Warrior Everlasting

by Knight, Wendy

  “I have not bonded with him!” Scout meant to yell indignantly, but her throat was still so dry that all she did was squeak like an enraged mouse. Highly effective.

  All three of them turned to stare at her. Trey raised an eyebrow, running a hand through his hair, but didn’t say a word.

  He hadn’t still been angry at her about the whole I-can’t-love-you-right-now thing last night, but he seemed to be now. She could tell him that she never stopped, and that she always would, but that would only make keeping him at arm’s length while she tried to learn to trust him again that much more difficult.

  “Chill, Princess.” Ashra heaved a sigh as if Scout was the most unruly of children. “A bond with evil is not the same as a bond with good. He forges the connection, using love to get into your heart. Then it is impossible to get him out.”

  “Like he has with Iros and his betrothed. Now he’s doing it with Scout and Lil Bit.”

  “Scout and everyone she loves. Us, her entire family… he has us all,” Ashra agreed.

  On that bright note, Ashra and Torz wandered off, hopefully to find food. Trey poked at the fire, mostly as an excuse not to look at her, Scout was pretty sure. “Fire’s dead, Trey.”

  He nodded and didn’t look up.

  “If this is about last night…”

  He shook his head, dark hair falling recklessly across his forehead. “It’s not.”

  She narrowed her eyes. She’d always been able to read him. Hiding emotions was not one of his strengths. But if he wasn’t mad at her, she hadn’t a clue what caused him to attack the dead fire like it had burned all his clothes in the night.

  “Why is he coming after you? Why isn’t he after me?” He flung his stick in the ashes and stood up, raking a hand through his hair so violently she thought he might rip chunks out. “Am I not strong enough? Do I not care enough? I can’t protect you from him, Scout!”

  Her heart melted. “Trey. Trey, come here.” She grabbed his wrist as he stalked by, pulling him closer to her. She scrambled to her feet and rose on her tiptoes, her eyes searching his face as she slid her palm down his jawline. Her fingers skimmed his throat until her hand came to rest on his broad chest. She could feel his heart pounding, but he didn’t break their gaze. “No one can protect me, Trey. I just need you here beside me. If I have you, I’m strong enough to protect myself.”

  His eyes skipped from hers, down to her mouth, and without meaning to, she raised her knuckles and brushed them across his lips. His hand reached up, holding lightly to her wrist, as he kissed each finger. She sucked in a breath as she involuntarily leaned toward him. “Trey…”

  And then he dropped her hand and stepped away.

  She felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice on her. Chills raced across her heart. She had asked for this. She had done this.

  “We should clean up. It sounds like we’ve got a long day ahead of us.” Trey reached down and snatched his cloak off the ground with all the frustration Scout felt, but he refused to look at her.

  She bit her lip and followed him, picking up her own cloak and shaking it out.

  Chapter Five

  It was a long, monotonous journey. Scout and Trey, for the most part, walked next to their unicorns, until they got too tired. None of them, apparently, were up to prolonged conversation. She attempted, once, with Ashra. “You know Torz loves you, right? He’s pretty much sacrificed everything for you.”

  “How is this any of your business?” Ashra snapped, but she sounded more wary than angry.

  “I thought maybe you could use some girl talk.”

  “I’m centuries and centuries old. How have I survived so long without having this ‘girl talk’ you speak of?”

  “Fine.” Scout pouted. “Make fun of me. But you seem awfully clueless for being centuries and centuries old.”

  Ashra’s voice was sad when she replied, “Not clueless. Avoiding. I lost everything I loved once, Scout. I cannot love again. It hurts too much.”

  Scout’s lips twitched, and she bumped Ashra gently, trying to drive away the pain she’d brought up. “What? Are you saying you don’t love me?”

  Her unicorn snorted and flicked an ear in Scout’s direction.

  Scout grinned. “Can I braid your mane and tail when we get out of here?”

  Ashra heaved a long-suffering sigh and didn’t answer.

