Palace of Moonlight

by Payton Taylor

  "Why are they riding them?" Khione asked, unable to keep the disgust from her face.

  "I've always wanted to!" Seren said. "The Mactans can travel up to sixty miles per hour, and are extremely venomous, but not to worry, as long as you stay calm and don't pose a threat, they're fine. Although, they do eat their mates from time to time." Seren looked around the group before a huge smile appeared on his face. "I suppose none of you are its mate, right?"

  He looked relieved when everyone laughed and Noelani said, "Of course this is my mate. Our mating ceremony is next month. We were waiting to tell you guys." She grinned in mock bashfulness.

  Jo mimicked a tear while Khione said, "Yeah, you guys make a great couple."

  She gave a devilish grin. "Thanks."

  Even Westin had a small smile on his face, and when the princess glimpsed it, she hurriedly turned away, but not before Khione saw her eyes brighten.

  "Alright, so how are you guys riding these things?" Khione finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Sunny and I are controlling them," Jo said, Tweety chirping at her shoulder. The bird was growing at an accelerated rate and now reached Khione's shoulder. She eyed it distrustfully.

  "We're just making them feel safe around us," Jo continued, "Their thoughts and choices are still their own, but when they smell us or see our faces, they won't shoot venom at our face or try to eat us.

  "That's reassuring," Khione said dryly.

  Marzanna nudged Khione's elbow. "See, I told you this would cheer you up." And it did.

  Khione smiled at Marzanna, a full, genuine smile. Marzanna bit her lip, looking away.

  "So, why did you guys want to ride these things?" "I heard Asta talking about it," Kian said. "She said they had trained some of them and. . . needed them from time to time."

  Khione could only guess what they would need them for.

  "We thought it'd be good to know in case we ever came across one while traveling to see the oracle," Zahra said then she smiled at Seren. "Plus, Seren really wanted to ride one."

  "They could also be used in battle if need be," Noelani said.

  Khione's brows rose. "That's actually a good idea." "Yeah, sometimes I have those," she said sliding off the Mactan. "Who's next?" Marzanna raised her hand.

  Then she glanced over and saw Khione's shocked expression. "Oh, come on," she said grabbing Khione's arm and raising it as well. "We can ride together," she offered at the look of apprehension on Khione's face.

  She led Khione over to Seren as he slid from the beast's back. It looked even bigger up close.

  "I'll give you a boost," Seren said. "When you're up there, just hold onto her bristles, but gently. They're very sensitive and if you yank it, you'll hurt her."

  Then he laced his fingers and bent at the waist, offering Marzanna a boost. She placed her foot in his hand, and Khione found herself a bit surprised when Seren lifted her almost effortlessly.

  Marzanna climbed on, the Mactan shifting a tad at the new weight. She smiled down at Khione, "Your turn."

  Reluctantly, Khione placed her foot in Seren's hands and allowed herself to be hoisted up. Allowed Marzanna to pull her onto the back of the creature.

  "Do you have a hold?" Jo called.

  Marzanna gently gripped the bristly hairs on the

  Mactan's back. Khione gripped Marzanna's waist, her hold a lot less gentle and much more desperate as she tried not to look over at its beady eyes.

  Its scent entered her nose, a strange, sickly sweet smell that made her feel sticky.

  Marzanna grinned over her shoulder. "Ready!" she shouted down to Jo.

  And then, they began to move.

  Its body tilted and swayed as its many legs moved in tandem over the muddy ground. Khione clutched Marzanna tighter and looked over the edge-only to jerk her gaze back upward.

  Legs. So many spindly legs. But Marzanna was laughing.

  Her hands moved soothingly over the giant creature's coarse hairs, her body swaying as it lumbered along.

  Khione found her grip relaxing a bit, a small smile forming on her lips as she watched Marzanna grin. As she listened to her coo at the monster, telling it what a good girl it was.

