by Tenaya Jayne
"Watch it, jerk!" Quinn snapped.
"Sorry," Leramiun mumbled, his mind elsewhere. He glanced at his brother, barely registering the veiled wrath behind his eyes. When he looked again, it was gone. He couldn't deal with Quinn right now.
He went back to his room. Helena didn't even stir as he entered. His mind was racing. How could it be? Had he really discovered a Regian race that no one (or at least no one he knew) knew about?
He considered all the angles he could think of in this situation. He was the King of Regia. These people were his subjects, even if they didn't know it. They might want to be a law unto themselves, but he wouldn't allow that. He assumed the Dryads must be connected somehow to the mass grave. If he found that to be true, steps would have to be taken. Leramiun considered the means of diplomacy he might use.
A smile curved his mouth. If Shi didn't come back to see him tonight, she'd see him again anyway as he forced his way into her world and discovered its secrets, as was his right and duty as the king. She could try to hide, but he would plague her, wearing at her resistance until she surrendered and gave him her heart.
Leramiun looked out his window at the day and counted the hours before nightfall. His heart picked up its pace. She would come to him tonight. And if she did, all these other issues could wait. He'd put the world on hold, without hesitation, for Shi.
As the day dragged slowly on, Leramiun's mind flitted briefly over his responsibilities. If there was something he was supposed to do that day, and there always was something, he ignored it completely. He paced, looking at the same lines in the stone floor over and over until he couldn't stand being idle any longer.
He looked around his room, coming back to a level of normal lucidity in the afternoon. Helena sat in the far corner reading a book. He looked out the window and felt a rush of urgency. The afternoon was lengthening. He needed to get ready. He bathed meticulously and took his time choosing his clothes. At first he laid out his finest, wanting to impress Shi, but then on reflection, decided he wanted to look more relaxed and accessible. He had moments when his nerves overtook him, and he had to breathe deeply and refocus. Shi made him feel like an inexperienced, lovesick schoolboy and not a king, used to taking what he wanted when he wanted it.
Finally, after rubbing a little scented oil, designed to attract, on his skin, he dressed in soft black fabrics and put on the cloak he'd worn the previous night.
"Leaving again?" Helena asked as he rummaged through his drawer, grabbing two more portals and pocketing them.
"Yes. Don't wait up for me."
Helena seemed to scrutinize him then, one eyebrow raised and a small frown on her lips. He looked down at himself, self-consciously.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Does something look wrong?"
She opened her mouth then shut it again, shaking her head. "No. Nothing about you looks wrong."
"All right." He sighed. "I'll see you later."
He smashed the End of the Bridge and left.
He landed in exactly the same place as he had last night. Leramiun took in his surroundings more carefully in the evening light. The faint smell of smoke and dinner cooking drifted under his nose from the direction of the shifter camps. The werewolves' mountain stood like a jagged shadow in the distance, all black, with the tapestry of sunset behind it.
Leramiun took a deep breath and walked toward the place he'd laid eyes on Shi, making a mental map of the area as he went. Then he saw it. Above the branches crossing over his head, a line of trees jutted out, three times taller than the rest of the forest. Leramiun gaped. They were living monuments, visibly imbued with life, making every other tree he'd ever seen look sickly pathetic.
He approached them with a sense of awe, but the closer he came…a strong instinct surged into his gut, and he stopped. He sensed a warning. Danger. Instinctively, Leramiun knew this must be where Shi and her kind lived. He came no closer but moved off to the side to see what else he might discover about this protected vault of virgin forest.
****
The forest went to sleep around Shi. She kept still. She grasped the night in her hands, trying to keep it motionless, but it slowly slid through her fingers like water. He was out there…waiting for her. She wanted to go, but she was too afraid to move. Fear ran all though her. Not the fear of being caught. The fear of what churned inside her.
No, she would stay still and not see Ler again. The night would slip away, and the morning light would save her. Her life would stay the same. It was better to never know. Better to never taste. Shi ran her finger over her lips, caressing the memory of his kiss. She had already tasted. She closed her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek as her foot touched the ground. She looked up at the moon and let the night take her.
****
She'll come. She has to come.
Every rustling leaf and whisper of wind had him jumping, looking around for her. But there was only darkness. Would she be able to find him? Should he search for her?
She'll come. She has to come, he thought again for the hundredth time.
He wouldn't give up. He'd wait all night, till the morning chased away every trace of darkness. He'd stay right here and wait for her. But with every passing moment, he lost hope by small degrees, his heart turning brittle, threatening to break like dry clay.
From the corner of his eye, out of the blackness, came a shimmer of moonlight. His heart faltered. She made no sound as she walked, the breath of a gown she wore seemed spun from the stars. He thought he would die of happiness. She came! Of her own will, she came to him!
Fear radiated off her skin, but she kept walking toward him.
"Hello…Ler," she whispered, blushing.
"Hello, Shi."
She met his gaze for a second then looked down at her feet.
"So, you couldn't forget me after all?"
