Broken (26 page)

“You dare let this woman speak to me in such a manner?”

“She has done nothing.”

“Tell him,” Kira said.

Octavion spun around to face Kira, his countenance almost as angry as his father’s. “Tell me what?”

“He lied to you. Serena didn’t die, and he erased her memory.”

The words slipped off her tongue in a whisper. The blood drained from Octavion’s face. He stepped back and shook his head.

“That is not true.”

The king glared at Kira. She was never more grateful in her life for not being able to read minds. She didn’t want to know what he planned to do with her, but beheading topped the list.

Octavion turned slowly on his heals. His jaw tightened as his father’s eyes shifted from Kira to meet his glare.

“Is this true?” Octavion growled.

“I have done nothing wrong.”

“That is not what I asked. Is what she said true? Is Serena alive?”

The king threw back his shoulders and raised his chin. “Yes.”

Octavion’s shoulders dropped. “How could you, Father? What possible reason could you have to deceive me like that? You have no idea the guilt that has plagued me all these years. I blamed myself for her death. I bound her to my sister.” He let out a roar that made the walls tremble.

“He did it because you loved her,” Kira said. It was only a guess, but she’d had time to think about the king’s motives and it made sense.

They both looked at her with fire in their eyes. Their expressions said it all—how dare she speak and interrupt their little battle? But she didn’t care. She’d already stuck her neck out, she may as well continue. “It really wasn’t that hard to figure out. He knew if she was alive, you would never leave her behind.” She leaned against the edge of the bed and tried not to think about the way he still felt about her—what this all meant for them. “You wouldn’t take your sister to another planet, to safety, if you knew the love of your life . . .” Her voice caught as she spoke the words.

Octavion’s expression softened. “
You
are the love of my life, Kira. This changes nothing.” His eyes were calmer, but still laced with ribbons of gold.

“This changes everything,” she said. “If Serena is still alive, then maybe you can take this thing off and make me one that works. I could heal Lydia and put Altaria’s spirit back.”

Octavion took her hand and gently brushed his fingers along the Crystor. His brow furrowed in confusion. A long moment of silence passed before he let her hand fall and took a step back. But he still didn’t say anything. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What’s wrong?” Kira asked.

“The charm I put on the Crystor will not allow it to be removed—not even by me.”

“Then how did you get it off Serena’s wrist?”

“I was not the one who removed it,” he said. He looked up at Kira, then turned his focus on his father. “He was.”

King Belesgar stood a few feet away, his demeanor unchanged. He made no attempt to explain or deny his son’s accusation.

“Father? What did you do to Serena?”

“What is done, is done and there is no reason to discuss it,” the king said.

“He erased her memory. I know that for sure,” Kira blurted.

“Silence!” King Belesgar yelled.

“Father! What did you do? Did you hurt her? Did you . . . cut her hand off?”

Kira gasped. “You wouldn’t.” But then she thought about where she was and how primitive and brutal this world could be. He would do it if it meant saving his daughter.

“No!” Belesgar roared, his fists clenched at his sides. “You think me a monster. I would never do such a thing. She was innocent in all this. You are to blame for including her in our fight.”

Octavion took a step forward. “Then explain it. The only one who could break a charm by a hybrid Jayde is a Master Jayde and I doubt Panthera owed you a favor of such magnitude.”

The king gave no answer.

“Father!”

Kira touched Octavion’s arm in an attempt to calm him, but he shrugged her away. This had gotten way out of control and was no longer about healing Lydia and returning her kindred spirit. Kira feared their argument would turn into a physical fight and she wanted no part of it.

“I will not discuss this in front of her,” the king finally said. “Remove her from my chambers.”

Kira opened her mouth to protest, but Octavion beat her to it.

“I will not,” he said. “Her very presence may cause Lydia’s spirit to seek Altaria’s and I will not risk missing an opportunity to save my sister’s life.”

Belesgar glared at Kira, then turned back to his son. “Then we shall take this elsewhere.”

“Agreed.” Octavion turned his attention to Kira. “Will you be all right if I leave you alone for a while? This will not take long.”

Kira nodded.

An instant later they were both gone.

Octavion and his father stood in the chapel directly adjacent to his sleeping chambers. The thick walls and lack of doors or windows would keep them from being disturbed and prevent anyone from overhearing their heated discussion. The only room designed for Royals only, it had no door, the only way in or out was by traveling through their minds. It served as a safe room as well as a place for the king to have complete privacy and peace.

This was not one of those times.

Belesgar slammed his hand down on the stone alter. “How dare you speak to me like that in front of a commoner.”

“Kira is not a commoner. We are bound. She is as much a Royal as I am.”

“Until the Elders of Lor witness this union, it will not be recognized by the gods or your king.” Belesgar threw his arms out to his sides. “A king that demands your respect.”

“How can I respect a man who lies to his own son? I want to know everything. What did you do to Serena? How did you remove the Crystor from her wrist without killing her and Lydia?” Octavion stepped closer to see his father’s face more clearly. With no windows in the room, they both relied on their feline ability to see in the dark. “And who erased her memory? I want the truth.”

“The truth? How can I trust you with Xantara’s secrets when you break a simple oath and tell Kira your sister is alive?”

Octavion clenched his fists. “That is different and you know it. Kira and Lydia are bound by magic and share a deep friendship. They should never have been separated in the first place.”

Belesgar laughed. “Magic? You know nothing of magic.”

“And you do?”

