Horizon (23 page)

“Good. We agree on something, at least.”

I looked over my shoulder. He stared at me with an expression I could not easily name.

“Really?” I asked

“I’m not willing to wait to see what happens in the tournament. Too many strong warriors have already fallen while Valen watches from the sidelines. Something is happening. Something bad. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a riot ensue. As soon as you’re dressed, we’re both leaving.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, taking advantage of the situation. If I could get him to take me out of Lombarda, I could drift to the borderlands and search for Cerberus, my not so little hellhound.

“Don’t even think about running from me, love.”

Seriously? Why was he continuing with that ridiculous pet name? “Don’t call me that.”

Innocence lit up his smile. “But it’s what you are to me.”

Charmer. It wasn’t going to work, no matter how many times he tried. “I don’t feel the same way.”

“We have time,” he said.

Little did he know, his time was already a distant memory for me. There was no way I was going to let Heath get away with this. I didn’t care if he wanted to be some kind of martyr. I wasn’t going to let him.

“Hurry up. We still have to figure out where Tabitha put my family,” I told Zach when his hands stalled on my laces. His skin slid along mine, and I was sure he was trying to seduce me again, but I was done caving.

“Already handled, love.”

I gasped. “Where are they?”

“Safe. That’s all you need to know right now.”

I grunted, not willing to waste a single more second arguing. Someday, I’d thank him, but it wasn’t going to happen today. Zach laughed and went to work disrobing me. I didn’t even care if he saw me naked. He better make it last, though, because that was all he was going to get.

“What are you waiting for?” I hissed into Zach’s ear.

“Shh,” he chided. “We have to be subtle about this.”

“Subtle?” I asked, incredulous.

He grinned and his cheek brushed against mine. “I realize you don’t know much about the concept,” he said, “but it generally works when used correctly.”

I nudged his back. “Just get us out of here.”

He chuckled. “I’d be happy to oblige, lass, but unless you want the royal guard on our heels, you’d best be quiet.”

I didn’t want to be quiet. I wanted to roar from the rooftops. I wanted to race through Lombarda declaring the fae would no longer have control of my decisions. I was my own woman, even if no one here recognized me for what I was.

When he didn’t move, I pushed him again, using more force than I should have. His body careened forward before he could stop himself, and he stumbled onto the moonlit path. A gargled laugh sputtered out of me.

“Lord Ammon,” a man said immediately. Woops. He obviously had a reason for stalling. “I thought you’d be celebrating with the others.”

To my utter horror, Zach pulled me in front of him, slurring his words when he spoke. “Begging your pardon, but I’ve got my own ideas for a celebration.”

The man laughed. I hadn’t seen this one before. He was shorter than most royal guards, but his eyes traveled over me with the same scrutiny I’d experienced from others of his kind.

His dark brown eyes lit up. “I’ve not seen this one before,” he said in a rich brogue. “Where did you find such a comely, lass? I’d heard we had humans in the realms, but I dared not believe it.”

I glanced at Zach over my shoulder, giving him a disgusted frown. Humans in the realms? Was my family here?

“We’ll be but a short while,” said Zach, winking at me no less. “After all, I’ve got the coming battle to consider.”

The guard laughed again. “Send her my way when you’re finished?”

The question got me so stinking mad, I went to zap the guy’s arm, but Zach picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. When I kicked him, he laughed. A hard swat landed on my backside, stunning me momentarily. He jostled me around until I settled into his shoulder. His voice came out throaty. “Feisty one.”

The man, who I could no longer see, burst out into jeers.

“Put me down!” I screamed, finally finding my voice.

Another swat landed in the exact same spot. This time the sting made me gasp.

“Like I said,” the man’s voice floated around me. “Send her my way when you’re done.”

The sound of footsteps banging onto the golden pathway receded until I couldn’t hear them anymore. Zach placed me gently on my feet.

When I steadied myself, I slapped his face. Hard.

He rubbed the spot, smiling. “I deserved that, but I’ll not say I’m sorry. Could have been worse, you know? I’ve wanted to give you a good thrashing for a long time.”

Humiliation ate up my face. I had to be scarlet from head to toe. “You are the most—”

He held up his hand. “Stow it, lass. I’ve heard them all in my day, and I’ve deserved most of them, but not this one. Not this time. I just saved your hide back there. He’d have taken you straight to Valen if he’d known who you were.”

My face scrunched in confusion. “What are you talking about? It’s not like he could have mistaken me for someone else.”

“Is that right, now?” He circled me then pinched my cheek. “I gave you a glamour since you couldn’t seem to manage it yourself. One thing about the royal guard is they’re more human than you might think. They can’t see through our illusions.”

