by S. L. Morgan
“Reece,” Jasmeen called out, prompting Reece to snap out of her daze.
“Yes, Jasmeen?” she answered without peeling her eyes away from the crib.
“Lady Allestaine is here to see you. Would you care for some more tea?”
Reece let out a breath and shook her head in response.
“Very well,” Jasmeen answered before Reece heard her walk out of the baby’s nursery.
I can’t have this baby without you, Levi, Reece thought as tears, once again, resurfaced and ran down her cheeks.
“It is as beautiful as I had imagined,” Lady Allestaine said as she approached where Reece stood, unmoving, at the side of the crib.
Reece lifted her chin, forcefully wiped her tears away, and gazed out of the large windows before her. “I only wish Levi was here to see it, and—” Reece’s words were halted by the grief that filled her entire being.
“He would have demanded a new crib,” Lady Allestaine said with a soft laugh. Unexpectedly, she sniffed. “My heart breaks every day to know the pain he is suffering,” she said, bringing Reece’s attention to her.
Reece turned, and no matter how hard she tried to restrain her tears, she lost the battle and collapsed into Lady Allestaine’s embrace. “I can’t endure this any longer,” Reece moaned.
“I understand, my sweet girl,” Allestaine returned. “That is why I felt it necessary to check on you this evening. I knew something was wrong when you opted out of joining us for dinner tonight.”
Reece withdrew and blotted her eyes with a handkerchief Lady Allestaine handed her. “How can I continue to go along with everyone trying to live a normal life as if my husband were okay?”
“Reece, you must understand that we are not ignoring Levi’s situation. We are—”
“Selfishly being waited upon and enjoying fine meals while Levi is in torment,” Reece interrupted. “I can’t do it anymore. I’m sick of pretending he’s okay when he’s not. A month?” she said with disgust. “It’s been a month. How much longer do we have to wait until we finally admit to ourselves that Galleta can’t help him?”
“She will heal him, Reece. We must hold on to hope,” she responded stoically.
“I’ve held on to false hope for too long.” She began pacing and shook her head.
Lady Allestaine grew more somber. “Galleta has stabilized his transformation, but it will take time to reverse the dark curse that has taken over his mind. I know this is difficult for you, but you must remain strong for Levi and your child.”
“Strong?” Reece responded cynically. “That’s all I have been since we returned from Earth. I force myself to eat every day. I force myself to resist the urge to see Levi. I force myself to believe there is hope that at any minute someone will walk through my doors and tell me Levi has been healed.” She brought her hands up to cover her face and growled in frustration. “Most of all—” she started as she dropped her hands and gazed into Lady Allestaine’s tear-filled eyes. “I force myself, every minute of every day, to forget the fact that Levi is not getting any better, that he’s in a constant state of torment, and I’m up here sipping on tea and walking through gardens believing that something will change and he will finally come back to us.”
“My darling, it is no secret to anyone, especially me and the emperor, that you are hurting, and there is nothing we can do to help at the moment.”
Reece tilted her head to the side. “That’s because there is nothing you can do,” she said as she walked past Lady Allestaine. She looked back as a surge of hope washed over her. “I think it’s time that everyone admits that I am the only one who can help him.”
“Reece, you know very well that you cannot—”
Reece exhaled. “If there is one thing I utterly despise being told, you just said it. I am sick of everyone telling me I can’t help him. If I can open portals to galaxies and mentally persuade the dark beings that brought this about to die, then I can save my husband from this dark curse.”
Before Lady Allestaine could respond, Reece fled the room.
After another night of restless sleep, Harrison walked numbly into the command center. As soon as he neared the entrance, he heard the agonizing wails coming from Levi in his cell. Harrison’s stomach twisted in knots as it always did when he listened to his cousin’s anguish. Harrison could easily shut off his emotions by using the strong mental powers that were genetic in the Pemdai mind, but he would not. His cousin was suffering beyond comprehension, and in Harrison’s opinion, shielding himself from his grief was heartless and unacceptable.
