Divided (47 page)

Lastly, she read of the boy’s family still waiting in the
neighboring kingdom.  She read about his sister, who had finally found the
means to travel across the lands to find her brother.  She had grown restless
in her situation much like the hero had, though her story was much more vague. 
As she neared the blank pages at the back of the book, she spoke the name that
had been hanging on her lips upon reading that first word.  “Taeru…” she
whispered. 

Was the book about him?  Surely not, she thought as she
reached the last page.  Flipping through, she confirmed that the remainder of
the book was blank.  No more words, she realized, and the story was anything
but complete.  Even if this wasn’t some strange sorcery, who left a book
unfinished?  Especially a book as riveting as this one, or perhaps she only
felt that way because all the words seemed to be precisely mirroring her
brother’s life

Still, though, perhaps she’d made it up.  Many heroes had
sisters that wanted to follow in their footsteps, and warring lands were
certainly not uncommon in books such as these.  No, the similarities could have
been a coincidence, because after all, a book about Taeru’s life—while it would
have been fascinating to read—would have been impossible to write, unless he’d
written it himself.  After all, until very recently, the only one who’d known
his whereabouts was him. 

Many of the words didn’t match up, either, she promised
herself.  The words talked of a romance, a rather passionate one, with the
prince of the neighboring kingdom.  Aela had seen Taeru kiss someone the
previous moon, and he had been no prince.  And the odds that Taeru put on a
mask and actually moved throughout the city to save those in need was silly at
best.  She eased herself into a feeble comfort as she pushed the unfinished
book away. 

Still
, she thought,
what is that book? How did an
unfinished book end up with my bookmark in it?  And where is the book that I
had originally, as I’m sure that I did not make it up.  Oh, I really hope that
I am not going crazy.

Aela could not let herself worry about it for now, as there
was no way to know for sure.  When Leif returned, she would be sure to ask him
if he knew anything about the book—and then she would find out on the following
sun whether or not Taeru was truly within her reach again.

When Leif returned home, which was far after the sun had set,
and Aela had found herself in a tortured sleep, he promised that he had not
known anything of a new book.  He had not seen Aela’s book either, and he
seemed sure that the one she showed him was her book when he saw it.  Oh, if
only she had let him read the words before they had changed.  Leif was like
Taeru, though, and he had never expressed interest in any of her books. 

With the knowledge that Leif knew nothing odd about the
book, she put it on the small stool next to her bed.  First, the meeting
tomorrow with the boy who looked remarkably like her brother, and then she
could decide what the words in that book were.  One thing was for certain, and
that was that the book had changed—or rather, the book had been switched with
another, unfinished book.

She had the sneaking suspicion that if she paid attention,
she might notice words being filled into the blank pages—but that was absurd,
she reminded herself, as books most certainly did not write themselves. 

“The hero had doomed his descendant from the start, to
suffering that he would never earn.”

-A Hero’s Peace, v.ii

 “Kilik!” the female voice was petrified, relieved, and
shocked all at the same time.  The blond woman rushed forward and wrung her
arms around Kilik’s neck.  Calis ignored the very inappropriate lance of
jealousy that shot through him.  He had kept Kilik out for the duration of the
moon, and half of the sun after it. 

Alyx’s cheeks were red from where she’d been crying, and
when she drew back, there was an angry look in her eyes.  Calis realized where
the moment was going, and just as Alyx reared back to slap Kilik across the
face, Calis grabbed her by the wrist.  “Miss, I respectfully ask that you do
not do that.”

His words were calm, though he was sure that the look in his
eyes was anything but calm.  He had seen a bruise appear out of nothing on
Kilik’s wrist earlier this sun, and he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Kilik
now.  “You vain, common-kissing, miscreant!” she growled.  “You presume to tell
me what I can and cannot do?  You may be the bloody prince of the kingdom, but in
this house you are just some ill-bred lout that carted my friend off for an
entire moon!”

“Do you really need to slap something?” he asked
resignedly. 

