by Sonya Weiss
“I’m too cold. I can’t take the cold.” She shivered violently.
I didn’t know if I could take the torture, but my other option was to watch Juliet suffer. “All right. Hang on.” I lay flat on my back, slipped a hand beneath her, and rolled her body until she lay on top of my bare chest. I wrapped my arms around her to share body heat.
Her shaking subsided as warmth flowed through both of us. “Perfect,” she whispered.
“Hell,” I said as she snuggled against me.
“What if we leave them here and the humans don’t find Juliet in time?” Stone whispered after Emma and Juliet were asleep.
“They will. Mallen gave them the location.”
He nodded but didn’t look any more reassured than I felt. Though I didn’t particularly like Stone or how close he was with Juliet, I knew he’d take care of her if I wasn’t able to.
I would rather stay by Juliet’s side all the way to the end, whatever that might be, but I knew Ide. He was coming for Juliet. The only way she had a chance of surviving was for me to abandon her. If I told her my plan, she’d only insist on taking her chances. Not because she wouldn’t agree with me that Ide wanted her dead, but because she feared for my safety against Ide more than she did her own. I couldn’t take the chance that she might try to fight Ide for my sake. In her weakened condition, he’d kill her.
My fingers tightened reflexively around her shoulders. She stirred slightly, and I forced myself to relax my grip. The last thing I needed right now was for her to wake up and look at me with those mesmerizing eyes of hers. I’d never be able to follow through with the plan.
Juliet slept fitfully and woke in the middle of the night. As she stirred, she splayed her hand out across my bare chest.
“Hurting?” I asked, pressing a kiss against her forehead.
“A little, but the wound isn’t bleeding anymore.”
I rubbed her back, and we were both lost in our thoughts for a second.
“What one thing do you love most about me?” she whispered and yawned.
I ran my fingers lightly over her face down to her lips. “I couldn’t choose. I love too many things about you.”
“Like what?”
“Like how you always stand up for anyone who’s weaker than you are. How you find ways to laugh even when things are hard. I love your smile. I love how you smell.”
“I smell?” Her nose wrinkled.
“Yeah.” I ducked my head slowly and lightly grazed her lips. “Like sunshine and hope.”
Her eyes drifted shut, and she forced them open. “It’s amazing. I’m surrounded by all these things that could kill me, and yet I’ve never felt safer because I’m with you.”
A twinge of guilt ran through me. “Everything I do will always be with your safety in mind.”
She frowned. “What’s wrong? You’re worried.”
I forced myself to smile. “Go back to sleep and dream about how much I love you.”
“If I do that, I won’t be able to sleep at all.” Her lips parted, and the tip of her tongue touched her upper lip.
I groaned. “As soon as we’re out of here and you’re well again…”
“That definitely motives me to hope for a fast healing.”
I gently pressed her head against my chest. Loving Juliet scared me. I’d grown up never needing anyone. Never knowing it was possible to need someone as much as I did her. I used to think of myself in terms of how my life defined me as future King Riley. Now I saw myself as simply Riley, the guy who loved Juliet. If I lost her, I would lose me.
Chapter 7
JULIET
A nightmare about the crocogon attack woke me. I gasped, breathing hard and fast until it dawned on me it wasn’t real. The silence unnerved me. I was cold and alone. The hard ground pressed into my aching leg. I rose up on my elbows. “Riley?” No answer. I scooted toward the opening and peered out. “Stone?” Nothing. “Emma!” I called, louder this time, wondering what happened to everyone.
She appeared holding the fire-rock. Along one side of her face was a nasty lump already bruising.
I slid down from the hollow space where I’d slept, careful not to land on my bad leg. The weakness in my body scared me. I had to force myself to concentrate, and it was an effort to speak. “What happened to you?”
“A Guard hit me.”
I looked around. “Where are Riley and Stone? Did they fight the Guard?” Maybe they were dragging his body away like they had the crocogon’s.
“No, they didn’t fight the Guard.” Emma sank to the ground as if her legs couldn’t hold her up any more. She seemed out of it.
