Six Branches

by Jeanne Allen

  I shudder at the imagery. What is it? The Cannibal Crest?

  “What did he mean by Aporthètos?” I ask.

  Sarah’s grim face lightens a bit at my question. She sobers quickly as her eyes find her brother’s still form, resting on my lap. “It means The Undefeated. There’s a competition amongst the Kladí every four years, same as the Summit. The victor receives this title.”

  When she fingers the bird of prey medal, I put two and two together. It’s the Aporthètos Crest. I nod and turn my attention back to Sebastian. Many more questions buzz in my head, but now is not the time.

  Sarah kneels in front of her younger brother, and I let her take him into her arms. Sebastian may be mine, but he’s also her family.

  She shoots a questioning look at Lyle, who answers immediately. “I can’t do anything, and not because I’m unBonded. This is a Gift-related sleep, which is why he’s not breathing.”

  Lyle nods. “We have to figure out which Gift was used, find someone with the same Gift, and have them counter it.”

  I raise my brows.

  “That’s going to take forever!” Lucas blurts out my own thoughts, kicking the ground in frustration.

  Forrest’s hands clench by his side. “Is there no other way?”

  Both Sarah and Lyle shake their heads.

  “It could be worse,” Jin says solemnly.

  I’m reminded of what else happened here tonight, altogether too close to where we found Sebastian.

  “Who was murdered?” Jackson asks Sarah.

  She hesitates, unsure how much she should reveal. It’s gone in an instant; she hands me back her brother before standing to address all of us. “Duchess Adelaide, niece to Queen Jacqueline.”

  Jackson seems unfazed by the news. “She was set to bring an issue before the Council Summit this year. No one knows what it was; it may have been what got her killed.”

  “It’s definitely what got her killed,” Lucas mumbles bitterly.

  Since we started talking about the murder, he’s been quiet as ever. Haunted looks fill his and Lyle’s eyes. I wonder what memories they are lost in. I want to reach out and take away their pain, but neither has shared their past with me, so I let it go. I hate not knowing how to comfort my men. Hopefully, they’ll tell me sooner rather than later.

  I focus back on what Sarah said about the Summit. I vaguely remember Jackson saying the Council, made up of the twelve monarchs and presided over by the High Monarch, meets every four years. That must be the Summit. I didn’t realize it happened this year. I tuck the information away and return my attention to the conversation at hand.

  “Sebastian must have felt the murderer’s Intent,” Jin says.

  “That’s what he was going to check out.” I realize this, recalling Lyle’s words from earlier. “But why wouldn’t he tell someone if he felt a murderer?”

  Something doesn’t add up.

  “Sebastian is still pre-Bond. He can’t always completely discern the Intentions he gets,” Jackson says gently.

  “My brother probably felt ill-Intent. This could be anything from an angry Phósopoi looking to blow-off steam, to, well, murder,” Sarah pitches in.

  “And even if he did feel murderous Intent specifically, he wouldn’t necessarily know someone planned to act on it,” Lyle finishes, his eyes never leaving Sebastian’s still form. “I should have gone with him.”

  “Then we would have two bodies instead of one,” I say.

  Guilt for yelling at them earlier already starts to eat away at my convictions. Yes, we need to act more like a family, but Sebastian’s also at fault for not telling someone what he sensed.

  It actually surprises me Mr. Black and White decided to play the hero; it doesn’t seem like him.

  “What I want to know is why leave Sebastian alive? He was obviously noticed as a witness,” Jin remarks grimly.

  Sarah nods, agreeing with his assessment.

  “We won’t know until we find someone to wake him up.” Forrest leans back and stares off at the Elite who gather around the other victim, as if he can find who we need by sight alone.

  Several moments of silence lapse, each of us caught in our own thoughts, until Lucas pipes up. “Rose care to try?”

  Confused, my eyes widen. What can I do?

  He crouches and leans over to stage-whisper, “True Love’s first kiss.”

  He leans back to grin at me. Our laughter is forced, but the heavy atmosphere dissipates. I give Lucas a genuine smile as we ready to leave, thankful to have my Goblin ready with his voodoo magic to lighten the mood.

