Vindicate (4 page)

“Realm? Dimension?
W
hat’s the difference ?
”
I could not be the only one that was not grasping this illogical play on words.

“There is a big one , ”
s he said to me as she glanced at my side to Rose. “A dimension is a place . A realm is what ’
s in that place.”

“That makes no sense.”
I scoffed.
Really?

Perodine tried to smile , but she couldn ’
t find the strength to.
“Everyone you ask will give you a different perspective of the word ‘
realm ,’
and all of them have solid reason behind them . T
he only way I can explain this to you is that right now , all o f us are in each other’s world.
We all have the same goal. And though our energy may be on different levels , we share this realm. T
he re st of the world is in their own.
T
hough they are subject to your victories and defeats , they are indeed in their own realm. F
acing their own wars , whether they be small or large.”

“This isn’t helping me now .
I need to know where they are.”
I muttered with as I spun the ring more slowly now.

“
In e very sense of the word , they are right here, but in reality , they are fighting in a different realm. A nother place that we have to determine how to reach.”

“Determine , ” I said shortly , nodding my head toward the table. She didn’t move ; she kept her stare with me.
“Tell me about the dream world you were in yesterday, Willow. How dangerous was it?”

“It wasn’t , ”
I said firmly. “It was peaceful. M
ostly , anyway . T
he weather was unpredictable , ” I said with a sense of sarcasm , which brought a smirk to Brady’s face.
No one else got the joke. Figures.

Marc, who had been pacing back and forth behind me , spoke up. “How can they both be having the same dream?”

“The same way Willow and Landen shared their dreams , ” Rose said with a peaceful voice.
“Our dreams can easily intertwine with another , especially if the other person has a common goal .
Willow and Landen’s was to find each other , and even though they didn’t know it then , it was to redeem this dimension.
Drake and Landen have a common goal : to protect Willow . T
hey are fighting for her right now.”

“More than me , ” I mumbled as I looked to Landen’s body , trying to feel an emotion from him. Above all , I felt his anger , but underneath all the negative emotions , I felt his love for me.
I didn’t know what I wou ld do if I felt fear within him. M
adness would be my only choice. “I brought Landen back. W
hen he saw Drake next to him , he slipped away. H
e went back for him.”

Tension filled the room , and all eyes were on me. Alamos left the table and came to August and Marc’s side. Perodine stood in front of them all , waiting for me to tell them how. Brady squeezed my hands , calling my a ttention to to his eyes. “How ?
” he asked quietly.

“My energy .
I gave it -
” I stopped myself , remembering that none of them knew that I ’
d g iven my energy to Drake before. T
hat I had saved his life with that power. T
hat because I’d done that , Landen and Drake both carried the strength of my heart. “I gave it to Landen. I t brought him back , but only for an instant.”

“Did he say anything?” Brady asked , holding my stare.

“
‘
An angel fallen , a devil risen.
’
” I felt the confused stares from them all. “Drake said , ‘F
ate is calling , this world will not be our prison.
’
”
I bit my lip as I spun the ring vigorously. Maybe I should try giving them my energy again. Maybe I should just completely collide my soul with Landen’s. Would that get me to where he is? God knows it would help me. I felt so weak. Like dizzy weak.

“What do you mean Drake said that?” Marc asked .
“Did he come back , too? How did you get him to come back?”

I let my eyes fall from Brady’s and stared at the fl oor. I wasn’t going to tell him. T
hat was o ur secret. T
he power the three of us shared.

“Just the hint of her energy. H
er being near him , would have been enough to bring him back for a second , ” August said , taking the attention off me.

I looked at him with grateful eyes. Though we never told him that I had let Drake ’
s energy in me , I was almost sure he knew. And right now , I felt h is intent to keep it a secret. O
ur secret.

“What do those words mean?” I asked .

None of them seem ed to know. Alamos went to the table to write the words down before he forgot them.

“I have to figur e out how to get to that realm. I need to know what they are fighting.”
I also had to figure out how to get them all out of this room for a few hours. It would take at least that long for me to merge my soul with Landen’s.
I couldn’t hold a thought long enough to figure out if that was a rational plan. Would it help or hurt him. Is that was the evil whore is waiting on? For me to submerge my energy with his so she can kill me, too. What did she want with him anyway? Power? Was that it? I felt a sharp pain in my core and told myself she would taste the raw end of my power before this was all over with.

“Right,” Perodine said. “And we have to figure out how to fight what ’
s here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked , not seeing any danger beyond losing Landen and Drake.

“War,” Alamos said from behind me. “Mars is war , and we are facing it at this moment.”

“Who ’
s killing who?” I asked bleakly , prepared to just send my emotions - the violent atmosphere , at the ones that were in the wrong.
I didn’t have time for nonsense.

“It’s hard to say . W
e have no idea who has survived. W
hat members of the court remain , ” Alamos answered.

“None , ” I said coldly a s I remembered the Estate blowing away just a few hours ago.

“Perhaps , ” Perodine said , looking at Marc. “But right now , we can’t let them think that Drake is dead . Th ey have to have a ruler . T
hen there are the rumors we have to fight.”

“The ones that said I was with Drake now?” I asked .
“How could they have reached here by now?”