She shrugged her perfect shoulders and shook her head in a type of defeated surrender. "How does one forget being assaulted by a stranger? A stranger who clearly doesn't know that a Verdant can never be kissed."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Her iridescent eyes cut right through him. "Had you known, would it have stopped you?"
"Well, I…" He sighed and smiled. "No. I suppose not. But I would have done it differently had I known the depth of your innocence."
A quick flash of interest sparked in her eyes. "Done it differently? How?"
"Shall I demonstrate?"
Shi gazed at his lips for a second before fear widened her eyes, and she took a step back. "No."
They looked at each other, staring, dissecting, and simply enjoying the view. The voluminous silence in the space between them transmitted meanings, thoughts, and desires, but to Shi, it was all in a foreign language. She didn't really understand, but the nuance of the silence frightened her. It seemed dangerous.
"Why did you come back?" he asked.
"I had to. I was curious…I'm sorry. It's shameful."
"What's shameful?"
"My curiosity. It's my worst flaw. I think the grafter would have tried to remove it from my roots when I was a baby, had he known."
The smile on her face led him to believe she was making some kind of joke. It didn't sound funny to him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
The words grafter and roots caught in his mind. "I tried to learn some things about you today, but my library proved worthless."
"What is a library?"
He looked at her incredulously for a moment, then he realized she was serious. Without thinking, he stepped toward her and touched her cheek gently, mesmerized by the shimmer under her skin.
"What are you?" he whispered. "I don't understand…"
Shi swallowed hard and placed her hand on his chest as she had the night before, feeling the beating of his heart.
"This is all of you," she said slowly. "Your body, spirit, and mind all go together. You cannot separate the piece
s of you. It is not so with me. I have two…parts. What you see and touch, my corporeal form, thinks and feels as you do, but I am tethered to my other, silent half…" She hesitated, unsure of the outcome of proclaiming the truth. "A tree."
He frowned. After a moment, he looked down at her hand on his chest and placed his hand over hers.
"Strange," he said quietly. "You don't mean you're somehow bound to this forest, but one actual tree?"
"Yes."
His gaze hooked deep into hers and held her immobile. Then he smiled, bemusedly.
"It changes nothing, Shi. I still feel the same way."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I do. But how do you feel? Do you know any more about my race than I know of yours?"
Shi giggled. "I only needed to touch you to know that this is all of you. Aside from that, I don't know anything about vampires. You're the first one I've ever met."
Then it was his turn to be nervous as he described his need for blood.
"That is an…odd weakness," she said.
He shrugged. "I guess you're right. I've never thought about it before now. We are very different."
"Different, yes, but we seem to be similar in at least one way."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Well, we're attracted to each other," she said plainly.
Her declaration made his heart leap. She noticed the change in his pulse, her hand still against his chest.
"Are you all right?"
He threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, Shi. I don't know if I could be any better at this moment."
She frowned. "You are certainly strange."
He laughed harder. "I love how you just say things. You're not trying to be coy or manipulative."
"I don't understand."
He stopped laughing abruptly. She looked upset and pulled her hand out from under his and took a step back.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't mocking you. I've just never met anyone like you."
"I thought we'd established that."
"I mean your personality… You’re so pure and honest."
"Of course I am! I'm a Verdant."
"What does that mean, Shi?"
She took a deep breath. "I am a princess. My tree, along with nineteen others, live in a circle around the manifestation."
"What is the manifestation?"
"A flame. I've never had to explain it before. The Heart of our world lives in this forest. I am connected to it, literally. My roots grow inside it. It blesses me with life when I sacrifice to it. That's why a Verdant must be pure. We sacrifice. The manifestation shows us how the Heart is feeling by the color the flame burns. It is so beautiful, Ler. I wish I could show it to you."
"Why can't you?"
"Umm…I'm sure it's not allowed. I haven't told anyone about meeting you." Shi visibly shivered. "It's my secret."
He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't like the sound of this Verdant stuff."
"Why?"
He turned his back and paced for a moment. "I'm going to try to be as honest with you as I can. I don't like it because I want you free, and you're not. I want your heart to be open to my advances and free to accept them. You said you're a princess. I know something of that because I'm the king."
"The king of the vampires?"
"No. I'm the king of all of Regia. Every race is subject to me, even yours."
Shi looked perplexed, then her eyes widened. "What are you going to do to my people?"
"What?"
She shook her head and backed away. "You're planning something aren't you? You want to take over us, force us to change, move us away from the Heart."
"No, Shi. I'm not planning…I would never hurt you."
"No, I don't believe you. You're planning something." She turned and ran.
Leramiun ran after her, catching her from behind. She struggled.
"Shh…" he soothed. "You're right. I am planning something."
"What?" she demanded, turning to face him.
He cupped her face. "I'm planning to kiss you again."
She went rigid but made no attempt to escape his grasp. "You must not," she whispered. "It's forbidden."
"We're royalty, Shi. That should amount to something. Give us power and freedom to do as we please."
