Candescent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) (24 page)

“Versailles please, come with me so we can talk.”

“Fine.” She turned back to glare at Sebastian. “But I am
not your horse
.” She tossed her head. “Men are savages here.”

“Come on Versailles.” She followed me until I was sure we were out of earshot. “What I did was very wrong. As soon as I returned from reincarnation I should have gone to see you and make sure that you were ok. Instead I got wrapped up in other affairs. I had to go meet our Allies. A couple of days later, still recovering, I joined Pete and Fitzray to meet them. Things became complicated between the three of us. Pete went on trial because he was a bad Eternal Mate and he was punished by being turned into a mortal, by the use of Lucian’s heart. I performed the Ceremony with Pete to save him…or rather put him out of his misery. Fitzray died shortly after. When we had our Ceremonial party, Sebastian showed up, challenging Pete’s past events and brought up the Trial. It caused a riot that led to the destruction of our palace. I would have gone to save you but Minx took me away. I knew Sebastian needed to be destroyed, but instead of reasoning with me and making peace, he took me captive. He took me captive several times, and tortured me with my own Dragon’s Soul. I’m still his captive. I was forced into marriage so he could become King. And Minx was killed. And I don’t know where Pete is now.” My eyes rolled down to the snow and I felt a soft nudge to my shoulder as she touched me with her nose.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about Fitzray and Minx. They were my friends too.”

When I looked up to meet her blue eyes, she wrapped her neck around me, her chin rested against my back to embrace me. “And now I know it was worth it, nearly being killed, almost ending up like all of the other unicorns that dare to step hoof on this damned place. I love you Mother.” I reached my arms around her neck and clutched her mane. “I know what my job is. I will destroy Sebastian with you or I will die trying.”

For a long time I stood there with my eyes closed; the silence made it feel surreal. I thought of nothing but admiration and gratitude as I felt the power of the creature’s love embrace and overwhelm me. I cried remembering that she
was
forgotten and I hated myself. I hated myself for putting her through what she went through, that I couldn’t have stopped, but could’ve prevented. At last, I felt her lips nuzzling my back, as if she had hands to comfort me. She stepped back and I stared at her with awe, realizing that I raised her and now she was grown without shame in calling me her mother.

“Let’s go to the stable.” She offered. Her eyes darted to meet the dark storm clouds overhead. I followed her, nearly running, hoping that Sebastian wasn’t watching. She took me to the stable to find it was poorly made with old floorboards and scrap wood that was thrown together to be called a poor excuse for a stable – or shack. Safely inside her stall she was comfortable, sheltered by the elements that daunted her. In the small aisle-way, there was clutter consisting of buckets and old brushes, but I managed to stand in it.

“When are we leaving this place?”

I sighed deeply. “I don’t know yet.” Her eager face pressed me to say more. “But our Allies are coming tonight and I know they will help me. They must know I am his captive because they never would’ve agreed to come and feast with a man who started a war against them.”

“That’s good.” A glint appeared on her eyes. “That means we might be leaving sooner than we think.”

I smiled. “The sooner the better,” I replied. There was a distant rumble and her ears pricked forward.

“You should go so you don’t get caught up in the storm.” I nodded and turned to leave. “Just keep me updated.”

Before I left I turned to her. “What ever happened to the pony that was with you…Fitzray’s horse?”

“Hickory? Well, it seems he wasn’t as young as we all thought he was.”

I faced the door whispering my remorse. I returned to the palace before the storm took its shape. Inside it was frantic. Servants buzzed around carrying plates, going one way and others getting garments for Sebastian. I went to my room to get dressed to find Sebastian was there in his marvelous clothing. The stupid crown was on his head.

“You’ve been out for hours,” he remarked while he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves.

“I know.” I walked nonchalantly to the closet. I wore a beautiful emerald dress and matching cape. Sebastian scoffed at it because bright colors and matching capes were not customary on Alfur, especially northern Alfur. “You don’t like it?”