“I know enough to recognize a weak charm when I see it.”

Octavion took a step back, folding his arms. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“That you knew nothing about being a Jayde when you cast that charm—a young boy playing with things only a seasoned Jayde should try.”

“And you would know this how?” None of this made sense and he needed answers.

Belesgar turned away from his son and paced the small room like a caged tiger.

“Father!”

The king spun around with fire in his eyes. With one sweep of his hand, the woven carpet Octavion stood on lifted from the ground and sailed across the room, throwing him against the wall.

Octavion’s feet went out from under him and he landed on his back. Every muscle in his body complained and he felt the stitches Gregor put in earlier rip open. He slammed his fist on the floor and cursed.

The king huffed out the air in his lungs. “I assumed you were faster on your feet. I would have leapt to another part of the room to avoid falling.”

“I am tired, Father. I have spent the last nine days fighting our enemies and hunting your . . .
daughter.
” Octavion’s tender ribs ached with each breath. He rolled onto his side and pushed to his knees. “You are a Jayde? How could you keep something like this from me?”

Belesgar walked to the opposite wall and tapped one of the stones, making several around the room glow, bringing light into the room. “The kind of magic I possess is not for children. You were not mature enough to understand. You treated your gift like a new toy, something you played with and took no responsibility for. How could I teach you things you would only abuse?”

Octavion stood, holding his ribs with one hand and using the wall for support with the other. “You sent me to Panthera to study with a Master Jayde when you could have taught me yourself. Why would you do that? I am your son.”

“It is because you are my son that I sent you. You needed discipline. As your father I feared I would be lax and not give you proper instruction.”

“But to keep it from me—”

“
I
choose who I share my gifts with—as do you.”

Octavion pushed away from the wall. After his ordeal with Shandira and revealing the truth about Lydia to Kira, his father’s revelation seemed almost too much for him to handle. His mind felt like a jumbled mess. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with his father, but he needed answers.

He sat on the only bench in the room—opposite the altar—and stared up at the tapestry hanging on the far wall. It depicted Ziah standing at the gates of Lor.

“That does not explain Serena.” He turned to face his father. “You lied to me.”

King Belesgar stepped closer and took a seat next to his son. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I will take full blame, but you need to know it was not my decision. She chose this.”

“You are lying. We were in love.”

Belesgar sighed deeply. “Love does not come easily in this world. Few ever experience the kind of love that lasts, the love that makes us give up everything we know, everything we are.” He ran his fingers through his hair and met his son’s eyes. “She experienced great pain healing your sister that night and I wanted her to get the best of care, so insisted she stay here in the castle. When I decided to send you and Lydia away, I went to Serena and gave her a choice. She could go with you to a new world, hide away and possibly never see her family again, or I could remove all memories of you and Lydia so she could live happily with no regret.

“We spoke well into the night, weighing her options. Her main concern, her father’s health and what it would do to him if she left. She also worried if her mother would be able to support herself if he died. It was not an easy decision for her, but she chose to stay with her family.”

His father put his hand on Octavion’s shoulder. “I knew if I told you the truth you would confront her and try to change her mind. Or worse, choose not to leave, putting Lydia in more danger. I am sorry I deceived you, but I also had to think of what was best for
my
family. You and Lydia are all I have now.”

Octavion shrugged out from under his hand and stood. He walked a few steps away, then turned to face his father. “The Crystor. How did you get it off?”

“It fell off on its own.”

“That is not possible. I charmed it to bind Serena and Lydia until death.”

Belesgar smiled. “When you set the charm, did you ask Serena to promise anything?”

Octavion thought back to the day he’d created the Crystor. It was so long ago he couldn’t remember exactly what he’d said. “I do not remember. Why?”

“I do. I saw all Serena’s memories before I erased them from her mind. You asked her if she promised to be the Crystor’s keeper. When she agreed, the Crystor sealed itself around her wrist. She was bound by her word, not your charm. When I erased her memories, she no long remembered making the promise and so the Crystor fell off.”

Octavion went back to the bench and sat down. “Kira did not make a promise. She merely picked it up off the table and it wound around her wrist on its own. She felt pain when it took hold. Serena never did.” He turned to face his father. “You changed the charm.”

“Yes.”

“That is why it reacted so strangely with her—allowed her to do more. She could heal herself, not just Lydia, and it made her stronger. She even shared memories and emotions with Lydia. I thought it was because Kira lived in another world—but you did that.”

Belesgar nodded.

“Then you can fix it, right?”

“No. I created the charm so that the keeper has control. The metal can be mended if damaged, but the power is in Kira. It is a part of her. It is connected with her body, mind and spirit. It feeds off her strengths and weaknesses. It will never leave her, except in death.”

Octavion took a deep breath, making his ribs ache even more. “But it
has
left her. It does not work.”

“It merely lies dormant, my son. I suspect it will come to life when the time is right, perhaps when Altaria’s spirit is reunited with Lydia. In the meantime, we must pray to the gods that your sister recovers quickly. I do not think she will live much longer as she is. Her heart is weak.”

Octavion pinched the bridge of his nose again. He’d been avoiding his father since his visit to Panthera and not telling him the price he’d pay for Kira’s life had been nagging at him ever since. As long as he had his father’s full attention, now was as good a time as any. “There is something I need tell you.”

“About King Ramla?”

Octavion turned to face his father. “How—? I guess there are many things I still need to learn about your gifts. Do you know the price I agreed to?”