“There is no way to know , ” Alamos said. “It’s been too dangerous for us to leave the palace.”

Thanks for the reminder there. Like I didn’t know how scared the people outside were. Like I didn’t know it was my fault.

“What do we need to do?”
m y father asked as he took my hand.

“We need to cut our losses. W
e are going to have to give back the city of Delen , ” Perodine said regretfully.

“
What?
No!” I yelled .

“Listen,” my father whispered in his calm tone. He wasn’t comma nding that I listen to anyone. J
ust that I listened.

“Why?” I asked in a more approachable tone.

Perodine ’s eyes looked over me carefully. “Th is world has to have a leader. W
ithout one , they will fall into civil war at best ; they will destroy themselves at worst.”

“We don’t have one , ” I said as my eyes moved to Drake’s body. Sweat was pouring off both him and Landen now.

As m y father left my side to care for them, Alamos followed him . I stood , wanting to do anything I could to help. Brady held me back , but I managed to pull him to the end of the bed. Alamos and my father ripped their shirts open and poured handfuls of water from the basin across their perfectly sculpted chest s , across every muscle - every part of their bodies. I pushed forward , wanting to crawl between them. T
o give them any comfort. Brady wrapped his arms around me , holding me in place. I’m sure I could have fought him off with a thought , but I let him hold me ; i nstead , I thought of a cool spring breeze and gently let the air leave my lips.

The wind reached their bodies and dried the glistening sweat from their chest – across their brows. Both Drake and Landen opened their mouths , letting my breath ease across their tender lips.

“We have to make one . M
ock a leader , ” Alamos said , looking up from Drake’s body to Marc , who was lingering behind me.

Marc stared at Drake’s body as he spoke. “I’m not him.”

“I didn’t say that you were , ” Alamos said calmly. “But the world needs to think you are right now . Y
ou kno w he would want you to do this. T
hat Landen would want you to.”

Marc’s eyes moved to Brady , then to Alamos. “What do you expect me to do?”

Alamos looked at Perodine , who was at my side , asking her to explain . He then gave his attention back to Drake.

“We have to have a mourning. T
hat will b u y us time , ”
s he explained.

“Who are we mourning?” I asked bleakly , knowing that I wouldn ’
t let them mock my death –or Landen’s .

“The priest s that died last night on that island . T
he people that died in Atamentous this morning , ” Perodine carefully explained.

“And where are we during this mock mourning time ? W
here are Landen and Willow ? W
hat do we tell the people we sent here?” I asked , trying my best to grasp control.
It was an internal war, but this girl was winning at the moment.

“We tell them nothing , ” Alamos said bleakly as he rose from Drake ’
s side. “As dark and twisted as you think this dimension is , its traditions and beliefs are going to give you the time you need now.”

“What tradition?” I asked .

“Mourning last s two weeks for any member of the court . Due to the mass loss , we coul d extend that well past a month. I n that time , there will be no speeches – no words. Silence is demanded as we reflect. In e ffect , we can freeze this dimension in place while we fight the battle in their mind s right now , ” Alamos said as his eyes moved bac k to Drake. “Marc has no choice.
Either he initiates the mo u rning , or he declares it invalid , the way Drake did with Donalt’s death . I f nothing is done , war will erupt immediately as other s try to rise and take control.
C
ountless men desire to rule this world.”

“This world didn ’
t mo u rn Donalt?” I asked with a smirk. Oddly , that brought me the hope that I could one day sa ve them all from the destruction that that man brought them.

“They didn’t mourn because the ruler – Drake -
told the court that there wasn’t time . B
ecause in his own way , he didn’t th ink his death deserved mourning. T
hat was the spark.
After that it was said that Drake’s heart and not his mind were leading this world.
T
hat he had given his reign to another man.”

Perodine looked down at her folded hands. “Is that your perception?”

“Why would it not be?” Alamos asked smugly.

“Because you know just as well as I do that that is not why Drake didn’t initiate the mourning,”
s he said , linking stares with Alamos.

“What are you talking about?” Brady asked as we all felt the anxiety fill the room.

“Tell them, your majesty , ” Alamos said with heavy sarcasm as he mocked a bow.

Perodine glared at him for an endless moment , then looked at me . “It is tradition that when our King dies – his court – his Queen – her court are to be put to death with him. They are to be murdered so that when the King enters hi s next life, his status…his reign is in place , just as it was in this life.”

“They would have killed you?!” I asked as a sick feeling rose and settled in the back of my throat , e ven though I doubted anyone would be powerful enough to end her long life.

“They defin i t e ly would have tried , ” Perodine answered. “Drake incited a law weeks back that stated that death would only come to thos e who would not benefit his reign . T
he law has to reside for one moon for it to be in place ; his pause in the announcement protected me and Alamos.
”

I felt respect rise in Brady. “Wise act?”

“Perhaps…Don alt’s rule was near everlasting. I t was a tradition that has not been ex ercised for millions of years.
Drake’s decision divided the parts of the world that believed Donalt to be dead.”

“What do you mean ‘
parts ’
?” I asked , completely bewildered .

“Communication is no t as clear here as it is in the home where I raised you , ”
my father answered.

“There are people who don’t know he’s dead?! No wonder I ’
m having such a hard time here , ” I said as my frustration washed across my face.