Horizon (6 page)

“Even though circumstances have warranted a significantly different outcome, I believe Lord Heath was not only capable of bonding with the Elemental, he had prime opportunity to do so while on the island the Order occupied.”

The crowd murmured and whispers started. Queen Rachel’s voice rose above the low hum. “It is my belief that Lord Heath has betrayed his people by allowing another to stop the union already in progress. I’ve asked for the opportunity for that union to be consummated—”

I nearly choked on my saliva. If this woman only knew how much consummating I’d shared with Heath, she’d be begging her pardon.

“In light of recent events,” she said. “I’ve been told that outcome is not an option; therefore, to maintain our good standing with the earth realm, I propose Lord Heath be stripped of his titles, his lands, and his status as lord of fire. We shall hold a tournament of champions as soon as we are able to gather our underlords. Lord Heath has made his intentions to refuse to bond with another Elemental clear. That is why I invoke our right to obtain another champion. Demoting him will not only appease the insult he inflicted upon Eldrea, it will ensure the strength of Ignis. I do hope at some point, Lord Heath will have the courage to wield the title of lord of fire, but he has proven himself unworthy.” She bowed her dark head and said, “We shall leave it to you to decide. Thank you.”

After she was done speaking, she picked up her skirts and took her husband’s arm. They walked up the dais steps then disappeared into the small room they’d come from. I heaved a relieved sigh. As far as I was concerned, it could have been a lot worse.

Zach leaned in closer to me. “It’s not over yet, love. All I know is she’s hell bent on getting Heath out of her court. I’m not sure what the bloke did to deserve Rachel’s wrath, but she hasn’t shut up about removing him for weeks. The council has to act now.”

Valen flowed down the steps before he paced the black and white floor, straddling the line the entire way. His head turned slowly and our eyes met. He searched my face. For what, I couldn’t be sure, but after a moment, he walked toward me.

Each step that brought him closer was like a jolt to my pulse. Sweat trickled in tiny streams down my back and pooled on my palms. Little zings of electricity danced in my stomach. Since when did Valen affect me like this? Zach stiffened beside me, but didn’t say anything until Valen was right in front of us. “Your liege,” said Zach. “What may we do for you?”

Valen ignored Zach, still staring at me, his eyes seeming to find my internal barrier. “Seems you’ve learned some skill since the last time we met, Rayla.”

I gave him a tight nod.

He inclined his head toward me. “What are you hiding from us?”

My courteous smile drained from my face. “What makes you think I’m hiding anything?”

His expression remained open, unreadable. “Your thoughts have been easy to discern previously. Something has changed in you. I cannot quite name it, but I will find out what it is you are keeping so heavily guarded.”

I gulped.

“What?” he said. “No arguing? So unlike you.”

Zach leaned forward. “Do you have a specific question for
my
bondmate?”

Valen laughed. “No insult was intended, Lord Ammon. I am merely curious.”

Zach’s jaw tightened. “Rayla is very tired from her ordeal. I think it is best—”

Valen’s eyes still clung to mine as he cut Zach off. “You shall not leave court until I give word. Is that clear, Lord Ammon?”

Zach stiffened. “I have a realm to look after.”

Valen cocked his brows. “You may go if you like, but she stays.”

The scoff that came out of Zach startled me. “I’m hardly leaving without her.”

Giving a huff of contempt, Valen lashed out at Zach, “You have your orders, Lord Ammon.”

Zach bowed his head. “Yes, your majesty.”

That was it? He was just going to let Valen boss us around?

The gigantic doors to the council chambers opened, sending a chill into the room. Heath strode in, head held high in clear defiance, his braid trailing over one shoulder. He walked to the middle of the room and waited, setting his legs in a wide stance.

He hadn’t even glanced at me. It was all I could do to keep myself from jumping the banister and racing to his arms.

The door at the top of the dais opened and Queen Rachel came out again, this time her bondmate stayed back. She strode up to Heath, hell’s fury swirling in her eyes.

Without a word said, she slapped his face.

He didn’t even flinch.

She reached out and touched the end of his long braid then cocked her head at him, her dark brows lifting. “Lord Heath, you have failed your kingdom. You have brought disgrace to your realm and have no right to wear such a badge.” Badge? When she leaned down, I couldn’t see what she was doing, but she came back up wielding a knife. I couldn’t even gasp. My body stiffened, my power sliding to the surface. What was she going to do to him?