“Yes!” she shouted.  He gestured for her to proceed,
releasing her hand, and then she reared back once more and caught him across
the cheek with unprecedented force.  He winced, though he supposed he’d earned
it for keeping Kilik away so long. 

“Alyx!” Kilik shouted, as though he was the one who’d been
struck.  Clearly, he hadn’t realized Alyx was going to slap the prince rather
than himself.  Kilik looked livid at the sight.  “Are you out of your mind? 
How dare you hit him?  He did nothing wrong!  He is the prince.  He could have
you killed!” Kilik cried.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kilik,” Calis offered cheerfully.  “I
did say that she could slap me.”

This seemed to bring Alyx down a couple of pegs, and she
looked at him with a gratified look in her eyes.  “What were you two doing all
shifts of the moon?”

The two of them exchanged a rather awkward stare, and Calis
grinned as Kilik’s cheeks turned a hot shade of red.  “Oh…” Alyx said,
requiring no more confirmation than the exchanged look to determine what they
had done.  Then, she had to work very diligently to suppress the grin that made
its way onto her face.  “How very indecent.” 

Juliet appeared a few moments later, and a relieved smile
came across her lips as she saw Kilik.  “There you are,” she said, with much
more complacency than Alyx had.  “We were beginning to worry where you’d
managed to wander off to this time.”  Then, she gave Calis a brief smile.  “I
suppose I’m not surprised you are involved, your highness.”

A sheepish grin twisted Calis’s features, and he looked away
from the older woman.  Thinking about what he’d done to Kilik the moon before
seemed a little disreputable in front of this very poised woman.  “Kilik is…” 
Calis’s voice was cut off by Kilik’s clearing his throat.  Unfortunately for Kilik,
Calis had already made up his mind that if he couldn’t make sure that Kilik was
safe—Juliet could do it for him.  “Kilik is having very bad nightmares.  I
think it’s worth another look—it is my belief that there is something more
going on.” 

Bruises didn’t appear from nightmares—that wasn’t nothing. 
Then, there was that frightening thing in the field outside of Telandus.  “I…
Calis…” Kilik said, and he sounded very much like he’d been betrayed.

“Kilik, you can’t handle this on your own.  This is bigger
than you and your lack of self-preservation.”  Moving forward, Calis took
Kilik’s hand in his own, and he could see the memories all too vividly, and
they sent a whole new bout of arousal through his body.  He’d have thought that
the worry would be enough to calm that—but apparently not.  “I meant what I
said.  I can’t let anything happen to you.  Please, be careful… for my sake.”

Juliet and Alyx were watching them with scrutinizing gazes,
and Kilik’s reddened cheeks were further proof of that.  But Kilik needed to
understand that Calis meant every word that he’d said the moon before, and that
his feelings weren’t going anywhere.  “I… I will, Calis, thank you,” Kilik
answered quietly.

Finally, Lee, who had been very quiet since they’d met him
at the wall, cleared his throat.  He had been waiting, and he’d look no happier
than Kilik’s friends had.  In fact, Lee had appeared even more agitated at
their disappearance.  “We ought to return,” Lee said.  “Your father will
already want an explanation.”

Kilik’s brow furrowed, and he slowly pulled his hands from
Calis’s.  “I don’t want you to be in trouble with your father.  I…”  His words
caught in his throat and he stared into nothingness for a moment.  “Just don’t
make your father mad, alright?”

“I will do my best,” Calis promised.  “I’ll see you soon,
Kilik.”

“Is that a promise?” Kilik asked playfully, and some of the
light that had been in his eyes last moon returned.  The blue eyes were bright,
and he observed Calis with a trust, and affection, that he had not held
previously. 

Calis laughed.  “That is a promise.”  He leaned forward, and
he knew that he wanted to kiss Kilik’s soft lips one more time before the two
of them parted.  Unfortunately, he was standing in front of Juliet and Alyx. 
Forcing all of his willpower to coalesce, he stepped back and smiled at
Kilik—forcing pleasantness despite the throbbing ache running through him.

