Having his mind made up, Marko returned his gaze to the patiently waiting man beside him. “Ivan, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything sir.”
“I need you to take a small group of men, ten men or less, and head out as if you are doing a routine patrol.” Rubbing his chin, Marko ignored Ivan’s confused look as his mind continued to work out the details of his plan. “I want you to find and intercept the Vanterians. But whatever you do, do not engage them. If I am not mistaken, I believe their leader’s name is Jaron, he and K are close so I am certain he will be one of the men traveling this way. Speak with him, tell him that he and his people are welcome to come to the castle and see their queen, convince him to let you guide them the rest of the way and send Jericho back home… We will deal with him another day.”
“And Lord Mallok, sir?”
“I will speak to him this evening and warn him of what is happening.”
“Then I will leave tonight.” Bowing, Ivan turned and strolled back the way he came. Marko watched until he disappeared into the distance, before resuming his own stroll back toward the castle. As he walked, Marko’s mind drifted and he found himself wondering whether K knew of her people’s eminent arrival.
Did she plan this? He wondered, absently nodding to an elderly lady as she passed. And if so, am I doing the right thing bringing them into the city? What if this is nothing more than an elaborate trap?
Knowing he would get no rest if he didn’t at least talk with her and get a feel for how much she knew of her people’s plans, Marko entered the castle and headed straight up the stairs for the abandoned hall that held K’s room. He hadn’t even made it half way up the first flight of stairs, when he was nearly knocked backwards by a man running down them in the opposite direction.
“What the…?” Marko snapped grabbing ahold of the banister to steady himself. Looking up, he immediately recognized the young guard as one of the men assigned to watch K’s door. “Will? What in the stars are you doing down here?” he barked, livid that one of his trusted guards would have abandoned his post. “Aren’t you supposed to be on duty with Simon?”
“Stars be praised! I can’t believe I found you!” Will exclaimed. Completely ignoring his questions, he grabbed his arm and began dragging him up the stairs. “I have been looking all over the castle for you. Something has happened to the queen and I need you to come with me right now!”
Upon hearing mention of K, Marko jerked his arm away from Will and flew up the stairs with the guard right on his tail. “What the hell happened?”
Reaching the top of the stairs, they rounded the corner and headed down the narrow hall as Will began to try and explain. “She was just standing there like always… then suddenly she fell.”
“Fell? What do you mean she fell?”
“Well… not really fell, more like passed out. Her body just collapsed onto the floor.” As they neared the end of the long hall, Marko spotted Simon nervously pacing outside K’s door holding the blocking band in one hand as if he was contemplating going inside. “Simon, what are you doing? Put that band away this instant.”
“Oh thank the stars.” Simon exhaled in one huge breath, “I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I felt like I should go inside and help her, but then you told us to never go in, and she hasn’t fed in so long…”
Tuning out Simon as he continued to ramble on, Marko turned his attention to the large room beyond the barrier. His heart rate immediately doubled when his gaze fell upon a large pool of blood near the patio. “Whose blood is that?” he questioned without turning around.
Will came up behind him, following his gaze into the room. “It’s hers, sir. When she collapsed, she hit her head pretty hard on the floor…” He hesitated, nervously rubbing a hand up and down the opposite forearm.
“Spit it out Will,” Marko snapped, his patience wearing thin.
“You see sir,” Simon spoke up, saving Will despite the fact he appeared just as anxious as his partner, “I know this sounds crazy and I wouldn’t have believed my own eyes if Will hadn’t been here to see it as well… but when she fell h-her hair turned white, sir.”
“White?” Marko mumbled as he preceded to hand his weapons to the stunned men. “That means she has lost the strength required to maintain her mask.” Furrowing his brow, he frantically searched every visible corner of the room for any sign of K. “And where is she now?”
“After Will left, she woke up and stumbled into the bathroom.” Simon pointed toward the closed door near the patio. “She’s been in there ever since.”
Not allowing himself to overthink what K’s change in appearance might mean about her condition, Marko charged into the room and headed straight for the bathroom. “K!” Side stepping the blood on the floor, he reached for the knob on the bathroom door and twisted, only to find it wouldn’t budge. Perplexed as to why an injured person would lock themselves inside the bathroom, he proceeded to pound on the heavy wood. “K! Can you hear me? Answer me!”
His heart racing inside his chest, Marko vented his growing frustrations on the unforgiving door. Calling to K and cursing the fact he wasn’t a metal elemental so he could just rip the steel lock free of its wooden home, Marko relentlessly continued his assault on the door until his hands hurt and his voice grew hoarse. “Come on K! Open this door before I am forced to break it down!”
Yet no matter how much he pleaded and banged, not a single sound answered from the other side. Coming to realization that K wasn’t, or possibly couldn’t, open the door, Marko took a break to consider his options. Running his hand through his hair, he studied the heavy wooden monstrosity. There was no way he would ever be able to physically force the door open, so instead he stepped away and released a heavy sigh. “Alright K, you want to do it this way, fine.”
