The Outlanders

by Erin Rhew

  “Maybe left over from the wars before?”

  Though the explanation sounded plausible, the bonds lacked centuries of age and wear. They felt new. Almost like the Outlanders planned to house Vanguards in the near future. Had the Outlander Queen summoned Vance to capture him? Did she plan to assist Etherea and not Vanguard? As each potential thought popped into his mind, unease, which started as a small dot, expanded within his stomach. Something felt wrong, very wrong.

  * * * *

  The cell door squeaked every time it opened. Nash had grown to both love and hate the sound. It meant food, but it also meant he remained captive, stuck in an Outlander prison. Worst of all, he’d been duped by two girls whom he could have fought off had they not played on his dual nature, chivalrous Ethereal and protective Vanguard.

  Today, a woman he’d not seen before approached them, two chunks of bread in her hand. At the sight of the bread, Nash though of Layla—of their brief time alone in the woods—and a longing filled him. He promised he’d return to her, but now he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep his word. Layla.

  He spared a cursory glanced at the woman when she tossed the food his way. These Outlanders never got close enough for him to touch. Nazeen and Winnow had seen his and Samson’s power on full display with the boar, so their captors remained cautious. A wise choice, as he planned to shred the unfortunate fool who came within his reach.

  “I’m Cataleen,” the young woman said in a calm, formal tone.

  “I’m Samson, and that’s Nash.” Samson talked around the food in his mouth, bits of bread popping out with each word.

  Nash shook his head. “Really?” Did the Vanguard ever put an ounce of forethought into his actions?

  “What? She already knows our names.” Samson rolled his eyes, one side of his lip curling up in a sneer.

  Nash wished he could throttle Samson. He pursed his lips together to keep from saying the barrage of angry words stored up inside him. Chanting Layla’s name in his mind, Nash tried to soothe his wrath. She wouldn’t want him to kill her brother. Layla.

  “So, you’re Nash.” Cataleen came a bit closer but still kept out of reach.

  Her gaze roamed over him, her green eyes so light he could almost see through them. She inspected him like some piece of art hanging on display for her pleasure and amusement. He hated the chains even more now than he ever had. He wanted nothing more than to be released from her inquisitive gaze.

  “Tell me, Nash.” Her formal speech turned to a purr. “Do you think I’m attractive?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s a simple yes or no, Nash. Do you find me attractive?” She shifted to the side, glancing down her nose at him.

  With her long, auburn hair, gathered in gentle waves around her shoulders, and her intriguing green eyes, he might have found her attractive once—before Layla—but now he had eyes for only one woman. Despite that, the question itself bothered him. Why would she ask that? Didn’t she want information about Etherea or Vanguard? And why had she centered her focus on him? She’d never even acknowledged Samson’s presence except to toss him dinner.

  “I think you’re pretty.” Samson grinned, straining toward her. “Could I get some more bread?”

  Cataleen ignored him, never breaking eye contact with Nash. He smiled at the tension in her jaw, glad his refusal to answer the ridiculous question needled her. They continued their awkward staring match until Cataleen whirled around and left without another word.

  * * * *

  Nash’s head popped up as Cataleen entered the cell. Blinking against the rare light, he tried to gauge the time. Living in the darkness altered his perception of day and night. He guessed mid-day by the blinding, uncomfortable sunlight streaming through the open door. If she wanted, Cataleen could open the curtains covering a vast set of barred windows to his left, as she had done on occasion. But he sensed she enjoyed toying with him, controlling the manner in which he understood his surroundings.

  She threw an apple and a hunk of bread his way. They landed in the muck and mire that surrounded him. This food, once a reminder of Layla, he’d grown to loathe.

  “I’m letting you go later today.” She clapped her hands together, bits of stray bread falling to the ground.

  Nash’s heart pounded in anticipation though he warned himself to remain skeptical. Still, the idea he could go home, to Layla and his family, filled him with a painful joy. If he made it back to Etherea, safely in Layla’s arm, he vowed to never leave them again. He loved her, but like a fool, he left her to come here. If she’d let him, if she’d give him one more chance, he vowed to stay with her, by her side, forever.

