Bloom: The Kingdom of Archer Series: Book I

by J Rose

  His words to her were clear. By any means, he was declaring his love to her. Somehow as jealous as I felt in that moment I also felt inadequate of the feeling. Could I really feel that way? Did I deserve to feel that way? I realized that the time spent between them had been the time I had not spent with her. Five years. Would things have been different?

  “But it’s not,” I hear Lyric say, her voice break me out of the insecure trance I had set for myself.

  “You can’t change what was already written. Besides one day when you find her, you’ll think this conversation was silly.” Thought I know her words should bring me comfort, they don’t, instead, they bring forth more insecurities of the past and now the present.

  “Maybe. But it doesn’t feel that way. For now, you need me. And I’m not going to leave until you no longer do.”

  His words to her triggered my father’s voice to remind me about allies. Although this should make me feel a bit at ease, knowing someone else cared about her just as much as I do. I can’t. Not wanting to hear much more of it, I call out to her.

  “Lyric.” She’s standing there wearing a frilly blue skirt and a white spaghetti strapped blouse, as always she has a cardigan to cover her arms. Her hair was let down to cascade past her waist. As beautiful as she was my attention moved from her to the person beside her who was holding her hand. His eyes met mine and I could tell he was sizing me up. There’s a look of anger and jealousy that crosses Greens’ eyes. Something I myself feel at the moment, but try to conceal it.

  “She’s mine,” I want to say to him. I want to demand that he let go of her but when she calls my name out I realized she’s afraid.

  Lyric is looking at us assessing the situation herself quietly. It pains me to know that Lyric is afraid of me, not of him. There’s concern in her eyes and I try my best to maintain my composure and offer her a smile. He, on the other hand, remains the same, his expression is hard and collected.

  “Lyric. Can you wait inside? Oliver can go with you. I. Have a few things to discuss with Andrew.” I tell her. Though I realized that was all that would happen. In the back of my mind, I knew there would be a lot more to discuss than what he was doing there.

  “Come on Princess,” Oliver spoke coming out of his hiding place and leading Lyric away from us.

  For a moment, neither Green nor I spoke until we were sure Lyric was gone.

  “You haven’t told her? Have you?” Green asks, making me realize he’s been well informed of the entire situation.

  “That Cray’s threatened her life?” He questioned a look of anger in his eyes.

  “I just came back. But no. I don’t intend to tell her,” I say to him.

  “Why not? This is about her and she should be aware that-”

  “I know. But she’d worry and the last thing I want is for Lyric to be more afraid than she already is of him.”

  “Don’t you mean of you and him? Of you and this place?” Green asks. By his tone, I knew he knew everything that’d happened between us.

  “Did she tell you?” I found myself asking him.

  “Yes. Eventually. Not all the details. She keeps her life private and what happened to her under wraps. But. She did mention a few things,"

  “I won’t sugar coat anything because that’s just not who I am. I like to be blunt so I’ll say it.” He spoke.

  “I like Lyric. I love her. She’s someone that you can never forget, much less live without.” Green spoke. His words made me clench my fist in anger and annoyance, more so because I myself knew this.

  “What do you want?”

  “I know she’s with you now. The law says so. Or at least her DNA does. And I’m not here to fight. Or rather not the way Cray does it. As much as I’d like to battle it out with you for her heart I think keeping her safe is more important. Which is why I’ll be staying here for the time being, if you’ll let me,” He spoke.

  “And if I say no?”

  “I can camp outside her bedroom window if you don’t. Lyric is my friend, and I promised myself when I met her five years ago that I’d protect her. You broke her along with her father. And I had to fix her. So let me keep being her glue because I’m not going to let you two immature Novas break her again,” Green spoke before walking away.

  Though I wanted to be angry, part of me realized he had been right. Then again it was also protection for Lyric. Good and loyal protection for her. But once again I’d taken a step forward with her and had been thrown eight steps back.

  “At least this one’s not so volatile. I can deal with a house cat,” I thought to myself.

  CHAPTER 16:

  LIMBO

  (Lyric)

  Pacing inside the room I felt strange, worried. There was something in both Parker and Andrews’ eyes that told me that something was wrong. Sitting still inside my bedroom wasn’t an option.

  “It’s alright Princess you have nothing to worry about” Oliver spoke kindly, still, his words did nothing to appease the way I felt at the moment.

  “Are you sure?” I wanted to ask, relief flooded inside me only when Parker walked through the door.

  “Sire,” Oliver spoke his voice once again professional, while he bowed to Parker and walked out of the room with a soft click of the door. Just like that, Parker and I were alone once again. There was silence between us and there was really no way to react. How could I? My thoughts were so jumbled. I was so confused with the things that happened between us the last few days, and with what I had decided would happen. Still, I did not regret it. I wanted this chance at something special with him. Finding love. True love. It all felt untouchable to someone like me. Now. I was in limbo.

  “Hi,” Parker speaks, his voice soft, and I found myself feeling nervous.

  “Hi,” I answered back my voice just above a whisper that I was not sure if he heard me.

