The Soulstoy Inheritance

by Jane Washington

  Once again, I used the momentum of his own strength to whip him back instead of me, and this time he was propelled into the onlookers, knocking several of them over. Another round of cheers—this time louder—thundered around us, and I wondered if more people had gathered. I could have sworn I spotted a human face or two within the golden sea. Whether they were vampires, Renegades or Hazen’s own, I couldn’t tell.

  Hazen jumped back up and stalked toward me again, no longer looking so collected, with his shirt torn halfway down the middle and dirt coating his face. I grinned, and he smiled in response, flashing a row of white teeth to contrast against the dirt. It was a small distraction for me, to see the brightness taking over his face and shining through his uncharacteristic grin. He dove toward me and I couldn’t evade him, so I only did what I could to brace myself against the attack, and ended up somehow smashing my shoulder into his face. He dropped me, and we both stumbled back, him bleeding and me unhurt.

  Another point to me, albeit an accidental one.

  “One more and I win,” I said to him, as we started to circle each other again.

  He began to close the space between us, but didn’t attack again, and when he was within reach, he whispered, “Is this what our marriage would have been like, you beating me up all the time?”

  He had meant the question to throw me off balance, and it did. He grabbed my arms and hauled them behind my spine, pulling me back into him and anchoring an arm around my collarbone.

  “At least it wouldn’t be boring, huh?” His lips were against my ear, his heartbeat thudding against my back. I wondered if it were simply that loud, or if I had been looking for it with my Force for some reason.

  The crowd began to count, and I knew that I had only five seconds to break from his hold before he would be awarded another point, except I couldn’t quite manage it. His whispered words were distracting me too much from the fight. I felt him laugh rather than heard it, and when he was awarded his point, he let go of me immediately. I tried to shake out my arms, and then did something truly horrible. I whispered his name in my head.

  He had been right; I did play dirty.

  Does that mean you’re considering it? How will Kaylee feel about that? I referred to his Academy girlfriend.

  I saw the surprise in his eyes, but didn’t give myself a chance to savour it. Instead, I threw myself beneath his arms, pushing myself up to get a good anchor against the ground, and then heaved him onto his back. It was hard, because he was much heavier than he looked, and as he fell, he grabbed onto my wrist so that I ended up sprawled beside him. That was a no point.

  The dirt was still blowing up with my increased Force, and I had to push it away so that it didn’t get into my eyes, and then I threw myself across his torso, preventing him from rising. I drove my knees into his arms when they made to throw me off, and he laughed. I didn’t have to wonder why, as he merely continued to raise his arms, and me with them. I yelped, and my knees slipped down and slammed into the ground, and then I was on my back and his hand was around my neck. Nothing existed beyond him; his dirt-smeared face blocked even the sun, and his weight had settled over me, pressing me into the ground. His eyes seemed blue now. Dark, midnight blue, velvet and warm, the pupils were so wide that they almost swallowed the irises.

  “I win, you snake.” His voice was rough.

  The moment lasted forever and ended much too soon. His eyes flicked over my face, settling on my lips, and then he was moving off me. The sun blurred back into existence and he became a dark silhouette, hand outstretched to me.

  With a deep breath, I took it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Drinking with Vampires

  We all sat in one of the huge dining rooms that I habitually avoided. There were numerous long benches stretching from one wall to the other, but Hazen, Dom, Louis and I—along with those who were considered parts of our respective ‘royal cortèges’—sat at our own bench, separated from the others by the huge buffet table. Miriam was here, along with Cale and Rose, sitting around Hazen; while Dom had brought his Owl; and Louis was flanked on either side by two men, both pale, and both staring distastefully at their plates. Ashen sat with me, and I supposed that it was fitting, as he was Nareon’s brother.

  The men with Louis were supposed to be his two younger cousins, Carmen and Sym, though I couldn’t tell one from the other. There was something universal about their pale skin, hallowed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. I wondered if they thought the same about the Synfees. The first half of the dinner, I managed to successfully avoid Ashen, trying to really get my point across that I wasn’t happy with him. But he kept refilling my glass when I wasn’t looking, and by the end of the second course, I began to warm to him again.

  “Where’s Leif right now?” I whispered to him conspiratorially.

  He glanced down at me and his lips twisted with amusement. “I’ll give you a clue, girl. He’s on this half of the room.”

  I slapped my hands over my eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me any more! Is he in the corner?”

  “How can I comply with your request and answer your question all at once, Lady Queen? You ask too much of me.”

  “He’s in the corner, isn’t he?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “He moved!”

  Ashen laughed, and I removed my hand from my eyes, squinting at each corner of the room, or at least those that I could see from where I sat. Leif was nowhere.

  “Unfair,” I muttered.

  “I heard that you and Hazen had a bit of a tumble in the grass after our meeting,” he whispered.

  “It was the dirt, not the grass,” I replied flippantly.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “It was—wait, dammit Ashen—“

  I turned, intending to hit him across the arm, but ended up spilling half my glass of wine onto his lap. He looked down, and so did I.

