The Song of Eloh Saga (95 page)

“Oh, come on. Even Elessia admitted she agrees with what her people are doing. She’s right. Someone always has to be on top. Why is it up to us to decide who wins and who loses? Why even get involved?”

“Why not? What else would you do with your life?”

“Maybe relax and enjoy living. Just for once?”

“You sound like my parents.” He spit out the words as if they were filled with venom.

“What’s so wrong with that?” I asked. “Don’t you get tired of the hiding, the fighting?”

Chase grabbed my shoulders. “What I get tired of is other people being hurt because no one wants to stand up against the evil in this world. My parents took down the Malborn army in our land. It didn’t stop them. It only set them back. Look at how we’re paying for that! I was imprisoned here for four years. You were captured and they wanted Kellan to get you pregnant. Unless I’m misreading the situation, that would be rape. Is that really something you’d sentence another girl to? How many of them up there are willing? Do you know?”

The castle towered above the forest. The highest rooms were where I’d been held, doomed to years of men forcing themselves on me to grow their demented, magical army. I looked back at Chase. Anger spewed from his eyes. His shoulders hunched, carrying the weight of the world. People he’d never met could be hoping for a savior. Maybe Chase was it. Maybe it was time to rise up and stop the Malborn.

“What can we do?” I squared my shoulders, determined to help end the war. I couldn’t be the only lost girl out there. Maybe if we could do something about it, a lot of us could find our happy endings.

“First we need to head back to your people. I want you to convince them to fight back. Their ranks are filled with scores of gifted people. If they agree to fight with us, perhaps some of the people in my homeland will rise up too.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Chase held out his hand, presumably for me to shake on our deal, but I held back. Just because I was confused about my feelings for Bryden didn’t mean I would come close to touching Chase anytime soon.

“Bryden’s out there,” I pointed over my shoulder. “Can you get him so we can get going?”

“Are you two okay?” Chase asked.

“It’s really not your business.” The last thing I wanted to do was give him any hope for us. I couldn’t even consider returning another man’s affection until I knew how I felt about my relationship with Bryden. “Just go get him, please.”

Chase nodded and jogged into the forest the direction Bryden had wandered off.

A few minutes later, they stalked back through the trees. They weren’t looking at each other, or at me. Part of me wanted to know what, if anything, had been said between them. Another part of me knew it was best to stay out of it. If their expressions told me anything, it was that they’d had words but also come to some kind of understanding.

“Everyone ready?” Chase asked. “I think I can safely open a portal here where no one will find a trace of it. I want to open it into the Fithian castle, directly into Bryden’s room. Lianne, do you think you can get an audience with their leader, Marek?”

“I can try. My biological mother knows him.”

“You’re the Queen Slayer,” Bryden said quietly, his eyes downcast. “He’ll see you.”

Chase flicked his fingers in the air and a portal opened, sparkling in the dark wood. “I’ll go first,” Chase said. “Make sure everything’s safe.” He walked into the portal.

I looked at Bryden. My heart lurched at his demeanor. I’d never seen him so sad. “Why don’t you go next?” I asked.

He shook his head. “You go first, Lianne.”

I nodded and took a step toward the portal.

“Wait!” He grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “I have to tell you something first.”

“What is it?” I needed time, yes, but I’d never turn him away. I loved him too much for that.

“No matter what you decide, I want you to know that my time with you was the happiest of my life. I don’t regret one moment of it. I would do anything for you.”

I tried to say ‘I know,’ but it only came out in a strangled croak. I sniffled, holding back the tears that threatened to explode. I’d spent most of my life training to be tough, to defeat anyone who looked at me wrong. But I couldn’t fight Bryden – not physically, not emotionally. I also knew that before I could commit to him, I had to end this war. I leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, then turned and ran through the portal.

Chapter Seventeen

“I’ve got someone to talk to,” Chase mumbled. He opened another portal and left Bryden and I standing alone in his room.

Bryden stared at me. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t. “I should see if I can get an audience with Marek.”