  *Bump, Ba-Bump, Bump*

  There it was again. The beat of my heart. The indicator of something I had not wanted to face for myself so many years ago. The only part of myself that had refused to run away from Parker was my heart. The part that had not let me escape from what I felt, and had not known I was feeling. . My heart had been the only indicator to all of this.

  “Are you alright? I. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” He spoke up, his hazel eyes meeting my chocolate ones.

  “Yes. I’m alright,” I spoke to him.

  “Alright,” Parker answers back, a soft smile on his face.

  “Andrew he-”

  “He’s going to be staying with us for a while. Until things settle down a bit.” Parker says. There really is no need for him to elaborate on what he’s referring to because I already know the answer to that, as does my heart.

  “Maxwell he-”

  “He won’t hurt you I promise you that,” He spoke taking my hand in his, giving it a soft squeeze.

  “But-”

  “As long as you’re here things will be fine. There is nothing to worry about. We have our Kingdom protected Maxwell won’t hurt you and if it does come to battle then-”

  “No,” I find myself saying, unable to stop the words out of my mouth and causing Parker to grow silent.

  “Parker. I. I don’t want people to die because of me,” I say to him removing my hand from his own.

  In that moment, I felt so cold, inside and out.

  “I don’t want to be the cause of a war. I’m not worth that much. I’m not worth any-”

  “You are. You are worth everything,” He spoke, walking over to me and raising my chin up softly to look at him.

  “I wish you could see that. I wish you could see just how much you’re worth.”

  “I know I’m at fault for making you feel-”

  “No. I. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” I say to him.

  Deep down, I realized my insecurities were my biggest downfall, and maybe at one point his words were part of that hurt. But this was something that had been part of me for such a long time. What Parker had said, most
ly what my father had said, these were the words that had shaped who I was and I needed time to find myself. I realized that living the past five years for me had just meant feeling nothing. Until now I still continued to push away the pain that I could not handle. I had not realized I was crying, too lost in my own thoughts to see it. It was only when I felt Parkers’ thumb graze my cheek gently in order to wipe away my tears, that I finally realized this. For what felt like the first time I found myself for lack of a better word, breathless. Not out of fear but for an emotion that seemed to begin to grow inside me for Parker.

  “It’s not your fault. This was something that has been coming since the time of the first Novas,” Parker spoke softly.

  “This isn’t your fault either,” I whispered to him, closing my eyes and trying to calm my own emotions.

  For the first time, I allowed myself feel something I had not allowed myself to feel since coming here. Something I had not allowed anyone to give me in my life. Comfort.

  “I’m broken. I can’t love. I can't. Feel. But. I want to. I want to give this a chance. Maybe just…” I don't get to finish. He’s holding me close before I know it. His arm wrapped around my waist the other pressed to my cheek caressing it gently with his thumb. His forehead is pressed against mine. My heart races once more but I can’t open my eyes. I want to allow myself this if just for a moment. I want to feel comfort. I want to feel warmth. I don’t think about the old Parker. I don’t want to think about the past or Maxwell or the imminent war.

  “I want to be happy,” I found myself saying.

  It was hard to breathe. Not in the bad way which was the only thing I had known my entire life, this was different. I felt butterflies in my stomach flutter away with my heart. His own breath gently hit my skin and then his thumb gently grazed my lips increasing my own heart rate. But I wasn’t afraid. Not of how close he was. Not of the way he was holding me. But most importantly, I wasn’t afraid of what he was about to do. Part of me, maybe more than I had ever wanted to admit to myself wanted this.

  “I want to make you happy,” He whispered his voice gentle.

  “Lyric.” The door of my room abruptly opened and I found myself looking at Jane who had walked in breaking our moment.

  I felt myself pushing on Parker’s chest to release me. Not that I needed to do so because Parker himself seemed flushed, while he now awkwardly stood beside me.

  “Sorry. Am I interrupting?” Jane asked though I couldn’t find myself saying a word to her. I also realized Jane’s tone wasn’t at all apologetic either.

  “Yes,” I wanted to say. Still, I kept quiet and found myself unable to look at her, much less look at Parker.

  “We’ll talk later,” He managed to say before walking out of the room. It was rather abrupt the way Jane took my hand, and I found myself being dragged toward the bed. With a smile, Jane laid on the bed and I found myself doing the same, both of us lay on our back and looked up at the plain white ceiling.

  If Jane had indeed noticed anything about the situation she interrupted she didn’t voice it, instead she offered a large smile.

  “Andrew is finally here,” She spoke excitedly.

  “Yeah,” I found myself saying softly. Part of me drifted back to what had happened seconds ago. The way I had felt, the way my heart felt. Part of me really couldn’t fathom what had almost happened. The other part of myself wished he had.

  “Kissed me,” I whispered to myself.

  “What?” Jane questioned, and I felt my cheeks flush realizing I had spoken out loud.

  “Nothing,” I whispered to her softly.

  “Lyric. Are you listening?” She asked, and I found myself blushing at her question.

  “Sorry,” I said to her.

  “Fine. Whatever” Jane spoke smiling brightly turning to look at me.

  “What do you think?” She asked.

  “About what?”

  “Andrew coming here, He told you he loved you didn’t he?”

