Reluctant Prince (12 page)

“So you’re saying you have no modern technology here at all?” Mia’s trailed her hand through the snow encasing the trees.

“Nope, nothing.”

“No TV’s, or computers…or cell phones?” A look of sheer horror crossed the young girl’s face.

Ryleigh couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“Not even electricity.”

“Why do you stay here? Why not just go live in our realm?”

Jackson laughed. “When we enter your realm, we age as you do, grow old, and eventually die. Some have chosen that path, but I hold out hope that one day Cymmera will return to the grandeur it once held. We may not have had technology, but I still have some wonderful memories of my childhood.” He fell silent, the only sound the crunch of their feet in the snow.

A pang of grief hit Ryleigh. Things could be replaced, but the reminders of her family couldn’t. And even the most amazing memories faded with time, although Jackson’s memories of his childhood and his mother had survived hundreds of years. The knowledge comforted her somewhat. She took a deep breath and tried to shake off the sadness smothering her. She filled her lungs a second time. The cool air was so crisp and clean, soothing as it filled her lungs. Maybe there was something to be said for the lack of technology and pollution.

They trudged through the snow, each lost in their own thoughts. Even the overcast, gray sky couldn’t dim the beauty surrounding them.

“Are there animals here?” Mia chewed on her lower lip as she scanned the woods and the deepening shadows.

“Sure, lots of them.” He answered absently, apparently not realizing Mia’s concern.

Ryleigh reached for her hand.

“Will they hurt us?”

The tremor in Mia’s voice must have caught his attention then, because he moved close to her other side. “I won’t let anything hurt you, I promise.”

Mia squeezed Ryleigh’s hand. “Do you think we could stop and rest for a few minutes?”

“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you climb on my back and I’ll carry you for a bit. We’re not far from the city, and I’d like to reach the King as soon as possible.”

“I’ll be too heavy for you to carry. I can walk.”

Dark circles ringed Mia’s eyes. Her face too pale, eyes puffy and swollen from crying, shoulders hunched against the cold wind.

“You’re tired, Mia. It’ll be all right. Jackson can carry you for a bit.”

She dragged her feet through the snow, slowing her pace.

Ryleigh changed tactics. “My feet are getting kind of wet anyway. If Jackson carries you, you can pull your sweats down over your feet, and I can wear the boots for a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot.” Mia’s face reddened.

A twinge of guilt tried to surface, but Ryleigh quickly tamped it down. She really wasn’t uncomfortable with the cold or the wet slippers, but she couldn’t watch Mia trudge through the snow and ice any longer. It seemed like years ago she’d left her sitting in the lobby of Jacobs & McClain’s offices, looking small and lost in the oversized chair. So much had happened in less than twenty-four hours, plus they’d been up all night now.

The poor kid had to be exhausted beyond belief.

“No big deal. I’m not cold or anything. But if Jackson’s well enough to carry you, I wouldn’t mind having dry feet for a little while.” She tried to tame the wild mass of curls, push it behind Mia’s ear, but it just popped out again.

Jackson squatted down against a tree.

Ryleigh helped Mia climb onto his back. She took the boots and tucked Mia’s sweat pants around her feet as best she could. “Are you warm enough?”

“I’m fine.”

Jackson stood, and they started forward again.

“It just feels so good to be off my feet.” Mia’s eyelids began to droop as soon as Jackson took his first few steps. The rhythmic movement would most likely rock her to sleep in no time.

“Are you holding her tight enough? I think she’s going to fall asleep up there.”

Jackson’s laughter filled the forest. “Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”

“I’m not asleep, just resting.” Mia sat up straighter, strained to keep her eyes open. “What kinds of animal are here?”

“Do you want to hear about my pets?”

Ryleigh breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he’d decided to tell her about something tame rather than some wild creature that could be stalking them. She shivered, her gaze darting to the encroaching shadows.

Mia perked up at the mention of pets. She’d tried for years to talk their grandmother into allowing them to get a puppy, but to no avail. “Pets? How many do you have?”

“Two.”

“Two? Wow. What kind are they?” She adjusted her weight, sat up a little straighter.

