Horizon (16 page)

“But we are already bound.”

“Rayla, we used to fight over every Elemental that entered the realms. Usurping a bond isn’t difficult if a deep connection can be established. Tabitha abolished the practice, instigating the tournament instead to appease us. It wasn’t until she said the champion from each realm could search for his mate instead of having one appointed that we agreed.”

“Doesn’t seem like the best way to keep the peace to me,” I complained.

“Yes, well, it worked for many years, until some started cheating. They found ways to harness the power of others to heighten their own during the rounds.”

I gasped. “That’s not fair.”

“You think?”

I punched his arm. “I don’t want to go to court.”

He grinned at me. “Neither do I, but we have no choice.”

I smirked at him. “There’s always a choice.”

All humor left his face. “Not this time; not this day.”

I nodded. I couldn’t say anything else, either. Zach just admitted to me that, once again, men would be fighting to win me, like I was some kind of prized sow. Was this how the princesses of old felt when they had to witness a jousting tournament? Did it even matter what they, I, wanted? My only hope in this whole thing was that Heath would kick their butts.

He’d been doing everything he claimed he never would. For me. I loved him all the more for it.

We neared the council chambers. All the while my heart thudded a tragic song against my chest. This could go wrong on so many levels, especially with Valen involved. Since he couldn’t get me to chum up to him by ordinary measures, he was going to outright take me? I didn’t think so. Not if I had anything to say about it.

I turned toward Zach, anticipation lighting up my belly. “What if he wins, Zach?” I whispered. As much as I wanted Heath to be the victor, Valen was a complete unknown. Was he the proverbial dark horse? Was he the man Tabitha warned me about? The truth was I couldn’t be sure of anything, and ruling anyone out was a bad decision.

Zach flinched. “The only thing you need to know is I will protect you. You are mine, Rayla. Don’t doubt it, and this will all go away soon.”

I tried to smile at him, but my lips wouldn’t turn up, no matter how much I told them to. In the end I nodded and left it at that. He frowned at me, but then we were ushered into the council room by a couple of page boys that looked like Burger King wannabes in their colorful tights and bouffant shoulder pads.

Once inside the room, I gasped, lifting my face toward the rising ceiling. Every time someone new came in, it lifted a level. Pretty soon, I wouldn’t even be able to see the ceiling. Why did they have so many people here? I didn’t think there were this many representatives from each realm.

“Who are all these people,” I hissed at Zach.

“Most are your suitors,” he said with a wink. I blanched down to my toes. Looking up once again, I tried to get a better idea of who I faced. Zach patted my hand. “Not to worry, love. By the time you attend the tournament, it will be down to five suitors from each realm.”

“But I thought they held the preliminary tournaments in each realm. What’s going on here?”

“We usually do, but this is a special occasion which called for a special tournament.”

Twenty-five men at best. I groaned. Zach laughed, pushing me toward our booth.

It took a few more minutes for the crowd to settle down. Even then the buzz in the room sounded like an angry swarm of killer bees.

Valen sauntered out of the little room at the top of the dais. One of these days I was going to see the inside of that place. Valen scanned the room until he found me. An evil smile crept along his mouth, and his eyes glistened with near triumph.

I gritted my teeth and stared him down. We’d just have to see about that.

Tabitha followed him into the council chamber. She took a few steps forward before she held up her hand. The room fell silent. If there was one thing she could do, it was control a crowd. For once, I was grateful for her ability. “My lords and ladies,” she said, tipping her chin at the congregation. “Today marks a historic event, yet I wish it were for a brighter occasion. For centuries we have lived in relative peace; yet, now, you come seeking to disrupt our precarious balance for power.” She gave a mournful shake of her head. “Haven’t we enough? Isn’t it enough to live together peaceably? Must we revert to taking up our dark past?”

“Times have changed,” a man shouted, his deep voice growling the words. “Leave us to our fate, woman. We no longer have need of you, now that we have the Nexus.”

Tabitha chuckled as if he’d told her a secret joke. “Is that what you think?” She scanned the room with a death stare. “Who among you feel as this man does?”

A roar broke through the air, gaining strength until I had to cover my ears.

