by Erin Rhew
“I don’t think they were wrong.”
Both Wil and the Volton smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
Nash
Nash squinted against the sudden light. He blinked several times, trying to focus on the approaching woman. As always, she remained a complete enigma. She wore her auburn hair swept up today, which made the sharp angles of her face more severe but revealed the paleness of her slender neck. At times, when she raged and ranted, Nash desired nothing more than to wrap his hands around that neck and squeeze until the life left her, but at other times, she seemed different…almost innocent.
“Hello, Nash.”
He tried to figure out how to respond. The slightest miscalculation resulted in a rampage.
“Hello, my queen.”
“How are you feeling today?”
Though he knew it smarter to restrain himself, Nash failed to hold back his caustic retort. “Oh, I’m just great, Cataleen. You’ve got me strapped to the wall like some kind of animal.” He furiously jangled the chains that bound his neck, arms, and legs. “This pit is cold, wet, and filthy. I almost never get to eat, and I can’t sleep. I have done nothing wrong and do not belong in here. You need to release me so I can go home to my family.”
“I’m so sorry, Nash.” For a moment, he almost believed her. He reminded himself not to be fooled. She played games more often than not. “I wish things were different. I really do, but I can’t…”
She froze. Her body stiffened, and her eyes rolled back into her head. He waited, having seen this same scenario play out several times already. He knew what came next. The queen’s head popped up, and her face contorted into an ugly sneer.
“Have you reconsidered my offer?” She bent down in front of him, her gaze roaming over him with the hunger of a wolf. If they weren’t attached to such a tyrant, those eyes would almost be beautiful. The color, so light green they appeared clear, might otherwise intrigue him.
He slid away from her. “My decision is the same.”
Her lips pursed together before she spoke again. “So you would rather pine after a girl who doesn’t love you and can’t be yours? I’m offering you the world. You can rule beside me, King of the Outlands. We would be the greatest king and queen to ever rule.”
He didn’t speak. In this state, Queen Cataleen shunned rational thought.
“Speak! You will answer me!”
“I will never be your lackey king.”
She leaned in, inches from his face. “You are caught between two kingdoms. Do you think anyone on either side will accept you?”
He pulled back in surprise. She couldn’t know. “What do you mean?”
“You are the son of an Ethereal and a Vanguard. Neither group will ever welcome you.” Nash schooled his face to hide the shock, but her grin told him she caught it. “Oh yes, Nash. I know all about you. Do you think I would take just anyone as my king?”
“You know nothing.” His deepest secret inspired in him both pride and shame, and he refused to share any part of it with her.
“You don’t have to admit it to me. I already know the truth. You must realize that you can’t rule either kingdom.”
“I never wanted to rule.”
She barked out a hard laugh. “Sure you do. You may not realize it now, but you do. Nash, you are a warrior. My people will accept you as their leader. If I call you king, your parentage will no longer matter. Doesn’t that appeal to you?”
“No.”
She slapped him across the face. “Then you’re a fool!”
“You’re the fool if you think I’d ever become your king, ever feel anything besides hatred for you.”
She stalked forward, propelling him back into the wall in an attempt to get away from her. When he could go no farther, had no way to escape, the queen leaned in and smashed their lips together. He tried to turn his head, but she dug her claw-like fingernails into both sides of his head. Nash shuddered with revulsion.
When she stepped back, he spit out the taste of her. Cataleen moved toward him again. Just steps before she reached him, the queen froze. Her eyes rolled back up into her head. Nash relaxed.
She blinked, confused. “Nash?”
“Cataleen?” He peered at her.
The queen bent down and caressed his bright red cheek, her fingers shaking. He started to jerk away but didn’t. Her hand felt cool against his hot face.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No, I’m a Vanguard. It takes much more than that to hurt me.”
“Don’t say that. She will take it as a challenge.”
“She? Who are you talking about?”
Cataleen’s face filled with fear. “No one. Ignore me. Please forget I ever said anything.”
“Cataleen.” He softened his voice. “How do you know the truth about me?”
“We have our ways. I’ll have someone bring you some food and clean the wounds caused by the chains. I really am sorry.”
She walked away. Her regal blue dress swirled, so out of place in his dank, stone prison. Nash watched her go, just as confused by her as he had been the moment she walked in.
Chapter Seventeen
Mia
Mia found a table as far in the corner of the Volton dining hall as should could. She slumped down in her chair. Before the first bite of food reached her mouth, someone sat down beside her. Startled, she turned, hoping for Wil but finding Volton Holt instead.
“Good morning, Volton.” She shoveled the still hot cornmeal into her mouth.
“Hello, Mia.”
Holt’s calmness unnerved her. She’d overheard Layla talking to Samson, Grant, and Vespa about the Volton’s work in the black arts, and she knew his research centered on the First Ones and the Outlanders. He probably knew more about her than made her comfortable.
“I know how the queen works, Mia.” Holt broke the silence she hoped to maintain.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“What does she hold against you? She always holds something against you.”