  “He’s done that before,” I point out to her quietly.

  “Still. What did you say to him?” Jane questioned and for a moment I can see something flicker in her eyes that I can only describe as hurt. She’s always been so cheerful, happy, it was unusual for her to appear sad. She must have noticed my reaction because she simply smiled brighter than before; though it did not reach her eyes.

  “Jane. Are you okay? You and Brad-”

  “Fine. It’s fine. We’re fine,” She spoke with an urgency in her voice as she tried to pass over it nonchalantly.

  “Jane.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” She said her voice soft, fragile, different from what I had heard for so many years.

  “Jane.”

  “Please,” She spoke cutting me off.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” She whispered.

  “Alright.” I found myself saying turning to look at her.

  “But. You can trust me you know that right?” I asked her.

  “I know,” Jane answered back before her smile returned. Although I realized it was fake, I wasn’t going to pry an answer out of her when she didn’t want to give one to me.

  “So Andrew?” She questioned teasingly again.

  “He’s going to be staying here. At the mansion,” I whispered to her.

  “That’s good. He can protect you.”

  “I don’t want him to protect me. From anything. I don’t want him to risk his own life for me.”

  “You’re his friend. And he loves you and someone needs to keep Parker away if-”

  “I’m not afraid of him. Not anymore,” I say to her.

  “But a few weeks ago you-”

  “I know. But. I want to be happy. Don’t you?” I questioned her.

  “It’s not that simple.” She spoke.

  #

  My breathing is ragged. I can feel myself panting. The cold winter air makes fog appear with each breath that I take. My shoes are gone and I can feel the soft wet grass against my feet. I’m not afraid. Not at this point. This dream is different. The stars of the night sky are sparkling down at me and I feel free. I’m not running away from anything, simply enjoying the freedom that my heart feels. I finally stop in the middle of the forest. Surrounded by trees, their branches singing, softly swaying along with the wind to complete the tune of the night.

  Spreading my arms out I don’t think. Instead, I simply close my eyes and relax my body, letting it fall to the ground gently, only to land on the soft grassy ground. The stars. They’re so beautiful, lighting up the night sky. Slowly they appear to connect. Some were right next to each other, while others had lines that seemed to run for miles and miles across the sky, connecting to the farthest star from them.

  “Destiny. Is a beautiful thing isn’t it?” I don’t need to look up to know that Parker is the one speaking and I find myself smiling.

  “A beautiful thing,” I find myself saying back to him, while he walks over to me, lying next to me on the grass.

  “Yes. Very beautiful,” He whispers turning to look at me and taking hold of my hand, pressing a kiss to my knuckles softly.

  “Parker,” I found myself saying breathlessly.

  “Why are you so confusing?”

  “Confusing?” He questioned.

  “I shouldn’t feel this way.”

  “But. We’re soulmates. And. You picked me.” He spoke up quietly.

  “It has to be more than your fear for Maxwell. You have to feel something for me if you chose me,” He spoke.

  “Maybe. But. I just don’t know what that is?” I whispered to him.

  “Maybe,” He whispered back moving to hover on top of me. His body pressed against mine, causing my heart to race once more.

  “Maybe. I can help you figure that out,” He whispered once again reaching to caress my cheek softly, causing my breath to hitch.

  “How?” I found myself asking. His eyes looked deep into mine, slowly lowering his face closer to my own.

  *Bump,
Ba-Bump, Bump*

  Before his lips can reach my own, he abruptly moves away from me and stands up.

  “Lyric. We have to go. Now,” He speaks, his voice urgent. Sitting up, I don’t have time to say anything because he’s already pulling me up to stand rather harshly, and then, we both run.

  “Parker. What’s going on where are we going?” I question him. Though he doesn’t answer, he keeps looking behind us, his hand tightly holds on to mine while we run.

  “Parker. What’s-”

  “I told you. She has no choice.”

  His voice sends chills running down my spine and I find myself frozen in place. Parker stands in front of me. Shielding me away. Though I can still see him. Maxwell is now standing there in front of us. His red eyes penetrate me like a sword.

  “Lyric,” Parker speaks up.

  “Run,” Parker says before he shifts into his Nova form colliding with Maxwell who has also shifted. I don’t stay. Even if I want to because I’m afraid.

  I can hear them behind me fighting. This time when I run my heart is racing for all the wrong reasons. One of them being fear. I can still hear Maxwell’s hissing but the moment I hear a howl of pain from Parker I stop and turn to face the direction I came from. My heart itself feels like it’s stopped and at the same time, it’s like a racehorse.

  “Parker!” My mind screams out to him, hoping that somehow he’ll answer me.

  “I shouldn’t have left him. I have to go back!” I think to myself but the minute I take a step forward Maxwell is standing in front of me in his human form.

  “Parker.”

  “I took care of him already,” Maxwell says a menacing, murderous satisfied look on his face. I can feel my heart break and tears begin to pool in my eyes. Maxwell comes closer and I find myself backing away in fear.

  “Please. Maxwell. Don’t hurt me. Please.” With fear overpowering me I fall, my hands hit the ground harshly. I can feel the sting in my hands from the impact as I shake.