by Deirdra Eden
I couldn’t help but think about my greatest distraction—Lucas. “Do you think Lucas will come with me?” I asked.
“Of course he will.”
The sunlight danced off the straw rooftop of Ruburt’s tiny cottage, making it glitter like gold. Tall meadow grass swayed around me. “I don’t want to leave England,” I muttered.
Ruburt leaned against his shovel like a walking stick as we made our way to the cottage. “This is only the beginning of your journey, Auriella. I don’t think you should live in human society any longer. One of your greatest weaknesses is that you get too attached to us humans.”
“What?” I asked, shocked and confused by what he was telling me. “I love being with people. It’s all I’ve ever known.”
“You will still be with people,” Ruburt said. “Just people like you. Think of how much you can learn from them. They live in a completely Neviahan society. But. . .” Ruburt held up one finger and cautioned, “If you go with the Neviahans to the sanctuary, they will train you in combat. For the rest of your life, you will constantly battle the darkness. Is this the life you want?”
I thought about Ruburt’s warning. Even if I lived the rest of my life in a human society, pretending to be a human, the Rebellion would still hunt me. I narrowed my eyes resolutely. I couldn’t ever stop fighting. “You already know what I’m going to choose, don’t you?” I asked Ruburt.
Ruburt chuckled. “Of course. I know the prophecy of the Lady of Neviah, but I also know you, Auriella. Do you remember when Cassi was trapped in Hazella’s magical cage?”
I nodded.
“You could’ve easily run away on your own and escaped from the witch, but you didn’t. You endured until you found a way to save us all.”
I took a deep breath and banished my fears.
Ruburt shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like you won’t ever come back. The Watchers are always on missions. As soon as your training is complete, the druids will assign you to new areas of the world.”
I lifted my gaze and dried my wet eyelashes. “Do you remember the library in Oswestry?”
Ruburt nodded. “Yes. Your favorite books were about geography.”
“I might get to see all those places. What if I get to be Egypt’s new Watcher? Do you think I could live in a pyramid? I would also love to stand at the base of the mountains in China.” I clasped my hands together and spun on the ball of one foot in a dance. “I can’t wait to finish my combat training and fight the Rebellion around the world.”
Ruburt laughed. “Then there’s no time to lose.” He opened the door to the cottage and followed me inside. Pearl helped me pack a few necessary items while Ruburt watched through the window for the Immortals. “It looks like a storm’s comin’ in,” he said.
Pearl handed me another bag and an extra quilt while escorting me out the door to my waiting horse. “Take care of yourself and make sure you stay warm. Just because those boys can’t catch cold doesn’t mean you won’t. Drink lots of water and don’t forget to eat. I know how you forget to take care of yourself when you have your mind set on something.”
I held the bundle close to my chest. “Thank you, Pearl.”
Hooves thundered from down the road as the other three Neviahans approached. “It’s time,” Ruburt said. His voice strained to hold back emotion.
I hugged the dwarf family goodbye, possibly for the last time, memorizing their faces and imprinting the memory of them forever in my mind.
I threw my leg over my mare, gripped the reins, and turned toward the Immortals.
“Come on, Auriella,” Korban said. “Let’s go send some demons back to Hell.”
“Hazzah!” Ruburt shouted and raised his fist in the air.
“Hazzah!” We shouted in return.
The horses pawed the road. The sky grew darker. An icy bite whipped through the wind. Baby eyed the storm and let out a low growl. The Rebellion’s dark storm was a reminder that we were still being hunted.
We turned our horses and galloped into the shroud toward London.
We rode through the night that seemed to never end. Enough time had passed I knew it should be morning, but no sun broke through Erebus’s black storm. My stomach tightened as London appeared on the horizon. The king would be furious when I returned empty handed. The only thing of value I gained from this trip was learning that the Scottish were not the enemies. I had no idea how many Legionnaires waited for me, or if Lucas was still alive. I didn’t know how I would tell him I lost my engagement ring.