Once again her voice filled the chamber as she circled him. “For misconduct and failing to act in the interest of your nation, I strip you of your titles, your lands, and your power.”

I couldn’t hide my emotions any longer. Fear climbed up my face as I leaned forward, but Zach’s arm pressed me back into my seat.

The horrible woman stopped in front of Heath and raised her blade to his cheek. In a horribly slow motion, she slid the knife down his jaw line, drawing a bright line of blood.

“What is she doing?” I hissed, ready to light her up.

Zach shushed me. “It is nothing more than a flesh wound. Hold your tongue.”

My heart thudded against my ribs. I couldn’t let her do this. I had to stop this.

My scream died in my throat as a hard hand clamped onto my shoulder and a deep voice whispered into my ear. “If you care at all for Heath you will control yourself.”

I clenched my teeth together and balled my fists. When I looked up again, Queen Rachel stood at Heath’s back. She picked up his braid, and in one quick motion sliced through it, severing it at his nape.

Before I could react, I was yanked from my chair and whirled around. I gazed into coal black eyes, wondering for not the first time why they looked so familiar. Then everything went dark.

I woke to the bright light of morning. It had been so long since I’d seen daylight my eyes refused to stay open. My arms and legs might as well have been glued to the mattress for how much I could get them to move. Nothing seemed wrong with me, really. I just felt heavy, like I’d been asleep for a really long time.

“Good morning, sunshine,” said a familiar voice.

My eyes popped open, and I scanned the room until I found her. “Lacey?”

She smirked at me. “Expecting someone else?”

I smiled at her, but I wasn’t feeling it. There was a good chance I’d never feel happy again. When she continued to stare at me I realized I hadn’t answered her. “Uh, I don’t know, but certainly not you. I was beginning to think you’d pissed someone off and gotten yourself shipped off to the dark realms, or worse.” I’d secretly wished for just that not so long ago. I’d wanted to see her so badly, to make sure she was okay.

She frowned at me. “Yeah, well, when I heard you were here, I insisted on seeing you. Some dickhead guard finally brought me in here. The minute I was through the door he locked me in.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Seems like I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for hours. Any longer, I would have poured that trencher right over your head.”

I sat up too fast, and dizziness made the room spin. “Well here’s to waking up dry,” I said, smiling for real this time. “It’s so good to see you.” I stifled a yawn. “Just give me a minute to get my head on right.”

She leaned against the bedpost and threw out her hand. “Sure thing. Take your time. It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

The intense glow in the room contrasted against her dark skin, which only highlighted how tall she really was. All things considered she looked pretty good, although seeing her in a yellow ball-gown brought a chuckle out of me. My eyes traveled down to her slippered toes and back up.

She made a face. “Not you too.”

I lifted myself onto my elbows. “Too?”

Her feet shifted uncomfortably. “Saw Roger a few days ago. He wouldn’t let me live it down. Made such a fuss about how great I looked in a dress, but I could tell he didn’t like it.”

The tiny hairs on my neck rose in anticipation. There was a good chance he would know where Travis was. “Roger’s here?”

She shrugged. “Hard to say. Since I refused to play the fae courting game, they’ve kept me pretty much locked up. Not very different than the Order if you ask me.”

I nodded. “How long have you been here?”

Her hand shot out to the side, moving higher with every word. “Days, weeks, years, who the hell knows?”

I could empathize. Time didn’t seem to mean much in Faeresia. All humor drained from my face. “You’ve got to tell me what’s happening.”

One side of her mouth tilted up before she gave a sad shake of her head. “At first, I was really encouraged. I thought we’d actually get a choice with you making such a show, but each Elemental that comes here to bond seems different than when they left. It’s like they can’t think past their hormones or something.” Her eyes grew distant, but her voice stayed strong. “Yeah, I’ll admit it—the guys here are hot, but it’s not like that’s all that counts. I’ve known some of these girls most of my life, and every time I see one of them it’s like looking at a stranger in a friend’s body.”

My jaw clenched. “I know exactly what you mean. I saw Robin before she bonded.”