  They rode the Mactans for hours before they decided it was time to pack up and head out to find this mysterious "oracle." Hours of colorful swear words and embarrassing falls ensued.

  Moments of laughter, filling the air of their secluded spot as they all learned to spend time with each other, not only as acquaintances but as a team. As. . . friends.

  Hours of learning each other's senses of humor. Realizing that Zahra, as beautiful and fierce as she was, made the goofiest jokes. Learning that, though Kian himself strayed more toward dry, deadpan comments, he never failed to laugh or smile at one of his Match's off-beat remarks. Never failed to chuckle at Seren's jokes, which were often puns or amusing notions of irony.

  Learning that while Jo and Noelani had a penchant for being silly as well, they also had a surprising knack for dirty jokes and suggestive comments. Something that seemed to please Leo to no end.

  And Westin. . . well, he didn't say much, and he didn't laugh, but Khione caught him smiling now and then, an expression he quickly lost the moment he realized anyone was looking. She had a feeling the general used to smile more.

  Then there was Marzanna.

  Khione was tempted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Surely, what she was witnessing was an illusion cast by Agares himself as the princess of Moriana fell in the mud and sat there, her fingers playing in the wet clay.

  Then she looked up and met Khione's eye. Asked her to join her as she began building a castle out of the mud, small flowers growing around its borders, twining together to form a siege wall.

  And so Khione joined her, sitting in the mud, molding it with her hands as it soaked into her skin.

  It was there, in the deadliest place on Writhia, that Khione felt herself begin to relax for the first time since that night, long ago, when she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face after dancing with a pretty girl.

  Chapter 28

  Leo

  Writhia, 5220

  The Wastes

  Leo was running on next to no sleep and it was severely impacting his ability to think. The last couple of nights he'd been having strange dreams. Surreal dreams. Dreams that seemed so real that when he woke up, the world around him seemed false. Faded.

  If he didn't know better, he'd start questioning his grasp on reality. The ragged jungle they walked through similar to that of his mind. The horrid thoughts and dreams seeding into his mind with deep, thick roots. They grew and grew until they bloomed, cascading out of control. Until there were so many of them that he was lost in an endless maze of his own mind.

  Sounds like one of the many definitions of insanity , a dark voice purred in his head.

  He stomped a little harder as he trekked uphill with the rest of his crew. Imagining that, with every footstep, his boot smashed into that voice, squishing it. He felt better when he thought of it that way. Hadn't his mom always said that strong emotions needed an outlet?

  Against his will, his mind kept replaying the dreams.

  The first had been about Jo and him. Talking. Kissing. It had been great. Better than anything he'd ever experienced in real life. There had been no walls, no need to hide. He could tell her why he ran and then he could hold her and forget every urge to run again. When he woke up, it had taken a long time for him to remember that the dream wasn't real. To remember reality and have his fears come crashing in, burying him once more.

  The other dream had been stranger. He had existed in total darkness, nothing around him but endless shadow. The Dark King, Azmodeous, whispered in his mind, asking Leo where he was. And then, when Leo refused to tell him, a darker voice had spoken. He had expected threats, but instead, it had only spoken his fears.

  She will never accept you. You are incapable of being loved. Just ask your mother. Your father. Cerise. None of them could lov
e you, and she never will, either. You’ll follow her for nothing and receive nothing in return but her scorn. You ruin everything you touch. They would be better without you. The world would be better without you.

  Leo had woken up shaking, the words echoing through his mind over and over again on a loop.

  They lingered even now as he hiked, getting louder every time he looked at Jo.

  "-huh, Leo?"

  Leo shook his head and looked up, searching for the source of his name. They hadn't come far, they were still at the base of the mountain and the cave they sought was presumably toward the top. They had reached a shear wall in the rock, the only way to continue laying high above their heads.

  Westin looked at him expectantly and Leo realized he was the one who had spoken.

  "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Leo asked. He didn't have the energy to pretend for the moment.