  “That works too.” I grinned, and then shrugged, returning to my meal.

  “Oh you’ve done it now, girl,” he whispered, before turning to Hazen, who was watching us silently while talking to Cale.

  “King Hazen!” Ashen’s voice carried. “You will of course consent to pair with our lovely Queen throughout the games this week, won’t you? You are, after all, the only suitable suitor in attendance. No offense, Louis—” he flicked a look to the vampire—“but I doubt she’d survive past the first night with you.”

  The tables around us erupted into laughter, and I got the feeling that Louis would have actually blushed, except that there was no colour to draw into his cheeks to begin with. Miriam shook her head, and Cale choked on a mouthful of wine. Hazen put his cup down carefully, and then seemed to consider me.

  “I couldn’t very well deny your subtle request, Ashen, though I might have enjoyed seeing her competitive streak kicked into action again.”

  “I’m sure you can exploit it to your advantage,” Ashen offered.

  “Ashen!” I held my cup up threateningly, and this time he jumped up, as the people around us laughed again.

  “I must go and change, so that my Lady Queen can soil my clothes again,” he announced with a quick bow.

  I glared after him, and then spent the rest of the meal watching the vampires, whom I had noticed drinking out of silver flasks when they thought that none were watching. When Ashen returned, he was with a harried looking Sweet, who must have just returned from Flintwood.

  I excused myself from the table, and called for Leif in my mind, having no idea whether he was even in the room again. When he appeared at my side, I almost jumped, but grabbed onto his arm so that I wouldn’t lose him again, and led him out of the room after Sweet and Ashen. We had to move to the other side of the castle, where all of the offices would be empty, and then we slipped into the first unlocked room.

  “I saw something last night. I didn’t want to entrust it with a messenger, so I left this morning,” Sweet said, as soon as the door closed behind him.

  “What is it?”

/>   “One of Grenlow’s men, he gave Daggar a note, and I managed to swipe it… here.” He shoved the piece of parchment to me, and I let go of Leif to take it.

  Ashen moved over my other shoulder, and I stared down in confusion.

  Never wheedle nautical wrongdoers into soulful worldliness.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s a code we use often to give directions. The first letter of the word indicates direction, such as north, for never, and the amount of letters indicates an average span of measurement. Occasionally it will hint at a theme, for example this one refers to pirates.”

  “Nautical wrongdoers?”

  “Exactly.”

  “What about the measurements?”

  “The only way to really tell what kind of measurements they’re working with is to test them. Each word should lead to a new landmark, that tells you you’re going in the right direction, like a tree, or a burnt out fire.”

  “I take it you followed the directions?”

  “Yes, and you’ll never believe what I found. It was a tiny inlet from the Raven River leading between a mostly abandoned marsh isle and Flintwood, which explains the pirate reference. There was a canoe there, and three bodies beneath a tarp. They were human, and still alive, though in the case of one… well, he didn’t have a whole lot of time left.”

  “What did you do with them?”

  “Untied them and sent them back out to sea. I told one of Ashen’s ships about them on my way back through Ravenport—they should be able to intercept the boat and take them back to the shore on the other side of the Read Empire, though it will take them as long as a week.”

  “One of Grenlow’s men?” I asked, my hand beginning to shake. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he was acting under Grenlow’s orders.”

  I nodded. “I’m going to find Harbringer. I want him to go back with you tonight, if you’re up to the trip. I sent Teddy past the border with Nareon tonight, and I need Quick here, so pick out whom you trust, and get them ready. However many you need.”

  “What do you expect them to do exactly?” Ashen asked, as I strode for the door.

  “Make their presence known. I want Daggar to know that we’re onto him.”

  I pulled open the door and hurried back to the dining hall, scouting the walls as people watched me. It wasn’t easy to pass unnoticed, but thankfully Harbringer found me before I had gone too far.

  “I’m here,” he stated plainly.

  “Something’s come up. How do you feel about going to Flintwood?”

  I gave him a moment to sort through my thoughts and then he nodded. “Go back to your table; you don’t want to raise Grenlow’s notice. I’ll send Ashen back in too. Leave everything else up to me.”

  “Thank you, Harbringer.”

  I watched him walk away and then returned to my table, slipping into my seat. A moment later, Ashen slid back into the seat beside mine, and the rest of the night passed as smoothly as could be expected.

  The next day, we started off the treasure hunt with a group of four, but Ashen swooped in on us, and insisted that we couldn’t hunt with more than three people. As a result, Cale would naturally have to hunt with Rose, and I would have to hunt with Hazen.

  Cale watched the man walk away, shaking his head.

  “You two are going to be married before the week is out if he has anything to do with it.”

  At my sour look, Rose tried to choke down her giggle.

  “I’ll be uncle Cale in no time!” he yelled, drawing Rose away before I could attack either one of them.

  “Alright, where’s the damn piece of treasure, or whatever we’re looking for?” I asked, turning back to Hazen.

  He shook his head. “You know I can’t participate in this thing, I knew where it was yesterday.”

