Raining Light (Fate's Intent Book 5) (17 page)

“I have to go after him.”

“Why?” Darius asked, following close behind Zayden.

“There may have been something I left out this morning.”

Zayden sighed. “Oh, no. What?”

“Kole has it in his head that his destiny is to die tonight.”

“What?! Is that really why you were nice to him?”

“It doesn’t matter now. It’s not going to happen.”

“What is it you plan to do?” Darius asked.

“I’ll prove him wrong. He can make his own destiny.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“I’m not doing this for me. It will kill her if he dies.”

“Troy, you’re being—”

“What are you doing out here?” Kole appeared out of nowhere through the trees, cutting Zayden off.

This was my chance. “Kole, this is stupid.”

“And I agree. We don’t all need to be out here.”

“You shouldn’t be at all. By putting yourself at risk, you’re just trying to make it come true.”

“I thought I already told you, Troy? It can’t be changed.”

“You’re being irrational about this. It can if you just come back and do nothing.”

He laughed. “You’re even more of a fool than I had you pegged to be. Talk some sense into him, Zayden before he explodes from thinking it’s his job to save everyone.”

I stood stiff with my eyes still on Kole and Zayden took a step for me, reaching out for my arm. “Troy, would you just—”

“No!” I pulled away but kept my eyes right on Kole. “I know you’ve said you’ve tried to stop it but you haven’t tried hard enough and I don’t think it’s my job. Jaylyn will fall apart if you do this. That I won’t have. It’s like you said; she’s emotionally fragile.”

“But she’ll handle it because she’ll still have you.”

“But I can’t save her from this hurt that will never go away.”

“You haven’t tried hard enough.” Kole smiled to quote me this time.

“Kole, I don’t think—”

“Shh!” He held up his hand and turned his head to the east, listening to the sound of night echoing in the distance.

“What is that?” Darius asked.

I could hear it too. It was like a distant wind but Kole drew my attention back to him with a sudden louder voice. “Get down!” He threw his hand up in a hurry and the three of us were all pushed down to the ground.

Whistling sounds of arrows passed by, hitting trees and stones around us and I made sure to keep my head down, covered by my arms. The terrifying seconds of it stopped just as fast as they came and I looked up. I saw the arrows for myself and Kole standing in front of us with his back turned. His wings were out. They were massive and black as night but I noticed the several arrows punctured through them. He used them as a shield; for us.

I watched him touch his hand to his abdomen and slowly lift it to look at it. When he did, he dropped down to his knees and his wings fell limp.

We went right over, me leading the way. “No.”

Blood was on Kole’s hand and he was touching a single arrow embedded in the flesh of his stomach.

“No.” I muttered again, getting down next to him and sitting him back so he was almost laying.

“I told you.”

“No, you are not going to die.”

“You already know I will.”

I was in denial about the whole thing. There had to be away around this. “But—but you can heal fast, can’t you?”

“Not like Jay. This would take a day or two and I have maybe a minute.”

“What are you doing out here?”

It was Trever’s voice but I couldn’t look.

“What did you do?”

Now he was down next to me but I still couldn’t look.

“If you think we did this, you’re sadly mistaken.” Zayden said.

“He just saved us.” I muttered.

Kole was still breathing but it was deep with the sound of fluids gargling in his throat and Trever took his hand, trying to keep his grip strong. “Kole, stay with me.” He looked down at the arrow in his gut and put his hand near the blood. “Oh, fuck.”

“Don’t.” Kole muttered. “You know I won’t make it.”

“Don’t say that. You’re going to. You have to.”

I was glad he was hopeful but I didn’t know if I was anymore after hearing him speak like that.

“I’m sorry about this.”

“Don’t be.”

“And the times when we were kids and you were always punished for my mistakes and all those times I could never do what you asked of me. I only wish I could have served you better instead of thinking of myself.”

“No. You didn’t. You did well. I could have never of wanted anything more.”

Kole’s grip started to get shaky and his words were becoming weaker. “Still. It has been an honor growing up beside you—my King.”

His breaths faded and his eyes stared still towards the sky. It really happened. Kole was dead.

“No.” Trever was in complete denial about the whole thing while trying to shake him awake. “No.”

When that didn’t work, he broke down in front of us. He leaned over Kole with his forehead to his bloodied chest, gasping for his own breath like he were suffocating.

The reality of it all started to hit me next and I felt his pain. I reach for his shoulder, to give him some kind of comfort but he wouldn’t take it. He shrugged my hand off and looked back at me with those winded breaths but his eyes; his eyes were a glowing gold and the rest of them black.

It startled me enough to back away and ask. “What is that?”

His skin looked translucent and black veins crawled up his neck to his face, heading straight for his eyes.

He didn’t say anything to me. He gripped his own chest in agony after this low cracking sound and his body began to convulse.

I looked at Zayden and Darius still standing feet away. They looked horrified but I was scared, scared for him.

“Don’t touch him.” Zayden said.

I didn’t know if I could help myself. Something was happening to him and someone had to help.

Trever sucked in the deepest breath I have ever heard when an arm wrapped around the front of his shoulders but it wasn’t mine. Bryce was with us, trying to subdue whatever was happening to Trever. His other hand was held at the back of his head and Trever’s breath finally started to wither to a more normal speed, his eyes fading back while the visible veins slithered back down his face and neck until they could no longer be seen.

