Blakeshire (11 page)

“We’ve spoken. I know her sovereign dearly.”

“Do you, now?” What exactly was this guy trying to tell me? Willow was one of whatever he was?

That really made him smile. “You do realize that he gave up loving her long before you were, how do you say it, ‘found’?” He paused, letting those words settle, obviously sensing the relief they brought me. “His fight for her heart was not as it seems. In her eyes, he saw the freedom of his people. His dreams had already forecast a doomed devotion between the pair of them, and he assumed that was the sacrifice that was needed to set the souls he adores free at last.”

“And not because she loves Landen,” was my very dry comeback, even though I truly believed each word he was speaking.

“No…because you are his rush. A rush that ignited his soul the moment his eyes met yours. He knows that no other soul could ever make him feel that way.”

I wasn’t sure what a rush was, but hearing it roll off Vade’s lips made it seem absolutely divine.

“Reading his thoughts?” I uttered with hope.

“Intently.” Vade adjusted his lean
on the rail as he crossed his arms and stared at the doorway that led to Drake. Knowing that the air around us was growing tight, I remained silent. “Drake is a wise leader. He knew that to save his people he must have the dimension of Chara on his side. And to do that, he must ensure that Landen and Willow both remained alive. He was, as he says, ‘on a stage performing.’”

“He has emotions that are true,” I grumbled.

He moved his head slowly from side to side as his stare seemed to find something familiar in my sharp words. “And that should be expected. You cannot fight and die next to souls without developing some form of bond…and if we are comparing sins, Drake did not fall into the arms of the one he must destroy.”

“Are you trying to tell me that while he was hooking up with Willow in a past life, I was arm in arm with a sovereign that I have to kill in order to survive?” Oh God, the guilt I felt was so strong that a wave of nausea washed over me.

The grave stare in those diamond eyes echoed a yes. “Drake’s life was charted to cross the path of a woman that looked just like his soul mate, a woman that shared similar tastes and outlooks on life as his rush…you were not plotted; you fell gracefully into the wrong arms.”

“Maybe it was for revenge. Maybe I was keeping my enemies close,” I stated in instant defense.

I had no idea where this guilt or defensiveness was coming from. It was like a little voice deep inside was waking up and hashing out old arguments that I was oblivious to.

“Perhaps. Nevertheless, as you say, the past cannot be undone, and the fault for both betrayals lies within your first life.”

Once again, I let the silence tighten the air around us. If this was a dream, I already knew what my subconscious was trying to tell me: not to point a finger unless one day I wanted to find that finger squarely pointed back at me.

Vade’s eyes moved slowly across my
face, which had become frozen in an angry scowl. “If your mind is searching through his recent deeds, let me put your emotions at ease. He had doubts about Willow the first instant he saw her in his dreams, and then in real life. Of course, at that point he was too furious to care. Anger. That is my essence and what has brought him forth to this fated course. He will fight anger, along with the obsession you are set to rule.”

I tilted my head slightly, evaluating what he was saying, trying to see the larger image of all that was occurring not only to me, but also to my closest friends, as well as Willow and Landen.

“I know someone who struggles with anger,” I muttered, thinking of my cousins, mainly Draven, who conveniently in some way reminded me of Drake.

“That, you do,” he said with a nod as if my thoughts were on point.

I could not help wondering how deeply this guy was connected to us.

“I halfway think this is a dream. I don’t understand what you are wanting out of this conversation. Before you came, I already told him I loved him. I already told myself to stop talking about Willow.”

“He did not hear your words.”

“I’ve never told anyone that,” I said with a quiver, knowing that speaking those words while looking into Drake’s spellbinding eyes would take more courage than I had ever been known to have.

“Now, that is untrue. You have spoken it to one soul—although, as I said, he did not hear you speak them in this life.”

“We just met.”

“That is untrue.”

“Okay, fine. I can’t handle being hurt by anyone, and he has the power to crush me with the slightest rejection. Actions speak louder than words anyway, especially words that are overused, not to mention that they will put him in even more danger. We are both fighting evil, and we cannot afford to show even the slightest weakness at this point.”

“Actions do speak louder,” he said with a slight grin.

His stare then cascaded over me. “This will be a very distant dream, deep in your subconscious. You will not remember this conversation in detail, but I have no doubt you have overcome any insecurities about where his devotion lies.”

Did he just call me insecure? I didn’t care that it was the truth; I didn’t want to hear it, especially from a stranger. And did he honestly think that I didn’t have the brainpower to remember a night like this? I started to take in every sense I had: the scent of the air, the clothes I was wearing, the sound of nature in the fields around us. One way or another, I would remember this because like it or not, I did need to hear what he’d said. I did need to get over the past.

“What is the point then?”

“The point is that your mind is powerful and you will take what I have said tonight and pull from it. That intuition will lead you through what lies ahead and hopefully ease your worries about where my fated essence interests lie.”

“Fat
ed essences,” I said under my breath as I tried to figure out exactly what Drake was to him.

“You do not need to go out to sea to find what you have feared before.”

“That helps. Where, then?”

“Now, you are a brilliant woman. Are you not curious as to why Donalt, a sovereign who could have built his kingdom anywhere, chose that dimension? Are you not curious as to where all the dark tunnels of that palace travel to?”

Of course I was, but that was merely one of a million curious thoughts I had. “I was a little terrified of anything that had to do with that palace, to be quite frank with you.”

“And now, conveniently, you’re not,” he said with a proud smirk.

