(Skeleton Key) Princess of the Damned

by Wendy Knight

  "This is my son's girlfriend. She helped him fight off the woman and her…associates."

  The man stared at her, and she felt that he was searching her very soul. So she stared back, and read his. It was tired. And afraid, more afraid than he acted. But good. And strong.

  Eiress smiled.

  "Both of you, come with me. We've got to get him to a hospital." Unsettled, the man motioned to her and Landon's dad. Battered and bruised, they both followed him. She turned in the doorway, searching for Kaida. He peered out from the corner of the bed, blowing a little smoke ring at her. Then he scampered back into the darkness to hide.

  Assured that he would be okay, she turned to hurry after Landon and all the other people. As she ran down the stairs, she passed the hallway mirror.

  And froze.

  She stared hard into its depths and waited.

  Nothing happened. The Isle of the Damned was gone.

  Also, her hair was red again.

  "Miss?" The man said, watching her from the bottom of the stairs.

  "Yes. Sorry. I'm coming."

  She made it to the bottom of the stairs before she felt it, and she stopped cold, her feet unwilling to move even when the man stopped and glared back at her. "You're boyfriend's in real trouble, miss. You wanna hurry it up?"

  She barely heard him. "I know you," she whispered.

  Weak, but still there. The love nearly overpowered her and her entire body started to shake. "Mama?"

  Eiress felt the cold hand against her cheek, and suddenly, her mother was there in front of her. Unlike the many souls Eiress had seen for the last fourteen years while trapped in that prison, this soul was pure and golden. It sparkled even with no light to shine off.

  "I love you."

  Eiress sobbed. She reached out, but her hand went right through. "I love you, Mama."

  "I'm sorry."

  Eiress shook her head. "No. No, no, Mama. Don't apologize. You—you're here. You saved me." Eiress's lips shook when she smiled, but she smiled anyway. "You brought me Landon, Mama."

  "Kaida."

  Nodding so hard her hair fell into her eyes, Eiress said, "I'll find him, Mama. I'll find him."

  She could feel her mother weakening. She was torn and broken, but still perfect, and Eiress didn't want to overtax her. "Go, Mama. Rest. I'm here now."

  "I love you…I'll never leave you."

  Again, the icy hand against Eiress's cheek and she nodded. "I know, Mama. I know."

  And then Jasmine was gone. The air was infinitely warmer, and yet Eiress felt coldness in her heart. She would keep her mother with her forever, if she could, but it was time to let her go, for now.

  Eiress knew, though, that her mother wouldn't go far.

  "Miss? Do you need medical attention? Are you hurt?" The man was close to her now, studying her, looking for wounds, but he would never see her broken heart.

  She forced a smile, and shook her head. "No. I'm okay. I just—I just…" She had no words.

  Frowning, he took her arm and helped her the rest of the way down the hall. "The ambulance is ready to go."

  For the first time in fourteen years, Eiress stepped into an outside where there were no nightmares. The moon was full and bright and when she breathed, there was no acid to fill her lungs. Instead, there were trees and grass and the sound of dogs barking in the distance.

  "Miss?"

  She realized that she'd frozen, again, to look around her in awe. Choking back tears, she gave him a weak smile. "Sorry."

  Landon waited in the ambulance parked on the lawn. He met her eyes and smiled weakly. "It's okay."

  But being caught in that blue, blue gaze had spurred her to move, and she pulled free of the man and jogged across the lawn to the ambulance. Eyes wide, she climbed inside. It was so bright. So many colors. So many sounds.

  "I can wait, Eiress."

  She smiled down at him. He didn't look like he could wait. He looked like he was in an insurmountable amount of pain, and he was so, so pale. "I have the rest of my life to explore your world. With you."

  His hand shook with effort, but he reached out and grasped her fingers, bringing them to his lips. "I love you, Eiress."

  She barely noticed the ambulance as it rumbled away from Landon's house. "I love you, too, Landon."

  "LANDON, THERE'S SOMEONE WHO wants to see you."