  “Hence why I’m asking you.” I emphasised each word as though I were talking to a child.

  He shook his head again, though he looked amused now.

  An hour later, we ended up on the rooftop of the building that the medallion was hidden in. It was supposed to be some sort of enchanted medallion, like the token I wore about my wrist, though I didn’t in fact know what my own token was supposed to do. We sat with our backs to the building’s attic window, which was how we had managed to get up there in the first place, and had a perfect view of those who passed underneath. A few had come close to the building, but nobody had yet entered it.

  “What do you think they have planned for tomorrow?” I asked him.

  “Something that they thought would please you.”

  “Oh? They’re going to put my advisors through the Throne Test they planned for me?”

  He laughed. “No, they’re having an arena challenge. Everyone will be given the chance to fight.”

  “What will the prize be?”

  “Well… you might not like that part so much.”

  I groaned. “Tell me it isn’t my hand in marriage.”

  He snorted. “No, they’re still saving that for me.”

  “What is it then?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I scowled at him, seeing right through his ridiculously innocent expression. He held his hands out. “Whoa, you know you can’t wrestle me on the roof, or you’ll kill us both. Save it for tomorrow!”

  “Will you be fighting?”

  For some reason, this made him pause.

  “I don’t think I should, it would only encourage this union they have gotten into their heads.”

  “Speaking of unions, how are things with Kaylee?”

  “I stopped seeing her before the coronation ceremony. I don’t have the luxury of casual romantic entanglements anymore.”

  “So? You could have made it less casual.”

  “Turn her into my mistress? I’ll not take one, Bea. Whether I’m married or not.”

  “Because of Rose and Miriam? What your father did to them?”

  “Among other reasons, yes.”

  “Why did Harbringer’s wife go mad?”

  He seemed to go rigid, and I stared at my hands, chewing the inside of my cheek and trying to ignore his eyes on me.

  “I honestly don’t know.” He didn’t question my sudden change of topic. “People generally aren’t aware of her, and Harbringer has built up a fairly good shield around his thoughts of her.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Some motivations are more complicated than others. He’s drawn to you, we all are…”

  He trailed off, grabbing my chin. “What? What did I say?”

  I looked down at his hand, and then blinked away my sudden tears.

  “I… it’s an ability, I think. Leif told me about it. My mother had it.”

  He fell back. “Wow…”

  “Yeah.” I scrubbed at my face, and then ran my hands through my hair, drawing in a breath to try and calm myself. “I feel terrible.”

  “Christ. It wasn’t your fault, power or no. He should have known better. It’s not like you compelled him, Bea, you might be…” he shook his head. “You might draw people in, but it’s not so powerful that we can’t think for ourselves.”

  “Cale tried to kiss me, back when we first met.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you remember what you said to me, after Nareon compelled me to feed from Cale?” I asked suddenly, turning to peer at him.

  He considered me, his gaze as shielded as ever, and I wondered if he were seeing the memory in my mind, reliving it just as I was.

  If you still want me to kiss you when all of this is over tomorrow, then you can look at me like that. Not now. Not like this…

  “I remember.”

  “Was that because of my compulsion?”

  He didn’t answer me straight away, but I found that I couldn’t avert my eyes. There was something about his stillness that held me momentarily entrapped, a feeling that something important was on the precipice of being decided. My palms felt sweaty.<
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  “It was because you had just kissed Cale, and I was still in his mind at the time. I might have better self-control than Harbringer, but I’m still human.”

  His answer was a relief, which of course made no sense to me.

  “Do you know what I liked about Harbringer?” I asked, switching topics again without warning as I wiped my hands on my tights.

  “He grounded you. You didn’t feel so lost when you were with him.”

  “To be with him, I would have to break someone’s rule. And it felt good to be deciding something for myself. There was no reason, no ulterior motive for me to kiss him. He wasn’t compelling me, or tricking me…” I shrugged. “I just felt like I was forging that path for myself.”

  I sucked in a breath, sliding him a sideways look. “But the evidence of what he was doing was always there, plain for me to see.”

  One of his raven brows inched up. “It was?”

  “He called me Siren. I thought it was because of this thing that I had written back at the Academy, but it wasn’t.”

  He reached over and took my hand. “His weaknesses aren’t your fault, Bea, and I think you know that. You’re strong. Much stronger than you were a month ago, and miles stronger than you were a month before that. I can’t even tell you how incredible you were during your trial and I would have given anything to see your Throne Test with my own eyes… I can barley keep up with you now. You’ve been forging your own path for months, and you can only enchant people as much as they let themselves be enchanted.”

  I smiled and kissed the back of his hand. “You’re a good friend.”

  He didn’t reply, but something shimmered in the blackness of his regard. As with any emotion of Hazen’s, its intensity completely seized me before he smoothed the mask back into place and we both turned from each other.

  It was late afternoon before someone finally busted into the house below us, and I awoke with a start, having dosed off on Hazen’s shoulder.

  “Who was it?” I asked, sliding a little further down the roof and trying to peer over the edge.

  “Louis.”

  “Louis?”