I clapped my hands together to get her attention. “Emma!”
“They left willingly. Riley acted like he knew the Guard who hit me. Mally might have been his name.”
“Mallen hit you?”
“That’s it.”
It was my turn to sink to the ground. I wrapped my arms around myself. They’d left me?
“Riley said he had to leave you behind to die.” Her voice was high. She was practically squeaking.
I gasped. “Are you sure that’s what you heard?”
She nodded and the pity on her face made me turn away from her. My stomach lurched, and I fought the urge to dry heave. She’d misunderstood. There was no doubt in my mind about that. I trusted Riley. There was no way he’d do that to me, even if he had discovered what I needed to do. He would at least give me a chance to explain even if I couldn’t. I pushed the thoughts aside. I had to find a way to make it out of here. I wasn’t strong enough. I was—I inhaled, counting slowly to three, then exhaled to calm myself.
“What are we going to do?”
I turned back to Emma and slowly rose, wishing my body didn’t ache all over like I had the flu. “We’re going to get through the Terrors and find a way out.”
“But how? It’s the third area where people give up. That’s what Riley said.”
“I don’t know how, Emma, but what’s our other choice? Stay here and die? Let my sister down? Make up your mind because I’m leaving.”
She stood reluctantly. “I don’t want to stay here by myself.”
I had to hold on to Emma to be able to walk, but I made myself move. Each step would take me closer to Riley, closer to finding out what was going on. He would have an explanation. I knew I mattered to him. Whatever had happened, whatever he’d done, was for my benefit. I’d only taken a few steps when a premonition swept over me, giving me the jitters. I bit down on my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. Someone was watching me. I whipped my head quickly to one side, then the other, trying to see who it was. Who was after me? Why? I needed to run. No, not run. Hide.
The walls sprouted eyes, and the rocks became gaping mouths with razor teeth waiting to devour us. Howls tore the silence in two, and terrified screams filled the air. Screams? The sound pulled me back to reality. Emma had her hands over her ears, screaming at the top of her voice.
I tried to get her attention, but it was as if she couldn’t see or hear me. Finally, I gave her a hard shake. “Tune it out. Focus on what’s real.”
“They’re all dying. Don’t you see them?” She extended her arm and opened her hand like she was trying to reach for someone.
“They’re hallucinations,” I said before I noticed Riley. I smiled, joy bubbling over. He stepped from a crevice in the wall. Dressed from head to toe in the royal robes his father had once worn, he was magnificent. Handsome. It hurt to look at him. On his head rested the jeweled crown, and the jewels sparkled with inner light. “Riley.” I tried to go to him, to tell him how glad I was to see him. I knew he hadn’t left me to die. He held out one hand in a stop gesture when I drew closer.
“Betrayer! To save the humans, you have betrayed your people as your father did before you. I loved you. How could you kill me? Juliet Sawyer, you and your sister are hereby sentenced to death for your treason.”
What? No… Riley yanked Maisy in front of him and nodded into the dist
ance. The laser beam from a Guard’s weapon centered on Maisy’s forehead.
“Maisy!” I screamed and hurried to my sister as fast as I could. My outstretched hands rammed into the hard, cold stonewall of the Void, and the image disappeared. I moaned and tucked my aching hands under my arms. A hallucination. Get a grip. Hold on to the truth. What is the truth? I’m Juliet Sawyer. My destiny is to stop the war. Save the humans. I’m Juliet Sawyer. My destiny—
“They found us.” Emma gave me a push. “Run. They’re coming for us.”
“What?” I staggered from her push and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Emma’s mouth moved, twisting into words and phrases, but I couldn’t understand her. Then I heard them. The marching of feet. The chanting. She was right. They were coming for us.
I grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled her back behind me. Save the humans…wait… Emma wasn’t human. Save the Supernaturals. Save us all.