He walked into the command center where Navarre, his father, and King Hamilton were in a private meeting with Vincent.
“Is there word on Mordegrin’s whereabouts?” Harrison asked, surprised why all three men were in discussion with his chief officer.
“Our men believe they may have uncovered a sequence that Mordegrin follows while on Earth. It appears he sits and waits for Levi to come to him,” Harrison’s father, King Nathaniel, advised.
Navarre remained in conversation with the three men while King Hamilton approached him. “Levi’s tortured cries are because Mordegrin has set his mind to be tormented until they are united, regardless of what Galleta does to stop it.”
Harrison looked at Navarre’s grave expression. “Gentlemen, shall we discuss these issues in my office?”
“Levi’s torture will only grow stronger until Mordegrin has his way with him,” Navarre said.
“What are you trying to say, Navarre?” King Nathaniel interjected.
Harrison closed his eyes, unable to accept what Navarre was about to say.
“We can do no more. Galleta has tried, but it appears that she cannot reverse this. Levi will continue in this tortured state unless—”
“Unless?” Reece called out, prompting the men to turn in surprise that she had entered the command center. Her face was solemn, but for the first time, Harrison saw a glint of radiance in her expression. “So it looks like you haven’t come up with the only thing that could actually work?”
Harrison watched Reece, completely baffled by what she was implying. Navarre appeared to feel the same as he did but quickly recovered his expression as he walked over to where Reece stood in the doorway. He brought a guiding hand to her back and led her to a chair around the large meeting table.
The rest of the men took their seats around the table, watching Reece with speculation. “Please, enlighten us,” Navarre replied.
“I am the only one that can heal him. I need the power of the stone, and I will reverse this curse. When I have the power of the stone, I am just as strong, if not stronger, than Mordegrin.” To Harrison’s disbelief, Reece smiled mischievously at Navarre. “We have to fight fire with fire!”
She cannot be serious, Harrison thought.
Navarre’s expression was blank as he looked into Reece’s hopeful eyes. Harrison let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in, wondering how they could easily break the news to Reece.
“Yes, I believe that would presently be our only hope,” Navarre said with a sympathetic expression on his face. “However, we cannot use the stone’s power.”
Reece looked at Harrison, eyes pleading. “Please tell me that you agree with me, Harrison.”
“Reece—” Harrison said in a quiet voice.
“No!” she insisted. “I will not listen to anyone else tell me that I can’t do this any longer.”
“Reece, we are all well aware that you can, in fact, do it; however, you will not do it,” Navarre said in an authoritative tone.
“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t—”
“Mordegrin has done this to Levi because his sole burning desire is to find out where the stone is,” Harrison interjected. “So he either gets it from Levi’s mind if we release him to that monster, or you lead him directly to it trying to heal him. Do you honestly believe he does not expect you to try this? He is a lot of things, but a fool isn’t one of them.”
�
�If Mordegrin discovers that stone, Shallek has already informed us—”
“He won’t!” Reece interrupted Navarre. “We’ll take another way. We can mislead him somehow with decoys.” She stared promisingly at every man in the room. “I know what you’re saying, Harrison, and I have already thought about that. If he is expecting Levi to come to him, or me to go to the stone, we can create stand-ins in our place. We can throw him off that way. If there are enough distractions, he won’t notice us going to the stone.”
“Reece, we will take no chances,” Navarre said gravely. “I am sorry, but I cannot approve this plan of action, for more reasons than you will ever understand.”
Reece stood abruptly, prompting the men to stand as well. She gazed daringly into Navarre’s sorrowful eyes. “How dare you?” she growled. “How can you continue to let him suffer like this? How can you give up on your son so easily?”
Navarre stared fiercely into Reece’s eyes as Harrison quickly approached her. “Please, do not forget who you are speaking to, Reece,” Harrison advised.
