Cole
Orion paces across the row of windows overlooking the city. Sun bathes the blue roofs, but in the distance, storm clouds gather on the horizon. Storms aren’t uncommon this time of year. They’re vicious, though. Flooding is common–something we need to count on.
So on top of… on top of pretending to be a war lord while simultaneously trying to force the Alphas in my kingdom to get their people out, and to the border, before I start a real war with Richard… I have to deal with the people who won’t leave and ensure they’re safe when the rain starts.
“I want warriors in the city center ready to rescue those who’re ignoring the warnings to evacuate to higher ground tonight,” I murmur, running my hand down my face.
Orion watches the storm, sighing, “It might not be as bad as we’re anticipating.”
“It always is,” Commander Abernathy, Luke’s father, says from his perch on a couch nearby. “Maybe the flood will wash away Richard’s forces lingering in the city. You know none of those men have their heads to themselves, anyway. I doubt they know what’s coming tonight.”
“That’s wishful thinking,” I gripe, staring at the commander before flicking my gaze to Orion. “Lock the castle down. No one leaves after dusk. All maids and servants will be housed in the servants’ quarters on the second floor tonight.”
He nods, tucking his hands in his pockets.
“A word?” Commander Abernathy says as he rises, glancing at Orion before settling his gaze on me.
This is all I have left. These two men. Everyone else is either cursed or I’ve managed to get them out and into hiding.
“Sure,” I say to the commander as he sidles up to my desk and leans against it. “What is it?”
“I need to get Luke out,” he says in a low, scraping voice. “As soon as possible. I know you have him working on something but… we’re running out of time.”
I nod, feeling the crushing weight of my life in general shoving down on my shoulders. “I understand. When the storm passes, we’ll work on getting him and his mother to the border. With Georgia–the other student. They’ll go together.”
Orion purses his lips as he moves toward my desk. “Declan will be heartbroken. He doesn’t stop talking about that girl.”
“Declan should go, too,” I tell him, meeting his eyes. “And Marcella and Lavender. Everyone who’s able needs to prepare to leave while we still have a chance to get through Richard’s lines at the border.”
“Lavender won’t leave you,” he says quietly. “She won’t leave the maids, either.”
I look between the two men, the two holdouts. “All of you need to leave Tarsian.”
They look at each other, then shake their heads. “No,” Commander Abernathy says. “We’re in this fight, Cole. You know what I promised your dad. I mean to keep it. I'm not leaving you behind.” He reaches across my desk to squeeze my hand. The commander has always been a stubborn bastard, but Orion?
“I can’t leave her behind. You know that,” he says in a near whisper. I nod. That's all I can do. “You should take the day, Cole. Get some rest. Spend time with Misty–”
I hold my hand up to silence him. “I have work to do.” I rise and push in my chair then turn for the door, effectively dismissing both men. Commander Abernathy heads in the direction of the library where Luke basically lives right now as he tries to translate the cryptex, but Orion falls in step with me.
“Does she know?” he asks quietly.
“No.”
“Her birthday’s next week. You should talk to her about it. Don’t let it be a surprise.”
“She’ll be over the border before then.”
“We’re not going to be able to get her over the border without help, and you know that.”
“It doesn’t matter at this point. We have to try.” The letter on my desk from Richard burns through my mind. He’s in Serpentia again, preparing for his next phase of his grand plan. I have to go there to stop him. How, I’m not sure. I’m hoping Luke figures out the cryptex because it was found with the Book of Whispers. I need to understand its significance, if it’s something I can use to not only break this curse, but stop Richard from opening the Gate of the Gods, unleashing hell on our world.
He’s close to doing it, too.
He just needs Misty, but he’s biding his time for some reason.
“Cole,” Orion says, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop. “You need to tell her.”
“No.”
“You’ll live with regret for the rest of your life–”
“I have only a few weeks of life left, Orion.”
“You’re in better shape than you were when you left with Richard to go to Serpentia a few weeks ago. She has healing powers, doesn’t she? Like her family?”
“She can’t undo the curse.”
“Then live, Cole, for a few fucking days at least!”
I yank my arm out of his grasp. “I’m not doing this to her. She’s going home, to her family, and then her parents and her aunt and uncle can invade, as planned.”
“And where will you be when that happens?”
“Here, with the rest of those who won’t make it out regardless of the outcome of the war,” I snarl. “With the cursed. You go, take your family, and go.”
“Cole–”
“It’s done, Orion.” I hold up my hand, dismissing him, but then Lavender’s voice carries in our direction.
The beautiful, open air corridor overlooking the courtyard smells like rain already even though the storm is still dozens of miles away. I walk to the railing, looking down at the figures below.
“She likes you,” Lavender says to… Misty, who’s out of her room and holding–holding Marcella.
My chest lurches at the sight. Pockets of sunlight dance through Misty’s golden hair as she turns with Marcella in her arms. Misty’s dressed in muted blue. She looks… like a queen as she lifts her face to the sun, smiling.
Heartbreak ghosts through my chest. In another life, this would have been our home–our kingdom. The baby in her arms would have been ours.
“Cole,” Orion says softly. “You deserve–”
“Don’t,” I cut in, shaking my head and turning away from the scene. “Please.”
I close my eyes as Misty’s laugh echoes through the corridor, brought here by the breeze. I try to resist it, to turn away and walk back to my office to sit in silence, or to the library to hound Luke about his progress like we still have time to act, but find myself walking down a staircase and turning toward the women.