  Landon had been watching Eiress sleep for the past hour. She was curled in the uncomfortable hospital chair, so exhausted she hadn't moved. Her skirts were torn and bloody, and the skin on her arms and dirty feet were skinned and raw. He had no idea what she had been through. When he'd tried to ask, she just smiled and said she had been "dealing with the consequences of pride." And then she'd told him to rest.

  That had been two days ago.

  In the meantime, she'd gone home twice with his dad, but she never stayed away long. The last time she'd come back, she'd brought Kaida, hidden in Landon's coat she'd borrowed. Now the little dragon hid in the closet, but always where he could see Eiress.

  This big, colorful world was hard for him to get used to.

  "Are you awake?"

  Landon tore his eyes away from Eiress, still unable to believe she was here, after all these years. It had been a shock the first time he'd looked in a mirror and seen his own face staring back at him. "Hey Dad. I'm awake. Come on in."

  His dad looked nearly as bad as Landon and Eiress, dividing his time between Landon's room and his wife's. He'd not spoken yet of what he'd seen that night, but there was a new weight on his shoulders that hadn't been there before. "Look who finally decided to wake up."

  "Mom!" Landon cried. He had multiple broken bones, a concussion, and so many stitches he'd stopped trying to remember how many. But he still tried to get out of bed. A hug. He just needed a hug. Let them call him a mama's boy; she was awake and smiling, her wounds healing. He wanted a hug.

  "Stay in bed, Landon. I'll bring her to you." His dad wheeled the chair close to Landon's bed, and his mom reached out and took his good hand.

  "I've heard of your heroics." She smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "You are grounded until you die."

  Landon didn't even care. He tried, so she'd think he minded, but he failed.

  He'd nearly lost everything two days ago. Now he had everything he could have ever wanted.

  "How are you feeling?" he said instead.

  She nodded. "I'll live. How are you, baby?"

  He nodded, too. "I'll live. There's someone I want you to meet."

  Eiress had awoken while he hadn't been paying attention, and now she stood at his bedside. He wondered how she must look to his mother, in her medieval-style dresses, torn and tattered. Her skin so white it was like she'd never seen the sun, because truthfully, she hadn't. Not for a long, long time.

  "We've met." His mom reached her other free hand for Eiress's, who clasped it readily, her pale cheeks coloring pink.

  Not for the first time, Landon was rendered absolutely speechless by her beauty.

  "She saved us, Mom. She saved us all."

  Was that a tear in his mother's eye as she nodded? "I know she did, Landon. We're going to help her find her brother, and we're going to keep her safe in our home."

  Eiress sucked in a breath, her eyes widening as she met Landon's.

  His mom looked down briefly before looking up and squeezing both their hands again. "And I'm sorry for the years of doubt. You have to understand, Landon. Maybe one day, when you're a parent, you'll get it. But we—" she motioned between Landon's dad and herself "—we were scared. You had this friend that we couldn't see, and you would tell us such frightening things. There's nothing in the parenting manuals that tell you how to handle that. We did the only thing we could think to do. We were wrong, but parents are human. We make mistakes. It doesn't mean we didn't love you with every bit of our hearts."

  His dad nodded.

  For the first time, Eiress spoke. "I—I can see their souls, Landon. They love you so, so much. I think that's why
you were strong enough to come to me. It's why you didn't hesitate, because you've been raised to believe that we'll do anything for the ones that we love."

  There were tears. Landon fought them, like his dad did, but they failed. His mom and Eiress didn't even try. But they were healing tears.

  "OH, EIRESS. ISN'T THIS pretty? Do you like pink?" Landon and his mom had been released several days ago, and Laura's sister, Tania, had come to help take care of them.

  "I like all color," Eiress said, stroking her fingers across the bright pink comforter. "Anything but gray or black." Tania had been helping Eiress get settled in the guest room that had once been the "junk room" as Laura had called it. She even got a pet bed for Eiress's weird looking "lizard". She took Eiress shopping, and didn't ask questions when Eiress gasped at the escalator or danced in the sunlight. By the time Tania been there for three days, Eiress looked like every other girl on the street.

