The Celestial Kiss (6 page)

“And what exactly, do you think is going to keep me here?”

“I rather hope you’ll learn to like it here.”  The King smiled, a sincere gesture.

“You’re going to regret this,” I warned.  They were just words, with nothing to back them up, but I would not go out quietly. 

“That’s enough!”  Julius said.  His voice was clear and loud, firm enough to stop me in my tracks.  I glanced at James, curious as to how he felt about all this, and saw the look that I undoubtedly wore on my face mirrored in his.  He actually seemed in danger of being physically ill.

The King, pretending that my outburst had never happened, looked to the back of the room, his dark eyes indicating that his mind was in a seemingly far-off place.  “Janna,” He addressed his daughter with a smile and the light began to return to his eyes.  I turned around to see Janna come forward, taking the spot next to me.  James’ father smiled, his eyes shifting between his daughter and me.  “Will you show Lilith to her room?”

“Of course,” She smiled, as though it would be an honor.  Her eyes turned on me and I almost stumbled backwards in the wake of their intensity, her disappointment, so drastically different from the gentle way she’d looked at me earlier.  I was no longer fragile to her; something I’d done had provoked her, and while I couldn’t imagine what it had been, it gave me hope that I could exploit that.  “Let’s go.”

I followed her from the room, glad to be away from the council, away from the king and his sons, away from the puppeteers pulling the strings of my life.  But Janna’s anger put me on edge.

“I can tell you’re really thrilled with this decision,” Janna said.  I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I almost didn’t recognize the sarcasm.  But then, that’s not saying much since Janna didn’t seem to speak it fluently.  I suspected this was uncharted territory for her.

“Delighted.”  I muttered.  I didn’t want to come right out and tell her I hated her brother for bringing this upon me, though she had to have known.

Janna stopped at a door on the right side of the hall, and I realized I’d been so busy cursing them all that I’d not kept track of which way we’d come from.  My chance at a prison break was now lost, and I had only myself to blame.  The door opened to reveal a decent-sized room, with a large bed and books set upon shelves built into the recesses of the walls.  I stepped in automatically, and turned back to look at Janna.

“I know you’re not happy about this,” She said.  “I assure you, neither are my brothers and my mother.  The indiscretion is a blemish on their names.  However, I have to ask that you please refrain from taking your anger out on my father.  He is sick and does not need you trying to provoke him.  If you need a punching bag, I’m right here.  But if you ever go after my father like that…ever…I will turn
you
into the punching bag.”

It was a sentiment so drastically different from the girl she had been before that I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t.  Not until I knew which version was the real one.  Her ferocity did catch me off guard, though not quite in the way she probably hoped.  “He’s the one who told me to fight.”  I reminded her.  “And I will.”  I meant it as a warning, but Janna’s cool eyes seemed unconcerned.

“I don’t think that’s what he meant.”  She shook her head, tousling her long, glossy curls.  Before I could ask for the translation, though, she shut the door.  Seconds later the scrape of a lock provided all the clarification I needed.  He could call me a guest, he could offer me a fancy room with a big bed and endless books, but he couldn’t deny what I was—their prisoner.  And if he wanted a fight, I’d give him a fight.

I don’t think they’d expected complacency from me, judging from the look of mild surprise upon Janna’s face as she unlocked my door hours later, to find me curled up into myself at the window seat, watching the sun sink away behind the trees.  But I’d already explored the room and found absolutely nothing of any use to me.  There was a spot on the wall where there had been a mirror once; apparently they’d removed anything I could have used as a weapon.

“Hey,” Janna’s soft voice seemed tentative.  I wondered if she was embarrassed for losing her composure earlier.  “My father requested your presence for dinner.”  She smiled, like that should make me feel better.

I crossed my arms and stared at her.  Dining with them was about the last thing I wanted to do, closely preceded by starving and throwing myself through the second story window.  But it was an opportunity to freedom, the only thing I’d ever wanted.  And having been so close, only to have it snatched away, I realized my hunger for it had intensified.  I’d do anything for it, including sitting at dinner with the family so that I could fool them into dropping their guard. 

As Janna led me confidently and quietly through the halls, I recorded every turn in my brain.  It was a sequence of lefts and rights through the house, down the stairs again, and into the same room where earlier I’d attempted my escape.  The two heavy doors gleamed before me, and I wondered whether I should try again when Janna led me toward them.  My heart raced, preparing my body for the adrenaline I would exert once those doors opened into the cool evening.  