Giving the door one last hard kick, he moved several feet away and extended his hands in front of him. Palms facing one another, Marko concentrated his power into forming a floating ball of white energy between them. He then continued to move and work his hands around the growing orb until he had forced as much power into it as he thought necessary to do the job. “K if you are anywhere near that door I suggest you move.” He warned, as he pulled back his arm and sent the glowing mass of electrical energy hurdling toward the door.
It hit its mark, slamming into the wood just above the knob and sending large pieces of it flying in every direction. The force of the impact caused what was left of the door to fly open, breaking the hinges as it slammed into the wall behind it. Not wanting to waste another second, Marko charged through the destruction into the bathroom and came to an abrupt stop just on the other side.
“K?” he called, as he took note of the multiple circular indents that covered the bathroom countertops and walls. “What happened K? The men said you passed out.” He edged his way further inside, easing past the vacant frame that had once been the bathroom mirror. Kneeling down to get a better look at the copious amounts of shattered glass that littered the pristine white floor, Marko frowned when he spotted blood decorating their jagged edges. “Please my lady, answer me.” Marko called again, as he turned his attention away from the destruction to scan the rest of the room.
“Leave Marko.”
Though weak and shaky, K’s voice radiated the strength behind her warning. Following the sound, Marko turned to face the other end of the room where a huge glass enclosed shower took up the entire end of the bathroom. The thick frosted glass made it impossible for him to see where she was inside or what condition she may be in as he cautiously moved toward the closed door. With each step he took, the sound of glass crunching beneath his heavy boots echoed off the granite walls intensifying the already ominous feel of the cold room. Once outside the door, Marko paused to take a calming breath, mumbled a quick prayer of protection, then reached out and slowly pulled the door open.
He found K, surrounded by a thick curtain of silvery white hair, sitting on the furthest end of the shower with her knees pulled int
o her chest and her forehead resting on top of them. Crimson drops oozed from fresh cuts covering her hands and bare feet, as intermittent tremors ravaged her body; a sign he was already aware meant that she was losing her battle with her blood withdrawals. Unable to bring himself to move any closer, Marko couldn’t help but feel saddened as he continued to silently stare at the small, broken form who no longer resembled the brave and intimidating woman he had first met a few weeks ago.
“I said go Marko.” K said, without lifting her head from where it rested on her knees.
“I can’t do that my lady.” Snapping himself free of his dazed state, Marko slowly stepped inside. “You’re injured and in need of my help.”
“Help?” K growled, slowly raising her head. Marko sucked in a deep breath as her cold blue stare fell upon him. Trying his best to remain calm and not openly stare at the massive scar that extended the entire length of the right side of her face, Marko watched silently as K struggled to her feet. “And exactly what kind of help are you offering me Marko?” she snarled, bracing herself against the walls of the shower. “Because I am fairly certain what I am in need of, is not what you are offering.”
On her feet and looking right at him, Marko could easily see that the scarring was much more extensive than just the one on her face. But what his attention was immediately drawn to was the large open gash just above K’s hairline that had already managed to turn a large portion of her snow-white hair an alarming shade of red. “You know I can’t do that my lady.” He answered, trying his best to keep his voice steady and calm while taking another cautious step forward. “But I can do my best to help you with your injuries.” Pausing only a step away from her, Marko extended an offering hand, “Please my lady, allow me help you.”
Glancing swiftly from his hand back to him, K narrowed her gaze. “Don’t touch me Marko… I like you and I really don’t want to hurt you.”
Ignoring the rapid increase of his own heartbeat, Marko remained undeterred. “I would never do anything to you without your permission, my lady. All I am asking is that you give me your permission and allow me to help.”
“There’s nothing you can do to help me.” K sighed, relaxing slightly as he retracted his hand. “Nobody can.” Leaning her head against the shower wall behind her, K allowed her body to slide back down to the floor. “The best thing you can do right now is just leave. Leave and go tell your king he has won.” As she continued to address him, Marko was shocked to watch as K’s eyes filled with tears. Resting her elbows on her knees, she gripped her hair in her hands as the drops began to steadily flow down her cheeks. “All I have done and all I have endured, was all for nothing.”
K dropped her head as her entire body became engulfed in emotions she hadn’t expressed in well over decades. Marko, feeling uncomfortable with K’s sudden and very open display of emotions, and concerned about the possible backlash she could experience through the link, moved to kneel beside her against the shower wall. There he remained, silently observing her for a few moments and watching as she continued to sob uncontrollably without experiencing any of the punishing pain he knew her link normally caused.
Eventually his curiosity got the better of him. “K, I hate to be insensitive here… But how is it you are able to… “he hesitated, unsure of how to ask what he wanted to know without being too offensive. “You know… cry. Isn’t that one of the emotions the link… ummm… discourages?”
K half laughed, half sobbed. “Citera is unconscious.”
“Citera is the name of your link?”
K nodded slightly.
“And she is unconscious?” Marko frowned, “Why is she unconscious? Is she alright?”