“They’re hounds, but much bigger than the dogs you’ve seen. The male, Nika, has a thick, black coat and a full mane. He looks sort of like a giant black lion. The female’s name is Nahara. Her coat is cream colored and just as thick but without the mane. She’s a little bit smaller, though not by much.”

Ryleigh admired the easy affection with which he spoke of the animals.

He nudged his way a little deeper into her heart. His easy interaction with Mia, the way he watched out for her and kept her mind off her fears, only added to his incredible charm.

“Can I meet them?” Mia’s cheeks flushed with excitement…or possibly cold.

“Sure, as soon as we get to the castle.”

“Castle? You live in a real castle?”

“Yup.”

“Holy cow!”

The woods thickened, and the shadows grew even darker. Ryleigh strained to examine each and every one of them, searching for any sign of movement. What sort of creatures roamed free through the darkness of the forest? She shivered and moved a little closer to Jackson.

“I can’t wait to see it.” Mia’s eyes burned with excitement.

“Well, you won’t have to wait long, see that line in the distance?” He gestured toward the horizon where a faint silhouette had just become visible through the trees.

Mia squinted. “I see it.” Her excitement bubbled over as she bounced up and down.

The anticipation infected Ryleigh, and she picked up her pace. “How far is it?”

Jackson smiled at her.

Her heart skipped a beat. What was it about that cocky grin that sent her heart all aflutter?

“Not far now. It looks farther than it is. We’ll leave the forest in a few minutes and head downhill across a large clearing.”

“Then we’ll be in Cymmera?” Ryleigh searched for the edge of the forest.

“Then we’ll be in the city of Cymmera.”

“I’m confused. Is Cymmera a realm, a city, or a village?”

Jackson’s eyebrows drew together. “I guess the best way to look at it is that this entire realm is the Kingdom of Cymmera. Our Kingdom encompasses an enormous amount of space. The castle sits atop a large hill, a village surrounds it, and farms border the entire village. All of that is surrounded by a wall. Everything within the boundaries of the wall is considered the city of Cymmera. Then there are outlying areas as well, some of which require days of travel to reach. They are not part of the city but are still part of the Kingdom.”

“So you really do live in a castle?”

A spark of mischief lit his eyes. “I really do.”

The trees became more sparse, and dim light chased away some of the darker shadows. “So where do Daygan and his creatures live?”

“They inhabit another realm, the Kingdom of Argonas.”

Questions tumbled over one another in her mind, and Ryleigh tried to order her thoughts.

Mia’s outrush of breath halted Ryleigh’s struggle.

The castle stood upon a wide plateau at the top of a mountain. A layer of haze surrounded the structure’s base, giving it the appearance of being cradled in a cloud and set upon a pedestal. The mountain sloped gradually down to the valley floor and was dotted with structures built directly into the sides of the mountain. The village fanned out below it, filled with small, cozy looking houses, with smoke pouring from stone chimneys. The blanket of snow didn’t reach the lowest sections of the valley floor, and brown farmland encompassed the entire compound and stretched beyond the horizon, as did the high stone wall surrounding everything.

All rational thought fled as sheer amazement slammed through her.

“Let me down, I want to stand.”

Ryleigh handed Mia her slippers without turning away from the view. Her mouth hung open, and she tried to force it shut. She couldn’t. Nor could she tear her gaze from the incredible view.

“Do you like it?” Jackson relaxed against a tree, arms folded across his chest, grinning wildly.

Mia recovered first. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it, not even in pictures.”

“It
is
pretty amazing.” His dark eyes blazed with mischief.

Ryleigh finally found her voice. “I thought you said everything was dead here, and bleak, and sad.”

“Ah, but it is, and I never said it wasn’t beautiful as well.”

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” Ryleigh tried to picture what it would have looked like with green fields surrounding it, patchwork crops sprinkled throughout the farms, and flowers in bloom…well…everywhere. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

She finally tore her gaze from the magnificence of Cymmera and turned to Jackson. “I don’t—”

The burn that had marked his chest now held four healed lines. Horror clutched her lungs, and her heart stuttered to a stop. “What the…”

“What’s wrong?” Jackson looked down at his chest and quickly back up at her. “Ryleigh?”