  “When?” Samson’s tired voice croaked out of the shadows. Their captivity had worn even him. His jokes and snide comments had vanished so long ago Nash could no longer remember them and the fury they inspired.

  “Soon.”

  Cataleen’s lips curled into a smile so cold the arctic blast traced a frigid line across his spine.

  Chapter Ten

  Queen Sansolena

  Sansolena felt like ripping the hair right out of her own head. For a week straight, she’d spent most of her waking hours coming up with ways to get Vespa to Unlock her mind, but all efforts proved futile.

  She flopped down in a chair beside Volton Mars, in a most undignified and unladylike manner. Only her oldest friend, who’d seen her at the height of glory and in the depths of despair, witnessed her departure from decorum. Not even in front of Jesper, her own husband, had she been this free. Jesper. The thought of him raised her blood pressure and broke her heart at the time same time. While she had loved him once, and even missed him from time to time, her temper still flared—not red or orange, but black—over the damage he’d inflicted upon their youngest child.

  “I think I need to resign myself to the fact that Vespa will be this way forever, Mars.”

  He looked up from his text. She noted permanent lines of worry etched on his face. They spoke of his grief, of how Wil’s injury, Nash’s departure, and Vespa’s reversion weighed upon him as it did her. Though she’d avoided catching a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror, an unusual situation in itself, Sansolena knew she would find the same lines molded onto her own face.

  “Should we try to bring Grant in again? Their connection could snap her back into reality.”

  “We tried it once. She likes him, obviously, even in this state, but his presence wasn’t enough. Jesper did something inside there. Somehow he still retains control even in death. I’ve never heard of that before.” She threw a hand over her eyes and allowed herself a moment to wallow in self-pity, a luxury for a woman in her position.

  “Well, my queen, you refused to Unlock your memories after your father died. Maybe Jesper didn’t do anything…maybe Vespa is holding herself back.”

  She peeked at him from underneath her arm. Could he be right? But why? What reason did Vespa have to remain locked in a prison of her father’s making if she could free herself with just a simple choice?

  Groaning, she covered her eyes again. Her tether to reality inched farther and farther away with each passing day. All three of her children faced dangers, but she, as their mother and defender, could not help them. Helplessness clawed through her, fierce in its attempted assassination on her soul. Her heart lay vulnerable and exposed, torn into three separate pieces, but her soul, that she fought to retain.

  “Why would Vespa do that? I had a good reason to keep my memories Locked, but everything and everyone that Vespa loves is right here waiting for her. All she has to do is remember.”

  He closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t have the answers, my queen. Shall we try again to Unlock her mind?”

  “Yes, we shall try every day until the Vespa we know and love returns to us.”

  Mars offered his hand and hoisted her from the chair. Slipping her arm through his, they walked in companionable silence toward Vespa’s room. Sansolena lacked the energy
to engage in small talk, and he didn’t push her. One thing she appreciated about Mars, he didn’t mind quiet. Jesper always filled a room with sound—his own talking, a musician singing, drunken Ethereal highborns laughing. He never understood the value of absolute silence.

  She stopped short when she heard the sound of laughter emanating from Vespa’s room. The laugh sounded so like Vespa’s before the Alteration that the Sansolena’s heart skipped a beat with excitement. She fought the urge to burst in the door and interrupt for fear she’d find her beloved daughter unchanged.

  She turned the knob and poked her head inside. Grant sat on the floor opposite Vespa playing a game. Sansolena knew, from the brief time she’d spent with Layla’s brother, how very much this man loved her daughter. Though Vespa did not remember him nor give him anything in return, he had stood beside her and took good care of her. He continued to love her with his whole heart, unwavering in his devotion. The thought warmed Sansolena. His adoration reminded her so much of the way Rex had loved her all those years ago…like he’d still love her now if she’d just give him the opportunity.

