I felt empty and alone. How could I live without him?
In the light, something shimmered and caught my eye near his bed. I walked over, dread pooling in my core. I pulled up a blanket that had slid onto the floor on the opposite side of the bed.
Aerden’s axe lay discarded on the stone floor.
He would never have left this here. He went everywhere with that axe. Aerden was a warrior by nature, always ready for any situation or danger. He wouldn’t have gone on some grand adventure without it.
I picked it up and as soon as my hand touched the silver, a vision flashed before my eyes.
It came to me in pieces, as these kinds of visions often did.
Seeing the future was one of my gifts, handed down from generations before me. The older I got, the stronger my visions had become, but they were rarely full scenes. Mostly, they were more like images in my head. Fragments of a greater whole.
In this vision, Aerden stood in a circle of black roses, a glowing mass of light hovering just above the ground.
My hands curled into tight fists around the axe’s handle, and I strained to see more before the vision faded. But the harder I tried to hold onto it, the faster it slipped away.
When it had disappeared completely from my mind’s eye, I stood, my brother’s axe clutched tight in my hand. Terror began to grow within me. I had to find him. I needed to warn him.
I closed my eyes and tried to feel my connection with him like we’d done a thousand times. When I was scared or lonely, I could always reach out to him. His presence was always with me, even if we were miles apart.
Our connection wasn’t something you could see. It was more of a feeling. A knowing. Something that couldn’t be described in words, but something that we’d always had.
At that moment, I sent a piece of my spirit out to him, wanting to know that wherever he had gone, he was still with me.
But for the first time in our fifty years of life, I couldn’t reach him.
There was no reassuring presence. No connection. There was only distance.
I grabbed the axe and the locket, then flew out of his room and down the stairs. I had no idea where to look, but I had to try. The engagement could be postponed. Lea would understand.
There was no way to know how long Aerden had before this came to pass. Sometimes my visions came to pass within days. Others had still never come true even after years of waiting.
Even if this was a vision of the distant future, I knew I needed to find him and tell him what I’d seen. Maybe there was still a chance I could make things right. A chance I could save him from this fate.
When I burst through the door of my room, though, I found my mother waiting in the entryway.
“Denaer?” She looked from my eyes to the axe and back again. “What’s going on?”
I hesitated. My gift of visions had been one her father had passed down. She’d asked me to never share these visions with her. She’d said there was no way to change them once you’d seen them, so she saw no point in letting them rule your actions.
Still, this was important.
“It’s Aerden,” I said. “He’s gone.”
I walked past her into the bedroom. A light breeze blew in through the open archway and on the streets below, I could already hear the sounds of the crowd gathering for today’s celebration.
“What do you mean, he’s gone?” she asked, following me.
I pulled a large leather bag from my closet and began filling it with weapons and clothing.
“What are you doing?” She placed herself between me and the bag, then put her hand on my arm. “Stop. You’ve gone mad.”
I didn’t have time for this. I threw the clothes on the floor, then reached into my pocket and took out the golden case. “When I woke up this morning, the locket was gone,” I said.
She shook her head, confusion wrinkling her forehead. “Where was it?”
“In Aerden’s room,” I said.
“You’re not making any sense,” she said. “Why would your heart stone be in Aerden’s room?”
“Because he’s the one who is in love with the princess,” I said. I knew it wasn’t my secret to tell, but I needed to make her understand what was going on. “I have never loved Lea. Not the way he does.”
My mother fell back against the bed. “You don’t mean that,” she said.
“Yes, I do,” I said. “I was willing to marry her because it was my duty, but yesterday I realized how blind I’d been to Aerden’s feelings for her. I tried to tell him to go to her and tell her how he feels, but he refused. Instead, he filled the heart stone in my place and left.”
“Where did he go?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I have to find him.”
“Wait,” she said, gripping my arm so tight, it burned. “You can’t go anywhere. Not today. There’s no time. We have to be at the castle soon.”
I shook my head and continued packing. “I had a vision,” I said. “I know you don’t want to hear about them, but this time, what I saw makes me think Aerden’s in trouble. I have to warn him.”
She lowered her head into her hands for a long moment while I rushed around the room, gathering supplies.
Finally, she raised her chin. “It doesn’t matter what you saw,” she said. “Once a vision has been seen, it cannot be undone. There’s nothing you can do for him now.”
I didn’t want to listen to her. What if there was a way? “I have to try.”
She grabbed my arm and pushed me toward the window. “Look down there,” she said. “There are thousands of demons who have traveled great distances to be here for this ceremony today. If you leave now, you will shame us all.”
I stared out of the window, my stomach twisting with regret. I should have never let things get this far.
From the looks of it, the entire kingdom had come to witness the ceremony.
