The Sunderlands

by Anastasia King

  “I don’t think you can handle me, warrior.” I laugh him off, trying not to reveal that my stomach is tumbling into my toes.

  “Oh?” He scoops me up in his arms. His muscles snaking around me as he evens my weight out in his arms.

  “Put me down!”

  “I could break you.” He maneuvers my body in such a way that makes every inch of me still.

  “Could break your back over my knee.” He searches my face. “Maybe I should. I don’t know if I believe the things people whisper in the dark about you.”

  I steady my breathing, holding onto his arm.

  “She’s dangerous.” He whispers against my ear and I recoil.

  “Wicked.”

  The pounding of his heart matches mine.

  “Fucked.”

  I flinch at the word. “Put me down,” I say with less conviction.

  He obliges, allowing me to my feet again.

  “You don’t scare me, little killer.” He cracks his neck, looking my body up and down. His stare is hungrier than Silas’ was. More feral.

  “Walk with me.” He starts off, leaving without a glance back at me to see if I follow.

  I weigh my options: Go back and face Liriene. Or….

  At the bank of the River Liri, we stop. I try to keep my distance, but he pulls me back by my shift, tearing it a little.

  “Where do you think you’re going, killer? I’m not done playing with you yet.”

  “And what’s your game?” I growl, snatching my shift out of his hands. “To take what belongs to another man?”

  “Do you?” He clasps his hands behind his back and straightens up to his full height. “Do you belong to any man?”

  “No.”

  Silas is a promise, not yet binding. I’ve always wanted him but I don’t know why. We barely know each other. Is it because I’m supposed to want Silas? I thought Liriene wanted him too. Now, I think I might want something else.

  “And have I actually taken anything from you?”

  “You… you bit me and ripped my shift!”

  He throws his head back and laughs. The sound is riveting. The sexiest laugh I’ve ever heard.

  I draw closer to Darius until our faces are inches apart. I lay a hand on his chest. I can feel and hear his pulse, his lungs moving. His muscles tightening at my touch. My hot breath comes out in small puffs of smoke still. He kisses me. His hungry mouth sears me to my molten core. I push against him, but he kisses me harder. He forces his tongue against mine, the cool wetness of his mouth extinguishing the flames in mine. He pulls away, leaving a gasp and sparks on my tongue. His eyes are burning wilder than before. My first kiss with Silas turns to ash.

  The rambling voice of the river echoes the blood in his veins. The tension in his body is building. The flames inside me are nowhere near dying down.

  Without warning, he steps back and begins taking off his armor.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Going for a swim. Care to join me, killer?”

  He removes his breastplate and undershirt. Then, has me back in his arms before I can blink. I shout in protest, but he flings me into the crystalline water. He comes right in after me and lifts me from under my arms to hold my head above the water. The smooth current dances under us.

  I splash him, “I can’t swim! Get out of my way!” I attempt to get out of the water. Bristling with the acute realization that I am out of my element. The water’s movement, gurgling against my skin makes me feel sick.

  With powerful strides, he drags me deeper into the water. Forcing me to focus on paddling to stay above the surface. My lungs are struggling to take in air. He grips my face in his icy hands and brings my mouth to his. Once again, his tongue brandishes through my mouth. His method of calming the heat inside me sparks a new flame in my core. I will drown again today, either in the same waters or in him. He holds me. My skin still hot. I kick until his hands catch my legs and bring them around his waist.

  “You don’t want to go under, do you?”

  Thankful for the chance to get a good height above the water’s surface, I allow him to hold me up. The water’s movement threatens to knock us over, and I wrap my arms around his neck as we falter in the current. He shuts his mouth and I stare at it. I moisten my lips, tasting the river water. He kisses me again. In this kiss, I taste a morsel of his own internal, burning pain. He dominates my senses, leading me by the tongue.