  Before she leaves, Sarah grabs my hands. Her fingers are tiny, but her grip is strong. She levels a heavy look on me. “I promise you, Rose. We won’t stop until my brother wakes up. And once he tells us who’s responsible for this”—those baby-blues, so like Sebastian’s, harden into an equally familiar cerulean—“we will destroy them.”

  I have a feeling the we she refers to is the Taylor clan. If they’re all as fierce as the pixie before me, I have no doubt in the validity of her words.

  I hope she saves me a piece. Sebastian is mine to avenge as well.

  Sarah doesn’t wait for a response. She squeezes my hands a bit more, leaving red marks that I stare at, before she runs off.

  “Scary,” I whisper.

  “Whatever you do”—Lyle comes up beside me to watch her leave—“do not mention her height. She comes from a long line of Amazons and does not like to be reminded of her small stature.”

  Grim certainty fills Lyle’s voice. That’s how he earned the Aporthètos ire. If I weren’t emotionally drained and overwhelmed, I’d question him about his casual mention of the Amazon nature of the Taylor Agèma.

  For now, I tuck it away for a day I don’t hold my wounded Kladi in my arms.

  Chapter 13

  When our cars pull up in front of Jackson’s mansion, I jump out and run as fast as my dress allows. At some point, I lose my shoes, but I don’t care. I’m desperate to catch up with the Knights who took Sebastian from me and started carrying him into our home before I could even attempt to exit the vehicle.

  “Stop!” I yell at the uniformed men.

  The rich powder-blue of their cuffs and collar offset the stark white of their shirts. From what Jackson has told me, these are Region Two colors. I don’t even know if they work for us or for the queen. The idea makes me queasy.

  When did I get here? How did that girl with no friends and no home find herself standing here on the doorstep of a mansion with more staff than she can name? This can’t last.

  I ignore the voice with everything I have. “Take him to my room.”

  I’m breathless from my run and distracted by the pieces of gravel embedded in my feet.

  “He has his own room,” Lyle says softly as he crouches to reach my foot.

  Forrest comes up behind me, and I lean against him while Lyle removes the gravel, healing as he goes.

  “No, my room,” I say firmly.

  Jackson comes up next to the men. He must have arrived before us. He stares at me thoughtfully. I don’t know how to express this need to be near Sebastian.

  He must get something from my inner pleading because he says quietly, “Do as she says.” Without ever breaking my gaze he adds, “I think you’d better stay with her tonight, Lyle. We will discuss the schedule another time.”

  Lyle finishes with my other foot, then picks me up like I’m a child. I feel like a child. “Come on, Princess, time for bed.”

  In the limo, I thought I was okay. I believed we could fix him. We can fix him. But the sight of my angel so still, so silent, change what little belief I had in miracles. He’s dead weight in the Knight’s arms. He already left us, and part of me can’t fathom what still keeps him here.

  Despite my earlier bravado, I shutdown again.

  I ignore everything but the sensation of Lyle’s hands detangling me from Jin’s masterpiece. Smooth silk slipping over my head. Skin, rough from all of the sports my tw
ins play, guiding me to bed. Soft cotton pulling over my arms and legs before we lay on my bed, where Sebastian lies dead still with not even a breath to assure me.

  “He’s alive, he’s alive,” Lyle whispers the same mantra into my hair, his big body enveloping me as we press into the cloud-like mattress beneath us.

  I reach out to clasp a cold hand.

  Lyle hums something as the world darkens.

  Lucas replaces Lyle sometime in the night. I know it’s him because of the calm he wraps me in. My dreams are more peaceful after he arrives. I let out a long breath and snuggle closer in his embrace.

  I’m lucky to have such talented Kladí.

  I squeeze the slender hand I hold. Come back to me, I send over our weak bond. It’s barely there but I still sense it, the thin thread linking me to Sebastian. It’s how I know he’s alive.

  He’s alive.

  In the morning, I wake and turn to Lucas’s smiling face. His eyes lose their glimmer, and his expression falters as he reaches out to trail a finger over my eyes, my nose, my jaw.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he says with absolute certainty.