  So Scout entertained herself by taking in their surroundings. All the times she’d pictured Aptavaras, she’d envisioned hell — fire and brimstone, black skies, and the smell of smoke. But this wasn’t where lost souls found themselves after death. Aptavaras was the home of the soul stealers, and apparently demons did not live in the underworld. They had a haven all their own, and it was beautiful.

  There was the slight path that Trey had found when they’d first arrived. There were towering mountains and sky-high trees and the pale blue moon or sun, or whatever it was, hanging above them, shedding weak light over everything. A bubbling, oddly cheerful stream chattered along beside them, and fruit hung from every bush and tree.

  But the fruit would steal their souls if they ate it, and the water’s innocent bubbling was a ruse to draw them in and kill them if they got a drop in their mouth.

  Beautiful. But deadly.

  “Thank goodness we have you guys. Or we’d die of hunger before we ever made it to Ariston. Trey, especially. He eats like a hors — elephant.”

  Ashra dipped her head in agreement. “Nice catch, Princess. He and Torz seem to share their love of food as well as their bond.”

  Scout snickered, sneaking a peek over at them. Trey walked next to her, with the unicorns on their outside. He didn’t look at her. In fact, he looked everywhere but her. His dark hair, despite being away from a shower or gel for several days, was still adorably messy, and although he was sleep deprived and battle-wounded, he was still the most gorgeous guy she’d ever met. Tall, broad-shouldered. Well-defined abs and strong arms. She could just see a hint of his tattoo — the one he’d gotten for her — peeking through the tattered remains of his sleeve. She remembered running her fingers across the black ink, the feel of his skin against the soft pad of her thumb, the way he trembled as she read the words. Forgive me. It was beautiful. And probably the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. To be honest, there was no probably about it. Trey was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. Even wearing an ancient made-by-unicorns magic cloak.

  Every so often, he would play absently with the leather bands on his left wrist. When he’d worn them at school, she'd thought they were just some fashion trend the boys had been into. And when Trey had started wearing them, so had most everyone else. But they’d been sucked into this world of unicorns and demons for several days now, where fashion didn’t matter, especially without Kylin here in her designer jeans and stiletto heels. He still hadn’t taken them off. She wanted to ask what they meant, but she didn’t dare. Not now when she’d wounded his pride.

  His shoulders tensed, and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. So he’d realized she watched him. The blood rushed to her cheeks and she looked away, but not before she saw his lips quirk slowly at the edges. The barest hint of a smile.

  Hope bloomed in her chest. Maybe he wasn’t so angry that he wouldn’t forgive her. Maybe they still had a chance. She’d loved him since his family had moved in down the street — when they were both five. She’d never loved anyone else; she’d never even been interested in anyone else. She needed him to know that. Just in case.

  “Trey?”

  This time he turned his full attention on her, raising a dark brow in response.

  “Oh dear. This is going to be awkward, isn’t it?” Ashra whinnied lightly and moved away, like that would help any. Torz followed her, but the fact that the unicorns had only gone about ten feet wasn’t a big help.

  However.

  Scout wasn’t sure if they’d live through the day. Or the next hour. Things must be said. “I handled things badly.”

  Trey bit the inside of h
is cheek like he was fighting a smile. “Ya think?”

  She frowned at him. “I’m sorry,” she snapped. Well, this wasn’t going as amazingly well as she had hoped. Sighing, she stopped, grabbing his hand.

  “Trey… I don’t… I didn’t mean…” She tipped her head back, frustrated. Why were the words in her head, but they wouldn’t make it out of her mouth?

  He smiled, brushing his knuckles against her cheek. “I know, Scout.”

  “But you’re mad at me.”

  “I’m… frustrated. Not mad. I can’t be mad at you. But I’ll wait, like I promised I would.”

  She took his hand, her heart hammering in her chest, and kissed his palm. She didn’t even dare meet his eyes, but stared fixedly at the ground. “Thank you.”

  After that, things were far less tense, although exhaustion still made conversation scarce. Scout wondered how, when they finally found Ariston, they would have the energy to attack. To take on an entire demon army with just two unicorns and their riders.

  Lil Bit’s voice startled her. “It doesn’t matter, Scout. It could be just you alone, and you would find a way. I know you would. Don’t be afraid.”

