Burning Bridges

by Nadege Richards

  I turned to walk back, and there he was.

  He stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes watching me with longing and love. I opened my mouth to say something, but found myself running to him instead. I slammed into him and nearly knocked him to the ground. “Oh, gods!” I cried. “Ayd—” He quieted me with his lips and I melted into him, crying but refusing to let him go in fear that I’d been conjuring dreams of him again. But the way his hands held me told me this was very much the realest moment of my life.

  He pulled back and wiped away the tears from my cheeks. I wanted to tell him about a million things, but he said, “We should talk, Echo.”

  I nodded, kissing his lips again, and allowed him to lead me back to the boulder. My knees buckled under the anxiety, but he was here. And that was all that mattered.

  “How’d you get pass the border?” I asked, embracing him. I would have sat in his lap if he didn’t look so serious about what he wanted to talk about.

  “I know a guard and he let me go.” He looked down at me and stared directly into my eyes as if he could see through my soul and all the clustered emotions I’d accumulated in the past weeks. “There’s something that I need to tell you.”

  I frowned. It wasn’t what I was expecting, not at all. “No. I don’t want to hear it, Ayden. Please. I missed you so much. My father—,” I chocked on a sob, “my father knows about us and he’s threatened your life, even your mother’s. I wanted to go to you, but I feared the guards at the border would stop me.”

  Ayden’s eyes shone with tears and it frightened me, never before seeing a man cry. It was emotional and genuine. To be honest, it felt like I was losing him already.

  I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood. I pulled my dress over my head and Ayden asked, “What are you doing?”

  I turned from him and slipped off my underskirt. I took off my sweater and my bodice next, standing in front of him with nothing but my undergarments. I whispered, “My mother thinks me to be asleep, Ayden. The palace slumbers and I am here with you. If this moment is all I have, I will regret nothing. I’ll cherish every moment.”

  He smiled, beautiful and bright. “Is that so?”

  I nodded. “Shall we go for a swim?” I stared out at the water and smiled through the tears and the sadness that hid behind this moment.

  “We shall.” He stood and began undressing.

  I watched him for a moment, admiring his physique unabashedly, and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. I whispered into his ear, “Beat you there.” I ran in the direction of the waves, feeling alive for the very first time, and hit the water with a start. I didn’t get too far in, though. I felt Ayden’s arms grab me from behind and I squealed. The water was cold, but his arms around me were warm and familiar.

  “Cheater,” he whispered into my ear. I laughed and turned out of his arms to splash him with water. His face in the light of the moon was stunning. “You’re asking for it, Princess.”

  “Asking for what, Hunter?” I laughed, swimming away from him. He easily caught up and held me in a tight embrace. I looked up at him and caught myself smiling, something I did so frequently now thanks to him.

  Ayden reached out and touched my face. My breath caught in my throat and I closed my eyes. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. Tears came to my eyes and I tried desperately to hold them back. I’d heard that so many times from Noah, but hearing it from Ayden? It was like a blessing bestowed upon me, filling me with hope again.

  “You don’t mean that,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. He was warm and still smelled of that rich Ayden scent—lilacs and leather, a mix of working in the garden and Miss Othman’s shop.

  Ayden shook his head and kissed my forehead with a long, lingering kiss that spoke volumes. “If I had the money to spell it out in the clouds, Echo, I would. I would write it on the stars, on the moon. Your beauty is foreign and special. Any man to forsake you is a damn fool, and I promise you that would never be me.”

  I let the tears fall and they felt colder than the water I stood in. I leaned in and kissed Ayden’s lips gently, unsure of the emotions flooding me. He meant it. He thought I was beautiful, and coming from a man who had become the very air I breathed, I would cherish it.

  I broke away and held him close, loving the proximity and the feel of his skin against my own. I missed the sound of his voice and the way his presence had a way of making me feel like I was walking on water. His kisses had quickly become a drug, an ever-sweet reminder that he was love. That this was love. I held onto him and my heart soared.