But as Janna opened them, my heart sank.  The house once again gave way to brick, going from a palatial home to an area reminiscent of a dungeon.  Janna informed me to watch my step, and it was hard not to feel a growing sense of dread as we moved into an area that was very obviously below ground.  My lungs tightened painfully at that knowledge, but I tried not to let it affect me.  When I was young, I’d spent hours running through the tunnels and close hallways at my father’s home, and I’d been okay then.  Of course, back then I hadn’t been surrounded by werewolves…

Foolish Lilith
.  I followed her through the darkness.  But as suddenly as it had been black on this side of the door, light flickered in the distance, bringing with it the promise of warmth.  Unwilling to drop my defenses, I followed her warily until the dark passage we’d come through was nothing but a memory in the distance.  Here, the walls were decorated with fire, beautiful bursts of flame that illuminated the rich tapestries hanging by them.  If the home above us had been palatial, this place was the epitome of a castle.

It was nearly archaic, the way that the torches burned in their sconces every few paces, but they were gorgeous all the same, their warmth offering a stark contrast to the dark halls I was accustomed to.  I was so entranced by the unexpected guise of comfort that I’d forgotten to keep track of our movement until it ceased, so that we stood before a set of doors that matched the ones we’d come through.  Janna appraised me, with something like sympathy in those warm eyes of hers.  Fear seized my heart just as she threw the doors open, my mind reeling with thoughts of being made into their dinner, of having an apple shoved in my mouth and being roasted alive.

Instead, hundreds of eyes turned to look at me.  The room buzzed with excitement; a young girl elbowed her mother until she looked up where her daughter was pointing at me, and a boy leaned into his father to whisper.    I wavered under the surprising weight of it all, suddenly dizzy.  Like an anvil had been shoved onto my chest, the surprise forced my breath out of tight lungs. 

Janna didn’t hesitate to usher me down the center aisle as necks craned to capture a glimpse of us, following our path all the way to the front of the room where a long, horizontal table barred us from moving any further.  At the table sat the people I’d come to fear: James and Julius, side by side.  To James’ right sat the King, and to Julius’ left sat the queen, her cold eyes trained on me.  James stood, and I forced myself still as he approached, unwilling to betray any signs of fear.  I didn’t want James to see them, to know he had the upper hand, and certainly not with an audience.  

I nearly winced as he extended his hand, palm up.  In his eyes there was an expression I couldn’t determine.  He was generally unreadable, and that made me nervous.  Xian had been like that for the most part too, and yet he could snap in an instant.  The entire room watched me still, and I noticed Janna had moved away to take up an empty chair beside her mother.  I waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn’t. 
You don’t bother me. 
It was a lie I was attempting to convince myself of, but maybe if I fooled everyone else first…

I placed my hand in his.  The smallest semblance of a smile found its way to his mouth and he led me behind the table, where an empty seat had opened as the King had moved one over, so that he now sat at my right.  Hesitant, I assumed his vacated place, all too aware of the uncomfortable silence that had settled around the room.

The King nodded, and from doors on either side of our table people issued, bearing with them silver trays loaded with meats and cheese, fruit and bread, vegetables of such bright colors they seemed almost unnatural and yet bizarrely enticing.  A man appeared between James and I, placing a platter before us.  My skin stood at attention as he withdrew, brushing very lightly against my arm.  A woman appeared to take his place, setting before us a basket of bread, and smiling joyfully at me. 

Overwhelmed, I turned to James to ask him anything, when a girl who couldn’t have been much older than myself popped between us with a decanter, filling the crystal glasses that sat on either side of me with an amber liquid I recognized as wine.  To my other side, a younger girl set another drink before me, in a silver goblet.  That girl disappeared in the next instant, and I turned in time to see the first young woman as she pulled back to retreat. Her hand slipped very casually over my full goblet, sending it careening to the table so that its contents spilled on my lap.  I jumped up and had a napkin shoved into my hand in the next instant.  “Oops,” Said the girl who’d knocked over the goblet, though she sounded not the least bit apologetic.  She seemed to smirk as she turned away.

Gratefully accepting the napkin, I dabbed at the clothes I’d borrowed from Janna earlier that day, and became aware of the red stain that spread over the white cloth in my hand.  The warmth was what startled me most, and shaking, I realized what I’d been saturated with.  Nausea rolled through my stomach at the smell.  Blood. 

The King righted my overturned goblet and turned to the girl, issuing a very kind request for another.  I stared at the napkin a moment, before coming to attention in time to place my hand on the King’s.  “No.”  I told him, speaking for the first time in hours, causing my voice to crack.  “Please.” I added, with an imperceptible shake of my head.  The girl who’d caused the mess looked to the King for confirmation, and then disappeared when he nodded his agreement. 