  Rex. Her throat tightened at the bittersweet longing for her former lover. He’d ridden out earlier to train a group of Ethereal and Vanguards soldiers, but she longed for his steady presence. His strength and optimism always provided a welcome relief from the madness bottled up inside her.

  “Mama,” Vespa squealed, jumping up and bustling over. She barreled straight into Sansolena, nearly knocking her over.

  She stroked her daughter’s long, blond hair and choked back tears. “Hello, my pet.”

  “Grant came to play a game with me. Isn’t he nice?”

  “He’s very nice.” The queen offered him a genuine smile. He smiled back, but the raw pain in his expression pierced her.

  “Hello, Volton. I don’t want to study today. Please, Mama, don’t make me study today.” Vespa’s brown eyes watered. Sticking out her lip, she backed away from Sansolena and crossed her arms.

  “The Volton is not here to study with you today, Vespa. We’d like to talk.” She led her daughter over to a chair in the corner of the room. Kneeling, she clasped Vespa’s hands in her own.

  “Okay, Mama.” Another fissure opened up in Sansolena’s heart.

  “Sweetheart, Daddy did something to your mind, but he’s gone now. It’s okay for you to remember the things he wanted you to forget.” Sansolena kept her words even and measured, careful not to push too hard and cause a retreat.

  Vespa’s eyes grew wide. She shook her head back and forth, increasing the vigor. “No, Mama. No.” Her blond strands swung all around, slapping her face violently.

  Sansolena grabbed her daughter’s head and locked her in place. Vespa panted like a caged animal.

  “You have to, Vespa. You have to Unlock your mind.” Just like that, her careful self-control vanished, replaced by a ferocious, impatient mother bear.

  “Mama, you’re squeezing my head too tightly.”

  Frustrated, Sansolena stood and stalked to the corner of the room, trying to get ahold of her raging emotions. She clenched her fists by her side.

  “Don’t push,” she whispered to herself. “Don’t push.”

  She longed for Vespa’s restoration, but she could not risk harming her daughter in the process. Control, she needed to retain her self-control. Why had she been so successful at maintaining her composure for so long only to have it leave her now, when she needed it the most?

  Behind her, she heard the rustle of Mars’ robes and the creak of his knees as he bent. “Vespa, you look scared. Are you afraid?”

  “Yes, Volton.” The words wisped through the room, so faint Sansolena almost missed them.

  “What frightens you?”

  Sansolena turned to find Grant leaning forward, his gaze trained on Vespa’s face. She moved toward her daughter to get a better look as well. They had not tried this angle with Vespa yet, but she seemed to be responding. As much as she wanted to speak up, Sansolena let the Volton continue, not wanting to disrupt the rapport he’d built.

  Vespa peered around the Volton, glancing back and forth between the door and his face. “Daddy told me never to Unlock my mind.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. Her body shook.

  “You know your father can’t hurt you anymore, right, Vespa? He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.” Mars took her hand and held it close to his heart. Sansolena’s breath froze in a suspended state within her body.

  “I know he’s gone, but he said never, Volton. Never.”

  “What do you think will happen if you disobey?”

  “Everyone will be mad at me. Daddy told me not to. I don’t want to be a naughty girl, Volton. Everyone hates it when I’m a naughty girl.”

  “Vespa,” Sansolena rushed to her daughter’s side, “no one will be upset with you. What Daddy did to your mind was wrong, so you aren’t disobeying. You would be fixing something that was wrong. I won’t be upset, Wil and Nash won’t be upset…Grant and Volton Mars won’t be. We all want you to Unlock your mind. We all want you to undo this bad thing your father did.”

  Vespa’s face scrunched up in confusion. Sansolena cautioned herself not to get her hopes up as she watched her daughter grapple with these conflicting notions, but she and the Volton had never before made this much progress before. Hope bloomed, beckoning her to partake of its sweet, often crushing, fruit.

  Vespa shifted in her seat and pushed a stray strand behind her ear. “I would be doing the right thing?”

  “Yes.” Sansolena squeezed her daughter’s arm. Beside them, Mars nodded.