That was just weird. “So what did he see when he looked at me?”

Zach laughed. “A buxom brunette with a sharp tongue.” He shrugged. “It was a woman I once knew.”

My hands wanted to cover my not so buxom bosom. I’d never been overly curvy, but I’d never given it a second thought until now. “You’re disgusting,” I said, giving him a frown.

“What?” he asked, all innocence. “I might be immortal, but a man has needs.”

He was going to get kneed if he didn’t stop it. “Whatever,” I said then moved to go in front of him.

He caught my wrist. “No way am I letting you lead the way.”

“Whatever,” I said again, but fell in line behind him.

We walked in relative silence until we reached the stables. Just before we crossed the open field, Zach stopped, and I nearly ran into his back. He was about as big of an obstacle as he wanted to be. He turned and eyed me until I gave him a pointed stare.

After scrutinizing me for a few more seconds, he said, “You need to understand a few things before we go forward.” I nodded, waiting for an epiphany of a lifetime. “This will backfire if we can’t get Bastion on board. No pegasus can be cloaked unless they want to be, and taking her into the mortal realms could pose a real problem for us.”

We were doomed. “She won’t even let me approach her, let alone cloak her.”

His expression lit with understanding. “She’s stubborn, too, love. Just give her some space and ask her kindly like. Whatever you do, don’t command her to do anything.” He held out his hand and three small apples appeared in his palm. “These might keep her subdued for a while, but she will likely want to kill you when she comes out of the spell.”

Spell? I shook my head. “No way. She hates me enough as it is.”

He let out a pfft that lifted his bangs. “We can’t leave her here. Styx will only go if she does.”

Well that was just great. I was going to give the black-hearted pegasus a talking to the next time I saw him.

“Talking isn’t necessarily going to help,” said Styx.

I whirled around, searching for him in the darkness. This was the first time he’d said anything directly to me for a while.

He trotted out of the trees with Bastion right behind him. Hope burst in my chest, but I had to do this the right way. I waited for the duo to approach.

Styx stopped a few feet away from my outstretched hand. I’d managed to procure a few apples of my own, and these, thankfully, weren’t tainted like the ones Zach tried to give me.

Styx nudged my hand, sniffed then took one apple gently between his teeth. This was the absolute most docile I’d seen the fiery beast.

“Hey,” he said into my mind. “Watch it or I’ll show you what that means.”

I laughed. “Well?” I asked.

He crunched away, apparently ignoring me again.

I rubbed between his eyes then over his ears. He must have liked it because he leaned into my hand. “Has she spoken to you yet?”

“Not exactly,” he said. His dark voice echoed in the corners of my mind.

“Do you know what’s wrong? Is it because Jett gave her to me?”

Styx backed away. “You should ask her.”

I took a timid step toward Bastion. Her big, ice-blue eyes studied me. With every inch that brought us closer, her eyes grew wider. I stopped a couple feet away from her and held out my hand.

She brought her head down and sniffed. I got the distinct impression she thought I was going to poison her.

“It’s okay,” I told her. “I really want to be friends with you, Bastion.”

Without warning she reared back. When she came down again, her hooves landed inches from my toes. “What did I do to upset you so badly?” I asked. How was I supposed to get anywhere with this high-strung pegasus if she wouldn’t even let me touch her?

She made a sharp noise then huffed. Oh crap. Could she hear my thoughts?

“Pretty much,” said Styx, walking closer.

He edged in, close to her neck. She turned and bit him.

That was it. I retreated to a perceived safe distance. “This is hopeless,” I said to Zach.

He placed a gentle arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a side hug. “Jett has spoiled her. Give her a few minutes to adjust. She’ll come around.”

But would she really? I couldn’t rely on that, and I couldn’t wait here much longer.

I gave Zach a quick lean in before I removed myself from his embrace. “When will the tournament start up again?”

He tried to cover the apprehension on his face, but I’d already seen it. “It has already begun.”

Having no other option, I gritted my teeth and walked right up to Bastion. She did the wide-eyed act again, but I didn’t care. I needed her to see how desperate I was.

“Look,” I said. “I know you don’t really like me. You’ve made that clear enough, but I need your help. In about ten minutes someone in this castle is going to alert the royal guard to my sudden disappearance.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry for the way you’ve been treated these past few days, and for not taking great care of you. I have no excuse for it. All I know is that I’m the only person around here that seems to care whether or not you get to stay with Styx.” She pounced on the ground again, but I ignored her. “If you help me escape, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you and Styx remain together.” It hit me. Could she be thinking that since I wanted Heath that she would have to go to Ignis with me when this all got sorted out, if it ever got sorted out, that was?

