by Camille Rae
I rolled my eyes, but smiled despite myself.
“How long have you four been a unit?” Caia asked, reaching for her wine but finding the water in her hand instead. She gave me a quick glare.
“Three and a half years,” I said.
Her eyes went wide. Then, I watched as a darkness fell over her features. She was sinking into her thoughts, something she did at the most random and inconvenient times.
She rubbed at her eyes. “I’m feeling a bit tired,” she said, pushing her chair back from the table.
Lachlan frowned and I made to stand next to her, but she waved us both off. “I’m fine, it’s just been a long day. Loel dragged me all around this city, Silas made me so mad that I punched him, and Lachlan and Cash made me throw up twice,” she joked.
“Three times,” Cash said, smirking.
I gave me a questioning look, wondering if she wanted me to accompany her to her room tonight. She shook my head slightly and looked around for Alivia and Maisy, giving them the same politely dismissive wave she had given all of us.
“Good night, gentlemen,” she said, smiling, and then turned to slip out behind the screen.
“Well,” I said, pushing back from the table. “Theo beckons.”
“What’s the deal with the early marching orders?” Silas asked, his voice low.
I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. When Theo got an idea, he really ran with it. Would he run with this one? I was trying my best to make him act rationally, but Theo was prone to impatience.
“I’m trying to avoid it,” I said.
“End of March and we’ll be knee deep in snow in the Hollow Wood,” Lachlan growled.
I nodded. “I’ll talk to him. If I need reinforcement, I’ll bring in Silas with the weather maps. Besides the weather, there’s no way we’ll have our supplies that fast,” I said.
“I can talk to some of my connections in the trades to see a reasonable date,” Cash said through the connection.
“Keep it under wraps for now. We don’t want anyone to panic,” I said, both aloud and to Cash.
I left the hall, walking past the screen that led to Theo’s Solar. I knocked, and when he ordered me in, saw that he was sitting in a chair in almost complete darkness, staring out the window.
“Everything okay?” I asked. I bent and tossed another log onto the dying fire.
“Do you trust me?” Theo asked, his voice quiet but sharp as a knife’s edge.
“With my life,” I said. It was the truth. He was my leader, and a damn good one at that.
“I see the way you look at her,” he said. He was tapping his fingers on the table, drumming them to a rhythm only he could hear.
I cleared my throat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, keeping my voice steady.
“I will take her as my mate,” he said, meeting my eyes.
Hackles began to raise up my spine.
“Take who as your mate?” I asked. I could feel my wolf coming to the surface, threatening to break through.
“Caia.” Theo kept his face perfectly blank. Was he testing my loyalty? Surely he could feel that she wasn’t his perfect mate.
“Why?” I asked.
“Our union would cement a new wave of strength throughout the Rebellion. With the Lost Princess on our side, we—“
I cut him off. “Why are you so certain she’s the Lost Princess?” I asked.
“Believe me, I just know,” he said.
“Then believe me when I say that you can’t marry her,” I said.
Theo gave me a long look. “Politically, it’s what makes the most sense.”
“Theo. She’s mine,” I said, a low growl in my throat.
“We have all made sacrifices for the cause,” he said.
I slammed my fist down on the table. “She will choose a mate,” I said. “I will not stand by as you force some lost, confused woman into marrying you as if it’s the only way for her to survive.”
Theo’s eyes glowed in the firelight. My chest burned as he pressed his powers to make me obey. “I will do what is necessary,” he said, then looked back out the window.
Chapter 16
Caia
I made my way to my chamber and tended to the fire, then found the tooth powder that Alivia had given me that morning when I told her I didn’t want to have bad breath any more. I put a few more logs into the hearth before I undressed, pulled my nightgown over my head, and crawled into bed.
I noticed a large bouquet on the table near my bed of the same gladiolus that I had fawned over in the market and smiled, thinking that Loel must have placed them there.
Blissfully alone, I stretched out in full starfish form, taking up as much space as I could.
I stared up at the dark curtains above me, glowing deep green in the light of the fire.
I missed my home. I missed my couch. I missed the dumb plant nursery I worked in. I missed grocery stores and cars and pizza and choosing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.
I missed Jude. I’d do anything to get her back. She would be endlessly fascinated by this place, but I think she must have been feeling a bit lost without the technology we were used to.
That reminded me. I had seen my day pack sitting in the corner when I had come up after dinner. I climbed out of bed and rifled through it, taking out my phone.
Still dead. I’d have given my kingdom for a solar charger. A hysterical and strange giggle tore out of my throat at the idea that I actually did have a kingdom.
I climbed back into bed and rolled onto my side, burying my face into the pillow, resenting Laeris for how it had changed my life so entirely.
A small seed of hope flared in my chest.
Maybe I wasn’t the Lost Princess. Maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe I really could go back.
I’d figure this out. I’d get Jude, and then we’d get back home.
Elestra and I were sitting in a garden. She was wearing a royal blue gown, sitting across from me at a small table. She was watching brightly colored birds flitter around a bird bath nearby, and she was smiling.
