He nodded. “Can I pet your wings?”
I laughed and brought one forward so he could reach it. His tiny hands raked down my feathers like he was petting his favorite dog. I gave him a hug and sent him back to his guardian, who smiled gratefully before easing him back into the crowd.
“If you have questions, I’ll take them, just attempt to form a line and be patient. If someone asks the question you were going to pose, please leave the line.”
Aries stood with me patiently as I spent hours answering questions to the best of my ability. I didn’t have everything worked out yet, but plans were forming in my mind.
When the sun set and night fell, I told them I’d come back each day until I’d addressed the questions of any and all who had them. Together we watched my people trickle back to their homes.
“This is surreal,” I told him.
Even the constant reminder of the weight of my wings attached to my shoulders didn’t make it feel any more real. Aries walked me toward the castle, our steps slow and even. We’d spent time together over the past few days, but everything was so busy, we hadn’t had time to truly converse.
“Have you looked at the stars lately?” he asked out of the blue.
I really hadn’t. I’d been so worried about everything else, most of all failing my people, I hadn’t thought to look up.
My eyes found a familiar pattern: Aries, then tracked across the sky to Taurus. He was still there. I may have erased him, but his star sign remained. I’d inherited it.
“You’re looking at it wrong,” he said softly. “I can see it here.” He kissed the crease between my brows, smoothing it. “Where there once were bullish hooves pounding toward an enemy… now there are talons. Where there were once horns, ready to pierce his opponent, now there are wings that stretch protectively overhead.”
I swallowed thickly.
“I wish you could see yourself as I see you,” he said earnestly.
“How do you see me?”
“I admire the stars because they shine despite the surrounding darkness, and I admire you because you have been brave, selfless, and fierce. When anyone else would have cowered, you ran toward the threat, Larken. Your heart is your greatest weapon.”
Aries brushed his thumb along the back of my hand as he held it. “You’ve changed everything, Larken.” He tracked my line of sight and smiled. “And now, you’re there, nestled amongst the stars you love. I hope you never see him there again. I hope you only ever see you.”
“Your destiny was written in the stars,” I told him. “From the beginning.”
“Some are,” he admitted, “but the same could be said of yours.”
I smiled. “Mine wasn’t always there. My destiny was bought with blood. But it doesn’t matter how it happened; it’s there all the same.”
He winced. “I have to go.”
I clung to his hands. “I know. You can’t stay here all the time.” Even though I wanted him to. Not only because I needed his help or support, though I was grateful for both, but because I wanted him near. He gave me a longing glance and I released his hands. “Go. You need to make sure everything’s okay.”
He locked his eyes with mine and then he was gone.
I walked toward the castle alone.
Its pale stonework and gilded trim shone in the moonlight. A soft breeze swayed the Spanish moss on the live oak across the lawn. I changed direction and headed toward it instead.
Kes was there, sitting on the lawn in front of Kestrel’s grave, his bald head reflecting the moon. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to you looking like this,” I said, settling beside him.
He snorted. “It takes some getting used to every time I’m reborn, but I have to admit that I like this look.” He curled a bicep, making it pop.
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“You know what?” he said after a long moment. A lone firefly began to buzz under the tree. “As much as I belong to Aries, I was meant to be yours. Your brother and your protector.”
My brows kissed.
“Think about it. I must have been sent to Kestrel’s body for a reason.” He picked at the blades of grass in front of him. “I was Aries’s Guardian, reborn into the family containing two of Taurus’s descendants. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“You’re right,” I said, watching as another firefly appeared.
“Xavier and Seneca are living in what was Spain.”
I nodded. I’d asked him to see if Aries would let him use the mirror to check on him. It was stupid that I even cared, but I kept asking myself what I would’ve done if it meant that I could be reunited with any member of my scattered family. And in the end, I would’ve done what he did. Maybe worse.
“You doing okay?”
He waited patiently as I considered the question. I supposed it depended on what he defined as okay. I wasn’t falling apart, and while I wasn’t sure any of this was sinking in as deeply or as quickly as I wanted it to, I guessed at the end of the day, I was.
“I think so.” He stood up and offered a hand. “I feel like I’m in a weird new Jumanji movie and you’re Captain Smolder Bravestone.”
“Shut up,” he smirked. “I’m not that handsome. Close – but not quite. And what about you, huh? I don’t know if you look part angel, Valkyrie, or harpy.”
“Depends on my mood,” I teased.
He gestured toward the castle. “I can’t believe you did this…”
“What?” I replied innocently, a grin tugging at the corners of my lips.
“The Cinderella castle?”
I looked at the Disney pennants flapping in the breeze, at the dark blue turrets and elegant spires rising from the soil. My favorite part – other than the moat, of course – was the pale pink tower rising from the stone walls surrounding it. The color reminded me of Aries’s eyes. I shrugged. “It was the most magical place on earth at one time.”
