“Come on.” Kade interrupted Sloan from her thoughts. “There’s a spot I go to be alone every once in a while, just to relax and think. It’s perfect for us. You have that really silly smile on your face again.”
“It’s the woods, I think.” Sloan trudged alongside Kade, closing her eyes for a moment to allow her sense of smell and hearing to gain a better appreciation for her surroundings. “I never realized how much I like the woods.”
Sloan had to bite her tongue. She did remember the last time she was in the actual woods, during the Burrow Den expedition. But it was obvious Kade had no love for the queen or anyone in her army. Was Sloan lying to him, then? He had never asked her directly if she had ever been a part of the army.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Kade smiled over at Sloan, flashing her his orange eyes that almost glowed in the dark. “The woods around Term are famous, and haunted.”
“Haunted?” Sloan raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“Oh, yeah, you didn’t hear?” Kade left the path and began climbing a small hill that sloped up to their left. “The woods around Term house only the scariest ghosts and ghouls in the Outland. You never know when one is going to jump out. Don’t worry, though, if one does startle you, you’re more than welcome to jump into my arms. I work out.”
“You’re ridiculous.” Sloan chuckled, shaking her head. “Are you ever serious?”
“I try not to be, if I can help it. Life’s too short to be all doom-and-gloom every day. We’re here for such a short time, I don’t want my days to be riddled with worry.”
Sloan followed Kade through the underbrush, thinking on his words. He was right. Unfortunately, Sloan didn’t have the luxury not to worry. She had a whole city to protect, friends to save, and most daunting of all, a queen to overthrow.
Within a few minutes of trudging off the road and up the sloping hill, Kade stopped at a clearing no more than twenty yards wide.
The spot overlooked the town of Term. Torches and lanterns with flickering flames dotted the town, making it look like one giant birthday cake. It seemed the mage technology hadn’t advanced this far into the Outland quite yet.
The town opened up below them, while the sky did the same above. Thousands of tiny stars shone their hearts out as if each one was trying its very best to stand out from the rest. Meanwhile, the moon hung in the cloudless sky, looking down on the city as if to say: “You’ve got nothing on us.”
While Sloan was enjoying the scene, Kade went to work. Shrugging off his backpack, he removed a thick, white-and-black blanket and food items.
“We’re having a picnic?” Sloan asked, surprised.
“Yep.” Kade smoothed down the rumpled parts of the blanket. “I hope you like sandwiches and chips. I had our cook at The Shifter put a few options together for us.”
Sloan found herself amused. Not only had she never had a picnic before, but she also didn’t even recognize herself anymore. Days ago, she would have been walking the palace, in command of thousands of soldiers. She would be sleeping in her king-sized bed and attending banquets and feasts.
The strangest part was, Sloan didn’t miss that at all. As she took a seat on the blanket next to Kade, she realized at that moment there was nowhere else she would rather be.
“All right.” Kade spread the food out in front of them. He pointed to items, some of which Sloan was familiar, others she had never seen. “You’ve got your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, your mystery meat salad sandwich, and your turkey sandwich. There’s a ton of different chips, and I brought a bottle of wine, as well.”
“Wine with peanut butter and jelly?” Sloan selected one of the cellophane-wrapped sandwiches that oozed with the brown-and-red of peanut butter and what she assumed was strawberry jelly.
“Don’t judge me.” Kade reached for the wine bottle. He produced a wine key from his pocket and went to work. A few seconds later, the cork came out with a pop. “And if you haven’t tried it yet, you should give it a shot.”
Sloan gave Kade a rueful grin as she unwrapped the sandwich. Usually, she loved food of all flavors. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was a favorite of hers, but for some reason it didn’t seem appetizing just now.
Sloan tried to think back to when the last time she had eaten. Had she eaten anything at all that day? Was it the day before when she had met Kade at The Shifter? Was that the last time she had eaten?
It was the strangest feeling Sloan had come against in the last few hours. Her mind was telling her she should like the food in her hand, and her memories and even eyes were telling her she needed to eat, but Sloan just wasn’t hungry and the otherwise delicious sandwich was somehow becoming less appetizing by the moment.
“Something wrong?” Kade filled two glasses with the deep red wine. “There’re other options if you’re not feeling the peanut butter and jelly paired with wine goodness.”
“No, it’s not that.” Sloan scrunched her brow, forcing herself to take a bite out of the sandwich. All of the flavors were still there; however, it wasn’t what her body was craving at the moment. “Sorry, I guess I’m not as hungry as I thought.”
“You have, uh, here.” Kade reached over and brushed the bottom of her lip. His thumb came away with a glob of the peanut butter. He hesitated before he brought his thumb to his own mouth. “You don’t have cooties or anything I should be aware of, do you?”
Sloan was still trying to recover from feeling his warm hand on her face. When was the last time she had been touched by a man? And not with a punch to her face? She and Aareth had kissed, but it was clear whatever Kade and she shared, it was something completely different.
“Oh … I … uh…” Sloan was trying to come up with an excuse as to why Kade should not put the glob of peanut butter in his mouth. Until she was completely sure that whatever was going on with her anatomy was not contagious through body fluids, she couldn’t risk Kade getting the vampire elixir.