In a sort of capricious manner, Kilik laughed and pursed his
lips, as though he were trying to decide how he wanted to handle the
situation.  “Calis,” Lee’s voice was a low, warning growl. 

Well, Calis remembered what he’d done last time he’d had the
unachievable, unquenchable desire to kiss Kilik.  He grabbed the young man’s
hand, where it rested casually at his side, and then he pressed his lips to the
top of it.  He couldn’t help the smirk that took hold of his features, and he
nearly laughed at the way Kilik’s eyes widened.  He really ought to expect this
sort of thing.  “Till next time,” Calis said, putting his promise into his
words.

Leaving a rather stunned Kilik and a squealing Alyx—or Calis
assumed it was Alyx—he didn’t think a woman as mature and composed as Juliet
should ever make that sound.  They walked for a little ways, and Calis could
feel the anger that Lee was refusing to share with him.  His advisor walked
with quick, purposeful steps, and he did not so much as glance back at Calis. 
Calis had never felt fear of Lee, and he did not feel it now—but he did know
that the only reason Lee would be angry with him was because Lavus was.

Lee hated when Calis was in trouble with his father, mostly
because Lavus—despite Lee’s not wanting to admit it—frightened his advisor.  Lee
had always said that Lavus was unpredictable, and that Calis should not play so
frivolously with his father’s wishes.  After all, an execution was not out of
the question for even his sons. 

As they reached the Shining District, Lee spoke.  “I nearly
told him that you’d hung yourself and that you would not be returning.  After
all, I feel like you’d be happier living in the Light-forsaken Dark District. 
I cannot keep up with you, Calis.  I realize that you have feelings for him—and
I can’t possibly ask you to forget that, but you cannot be so irresponsible. 
You missed an engagement with Miss Avyon entirely.  I’m fairly certain that she
was crying.”  He sounded flabbergasted, at best.

Calis had forgotten that he’d been supposed to meet with his
future betrothed at sun up, and he could scarcely bring himself to regret the
decision of staying with Kilik.  “I’ll find a way out of it, Lee.  I understand
what you’re saying, and I know my father is nothing to toy with—but… I just… I
wanted to spend the time with him.”

A weak breath escaped Lee’s lips, and they finally stopped
walking so that Lee could turn to stare into Calis’s face.  “I cannot hope to
fathom what you are going through, and I can see on your face that it is both
difficult and remarkable.  Just be careful, Calis—for your sake, and for his.” 
He spoke with concern, and Calis felt a brief appreciation for Lee, which was
different from his usual. 

“I know,” he answered.  “I am sorry, Lee.”

“You owe me no apology,” Lee quickly corrected.  His green
eyes flashed with another bout of concern and then it disappeared.  “You intend
to see him again.  You intend to see him… many more times.  Of course you do, I
don’t know why I deluded myself into thinking that this might come to an
end—you were obviously smitten with him from the start.  It is like an
addiction for you, following him around.”

Calis offered no disagreement, and Lee simply took his
silence as confirmation.  Once that was concluded, though, Calis spoke.  “Lee,
he has nightmares.  He has terrible nightmares… and while he was sleeping, I
saw a bruise forming along his wrist.  I wasn’t touching it—nothing was
touching it.  The bruise formed in a matter of seconds.”  His words were quick,
panicked at the memory.  He wanted to return to Kilik immediately and make sure
that he was alright.

For a moment, Lee opened his mouth as if to respond, and
then he closed it and stared at Calis, dismayed.  “It may have happened the
moon before, after all, I’m sure the two of you did more than frolic through
the forest.”

Calis laughed a little at the thought, but then he shook his
head.  “No, not that I couldn’t see it happening, but the bruise looked like a
rope mark.  Then, after I’d woken him up, he ran off… and when he finally
stopped there was this black… abomination in this grove.  I threw a rock at it,
and the rock literally crumpled.  There is something very wrong, and I am not
going to let Kil—let him get hurt by it!”