She backed away from him.

“Ryleigh, it’s all right. Please. Wait.”

Her eyes shot to his. “What?” She shook her head, fear overcoming all rational thought. She took a deep breath, tried again. “What is that?”

She lowered her gaze slowly, terror begging her not to look, fear insisting that she do. Across the center of the burn lay four parallel lines of fresh, unmarked flesh. Lines that followed the exact path her fingers had brushed across earlier.

“Please, Ryleigh, let me explain.” He held his hands out, palms toward her.

“Leave me alone, Jackson.” She backed away. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Ryleigh.” His voice no longer held any note of sympathy. Instead, it was iron hard, leaving no room for argument. “Listen to me. Now. It’s fine. Remember when I first came to you in the hospital, and I held your leg?”

Actually, she did recall finding his touch a little unusual, though not unpleasant. And, now that he mentioned it, her feet and legs no longer hurt. She’d suffered so much pain earlier. When had they stopped hurting? She searched her memory. Had she been in pain while she’d showered? She couldn’t remember. She’d been so filled with images of Jackson, nothing else had registered. Heat crept up her cheeks, and she quickly abandoned that line of thought.

Adrenaline had surged through her system when the savages attacked the house, which could explain the lack of pain while they’d been running, but that had long since dissipated. So why didn’t her knee hurt? And what about her feet? The medication they’d given her at the hospital had worn off long ago, so why didn’t her feet hurt any longer when she’d barely been able to walk earlier? Had walking in the ice wearing nothing but slippers numbed them? Did she have frostbite? Why wasn’t she cold? The questions beat at her more frantically. She started to hyper-ventilate. Cold air rushing in and out of her lungs, questions hammering at her, and fear of the unknown, merged together, culminating in an insistent throb at her temples.

She slapped her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to stop the interrogation from bombarding her. Of course, it didn’t help since her own mind shouted all of the questions.

“Ryleigh.” Jackson shackled her wrists with his hands, gently lowered her hands from her ears. “Look at me.”

She did as he asked. Tremors rocked her.

“It’s all right, Ryleigh. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here yet, but once we get to the castle we’ll be able to get help. You are obviously meant to be here, we’ve already established that, and I think you’ve accepted it.” He raised an eyebrow, waited for her acknowledgement.

Her chin trembled, and she clenched her teeth to keep it still. She nodded, afraid to speak.

“Our people—”

“You mean your people.” No way would she let him think she was somehow one of his people, no matter how bad her voice shook.

He huffed out a breath, blowing the shaggy hair up off his forehead. “Okay, yes,
my
people are healers. We are, for the most part, immortal. We can heal all but the most severe wounds. If I hadn’t been stripped of my powers when I was banished, I would have been able to heal you in the hospital. I did try. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help. But even without my help haven’t you realized your feet don’t hurt anymore? Check them.”

She shook her head. “No, I can’t.”

“Check them, Ryleigh.” He squeezed her hands tighter.

She’d forgotten he was still holding them.

He waited patiently, didn’t push.

She dropped his hands, reached for her pant leg, took a deep breath, held it. Lifted. Faint red marks covered her legs. The deep cuts and scrapes that had marred her skin earlier had almost disappeared.

“Are you all right?” Concern filled his eyes.

“Yeah.” It came out as a whisper, a soft wisp of sound.

“Come on. Let’s get going. The sooner we get to the castle, the sooner we can try and figure out what’s happening to you.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

He examined her eyes, searched for something. A tentative smile raised one corner of his mouth.

“I’m fine.” She broke eye contact and turned toward Mia. “Let’s go.”

* * * *

With dusk rapidly approaching, Mia shivering, and Ryleigh freaking out, Jackson needed help. He pulled a short, hollow, curved tusk from the satchel at his side, put the small end to his lips, and blew a signal, two quick blows and one long. Hopefully, it would bring help quickly.

Ryleigh trudged through the snow with her head down and a deep scowl lining her face. What was going on in her mind?

“What was that for?” Mia forced the question out between chattering teeth.

“I called to my brother. We won’t have to walk much farther before he meets us. Come on, you can hop back up on my back.”