I leveled my gaze to hers. “If I have any control over the situation, I will make things right for you. I’d love to see you two free.” It wasn’t like most fae needed them to get around anymore.

She whinnied before she lowered her head. My fingers shook as I brought them over her shimmering mane. The soft cushion captured my attention for a short moment. She really was breathtaking.

Using slow movements, I brought the apple to her lips. She didn’t even sniff it this time. She just took it gently into her mouth and chewed.

I smiled at her. “Will you be so gracious as to give me a ride to the borderlands?”

Her head bobbed down then back up. Yes! I whispered thanks into her ear then wasted no time in going to her side. Before I could give a good jump, Zach lifted me onto her back. Using his momentum, I swung my leg over her and settled in.

In no time, Zach straddled Styx. Anticipation sliced through my belly before we even took off. Bastion spread her gigantic wings and pumped. We lifted off the ground, gliding on the wind immediately.

Every flawless movement she made took us higher until pretty soon we sprang forward into the night. I glanced behind me, pushing my hair out of my eyes, taking in the glowing castle, full of activity. From here it looked magical. It was, in the strictest meaning of the word. Unfortunately, the manipulative people that lived there were more interested in making the amazing place a prison.

I made myself turn away then hugged Bastion. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but I was so grateful for her help. “Thank you,” I said, again and again. Tears streamed down my face and onto her neck. There was no way Styx would have come without her, and I knew it.

Despite my growing worry that we would be immediately found out and hunted down, a growing hope bubbled inside me. I didn’t dare let it spark into full blown optimism, yet the glow slowly worked onto my face. I found myself smiling.

Zach sidled up next to me. He held a similar expression when I looked over at him. I laughed, letting joy spread through me. No matter what happened between us, he was my friend. He had risked everything to help me escape. I still didn’t know what the council might do to him if they found us. I wouldn’t let the
when
slip into my thoughts. If Valen could manipulate people so easily, we would have a real problem on our hands when he caught up to us. It was a matter of time. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I wouldn’t have to face him at some point, but at least now we might have a shot of being ready for him. We needed to gather our forces, whoever would fight with us. This wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing about this life had been easy. So much for living a fairytale.

“We’re nearly to the borderlands,” said Zach. “Once we’ve landed, I’ll cloak us, but I will need your help.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Since when did he need my help? I’d seen him cloak the entire castle just a few days ago.

He held up a hand. “Now don’t get your brain overworking. The borderlands warp our power. I will need yours for backup. The guard will likely find us if we aren’t united.”

“Once we’re cloaked, then what?”

“We need a game plan.”

Now he was talking. “What do you have in mind?”

“Not here. It’s too risky. Anyone could be watching.”

Was he serious? I needed to trust him for this to work, but it was difficult given what had happened between us. For all I knew, Ainessa was following us, waiting for the right time to take over Zach’s mind again. No matter how many times he had assured me that she wasn’t capable anymore, I couldn’t let myself believe him. And no matter how much I sympathized with her now, I couldn’t trust her. She’d do anything she could to make her plan work.

His expression softened. “Don’t worry, lass. We’ll figure it out. You and I can do anything together. Remember that and we’ll prevail.”

Too bad we didn’t even have a plan. I didn’t think Zach would approve of mine. Once we were out of the realms I fully intended to find Travis first. Every time I let myself think about him, regret filled my mind. I’d missed so much time with him. He’d been like a brother to me, but knowing that he was really my sibling made me all the more eager to rescue him.

Had he felt the same connection I had? It wasn’t likely with how he’d treated me. I’d been nothing more than a fill-in for him when he wanted to get out of his responsibilities at home. We’d shared a few great moments together, like when he’d defended me in the hallway when some of Brody’s friends had tried to label me a whore after I broke up with the jerk.

Travis wanted to beat them all up, and at that point, he probably could have. He’d gone from a skinny kid to a blonde warrior with bulging muscles and a bad attitude in three months flat. I laughed, thinking about just where he’d gotten that attitude. An image of the man I now considered might be my father tried to settle into my mind, but I wouldn’t allow it. Like Zach said, anyone could be listening in right now and even though I had been able to keep people out of my mind, I wasn’t sure that I could keep it up in the borderlands.

The last time I’d been there was with Gibbit. The little troll had taken pretty good care of me, for what time we’d had together. I hoped at some point I’d be able to make a difference for him; maybe give him a legitimate job?