No. This couldn’t be happening. Tabitha assured me we could settle this without war. I wouldn’t be the cause of destruction among these people.

Tabitha held up her hand and slowly the chanting stopped, yet it took longer than it should have for her to regain control. Zach sat stiff as a granite slab next to me.

Tabitha’s voice thundered throughout the room. If it was possible, the sound was more menacing than that of over a thousand men. “So be it!” she spat. “But do not come to me to fix this plague. You have chosen your fate, and now you must live it.” With a dramatic flourish, she grabbed her cloak, pulling it around her. Then she disappeared.

Once again the room erupted in a violent cacophony of sound. Valen stepped forward, holding up both hands. His voice boomed through the space and the air grew thick with anticipation. “As promised, brothers, she is gone. No longer will we stand in the wake of her preposterous predictions. From this day forward, we forge our own future. Together, we will make the fae nations strong. To do such a thing, we need a leader.” His eyes swept through the crowd as his voice grew hard with resolve. “Someone in this room is that man.”

Cheers rang out, so full of pent up rage I slunk down in my chair. If I wasn’t careful I would end up in the middle of these men, flaunted for all to see.

As if reading my mind, Valen stepped up to me, holding out his hand. When I shook my head, panic eating a hole in my chest, Zach stepped in front of me, blocking the chairman from my view.

“Rayla is not yours to display,” he growled.

Valen chuckled, making no qualms about looking me up and down. “Take what you can…while you can, my brother. She will not be yours by week’s end.”

Before they could say another word, I raced for the doors. A raucous of laughter followed me. I was nothing more than a prize for these men. One face caught my attention as I fled.

Ainessa stared at me, not with gloating, but with pained horror and a slight bit of what could only be named compassion. Had she seen this before? Was this why she was so desperate?

For the first time since I’d met her, I realized there might be more to her story than I had been willing to see. I shook my head, forcing the thought from my mind. No man could control me. They’d all tried. Even Zach, with all his power, couldn’t do it.

A horrible thought struck me. What if Zach wasn’t the strongest lord out there? What if I was now facing what all other Elementals faced from day one? No choice.

Hadn’t I just told Zach there was always a choice? I got a couple of questioning glances as I ran down the castle steps into the glowing daylight, but thankfully no one stopped me.

What was I going to do now? I’d much prefer to spend an eternity with Zach than an hour with Valen. But my real fear was that Heath wouldn’t win. He’d come so far so fast that I shouldn’t have doubted him, yet I couldn’t quite keep the thoughts locked outside my mind. Heath loved me and love should conquer all, but it didn’t sometimes. Sometimes life squashed love to bits.

My shoes had shredded my feet I kicked them off, preferring to go barefoot. Most of the way to the stables was grass anyway, but I cringed every time my soles found a stray pebble.

Once inside, I ran for Styx, only to find his stall empty. Bastion was absent, as well.

Great, the stable hands chose now to do their job? Or had the two found a way to escape after all? I shook my head at the empty room and made for the pasture.

They had to be here somewhere, and I needed to find them. I had to know that if the unthinkable happened I would be able to leave.

Now that I understood I couldn’t drift out of Lombarda, I had to have another plan of escape. I threw open the barn doors and scanned the pasture, looking for pursuers too. When was I going to stop running from these people?

When I didn’t see Styx and Bastion in the pasture, I headed for the trees. I had to have some time alone to think, at the very least. Tabitha had, once again, betrayed me. She’d promised me that if I came back here and worked with Zach, everything would turn out okay.

How could I believe that now? Not only was everything not okay, I was looking at maybe having to spend an entire fae lifetime with someone I abhorred. Even thinking about Valen coated my brain with an ooze of eww.

He was the worst sort of fae—all in it for power and status.

I ran as if my feet had wings. I even tried to drift along the way just to make sure there wasn’t a sweet spot somewhere no one knew about. The forest loomed in front of me, dark and forbidding, but I welcomed the cover. I welcomed the solace. I welcomed the darkness for the first time in my life.