  “How do you know?”

  He takes a deep breath, and I feel him opening that locked closet, that final piece of Lucas he held on to.

  “Lyle and I—” He blinks rapidly and offers a quick smile before starting again. “Lyle and I had two fathers and one mother.”

  “Had?”

  “Had.” His eyes answer my unspoken question. There’s death in those warm, chocolate eyes, haunting death.

  “The black opal,” I say.

  He nods. “For murdered immediate family.”

  “What?” I ask, incredulous.

  “Our parents were murdered.”

  “Like Duchess Adelaide.”

  “Exactly like Duchess Adelaide.”

  “Do you think—” My voice peters out, but he catches my meaning.

  “I don’t know.” More than haunting fills those eyes, a deeper emotion. Anger, fear, revenge. The three intertwine, leaving me unable to determine which rides him hardest.

  He blinks and the emotions disappear, those sparkling Goblin-eyes back. “We went from having too many parents for social conventions to having not enough,” he jokes, straining to keep his voice from cracking.

  I try my best to answer his smile.

  He sits up, propping himself against the cushioned headrest. Lucas glances over at Sebastian, who still lies in the same position, eyes closed, one hand folded over his chest, the other laying by his side where I left it. So handsome, still dressed for the ball, sash and everything. Like a real Sleeping Beauty.

  Lucas must realize the same thing because he jokes, “If he’s Sleeping Beauty, you must be the prince. Which is weird since your name is Rose.”

  It’s a strange moment to joke, but I’ve long realized Lucas uses humor to deal with his emotions, so I play along. “Why is that?”

  “Sleeping Beauty’s name is Briar Rose, so technically you’re more qualified.”

  My breath catches, and I try to smile. I’d give up a thousand kingdoms to be the one in Sebastian’s place.

  Lucas reaches out to stroke my hair, his fingers flowing through the spider-silk mess crumpled on my pillow. His voice comes out uncharacteristically serious. “I love Sebastian as a bond-mate, as a brother, but I’m glad he’s the one caught in the witches’ curse, Sweet Pea. He would be too; any of us would be.”

  “Why?” I still can’t believe anyone would feel so strongly for me. No one, not even Mary, ever loved me with such tenacity. I don’t even love myself to that extent. “How can you feel so… so much? You barely know me.”

  It’s a tired track, but one I can’t help repeating.

  As I look up into Lucas’s eyes, the soft chocolate darkens to an almost charcoal color. They simmer as he says quietly, “You don’t understand, and I don’t know how to explain it so you’ll believe but—” He sighs, almost apologetic. “This is the best I can do.”

  Then his lips cover mine. I have a moment where I feel weird about doing this next to Sebastian, but then the heat in my Goblin’s lips sweeps me away.

  Soft and demanding, he shows me every feeling he can’t verbalize. I fall into the kiss, soaking up his assurance, basking in the heat of his touch. His hands cup my head, bringing it up as he dives deeper. I’m stranded in his emotions. I feel them as he does, and their intensity overwhelms me.

  Want. Need. Amusement. Caring. Pride. Possession. Love.

  Love.

  I break away, breathing in hard, and wordlessly staring into those scorching charcoal eyes. He works to settle his own breath.

  “Now you know.” He grins cheekily before leaving me with one final peck.

  Still unable to process what happened, I watch him scamper away before I fall back to catch my wayward breath.

  “Wow,” I mutter at the vaulted ceiling.

  I have just enough time to settle my breath and my heart before Jackson comes flying in, a tall, thin man with thick black braids and olive-toned skin trotting behind him.

  “This is Dr. Clark.” Jackson waves at the doctor before settling behind me in almost the same place Lucas left a moment before. “He’s going to check on Sebastian. He has a powerful healing Gift. He’s also a Knight to my mother’s region, so he’s bound by secrecy and loyalty.”

  I nod and settle back against Jackson’s muscled chest. He reaches out for me automatically. Jackson always touches me when I’m near, an absent-minded hand over my arm like now, or any other part he can reach. It’s like second nature for him to seek contact.