  This is love. This is your life, Echo. Own it.

  I smiled and traced circles into Ayden’s chest. “Take me away,” I whispered to him. “I don’t care what my father thinks or how angry my mother gets. I just want to be with you. I want to be happy.”

  He ran his fingers through my hair and said, “I wish I could, Echo, but I’m afraid I can’t.” He kissed my forehead and held me closer. “I’d take you as far from here as I could. Anywhere you want to go, but not in this life.”

  “I get married in days, Ayden. I’ve tried so hard to make them listen to me,” I cried into his chest. “Promise me you won’t let them take this freedom from me. I don’t think I could survive a day without seeing you. It hurts too much.”

  “I promise.” He nodded, tears in his eyes. He kissed my lips, and then whispered, “I have something for you.” Without another word, he pulled me in the direction of the shore and we climbed out of the water, undergarments sticking to our bodies. My hand in his, he sat me on the boulder and smiled up at me. He reached into his trouser pockets and my eyes caught something silver. The moon hit it and the glass heart glistened in the light. I stared at it, the bleeding heart captured within, and then at him. I wanted to say something, but words just wouldn’t come.

  “You—” I started.

  Ayden shook his head and kneeled down into the sand. I sighed breathlessly and slid down the boulder to sit beside him. “You’re so far away,” he whispered to me, “it’s almost impossible to not miss you. If I could, I would knock down every border that dared stand in my way of getting to you every day. Right here.”

  I stared into his violet eyes and smiled. He took my hand and feathered a kiss to each of my knuckles. “The distance is too much,” I whispered.

  He chuckled silently and nodded. “It is. But I’ve been wandering in this darkness, Echo, I’ve been so—”

  “Lost,” I finished for him.

  “Lost, absolutely. But then you come along with this irresistible smile and brighten up my life. It’s ridiculous, but it’s how you make me feel.” He unclasped the necklace in his hand and I moved for him to put it around my neck. The heart pendant sparkled against my olive skin where it lay just above my own beating heart.

  “It’s beautiful,” I whispered, staring down at it. I rolled it over in my hands and smiled. “This means so much.”

  “It does.”

  I faced him and arched a brow. “You are unpredictable, Ayden Grey.”

  “And you drive me absolutely crazy, Echo Abbeny.” He smiled, leaning in to kiss me.

  “Thank you,” I whispered against his lips.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “No.” I slid my arms around his neck and I pulled him closer. “Thank you for saving me. I think I found where I’m supposed to be.”

  “Oh, really? And can I—”

  “Shut up.” I kissed him, a feeling overwhelming me that had become memorable. I didn’t have to be alone, at least not for the moment.

  I smiled and dropped onto the sand. Ayden stared down at me and my heart skipped a beat. “This is love,” I said aloud.

  His smile faltered for a second, and then he touched the corner of my eye. His next words could have set my body ablaze. “This is love.”

  His lips found mine again and, as we held each other in an everlasting embrace and the world slipped away from the both of us, I knew we had no intentions of moving for a very long time.


  T W E N T Y-

  T W O

  Echo

  The wood splintered on impact.

  Tiny pieces of the chips flew up around us as Shadow smiled and patted me on the back. “You’re getting better,” she said.

  We were in the park of the market again, and people around us busied with their lives. Ezily had taken the day off with her husband, but Shadow was determined to teach me something today regardless. Though I could admit I was seeing great improvement in my skills to wield a sword, it wasn’t anger this time that fueled me, or even perseverance. It was the thoughts of freedom that beleaguered me to no avail. They were virulent, and I allowed them to whisk me away. My mind barely remained focused on the job at hand for long before it began to drift.

  Last night with Ayden had been amazing—no, magical. If my mind could have come up with anything other than Ayden, I was sure there were over a million words in the New Latin vocabulary that could’ve explained my night with him sufficiently. After kissing him good-bye until the sun had begun to rise, I stumbled back to the palace and snuck in through the back doorways by the gardens. I hadn’t slept at all. I was too excited to think of sleep, actually, and the necklace he’d given me, beautiful in every possible way, begged for so much attention it wouldn’t allow me rest.