“I know exactly who I’m speaking to, Harrison!” Reece countered as she continued to challenge Navarre with her bold expression. “I’m speaking to the man that my husband so valiantly saved, and now he is paying the ultimate price for it.”
“AND HE WAS A FOOL TO COME FOR ME!” Navarre roared furiously.
Reece instinctively flinched away from Navarre’s unexpected reaction. Navarre scrutinized Reece as if she were an enemy before exhaling and collapsing into the chair behind him.
“Tell me something, Reece,” King Nathaniel interjected in a smooth voice. “Do you have any idea as to why Areion would seek to destroy Levi?”
Reece brought her fiery gaze to Harrison’s father. “Because he saw him as a threat.”
“If there were any hope for Levi that he would never become a threat to Pemdas, Areion wouldn’t have sought to end his life,” King Nathaniel said. “Ordinarily, he would have noticed the threat that Levi posed to Pemdas at the time, he instinctively would not have transported him into Pemdas, and we would have needed the escorts as we always do when transporting beings with sinister motives back into Pemdas. But in this situation, Areion knew that Levi remaining alive would result in impending doom for Pemdas. In all of my life, I personally cannot account for a Guardian horse seeking to end his own master’s life such as Areion desired to do so.”
“What are you talking about?” Reece questioned Nathaniel in anger.
Harrison brought a sturdy arm around Reece, knowing that he needed to get her out of this room. She didn’t understand that all these men wanted to do was to retrieve the stone’s power and heal Levi, but they couldn’t.
“Gentlemen, allow me some time to explain things to Reece,” Harrison said.
Reece shook Harrison’s arm off her and turned to face him. “You’re taking their side on this?” Reece said in a high-pitched voice. “You all pride yourselves on being brave and honorable men, but from where I’m standing, the only man who has proven to be such is being tortured, and his fate has been left in the hands of cowards.”
Navarre stood and towered over her. “Because you are my daughter and my love for you runs as deeply as it does for my own children, I will forgive you for your careless insults.”
Reece’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t need your forgiveness.”
“Reece,” Navarre spoke gravely, “you cannot comprehend the storm that we are facing at this time.”
“Storm?” Reece eyed every man in the room with a lethal expression. “I am the storm!”
With that, she turned and quickly fled the room. Harrison was quickly on her heels, gently taking her upper arm and stopping her outside of the command center. Reece jerked her arm out of Harrison’s grip and squared up to him.
“How can you be in agreement with them?”
“I only—”
“How could you? You saw everything Levi went through to save Navarre, and he’s only like this now because he was brave enough to go in that building and save him. And how are his heroic actions honored?” Reece shook her head. “By everyone sitting back, too afraid to help him because they are fearful of Mordegrin discovering the stone’s location. It’s pathetic and unfair. You of all people should know that.”
“It is not as easy as you imagine it to be, Reece.” Harrison took her arm into his. “You need to understand that Areion knew that Levi remaining alive would result in the destruction of Pemdas, and possibly Earth and her other dimensions. That is the only reason the horse desired to kill him.” Reece remained quiet as Harrison went on. “It is mystifying how these horses sense such things, but for Areion to not only reject Levi but to try to kill him also, it conveyed to us that Levi remaining alive will eventually lead to the destruction of our world. No matter what we do, as long as Levi is alive, Pemdas is in jeopardy.”
“How can you think that way?”
“I know you do not fully understand our dependence upon the Guardian horses’ intuition, but they never have—”
“What about Michael Visor’s horse, then? He screwed up! What if Areion was overreacting?” she said desperately while stopping to turn and face Harrison. “Areion had plenty of time to kill Levi, but he hesitated. He hesitated for a reason, and maybe this is that reason. I can get the powers of the stone, heal Levi, and he will no longer be a threat. We simply need a solid plan.”
“Can you not see that helping Levi is the threat?” Harrison returned sternly.
“I will not believe that.”
