Enchanted Revenge (19 page)

Alec never returned that night, which ended up being okay for me because I stayed up all night reading that diary. It was fascinating.

The journal started out when this woman, Norleen, was almost 300 years old and falling in love with the Sylph Prince, heir to the throne of The Empyrean. Talk about a love story. She was a nobody, just a guard, but then they met, and it was like it was always meant to be. And I wondered if the fae believed in fate. She came from humble origins and became the freaking Queen of the Empyrean!

It was epic.

Some of the journal was about the life and events in the royal house. And a lot of information about Kamalani, which I still hadn’t even seen yet.

Craziest of all, Norleen was a Pixie. With everything I had been told since being here, I understood that the different breeds didn’t mix. Not only was it looked down upon, a taboo, and not only did it risk the children being spoiled or magicless, now it was even forbidden by law.

Even in the journal, she writes about her own fears of dating a Sylph.

I fear the day we conceive, if we are so blessed. The circumstances would be shrouded in darkness and terror, forbidding happiness at the wondrous occasion.

What if the child developed wings? Mother and Father would shun us, abandon us to the nether. They would bid us farewell, hoping we would venture unto the Outer Realm.

What if the child could wield fire, but not take to the sky? He would easily be welcomed by the Pixies, but what of the Sylph? If he never could soar through the heavens…If he would be forever grounded…He would never become heir to the throne in Kamalani. He would be rejected by his own people, and stripped of his title and birthright.

How could I ever ask this of my Prince? How could I ever imprison my own child to such a fate? 

Yet, her love for him essentially overshadowed those fears. Especially since they didn’t plan on bearing children for at least a century! That’s right, these crazy fae wanted to get
really
stable before they had children. It still boggled my mind to believe that someone could live to 1000 years old!

The journal went on to say that things in The Empyrean were successful. Things in Ardennes were overly abundant, the most flourishing it had ever been. Muircadia was bubbling with more than enough water and resources for the Sprites. And, as Muircadia fed the rest of The Empyrean with nourishment, that only helped to create copious amounts of sustenance for all the Provinces. And Vesuvius, her homeland, was the most fruitful it had ever been.

It wasn’t just the boring duties of a royal. She also wrote about relationships within the palace. Scandalous situations where maids fell in love with lords, and a dux who had a mistress. It was so much information. I felt like I was reading the script to one of those drama filled soap operas my mom used to watch.

Riveting.

When the door opened, I was so taken aback that I literally jumped off the bed, not expecting anyone to walk in, completely forgetting where I was or what was going on around me, absolutely enthralled in the story I was reading.

But it was only a very sleepy looking Alec.

“Oh, you’re awake?” he said, surprised. He was starting to get bags under his eyes.

But I was upset at him for being gone so long, especially without me, so I mimicked his tone.

“Oh, you decided to come back?” The sarcasm easily dripped off my tongue.

I went back to the bed and reopened the ephemeris, getting back into the story, and tried to ignore his presence.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.” But I didn’t answer him, and apparently he couldn’t take a hint, since he came around and sat down on the bed next to me. “Can we talk?”

  I took a deep breath, blinked slowly, and looked up at him.

“I’m kinda in the middle of something right now.”

“Oh.” He pulled back, the familiar mask shrouding his face once again. “That’s fine, I have, um, something I need to do anyway.”

He stood up and left. I knew I shouldn’t have been that mean to him. I knew he was probably doing something important, and he really didn’t have to answer to me or tell me where he was, but that was the second time he disappeared, coming back hours and hours later, without letting me know if he was even alive.

Not to mention, I still didn’t know where we stood or what was going on with us. And to be honest, I was still pretty hurt that he apologized when I kissed him, especially since it was the best kiss of my life, and I had felt so 100 percent connected to him in that moment.

I don’t have much pride, not really, I never have…but kissing someone and opening up your body and mind and heart to another, just to be pushed away time and again was painful. I couldn’t take any more pain. My heart couldn’t do it anymore.

As I thought about it a little more, I couldn’t get those deep bruises under his eyes out of my head.  I realized when I had slept on the flight over he had been flying both of us. And I know he hadn’t slept the day before. This would be the third day without sleep for him.

I got up and opened the door to apologize, but he was already gone. I walked down the hallway, but didn’t see him anywhere.  I didn’t want to get lost, so I just went back to my room, sat on the bed and continued reading, hoping he would come back sooner rather than later.

Several hours passed before someone came and knocked on the door again. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from the gripping tale so that I could answer the door. Afraid that I wouldn’t be able to open it again if I shut it, and with the hope I would be the only person who could read it anyway, I left the ephemeris open and placed it under the pillow on the bed.

“I came to check on you, since you haven’t left this room at all today? Are you hungry? It’s already 7 in the evening.” Lynn explained after I ushered her into the room.