Robed figures, their faces obscured by dark hoods, moved in unison, still speaking in soft chants. They formed a circle around us, lifted us up, and headed to the edge of the chasm. I fought back, kicking my feet, but the more I fought, the tighter their grip became, as deadly as a hold from a boa constrictor. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop them from carrying us forward. Then I relaxed my body. I’m Juliet Sawyer. My destiny is to save the humans.
“They’re not real,” I said out loud, waiting for them to disappear like the image of Riley had. The figures laughed in unison, and one by one began removing their hoods to reveal their identities. My mother. My cousin, Andrea. My friend, Mary. All dead, all because of my failure.
Wait. They were real.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I wanted to hug them all and beg them to forgive me for not saving them. Powerful me. Helpless me. “Please.” I opened my arms, trying to take them all in.
“Die with us, Juliet.” Their voices rose, becoming louder and louder as they clapped in tune with their words.
A hand gripped my bad leg and squeezed. The pain made me scream out. I blinked and the figures were gone.
“I didn’t know how to bring you back to reality. You were chanting about dying,” Emma cried. “I’m scared, Juliet.”
I ran my hands through my hair. I was losing my mind. I looked at the ceiling and the walls of the Void. The oppression was heavy. It would be easy to give up, to close my eyes and wait until death decided to take me on the grand tour. No. I wouldn’t. I had to fight it, had to find a way to survive for Maisy’s sake, for the humans, and for my people who had withstood the tyranny of the cruel Supernatural leaders for far too long. “I’m Juliet Sawyer, my people are the Tazavorn,” I said.
Emma gave me a strange look. “Are you hallucinating?”
“Trying to ground myself.” With each step I took, I repeated my name, counting each time I did. “I’m Juliet Sawyer, eleven. Juliet Sawyer, twelve. Juliet—” I blinked and I wasn’t in the Void. I was surrounded by the families of the mixed-blood children.
Riley’s father slammed his fist into his hand, then raised his arms toward the overcast sky and shouted, “We must protect the purity of our bloodline. I hereby order the death of these tainted Supernaturals.” The Guards moved among them, snatching children away and viciously killing the parents who tried to stop them.
There was blood everywhere, slicking the ground, coating my shoes. I ran to help free the children, using my power to stop the Guards from taking them.
“Run!” I shouted at the children I’d saved.
I didn’t see the two Guards who grabbed me from behind, nearly wrenching my arms from my sockets. “Lashes for the disobedient Supernatural.” One of the Guards ripped my shirt off. The whip whistled through the air, and the thin leather strip cut into the skin on my back. I lurched forward, straining against the hold of the Guards and screamed for the children to keep running.
“Go!” I yelled, blinking at the sound of my voice. I gasped for breath and the images were gone. “Emma?”
She was on her back, making guttural noises and clawing at her face. Blood oozed where her fingernails dug in. Her expression was vacant, her gaze somewhere other than the Void. I stopped her from tearing at her skin, holding on tight to her hands when she tried to pull free. “You’re Emma and this isn’t real.” I gently shook her arms.
She shoved me away from her, and I slid backward along the ground. Small rocks and dirt dug into my skin. Emma leaped to her feet and threw her arms wide. “My mom’s here. We found her! I missed you. Mom!” She clapped her hands with joy, then ran toward edge of the trail. Toward nothing.
“No, Emma! Come back! She’s not there.” I lunged for her, but my fingers missed her by half an inch, closing around nothing but air. She disappeared into the open space, her body falling from sight. An eternity later, her body hit the bottom. Smothering silence wrapped around me.
“No, no, no.” I scooted back against the wall and raked my hands down the side of my face, drawing blood from the scratches. I stopped when I realized I was mimicking Emma’s actions. “Poor Emma.” I huddled against the wall, wrapping my arms around myself. I was alone and injured. I was done. I couldn’t save Emma. Couldn’t save myself. Couldn’t get to my sister. “Forgive me, Maisy.”
My destiny was wrong. The Void won. I squeezed my eyes closed and started rocking back and forth, chanting as if I could call forth death on my own schedule rather than his. “Come take me. I’m ready.” I opened my eyes. “Where are you?” I screamed.
