Reign (Roam Series, Book Six)

by Stedronsky, Kimberly

  The trial… Troy was furious; he wasn’t thinking logically about any consequences, and I knew the outcome.

  The prophecy.

  I elbowed my way through the crowd, winded, suffocating a scream when I saw my dad. He was held by several guards, in chains, his face flushed and raging.

  “Roam!” He fought his chains until blood streaked down his arms.

  “You think I have no pride? That I can just accept you back into my kingdom, my bed, my arms?” Troy paced, and my mother nodded, reaching for him.

  “No! I know you have pride… but I need you… not West, not your brother… just you, Troy, my love... it’s always been you.”

  He caught her face in his hands, cruelly gripping her chin and roaring in her face. “You horrible bitch. You have hurt me with your lies. I will see you hang, but so will my brother, and my knight. And then they will hang with you.”

  The crowd exploded. Logan burst to his feet as guards flanked him, taking him into custody.

  Magic. It’s personal, it knows you, you know it, I chanted, focusing on the faces of the people I loved. Raising my hands in the air, I watched as my dad’s face turned in my direction. His blue eyes, the same eyes I’d known all of my life, turned deep amber.

  Like mine.

  He is helping me.

  The pull that usually began in the back of my head quickly warmed through my entire body. I felt his pulsing magic, his assistance, and concentrated with all of my power on what I needed to do.

  The world began to dissipate, and as I opened my eyes again, I stood in the very same place in the great hall… only this time, I was staring at Meredith.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Roam

  We appeared in the great hall of the castle in the exact same positions that we were in only moments ago.

  We’re out.

  We’re alive… Troy is gone.

  I automatically reached for my stomach, feeling nothing but the bagginess of my sodden tee-shirt. The smell of salt water on my clothing told me we were back, and as I turned toward the throne, Meredith burst to her feet, gesturing to the guards around us.

  It took several seconds for everyone to acclimate to the fact that we were surrounded, and Troy was not with us. I saw Logan first, and then West, and finally Eva and… Cole Mathison? Confusion was evident on everyone’s faces, and Eva reached for West’s hand.

  “Where?” She asked urgently.

  “You focus on everyone we’re taking. I’ll take us there,” he fired.

  “Wynn and Rose,” Logan said, and I turned to him, remembering everything we’d just been through. He betrayed me. Eva’s face whipped to his, and her amber eyes glowed as she nodded.

  West clasped his hand in hers, and I felt my body fall away, the vertigo of traveling obscuring my senses yet again.

  When I could finally focus, I looked around me, trying to get my bearings.

  I stood in the fencing arena of the castle, and Will was holding a sword out to me. I wore the white attire without padding.

  He lowered the blade slowly, taking a step backwards. “Roam?”

  Sunlight streamed through the windows, brightening the walls. “Will…?”

  “She did it,” he hurried to the window, looking out over the courtyard of Icepond’s castle. “This was… two weeks before the masquerade. My father… Troy… had traveled to another kingdom. Do you remember?” He turned back to me, and I nodded quickly.

  “What happened to Eva? Your baby? Did she-…,”

  He smiled, his fingers curling over mine. “My daughter is born. She is healthy. As you saw, Eva is strong and well. Come, I must be certain that my father is still traveling, and that Eric and Meredith are still prisoners in the dungeon below.”

  “Eva… West… my God, he’s so smart. He took us here, to a time where Eric and Meredith were locked up! They would have traveled into their own bodies, and still be in the dungeon, right?”

  “I do believe so…,”

  “Your highness!” A guard burst through the arena doors, and I gripped the sword tighter in my hands. “You must come at once.”

  Will released my hands and took off through the doors, and I followed after him, nearly running to keep up with his pace. Please don’t let it be Troy, please…

  Not this Troy.

  The wailing baby caught my attention from down the corridor, and Will shoved through the crowd of people, moving into the great hall. Wynn and Rose stood near the thrones, and Wynn cradled the screaming infant in her arms, trying to simultaneously comfort Rose as the little girl clung to her sister’s leg.