At the thought of food my stomach grumbled, especially when a delicious scent wafted to my nose. It’s funny, because things like this would happen back at home, well- back in The Mortal Realm. I always lost track of time when reading a book.

“Oh. Yes! Actually I am hungry,” I admitted. “Is everybody eating now?”

“Actually,” she chuckled, “Everyone has already eaten. Alec just mentioned that you were still in here, so I thought I would come check on you.” I ignored the disappointment flowing over me that Alec hadn’t come to check on me, but considering how I acted this morning, I understood.

She led me down a series of hallways and into a dining area. There were several long tables with enough seating for probably 50 or so people. But there were only a few people left when I got there.

“This is where we eat. Breakfast is served between six and eight in the morning, lunch around noon, and dinner about six in the evening,” she explained.

The food was just as weird as it was in Ardennes.

In one corner of my plate was an oval shaped, almost one inch thick brown thing that vaguely reminded me of the mystery meat served at my old school. In another corner was a glob of what looked like cooked spinach, but not the kind from Ardennes, the kind from home. And then there were grapes. Like, legit grapes. I really hoped they tasted like grapes and they weren’t like, spicy peppers or something.

I sat at a table alone, because there weren’t many other people around anyways, and I was already used to sitting alone. Plus, if I made a face, or had to spit any of it out, at least no one would see me do it.

I tried the mystery meat thing first, while keeping in mind it probably wasn’t meat since most fae were vegetarians. It tasted DELICIOUS. To. Die. For. So freaking amazing. It was like prime rib. Juicy and not too chewy. It melted on my tongue and sent shivers all through my body. I had been hungry already, and that single bite spurred my hunger into overdrive.

I ate the rest of my food in less than two minutes. But was still hungry. So I went up, got another plate, and ate all of it too.

“I’m surprised you like the guano so much,” Alec said, after coming up to my table and sitting down.

“Huh?” By that time, I had already finished the second plate and determined the green stuff was probably just seaweed, considering where I was. “You mean the seaweed stuff?”

He still smiled at me, like he was hiding a secret.

“Nope.” He pointed to the juice still on my plate where the oval, brown stuff was. “Guano is the fecal matter extracted from the blue tipped Coral, which are very abundant in Muircadia,” he explained.

My mind started ticking. Guano? Isn’t that bird and bat crap? I gagged. Fecal matter? My stomach turned.

I got up and rushed through the cafeteria, heading straight for the bathroom. But Alec beat me there. He was laughing, a deep melodious laugh that I desperately wanted to hear more of and made me instantly forgive him for his nasty joke.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” I said. Hoping my stomach would settle down fast.

“It really is called guano,” he explained. “And it really is excrement from the coral, but it’s not like poop or anything.” He was still chuckling. Those dimples! “It’s more like muscles that grow from the coral, and fall off, only to be replaced by more. So I guess it’s a little bit like meat.”

I gently smacked his chest. “That was rude! I ate two plates of that stuff, and I almost just threw it all up!”

He was still smiling when he apologized though. After an awkward silence I finally pushed my issues aside.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about this morning. You look terrible and really need sleep!” He laughed again, and when he laughed like that, with his eyes shining like two emeralds in the sun, and his cheeks pushing up so high they caused tiny little wrinkles at the sides of his eyes, he didn’t look tired at all. He looked so freakin hot.

“So, you’re sorry.
And
I look terrible. Thanks. Consider it noted.”

“No. Well, yes. Ugh.” I sighed. “I
meant
I am sorry about this morning and how I acted.
And
you should seriously sleep tonight.” He continued smiling and nodded at me. He placed his hand at the tiny spot on my back and walked with me.

“I will. I’m exhausted,” he admitted. Right before we got to the room he whispered so close to my ear, his warm breath tickled my neck, sending little shivers down my back. “Thanks for the apology.”

When I turned to look up at him, his face was mere inches from mine. All I could think about was that moment in the flower field. The way it felt with his body against mine. The way he smelled. The way his lips tasted. His lips…

Together, we walked into our room. Alone.

I tried not to feel awkward, being alone with him. I tried not to feel anxious, or scared, or nervous, or any of the other crazy emotions that I was feeling.

But it didn’t work.

We walked into the room and he shut the door behind us. I excused myself and went into the bathroom.  I looked into the mirror and was surprised at the sight. I looked different. I couldn’t actually look that different, it hadn’t even been a full month since my life had changed. But I felt so different.

I had seen my parent’s gruesome death. I had seen people fight and beat each other bloody. I had been held captive and almost killed. I had flown! Flown over an entire forest. I had been kissed.

I had been kissed!