  Scout had always known her little sister was special. Since Lil Bit was very small, she had known things. Things she had no way of knowing — like who Scout had fought with at school, or when their parents had decided to send Lil Bit to all the doctors. No one had believed Lil Bit when she'd said she saw unicorns, or heard people’s thoughts. They’d instead sent her to special schools and different psychologists and counselors, not giving up until Lil Bit had refused to talk to anyone, ever. She lived in silence for over a year, watching it all with her big, dark, full-of-pain eyes.

  Scout had tried to be a good big sister, but she’d failed Lil Bit. She’d been so wrapped up in Trey and dance and school. Never mind the fact that Lil Bit was the golden child, and Scout was the heathen conceived out of wedlock. Lil Bit could do no wrong, and Scout was a constant failure. It was possible that Scout had resented her little sister just a bit.

  But then there’d been the accident. The three months lying helpless in the hospital, fading in and out of consciousness, being told she would never walk again. Unable to move even her hands — living in a shell. For the first few days, all her friends from dance had come constantly. But as the weeks wore on, they’d dwindled. Her parents had to go back to work. Scout would have been utterly alone.

  If not for Lil Bit.

  Her tiny little sister had snuck out of school and walked to the hospital every day. Since she was special the doctors thought she needed the time to decompress, and they left her alone. She spent all day every day at Scout’s side, brushing her sister’s hair, painting her nails. For the first month, Lil Bit did it all without a word. But as Scout fought to stay awake, not having even the will to open her eyes, her sister had finally started talking. First, in whispers, afraid she’d wake Scout. But she'd gained courage, and within days, she was chattering away as she braided Scout’s hair, telling her about school and the weather… and then one day she’d been different…

  “Hi Scout.” Scout could tell immediately that Lil Bit was nervous, even though Scout couldn’t open her eyes. In fact, she was pretty sure if she did open her eyes, Lil Bit would clam right up. “No one believes me. Everyone thinks I’m crazy.” Lil Bit’s voice broke as her small hands started smoothing Scout’s hair, running the brush through the tangles. “But I… I know a way to help you. I have a friend.”

  Lil Bit had stopped then, and Scout would have given anything to be able to open her eyes, to tell her that it was okay, that she wouldn’t hurt her. But she couldn’t. The pain was too much.

  “My friend can make you better, Scout. She can make you walk again. But…” Lil Bit cried, one single sob, and her hands left Scout’s hair.

  Scout could picture her, covering her face, trying to be strong.

  “I’m not tough like you, Scout. I don’t have lots of friends and I’m not pretty. And they tell me I’m crazy, and I’ll never be like you.” Her voice sounded muffled. “But Scout? You’re my hero anyway. And I need you to get better because I’m too scared to be here without you. And to get better, you have to believe me.”

  Scout could feel Lil Bit’s pain, and her fear. She would have given anything in that moment to hug her little sister, but her broken body wouldn’t respond.

  “Please don’t think I’m crazy, Scout,” Lil Bit whispered, and then she started to sob for real, her broken-hearted cries filling Scout’s silent hospital room.

  Scout could not lay there immobile and let her little sister’s heart shatter. It hurt. Oh, how it hurt, moving just that one hand, and then her arm. Dragging it across the bed, not even lifting it, just sliding it, felt like she was pushing a truck up Mount Everest. She felt Lil Bit’s elbow first, and Lil Bit gasped, her sobs dying instantly, as Scout lifted her arm off the bed so her hand could find Lil Bit’s. The pain was worse than anything Scout had ever endured, but she grabbed Lil Bit’s trembling hand and laced their fingers together.

  Her strength had given out, then, and her arm had collapsed back to the bed. But Lil Bit’s hand had stayed entwined with her own, and the sobs stopped.

  “My friend can make you better, Scout. But—”

  Fear stopped Lil Bit again, Scout could hear it in her voice, felt it in the way her hand shook.

  ”But she’s a unicorn, Scout.”

  Everyone else in the world might have believed Lil Bit was insane, but Scout didn’t. She couldn’t tell her that, but somehow, she knew Lil Bit heard her anyway.