  His brother is dead. A girl I once thought of as a sister is dead. We’re both warriors, at war with the world, with our enemies, and ourselves. As he kisses me, he wraps his arms tighter around me, and I lock my legs behind his back. We search each other, searing one another, unraveling our restraint. One fight we do not have to lose is this one: our desires. We do not have to fight each other. And as waves of pain and loss wash over both our lives, we’ve somehow crashed into each other amid the worsening storm. Setting each other ablaze in a raging river.

  I pull back for a breath. “Neither of us wants to go under.”

  His kiss sends chills running rampant all over my wet skin and fans the flame he’s set burning between my legs. He bites my lips, feeding off the energy within me. When he pulls back, I feel every inch of where our bodies are still connected. The water keeps me clinging to his neck, his broad shoulders, allowing him to soothe me.

  His lips brush against mine, asking permission for the first time, and I grant it with a returning kiss. The taste of his mouth lights up senses I’d never used before. A chill spreads across my shoulder blades and drapes down the back of my legs as his breath warms my neck. Holding my head back by my hair, he licks my throat, and runs his other hand down my backside. His member presses against my stomach through his trousers and my useless shift. I stop him and look between us. Reaching down a tentative hand, I lock eyes with him. I watch his face as I touch him as I’ve never touched another man before. His mouth parts and a ravenous sound comes out of him.

  “Are we to fight fire with fire, Darius?”

  He smirks against my neck and continues kissing me. Even in the water, I feel the warm pool between my thighs growing hotter. Exploring this world of sensations, wants, and needs with him. I lust for adventure. I tug on his trousers and demand we wade into more shallow water, nudging my nose against his. He looks to the riverbank and pulls back, pushing me off him and into the water. I gasp as the water kisses my neck, stealing the warmth he gave me.

  “Keres, get under water.”

  “What?”

  Struggling to keep my head above surface, I glimpse a figure standing on the bank.

  “Fuck!” I grab on to his shoulders and cling to his back. He bobs lower in the water, working his long legs and arms to keep us both afloat. The current of the river is carrying us but he’s keeping us close to where we jumped in. Silas follows as we drift a little.

  “Silas.” Darius calls out, his voice echoing off the trees.

  “Water fine?” Silas asks, loading his crossbow.

  Darius’ body bristles, hairs rising on the back of his neck. Two sounds fill my head: The sound of his blood pumping fast as the river’s pace, and the clicking of the crossbow. Silas aims at Darius’ chest, but his eyes are past him, landing on me as I cling to his best friend.

  “Silas, lower your weapon.” Darius’ voice is calm.

  “No can do, Nance.”

  Darius flinches.

  “Silas,” He warns.

  “Silas, stop it.” I maneuver out of hiding, braving the water. It’s been a long time since I’ve swum in this merciless river.

  “Keres, get—”

  “You forget who I am, Silas.” I growl at him, slapping the surface of the water. “Lower your weapon.”

  A smile trembles on his mouth, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “My wife.” He seethes. “You’re the one who has forgotten.”

  I paddle desperately as he clicks something on the crossbow, preparing to kill Darius or us both.

  “Silas, put the bow down before
someone gets hurt.” Darius retries, grabbing on to me and making himself my raft again.

  I look behind Silas to see if he has come alone, and he has.

  “No can do, ‘Nance.” He turns his arrow toward me, “I could have you burned for adultery.”

  “We are not married, Silas.” Also, did he just call Darius, ‘Nance?

  His threat sparks a new fever in me. As if Darius senses the temperature shift within me, he squeezes my arm. A warning of ice-cold water splashes across my skin at the protective gesture. Silas winces.

  “And that makes you as good as mine!” He screams, spit flying from his mouth.

  Silas takes aim.

  “Elymas, help me.”

  Darius pushes me under. I gasp for air, taking in water as my head is forced below the surface.

  It muffles the sound of the shot as water intrudes into my body, assaulting my senses.

  Water. There is nothing but water filling my ears and mouth. No!

  Rather than sinking, rather than drifting in a relentless current, I submit to the hold of the cold hand wrapped around my ankle. Its chill crawls up my legs, tugging on my waist, enveloping me in power. The icy skin of the water is no match for the fire in my blood.