I glanced at Azrael, who flashed me a perfect, charming smile—I didn’t know how to explain that problem, either. I knew I had to find a way to get the king to pull our military out of Scotland, I had to destroy Erebus, and then convince Lucas to come to the sanctuary with me.
We stopped at the edge of London and braced ourselves for whatever lay beyond the gates. I flexed my feet back in the stirrups to stretch my aching legs, and watched the sweat drip off my horse onto the dusty road in large drops.
Azrael turned to Baby and instructed, “Make your way to the castle. Don’t let anyone see you.” Baby nodded and bounded into the forest. “I should ride in first. It may be a trap.”
“It’s best if I lead,” I suggested. “My people know me.”
Azrael hesitated, then nodded in agreement.
We rode through the streets of London toward the stables by the main castle courtyard. No squires rushed to help us dismount. Something was wrong.
Korban flung himself from his horse and unsheathed his blades. He sniffed the air. “I can smell them. They’re here.”
Azrael held my waist and helped me from my horse. I allowed him to be a gentleman, but I wasn’t going to spend any more time fantasizing about a romantic relationship with him. “Stay focused,” I said more for my own benefit and then stepped away from Azrael. “We need to speak with Lucas and tell him about the Shadow Legion’s plans to take over London.”
Azrael took my hand and pulled me to his chest.
Irritation and anger scorched inside me. Why was Azrael torturing me like this, making me hope for an impractical relationship with him? I lowered my head and forced my body to go rigid in his arms. I had to see Lucas soon before I fell completely for Azrael and all three of us ended up with broken hearts.
Azrael smiled mischievously. “Lucas won’t think highly of me once he learns I plan on stealing you away from him.”
“Stop it, Azrael,” I nearly growled. “You’re being arrogant now.”
Azrael shook his head and let me go. “I’m not arrogant, just determined. You still have a choice, and I’m feeling confident.”
The breath escaped my lungs at his boldness. He was really making me angry.
Sunlight momentarily broke through the black storm and streaked through the stable windows. My skin sparkled in the brief ray of light. Azrael put his hand to his chest. He appreciated my Lifelight in a way no human could. I allowed myself to get lost in the depths of his eyes.
“Auriella!” I recognized the voice immediately.
“Lucas.” I whirled around and watched Lucas bound through the stable doors. He slid to a stop and froze in place, eyeing Azrael, Orion, and Korban. “You brought back barbarians?” His face wrinkled in disgust. He marched toward me and yanked me away from them. “I guess this means you didn’t complete your assassination mission?” he chided.
“No.” I shook my head and tried not to feel hurt at this cold homecoming. Lucas shrugged away from me. Wasn’t he just as happy to see me safely home as I was to see him alive and well?
Lucas narrowed his eyes. “You failed, Auriella.”
“Lucas, listen to me,” I begged. Lucas still held my wrist, but at least he seemed attentive. “Let’s put aside all prejudices and talk about the real threat for one moment. You have no idea what I’ve been through in the last week. The Shadow Legion is here. We need to meet with the king and warn him,” I said.
“The king is preoccupied,” Lucas said without emotion.
“Lucas, it’s important.”
He glared at me. “Right now, I’m the only one allowed to meet with the king. It’s for his own protection.”
I tried not to sound disappointed. “He’s not seeing anyone else?”
Lucas shook his head.
It didn’t matter, as long as Lucas was willing to listen to me and report my findings to the king. “Tell him we need to pull our military out of Scotland.”
Lucas looked at Azrael with narrowed eyes, then back to me. “Did your barbarian friends tell you this?”
I twisted my wrist and broke from his grip. It wasn’t Lucas’s fault he didn’t understand. If he got to know the Scottish, he would see we were more alike than different. “They saved my life. Don’t you care about that?”