  Westin frowned, his eyes observing Leo in a way he hated. "I said, do you have any rope?"

  Leo stared at him a moment before the words clicked in his mind. "Yes, rope," he mumbled, taking off his backpack and removing a length of rope. He handed it to Westin who uncoiled it, measuring it with his eyes.

  "This will do," Westin said. Then he backed up a few feet before taking off running for the rock. He grunted as he leaped, soaring up through the air to land neatly on the edge of the rock.

  "Show-off," Leo mumbled, watching as Westin tied the rope to a tree, securing it tightly.

  "We're good!" Westin called down.

  Noelani grinned at her sister before following Westin's lead and taking a running jump. She shot up through the air, stumbling only a bit as she landed next to him. Even from the view Leo was at, he noticed Noelani's eyes seeking out Westin's, hoping to impress him.

  Leo rolled his eyes. He wanted to impress Jo, too, he was just better at hiding it. Amateurs.

  "Show off!" Jo called, her eyes crinkled at the corners in a delighted smile. A smile Leo's eyes lingered on. At least, from his peripherals anyway.

  "The rest of us have to climb," Kian said, walking over to take the rope in his hands. "Is there anyone who doesn't know how?"

  Jo, Marzanna, and Khione raised their hands. Kian sighed as his dark eyes raised to the sky as if asking for patience. Then, turning to face Westin and Noelani, called,

  "You're going to have to pull them up."

  Westin waved them on. Kian took the rope in hand, tying it around his waist. "Watch what I do," he said. He slipped the rope around his waist down so that he was sitting on it like a swing. When he gave the 'go' sign to Westin and Noelani, they began pulling. He rose quickly with two people with Combatant strength pulling him up.

  When he reached the top, he climbed over the edge and stood, removing the rope from around him. Then he dropped it back to the ground. "Next!" he called.

  Jo stepped forward, following his example. When Westin and her sister started pulling her up, she let out a squeak of surprise before falling quiet. As she rose, her eyes scanned the group, coming to rest on Leo. He could see the blue of her irises even from a distance. He watched her reach the top and pull herself over the edge as Kian had done.

  Next, followed Marzanna and Khione, each being lifted with no problem. Then Seren and Zahra each pulled up themselves while Westin and Sunny rested, their hands moving with assurance as if they'd done it a thousand times.

  Leo went last. He studied the coarse texture of the rope in his hands before following suit. As he climbed, thoughts of his dreams remained. The good one. The bad one. He could still hear that dark voice, repeating what it had said in his dream, over and over.

  You ruin everything you touch. They would be better off without you.

  Just let go of the rope.

  The rope jerked, slipping through Leo's hands as they stilled in surprise. That last part hadn't been in the dream. It was new.

  Leo bit back a curse as he dropped, the rope burning through his hands before he regained his grip. Gritting his teeth, he ignored his friends as they called down, asking if he was all right, their voices laced with worry.

  When he finally pulled himself over the edge, he flopped over on his back, laying there for a second, collecting himself.

  Where had that voice come from? It wasn't just a memory, it had been whispering things it hadn't said in his dreams.

  "Are you okay, Leo?" Jo's voice stood out among the rest. He looked up to find her leaning over him, her curls barely contained in the braid hanging over her shoulder. Her face was red, sunburnt. Her eyes were worried.

  Leo pushed himself up. "I'm fine," he said, looking away. "Let's keep going before this shadow thing eats the world or whatever."

  He took off walking, the rest of the group exchanging a look before they followed him. The terrain was much steeper here, and his muscles burned as he hiked up hill.

  Westin pushed forward through the group, coming to walk next to Leo.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "I've watched you over the years, Leo. Climbing up in the rafters at the palace, perching on top of furniture on Eris's ship. You don't slip, Leo. You never slip."

  Leo met Westin's gaze and found it searching, looking for an answer he wasn't going to find.

  Leo let out a dark chuckle, "Everyone slips sometimes, Airoldi. Even me."