My feet yelled at me when I hit the uneven terrain, but I pressed forward. I kept going until I was deep inside the trees. Here, the sun had no hold, as if this place was forever night. The florescent veins in the plant life illuminated my path well enough, but something inside me acknowledged a dark presence within this place that seemed to flow along with me.

Once upon a time, I would have been afraid, but I had learned not to fear the unknown. Some of my greatest friends and allies were monsters, after all. After a while, I grew tired of the silence.

“Who’s there?” I asked the trees.

No answer greeted me, so I sat on a boulder and waited for whoever it was to come out. When it was clear they weren’t going to speak, I started into a one-sided conversation. “I’m glad you’re here.” Closing my eyes, I chuckled. “I need someone to talk to. You see, I’ve been trying to find a way to bring peace to Faeresia, but it’s clear I’m only good for one thing. Everyone wants my power but me. It’s not like I even know what to do with it.”

A strangled laugh shot up my throat. “No one has told me what they want to do with my power either.” No one but Luke. My mind went back to the first time I’d seen him. He’d been stunningly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Nothing had changed in that regard. “I’m worried about him,” I whispered to the air. “But I’m also afraid of him. At one point I thought he was my friend.”

Tears leaked out of my eyes. I hadn’t let myself feel this before. More than anything Luke had hurt me. Not because he’d come after me like he did, but because his loss had a profound effect on me.

“I am your friend,” he said from a few yards away from me.

I spun into a crouch, ready to fight or run. “Luke?” I hissed his name, not believing my senses.

He gave me a smirk. “Hoping for someone else? They always do.” His features deflated into a sorrowful frown. “Why is that, Rayla? Tell me—why them and not me?”

To be honest, I really didn’t know. His desperation scared me for one, but there was something else, I couldn’t quite pinpoint. His very nature was volatile, like the sea, like his element. At any moment this man could turn on me. I was stupid to come here alone. “The others will be here to get me soon,” I said, frantic for that to be true.

He laughed. “I’m sure they will. Someone always seems ready to save the day for you. At one point, I even thought that would be me.”

“Luke,” I said, but I couldn’t finish. What could I say to him that wouldn’t make this worse than it already was between us?

He shook his head, strolling closer to me. “Not to worry, my lady. My days of conquer are sadly over.”

I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“I am a hunted man.” He cocked his head at me. “For crimes against the state, it seems.”

“But I thought—”

He raised a finger. “Ah, you’ve been told that I’m a hero? That the council applauded me for my efforts to claim you?”

I nodded. If he came any closer, I would be forced to run. I couldn’t trust him. If I’d learned one thing from my time with him it was that.

“Do you know that when I went to the island I had direct orders not to do anything? I was to lead my best friend into a war zone. I was only to gather information.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I betrayed him and he doesn’t even know it because in the end I was betrayed too.”

I shook my head, hardly believing what he was saying.

“I couldn’t risk losing you, but in the end we both did. How ironic.” His laugh echoed around me.

“Who gave you those orders?” I asked, keeping a wary eye on him at all times.

“Why, our illustrious leader, of course. How could I have known his plan then? He was recently bonded. He shouldn’t have been a threat. I agreed for the safety of my people, but I should have known better. He has always found a way to stay on top.”

“Valen?”

He dipped his chin in a nod, letting out a chuckle. He had a way of sounding so casual and in control, but something about the set of his body told me he barely managed to keep himself constrained. “This,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Is our finest land. We used to share in the bounty, but now, we allow the leaders of our nations to bask in wealth while most of us work to support them.”

I scoffed. He had no idea what poverty looked like. He should visit some of the rural towns I’d seen.
Then
he’d know the countenance of poor.

“You don’t believe me,” he said, using an overly soft tone. “In that case, I may as well lay it all out for you.”

My whole body stiffened when he stepped closer. I held up my hand. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather keep some distance between us.”

Something like regret slid over his eyes before he bowed low, flourishing his hand to the side. “Whatever the lady wishes, the lady shall receive.” With an easy stride, he walked over to a tree and leaned against the trunk, crossing his ankles. “You’ve seen the pretty icing of our world, Rayla, but you have no idea what lurks beneath—the writhing mass of putrid filth that propels our nations onward.”