making our current situation slightly uncomfortable at best.
Perhaps Aras isn’t the only one who wishes to disappear.
“Come now, Penelope.” He reaches up to run his fingers across my bound hair. I raise my brows, knowing Sireen’s side braid and tight bun are the only thing about my appearance that is remotely appropriate. “The people of Theron won’t care a bit about how you look. They only know you as their future princess, and that is enough for them.”
I open my mouth, fully tending to object, when he places a soft finger on my lips, leaning in close to my ear. “Besides, it doesn’t really matter what they think. If I can promise you one thing, Princess Penelope, it’s that I’m willing to take you in any way I can get. Wild and beautifully disheveled mistress of fire or not.”
Great skies of Ashen.
Who is this new Ian, with his charming wiles and devious words that make me want to take him by the hand and disappear into the woods forever? And if it wasn’t for Vivi’s presence by my side or Aras’ dangerous glare, I may do just that.
Great skies of Ashen, indeed.
“I’m glad to find you so willing to wrangle my demons,” I say, pulling back from his warm grin and motioning to the gates. “But that still doesn’t make my dress any more suitable for court.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he allows, following my gaze toward the gates and the mysterious city they scarcely protect. “But if you’d rather arrive in a more discreet manner, I am willing to oblige.”
“Then I suggest you get to obliging, Prince,” Aras quips, surprising us all with the sound of his voice, “or else we’ll have to turn right back around and go back to where we came.”
Ian’s brow crinkles as the two men lock eyes. True to my awkward nature, I look away from the uncomfortable showdown, fidgeting with my hands. It’s another miserable second until Ian finally reaches out to place a firm hand on my shoulder. “You four wait here. When I get back, I expect to see a blinding smile on your face.” Then he’s off and running toward the opening gates.
Beside me, Vivi and I watch as his golden hair flashes in the late afternoon sun, and though I can’t see my reflection to tell for sure, I’m quite positive that a blinding smile is already there.
“Talk about the darkest night has light,” Vivi murmurs with a low whistle. “That boy is practically a shining star himself, sent down from above to make our lives cheery and whole again.” Confusion steals her thoughts, and she turns to eye me as if I’ve seriously let her down and she’s only realizing it now. “You also didn’t mention his good looks.”
Aras grumbles under his breath and turns on his heel, content to grind his boots into the stones beneath our feet, while Sireen and I try and fail to cover our laugh. “Oh, Vivi,” I say, wrapping my arm around her neck and pulling her into a warm hug. “You’ll come to learn that the best ones always are.”
ↄ
“Now that one’s a giant pig if I ever saw one,” Vivi says as she points into the sky. Her shoulder brushes against my own—two dirty sisters lying on the ground in our own magical dust storm of boredom. The sun’s position has shifted dramatically since we last saw our golden star, and I’m beginning to think he’s forgotten about us. Hope, even. Because maybe if we never enter those gates, we’ll never have to fight for what’s behind them either.
“Whose idea was this to play pictures in the clouds again?” Aras moans against his raised knees where he sits to our side, agonizing over every little word we say. He tips his head up just enough to catch me staring, before closing his eyes and blocking us from view once more. His dark, sloppy curls move against his forehead, reaching out like fingers into the humid air, all the while gifting him the appearance of a rather becoming, wild beast.
“Besides,” he huffs into the ground. “Any sane person can tell that it’s a dancing bear, Viviana. Perhaps we should have your vision, or rather, mind checked.”
Vivi’s sharp eyes turn to find mine as a wide grin pinches her cheeks. Without another glance, she rises to her elbows, turning toward Aras as if she’s finally found him again. “Well, send me to the stars and back,” she teases, causing Aras’ head to jump up once more. “Tell me, Brave. Is it me, or did our Aras make a joke?”