“She will be.” Sniffing, she turned to face him. “She was attacked today and injured very badly. I used the last of my strength to keep her alive… but her injuries are severe.” Wiping the last of her tears from her cheek, K chuckled humorlessly. “It’s actually kind of ironic. This is the first time I have been able to experience emotions freely in well over a century, and tomorrow I am going to be entombed alive still being able to feel them all.” Marko, not understanding, furrowed his brow as she glanced up at him. Seeing his confusion K continued to explain. “Citera will be out for several days, at least, which means when the Council learns of my condition tonight or tomorrow, they will complete their ruse of a trial and sentence me. Meaning I will be entombed fully capable of feeling all the emotions I am normally able to suppress.”
“Wait...” Realization and panic contorted Marko’s face as he began to understand what K was trying to explain. “Can’t you just block them anyway?”
“I can to a degree, but nothing like I could if Citera were awake. It’s her energy that maintains my ability to block the emotions. Hence the whole reason behind the Link.”
“So, until she wakes up....”
“I feel everything just like you do.” K sighed.
“By the stars K.” Marko slumped the rest of the way to the floor running an unsteady hand through his hair. His mind filled with images of being buried alive and conscious, left to slowly deteriorate in utter darkness until your body finally surrendered. The mere idea instantly triggered a deep routed sense of panic that had his heart rate doubling and his breathing labored in mere seconds. “That’s horrible K. I can’t imagine there is any worse punishment a person could suffer.”
“I can.” K scoffed, grimacing as another shiver ran through her body. “But none of that matters… it’s nothing I haven’t suffered through before. What does matter is that once Mallok finds out that I can no longer resist him, he will allow Cato to read me, and find out the truth of that night. And when he does he will reset the hands of time and place himself and your people back in danger again.”
“Are you certain that if he finds out the truth it will change the present?” Marko asked.
“Nothing is certain Marko. But are you willing to risk your king’s, not to mention your people’s lives to find out if I am wrong?” K’s steely gaze fell back upon him, causing him to pause. “You offered to help me Marko… is the offer still available?”
“K I can’t…”
“Not that.” K cut him off abruptly. “Don’t get me wrong… I am starving Marko. And it is taking every ounce of self-control I have right now not to sink my teeth deep into your throat.” Marko gulped, but managed to keep his face neutral despite his overwhelming desire to bolt for the door. “But I won’t do that to you. And Mallok knows that, which is why he sent you in here to begin with. You see, he was there when I swore to never again take the blood of the innocent against their will.” Turning to face him, K smiled weakly, “And you, my dear Marko, are about as good as they come; far too pure and innocent for me to damage in such a way. So, despite the fact that I feel as if my veins are filled with sand and each beat of my heart grows more painful than the one before, all I am asking of you is a little time.”
Marko opened his mouth to speak, but K cut him off, “Not much, just a day or two. With any luck Citera will awaken soon and I can draw from her energy again.”
“And what if she doesn’t awaken? Then what?”
“Then it wasn’t meant to be.” K answered easily.
Marko ran a hand through his hair, as he took a moment to absorb everything she had so casually laid upon him. Meanwhile K remained silent, staring straight ahead allowing him the time he needed. Marko knew that lying to Mallok and the Council would make him a traitor, and that Mallok could and would sentence him to death if he ever found out what he had done. But he also knew the truth that his king didn’t. He knew the woman sitting next to him, the one the rest of the world saw as a heartless monster, had done what she did to protect his king and save his people. And deep down he couldn’t help but feel she didn’t deserve to be buried alive any more than she deserved to sit in this room and starve.
But things would have been so much simpler if she hadn’t forbid him from telling the truth. Hell, she had basically threatened to destroy everyth
ing he ever loved if he did tell her secret. However, even knowing she meant what she said and was fully capable of carrying it out, Marko couldn’t help but feel that he and his people owed her a humongous debt. And all she was asking in return for saving their kingdom and their king was for him to buy her a few days so that she could suppress her emotions when she was buried alive as punishment for her selfless deed.
“Alright K.” Having made up his mind, Marko turned his attention once again back to K. “I’ll wait a few days before I tell them, but if they ask me anything direct, I can’t lie. I’m horrible at it and Mallok can always tell when I am being anything but honest with him.”
“I understand, thank you Marko.”
Placing her hands against the walls on either side of her, K managed to pull herself into a standing position, grimacing as another wave of pain racked her already miserable body. Closing her eyes, she teetered unsteadily on her feet as sweat beaded her brow. “I think I should go lay down.”
“Let me help you.” Marko offered holding out his hand to her once again.
Eyes still locked shut, K again denied his offer. “Don’t touch me Marko. I am not in control at the moment and if you touch my skin all my emotions will go flooding into you.” Pushing off the wall, K managed to make several unsteady steps toward the door then stumbled as she reached up and pressed a hand to the center of her chest. “And believe me when I say that will be anything but pleasant.”
Resisting the urge to grab her arm and steady her as she stumbled again, Marko continued to insist. “What if I wear my gloves?” he asked reaching around behind him and pulling them from his back pocket. “If I put them on that should prevent the exchange… Right?”
Glancing over her shoulder at him, K grinned despite the agony she was so clearly in, “Are you always this stubborn or is it just with me?”
Forsaken (The Shadow Chronicles Book 3) Page 22