Mia pushed away the food, her appetite gone. “I’m part Vanguard. I grew up in Vanguard, so I don’t know what you mean. If you’ll excuse me, Volton.”
She started to stand, but Volton Holt placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Mia flopped back down in the seat, arms crossed.
“I know you’re not part Vanguard. You’re a full Outlander, Mia. I know about your power, and I’ve studied your queens, past and present. You can talk to me. I am bound by my vows to keep your kingdom’s secrets, so let me help you. If you don’t, she’ll take you down a dangerous path.”
Mia eyed him. “You sound like you speak from personal experience. What happened to you?”
Holt’s brows knit together. His face darkened. She waited, but he seemed reluctant to speak. His face contorted as he fought to contain the tears welling up in his eyes. Mia almost dropped her cool veneer. To tell someone the truth…she longed for such a revelation.
“If you won’t tell me what happened to you, Volton Holt, how can you ask me to tell you my secrets?”
“That’s a fair question.” He took a deep breath. “The Outlander queen killed my wife.”
Mia stared at her bowl until the cornmeal blurred. Now his reaction made sense. The relentless, frigid hand of fear snaked up her spine. The queen killed his wife.
“Does she have someone you care about?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She choked, fearful just saying the words out loud would condemn her loved ones.
“What does she want you to do?”
“I can’t tell you that. You know I can’t tell you.” She panicked and tried to stand. Again, he settled her back into her seat with a firm but gentle hand.
“I know, Mia. I know you can’t. I’m sorry.”
“You could be a spy for her. She has spies everywhere. If you’re working for her, they’ll die.”
“I’m not a spy.”
“A spy will always say he isn’t a spy.”
“She
killed my wife, dammit!” He pounded a fist on the table. Nearby Voltons stole furtive glances toward them. Holt cleared his throat and rearranged the already perfect silverware at his place setting. “I’m sorry for my outburst, but I’d never spy for her. I understand why you would suspect me, why you would suspect anyone and everyone, yet I am not a spy.”
Mia stirred the cornmeal around in the bowl, in need of a distraction though too upset to put any in her mouth. On one hand, the thought of speaking the truth relieved her. The person she portrayed to Wil and the others pained her. She wanted them, Wil in particular, to know her true self. On the other hand, sharing any information endangered lives. With the queen’s eyes and ears everywhere, Mia took care with her words and deeds.
“If your mission involves injuring or killing your traveling companions, tell me now.” Holt’s stern gaze bore into her.
“It doesn’t. What I have to do is almost worse.”
“Why are they headed to the Outlands?”
“The queen has King Wil’s brother, Nash. They mean to rescue him and learn the secrets of the Outlanders. You could tell them about the Outlanders, Volton Holt. You could tell them what lies ahead.”
“I am as bound as you are.”
“Lives do not hang in the balance for you, Volton.”
“In a strange way, they do, Mia.”
“Then we are both unable to tell them what we know or stop them from walking into her trap.”
“Yes.” He sighed and scratched the stubble on his chin. “Tell me, why does the queen have Wil’s brother?”
Mia plopped her spoon down in the cornmeal, spilling a little out on the table. She wiped at it with her napkin, smearing the food more than cleaning it up.
“She wants access to Wil, Vespa, and Layla.”
“With those three, the queen could wipe out nearly every member of the Ethereal ruling family as well as the Fulfillment.”
“I am not privy to her plans, but we both know her mind runs deeper than something as simple as Ethereal annihilation.” She flipped over the napkin and continued to wipe at the spill. “In her own odd way, I think the queen actually likes Nash. She has a plan for him, of that I have no doubt, but she spoke of him with more interest than I’ve ever heard her speak of another. The queen is attracted to strong men, and a prince of Vanguard is one of the strongest men around.”
“A prince of Vanguard? I thought you said Nash is Wil’s brother.”
“He is, but he’s also a Vanguard. Nash is the son of Queen Sansolena and King Rex.”
Holt folded his hand, placing his forefingers across his lips. “Very interesting. Does the queen know that Layla and the others are coming for Nash?”
“Yes, she summoned them all. She’s counting on them to defy rational wisdom out of loyalty to Nash.”
“Why?”
“I can’t reveal that.” Mia swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t say anything more.”
“Mia, wait.”
Before he could stop her, she jumped up and fled the dining area. She ran out the main doors and down the stairs until she couldn’t see another soul. Alone and afraid, she dropped to her knees and wept.
Layla
Layla observed Mia and Volton Holt from across the room. She couldn’t hear their conversation, but she noted Mia’s agitation. How had the Volton managed to illicit more emotion from the secretive little pretender than the rest of them combined? If he did garner pertinent information, she knew Holt would refuse to share it. She found the Volton’s secrecy both annoying and admirable.
“So, I guess the Outlanders have a queen instead of king because of Haddey.” Grant shoveled a heaping bite of cornmeal into his mouth, his face thoughtful as he chewed.
“Probably.” Wil stabbed a strawberry with his fork.