I noticed then that I’d still been under surveillance, knowledge that made me feel even more uneasy.  In the wake of that mess, though, the silence had been transformed into a buzz of noise as several conversations had erupted.  I released the breath I’d been unconsciously holding, and took my seat again.  James handed me his napkin, and I accepted it with a murmured ‘thanks’, pulling the last of the wet stain from the skirt.

Dinner commenced, and everybody seemed to be swallowed into their own conversations, leaving me to sit awkwardly at the forefront of the room, on the receiving end of curious glances.  I heard Janna begin talking to her mother about something she’d seen in town a few days ago, and the King discussing with a man a seat or two over from him how the weather was perfect.  I simply stared at the food before me, unwilling and unable to eat after feeling the blood on my hands.  Though I’d ruined a few crisp linen napkins, they were still tinted red.  James leaned into me so that nobody could see what he was about to say.

“You know, we don’t normally eat like this…all picking off the same trays.”  He gestured at the slices of meat that had been carved up on a gleaming platter.  “It’s for your benefit.  We wanted you to know that the food is good.  Untainted.”  He added.

I turned, looking at him blankly.  His dark eyes looked deceptively kind, and the planes of his face were not so rigid that he looked angry, just uncertain.  The smile that he offered me was charming in spite of its faltering habit.  But I knew better than to be taken in by deceitful good looks. “What is this?”

“Dinner,” he said simply.  “A good one too.”

“That’s not what I meant.”  I hissed.  “Why are you guys doing this?  What do you want from me?”

James watched me for a moment, contemplating his answer.  “We can discuss this at length later.”  And without waiting for an answer, he turned to his brother and began to speak with him on something I did not care to listen to.

The king watched me a minute, then leaned in.  When he did, I realized that up close, the sickness Janna had mentioned was evident.  It was no wonder she had taken up arms to defend him—he looked fragile.  His face was pale, translucent like paper and stretched too tight.  Under his eyes were dark circles, like bruises, and though they weren’t prominent, I could see the way that wrinkles did cover his face…fine little things, like fault lines under his skin.  While he looked feeble, I couldn’t say he looked particularly old.  At least, not as old as he truly was.  I felt inclined to like him, for reasons I couldn’t explain.  But that wasn’t going to stop me from letting him know how I really felt.

“I must confess, the blood was a test.  I had to make sure my people were safe in your presence.  Having it spilled on you…well, that was, I suspect, a bit of creative liberty.”  I looked down at the table where the discarded napkins sat at the edge of my empty plate.  “You passed, by the way.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw that Janna was embroiled in a conversation which required the emphatic use of her hands.  She was far too distracted to notice me. 

“I deserve answers.”

“You do,” he nodded.  “But I cannot give them to you.  James has tied your fates together…I’m afraid it’s up to him to disclose the nature of your future.”

My eyes narrowed with suspicion.  He wouldn’t tell me what I wanted?  Fine.  “I’ll play this game, whatever it is, and I will win.”

The king gave me an undeniable smile.  “I don’t doubt you will.”

I suffered through dinner and dessert in the same manner, and when my misery was over, Janna led me back to my room.  But instead of dropping me off, she opened the door and followed me in, perching herself on the edge of the bed while I resumed my seat at the window.  I couldn’t help but watch her. Something about the look in her eye, the way she sat there as if she’d been here millions of times before, had me intrigued.  “Delilah,” She said suddenly, looking up at me.  “She’s the one who spilled that goblet on you at dinner.”  I didn’t know why she was bothering to tell me this, as if Delilah had been anything more than a thorn in my side after my recent experience.  But Janna wasn’t done.  “She’s a bit…malicious.  And she’s always had a thing for James.  I can’t say she is evil incarnate, but if she were on fire I’d try to put it out with lighter fluid.”  She grimaced at her own words.  “That was cruel.  Delilah is actually the one who took care of you when James first brought you here.  The blood was a test, to prove whether we could trust you.  I’m sure she hoped you would fail and that’s why she took it upon herself to spill it everywhere.  The joke is on her, though, because you passed with flying colors.”  Janna smiled then, as if that should excite me.

I clenched my jaw together, still too angry to speak without potentially screaming.  And screaming would be counterproductive.  Janna seemed to realize I wasn’t going to offer her anything in return, and so she turned and let herself out of the room.

They were worried about testing me and trying to find out if I could be trusted, but they didn’t seem to realize they’d given me no reason to trust them.  Sure, they didn’t poison the food, but the way the pain in my shoulder pulsed through my veins and echoed in my temples now that I was alone with it, I almost wished they had.

I collapsed face down on the bed and drifted to sleep in the next minute, too exhausted to even notice that I’d never heard the sound of that lock scraping closed.