The King of the North had been known as one of the greatest kings of all time and the demons of the Northern Kingdom loved him with a ferocious passion. When Lazalea was born nearly fifty years ago, the people had come from all over the kingdom to send prayers of love and light into the sky in celebration.
She was their great hope for the future and they loved her just as much as they had always loved her father.
I could see it in the eyes of the demons in the street below. They all shared looks of joy and love, their loyalty to the royal family so true and resolved.
Seeing the villagers who had traveled so far to be here to witness our promise ceremony, it suddenly hit me how significant this moment really was.
How much it would hurt everyone if I walked away.
I leaned against the wall, feeling so defeated and lost.
“In time, your brother will learn to live with his sorrow, and when he does, he will come back to us. Just wait and see. He has made a great sacrifice for you today,” she said. “For both of you. Honor him by doing what is right and following through with your commitments. Bringing shame on all of us will not do him any good. Either way, he was going to lose her. You have to see that.”
I lifted my head and looked at my mother. She was a good woman, but at that moment, for the first time in my life, I understood that she cared more for her place in this kingdom than she did for the happiness of her own children.
I would find no sympathy in her eyes.
“Come, Mother.”
I stood and held my arm out to her, resolved to my fate even as my heart was breaking.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around me.
“Thank you,” she said, whispering against my forehead as she hugged me close.
What Was Expected Of Me
The walk to the castle was like a funeral march.
Every step had weight, as if my shoes were filled with sand and stone. I wanted to reach back in time and take it back, but it was too late.
I had to find a way to be strong.
I thought of my brother sitting alone in his roo
m in the early morning hours, pouring his love into the heart stone, knowing that the woman he loved would believe they were my feelings.
What kind of strength did that take? What did it feel like to love someone so much you would sacrifice everything to make them happy and keep them from pain?
I would never know that same kind of love.
My parents had taken that chance away from me the moment I was born into this world.
My mother’s hand squeezed my arm and when I turned to meet her gaze, her eyes widened, reminding me I had a role to play.
We paused just outside the archway that led into the throne room. We had been through these steps a dozen times in the past month, and I knew exactly what was expected of me.
I buried my regrets and my worry deep inside, then straightened my shoulders.
There was no use going through it all in my head over and over. This was my destiny, and I would embrace it with courage and strength.
As I looked on the faces of the demons sitting in the throne room, I vowed to put aside my own selfish desires. I would dedicate my life to the kingdome. I would do whatever it took to honor my brother by becoming the mate Lea deserved.
Somewhere high above, bells rang to signal the beginning of the ceremony.
An excited hush fell over the gathered crowd.
My mother’s grip on my arm tightened and I swallowed down my regrets and my secrets.
The doors to the king’s chamber room opened on the opposite side of the hall, and all eyes focused on the light streaming through from the royal chambers.
A chorus of shadowlings poured forth from somewhere in the back of the room, their ethereal forms swirling and dancing upon the air. They flew around both sides of the throne, floating high up toward the ceiling.
A single shadowling girl took form on the bottom step leading up toward the platform. Her voice flowed from her, a sound so heart-breakingly pure no one dared breathe or move as they listened.
She sang in an ancient demon language, long abandoned in our daily lives, but still used on occasions of great importance.
Even though I’d studied the language in my lessons when I was younger, I could only understand a few words of her song, its meaning was clear. It was a song about the beauty of love.
When she was through the first verse, the rest of the shadowlings joined her on the stairs, adding their voices to the song. Music filled the chamber, echoing from every corner, a harmony so pure and perfect it brought tears to my eyes.
From the back of the room, a parade of priestesses made their way down the center of the crowd, colorful flames dancing in the air above their cupped hands.
Behind them, the king’s council passed through the crowd. They wore robes of gold and deep red. My father held a position of honor at the front of the procession. When he came into view, my mother straightened and smiled, pride radiating from her.
Did it not matter to her at all that her other son was completely missing from the ceremony? When had her ambitions grown so high?
Or had my parents always valued their position in the court this highly?
I had been so blind. I was a child until today and suddenly, I wished I never had to grow up. I would rather have spent the rest of my life playing in the fields with my brother and Lea than have had my eyes ripped open to these harsh truths.
My father’s eyes sought mine across the heads of the demons seated in the front rows. He lowered his head in a brief nod and I nodded back, accepting my role.
The priestesses bowed to the empty throne, then split off into two groups, one going left and the other right. They turned around to face the crowd, then in perfect unison, lifted their arms. Their flames lifted high into the air above our heads, then moved together to form a circle just above the throne. The flames spun faster as they moved closer together, finally coming together to form a single bright flame. Its light shone down across the golden floor before the throne.
I drew in a breath, knowing this was where I was meant to stand and pledge my heart and my life to Lea.
The song of the shadowlings ended and the throne room fell into a reverent silence.
A row of musicians in the balcony at the back of the hall lifted glass horns to their lips and began the royal processional.