Lacey grunted. “She was one of the worst. At the island, all she could do was talk about how she’d off herself if the fae ever got her. She refused to go with any of them, like me, for a while, but the minute she saw Strayak, her brain went on vacation. I’m not saying I think she should have killed herself instead of bonding with him or anything, but for her to come back here two weeks after meeting him for the first time all twitterpated just reeks of wrong.”

“Bambi fan?” I asked with a chuckle.

A bright grin covered her mouth. “You could say that.”

I let a smirk slide onto my face while I gave her a nod. “I felt the same way. I couldn’t believe how she acted. And the way she talked about him made me want to barf. I’d have said no to him the minute I heard his name.” Lacey gave a short chuckle and her eyes lit in amusement, so I went on. “Can you imagine? Every time you said it, it’d be like throwing up a little in your mouth.”

She laughed. At first it was a short chortle like before, but soon it morphed into a full-out belly laugh. The contagious sound grabbed hold of me and soon we were feeding off each other’s giggles. I hadn’t laughed this hard in ages…maybe even before I set off for school, and something tight inside me finally released.

We went on like that for a while, but suddenly the light in her eyes drained, replaced by an ominous shadow. “I’m supposed to meet someone in a few hours.”

A dark panic washed over me, but I wouldn’t let her see it. “Who?”

Her usually boisterous voice came out barely a whisper. “They haven’t told me his name.”

“Can’t be as bad as Strayak,” I said, but the moment for laughter had gone.

She gave me a token smile. “What am I gonna to do, Rayla?”

My mind jumbled with images of her and Roger at the island: secret glances every time I turned around. “Do you love him?” I asked. Roger had made it clear how he felt about her, but I’d never been able to get her take of things.

Recognition flitted into her eyes even though I hadn’t said his name. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think I do. Then I see his dark side, and I want to run.”

“Everyone has a dark side,” I said, thinking back to when I killed Frick. I’d gone over it so many times, but I couldn’t come up with a scenario that didn’t end with him dead. One day I was going to find out what his real name was. One day, I was going to face what I’d done. Lacey opened her mouth as if to respond, but I butted in. “I get what you mean about him. He’s kind of hard to understand.”

She nodded. “I’ve known Roger a long time. Too bad I’ve never been good enough for his family. The closer I came to the age of power, the harder it was for my parents to handle the thought of losing me to the fae, so they defected to the rebellion. The first time I saw him after that was on the island. He seemed so different. He wasn’t the fun-loving guy I thought I knew. Part of me wants to fight for him, but the other part of me says, ‘what’s the point’? He’s an Order man. I don’t know if I can deal with that.”

“So you grew up with him?”

She walked over to the window and gazed out into the distance. “Not really. We saw each other at festivals and other Order events. He was a mean little brat as a kid. When he picked on my sister one too many times, I knocked him out.”

A giggle erupted from my chest. “How old were you?”

“Ten.” Her shoulders lifted a bit. “Even then I was tall for my age.”

I burst out laughing and she turned, a huge smile splitting her mouth. “For some reason after that, he wouldn’t leave me alone. Every time he saw me, he’d come and pester me. Somewhere along the way, I learned to care for him. I even loved it when he’d tease me.”

Seemed to me that Lacey might have deeper feelings for Roger than she was willing to admit, maybe even to herself. “Do you know where he’s staying?”

Her teeth clamped together. “They won’t tell me. I think they know about us, so they’re trying to keep us apart. It was just a fluke I ran into him anyway. I’d finally ditched my escort when she
happened
to slip on some water in the hallway. The minute she went down, I ran.” I snorted and Lacey grinned. “I hadn’t gotten any time alone in so long I was going to kill the woman with a lot more than kindness if she didn’t get out of my face.”

I gazed out the window into the glowing morning. Thoughts about school and my time here mingled as I searched for something I could offer to help her. When I came up empty, I resorted to mere words, hating myself for doing it. I had no idea what to tell her, so I tried to recall what I had done to stave off the lords. “The most important thing is to remember why you don’t want to bond with him…I guess to remember who you are.” I looked directly into her eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lacey. They are hard to resist. Once their compulsion hits you, it’s like you’ve known them forever and can’t think of another person while they are near you. You can barely remember your name, but you have to fight it. If you throw off the compulsion, you might have a chance.”