When it was done or over enough that he looked normal again, Bryce pushed him forward so he was hunched over Kole’s body again. “You’d risk everyone’s lives for one simple loss? It’s weak and my son cannot be weak.”

“He was my friend.”

“King’s don’t have friends. They have people who do their will.”

“I’m not a King.”

“You should be. I cannot hold back the lion’s call for you again. You know what he wants.”

“I can’t. I was never that person.”

“You’ll always be that person. Show a little decorum for your family.”

“How can I? He just died.”

“What do you want from me?”

Trever got up and turned to him. “You know what I want and I’ll do anything for it; I’ll be King. Just—send him back to me.”

“I cannot. It was a miracle he survived this long.”

“What are you talking about? Kole was—”

“Created to be what I needed him to be. You must have seen the signs, Trever. He’s been sluggish at times for months. He was never supposed to make it passed twenty-five. His soul was never predicted to last that long.”

“By who?”

“I bet you could guess.”

“Madam Carla.”

“Yes. She created his soul. That’s why he was always so perfect. That’s why he could do the things he could. I asked that of her for you and she did it.”

“Bring him back.”

“So you can watch him die again because that’s what would happen.”

“I’m sure even you can fix that too.”

“I understand that I’ve made many mistakes but my biggest one was Kole. He was just—holding you back.”

“Kole kept me sane!”

“Exactly. No great King has ever been fully sane.”

“You’re the insane one to even think that way.”

“And yet I’m the one with an entire world in the palm of my hand.”

“You took it. It wasn’t given to you.”

“How do you think anyone falls into such high power? Power is taken.”

“I don’t want power. I just want Kole.”

“I’m afraid it’s still not possible even if I could. Kole doesn’t want to come back.”

Confusion struck all of us.

“Why?” Trever asked.

“He’s needed here more. Something happened.”

I heard running and looked ahead towards camp. Ryon had reached us, his eyes only on Trever when he took a breath.

“No.” Trever said. “Why?”

“She was needed. I couldn’t stop it but we have her, she’s safe.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Trever asked.

“Report the tragic accident. It’s what he would want but don’t wait.”

Bryce disappeared and left us standing here to figure out just how we should go about reporting this.

“What happened?” Ryon asked.

“It’s my fault.” I said.

“It’s no one’s fault.” Trever replied with the same low voice.

“He didn’t die to save us. He died because we got in the way.”

“That’s not true.” Zayden said. “Do not blame yourself. He has no regrets.”

“He’s right.” Trever agreed. “He knew the risks as did we all.”

I closed my eyes and lowered my head to sit in silence. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what I would tell Jaylyn or how. I still blamed myself and I felt I always would.

“What are you going to do?” Ryon asked, looking down on Trever. “It’d be hard to cover this up properly. I guess Bryce was right. It has to be reported.”

“You seem awful normal to find out your friend just died.” Darius said.

Ryon laughed but I found nothing about this tragedy funny. “Yeah, funny, isn’t it? Just the way of the world, I guess. I know I’ll see him again. Death is only an illusion.” He kneeled down on the other side of Kole’s body. “It was a peaceful death. Painless.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“I can feel it. Jay gave him that. His last time with her will always be memorable.”

I turned away. I couldn’t watch anymore and I had nothing else to say.

“Stop.” Trever said. “We have work to do. There are a couple of ways to deal with this.”

“And I’m completely revoking one of those. He would not want that—trust me. Bryce said not to wait.”

“What wouldn’t he want?” Zayden asked.

“Nothing.” Ryon quickly answered. “So really there’s only one option and it consists of basically telling everyone the truth and completely ruining their demeanor for the remaining of the trip and possibly their lives.”

“Thank you for putting it that way.” I said, knowing he was mostly talking about Jaylyn’s reaction. “You’re helping a lot.”

“Well, it’s true. You already know that.”

“All right. Enough.” Trever said. “But you’re right. They’ll have to know.”

“And how exactly are you going to explain that?” I asked a little frustrated about the whole thing. “It’s not something you can just say!”

“Well, we’ll have to. There isn’t time for the other option.”

“What is it? Would Jaylyn still get hurt?”

Trever did the usual thing when he didn’t want to fully answer and shared a look with someone else. This time it was Ryon but he shook his head like he was encouraging him not to answer. I hoped he wouldn’t agree this time. I wanted to know.

“It would be—well—delayed.”

“What do you mean delayed?” Zayden asked.

“I could bring him back.”

I became hopeful and I wanted to know more. “You can?”

“But not like my father can. It wouldn’t last. He wouldn’t be—” He paused from saying it. He was clearly having a difficult time coming to terms with Kole’s death. “Shit. I can’t do this.”

Trever leaned forward and probably wanted to pace but he was still on the ground. He couldn’t even look at Kole and pulled his head down, cupping the back of it just so he wouldn’t look it.

It was strange. I could see these markings on his neck that where coming from his back. It was like we were watching them form and I began to notice it looked a lot like the pattern Kole had down his spine.

“Trever?” Ryon stepped closer, nervous and cautious.

He didn’t answer. He was still leaned forward with his head tucked down, almost rocking while muttering so softly that I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Ryon walked to him, reaching out a hand. “Trever.”

“Don’t touch me.”

Ryon drew back his hand. “I don’t know how to explain this but you’re being decorated.”