Looking at myself in the mirror, my eyes looked more freaky and orange than ever before. My hair was too long and too white. And my skin was so pale I could probably pass for a character in an
Anne Rice
novel. I splashed water on my face, pinched my cheeks a little, licked my lips, and threw my hair up into a bun at the top of my head.

I hoped I didn’t really look as chaotic as I felt.

When I walked out, Alec was in the middle of changing. He had on some flannel pajamas pants, but he didn’t have a shirt on. His chest was ripped, muscles covered his body, from top to bottom. The black ink swirling over the left side of his ribs moved as he did, making it seem more alive than anything else. And the tattoo on his right shoulder blade glistened in the light. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen.

He didn’t seem to notice my speechless state, tossed a shirt on and sat down. He patted the bed right next to him, and I went and sat beside him.

“Lily, I’m sorry I didn’t come back last night. The meeting was only on for about an hour or so, but then I went out with some of the Sprites to see if we could track down a lead.”

“Oh.”

“We found where they had been recently; the place was drenched in their scents. It appears they don’t stay in one place for very long. They don’t even stay in the same place through one whole night. So, it’s making it difficult for us to find them. I mean, they’re professionals, they’ve been doing it for many decades, and they obviously know how to stay hidden when they want to.”

“Man.” My disappointment leaked through that single word.

“How are you holding up?” he asked, and then nudged my shoulder with his.

“Umm…” I swallowed a little and cleared my voice. “I’m okay. Things are a little crazy, trying to grasp everything that’s being thrust into my brain.”

“Sure.”

“I
am
really sorry about this morning. I had a lot on my mind. And I know that’s a lame excuse, but it’s true.”

“It’s okay.” When he said it, he placed his hand on my knee, offering comfort, and I swear little tingles raced through my whole body.

I swallowed again and looked up into his eyes, and for a minute time stood still and I could see inside him, to his very soul. He wasn’t wearing a mask, he wasn’t hiding any of his emotions, and I wasn’t either. I could feel my body gravitating to him, like he was a magnet for me, and I just couldn’t seem to stop myself. Not that I really wanted to anyway.

But then he cleared his throat and scooted back a little, effectively ruining that mood.

“Umm. Listen, back in Ardennes, after we flew…?” he paused, as if to make sure I knew what he was talking about. I nodded to encourage him, because I really did want to know why he had acted like that. “Some of the flowers there, they act like an aphrodisiac. And I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you.”

“Oh,” I said,
so
not expecting that. “What do you mean?”

“Certain flowers have the ability to make fae lose control, do things when they normally wouldn’t, especially in situations like that. They can incite strong emotions, feelings of lust.” He cleared his throat before continuing. Then he smiled at me as he said, “Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m dreamy and amazing, but that’s no excuse for my actions.”

“Oh,” I said, understanding what he meant. My cheeks flamed at the implications. He hadn’t wanted me at all.

“And I’m sorry again.”

I smiled, because I couldn’t believe he was still apologizing for it.

“You do realize that I kissed you, Alec. Right?”

He smiled back, but it wasn’t a real smile. “Yeah.” The
most
unconvincing ‘yeah’ ever.

He got up off the bed and went to the bathroom after saying, “Good night.” And that was it.

I sat there, looking at where he had just been, trying to figure out what was going on. I mean, I know I had no experience with boys, but I didn’t feel like this, what I was feeling, was fake or just a silly fling. It felt like the realest thing I had ever felt. There was this awesome connection between us, and I knew he felt it too, since he could speak to my mind. That
had
to mean something. It couldn’t have all been just those stupid flowers, because he had kissed me before that too.

That night I did not sleep well. The whole time I was twisting and turning, and got knotted up in the blankets thinking about him, and my parents, and the Mortem, and just everything.

I had the craziest dream about my parents turning into dragons, and Alec training me to be a dragon slayer, and then everyone turned into butterflies and exploded into fairy dust as Tinker Bell came and swept us away.

For the next two weeks, we got up, trained in the morning and then went to a meeting with the rebels- and yes, I got to join the meetings too. Then we came back, trained some more, and went to bed. After Alec was asleep, I read more in the ephemeris.

At least my body was finally accustomed to the onslaught of pain I pushed onto my muscles. Crouching and running, attacking and fending off attacks. I was getting so much better at it all.

Was it completely wrong of me that I was hoping he would kiss me just one more time?

The only thing that made time go by was that we were still looking for the Mortem. Lynn and the other rebels were very active in their searches. I wasn’t really able to contribute much, but I sure as hell tried.

We went out on raids looking for them. Sometimes we had only five or six of us, sometimes over twenty. It just depended on where we were going.

The Mortem was constantly moving where they stayed, and it made it hard for us to find them. Plus, we had to hide from the dux of this village, and especially Lord and Lady Dew of Muircadia.