I let my hair down and brushed it as he gawked rudely at me. “Well, you don’t hear
me
complaining about that tin hat you call a
crown
. Kings on Catastrophe were never meant to have crowns. It’s just not customary. But if you want to look like a fool in front of all of our Allies, be my guest.”

His face instantly expressed discomfort and he flexed his hand as if hesitant to take the crown off his head. I looked down at my outfit and slid my gloved hands against my sides.

“At least my Allies understand that I still dress the way I do because I am used to the customs of Inesious.”

He shook his head, his body became tight and he knocked the crown from his head as though my words caused him to do so. “Let’s go to dinner then,” he said stiffly, leaving without me.

I smiled to myself, feeling my wit return and conquer. I hastily put on my shoes and went to the dining room where my Allies waited. Sebastian was at the end of the table when I arrived. My Allies rose in silence. Sebastian remained seated to show me he wouldn’t stand to greet me. I looked among the faces of my Allies, reciting their names in my head, checking each one of them off silently and then I noticed an empty chair. I searched the faces again and then I was startled and embraced.

“I’m so sorry Chenille. We came to make things right.” Rasha’s voice whispered softly into my ear and I returned the hug with relief. Boy did I want to hear those words. She moved back to look at me and once she saw my face she was taken back. Her grip tightened around my arm and she touched my face with sympathy. “What has he done to you?” Her eyes became watery. “Has he not fed you?”

“Come and have a seat before the meal gets cold.”  Sebastian said. Rasha’s eyes moved to me and widened when she realized that I fought hunger every moment we stood there. “Go, go,” she said quickly and allowed me to go to the feast.

When I sat, everyone started on their food. I found my plate was empty, unlike everyone else’s. Sebastian didn’t even have a thought to put a slab of meat on my plate, even when he knew I hadn’t eaten in days. Even Rasha’s plate was stacked high with food, for Rallen filled it while she was away.

I launched myself at the food without thinking. It wasn’t even reaching my plate – I ate it as fast as I scooped up a forkful. My Allies stopped eating to stare at me, baffled by my behavior. Even Rasha stopped. Her concerned glance fell on me. At first Sebastian was oblivious to the whole thing and then when he casually looked up I saw him do a double-take. He stood up furiously and reached over, grabbing my wrist, forcing me to drop my forkful of food.         

“Chenille what has gotten into you? Why are you behaving like this?”

Now stopped, my breathing turned into gasping. Rasha and Rallen stood up while I stared at my plate realizing that I ate too much too fast. I swallowed hard, felt my stomach turn. Rasha ran around the table and softly held me upright. Her glare settled on Sebastian and she reached for a glass, but stopped herself from raging out on him and helped me out of the room instead. She found the bathroom and I ran inside, giving in to my sick stomach. From behind the bathroom door I managed to speak to her.

“I was so hungry…I couldn’t stop.”

“It’s ok Chenille. I would have done the same.” She paused. “Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out of here.”

“How?”

“A few of Sebastian’s
friends
work for us. They’re sort of like our spies.”

“Is Baloo one of them?”

“Yes, he is. We know Baloo very well. It wouldn’t be a problem if he helped, would it?”

“No.”

I allowed the silence to settle since she refused to tell me more of her plan.

“Are you feeling any better? Do you want me to get you some water?”

“No water. I feel ok, but I want to know the rest of the plan.”

“Baloo will tell you the rest when we all leave. Rallen and I will be waiting at Inesious for you. Baloo will be responsible for getting you to us safe and sound.”

“Why can’t I go with you to Inesious?”

“It will be too risky to travel together. Trust me, Baloo will get you to us safely.”

I opened the bathroom door and met her calm eyes. She knew I didn’t want to go back to the table and face consequences so she led me outside into the fresh air. We stood, sheltered from the pouring rain by an overhang. The icy rain turned the snow into slush, the smells of spring refreshing me. Rasha looked at me, her lips pressed together. Her face was soft and thoughtful.

“Is Pete alive?” I asked finally. Her eyes moved away to focus on something in the distance, avoiding my anxious face.