Saying Kilik’s name did not seem advisable, as they were in
the Shining District during the sun—which meant that all ears were listening
for the latest gossip.  Lee seemed uneasy at this newfound information.  “That
is ominous, to say the least.  But for now, you must speak with your father. 
We will discuss this in more detail later.”  His words were sincere.  Lee, for
whatever reason, never seemed to doubt Calis—and for all the times he’d watched
Calis lie through his teeth, that was saying something.

They continued towards the castle, and a few of the nobles
managed to wave greetings to them.  Calis found them all far more repulsive
after the freedom, and happiness, that he’d experienced the previous moon.  The
entire Shining District seemed to be lacking in reality, as if everyone here
was living in a dream world.  Didn’t they know that a war would kill them? 
Didn’t they see that Lavus was a monster?

No, they didn’t want to see—and so they didn’t.  Lee kept
walking with his quickened pace, and Calis found himself hurrying to keep up. 
He obviously had quite the battle waiting in Lavus’s throne room, if Lee was
bothering to walk this quickly. 

They entered the castle, and the guards bowed graciously at
his return.  Not bothering to acknowledge them, Calis waved Lee off to another
section of the castle.  Lee was already aware that this wasn’t going to be
pretty, and his presence would only make trouble for them both. 

Calis shoved the door open to his father’s throne room
unceremoniously.  After all, Lavus rarely had people in there—and when he did,
he had always told his sons to feel free to interrupt the less important
people.  Lavus’s eyes burned as they found Calis.  “Where have you been?” he
shouted furiously.  “Your advisor said you had gone out for a walk!  You think
walking is more important than establishing political relationships, you foolish,
empty-minded child.”

Calis didn’t even flinch.  He’d heard the words many times,
though they were usually directed at Tareth.  A frown twisted its way onto his
lips, though.  “I ended up caught up in a few affairs.  I wasn’t paying
attention to the sun.”

Lavus didn’t relent.  He stepped down from his throne,
though he wouldn’t dare walk down the stairs to be on the same level as Calis. 
In fact, Calis was a bit taller than his father, and that just killed Lavus. 
“Weren’t paying attention to the sun?  Do you understand the consequences of
such scatter-brained embarrassment?  You humiliated yourself and me!  This
family does
not
miss appointments.  Lady Avyon was crushed and
insulted.”

Calis thought of asking his father when he’d started caring
about the feelings of those around him.  Then again, this had nothing to do
with how Miss Avyon felt, and everything to do with how her parents would
react.  “It’s irrelevant, Father,” Calis said dryly.  “Lady Avyon will not have
changed her opinion of me for a single, missed appointment.”

This seemed to move Lavus in the right direction, but his
fury was still there.  “And what affairs were you handling, you whelp?”

That had probably been a question Calis ought to have
weaseled his way around.  Unfortunately, now he was forced to come up with an
answer.  “Affairs that you would not understand, but that I find incredibly
important.”  The moment the words left his mouth—he wanted them back.  He had
unofficially challenged Lavus.

“You think I would not understand them?  No affair in this
kingdom is above me!  I am the ruler of everything that happens here, and I
could crush any single person within the walls of this city with a mere
thought!”  His voice boomed off the walls of the throne room.  Despite Lavus’s
mediocre stature, he had perfected the art of carrying his voice. 

Calis let out a breath.  He didn’t need to have anyone
following him around, investigating the affairs that Lavus would not
understand.  “What I meant to say, Father, is that they are unworthy of your
attention.  Simple, social matters, of people far too out of the power circle
to have any effect on our family.”

The brief ease in Lavus’s stormy eyes sent a shot of relief
up Calis’s spine.  He hadn’t wanted to bring trouble down on himself, and
indirectly, Kilik.  “Well, then those matters should not entangle you so that
you forget matters that will influence and affect what truly does matter.”