  Except for her white, white skin and bright red hair. But some things would not change.

  "Okay. Let's get this one. We just have to run to the grocery store and get stuff for dinner. You okay for that?"

  Eiress smiled and nodded. She wanted to see everything. Everything she'd missed, everything she'd never seen and everything she'd forgotten.

  Grocery stores, apparently, were like Landon's football game, except with carts. She was surprised when she and Tania both made it out with barely a scratch.

  "Good grief," Tania said, once they were safe in the car and back on the road. "That was…interesting."

  Eiress smiled. Yes, interesting.

  "One thing you have to learn is that carrying groceries in is a test. If you can make it all in one trip, you win." Tania smiled as they scooped up the bags, looping them over their arms like some primitive form of torture.

  But, they made it in one trip.

  They were laughing and groaning, which explained why Eiress didn't notice that there was a soul in the house she didn't recognize. Not dark, necessarily, but full of bitterness. For the most part, she'd learned to ignore them, the souls she could read—otherwise she'd be completely overwhelmed every time she left the house. But here… here she had come to associate it as home, and she protected it from every dark thing that threatened.

  She followed Tania into the kitchen and set the bags down on the counter, frowning.

  "Who's here?" Tania asked.

  "Landon's friend. She's…apologizing." Landon's dad was washing dishes and didn't look away from them, but Eiress felt the anger in his soul.

  Biting her lip, wondering what could cause such a darkness, she left the kitchen and went to find Landon. He was in the living room, his face dark. "Cassie, there's no getting over this. I'm sorry if you feel guilty, but I can't forgive you for what you did. Not only did you nearly get me killed, but my dad, too. You need to leave."

  The girl with big brown eyes and long brown hair sobbed into her hands. "You don't understand, Landon."

  "I don't want to, Cassie."

  "Hi." Eiress stepped carefully into the room, like if she stepped too hard, the floor might open up and swallow her.

  "Is this her?" Cassie asked, her eyes sweeping Eiress from head to toe. "She's the one you dumped me for?"

  "I'm Eiress."

  "Cassie, not one word. You need to leave." Landon's voice had gone deadly cold.

  Eiress moved between them, blocking Cassie from Landon's view. "You're hurting, and I'm sorry. But Landon's hurting too. What you did, whatever it was, it broke him. You don't see it because you only love his face. But I love his soul, and I have for fourteen years. So I see the broken parts you don't, and I won't let you hurt him again."

  "I hurt him? You have no idea what he put me through! I gave him everything—"

  "I know." Eiress nodded. "I know that you're hurt. You need to heal, Cassie."

  Cassie's mouth opened and shut and fresh tears filled her eyes. She sobbed once, and then whirled and ran from the room. She slammed the door behind her.

  Eiress turned back to Landon. He was smiling. "Hey." He reached out, grabbed her hand. "Come here." He pulled her down next to him, tucking her against his chest. "I love you."

  She breathed the scent of him, ran her fingers through his hair, marveling at the softness of it. For so long, she dreamed of what he must look like, smell like, feel like. None of it rivaled the soul she'd loved for so long, but now that she'd seen him, smelled him, touched him, she hoped she would never be without him again.

  "I love you, too."

  She listened to him breathe for several long minutes before he finally chuckled. "How are we gonna explain Kaida when he's as big as the house and breathing fire?"

  SKELETON KEY SERIES

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Skeleton Key novella!

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  SHATTERED ASSASSIN

  CHAPTER ONE

  THE KINGDOM NEVER SLEPT. EVEN NOW, in the deepest, darkest hour of the night, Princess Kazia could still hear life buzzing outside the castle walls.

  She retreated farther into the garden. "Come, Nakomi," she whispered, tapping her thigh.

  The monstrous black wolf materialized from the shadows beside her, only the grey mask around her eyes visible in the darkness. Obediently, Nakomi followed at her side as they slipped deeper into the expansive gardens.

  "I'll bet you're grateful I chose a nocturnal pet." Kazia smiled sideways at Nakomi, who huffed in agreement.

