Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (2 page)

“Feel better?” Catherine asked, holding back a giggle. His shirt was droopi
ng off him like it had been designed for a Langoran.

“Lots!” James exclaimed as
he looked out towards what used to be the water. His countenance fell as Catherine saw the concern in his eyes. She turned and suddenly wished she had taken one last glance at the ocean before it disappeared.

It
was completely gone, and in its place was an endless expanse, covered in flat, tan sand. In the far distance was the sun, barely peeking over the horizon and lighting their area. The previous beauty was nowhere to be found, and what remained was a strange and unnatural view, making the world look very alien.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t hold it longer,” James replied, but Catherine immediately turned to him and flashed him a smile.

“This is probably more my thing anyways,” she said. “All that beauty was making me feel all mushy and emotional inside.”

“Tota
lly not like you,” James grinned. “You were actually scaring me a bit back there. You were enjoying it so much that I thought you were going to start making dresses out of the trees and washing yourself in the ocean because you felt icky.”

“You wish, you perv,” Catherine shook her head. “
But seriously, are you sure you’re fine?”

“Definitely,” James replie
d. “At this rate, we can survive until the third day is over.”

“Maybe we won’t need that much time. Seeing you suffer like that…it
really brought me back to reality…of what we should be doing.”

“Catherine, we have to wait here. Kyran will be looking for us.”

“But there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to hold this place together, or that the Quietus won’t discover us. We have to start thinking proactively. I’m done sitting around.”

“Catherine…”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the reprieve. But now it’s time we get back to the task at hand – what we came here to do.”

“I’m not ready to
go back out there.”

“And I’m not comfortable sitting here while Arimus and the others are fighting for their lives.
If we can somehow get out of Quietus, perhaps we can rendezvous with the others. They would be heading to Prattle by now. We can intercept them at the Conun lodge.”

“There are Quietus everywhere. How do you propose we get past them?”

“You know…”

“No, Catherine,” James shook his head violently. “I won’t allow it.”

“And you’re in no place to be giving the Princess orders!”

“
…what if I come up with an alternative?”

“Such as?”

“Do you remember what happened when I attacked the King of Quietus? I know it was kind of chaotic…”

“I remember Dominic holding me back, and your eidolon cracking,” she said low.
She cleared her throat and continued. “Kyran was trying to break free from his grip.”

“Catherine…I’m half Quietus,” James admitted, staring directly into her eyes. He regretted saying the words, but it was the only w
ay she would listen to his plan. He had to tell her the truth, no matter the consequence. Their lives depended on it.

“You look nothing like a
Quietus,” Catherine said, her eyes steady onto his.

“I take after my father in looks,” James chuckled nervously. “But I’m serious…my mother, she’s a Quietus.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “If a Quietus was in Allay, that would mean they can alter their appearance and their strength. And that would mean she was around during the age of the Sages. How would that be possible? How could she live under them undetected?”

“I don’t know,” James replied. “
I can barely recall what she looked like, let alone what she was doing. I was a toddler.”

James refused to look away from the woman he loved, searching her face desperately f
or cracks in her rocky gaze, her contemplative demeanor. She was trying not to show her true feelings, and it was beginning to scare him. Suddenly, thoughts of Achan flashed through his mind, his best friend and confidant that had been killed not long ago. In all the turmoil, he had placed his death to the side, knowing that the enemy lurked at every corner and they needed to devote their full attention to living, not to mention the manifestation James was constantly updating with new shielding and invisibility, trying to keep the Quietus at bay. A single trace would be their undoing.

They had killed Achan so
easily; even now it didn’t seem real. As if he was off with Kyran and Dominic, heading straight for Zen-echelon. But the way he had died…there was no point in denial. His friend was gone.

And yet,
death was not what James feared most. As he had said, his life was on borrowed time ever since he saved Catherine from Kyran’s dangerous exam. No, he was thinking of something far worse…he feared that Catherine would lose interest in him. It wasn’t impossible.

It happened to Achan, back in Languor. He had confessed to the Princess that he had been a spy all along though he
swore that he had no intention of betraying her. Catherine had forgiven him, but she was adamant in one stance: that they could never be a couple. Achan was heartbroken, but he understood, knowing that the Princess could never completely trust him again. He could not be her lover. He could not be her King…

And he had been so in love with her,
that he actually put all his selfish desires aside to serve her while James, the other man in her life, still got into fights, joked around like a child and put his yearning for Catherine above the mission and the lives of his fellow bodyguards.

Achan, as he had said to himself
many times before, was, and always would be the better man for Catherine, and the rightful King of Allay…but the moment Catherine learned of his secret, he was no longer a viable option.