A sliver of sunlight spilled across my arm. I stopped rocking and leaned forward to see if it was real. Couldn’t be. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. At the end of a small slide of rock, sunshine spilled into the darkness of the Void.
With a cry of hope, I dragged my body along the ground and leaned closer to the rock. Dust particles danced in the air and when I breathed in, I could smell fresh dirt. I cried from happiness and exhaustion. Climbing carefully onto the hollowed out place in the rock, I pushed off with my hands and zipped down deeper into the Void. At the bottom, I hobbled closer to the opening, breathing in the scents of the outside world.
I was alive. I’d defied the odds, but I was still trapped. If I could hold on, someone might come by. With every noise, I peered out, but other than a deer and a squirrel passing by, there was no other movement. I watched the slant of the sun on the small opening until it grew dimmer and night fell. Wanting to feel the cool night air on my skin, I reached my hand out and collided against the solid rock wall.
Another hallucination. There was no outside world. I laughed, knowing I was hysterical. Well played, Void, well played was my last thought before I passed out.
RILEY
Stone and I walked in silence toward the sliver between two of the Void’s outer rocks. Mallen had said every seven days, the Void created a small crevice to expel the build up from the Earth’s gasses. The crevice was barely wide enough for a body. Squeezing through it was going to be a challenge, and we’d be lucky if we didn’t get stuck like insects on a pin. But more than I dreaded the narrow escape way, I dreaded leaving Juliet. Every second I’d walked farther away from her was worse than the one before.
“Even if Ide didn’t want to kill her, there’s no way she could get through the opening. Not with that leg,” Stone said.
I clenched my jaw. “This is wrong.” I turned around, intending to run back to Juliet. Stone clutched my arm before slamming me back against the rock.
“No. At first, I thought leaving her was wrong too. You might think you’re abandoning her, but you’re not. You’re saving her. Think with your head.”
I pushed him away, pressed the back of my head against the unforgiving wall of the Void, and closed my eyes. He was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
“She’ll make it,” Stone said.
I opened my eyes and glanced back at the treacherous path we’d taken. Mallen had led us to a certain point before he’d had to double back. He couldn’t exit the Void with us here or Ide would know
the old Guard was helping me. Hang on, Juliet.
Pushing away from the wall, I walked to the opening. “I’ll go out first.” I wormed my right leg into the opening and grimaced at the pressure the opening forced against my bones. “Keep your head sideways,” I instructed as I shoved halfway into the crevice. The sharp edge of a rock dug into the side of my neck, drawing blood. I bit back a curse. One more foot to go. A second rock dug into my hip, grinding hard against the bone. I gathered my strength and propelled my body out, free from the Void.
Stumbling, I tumbled down the side of the Void and rolled across the brown, wintery grass to stop at Ide’s feet. He was surrounded by a dozen or more Guards. His gaze flicked from me back to the opening, and he leaned slightly forward, trying to see into the crevice. “Who’s behind you?”
“Stone.” I sat up and brushed the pieces of grass from my bare chest, shivering in the winter temperature.
“Who else? Did you manage to lead any of the other prisoners out of the Void?”
“There’s only the two of us.”
Ide’s nostrils flared, and he cracked his knuckles. “Bring them into the castle.” As he walked past me, he kicked me sharply in my still healing ribs.
I gritted my teeth but refused to release the grunt of pain on the tip of my tongue. I wouldn’t give any of them the satisfaction. I struggled to my feet and faced the Guards who’d once been loyal to me. All but two of them looked away in shame.
Stone pushed through the crevice, and the Guards pounced on him, delivering blow after blow. Each time Stone attempted to stand, they would hit him again. I moved to his side. “Stay down,” I said. I stared at the Guards, silently daring them to hit him again.
They shuffled their feet nervously, then hauled Stone up, and marched us both into the castle. By the time they brought us in front of my half brother, he was sitting sideways on the throne, legs resting over the arm, his royal robe covering the ornate family crest carved into the wood. Every time he swung his feet, the throne creaked. “Tell me how she died.”