  With that he sped up, pushing himself to go faster and pass Westin.

  As he walked, a dark voice murmured thoughts in his mind, never ceasing.

  Chapter 29

  Jo

  Writhia, 5220

  The Waste

  A low vibration thrummed near Jo's ear, the buzzing of some insect probably trying to set up camp in her wild forest of curls.

  She lifted a hand half-heartedly, swiping it away. They had been traveling for four days now.

  To say they were all tired was an understatement.

  Jo's eyes were heavy from the strenuous exercise of walking uphill on little sleep. Her brain felt agitated, and her thoughts were incoherent and sporadic.

  When they slept, it was as if they were dead. They lay down, closed their eyes, and when they opened them it was time to start the day again.

  They'd run into some Galvs, gargantuan arachnoid, scorpion-like creatures. The Galv had a green, hard exoskeleton, blending in with the jungle, and wide, powerful pincers. Their stingers were long, with a venomous liquid squirting at the tip.

  Jo would be happy if she never heard the word venomous again.

  The Galv had reared its tail back, preparing to strike, when Khione stepped forward with a feral roar and froze the thing completely.

  Her eyes had widened, and everyone stared at her in shock, with Westin being the only one not wasting any time. He had run forward, chopping the thing into shattered icicles.

  Marzanna had given Khione a gentle pat on the back. "I always knew you were stronger than you thought."

  Khione had gave a sheepish smile as color bloomed on her cheeks.

  And they had carried on.

  Seren kept apologizing because he somehow felt he was responsible for not being able to alert the group when danger was near, but they had all reassured him and knew his Gift didn't work like that.

  Now they were all twitchy, movements jerky.

  Running on autopilot.

  Every noise sounded extra loud. Their own voices coming out hoarse from misuse. Seren hadn't talked for an entire day, not reacting to anyone or anything, his ear buds firmly in place. He would jump up and down from time to time as if he were preparing for a fight, then take off running. And then, he would slow to a toe walk. Kian and Zahra kept close at his side and that seemed to have agitated him more. Jo thought he simply needed time to himself.

  Khione had been glaring off and on in Marzanna's direction. Sunny didn't say anything except a mumble to Gordo and Daiya, the lines of her face tight, her shoulders bunched indicating tense muscles.

  Leo stayed near the back of the group. Jo didn't want him to s
ee her keep looking back, but she was worried about him. Despite the way he had pulled away from her, she still cared.

  Jo's head swiveled back once again, and he was already staring at her as if he sensed her thoughts. Jo turned her head back around to the front.

  His eyes looked resigned as if whatever he'd been thinking, he had accepted it.

  As Jo thought about it, she realized everyone's' thoughts were blank. As if they had all resigned.

  They are, a dark voice whispered inside her mind, low and ancient.

  Jo flinched, gaining Sunny's attention.

  You okay? she asked.

  No.

  What's wrong?

  Jo gave her a look and Sunny rolled her eyes.

  Besides the obvious.

  Leo's my Match , Jo blurted out. She'd been dying to get that off her chest but hadn't had a moment alone with her sister.

  Sunny's head whipped in Leo's direction before Jo grabbed her shoulder, straightening her.

  SUNNY!

  Sorry, it's instinctive , she said with a sheepish smile.

  What are we? In grade school?

  Yes , Sunny said, and then waved her hand in a "go on" motion, But, come on now. I want to hear the rest.

  Jo sighed. I pulled him into my dream the other night.

  Sunny gasped, causing everyone to turn their heads and take a defensive stance.

  "Sorry, I thought I saw a mouse."

  The group grumbled and shook their heads.

  Westin's eyes lingered on Sunny. His stare was intense. And Jo wondered how Sunny could stand being the recipient of that gaze. But she stared back unflinchingly.

  I'm falling for him, Sun.

  Sunny's eyes remained on Westin a moment more before turning to Jo. I know the feeling, she thought with a sad smile.