“I was just kidding about the cooties.” Kade moved his thumb to his lips. “It’s okay. It was a joke.”
Why hadn’t she asked Edison if what she had was transferable via saliva? Sloan panicked and did the first thing she could think of: she grabbed Kade’s hand and shoved his thumb into her own mouth.
Sloan and Kade froze. Sloan looked at him with panicked eyes as she sucked off the peanut butter, Kade’s eyes just as large as he tried to figure out what she was doing.
“Are you giving me some kind of not-so-subtle signal, here?” Kade laughed out loud. “I’m not really sure what’s going on. It’s weird, but I kinda like it.”
“Sorry … no … I guess I was just hungrier than I thought. You know, don’t mess with a girl’s food.” Sloan grabbed a napkin and handed it to Kade. She motioned to his thumb. “Sorry, kinda slobbery. You should probably clean that off.”
“Okay.” Kade had said the word so slowly, Sloan was doubting her odds of being asked out again.
“So, tell me about you.” Sloan did her best to hide the heat she felt in her face by raising a glass of wine to her lips.
“Not much to tell.” Kade bit into a sandwich. He chewed for a while, thinking on her request. “Actually, that’s a lie. There’s a ton to tell, but I don’t want to dump on you, this being our first date and all.
“Seriously?” Sloan drained her wine glass. “I just sucked your thumb, you can afford to be a little dumpy on me right now.”
“Yeah, you did just do that, didn’t you? Well, my long, sad story starts with my family being taken away from me during a raid. I couldn’t have been more than five or six. My father and mother, sister and brother and I had lived in the Outland, pretty quiet and peaceful, all things considered. Gossip was coming in about the queen’s soldiers doing raids. We didn’t believe them. It was always something that someone had heard from someone else; there was no concrete evidence that these raids were actually happening.”
Kade reached down and dr
ained his own glass. His bright orange eyes seemed to dim in the moon’s light, if that was even possible.
“I didn’t believe it, either, until they came for us one night. My father and mother fought back, but couldn’t fend them off. I remember there being blood everywhere. I hid in a closet, but eventually they were killed or taken, maybe both. I screamed when I saw my mother being dragged across our tiny family room floor. I just couldn’t keep it in. They tried to grab me, too, but I ran. I don’t think they really cared about a kid when they already had the rest of my family. I ran and ran, and kept running. Over the years, I tried to find them. I even went to New Hope for help, but everyone brushed me off. The closest I ever got to finding them where just more whispers, bar talk of the queen doing experiments on residents of the Outland, but that was it. Eventually, I set up shop in Term, and here I am.”
Sloan’s stomach twisted. Not only was she finding herself liking Kade more and more, but it was now also obvious they could never be together. Not after what had happened to his family. Not when Sloan knew exactly what had happened to his family. It was obvious the queen’s sister had been recruiting for her experiments for a very long time now.
“Sorry.” Kade studied Sloan’s face. “I told you it was a lot.”
“No, no.” Sloan shook her head, trying to think of the right words for the occasion. “It’s not that. I’m an orphan, as well. Your story was just bringing back memories for me.”
“I’m sorry.” Kade refilled their glasses with the sweet wine. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” Sloan sipped at her wine. Once again, her mind was telling her she should enjoy the beverage more than her taste buds or stomach did. “I never knew my parents. I grew up in the system, bounced around from orphanage to orphanage.”
“That must have been rough.” Kade swirled the liquid in his glass, staring at the wine as if in that small maelstrom all of his questions could be answered. “What happened to you once you were old enough to leave the orphanage?”
Sloan knew this line of questioning was bound to happen. As much as she hated having to tell him, she understood Kade had to know about her history in the queen’s army. Holding back any further would be lying.
“Kade, there’s something you have to know about me.” Sloan cleared her throat. She caught his penetrating gaze. “I’m not the same person I was a few days ago. My life has changed drastically.”
“We all change.” Kade shook his head, trying to ease her troubled heart. “I’m not the same person I was last year, even last month. We’re supposed to do that, as we grow, learn, and evolve into the best interpretations of ourselves we can be.”
“I agree with all of that, but I was in the ar—”
Sloan didn’t get the words out. There was a deafening impact in the trees off to their right, like a meteor striking the earth. More crashing immediately followed as something large made its way toward them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sloan
“Get behind me.” Kade stood, facing the oncoming sound. In one of his hands, he carried the empty bottle of wine.
“Yeah, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Sloan stood right next to Kade. “Actually, you should probably be the one getting behind me.”
Before the conversation could go on any longer, the stomping in the forest came closer. Whatever it was had no concept of moving quietly around the trees. Sloan squinted into the darkness the forest’s canopy provided. She was able to make out a form: massive shoulders with folded wings and greyish skin.
“You can put down the bottle.” Sloan relaxed. “It’s Kimberly.”
“We were kind of on a date, here.” Kade tossed the wine bottle to the side as the gargoyle exited the tree line and stood in front of them. “Can this wait?”