She slowly nodded her head and took a breath. “Pete is alive but he is not well. Even though he is a breed of vampire that will not face reincarnation and even though he had a Ceremony-,” she stopped herself from saying more and turned her face in my direction. “Since he has Lucian’s heart there is no telling what could happen to him. We’re not really sure what the heart is capable of. You see, when it was decided that Pete’s punishment was to have Lucian’s heart, becoming a mortal was only a part of it. A Ceremony turned him into a vampire, but Lucian’s heart is still active. It is the mystery of the heart itself that makes it so dangerous and scares us. Putting a half-blood’s heart into a vampire as a punishment has never been attempted before. So Pete’s real punishment was becoming a guinea pig and he is suffering now. There’s no telling if Lucian’s heart will kill him. I know I’m telling you that he’s alive now, but he might not be by the time we reach Inesious.”

“What is the heart doing to him?”

“The heart is weakening him. As I said before, we don’t know what it’s capable of. Its intention could be to kill him, but there could be more to it.”

She put a hand to my shoulder once she saw my anguish. “But right now Pete is the least of your problems. We have to get you away from Sebastian. Once he finds out that Pete is alive and was never dead and that he was never King it will spell trouble for you. Right now it is our duty to protect you from him. So for now we must make him believe that he is King.”

“But if Pete was dead…wouldn’t he be King?”

Rasha smiled. “Of course not. He’s not a vampire is he? No, he’s an immortal. Vampires are the dominant species and only those of royal blood can be King with their chosen Eternal Mate as his Queen. If the King is in the process of reincarnation or dies for good, their Eternal Mate will hold the title as Queen. If she remarries, he will hold his title if he has one. If the Queen chooses a new Eternal Mate, it will be her eldest son that becomes King.”

I looked away. “So if Pete dies then I’ll have to rule alone?”

“What’s wrong with that? We don’t need a King. And who knows, if misfortune comes over Pete, maybe a few years later you will find someone else.”

I shook my head, pushing away the thoughts that crowded my mind. I couldn’t even ponder such a thought. We remained quiet again for a few minutes until Rasha offered to take me back inside.

I was surprised to see that all of my Allies were done eating early. I supposed it was all part of the plan to get home early. Their coats were already on and it seemed like they were waiting for Rasha. Rallen handed her a coat and she put it on and hugged me goodbye.

“Baloo will take care of you. He’ll get you out of here tonight when Sebastian is asleep.” She whispered. “I’ll see you when you get to Inesious.”

I watched them all leave wanting to go with them. Sebastian wanted nothing to do with me that night, probably because I embarrassed him, and retired to bed. I found that better than having to converse and defend myself against my actions. It was better not to have a conversation with him, just so his last words to me wouldn’t be in my head until the day he would be destroyed – or at least I hoped. Before I left, before I freed myself from his captivity, I made sure he was asleep. To my relief I heard him snoring and I didn’t even have to enter the room to confirm it.

I left the palace, my cape hood over my head, and I used the trees and brush to hide behind to avoid being seen by the guards. I was lucky that no one spotted me on my way out of the palace. It was tedious and painstaking to travel to my safe haven, the stable, where Versailles and Baloo waited for me. I thought it would take me forever to reach it, fearing the sun would rise before I even got there and everything would be ruined. Luckily, I managed to summon up enough courage to run the rest of the way, against all of the odds of being seen and not caring if I was.

I bolted through the small stable door and stumbled into the junk that cluttered the aisle. My horse snorted in response as I lost my balance and fell to my knees before her. I looked up, embarrassed to see Baloo was there holding the unicorn’s halter, standing beside her. I knew this wasn’t what he expected, seeing me stumbling, scared, and blushing at his feet. I could only have wondered what was going through his mind. He must’ve either pitied me or was embarrassed himself, knowing that I was his Queen. But he only smiled at me, giving me the warmest and most sincere and soothing smile anyone could have wanted at that very moment. And he held out his hand and pulled me to my feet. He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t amused or ashamed, since his eyes told me different. He understood and wanted to help me, despite everything that went down. I smiled back only able to reason that he
was
taking everything into consideration, including how
I
must be feeling. Still quiet, he held his smile and lifted me with ease to place me on my horse’s back.