  The sounds of the city faded as they neared the castle, where, unlike in the village beyond, everyone slept.

  Everyone but her.

  She had always been more at home in the night than during the day. The sun hurt, causing severe blisters if she was out for an extended period of time, and it made her tired. When she was little, she tried to match her schedule to her family's, but it was difficult. She gave it up, and was grateful to finally embrace her nocturnal self — especially now, with such an event looming.

  "At this time in a month, I'll be wed, Nakomi. I hope Prince Randolf is fond of wolves. It would be a shame to have to ask you to eat him when we're trying to form an alliance between the kingdoms." Kazia chuckled at her own humor, but a glance at Nakomi and she could swear the wolf was rolling her eyes.

  Kazia had never actually met Prince Randolf. She had heard he was kind. Kind was good. Hopefully, kind would be enough. "Remember when I was young and thought I'd wed for love? A white knight…" Her voice trailed off as the image of the exact white knight she had dreamed of flashed through her mind. Luke.

  Nakomi, reading her thoughts, growled and Kazia nodded. "Of course it was silly. No one weds for love. They wed to form powerful alliances and secure their place in the world. Even when they are only sixteen years old." She raised her chin and pushed brown curls over her shoulder. "I'd like to see anyone attempt war on our countries when we've combined our forces." Yes, it was the smart thing to do, the right thing to do. Kazia always did the smart, right thing.

  Even keeping a half-dead runt wolf pup had been the smart, right thing to do, although so many had told her it wasn't. She had known, and she always trusted her instincts over the opinion of everyone else. It was the smart, right thing to do.

  She paused, fingering the blossoms that sparkled faintly in the dim moonlight. It was, like everything in this garden, very beautiful. Unless you ate it, then it made you very sick. She had found that out when she was three and thought everything pretty should be eaten. Her mother had ordered every plant like it removed, but as soon as the flowers were gone her father had ordered more planted. After that, her older brother, Broderick, had stayed by Kazia's side constantly while she played in the gardens.

  Always protecting her.

  He and Luke. Luke, even at seven years old, had been her white knight. She tipped her head, searching for stars that were hidden in the clouds
. "I have to stop thinking about him, Nakomi. It only hurts me more."

  Nakomi sighed, if wolves could sigh.

  "Oh! I know! Bite me. Every time I think about him. That will teach me." Kazia looked hopefully at her friend.

  Nakomi rolled her big eyes again.

  "Just a small nip?" Kazia swung away and Nakomi slid again into the shadows, waiting to be called. Probably wanting to sleep, Kazia thought. Wolves weren't completely nocturnal, but Kazia's insomnia was forcing Nakomi to be.

  The garden was the one place in the castle Kazia could breathe. It was safe and there was no one watching her. No one but Nakomi, of course. And probably guards, somewhere. But they kept their distance.

  If she could draw, she would have come out during the day and painted the flowers, but personally she thought the garden was more beautiful at night. Many of the plants glowed in the darkness, and others sparkled in the moonlight. It was a sight most never saw. Since Kazia couldn't draw, and she had no great skill at writing, she wandered among the flowers and dreamed, because dreaming was something she was fabulous at.

  "That will be how I survive a smart marriage. I will dream," she murmured as she ran her fingers across thorns that radiated like beacons.

  Nakomi was suddenly at her side, growling low in her throat. "What is it?" Kazia frowned.

  Nakomi never growled like an angry wolf. It was a terrifying sound, especially coming from a beast the size of a pony, and the hairs on the back of Kazia's neck rose. Weaving her hands into Nakomi's fur, she walked quickly back toward the castle, resisting the urge to pick up her skirts and run. Nakomi never ceased growling, even when they came to the castle walls and could see Broderick's window above them.

  "Odd," Kazia murmured, pausing with her hand still clutching Nakomi tightly. The wolf stopped next to her, growls reverberating in her chest. Brodi had never lost a night's sleep. Insomnia didn't run in the family, but Kazia could see his shadowed form moving about his room. Thrashing, really, moving too fast… it took Kazia a moment to realize there were two forms in her brother's room.