Kimberly’s wounds from her fight with Sloan had been erased as if they had never happened. She wore the same brown leather skirt and sports bra as the day before. Her gaze shifted from Kade to Sloan.
Kimberly ignored Kade’s question. “This isn’t the time for romantic excursions. I’ve arranged for a town meeting. Word of the deaths of the New Hope militia sent to Term is spreading like wildfire. We need to decide what we’re going to do when New Hope retaliates.”
“How is news getting to New Hope so quickly?” Sloan found herself wondering. Another question immediately followed. “How do you know all of this?”
“The queen has her spies among us.” Kimberly raised a brow to Kade.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kade shook his head. “You, above all people, should know I’m no friend to the crown.”
“Be that as it may”—Kimberly motioned for Sloan to follow—“we need to have a meeting. Half of the town leaders want to stay and fight, the others want to run to Azra. We need the opinion of someone who has been in service to the queen.”
Sloan’s stomach went from a twisted up knot to one of ash. She felt lightheaded and sick as she looked over at Kade. His face was twisted in confusion as he looked from Sloan to Kimberly.
“What are you talking about? Charlotte’s not a member of the queen’s army.” Kade stared at Kimberly’s raised eyebrow for a moment before turning toward Sloan. “Are you?”
The way he asked the last question like a kid who already knew the answer but hated hearing the news, almost broke Sloan’s heart. How could she have come to care for a stranger this much in the space of a few days?
“I’m sorry.” Sloan took a step toward Kade. “I should have told you sooner, but there was no time. I didn’t think you would understand. I didn’t think—”
“You can just stop there.” Kade raised his hands, backing away from the picnic area. “You can just say you didn’t think, and that would sum it up perfectly.”
“Kade.” Sloan took another step toward him. “You have to let me explain.”
“Like you said, there’s no time.” Kade turned his back disappearing into the woods. “Your military expertise is needed.”
Sloan felt so sick now, she thought she might vomit. Her mind was already replaying the scenarios that could have prevented what just happened if she had just been a little faster with her honesty. A part of her wanted to go after Kade, but she just wasn’t that type of girl. She wanted to explain to Kade what was going on, but she refused to chase after him.
“You humans and your relationships.” Kimberly had plopped herself down in the middle of the picnic area as Sloan and Kade parted ways. She was shoving mystery meat sandwiches and chips into her large maw. “I’ll never understand you. Your kind is so dramatic. You should take a page out of the gargoyle handbook when it comes to relationships.”
Sloan could hear Kimberly going on in the background, but her thoughts were still on Kade. She’d have to figure out a way to talk to him again. Give him some time, and then talk to him. If he still hated her for her past, there was nothing she could do about that.
“You see, when a male gargoyle likes a female gargoyle”—Kimberly was tearing through the food like she hadn’t eaten in weeks—“he’s expected to present her with his proof of manhood. You see, he shows her his—”
“You’re not being helpful at all.” Sloan screwed the gargoyle with a stare. “Let’s get to this meeting you’re talking about.”
Sloan didn’t wait to see if Kimberly would follow. Instead, she started walking into the forest toward the path that would lead them back to town.
“And I get that the queen has spies, so she gets her news quicker than we thought, but how do you know that she knows?” Sloan ducked under a low-hanging branch.
Kimberly rose from her spot on the blanket and crashed through the forest behind Sloan. She talked around a mouthful of food.
“You should really reconsider your matrimony to the shifter Kade. He has access to delicious treats.”
“Kimberly, I need you to focus past your stomach for a moment. How do you know that the queen is aware of what happened in Term. The news should at
least take another day or two to get to her.”
“The queen is not the only one who has spies. I have a small but determined network of my own informants that let me know what goes on beyond the borders of Term.”
“So, the queen already knows.” Sloan started strategizing already.
“That means, if they start preparing for an attack now”—Kimberly picked up the train of thought—“they can be here at the very soonest in two days.”
“No.” Sloan remembered the vampire super soldiers that were capable of traveling at speeds close to her own. “They’ll be here tomorrow. They’ll come with the night.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jack
Green magical power flamed in his right hand. He held it hidden under the wooden table in the bar. Panic seized at his heart, but at least now he had access to his magical ability. As the two guards came closer, the adrenaline that coursed through his body subsided.
The pair of soldiers making their way to him were Sergeant Harrison and Private Pia. Jack kept his guard up, but allowed the magic in his hand to die away. These two had been his friends at the palace. If they were going to turn him in, they would have had their weapons drawn and come in a larger number, not looking over their own shoulders to see if anyone was watching them.
“What are you doing here?” Private Pia gave Jack an unexpected hug.
Even Sergeant Harrison looked relieved to see him.
“What do you mean?” Jack returned the private’s embrace, not quite ready to tell her everything that had happened to him. It would be better to see exactly how much they knew first.
“When Sloan told us to warn you and we couldn’t find you”—Sergeant Harrison shook his head; his eyes looked tired—“we thought you might already be dead.”
“Sloan?” Jack had to remind himself to keep his voice down. “What happened to Sloan and Aareth? Is the queen holding them prisoner, as well?”
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