Misty beams in my presence. I try to smile back at her but fail.
“Cole!” she grins, her eyes wide and bright. “What are you doing out here?”
“What are you doing out of your room?” I ask, and her smile fades instantly. I glance at Lavender, who looks guilty as hell as she steps toward me.
“It was my idea, Your Grace. She needed some air.”
“It’s fine,” I say softly, looking back at Misty as Orion approaches, trying to convince Marcella to give up her new friend.
“Let’s go see Grandma for a minute,” he says, but the baby doesn’t care. She clutches Misty tight, shaking her head.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Lavender says to Orion. “Lacey hasn’t been–” She cuts herself off, shaking her head as her eyes meet mine.
Lacey, Orion’s mate and the mother of Declan and Adrian, was cursed a year ago. She’s still alive because Orion can’t do what I’d done to my father.
“Is Lacey your mate?” Misty asks, turning to Orion. “She’s Declan’s mother, isn’t she?”
Orion shoots Lavender a glare. “Yes, she is. She’s unwell–”
“She’s cursed,” Misty corrects, her eyes scanning our small group. “Lavender told me. I can help.”
Lavender clears her throat, throwing me an apologetic glance, but then refuses to meet my eyes again.
Orion shakes his head. “Princess Misty, I understand you were able to give Cole some… relief, but my mate is… Cole has only been cursed for a few weeks. Lacey was one of the first. She’s beyond help.”
“You don’t know that,” Misty says with a scoff, scanning the group again. “Let me try.” She holds my gaze. “Please, let me try.”
I look at Orion, who isn’t at all happy with the idea. He wants Lacey left alone. I know he goes to the temple and prays for the Goddess to take her, soon, to put her out of her misery. “It’s up to you, Orion. Do you want Lacey to be able to see Declan and Marcella again before they leave?”
Orion looks down at his boots, closing his eyes. “She doesn’t know about Adrian and Elsbeth.”
“She doesn’t need to know, Orion,” Lavender says with heartbreaking calm. “Give her this gift. Let the princess give her some comfort before–before she goes to the Goddess.”
I look at Misty, who pats Marcella’s back as she glances from Lavender to Orion.
“Fine,” Orion says, his eyes still closed. “Let’s do this now, then, before the storm. She’s always loved the rain. She’ll want to see it.”
Marcella allows Lavender to take her from Misty’s arms. “I’ll bring her by if Lacey is well enough to see her.”
Without further conversation, Orion turns on his heel, stalking back to the stairwell. Lavender sits with Marcella on a bench, letting the baby play with her necklace, and I gently tuck Misty’s hand in the crook of my elbow, following Orion.
“I need to warn you about what you’re about to see,” I tell her, walking slowly to put distance between us and Orion. “Lacey’s case is advanced. She’s not lucid anymore.”
I can feel Misty looking up at me as we reach the top of the stairs and walk side by side down another long, open corridor. We’re alone. No guards or servants lurk in the shadows, and Orion has already walked out of sight.
“How did she get cursed? How did it happen in this court?”
I shake my head. “I was in Crescent Falls when it began. My father was trying to oust Richard from our court, the city, Tarsian, in general, actually, after finding out he’d been working with the Draven Coven. From what Orion and others have told me, he quietly cursed a few high ranking individuals, making it seem like an illness, and convinced everyone he had the antidote because he cured one of them, one of the commanders' wives. It was enough for him to weasel his way back into my father’s good graces, for a few weeks, at least.”
“Did he actually cure her?”
I shake my head. “No, she died a few months ago, but he was able to make it look like the curse was gone.”
“The curse is from the Book of Whispers, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. That’s what he’s using to do all of this.”
We round a corner together, passing the throne room, a ballroom, and a formal dining room before I lead her through a door and up another set of steps. At the top of the stairs, I pause, turning to face her. “If you can’t do this, we’d all understand.”
“Of course, I can do this. I healed you, didn’t I? It doesn’t hurt as much?” Her voice has lost that sharp, teasing edge completely. Now, it’s soft. Tender. Full of feeling that makes me want to take her into my arms and….
Misty wraps her arms around me, doing what I couldn’t. Holding me in the shadow cast by alabaster columns that stretch to the glass ceiling.
“Do you trust me?” I whisper. I’m not sure why I say it. Of course, she doesn’t trust me. I’m one of the villains in her narrative. I have to be. I wish I’d tried harder to be because it will make this… unraveling so much easier when it happens.
“I do,” she says, her chin resting on my chest as she looks up at me. “I’m pissed you locked me in our room all week and barely said a word to me, though.”
“I’m sorry about that. It’s been… busy.”
“You can make it up to me tonight. We’ll have dinner together, and we can talk and… hangout.”
“Are you asking me out?”
She balks, but her eyes are playful as she lets me go and inspects her nails. “I don’t ask out men. They ask me out. And, I rarely say yes, so you should be flattered and jumping at the opportunity.”
“We’ll hang out tonight.”
She smiles, and it’s radiant. She takes my hand, tugging on it to get me moving again. I lead her through the castle, toward the rear, where the walls are shadowed and out of the sun’s embrace. A chill snakes through the air when Orion comes back into view, waiting by a door, his face cast in doubt.
He looks up as we approach. “Did you warn her about what she’s about to see?”
“I think I’ve probably seen worse,” Misty cuts in before I can reply.
She has no idea what she’s walking into, and I don’t have the stomach to go into detail.
“How bad is it now, Orion?” I ask.
Orion pulls his keys from his pocket, unlocking the door.