  “They seemed to have… appeared… out of thin air,” the guard explained to Will, his face ashen and filled with fear. “Some kind of witchcraft-…,”

  “No!” I stepped forward at the same time Will did, watching him gather the crying baby into his arms. “No, they are my guests. Leave us. Leave!” I screamed, and the people of the hall scattered like billiard balls, running into each other in blind fear.

  “Roam, calm down,” Will said, under his breath. “You’re scaring the children.”

  “Come here,” I held my arms out to Wynn and Rose, and they ran to me. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Come with me,” I urged, turning to Will. “This is your daughter?”

  “Privacy,” he murmured, nodding toward Troy’s office, just behind the thrones. We stepped inside, and Will froze.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, I just… forgot that this is not my office right now…,” he glanced around quickly before smiling down at the baby in his arms. “Hush now, darling. I have you now,” he coaxed, rocking the infant. “Her name is Perry.”

  “Where’s my dad?” Wynn asked, bravely keeping her emotions in check. “Is he here?”

  I turned to Will, who met my eyes. “Logan had gone to get West… and Eva. In your world. Eva was only a… babe… at this time.”

  “She was only a toddler! But… Violet… would be alive,” I realized, and Wynn raised her eyes hopefully.

  “My mom? She’s there, in our world?”

  “Wynnie, I’m scared, I want Gramma,” Rose whined, and I knew she was talking about Logan’s mother.

  “Don’t be scared, you know Roam,” Wynn chided her sister before looking back to me. “You look sick. Like, really, really thin and sick.”

  I glanced in the mirror, realizing she was right. This was the body I’d left behind when time had been reversed… I looked down at my arm, at the series of scars on my skin, along with the strange numbers that led to Asher’s cell. I remembered that not only had I been cutting myself, I’d been vomiting after every meal, which I’d later learned from multiple psychiatrists was due to my traumatic need for control.

  “You are with child, Roam,” Will reminded me, gently. “You remember.”

  I did remember. The morning before we’d left West’s house and took the inclined plane with Troy, he made love to me, and I’d gotten pregnant.

  And our child was bringing the second sun.

  “Christopher,” I backed to the door. “Oh no… where is he?”

  “He would be in the dungeons, Roam,” Will carefully shifted the baby in his arms. “Take Perry, I will-…,”

  “I’m going!” I took off, knowing how to get to the dungeons from the time I’d almost wandered there alone. Will had stopped me just in time; now, I nearly stumbled down the stone stairwell, fumbling in the darkness.

  The more stairs that I descended, the more appalling the screams were that echoed from down below. Guards flanked the halls on every level of the dungeon, and one moved to stop me. “Your majesty, you should not be down here-…,”

  “Troy allows me. Let me pass,” I tried, noticing several guards were assembled at the end of one long passageway. The combined smell of clammy must, dirt, and feces nearly brought me to my knees, and I turned to a wall. Don’t vomit. Don’t. It’s not good for the baby, and you’ll want to keep doing it. Control.

  “Your majesty,” one o
f the guards walked to my side. “Please. The air is thin and toxic. The creatures…,”

  “Creatures? What creatures?” I asked, covering my mouth and nose with the sleeve of my shirt.

  “Beware the incubus, your majesty,” the guard warned. I turned to him, trying to remember his name. I’d despised all of the soldiers there, and they returned the sentiment, but at that moment, I needed a guide.

  “Your name?”

  “Marcus.”

  I peered into his eyes though the semi-darkness, the image of my sword impaling his chest overtaking me with a force that nearly made me scream.

  “You were the fourth.”

  “The fourth?” He echoed.

  “The fourth. Man that I killed,” I coughed, pressing my sleeve to my face once more.

  “I am very much alive,” he answered, narrowing his eyes at me. “And the creatures here are held by enchantments. However, their powers can reach beyond the bars of their cages. Surely his majesty has warned you.”

  “Where is the selkie?” I demanded, knowing that if I could locate Eric, I could locate Christopher and Meredith.