  The heart now lay hidden beneath my dresses where it would only be knowledgably noticed by me. I hadn’t an idea what it meant, Ayden presenting me with such a gift, but it was another puzzle piece to the ever-growing conundrum of this world. Just like Ayden, I would keep the necklace a secret for as long as possible. I’d decided last night that New Haven wasn’t going to deprive me of my newfound hope. My father be damned, I was going to live a life of my choosing.

  “I suppose I am,” I sputtered. I reached into the back of the leather satchel tied around my back and quickly drew out a dagger. The hilt was golden and adorned in jewels. It was Shadow’s, but I held it with possession. “Practice has been paying off after all.” I narrowed my eyes at the large tree in front of me and flung the dagger at its trunk. A dull thud resonated from its splintered timber and I smirked.

  “Or…” Shadow moved to retrieve the dagger from the tree. “Something else has been paying off? What’s gotten into you?” She handed back the dagger and I stared down at it, refusing to meet her eyes.

  “How’s Everlae?” I asked instead.

  “She’s fine,” Shadow answered curtly. I looked up at her and grimaced. She must’ve known, she had to. There was no way Shadow would stand for something so atrocious and do absolutely nothing.

  Though, all Shadow had to say was, “Leave it alone, Echo. It is not your problem.”

  “But—” I bit my tongue to avoid screaming at her and swallowed down the anger with a shaking breath. I was learning more and more about my family now than I ever did in the past seventeen years. I was newly turned eighteen and I expected more clarity—more reason—to come to me, but all I got was this. A lot of ‘leave it alone’ and ‘it’s not your problem’. Shadow, the woman who I’d looked up to all my life, was unveiling to me a truth I did not want to acknowledge. New Haven people were all the same—condescending and bias.

  “Hearsay has it that Father’s invited the King of Delentia and his wife to watch today’s trial in the chambers. Of course you must know that the Prince will be there, so—”

  I flung the dagger at the tree again and Shadow’s words were cut off by the sharp edge that nearly hit her head. She sighed and I said, “This I did not know of. I received no kind of invitation, so I am sure the party will go on without me.” Contempt rimmed my tone and I didn’t bother hiding it at all. Hell, I was angry now but definitely for all the right reasons. “I want nowhere near those awful chambers, Shadow. People are slaughtered mercilessly while Father watches! Can you imagine the duty of the guards? How much sorrow it must bring them to clean up entrails of the innocent day after day?” I unsheathed my sword once more and sliced it deftly through the air. “It’s disgusting. I curse the day Father asserted those rules.”

  “And who are you to curse anything, more less our father?” Shadow asked, watching me attentively. “I’ve been watching you closely, Echo. Your values are slipping. When do we ever doubt Father?”

  “We never do,” I answered, eyes still on the sword before me. I caught my reflection and scowled. “This is why I am now. What if the person is innocent, Shadow? They aren’t even given a court hearing in order to explain themselves. They are judged indifferently and then thrown to the dogs. Our people place bets on who will lose the fights, but it is them who are the true losers. Those who seek happiness and complacency in other’s misfortunes.” I stopped swinging my sword around and sheathed it in my waist. A passerby stopped to gawk at me, no doubt identifying me as the Princess. I arched my brow at him and he staggered away.

  “You’ve grown wise, my sister,” Shadow mumbled as she drew closer to me. She placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes. “Though, please do remember if you play with an unkempt fire you will get burned. The wages of the war you fight are high, I see it within you. You lose yourself time and time again, but never forget where you’ve come from.”

  “Never,” I said with a nod of my head, “because this place you call home is not my own. I will seek refuge and victory in a land of integrity, not lies and arrogance.” My last words fell from my lips like venom, and though the taste was bittersweet, they were my own. I owned them. “I refuse to go.”