Bryden turned his back on me and started riffling through some papers in the corner of the room. “You know where the door is,” he said.

I left his room, my back straight and standing tall. It was a good thing no one could see my broken heart, shattered into pieces. I couldn’t keep leading him on when I wasn’t sure if I could even trust my own feelings and instincts.

Making my way through the castle, I smiled at the few faces I recognized. Most were slaves. The Fithian nobility was locked up in the dungeons until Marek decided what to do with them. Once I arrived at the rooms Rotlar had lived in, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The double doors opened slowly. “Lianne,” the slave said. “You’re back. He’s been waiting for you.”

“Am I in much trouble?” I asked with a smile on my face. I tried to keep it glib, not show any of the last few weeks on my face.

“Not sure, honestly. I do know he’ll see you, though. Wait here a moment. I’ll be right back.”

She passed through the second set of double doors, leading to the meeting room. Rotlar used it to hold court with other visiting dignitaries. I could only assume Marek would do the same. A few moments later, she was back.

“He’ll see you now.”

I smiled and walked through the doors, not knowing what to expect on the other side.

“Lianne, it’s good to see you again,” Marek said. “Back from your little adventure?”

He stuck a finger in his tea, twirling the liquid around in circles. He removed it from the cup and licked the brown water off his finger. I shivered internally.

“Want to tell me where you were, Queen Slayer?”

My eyes narrowed.

“I see you don’t like the nickname I gave you. It’s appropriate, isn’t it? You did kill the new queen, didn’t you?”

I kept my breath steady. I wouldn’t let him rattle me. I had a job to do and I would do it no matter how much I hated working with this man who had used Bryden, Kellan, and me. Now I was going to ask for his help.

“Call me whatever you want.” I sighed. “I’m back now. I delivered Trevin to his mother, Mags.”

“Ah, the deposed queen. You certainly have strange loyalties, Queen Slayer. Helping the disgraced queen and killing the new queen who also happened to be your adoptive sister. Truly an interesting outlook on life. You are much like me.”

I wanted to scream that I was nothing like him, but I held my tongue. Arguing wouldn’t get me anywhere now.

“While I was gone, I learned something you might be interested to know,” I said. “There’s another army coming, the Malborn. They have very powerful magic and are looking to steal ours.”

He stroked his golden goatee with his thumb and fingers. It trailed down his chin and ended in a braid about the length of his thumb. He twirled the tip between his fingers.

“Steal our magic? Just how would they accomplish that?”

“They’re running a breeding program, stealing magical people and forcing them to breed children that they raise to fight in their army.”

“Now that’s an interesting concept.” Marek leaned back into the throne that Rotlar used to sit in. The contrast was stark. While Rotlar was obese and disgusting, Marek was fit and well-groomed. Under other circumstances, I might have understood the appeal. The Dalagan people followed him unquestioningly. “Maybe that’s something we should have tried rather than our little farming technique we used on the Fithians.”

“You don’t understand. They’re coming for us. They’re planning on stealing your women and using them to breed more magical warriors.”

“Certainly, I understand. Thank you for passing on this info, Lianne. We can prepare for their attack.” He waved his hand in the air, dismissing me without a word. I bowed, and turned to leave. “Wait a moment, please.”

I paused, only steps from the door. “Yes?”

“Where is the former queen Margaretta?”

I’d come in here to tell him about an invading army and he only had questions about Mags. Bizarre. For once, I could be totally honest. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? You handed her son over to her, and then she disappeared?”

“Well, not really. She said she didn’t want to see me again, and then she didn’t. That’s about all there is to tell.”

He twirled his goatee again. “And yet you were gone for weeks, gathering intelligence about an invading army and supposedly delivering a baby to his mother.” His eyes narrowed, as he penetrated my gaze. The fires inside screamed at me to run or defend myself or do something other than standing there like an imbecile.

“What were you doing? Tell me, Lianne. What’s really going on?”

I thought quickly, racking my brain for any idea. I looked over his shoulder at the portraits he’d hung on the wall. His people adored him, worshipped him, trusted him. It was what he expected, what fueled him as a leader.