  “He is one level below us.”

  “Take me to him.”

  Marcus led the way, and I followed, careful to keep my eyes at the ground. The satanic whispering to my right chilled me, and I tried to keep walking, ignoring the overwhelming pull coming from that particular cell.

  “Quiet,” he said to the being, and I forced myself not to look.

  Down another set of stairs, the foul smell cleared considerably, and I moved my hand away from my nose. Marcus yelled something and ran forward, and I watched as two guards joined him to stare at the open cell. “I don’t know what happened… the cell is empty, and was occupied by no prisoners. The door was opened when I took my shift.”

  “Just hanging here, opened?”

  “Blown open. Explosives,” the other soldier gestured to the charred bars and lock. Hopeful, I held my breath as Marcus turned my way. “Your majesty, I must ask that you return to the primary level of the castle. There may be an escaped prisoner-…,”

  “She is alone,” the tallest soldier recognized, grinning. “I will escort her.”

  His creepy tone made me shiver. I took a step back. “I… can find my own way,” I began, but the guard was already reaching for me.

  “Come now. You don’t have to fear me,” he urged, and another guard joined him at his side. I almost screamed; they drooled like wolves, watching my every movement.

  “You will not touch me-...,”

  “I will escort her.” I turned, trying to stifle my excited smile as Christopher approached. He was fully dressed in the soldier’s gear, and his deeper voice took me by surprise. He was at least two years older, his chin unshaven, and looked so much like West. “Come on, Queen.”

  I almost laughed at his words, so thankful he was alive and well. “Thank you,” I answered politely, realizing he was just an inch or so shorter than his father. As he led me away from the confused group of guards, I gripped his elbow. “Christopher, as soon as we are alone, I’m hugging you and never letting go.”

  “Mom, no offense, but you need to eat a fucking steak or something,” he whispered back, squeezing my thin upper arm. “Love you, too. Come on,” he urged, ducking through hallways. “Meredith and Eric are locked up. Meredith has turned into a freaking nutbag. She’s actually pulling out strands of her hair. Eric’s powers are taken away by the enchantments in the cell.”

  “Asher’s are, too,” I answered. “Asher is down here, somewhere.”

  “I know. We’ve been in contact. Watch this,” he held his hand up, turning it slowly, and after years of watching Eva make the very same gesture, I almost expected music to begin playing. Instead, I felt a belt tighten around my waist, boots on my feet, and my hair wrapped into two buns above each ear. I looked down at my hand.

  “It’s a blaster pistol. You’re Princess Leia. Wait, you probably want a light saber. Fucking cool, right?” He nearly bounced with anticipation, and I turned us both into an empty corridor.

  “Christopher, please, no magic, not yet, only when absolutely necessary. I need to make sure West and Eva are safe. I’m taking you to Will. Troy will return in two weeks, and so will your dad. Time is moving very quickly on Earth.”

  “Mom,” he waved his hand again, and I was wearing the same fencing uniform I’d had on before. “There are scary-ass creatures down here. Like, real minotaurs and shit. Grandfather told me how he was forced to help Troy collect them. Troy believed he’d need a powerful army one day to fight a giant, supernatural battle. Asher said you told him magic would kill him.”

  I listened, and as my vision began spotting with darkness I realized I was holding my breath. Chris caught me before I fell.

  “Mom,” he shook my shoulders, and I tried to draw air into my lungs as I stared into my son’s eyes.

  “I did tell him that. I told him that… loving me… would be the death of him… and that magic would kill him. He collected all of these… creatures… to protect himself. Because of me. Christopher… I did all of this. From the very beginning, it was me… I created this ending.”

  “Well, you also created me. And since I’m pretty fucking powerful, I’ll make sure we come out swinging, okay? Mom? Don’t cry,” he begged, and only then did I realize tears were pouring down my cheeks.

  “I… I won’t. You’re right. What can you do?” I asked, wiping at my tears.

  He went on to explain that he could pull from video games, any character, and utilize their skills and weapons to conjure whatever he needed. “I told you playing all those games instead of reading wouldn’t be a waste of my time.”