  I hope it’s a recent habit, not one he started with Princess Evil.

  Shying away from such an unpleasant direction, I focus back on Dr. Clark who runs a glowing hand over Sebastian, his forehead wrinkled in concentration.

  I grab Sebastian’s hand. Even though he can’t feel it, when I was sick as a kid, the thing I wished for most was someone to hold my hand.

  After a few tense moments, Dr. Clark straightens, his thin lips pressed into a straight line. “I’m sorry to say he should be dead. Human doctors won’t be able to pick up a heartbeat.”

  I remain still, the blood draining from my limbs.

  Dr. Clark rushes to explain further. “Oh, I’m sorry. He’s very much alive, Princess-Agora Rose. I simply mean there isn’t anything human doctors can do for him. I advise you to keep him here until you find the right Gift to counteract what’s been done to him.”

  “Anything you can give us to help that search? We’re doing our best with the database, but anything at all to help us narrow our parameters would be helpful.” Even without looking, I can tell Jackson is in prince mode.

  Dr. Clark wrinkles his brow and considers Sebastian thoughtfully. “He’s under some kind of Sleep, one that puts the body in Stasis. There’s no damage to his internal organs.”

  “So… some kind of freezing Gift?” I ask

  The doctor nods. “Something like that, yes.”

  “Or a sharp spindle,” I mutter.

  Dr. Clark gives me an exasperated look, but Jackson’s chest rumbles slightly with laughter before he gets up.

  I smile and thank the doctor. His words make me optimistic. Lyle told me Sebastian is alive, but it’s nice to hear it from an outside professional.

  Jackson shakes the man’s hand and walks him to my door, where another staff member I don’t recognize waits to show him out.

  As soon as the doctor leaves, Jackson turns, smiling fondly at the cheerful expression on my face.

  “He’s going to be okay,” I whisper, resting my head against the headboard, eyes on the magical sleeper.

  “He’s going to be fine.” Jackson re-joins me, this time sitting beside me on the bed, his hand lacing through mine. We sit like this for a moment, each in our own world. Eventually, Jackson caves in.

  “Are we okay?” He seems uncharacteristically nervous.

  I turn to face him, sitting cross-legged. “What
do you mean?”

  “At the party we— got into a fight, and…” He’s nothing like the calm and arrogant prince I knew a moment ago.

  I know I should brush it off. Lucas told me to ignore the whole thing. Nadira is poisoning him, but we have no proof.

  I take a breath. “Nadira has been using her Gift to Influence you for years. One of the guys told me, and I saw the effects of it last night.”

  Forest-green eyes grow wild. “What?” He stammers. “Look, Rose, I know you don’t like her, but that’s no reason to—”

  “This has nothing to do with me liking or not liking her.”

  “Nadira would never—I’ve known her for years!”

  As his eyes glaze over, I know I have moments to make my point. “What was it that she told you at the party? That I was insecure about her?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “And you believed it right away? You never questioned what she told you for a moment?” I desperately hope I’m right. If Jackson cares for me as he claims to, he should know I’m not the kind of girl to let something as petty as insecurity about outward appearance cloud my judgment.

  “I—” He holds his head as if in pain.

  “Like you’ve never questioned anything Nadira tells you?” I press.

  Jackson lets out a distressed moan and runs his hands over his face. He knows I’m right, but he still fights it.

  I lean forward, clasping my hands over his. “Please believe me. Trust me as I’ve trusted you these last few weeks.”

  I bring his head up so he can see the sincerity in my gaze. Lost in those forest-green jewels, I find myself more desperate than I’ve ever been for anything in my life.

  With a recklessness I didn’t know I possessed, I lurch forward to bring my lips to his, eager to convey in actions what I can’t make him believe in words. I pour my love, my trust, my acceptance into my roving hands and searching lips. Jackson is the first Kladí I met; he’s always been the first. My prince. I’ll be dingle-marked if I let some low-rent princess mess this up now.

  After a stunned moment, he responds and moves with me, seeking out the spaces between my lips as his fingers move through the crown of my hair.