“Auriella,” Lucas said with more gentleness. His cold fingers brushed past my cheek. Finally, I was getting through to him. “I love you,” he said. I smiled and started to melt, but then his face twisted into a scowl. “But I will not thank a barbarian, not even for saving the life of my fiancée.” Lucas turned to Azrael and spat on the ground.
“Lucas!” His words hurt worse than a slap to the face.
Lucas turned to Azrael, Orion, and Korban. “A life for a life. You saved my fiancée and I will allow you to leave my kingdom with your heads. Don’t return, or I will withdraw that promise.” Lucas must’ve known I wouldn’t leave with him willingly, so he scooped me up in his arms and carried me toward the castle.
I looked over Lucas’s shoulder and met Azrael’s gaze. I shook my head and mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.” I didn’t fight Lucas. At least this way, I could argue with him in private.
Lucas walked through the courtyard and into the castle before he started talking again. “Pulling our troops out of Scotland is a horrible idea. As soon as we stop exercising military authority, they will rebel and rise up against us. They’re terrorists, Auriella. We have to keep them under our control.”
“No, Lucas, we don’t.” I tried not to sound emotional. “The Scottish can control themselves. They have a perfectly capable monarchy set up and the people are happy with their culture and way of life. We are invading their land and taking their goods.”
Lucas sputtered. “We’re not stealing from them. We’re taxing them.”
“By killing their men and raping their women?” I writhed from his arms and forced him to set me down.
“All lies. Our military is protecting them,” Lucas explained. “We only tax them for what we need to support our military. Do you know how much war costs?”
“Yes, war costs many lives. You of all people should know this.” Lucas opened his mouth, but I stopped him. “Listen to me, Lucas. We are focusing on a threat that doesn’t exist when the real threat is right here in our own country. The threat is from the diplomats running the government. The terrorists are already here and using our own government to destroy us.”
I caught my breath. “You say we are trying to help other countries, but how can we help other countries if we can’t take care of ourselves?”
Lucas snatched my hand in a crushing grip and led me to my bedroom chamber. “We are improving the Scottish way of life.”
“No, the English are destroying their way of life.” I tried to pull away, but to no avail. “Our culture is not like theirs, but that doesn’t give us the right to go in and change them.”
“But what about the children who are starving in Scotland?” Lucas baited.
I pried his fingers one by one from my arm. “What about the starving children in England? Why are we spending ridiculous amount of money on foreign wars when England has so many problems on home soil?”
Lucas slammed his fist into the wall. The stone cracked under his hand. His fingers didn’t even redden from the blow. I took a step back to avoid his outburst of anger.
The magic necklace I realized. It made him strong and nearly indestructible, perhaps the power was too much for him and that’s why he was acting this way.
I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me. “We need to bring our military home,” I said. “If any land needs protecting from terrorists, it’s ours.”
Lucas tightened his jaw. “Are you talking about Erebus and the Shadow Legion?”
I nodded.
Lucas rolled his eyes. “The Dark Rebellion isn’t infiltrating our government. We are too strong. The whole time you were gone, there were no disturbances, not one sighting of even a Shadow Spirit. The maids were happy they didn’t have to clean up any of your messes.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line and stepped into my bedroom. “I thought you would believe me.” I took in several quick breaths, trying to suppress my emotions. “Leave, Lucas. I can’t talk to you right now. I’m too upset.”
Lucas whirled around and slammed the door behind him as he left. I fell on my bed and buried my face in my pillow. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Lucas was angry with me, and I hated that I was angry with him. We were best friends and we used to be able to work anything out.
It would be harder losing Lucas this way than losing him to war. I put my fingertips to my mouth and took in several quick breaths. Why couldn’t Lucas at least try to see things from my perspective? He had been so different since his return. If war changed his heart into something cold, hopefully my love could heal him.
I stood and walked through the balcony doors.
The world was completely dark, No sun, no moon, no stars. I couldn’t tell what time it was or even if it was day or night.
A few lamps came from the city below, but most of the light was from the single torch hanging on the wall of my bedroom.