  “I believe you, Lil Bit.”

  Chapter Six

  Scout seemed completely lost in thought, so Trey left her alone. His hand rested on Torz’s neck absently as they walked, and the reassuring beat of Torz’s pulse calmed him. Every step took them closer to Ariston, and to their goal. But that didn’t make it any easier. Trey was very good at math, and statistically speaking, they didn’t stand a snowball’s chance at getting out of this alive.

  It didn’t matter.

  His family was trapped there. His friends. Scout’s family. With everyone he loved taken except the girl next to him, it made no sense to pretend life could go on without them. The only logical thing to do was save them all, or die trying. And he had always been very logical.

  That didn’t make it any less terrifying, though.

  “Do you think Havik is going to kill us if we make it out of here alive?” Torz asked, interrupting the silence.

  If we make it out of here alive. If.

  Trey tried not to notice the if, but it was what they were all thinking. Instead, he focused on Havik, the indomitable, larger-than-life commander of the unicorns. He was huge, bigger than all the others, his hair blacker, his wings longer, and his attacks fiercer. And yet, his heart hadn’t been hardened by all the loss or the centuries of war. He’d had a soft spot for Scout, especially. The unicorns called her a soother. Iros, Havik’s equally larger-than-life rider, had said it was Scout’s gift, to bring peace to the trouble heart.

  Trey had at first thought Iros would steal Scout away forever. The man was big, strong, fearless, and kind. And, if Trey had to guess, he’d say Iros was attractive, too. With the Greek accent girls seemed to swoon over, and the muscles. Seriously, though, it was only a guess. Trey was a guy, after all. He had no idea if other guys were hot. But the day the unicorns had shown up, he’d seen how Scout had looked at Iros. And everything in Trey had wanted to hate him. He’d fought for so long to get Scout to forgive him, and then this Greek hero comes sweeping in, and everything Trey had worked for was shattered.

  But he couldn’t hate Iros, no matter how hard he tried. Iros was awesome. He'd played football with Trey when Trey had been hiding from angry, jealous Kylin. He’d taught them to fight, to work with their unicorns. He’d sworn to help them save their families, and he’d fought alongside them in every battle. The world needed more leaders like Havik and Iros.

  “No. I
think he will be happy to see you again and grateful that you’re alive.”

  “Perhaps. And then he’ll yell at us and tell us how stupid we are.” Ashra tossed her head, rolling her big eyes toward Torz. But her voice was affectionate.

  “And then he will tell you how proud he is of you. And Iros will pat your neck and tell you if you ever do something like this again, he’ll clip your wings. All while smiling so you don’t whack him with your big head.” Scout grinned.

  Torz snorted indignantly, and Ashra whipped her misty tail at Scout. She giggled and danced out of the way.

  They walked for several more minutes before Scout pushed Ashra lightly, just enough to annoy the sleek unicorn. The teasing smile died on her face, though, as she started talking. “How do we get out? Once we save the souls, how do we open the gate?”

  Ashra and Torz shared a long, silent glance. Maybe they were talking between themselves, but Trey and Scout had no way of knowing. Scout bit her lip and peered up at Trey.

  Torz was the one to finally answer them. “We don’t. The only one strong enough to open the gate is Havik.”

  Trey swallowed hard. That didn’t sound promising at all. Since Havik and Iros had been forced to close the gate in the first place, it was doubtful they’d open it back up again — or even have the power and strength left to open it. When the unicorns had realized the soul stealers had started the Corruption — tearing apart good souls and piecing them back together to create evil souls — Iros hadn’t had a choice. He’d had to close the gate to save the world. With souls, the Taraxippus could come in to Paradesos. They were harder to kill, faster and smarter. Ashra, Torz, Scout, and Trey had killed some of them, but a unicorn with a rider was much, much more powerful than a unicorn without, and Trey and Scout were the only riders besides Iros.

  And Kylin. Apparently she’d decided last minute to be a rider, too. Right before Havik had shut the gate, actually.

  Unfortunately, Ashra and Scout had decided they needed to be on the inside before the gate closed. And Torz and Trey had willingly followed them.