Harrison was growing angry by Reece’s obstinacy. She wasn’t listening to a word that any of them were saying, and she was completely unwilling to acknowledge the dangers of the situation. She was already resolved to fix this her way, and she would not budge. Sadly enough, Reece probably could never understand why they were wrong for going to the stone and opening a portal to begin with to save Navarre. If they were never tempted to recover Navarre, the portal would have not been opened, and Mordegrin would have never been able to physically step into the Earth’s galaxy and become the greatest threat their galaxy has ever known. Harrison had to find a way to get Reece to see what all of them were reluctantly accepting—and that was that, as long as Levi was alive, Pemdas would be destroyed.
“Reece, I know this is difficult. I hear the tormented cries of my cousin, and my entire being cringes with an emotion I have never experienced before.”
“What are you trying to say?” she responded flatly.
“It’s time to let him go.” He exhaled. “Do you not desire to see that the torment of his mind should be ended? Reece, Levi is no longer with us.” He pointed down the corridor where the command center was. “The beast that wails in the command center is not Levi.”
Before Harrison could blink, Reece slapped him viciously across his face. “What is wrong with you?” She went to walk away, tears streaming down her face. “Of course I want him out of this torment, and unlike all of you, I’m not afraid to risk my own life to save his. I’m not afraid to risk everything for him. I’m sorry if that’s not something you fearless warriors can agree with, something your noble nature will not allow, but I’m not a Pemdai…and I see all of this differently.” With one last challenging gaze, she lifted her chin. “If any plan of action is to be taken against my husband, I will be informed before it is done. He is my husband, and I will have the final say regarding what becomes of his life.”
Harrison stood there, allowing the burning pain from Reece’s slap to radiate throughout his cheek. The entire situation seemed like an endless nightmare, and everyone’s emotions were torn in every direction.
After a long day spent in meetings at the command center, Galleta working with Levi and accomplishing nothing, Harrison could finally take no more. Levi’s constant wailing, the looks of grief on everyone’s faces, and Reece’s words constantly echoing in the back of his mind had finally taken their toll on him. He needed to gather his senses and find some peace of mind. The only pers
on that could help do so was his wife. He left the command center and quickly inquired with the first servant he encountered of Angeline’s whereabouts.
He was grateful when he learned Angeline had retired to their bedchambers for the evening. He walked into their rooms and found Angeline already in her nightgown, propped up against pillows on their bed, reading a book.
She looked up and beamed at Harrison when he entered their room. “Retiring early, my darling?”
Harrison removed every last emotion of distress from his body and replaced it with the love and security he felt with his wife. “What are you reading?” he said as he pulled his boots off, crawled onto their bed, and leaned on his arm next to her side.
“The Holiday Remained,” she answered.
“You and your romantic novels, my lady,” he said as he kissed the top of her head.
“It is a lovely story, really,” Angeline said as she fanned the pages of the leather-bound book. “The palace is too distressing for me these days; even my father has grown as quiet and upset as you have been. It cannot be helped, I understand, but I have to admit that for the first time in my life, my nerves were reaching their breaking point. Escaping into an enchanting novel was my only saving grace this evening.”
“Indeed.” Harrison brought an arm around her, and Angeline settled into his embrace. “Would you care if I join you?”
“Harry, I am fourteen chapters into the book. I fear you will not understand the romance between these two at this particular point, and surely you shall tease me mercilessly for reading a silly romance novel.”
Harrison kissed her silky auburn ringlets. “Trust me, I will not tease you.” He reached for the book and turned the page to where her marker was placed. “Now, catch me up.”
Angeline offered Harrison a questioning smirk before proceeding. “All right, Fernand is the hero of the story, and he falls in love with a lovely woman named Margaret. It started out as a relationship that was rejected by the king of their land.” She glanced at Harrison. “Can you imagine such a thing? People needing to seek a king’s permission to become a wedded couple?”