The fire light danced off my arm over the scars where the venom was drained. Right now was probably a bad time to ask Lucas where he had gotten the poison. He couldn’t have known it would attract the Shadow Wolves or he would have never given it to me.
A breeze caught my hair and tousled it like scarlet streamers. I turned back to my room, pulled out a fresh dress from the wardrobe, and laid it on the bed. I wadded my bathrobe in my arms and trudged down the hall to the washroom. I couldn’t help but be annoyed that the seamstress still hadn’t replaced the curtains. She probably figured no one would be peeping into the window on the second story of the castle or it was her way of punishing me for destroying another set.
Too exhausted to use my powers, I pulled several buckets of hot water from the pot over the fire and poured them into the bath until the water was warm. I peeled off my well-traveled clothes and slipped into the tub. Closing my eyes, I tried not to think about anything, especially not about my fight with Lucas.
My mind swam with memories of the last two weeks. So much had changed. Lucas was back from the dead and we were engaged. I’d met three other Watchers, traveled across the country as an assassin, and returned as a diplomat—a diplomat no one believed. All the muscles in my back tightened from stress.
I couldn’t help but wonder if the power from the necklace was making Lucas act like a power-hungry tyrant. I didn’t regret giving it to him. It probably saved his life, but I had to get it back before it completely destroyed him.
Then there was Azrael. No matter what happened between Lucas and I, Azrael would be there. It wasn’t fair to marry Lucas when I loved Azrael as much as I did. I had to find a way not to love Azrael anymore. I sank further into the water.
“Hello?” Lucas’s voice came from behind me.
I whirled around and ducked low in the water. The waves bounced off the sides of the tub and slapped against my back. “Lucas?” I whispered, and didn’t hide my horror. “I’m naked.”
Lucas closed the door behind him. “I know.”
“You shouldn’t be in here right now,” I scolded.
“I couldn’t wait any longer to talk to you.”
“Turn around,” I demanded.
Lucas dropped his shoulders and turned around. I noticed the bouquet of roses he hid behind his back.
I jumpe
d out of the tub and wrapped my robe around myself without drying off. The fabric clung to my wet legs and back. I took a deep breath and crossed my arms. “You better have a good reason for coming in here.”
Lucas faced me. “I do.” His jaw tightened as he held out the flowers. “I’m in love with you.” He stepped closer, but I didn’t take the bouquet.
I gripped my robe tighter across my chest. “What about our fight?”
“I’ve thought about what you said, and I’m sorry for how I acted.” I allowed Lucas to take my hand. He fingered where my engagement ring should have been.
I bowed my head repentantly. “I lost the ring.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a ring,” Lucas said sweetly and pushed the flowers into my hand. “I’m just happy you’re home. I want you as my queen, and no one else.” The candles in the room flickered. I bent down and took in the scent of roses. “If you will marry me, then as a wedding present, I will pull all the troops out of Scotland.”
A smile escaped my lips. “Really? You can do that?”
“Yes, my lady.” Lucas bent low and kissed my hand.
I could save countless people by marrying him. I had the power to stop a war. After that, we could focus our military strength on destroying the real threat, the Shadow Legion.
Lucas stroked my face with the back of his fingers. “The king would like to honor our engagement with a feast tonight.”
All I had to do was marry Lucas and there would be peace between Scotland and England. I swallowed hard and looked into his hungry eyes. But if I married him, would there ever be peace in my heart?
Chapter Fifteen
Shadow Siege
Lucas wasted no time getting me a new engagement ring. The band of blue sapphires glinted off my left hand and stood out against the burgundy and black lace dress I wore. Lucas had gotten me a black feathered mask for the ball. I always disliked masquerades, but now I hated them even more as the masks reminded me of Azrael and the curse I would never break.
Even though no one had seen any rebels since I left, I kept a vigilant watch as we walked through the crowd to the king’s table. The nobles danced and feasted as the musicians played.