“Remember when we came here when we were kids?”
I grimaced. “Who could forget waiting in lines for hours and the blistering sunburns we all got?”
“Mom and Dad were so upset you wouldn’t take pictures with the princesses,” he reminded.
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, I was fourteen.”
His smile fell away. “They still consider me their son.”
“Of course they do.”
Kes sighed. “I knew how you felt, but I wasn’t sure they’d accept me as anything other than an impostor. I felt like one most of the time. Especially when –” He cut his words off.
“When what?”
Kes pursed his lips together. “Sometimes you’d look at me a certain way, like… like even though you knew I wasn’t him, you wished I was.”
“Sometimes I did,” I told him honestly. “It was easy to pretend at times. I bet it was hard for you to pretend to be someone you weren’t, across all the lifetimes.”
He nodded. “Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t hard at all.”
“I hope you tell me about them someday.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start,” he said with a sad smile.
“The beginning is always a good place. And we have forever, so we aren’t exactly pressed for time.”
“I’m sorry again, Larken.”
“Are you?” I asked, stopping and flaring my wings. “Would you take it back now if you could?”
He shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t. I would rather have you like this than not at all. The world needs you Larken.”
“I wouldn’t take it back, either. I was prepared to make a deal with Taurus so he would leave my family alone and let you live out your lives, but then you came for me. The moment I heard your voice, I knew I was fooling myself by thinking he’d ever honor any agreement made with me. The only way to make sure you and Mom and Dad and Aries and all his Guardians would b
e safe was to kill him.”
“Which you did, spectacularly.”
I laughed. “Not the adjective I would’ve picked to describe it. Horrifically, maybe.”
We resumed our slow stroll, enjoying a moment of peace together. “How are Mom and Dad?” I asked carefully.
“Dad’s been helping make a freshwater collection system. You know how he loves tinkering with things.”
I nodded. “And Mom?”
“She’s working alongside him, griping about how to go about building it. It’s entertaining, to say the least.”
“She’s a people person,” I mused aloud. “I think she’d be awesome at helping organize people and resources. Maybe we can set up stations for those who used to work in healthcare, those who can sew, and those who can garden and put them to work.”
“Dad would be forever grateful if you would give her something to do… as long as it wasn’t what he was working on.”
We both laughed. I cocked my head and looked up at the three arched windows where my room was located. “I have a lot of renovating to do. Most of the rooms are useless as they are. They were meant to be illusions for the park.”
Kes smiled. “I know a gal who’s great with renovations.”
“It needs a balcony.”
“So make one,” he challenged.
I imagined those windows becoming a large, arched door instead, for gray stones to form and grow along the sides of the façade, blossoming outward until a beautiful balcony had formed.
Kes grinned. “Look at my sister, using magic and thinking she’s all that.”
“I am,” I teased. “Thanks to you.” He shook his head, shoving his hands in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. I quirked an eye at his contemporary clothing. “No traditional dress required back home?”
He shifted nervously. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that…”
“About what?”
“I was hoping you might let me stay in your territory and become your Guardian.”
My mouth gaped open. “What about Aries?” Kes had guarded him for almost an eternity. The two of them were friends. No, they were much more than that.
“Aries will concede me to you if you allow it.”
“I don’t want to own you or your soul, Kes.”
He shook his head. “It’s not like that. It’s a position of honor. Doubly for me, because I am your brother. And I have every faith that you would set my soul free if I ever asked it of you.”
I hadn’t cried in twenty-four hours, a new record since the big battle. His words threatened that. I threw my arms around him. “Of course! No one could guard my people better than you. I think we’ve both learned that.”
He chuckled. “So, jeans and shorts are cool?”
“Anything goes,” I said, smiling and pulling away.
“Anything?” he asked, quirking a brow.
“Well, no speedos or shorty shorts,” I amended. I hated the running shorts that basically showed ass cheeks. They were a pet peeve of mine, even though many a runner swore by them. I just couldn’t.
“Aries is watching to see how you organize everything, you know,” Kes mentioned.
“Why would he do that?”
“You know how people think. He doesn’t. He’s looking to you to lead him through understanding them and helping them thrive.”
That was insane. Aries was great with his people.
And I was looking to him to keep my temper in check. The Zodia who sided with Taurus were licking their wounds, but I felt ready to finish the fight they’d started. Aries said they’d make themselves scarce for a while, but I wasn’t convinced. What I did know was that when they did show their faces, I’d be ready for them.
“I always thought Aries was best among the Zodia,” Kes said with a nudge. “Now, he’s second best.”
A tear fell and I restarted the clock to a non-crying record. “Thank you.”
I turned to him, hugging myself. “Kes, what is your true name? What name were you born with and live with when you were human?”
He groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to call me by it. I’m Kes to you. Period.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure,” he smiled. “It was Saros.”
My brows kissed. “That’s kind of awesome.”
“I haven’t used it in so long, I’m surprised I haven’t forgotten it.”
I grinned as an idea popped into my mind. “You could combine the two names like a ship name.”
Kes groaned again. “I don’t ship it.”
“I do! You could be Kesaros. It sounds as badass as you look in this new body.”
Kes and I laughed and it felt like home.
ARIES
I had to spend some time in my territory, checking on each region, but I admit that I rushed from place to place. All was well. All was peaceful. My Guardians were keeping everyone relatively happy, providing for them, watching over them.
I wanted to go back to Larken. And I was about to do just that when an unexpected guest appeared.
I clamped a hand on his gilded shoulder. “Aquarius.”
He mirrored the motion. “Aries.” He waited a beat before asking, “How is Larken adjusting?”
“Beautifully, though I doubt she’d tell you the same,” I admitted. She felt like she was floundering, when I was in complete awe of her and what she’d managed to do in such a short period of time. Almost as in awe as I was about what she was planning for the future of her people and territory.
“I wanted to extend an invitation to you. I’d like to host a feast in her honor. Only the cool Zodia are welcome.” He grinned.
“When is this feast?”
“Tomorrow at sundown.”
I nodded. “I’ll be there. Would you like me to ask Larken?”
He shook his head. “I’d like to extend the invitation myself, if you don’t mind.”
“As long as she isn’t required to wear gold,” I teased.
His eyes widened as if he were picturing exactly that, and I cursed myself for planting the idea. “See you then,” he said before disappearing.
I knew where he was headed next.
33
I was admiring my new balcony and making sure it was sturdy and wouldn’t fall off when Aquarius appeared in the center of it, scaring the crap out of me. “What are you doing here?”
He grinned. “I came to visit and see how you were settling in.”
“I built this balcony,” I said proudly. “I commandeered this castle because it’s awesome and I would have built one just like it, but the balcony is all mine.”
He whistled, making a big deal about the stonework. “It’s very nice.”
“I’m sure you’d prefer a solid gold one,” I teased.
“Actually, yes, but that’s the perfect segue for the reason I’m here. I’d like to invite you, Kes, and your parents to join me for dinner in my territory tomorrow at sundown.”
My mouth popped open. Will Aries be there?
“Yes,” he answered. “I can see it on your face. You miss him as much as he misses you. Both of you are miserable apart. Together, though…”
My face heated.
“I’m truly glad you’ve found each other, Larken.”
“Thank you.”
“And I want you to know how much I respect you for what you did. You fought ferociously for the ones you love, and you earned every feather in your beautiful wings.”
I inclined my head, the knot in my throat burning. I would have to re-start my countdown again…
“So, you’ll come? Bring the family?”
I nodded as a tear fell.
He smiled. “I’ll see you then.”
He faded away, leaving me al
one on the balcony. If he’d beaten his fist on his chest, I would have crumbled.
Kes was on my brand-new balcony when I woke up. I’d rearranged the suite completely so the bigger room that used to be the bedroom was now my library, and the smaller room with my new favorite balcony was my bedroom. Hands behind his head, he relaxed in one of the two plastic Adirondack chairs that graced the space.
“Did you steal these from Aries?”
“I certainly did not!” he replied indignantly. “I thought the two of you might enjoy them when you visit his castle. I stole them from Lowe’s.”
“Lovely,” I deadpanned. “Oh, so, Aquarius invited our family to dinner tonight. Aries will be there, too.”
“I had no doubt,” he teased.
The wind rippled my t-shirt. I had no idea what to wear now that I had wings, so I’d taken scissors and flayed a shirt and then knotted it around the base of each wing. I wasn’t sure t-shirts and yoga pants were appropriate in Aquarius’s court, though.
He stood and slung an arm around my shoulders. “Happy birthday.”
My stomach plummeted. “It is, isn’t it?”
I was eighteen going on infinity. Most people said they didn’t feel different with each passing year, but I couldn’t say that with this birthday. I definitely felt different than I had at seventeen.
“Do you want me to see if Helena can help you and Mom later? I can handle shopping for me and Dad.”
I grinned. “That would be great. If she’s not busy, of course.”
Helena brought her huge leather purse and her cart of fabrics and gowns, all in different shades of gold to honor our dinner host. “Do you want a knotted dress?” she whispered as Mom gasped at every garment.
“Do I want my mother to have a heart attack?” I asked.
“Got it. Not bold… demure.”
“Demure,” I agreed. “Aries will be there.”
Her eyes lit up. “So I’ve heard. He’s excited to see you.”
Butterflies took flight in my stomach. I was excited to see him, too, and looked forward to a relaxing and hopefully fun evening with him and our golden friend.
Things That Should Stay Buried Page 32