“Did you have something to do with that? Why do you seem proud every time I mention that I lost fear?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Sometimes it is just beautiful to see how the universe works out our inner turmoil.”

“So it’s in the palace?”

“There are many mysteries in that residence, including the one you are seeking to unravel.”

“Does, um, that First know I’m gunning for her—um, him?”

“
Horace? No doubt. He also knows Drake’s weakness. And obviously yours.”

“What weakness does Drake have? And here’s a clue: do not say women.”

He had to hold in a grin. “I told you already: anger. Now you have to ask yourself, what would escalate to the point of erupting the wrath within his being?”

“Are you saying that Horace dude will take me? Put me through all the crap Charlie and Willow have been through?”

“He has tried. More than once. You have outwitted him. Out of the seven, beyond Willow and Landen you and Drake have progressed the farthest.”

“The seven?” I said with a gasp, remembering the hypnosis I was under and the words I said.

“Seven. Seven dark emotions that cannot be handled in their purest form by human souls. Seven sovereigns and their lines were meant to reprieve that emotion, and several of them have failed…therefore, the Creator has found the next souls needed to reign—but you see, there is a process to every transition. Your emotion is obsession. You, along with Drake, have nearly reached the point you need to take down that sovereign. You came so close that the other sovereigns have stepped in and entangled Drake, along with you, into the others. The point is for you to hurt yourselves.”

“Is that the only point there, Vade?”

He moved his head slowly from side to side as anger engulfed his god-like image. “No. They want to take me down, for once they do, they will have the power to invade your reality—the one you were sent here from. My fellow kings are addicts. They see no reason at this point. They have a target and desire, and they will reach it one way or another, unless they are stopped.”

“Then why don’t you stop it?”

“Because I trust my Creator. I trust that it was meant to hurt me and that those who came from my essence will not be a dagger of death, but a blade pointed at victory.”

“Let me sum this up. Drake belongs to you. He was stolen. You didn’t know that, but it didn’t matter because he and I managed to
throw a few blows at this King of Obsession person, but then they got wise and started to crisscross us all so we would be too confused or mad to fight who we were after. What I need to kill, is in that palace.”

“A quick mind. I like that.” He cleared his throat. “Madison Marie Blair, there is more I must caution you about.”

“Listening,” I uttered weakly.

“The sovereigns and those that rank highly in their line can imitate any soul for a short time. They will confuse you and do everything in their power to twist you into the emotions you are at war with.”

“Obsession?”

“Jealousy. Anger.”

“All too true,” I admitted.

“My advice to you—instead of daring Drake to step off the stage he is on, join him.”

“Join him? Are you telling me to be cool with him acting like he has a thing for Willow and I am nothing but a look-alike?”

“I adore your anger,” he said with a leer. “I am telling you that several dark souls have their stares aimed at the pair of you, and right now they see Drake as a win. They feel that lifetimes ago they permanently hindered the two of you. The moment they doubt that, they will aim their blows in your direction, just as Drake fears.”

“What exactly did they do lifetimes ago?”

He let silence reign for a moment or two as he carefully chose his words. It was clear that he did not want to lay this all out for me, which made no sense considering I wasn’t supposed to remember any of this anyway.

“When you or any soul such as yours crosses The Fall—Heaven’s gate—you have an immense amount of power within your vessel. Your soul absorbs every part of the flesh; it is meant to protect you, to propel you forward. In your case, that did not occur.”

“I guess bad luck has a knack for following me,” I said.

“On the contrary. The last thing the sovereigns expected was for you to walk into those palace doors to save Drake. Luck is not always blissful; sometimes it manifests as tragedy.”

“Okay, so I guess they killed me then, huh? How did that have anything to do with what has happened since then? With the reason why I am fighting jealousy?”

“Everything. If your vessel had been returned to the Earth properly, if the universe felt you return, it would have diligently guided you into every lifetime past that point…there would have been no reason, purpose, or way that Willow ever would have crossed Drake’s past lives.”

I was speechless. Was he saying that because I died in some weird way in the past that caused a loophole—a way for them to embed Willow next to Drake? If so, all I could say to those other kings was, well played. By doing that, they not only jacked up me and Drake, but also Willow and Landen; well, they gave us doubt.

“I can’t really do much about the past, now can I?” I boldly managed to say.

“Oh, but you see, that is where your answers lie. You have to go back to that moment, recover what you lost…and when you do, jealousy will leave you. And of course, you will have changed the game in so many ways.”

“Sounds like a lot of work to get over jealousy. I think I can manage without looking for a vessel of mine that can be nothing more than ashes at this point.”

Slowly, he stepped forward as he let his crossed arms fall. “This is not the first time that you and Drake have chosen to put on a show for all those who care to watch—having them believe that you are enemies instead of soul mates.”

“And why would we have done that, then, if there was no Willow to contend with?”

He gazed at me witheringly. “I heard what you said to Willow a few days ago, how you fear that if you completely commit to another soul that you will lose yourself and give evil every reason to take that away from you…tell me how deeply you believe what you said to her.”

I swallowed nervously, hating that this guy had been watching any part of my life. “Deep.”

“Our deepest fears resonate from past lives. They are often altered as the soul tries to unlock them. You feared that before, and before you chose to play a part and act as if there was no devotion to be found.”

“Didn’t work out so hot then, did it?”

“It worked beautifully for a while, but Drake was betrayed just before your final act, and because he was your vessel he did not find rest leading the sovereigns to continue their pursuit across several lifetimes.”