  “No one is immortal here… except Will,” I answered. “There are no ‘extra lives’ or continues. If you go down, Christopher, you die. You have to remember that.”

  “Come on,” he ignored my words, something he, Eva, and West often did that annoyed the hell out of me. “I need to find someone.”

  “Who?”

  “A maid. Her name is Valerie, and she’s… my friend.”

  I stopped walking, reaching for his hand. “Christopher… remember, the time we are in is almost three years prior to the time Will and Eva ruled. How old is this maid?”

  He froze. “She… was seventeen.”

  “She’d only be fifteen, then, if that helps you find her.”

  He cringed, looking down. “Oh… oh.”

  “We’ll find her,” I assured him, running my hand over his back. “Hey, I’m so proud of you, you know that, right?”

  His blue eyes flashed with the same selfless acknowledgement that I’d known in him since he was only a child. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Come on, let’s find Will. Wynn and Rose are here… and I have a granddaughter to meet.”

  He looked down at me, laughing. “What are you, seventeen?”

  I lifted my hand into my line of vision, staring at the smooth lines of my fingers. “I… am. Seventeen. I’m me,” I finally recognized, nodding. “This is me, at seventeen.”

  “Get a couple protein shakes in you, and I can maybe see why Dad was ‘swept away by your classic beauty,’” he air-quoted and lowered his voice to mock West’s words. I laughed, knowing I’d heard my husband say the same thing many times over the years.

  Smiling, I finally was able to hug him. “Christopher, please be there for Wynn. She’s trying very hard to be brave, but we don’t know if Violet is alive or not, so help her, okay?”

  “Sure.” He shrugged. “Okay, but don’t be alone with any of those guards. They’re all a bunch of douchebags. They talk about you all the time.”

  “I won’t.”

  He sighed, wagging his eyebrows. “Come on, let’s go decided whose ass to kick first.”

  Sighing, I hugged him again with all of my strength.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Logan

  Standing at the edge of two worlds, I almost turned back to the castle.

&n
bsp; I’d watched Eva and West take us through time, and then I materialized at the mountainside in Icepond. It took only seconds for me to know where- or when- I was. The clothing West had provided before we crossed over covered my body; thick combat boots, warm coat, and jeans. I recognized the guards that Will and I had observed for days, learning their watch patterns, knowing exactly when they’d change shifts and I could sneak through the portal.

  I could pass through the door in Icepond to the inclined plane in Pennsylvania and be home. I could go home.

  Will had explained that I could go home through the door, to my world, but I couldn’t come back without Eva’s magic. She was the key that would bring me back.

  And she was only a baby.

  I had only moments to decide.

  What if Wynn and Rose are inside the castle, right now?

  What if Violet is truly alive, in Ohio, with West?

  A sweat broke over my temple. I had to choose. I had to trust that Eva was on the other side, even if she was just a baby in my world.

  I had to trust that she could bring me back to Icepond.

  I moved.

  Seconds later, I was in Johnstown. Frantic, I took less than an hour to travel by foot to my grandmother’s house, just as I had before. She was shocked to see me, begging me to stay so she could call my parents and tell me that I was safe. She flooded me with questions… where was I, where is Roamie, was I kidnapped? I’d forgotten that we’d been technically missing for years.

  I poured my apologies as I took her keys, promising that I’d come back. Her Buick had a full tank of gas, and she insisted I take the five twenty dollar bills that she had in her purse. “Logan Rush, you take care of yourself, and be safe,” she pleaded.

  “Thank you, Gram,” I kissed her forehead, nodding. “Everything will be fine, I promise.”

  The drive to Ohio took less than three hours, speeding. I tried to remember the series of events from years ago. I had arrived in the driveway, and West had been putting Eva in the car seat. He’d then called Violet, and she’d come over… and then she went with us back to Icepond. Would it all be the same? Would they be there?

  By the time I made it to Thompson, I couldn’t control my nerves. I would do anything for a cell phone right now.