  “You won’t be mad at me for disobeying Daddy, Mama? You always told me to do what Daddy said.”

  “I won’t be upset, darling.”

  Vespa ducked her head and peered out from beneath her lashes at Grant. “And you won’t be mad?”

  “I promise I won’t be mad.” He rose from the floor, walked over, and knelt beside the Volton, taking Vespa’s hand. “In fact, I’ll be very, very glad if you Unlock your mind.”

  Vespa nodded. She paused at each person, her gaze roaming over their faces. When their turn arrived, each nodded and smiled, holding a collective breath.

  A violent ripple snaked through Vespa’s body. She shuddered as her brown eyes rolled to white. Sansolena exchanged startled looks with the Volton and Grant. She remembered her own Unlocking. Though Jesper had forced the memories back into her mind, she remembered how they flooded back to her, drowning her with their speed and intensity. Could that be happening to Vespa right now?

  The shaking ended in the same abrupt manner it had begun. No one dared breathe, their gaze fixed on the princess, whose eyes remained closed. Sansolena fought the urge to grab Vespa by the shoulders and force her to wake up.

  Vespa opened one eye then the other. She blinked once and looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time.

  “Mother? What’s going on?”

  “Vespa?” Sansolena’s voice broke on the word. “Are you back?”

  “Was I gone?” Vespa laughed. The sweet melody carried around the room.

  Before Sansolena could answer, her daughter’s gaze landed on Grant.

  “Grant!” She rose from the chair

  Grant leapt up from his kneeling position, standing very close to her without touching. He looked hesitant. Sansolena could tell he wanted nothing more than to draw Vespa into his arms, but he still wasn’t sure what to make of her.

  Sensing his reluctance, though clearly confused by it, Vespa pulled him to her. A soft sigh escaped Grant’s lips. He sank deeper into her embrace, his relief evident.

  “I’ve missed you,” Grant whispered.

  “I’ve missed you too,” she replied. “When you left with Nash, I worried that I’d never see you again.”

  “I was worried I’d never see you again too.” Only Sansolena and Volton Mars understood the double meaning to his words.

  Overcome, the queen and Volton threw their arms around one another in celebratio
n. Vespa stepped back from Grant, her face a mask of pure bewilderment. The queen laughed, partially due to the expression on her daughter’s face and partially to relieve the strain she’d been holding over Vespa’s condition.

  “What is going on?” the princess asked.

  “We have so much to talk about,” her mother sighed.

  Chapter Eleven

  Layla

  “Layla!”

  At the sound of her name, she snapped her head up from the paperwork she’d been reviewing. She recognized that voice. Layla jumped up and flung open the door to the library, running into Vespa and Grant.

  Tears sprang to Layla’s eyes. She threw out a steadying hand to catch Vespa before the princess careened back into the wall behind her, unaccustomed to colliding with a Vanguard at full speed. Grant also moved to catch his beloved. Layla met her brother’s gaze and saw the pure joy churning there. She smiled.

  “Vespa!” Layla pulled the Ethereal princess into her arms. She forced her grip to remain loose for fear of harming her friend, yet her enthusiasm left Vespa gasping. Vespa’s melodious laughter once again echoed down the hall. Relief, cool and refreshing, filled Layla. Wil still slept, and Nash’s whereabouts remained a mystery. But Vespa, dear sweet Vespa, had returned. The intricate knot in Layla’s heart loosened just a bit. If the princess could find her way back from a calamitous Alteration, surely Wil and Nash could come home too.

  Layla leaned back enough to take in Vespa’s smiling face. “How?”

  “I’m not really sure. My mind felt like Clovis’ maze, and it just took me a while to navigate it. My father placed so many dead ends along the path I feared I’d never return.”

  Layla recalled the crisscrossing pathways and dead ends of the maze that stood just outside the castle. She couldn’t imagine having her memories and thoughts lost in a labyrinth of the mind.

  Grant wrapped his arms around Vespa’s waist and nuzzled against her hair. “You’re a fighter, Vespa. I knew you’d find your way back.”