  Shadow’s jaw clenched. “Make sure and notify your father.”

  I pushed away from her, raking my fingers through my shoulder-lengthened hair, and prodded back towards the gates of the market. Little girls begged for my attention and, as much as I wanted to stay and talk with them, I had no time.

  Shadow and I stormed back through the palace doors and I immediately searched for Father. But as I rounded a corner and entered the ballroom, I was grabbed up by Noah and he planted a quick kiss on my lips. “I’ve been looking for you,” he whispered into my neck.

  I pushed away and completely ignored him. “Where’s my father?”

  “In his study room, why? I thought maybe we—”

  I faced him just as he was going to reach for me again and snarled, “Shut up,” and then left in search of the King. Shadow followed in not too far behind and we both froze at the door. Everlae and Silas stood in front of Father’s desk with him sitting just behind it. His eyes were on a piece of paper before him and, for once, he looked studious and not so threatening as he so frequently did.

  “What is this about?” I asked. Everlae turned to me and shook her head vehemently.

  Father looked up from his desk and smiled slightly at me. “Is there a good reason for this intrusion, Echo?”

  Yes, I—” I caught Silas’ eyes and felt the need to spit in his face. “I just wanted to let you know that I—”

  “That she’s excited to join you this evening in the chambers with the Prince and the King and Queen,” Shadow interrupted.

  I growled. “No, I—”

  “That’s nice, Echo, but can you give us a moment of privacy?” he asked. His last words came out strong and I winced. I glared at Shadow and rolled my eyes.

  “Yes, Father.” I made for the door, my hands clenching into fists. Shadow followed suit and I was quick to turn on her the second we were away from the door. “Why did you do that?”

  “We have a duty here, Echo. Your duty is to rule, and you fail to realize the importance of your role. You will be Queen in days and you can’t go to a simple trial. How do you think the nation will view you?” She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

  “Those things don’t interest me, Shadow,” I said incuriously. “You’ll never get it! I’m not purposely trying to be defiant, I am trying to get you to understand.” I calmed my voice and started again. “Perhaps you’ve driven yourself too deep to see the clarity of it anymore.” I shook my head at her and walked away.

  Feeling ashamed and
put out, I ran up the spiraling staircase and headed blindly for my chamber doors. I would talk to Mother when she returned from her shopping trip with Aunt Janelle. My heart just couldn’t take seeing something as gruesome as murder.

  I stopped at the top of the staircase at the sight of Caesar. “Little sister,” he said, shaking his head.

  I sighed and arched a brow at him. “I was told to never talk to strangers. Who are you again?” Caesar had a belly now and a beard. For his mid-thirties, he looked rather haggard and old. I couldn’t imagine his wife, Angelina, being okay with this. A little boy in nothing but trousers came crawling down the hall and I noticed the resemblance. “You have a son.”

  Caesar scratched his beard, and then grabbed for the little boy. “That’s what adults do, Emilia. They make babes.”

  “It’s Echo,” I spat.

  “Emilia, Echo. What’s the difference?”

  I frowned. “Two extra letters.”

  He smiled at the little boy in his hands and shrugged. “Right. Can you watch him for a while? Get to know your nephew? Angelina and I have somewhere to be.”

  I pushed past him and made for my rooms. I turned to face him last minute and said, “You know, I’ve always wanted a big brother. I could’ve used one today, but you’re never around.” I looked at the baby, brown hair and hazel eyes, and sighed. “Take some responsibility for what is yours every now and then, eh?”

  I shut my doors behind me and let the pain and the sadness devour me. That morning I dreamt of Old Haven.

  THE coach pulled up in front of the palace and Noah took my hand in his. “Four days and you’ll be all mine,” he whispered so that only I could hear.

  I elbowed him in the side and he dropped my hand. I stared straight ahead when I said, “I belong to no one. Even so, what makes you think I would ever give myself to you?”