He ran his thumb along her trembling lower lip. "I've thought about you non-stop since last night. I've fantasized about what I want to do with you. Please, let me kiss you. I've already kissed you. What difference does it make if it happens again?"
"I don't know."
"Just a kiss. Nothing more."
"Such things are not for me. I don't know or understand these things. I'm not even supposed to see others engaging in…affection."
"I could teach you."
Shi trembled with the inexplicable urge to cry and shook her head.
He let go of her. "There's nothing I wouldn't give you, Shi. Nothing I wouldn't do for you. Will you leave me no hope at all?"
"It is as you said. I am not free."
He could see she was about to flee from him.
"I'll be here tomorrow night…waiting for you. I'll come every night for the rest of my life for just the chance of seeing you again."
"Goodbye," she gasped, and ran while she still had the strength to resist him.
He took in a ragged breath as he watched her go, not moving until the glow of her was swallowed completely by the night.
It wasn't over, not by a long shot.
Leramiun decided he needed a little walk to clear his head before he headed home and let his body relax. He didn't pay attention to his direction, just walking, lost again in fantasies. He toyed with the End of the Bridge, rolling it around and around in his hand. Time didn't matter to him. He'd take as much time as he desired. He wandered, directionless. As the predawn grayed the sky, a bad smell broke through the fog in his head, and he tripped and fell face first over a dead body.
Leramiun scrambled to his feet. Bones and body parts twisted and stuck up like a macabre garden. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It made no sense, even though he knew it existed; his mind rejected what he saw. There had been no battle. None of the dead here had died at the same time, each in a different state of decomposition. No weapons littered the ground. Not one was dressed for battle. No, this was nothing but a dumping ground.
He fought his desire to crush the End of the Bridge and forced himself to stay. Who would do such a thing? What for? A thought clicked firmly into place in his mind as he remembered the feeling of warning near those monumental trees. But he knew now they weren't mere trees. And they guarded something priceless.
Rage filled him as he looked on the victims. The Dryads would answer for this. And as he exacted judgment on them for the dead, he'd take his own price from them. They would give Shi up to him or he'd kill them all.
Chapter 5
Leramiun slept late into the morning. Helena lay tucked in beside him. He ignored her completely, doing everything not to touch her in the slightest way. When he finally dragged himself out of bed, Helena was dressed and sitting in the corner, reading again.
"Good morning, Your Highness," she said sweetly, too sweetly.
Leramiun grunted and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "You don't have to stay here, now. Go about whatever it is you do."
She didn't move. He looked at her, and the expression on her face brought him fully awake.
"But, what about what you promised me? I've kept your confidence."
"Right. That. I'll honor my word to you. But I have a lot to do today."
"Fine. I'll just stay right here as you requested."
"Helena, I don't need you to--"
A sharp knock on the door interrupted him.
"It's Quinn," his brother said through the door. "Open up."
Leramiun shot her a stern glance before opening the door.
Quinn surveyed his bother with a mocking smile. "You look terrible. What has that
whore done to you?"
"What do you want, Quinn?"
"Just a little brotherly concern," Quinn said. "Haven't seen you around. You know, walking the halls with your I'm the king look on your face."
Leramiun punched Quinn in the arm. "All right, sucker. I'm fine. I'll see you later."
He shut the door. Helena looked at him expectantly. He sighed. "Stay here today, if you like. I'll be busy."
"Yes, sire."
He could tell she was upset, but he didn't have the energy to do anything about it right now. He went to bathe and get dressed for his day. His mind torn between thoughts of Shi and the mass grave, he didn't know what to do about either. He was determined not to make a mistake, it was too important.
He ate a late breakfast, listening to the chatter of his advisors around the table with more interest than usual. More than once, he almost spilled about the mass grave and his discovery of a new race, but decided he needed to wait just a little longer.
****
The day held no joy for Shi. She walked among her kind, staying close to the flame, filled with a constant caress of desolation. She sat on the ground, starring into the flame, and seeing only Ler.
"Shi? Shi! What are you doing?" Mae's voice ruptured the sad silence inside her.
She looked up at Mae standing next to her. "Nothing."
"Yes, I can see that. Why are you doing nothing? It's preparation day."
Shi looked around, suddenly very alert. "Preparation day? Are you sure?"
Mae gazed at her in disbelief. "Of course I'm sure. Can't you hear it?"
She could hear it now. All the other Verdant had started singing, the song moving through the wood, getting all the Dryads in the right mindset for their seclusion as the equinox came upon them. Shi scrambled to her feet, raising her voice in the song. Mae nodded in approval and walked away, singing as well.
Shi smiled at everyone she passed, continuing to sing. All the Verdant spread out, so that no one was unaware of the day or what they were getting ready for. Shi's desolation came back. She tried not to let it show. She'd forgotten about preparation, so she hadn't told Ler that she couldn't come meet him. A wave of fear rolled over her. Seclusion lasted two nights. What if, after waiting for her and she didn't show up, he never came back at all?