The crowd of demons knelt and bowed their head as the king and queen appeared from their chambers.
The king stepped to the edge of the steps and raised his hands high into the air. At his command, everyone stood. He smiled and lowered his head in acknowledgment and praise. Excitement rippled through the air.
The King of the North led his queen back toward the throne. He kissed her hand, then left her side as they took their positions on either side of the golden throne. They turned their gaze toward the door to their chambers and my breath hitched in my throat. I struggled to stand tall and confident when all I wanted to do was turn and run like a scared little kid.
My eyes were glued to the light in the archway.
When Princess Lazalea appeared, my eyes widened. From where I stood, I saw her before the rest of the crowd, and I understood their gasps as she made her way to the light in front of her parents.
She looked like a being from another world. Her gown was a deep red velvet adorned with golden rings that shimmered when she walked. On her head, she wore a golden circlet with a single red jewel that hung down between her eyes like a teardrop.
When she was in place, she lowered her head, then slowly lifted her eyes toward the archway where I stood.
Her eyes met mine and a smile played at the corners of her mouth.
For a moment, I couldn’t react or respond. The joy and adoration in her expression was one of a lover. I’d never seen her look at me that boldly before, and I didn’t know if it was new or if my eyes were finally seeing what had always been there.
That was when I fully understood why Aerden wouldn’t let me tell her the truth.
The truth would have destroyed her.
The trumpets stopped and an orchestra of strings began to play. I recognized the music from rehearsals, and I had to force my feet forward.
As I passed the council members, I kept my eyes forward, only stopping briefly to bow to my father out of respect. My father lowered his head toward me, then set his hand on my shoulder. The weight of it was heavy, reminding me of my duty to my family and my kingdom.
Aerden should have been sitting in the front row, but I didn’t allow myself to look at his empty seat.
I had to be strong now for both of us.
When I got to the center of the room, I stopped at the bottom of the steps and knelt down before the king and queen. As I bowed my head, I thought of Aerden. I tried again to reach him through our connection.
This time, instead of the vast emptiness I’d felt earlier, I was overcome by a violent fear. But as soon as it had come, it was gone again.
I nearly stumbled as I tried to stand. A few in the crowd gasped and I felt my father’s eyes bearing down on me. I lifted my eyes to Lea and her smile faltered. She shook her head in confusion, but I couldn’t tell her what I’d experienced. All I could do was push back my fear and ascend the steps toward her.
Her chest rose and fell with long breaths as she placed her smile back on her face.
My eyes flickered to her hands. She had her fist clasped around something small, and I knew she was holding onto her locket with the heart stone inside.
What would I see when I opened it?
All I could think about was how much I wished it were Aerden standing here instead of me. I wished he had been chosen instead of me.
When I took my place at Lea’s side, all I wanted in the whole world was to rewind to a time when it was just the three of us playing in the fields as friends. I yearned for a life with no expectations or responsibilities.
But as her hand reached for mine, I knew that we couldn’t stop time. We would never be able to hold onto the days of the past. Life kept moving forward, for better or worse and
the best any of us could do was try to find a way to be happy with the life fate had handed us.
The Veil
The ceremony continued in a blur. Some part of me must have heard the words, because I felt my body going through all the right motions. I answered at all the right times. I smiled when Lea smiled, reassuring her even as I myself needed reassurances.
I felt the eyes of every demon in the room on the two of us, their hopes and dreams of a prosperous future affixed on our joined hands.
I was both there and not there.
And when it came time for us to exchange truth stones, I handed her mine with the confidence of a demon in love. My hands did not tremble. My eyes never wavered from hers for a second.
But inside a hidden part of myself, I guarded a dark secret. The most terrible lie a man can tell a woman.
A part of me changed that day. Even before I knew the truth about what had happened to Aerden, I knew the course of our lives had gone severely off track. One wrong decision led to another and another until I found myself standing in front of a princess, promising her something that was never mine to give.
She took the golden locket from my hand, her eyes shining with hope.
Lea, the confident girl I’d grown up with, someone who never showed a single weakness or moment of doubt, shivered with fear as the priestess summoned the veil that would hide us from the hopeful eyes of the crowd around us.
A shimmering light surrounded us, flowing up like a curtain of stars.
We stood facing each other in the light. Our lockets were clasped tight in our hands, but our eyes were locked together in anticipation.
In the days leading up to this moment, Lea and I had rarely spent any time alone. There had always been maidservants and family around us, preparing us for the ceremony. We hadn’t had a chance to talk about what things might be like after we’d pledged our lives to one another.
But in the tradition of our elders, we were given this cocoon of light in which to confess our doubts and dreams. It was known as the last chance to reveal our true feelings and intentions. We could speak to each other without anyone outside hearing us or ever knowing what we’d shared.
A Demon's Wrath: Part I (Peachville High Demons) Page 3