My eyes flit to Aras, hoping to find that silly grin plastered across his olive cheeks, but today, it seems, is not my day for luck. “I wasn’t joking, you loon,” Aras spouts with enough venom in his gaze to strike us both. “If anything, I think you’re both crazy… laying here on the ground and staring into the clouds like they’re waiting to make a picture for your entertainment. It’s pathetic, and you can thank your lucky flames that your father isn’t here to see it.”
Like a coiled snake, I’m up in a flash, reaching out to harness Vivi should she feel the need to attack. But rather than wrangling a snarling boar, I’m greeted with a shaking chest and a resounding laugh. “Is that all you’ve got?” she howls, causing tears of laughter to roll down her flushed cheeks. “I must say, you are going to have to try harder if you think I’m going to believe—”
But her words never have a chance to finish, slipping off like a breeze into the warm air. Moving from my grasp, she stares toward the gates. “Would you look at that,” she whispers.
My eyes tip up, following her gaze as Ian emerges from the gates—a massive, white carriage and four black horses cruising along behind him. Even at a distance, I can see the way the light catches off his perfect, straight teeth as his full lips pull into a bright smile. Without a thought, as if they already know my reaction to him by heart, I find my lips smiling in return.
Because when my Theron prince says he will oblige, boy does he ever.
“Do you think this will be discreet enough for you?” he calls over the loud clopping of the hooves against the smooth, cobbled stones. “At least this way, you’ll be sitting down as you wave to your people.” Pausing, he waits until the beautiful creation is mere steps from my feet, and then he leans in to whisper against my ear. “You think you’re saving them from having to see you this way, but for the first time ever, I must admit that you’re wrong.”
Pushing back, I raise a brow and look up into his pale, striking face. “Is that so?” I ask, holding tight to my amusement. “And do you plan to do this often? Disagree with me, that is?”
Biting his lips, he peers down at me through those long, and dreadfully distracting, lashes, making my insides nearly plummet to my feet. “Well, Penelope, I guess that will depend on the subject, won’t it?” he says, and for the briefest of moments, his green eyes finally meet mine.
Oh, Ian, Ian. The kindest prince of the eastern mountains. Is it truly possible to accidently light oneself on fire? Because I think I just did.
“And once you get to know her, Prince, I think you’ll find yourself disagreeing more often than not,” Aras tosses our way, effectively extinguishing my inner flames.
Humph. Curse that rotten boy, and uncurse him all the same.
Aras grabs our forgo
tten packs, opening the large door to the delicately carved carriage and tossing them in without a second thought. Ian sends me one last grin and turns to a peculiarly silent little sister by my side. “Have you ever ridden in a carriage?” he asks, reaching out to take hold of her hand.
Vivi snorts, and to her credit, it’s much more ladylike than I could ever muster. “Do giant bears dance in the clouds?”
Aras crosses his arms, shooting her an ugly glare, but refusing to amuse her all the same.
“I guess that depends on who you ask.” Ian chuckles, sending me a glance as he moves to help Vivi step up into our welcoming ride. Much more welcoming than the last one I rode in, at least.
“Yes,” Vivi allows, tipping her head back as she enters the carriage to eye Aras once more. “Perhaps I shouldn’t believe everything my fake brother says, even when he wants me to.”
Then, like the ever-shifting pictures in the clouds, she disappears, along with a very quiet and squint-eyed Ian in tow. From her careful perch along the side of the road, Sireen finally joins the commotion, seemingly happy to be entering the gates in this white monstrosity otherwise known as our ride. She greets the lone soldier who sits up front with the intricate reins clutched in his hands, and red blooms across my cheeks for not noticing him before.
What must he think of his new mess of a princess and her smart-mouthed little sister?
Thankfully, I’m saved from further torture when Aras holds his hand toward the open door, motioning for me to file in. I return his gesture with a curt nod of my own, only stopping when I near his side. Sneaking a peek at his face, so close, and for the first time since his change, so forlorn, I can’t stop the words as they pour from my lips. “She’s teasing you, Aras. You get under her skin, and it’s the only way she knows how to fight back.”
The Darkest Night Page 12