  Next thing I know, we are safe, floating as if we are lifeless, and suspended in an orb of water. Arrows hail against the shield of the river water as Silas shoots and reloads his crossbow. My skin glows blue and Darius’ eyes burn golden with awe. The sound of the water swirling around us matches the blood whooshing in my head. We do not breathe because we do not have to as my magic encloses us in a protective shield of power and water. The River Liri… which once killed me, now obeys me. It picks us up like a pebble in its current and delivers us further down the riverbank— farther from Silas. We wash up on the gravel, bodies still mingling together.

  “Magic.” Darius says, still in shock that I moved the river for him. Silas screams a curse at us from down the bank, but we are out of range of his bow. We take off running.

  “We need to split up. No one else can know we were here together,” I gasp out as we run at top-speed.

  “Everyone saw us go off in this direction. Besides, I’m not leaving you alone out here. He could be right behind us. What if he kills you! Or what if there are humans?”

  “I’m the most dangerous thing out here.”

  He slows down, so he isn’t running too far ahead of me. His legs are much longer, much more powerful. “Keres, you heard him. He threatened to have you burned. I’ve never seen this side of Silas. I don’t know how many of his words to mark. What if he tells Kaius or Liriene?”

  “I doubt he’s eager to tell my father he shot at me.”

  “That aside, he will tarnish your name.”

  “Am I not tarnished already?” We stop. “Should he be jealous enough to commit murder over a cursed girl?”

  “Come on, killer.”

  “No, Darius. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  "What?" His face scrunches. Pain flickers in his coal eyes again.

  “I am marrying Silas.”

  “Is that what you truly want?”

  We both feel my unspoken answer.

  “Come home with me,” He reaches for me and his callused hand grazes my fingers.

  “I have to go home. Apologize to my sister.” I gather my hair over my shoulder and wring out the water.

  Silas has a claim on me. And what he saw today will reap consequences my mind fights against the thought of. I want to go home with Darius. I know exactly why. He inches closer to me and the hairs on my neck stand up.

  “I never apologize to anyone for doing what I want.” He leans in.

  I pull away. “And should I do the same? Forsake my family, our traditions? My own standards?”

  “Is that what bothers you? You feel you’re betraying your betrothed by being with me. Lowering yourself—”

  “Being with you?” I ask.

  We stare at each other.

  “You know that can’t happen.” I reply for him.

  His jaw tightens, and he pulls his hand back, shoving it into his pocket.

  “Because you believe no one should want your cursed heart or because you’ve already given it to him?”

  “You don’t know me, Darius.”

  “I could get to.”

  “You want to know my body, not me.” I place my hand over my heart.

  “And you’re assuming something but denying I might understand how you feel!” He leans in closer and lowers his voice. “I find you bewitching. Not many things catch my interest.” He smirks. “I’m not your Silas. I’m not charming or gallant. I see what I want, and I go after it. I see something in you that I want. That’s all either of us needs to understand.”

  “And you think I want you too?” I raise my hands.

  “Do you know what you want?” He asks.

  I cross my arms and stare him down. I can’t speak because I don’t know the answer to that question, so I just continue staring like an idiot, my face on fire.

  “Whatever, Keres.” He turns to go.

  “Wait.”

  He grunts.

  “I didn’t thank you for stopping me. From pursuing Liriene. If you hadn’t interfered, I would have regretted that.”

  He nods, keeping his eyes off me.

  “You stopped the arrow.” His ember eyes flash at me. “We’re even.”

  “Where will you go now?” I ask, inching away from him.

  “Where will you?” He counters.

  I weigh my options. I could go home to apologize to Liriene. Risk running into Silas again. He might shame me in front of everyone if he is angry enough. Or…

  “Have you ever met a witch?” I ask.

  Darius raises his brow at me.

  13. THE RIVER LIRI

  Liriene

  Her eyes were black as a midnight sky without the moon.