She looked over to me and smiled wider. “I can’t believe you’re really here, sister,” she said, putting her hand over my own. Under her hand, I felt my ring pulse, sending a throbbing ache through my palm and into my wrist.
She didn’t seem to notice my discomfort.
Even I didn’t want to notice my discomfort. Seeing her here, seeing her happy… It made me feel happy, too. Relieved. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“We don’t have much time,” she said, and though her smile remained, her eyes darted to look at something inconspicuously.
I tried to ask what she meant, but my mouth wouldn’t form the words. Did I even have a mouth? I tried to touch my face, but felt nothing under my fingertips. I looked to her, growing anxious.
“It’s okay, Everallin. It’s only for a little while,” she said.
I buzzed with energy, feeling nearly electric. Small wisps of light began to pull from my fingertips and I stared at them in captivation.
“You can’t trust him,” she whispered, leaning in.
My light wisps disappeared and I jerked my head up to look at her.
Who? I tried to ask.
She looked pointedly at me, as though I was supposed to read her mind.
I was surrounded by men in Nos, so he could be anyone.
“Be careful, Ever,” she said, and reached to push a strand of hair behind my ear. “You must guard yourself. You can rely on no one.”
I was trying to understand. Who? Who couldn’t I trust? Anyone? Him? Who was he?
“Shh, they’re coming,” she said, and let go of my hand.
I opened my eyes, wide awake, feeling as if I had just been thrown backwards. My entire body tingled with adrenaline.
There was a quiet knock on my door.
I pushed myself onto my elbows, Elestra’s words still ringing in my mind. Guard yourself.
I looked around in the dim glow of t
he dying fire to find something I could use to protect myself.
“Spark, it’s me,” Loel’s voice came muffled through the door.
Did I really need to protect myself against the Wolves? They had been magic-spelled into protecting me. Was it the type of spell they could break?
And what were those wisps of light? Could I really produce magic?
Loel knocked again. “Caia, I…” He paused, and I sat up, straining to hear. He didn’t go on.
I bit my lip, wanting desperately to let him in, but still afraid.
If I couldn’t trust the Wolves, I couldn’t trust anyone.
“Come in, Loel,” I said, and the door opened immediately.
He crossed the room so quickly and with such intense purpose that I leaned back involuntarily.
“Whoa, is everything—” I began, but before I knew it, he was over me, his soft mouth on mine. His kiss was desperate as he tugged my lips between his teeth and held my face between his hands. Loel kissed me like he had been in the desert for days and I was water. As though I was giving him life.
I pushed back against his chest out of surprise, and he pulled back slightly, his face still inches from mine.
“What are you doing?” I asked, breathless.
“I want you,” he said, his voice rough. “As mine.”
He punctuated the word with such possessive energy.
I wrapped my hand in his shirt, unable to even consider if it was just the ring or magic spell drawing us together, and yanked him to me, returning his desperate kiss.
For a moment, I let myself stop thinking.
I let myself feel.
And right then, I could feel his warm, soft lips caressing mine, and his body fitting into the curves of mine, as if we had been made for each other, forged from one piece and split into two, spending an entire lifetime searching for the other half.
He pulled my lower lip between his teeth, and nibbled at it, sending a painful pleasure through my body. His hands ran over my body, clutching at the sides of my nightgown, running through my hair. I held his shirt in one hand, gripping it with white knuckles, and fisted my other hand in his hair, not allowing him to break the kiss.
His tongue grew insistent, and I parted my lips, letting him caress my tongue with his as we explored each other. Our legs entwined, and I could feel his hardness pressing into my belly.
I ground my hips into his, desperate, begging, needing all of him.
He pulled away and we both gasped for breath in tandem.
I whimpered, trying to close the gap between us immediately again.
He stared down at me for a long moment, and something melancholy passed over his face for the briefest of moments.
“Let’s not rush into it,” he whispered, and there was so much left unsaid in that statement, but the heat of his words on my mouth made me shiver.
I nodded, trying to rein in my intense desire. He was right. I didn’t want to do anything I’d regret.
The tender spot between my legs throbbed with the need of him, and I shifted, pressing my thighs together.
He twisted me so that I was fitted against him, my back to his front.
“Then let me sleep quickly, please, without dreaming,” I pleaded, and he nuzzled into my hair, his arms wrapped tightly around me. A heavy fatigue came over me, and I could barely hold my eyes open.
“I liked that kiss a lot,” I whispered, almost too sleepy to even put the words together.
I dozed off to the sound of his faint chuckle.
Chapter 17
Caia
I awoke, my limbs tangled completely in Loel’s. He was watching me with a small smile on his face, and sunlight was beginning to stream through the window. There was a knock on the door, followed shortly by a quick “Princess, you awake?”
Lachlan.
I looked up quickly to Loel, trying gauge his reaction, but he didn’t look the slightest bit disturbed.
“Come on in,” he said, and I smacked his arm.
“This is my room, I allow people to come in, not you,” I scolded, and he apologized half-heartedly, rubbing at the part of his arm I had slapped.