Layla labeled his recovery nothing short of a miracle under the skilled hands of the Volton medics. He’d been near death just three days prior and now appeared almost healed. Mars made the right call sending them here. He must have known his people would be able to heal Wil in a way he could not. Filled with deep gratitude, she sent a silent “thank you” to Mars for always taking care of them. Again, the difference between the Voltons and Ecclesiastics hit her. She shivered as she recalled the maimed Prophecy candidates.
“So, we’re leaving after breakfast, right?” Samson turned the conversation from political intrigue, a topic Layla knew never interested him, to their upcoming mission.
“Yes.” Layla answered his question, though her attention remained on Mia and her thoughts lingered on the Prophecy candidates.
“From here, the Outlands are only another two to three days ride, depending on our speed.” Samson raised an eyebrow and shot Wil a meaningful look.
A hint of color tinged Wil’s cheeks. “I shouldn’t slow us down this time. I really do feel much better.” He lifted his left arm and swung it over his head in demonstration.
Grant swallowed another spoonful of cornmeal. “Tell us what we can expect when we get there.”
“When I went to the Outlands the first time, I only got to the edge of the woods before I found Mia,” Samson explained. “The second time, those girls tricked us in almost the same spot. They knocked me out to take me to and from the dungeon. So I’ve only seen the outer woods and the interior of the Outlander dungeon. I told you I’d get you to the Outlands, and I will. After that, I’m as clueless as the rest of you, unless you care for a detailed map of my cell.” He nipped the end off his strawberry with a cocky smirk on his face.
Grant sighed. “Well, that’s comforting.”
“Hey, I got us this far, didn’t I?” Samson speared another strawberry and rammed the whole fruit in his mouth.
Layla rolled her eyes. “Thank you for all your hard work. We don’t know where we’d be without you.”
Talking to her brothers this way reminded her so much of sitting at the kitchen table back home while their mother and father bustled about to prepare for the day and ignored their children’s bickering.
Thoughts of her father drew her gaze back over to Volton Holt. Did he know Jensen resided in a cabin on the outskirts of Volton? Had the two made contact? Somehow, she doubted it.
Across the room, Mia rose. The Outlander fled the dining hall like a wild boar chased her. Curious, Layla jumped up as well.
“Where are you going?” Wil’s fingers slid across her wrist.
“I’ll explain later.” She called to him from over her shoulder as she bolted out of the dining room in search of Mia.
Layla followed the other girl well past the populated areas of Volton, surprised by the girl’s speed. When Mia glanced back, Layla ducked behind a stack of horse feed. She peeked around the bags to find the Halfling on her knees, clutching her stomach, and sobbing so hard her body shook.
* * * *
Layla strode back into the dining hall and, ignoring Wil’s confused expression, headed straight to Volton Holt’s table. At first, his face registered surprise though it morphed to delight.
“Good morning, Layla.”
“I saw you talking to Mia.”
“Yes.” She detected caution in his tone.
“What did she say? We’ve been trying to get that girl to talk to us for weeks, but she says little of value. Yet you, you got her to talk for quite some time. You have to help us. We are family after all.”
He glanced around at the Voltons seated nearby. “Please don’t say that too loudly. You figured out that Jensen is my brother, but I would ask that you not use that information as a weapon against me. I could get in trouble for housing Samson and Grant, and even you, though we are not technically related.”
“Of course, Volton. I’m sorry. But please, I need to know what Mia said. We have so little information about the Outlanders.”
The Volton let out one of his heavy sighs. Though Layla had not known him long, she’d come to associate the sound with him.
“Mia spoke to me in confidence. I cannot betray that.”
“
Please just give me something, Volton…anything.”
He turned his head to the side. “I will tell you this…the queen is more dangerous than you could ever imagine. She is gifted with powers, above and beyond a regular Outlander, and she means you harm.”
Layla sat down hard in the chair across from him. “Mia told you that?”
Holt shook his head. “She didn’t have to tell me most of it. I have experienced the queen’s wrath firsthand. Please don’t go to the Outlands. Turn around and go back to the safety of Etherea.”
“I have to go there. Their queen is holding Nash, Wil’s brother, captive.” When he didn’t react, she narrowed her eyes. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“You care about this Nash?”
Layla unfolded her hands, changed her mind, and refolded them. “Yes.”
“What if you can’t save him?”
“I have to try.”
He studied her face for a long time. “Very well. Just heed my warning; you never have the upper hand with the Outlander queen, even when you think you do.”
“Thank you,” Layla said. “I know it’s hard for you to provide us with information while retaining your vows. We do appreciate your help.” She brushed her fingers over the top of his hand.
The wisp of a smile ghosted his lips. “Good luck. And go easy on Mia. You don’t have any idea what she’s going through.”
Chapter Eighteen
Volton Mars
Volton Mars searched every likely room for Queen Sansolena. He just received word from his fellow Voltons regarding Wil’s arrival and subsequent medical care and knew she would want to know as soon as possible. If only he could find her.
As he walked past Nash’s room, Mars heard the sound of weeping. He debating invading someone’s privacy but pushed open the door anyway. Queen Sansolena lay on her older son’s bed, crying.