I rushed to him, falling to his feet. Laying my face against his silken pants, I mustered up every tear I’d held back over the past few weeks. Every moment I’d hurt Bryden. Every time I’d had to turn Chase away. Every instance I’d ignored my own instincts to preserve the safety and happiness of others. I channeled all of it into a rush of tears.

“It was terrible! After I’d found Mags living in the forest, I’d started making my way back here. A man captured me in the forest and took me hostage. They said they could tell I had powerful magic. They’d heard rumors of the Queen Slayer. They took me back to their castle, across the water, transporting me through some kind of magical rip in the air.” His hand stroked my hair. It gave me incentive to keep going. It was working. “Then they told me their plans to use me as a breeder.”

His hand moved from my hair to my shoulder. He leaned over me and kissed the top of my head. “I’d never let them do that you, my dear. I protect my people better than that. If they want to attack us, then we’ll be prepared.”

I smiled into his pants, grateful he couldn’t see the glee on my face. I had to continue to play the part of the scared, innocent girl.

“Come, come, stand up. Go back to your love, Bryden. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. All is forgiven.”

I stood up, my shoulders still heaving with the tears I’d allowed to break free.

“That trick of your mother’s will be good too.”

“My mother?” I asked, curious. I hadn’t had much time at all to speak with her since I’d first met her during the battle.

“Yes, why do you think you’re so powerful, Lianne? You are one of her greatest success stories.”

“I don’t understand.” I honestly didn’t. He knew something about me that I didn’t know and that didn’t set well with me.

“Why when you and Sebrina were just babies, your mother siphoned all of your sister’s magic into you. Perhaps this is something we can use on these Malborn enemies you told me about. It’s far more effective than breeding. That takes too long.”

Horrified, I backed away from him. “This overwhelming magic inside of me isn’t fully mine? It belongs to Sebrina too?”

“It used to, but it’s all yours now, Lianne. I think you should spend some time with your mother so she can teach you this incredible magic too. You can save us all.”

I turned and ran from the room, no longer caring how I appeared to him.

Chapter Eighteen

Even though he protested heavily, I grabbed Bryden’s hand and dragged him to Sebrina’s room. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her since before Kellan tried to kill her. She’d still been in a coma when I left to find Mags. When I visited Bryden the other night, he told me she’d awakened. I hated making our reunion so dramatic, but I needed to know if she knew what our mother had done to us.

“You’re limping,” I said. “Did Johna’s concoction wear off already?”

“No,” he grumbled. His hand laid in mine like a limp fish, totally opposite of the strong way he’d always grasped it before. “I’m faking it. I don’t feel like letting anyone here know how much better I’ve been. It’ll start too many questions I don’t feel like answering.”

“Okay, I understand.” I didn’t, but now wasn’t the time to push him. My words earlier in the day had hurt him so much. Anyone could see that. I’d destroyed everything. I just hoped once things calmed down I could salvage some kind of a relationship with him.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to Sebrina’s room. For appearance’s sake, we continued to hold hands. Everyone here expected us to be together. They’d seen us the night of the conquest and knew we shared a room. For us to break up so suddenly would cause too much speculation. We agreed to get through the upcoming battle before making any kind of official announcement. Besides, I still wasn’t sure I wanted to break up with Bryden yet. My heart didn’t want to tell anyone I’d left him because I still wasn’t sure what I wanted.

“Are we telling Sebrina the truth?” Bryden asked as we stopped outside her door. I raised my knuckles to knock, but paused before they connected with the heavy wood.

“What do you want to do?” I asked. She was my twin, and although we weren’t close, I still wasn’t sure I’d be able to hide it from her. She’d read me so easily the day we met. Why would it be any different now?

“I’m not so sure that what I want matters right now,” Bryden said. He dropped his hand from mine. “There’s no one around. You don’t have to pretend.”

I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “I still care for you, very deeply. Please don’t think that my feelings have changed. I just…” I hands dangled at my sides. “I just want to make sure I’m making the decisions for the right reasons.”