  I look up through tree branches at the placid orb glowing resiliently above me, wrapping my gray shawl tighter around my shoulders. I push thoughts of Keres out of my head and remember how Katrielle used to talk to the moon. Adreana, Goddess of Darkness: Will She hear me if I talk to the moon too? If I cry?

  My sorrow feels endless. A bottomless well of tears within me. What’s the point of everything without her? She belongs with me. Always has and always will. Not with Hayes. Not in the ground. With me. I slam my fists into the dirt. I wish I could unearth her. With fists of fury, rip the earth open as wide as the chasm in my heart. Find her smiling beneath it all and reaching for me to pull her up from her grave. I pound the ground with my fists until my knuckles ache.

  My life feels like one big joke. I’ve been good; never asked for more than was given me. Never warred against anyone or anything. Simply loved. My life has been tender. Until, fate twisted me into its brutal scheme. Upended my serene life. My mother died. My sister died. She revived but as something else. Not the raven-haired girl who liked to play in the River Liri but the White Reaper that rose from the depths of it. Spat out of the very mouth of Death. Still, I never questioned the Gods, just Keres. Just her power. I never cursed my mother’s killer, never tempted fate no matter how it crooked its smile at me. I behaved. I was good.

  Maybe it’s the good people who lose everything. But why? Will I ever find a good enough reason to justify Katrielle’s death— my greatest loss? She was the love of my life.

  “Adreana,” I break down into tears. “If you can hear me...” A bird calls through the dark and silence. “She said you always listen.” I lift my blurred eyes to the moon. “She trusted you. With our secret. With everything. She swore you granted safety. Only You could see her fears and desires in the dark, she said. Only You could see us.” I clench my fists and hammer the ground again.

  “Damn you, Kat! For keeping our love buried. For dying and never listening to me! I told you not to go. You should have stayed with me instead of fighting me. Instead of warring with the humans.” My sobs overwhelm me. “I told you not to b
e like Keres. Her curse… influenced you. War changed you.” I hug my knees and rock. My accusations might be unfair. I instantly regret my angry words. As if she can hear me. I scoff, fighting against the only truth I know right now. Mother is dead. The Keres I once knew is dead. Katrielle is dead.

  Not wanting to see the resurfacing images of her broken body, I replay lively memories of her. The sight of her in armor, one hand on her hip and the other on the hilt of her sword. That was how she looked the last time I saw her whole. I silence the memory of our argument that day. The memories that left me speechless come instead. The gentle ones.

  Her sultry brown eyes staring up at me, her dark brown curls looping around my fingers. The generosity of her breasts. The warmth between her legs. Her laughter. She always laughed at my pathetic jokes, but she was funnier. She had freckles that ran from neck to navel. Like the seam of a silky garment.

  The humans split her open along that dotted line. Her blood was the most horrendous shade of red I’ve ever seen. Dark and muddy, nearly brown around the wound. Then a bright and angry color as she coughed it up.

  Keres wouldn’t leave her side. I wanted to comfort her, but she was there. I asked Chamira to get Keres to take a rest so I could have my chance. When I finally reached her side, her breath was failing. I didn’t know what to say or do. I just cried. Not caring who saw it, not caring who wondered why I wept so. I promised to love her endlessly for the first time aloud in broad daylight, in company other than Adreana’s. She tried to tell me something, but then she started coughing up blood worse than before. Chamira was the first to come, pushing me aside. Calling for someone to wake the Coroner.

  I cursed myself for my uselessness. For not having any real right to be there, besides a love that no one would recognize as valid. If I threw myself across her body the way I wanted to, our secret would be brought to light. She would die alone and the elders would have voted for me to be cast out of the clan. My father being the clan leader didn’t mean I was safe.

  I lingered when Keres came. She was furious. She commanded the team of healers like a general on the battlefield. Shaking Katrielle awake, she nearly slipped in the blood pooling at her feet. Keres demanded herbs; I was quicker than the others and gave it. She demanded everything. If I could have given everything for Katrielle, I would have. She demanded water, and I gave it. I would have given myself in her stead.