The Mortem was protected by the very people who were supposed to protect the Sprites, as we knew from our experience with Lord Nettle in Ardennes. The lords were not actually on our side.

“You ready?” Alec asked me after walking in to our room.

“Yeah,” I told him, nodding. I was covered in dark blues and black, like we all did when we went out on a raid. I had my hair pulled back and covered-I guess being a blond was an oddity in Muircadia- and had my knives strapped to my belt.

I was ready.

And like every night when we went on a raid, I was hoping to find them. To find them and kill them.

It still felt weird to have so much hate and anger inside me. It didn’t feel like me. I was nice. I was kind and compassionate. I was forgiving. I was sweet and shy.

But I had changed.

I was different.

When I thought of my parents, I thought of them lying bloody and broken in our living room, blood everywhere. I thought of my mother’s head thumping as it rolled back into place. I thought of my father being stabbed with his own sword. I thought of how much pain they had to have endured before they finally moved on to the Outer Realm.

And when I thought of the Mortem, I saw only red. Blood. Theirs. Spilling out. That’s all I wanted. I wanted them to pay for what they had done. I wanted them to be rid of this world- of all the realms. I wanted them to never be able to inflict pain on anyone ever again.

When we left the rebel base that night, I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t be back. I knew I could die, at any time.

The plan was based on a lead that we got, someone saying they had seen the Mortem in a village not far from us. Each raid was leading us further and further from our little village though, each time making us go further into Muircadia.

For the Sprites, it wasn’t difficult. They could swim anywhere they wished. But for me and Alec it was different, we almost always had to surround ourselves with a magic bubble to get from one village to another, which made the entire group move at a slower pace.

Lynn and five other female Sprites would go with us tonight. It was nothing new to them to risk their lives looking for the Mortem. Every time they came to Muircadia, these rebels would search for them. Though, that didn’t really make me have much faith in their abilities to find them, even though I had seen them fight guards and knew they were a force to reckon with.

Not to mention, I was beginning to really trust them. Not like I would divulge all my deep, dark secrets to them or anything, but like I knew they had my back, and I would have theirs.

Alec surrounded us in a bubble and we set out. I tried to ignore the devastating strength of his smell, his magic, him, but it never got easier. This would be our fourth raid with these rebels, and every time I was enclosed in his magic all I could think about was him. Alec. My friend. My protector.

The only person I had left.

The water surrounded us on all sides, as we pushed further from the little village. It looked just like I would imagine the ocean back home would look. We hadn’t gone to the beach much, since Kansas isn’t anywhere near a beach, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew what the marine life consisted of, and with the schools of all different kinds of fish surrounding me, I felt like I was in the middle of an ocean.

I wondered if the entire Muircadia looked like this, or if it was different in different areas.

And the Sprites still amazed me, every time I saw them swim. Their skin grew scales that shimmered with blues and greens. They grew gills on their necks, and their fingers became webbed.

Their hair whooshed behind them, flowing smoothly in the silky waters. They each looked better in the water, which seemed weird, because I was never much of a mermaid fan or anything, and considering they looked like cracked out versions of Ariel and her sisters it was hard to imagine that they looked better this way. But they did. It was like the water enlivened them.

Finally we came up to another underwater tunnel and the bubble was gone, releasing me from my Alec-prison. 

“We’re much closer to the Central Village this time, so we have to stay quiet and unseen- which will be harder with how many guards will be around,” Lynn told us as we walked toward the opening at the end of the tunnel.  “This is the last village before reaching Lemuria.” She almost whispered the last word, as if she longed for it.

Alec placed his hand on the small of my back and told me,
Please be careful.

I looked over at him and nodded before whispering, “You too.”

“They were seen at the back by the warehouses. It shouldn’t take us too long, but remember, we
have
to stay hidden. A couple of Sylph won’t be welcome. And you already know most of us are labeled rebels and have a death sentence on our heads,” Lynn warned.

It was almost midnight, most people were asleep, but as we crept behind buildings and through alleyways I saw more than one guard on lookout.

We all waited for Lynn to signal us forward before we moved on, Alec always bringing up the rear.

I turned back to look at him just as he tackled a guard to the ground. He placed his hand flat against his forehead and whispered something into the guard’s ear. I doubt he killed him, but I didn’t think he would be waking up for a long while.

“I didn’t even hear him come after you,” I whispered as we went to the next building.

He winked at me, “But
I
did.” Always so sure of himself. I rolled my eyes just as I saw a shadow of a man come at us from behind. 

I turned just in time to duck down and narrowly avoid being hit in the head.

I looked up to find Alec on top of him, punching him. But that guard wasn’t alone. I looked to Lynn and noticed her fighting some of her own.

We were surrounded.