I turned to see Lachlan walking across the room slowly, a hint of confusion and intrigue on his face.
“Good morning, Caia. Loel,” he said, and came only so far as to sit in a chair near the fire.
Loel stretched languidly, his one arm still around me, and I could almost sense a small territorial war happening around me without my consent. I pushed him off of me and sat up, looking at Lachlan.
“Hey, good morning,” I said, rubbing at my eyes and moving to swing my legs over the bed. “Any chance you brought tea?”
“Tea? Uh, no, I didn’t think of it,” Lachlan said, his brow furrowing. “I can go get you some, though.” He made as though he was about to leave, and I waved the idea out of the air.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure Maisy and Alivia will be here shortly,” I said, reaching for a dressing robe I had seen in the wardrobe.
Lachlan and Loel were looking at one another, not breaking eye contact. Loel gave a small nod.
“I told you guys not to do your weird telepathic thing without me,” I said, knowing I sounded ridiculous, but the idea that they were having an entire conversation that I couldn’t hear or know anything about made me unnerved.
“Where are those flowers from?” Loel asked, pointing to the fresh gladiolus on my dresser.
“I thought they were from you,” I said, looking up to him.
“Not me,” he said, shaking his head. “Lachlan?”
Lachlan shook his head.
“Cash?” I offered, grinning.
Lachlan laughed, hitting his leg in amusement.
“Maybe it’s your Graces. Women like flowers,” Loel offered.
I shrugged. That could very well be all it was.
“Theo wants to meet with me today,” I told him, settling down in a chair opposite of him.
“I heard. I requested to be in the meeting, but he wants it to be just the two of you for this one,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and frowning. His good natured expression had fallen.
“He said there’s some sort of surprise to show me?” I asked after the long silence.
“That’s… what I wanted to warn you about,” Loel said, giving Lachlan a glance for either reassurance or backup, I couldn’t tell which.
◆◆◆
Theo held up the poster with a flourish. There I was — or, at least, a strange rendering of me — wearing the purple gown from my first night here, a crown on my head, holding a sword that was much larger than my body. Above it, in large script, the words, Astra inclinant, sed non obligant.
It was even worse than Loel had described. Clearly, Theo had these posters made quickly, maybe even before my arrival, though I was unsure how. I guessed they knew what I would look like, considering my identical twin was terrorizing the country, and they knew what dress I’d be announced in, since it had been chosen for me on that first night.
“What does that mean?” I said, pointing to what I could only assume was Latin phrasing.
“The stars incline us, they do not bind us,” he said.
I tilted my head slightly. “But why is that the motto of Nos?”
He looked back to the poster, looking it over with an air of criticism. “Legend says that the royal family is linked to the stars. Some even say they’re direct descendants of celestial beings,” he said, as casually as I might have discussed groceries two weeks ago.
“Celestial beings like… gods?” I said, leaning forward in my chair. I had convinced Alivia that I could wear pants, though she had insisted on a velvet blue blazer to go along with the look. We were sitting in Theo’s Solar, the room feeling much more cramped than the first night. Perhaps it was the bright light that shone in through the windows. I tapped my boots against the stone tile floor.
“Not gods, no. What stars are made of. Planets. The material that created the universe,” he sai
d, setting the poster down.
“That’s… a thing?” I asked, involuntarily touching the skin on my arms. Was I was a Celestial being?
“Yes. Very powerful. Hence the ruling part,” Theo said, so casually I almost didn’t believe he was telling me the truth.
“So, the stars incline us, but do not bind us, means that the royal family is what makes you fight, but they do not rule you, or something along those lines?” I asked, simplifying the concept.
He nodded and said, “Something like that.”
I traced my hand over my portrait. It made me look like a Warrior Princess, like some intense badass who would save the entire world of Laeris. Sure, my upper body strength was something I was proud of, but I highly doubted I could wield a sword weighing that much over my head and still look graceful while doing so. Also, the poster showed me with much larger breasts and hips. I frowned slightly. Even in Laeris, they couldn’t get away from altering the look of women’s bodies.
“So, these are already posted all over the city?” I asked, my brow lowering in distaste.
He nodded and produced a duplicate version of the poster with the words, We will overcome.
“I’ve been here two days and I’m already leading the Rebellion?” I said with a small laugh, taking a sip of the tea that I had requested upon my arrival. I hadn’t been sleeping well in Nos with the combination of Elestra in my dreams and Loel interrupting my sleep.
Not that I was complaining about that type of interruption.
“It is your duty to lead the Rebellion,” Theo said, looking slightly disgusted with me.
“How are you even sure I’m the Lost Princess? This could all be a mistake,” I said, sipping at my tea and watching him over the rim of the cup.
“You are Everallin,” he said, and again, something buzzed inside of me.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
He looked at me impatiently, as if I should already know that. “It is your royal name. You were named Caia in the world you ended up in, but in Laeris, you are Everallin. When I called you Everallin on your first night, you recognized it, even without realizing you did. You reconnected with the magic within the word. I knew the second I said it aloud.”