Catherine was not a romantic, though this did not mean she was incapable of love
or romance. All it meant was that she was a Princess and the future Queen of Allay first. The citizens of Allay were her priority, and she was willing to sacrifice happiness, her life, and even her very soul for them all. No one understood where such dedication came from. All they knew was that it was so deeply rooted within her that nothing short of death itself could remove the bond between her and Allay.

The moment James heard the dark voice within him speak, he knew this day could come. And at first it didn’t scare him
– to tell her that he was a Quietus. But then Achan told him what had happened between them…

A
fter that…he couldn’t do it…

He couldn’t bear the thought of her refusal. Her unrequited love. Sure, Achan had remained strong and fought by her side, but could he? She was all that mattered. Not even the missio
n came close by comparison. Why couldn’t Catherine see that she was his world? That Earth and Paradise could perish, but as long as she remained, all was as it should be?

What would happen if she…refused him as she did Achan?

Achan was a Langoran. He was a Quietus…but the deal-breaking similarity was still there:

They were not of Allay.

“James?” Catherine asked. “Is everything okay?”

James cleared his throat and straightened himself up, building up his resolve
and pressing the dried sweat clothes against his skin. He had to be strong, if for no one else but himself. He had promised that he would mature and be the man that Catherine needed. No matter what that meant…

“I think if we find my mother,” James sighed, “we might be able to find sanctuary, maybe gain some insight into how to leave this Kingdom
for good. She should be around here somewhere.”

“We’ll still have to fight.”

“But not as long. And you won’t have to use the stone more than what’s necessary.”

“Where would we even start?”

“The village under the dome. We’ll have to break through the entrance, of course, and I don’t remember much of what she looks like, but with my eidolon, I think I can find a match.”

“So…” Catherine’s voice trailed. “Is this what you meant earlier? Of how you can keep this manifestation up for days all of a sudden when it used to break in minutes?”

“Yes,” James closed his eyes. “It’s because I have two eidolons. Both representing a part of me. One is the Allayan side. A white sword. Then there’s the Quietus – a black one, but far more powerful than the other. When the King was about to break my Allayan eidolon, I released my Quietus blade and struck him down. I used that blade to call this place forward.”

“If your
Quietus side is so strong, why were you struggling to keep this place together?”

“I’m not sure. It felt like
…it was starting to sheathe itself. It’s almost like it has a mind of its own.”

“Then that doesn’t sound like it’s supposed to be a part of you,” Catherine said. “Something’s wrong. If it’s part of your soul, it wouldn’t be fighting back.”

“Either way, it’s in there for a reason.”

“So what are you using now? Your Allayan eidolon?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Then even though you feel fine right now, we’re not guaranteed to last for the whole three days, given its instability. We have to move on.”

“Catherine, wait!” James said, grabbing her arm as she turned to leave. “At least give it another hour. We’ll have time to strategize.”

“Okay,” Catherine agreed, examining his face. “But not a minute more.”

“And before we work out the details of our next move, I have to ask you something.”

Catherine waited patiently, wiping one of her locks from her eyes.

“Does this change anything?” James whispered. “Between us? The fact that I’m part Quietus?”

“James, is that what’s worrying you?” Catherine
scoffed.

“I was just think
ing of Achan, and how you said the two of you couldn’t  –“

“- he told you his secret?”

“Back in the Langoran forest.”

“Then let me explain
. I didn’t reject Achan because he was of Languor. I’m not that petty. It was because he was a spy, and he had been raised as one since he was a child. Given the fragile status of our Kingdom and the fact that the organization he belonged to is still functioning, I wasn’t feeling inclined to give him my heart.”

“I just wanted to make sure.”

“I hope this helps,” Catherine said, walking towards him and giving him a tender kiss on the lips. James smiled and took her into his arms. Catherine smiled and hugged him back, nuzzling her head into his chest just as the sound of nails scraping against glass broke through their embrace.

A literal tear h
ad appeared in the sun as if it was made out of paper.

And a smiling Quietus was standing on the other side.

*
              *              *              *              *

“Kyran! Kyran, wait!” Dominic yelled as loud as he could, but the assassin refused to slow down. The moment he decided it was all clear in the meadow; he took off without hesitation, leaving the Quietus forest and thoughts of current events to the side. It was no time for a touchy-feely Kyran. That man wasn’t supposed to have been born in the first place. He was inherently flawed and considered an unrealistic future. That man began to actually look forward to a time in which he could spend every day with the woman he loved and married.

That man was a fool.

“Kyran, please!” Dominic shouted again, and Kyran considered stopping but then quickly dismissed the notion. No, there was too much at stake. James couldn’t keep the Princess safe forever, even with that impressive construct he had created – a construct that she had taught him…she…she…