Regali (A Walker Saga) (6 page)

“I am honored to accept the position of Emperor of First World. A position that is in my blood, a position for which I was groomed and educated.” His expression fell a little
. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I truly wish my father could be here. The fact that I accept this mantle after his loss is the only sorrow. All bless Emperor Christian.”

As he finished
, the crowd echoed his words.

“Over the next few weeks I will meet with all the mayoral heads
. They will bring forward the concerns from your lands. We never rush to implement change, but I want us to continue to prosper as a race.”

He shifted back, his eyes darting to the pillow that rested between the chairs. His head snapped up.

“Aribella, I am going to need you to come up here.”

I froze at the sound of my name. My eyes widened as Lucas locked me in his gaze.

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me,” I muttered.

That sneaky asshat was going to do something stupid
, I just knew it.

I didn’t move.

“Aribella,” he said again.

Every face was turned in my direction. I fought the urge to flip him off.

“Well played, Lucas, you scum bag, well played,” Lucy said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Gasps ran
g out as I stood; I didn’t want a riot to erupt, but I wasn’t going up there if I could help it. I wasn’t the only one to stand. Brace, Talina, Fury and Lucy followed my movement.

“Calm yourself
,” Lucas said a huge grin on his face. “I was just going to introduce you to First World, since you’ve been missing for so long.”

“I call bull-shit.” This came from Fury.

A pair of guards stepped forward. “You must show Emperor Lucas respect, or you will find yourself locked in the castle holding cell.”

Fury looked at me for a moment, before both of us fell about laughing hysterically. I actually had to wipe away tears.

“Do you not know who we are?” Colton, who had been lazing back in his chair, stood now. “We are Walkers, and there isn’t a cell on First World which could keep us captive.”

He genuinely looked confused as he continued.

“I thought everyone knew about us. I mean, damn, Josian lives on First World.”

I interrupted before all-out war erupted. “What do you want, Lucas?”

“I want you to accept your fate.” He projected the words loudly. “You were born under the blood moon. You are the daughter of Lallielle, family of Empresses. This is your destiny.”

Everyone fell silent as his words were allowed to seep into the air. Brace shifted next to me.

“Don’t,” I said in a low voice, my hand on his arm. “It’s not worth it, and if you kill him I’ll have to sit through another stupid Emperor ceremony.”

Lucy laughed.

“It is enough that First World can see and acknowledge you,” Lucas said. “One day, when your mission is finished, you will have no choice.”

The tension broke as the attention shifted from us. I sat again, glaring my displeasure at Lucas. Eventually he was going to understand, or I was going to force him to. At that thought my laluna disappeared from my hand and I had a sneaky suspicion where it was heading.

Lucas paused in the middle of his thank-you speech when a bright light burst around the throne chairs. My laluna had joined with the red royal stone. Their combined purple light shimmered and mesmerized.

“Emperor Lucas has been blessed by the stones
,” a male voice boomed from the crowd.

“First time in a half a millennium that both stones have been joined
,” said another, female this time.

Lucas looked shocked at first as the purple light
surrounded him. Then his head snapped up and he caught my eye. He knew the blue laluna was mine, and now he was thinking all sorts of impossible things. I could tell.

Dammit, what was that stone up to
? Was it the one giving me the weird dreams of First World and its people?

“I will take this as a sign of great things to come for First World.” Lucas finally spoke. “And on that note it
’s time to prepare for the ball.”

Noise erupted as everyone began to shift, stand and chat. There was an hour free now for people to
get ready for the inauguration dance. Thank the gods I wasn’t staying, especially after Lucas’ little stunt. Although Lucy was annoyed she couldn’t wear the shoes I’d given her for her birthday. But I would rather be venturing to the next world, even with all its possible dangers.

“Are you sure we can’t stay for one dance
?” Lucy pleaded with me.

I laughed at her woebegone expression. “Uh
, count me out, but I’ll wait for you back at the house if you want.”

She sighed, her shoulders shifting. “Nah, it’s okay.” He
r eyes flicked to Colton. “No one worth dancing with anyways.”

I could be wrong but it looked as if Colton’s features hardened.

Brace and I exchanged a glance.

Do I need to have a word with Colt?

Brace’s words held concern. He loved his friend but Lucy was important to me, so she was important to him.

No, leave it for now. They
’re managing.

Lucy and I needed to have a serious chat
, though. I had no idea how she was really feeling about all of these events. Including her emergence as a soothsayer. We just never had any time for a girl talk. In fact Talina and Fury might also benefit from a big gossip session when we all had five minutes. Therapy for girls. When I got back from the next planet, I was locking it in.

Josian and Lallielle stepped up to us. “So you
’re heading out to Regali?” Lallielle said, smiling.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “No point waiting around
. We have to get the fourth girl before the next Seventine is released. Or at least with enough time for the ritual.”

“Alright, do you remember where you
’re supposed to go?” Josian’s bronze eyes were flat; something was bothering him. “And who’s going with you?”

I reached out and took his hand, sure that he needed comfort. I was learning how Walkers worked
, and touch was something that eased their worries. They were very tactile people.

“I remember where to go
: the jungle of Artwon. And Lucy, Colt and Brace are coming.”

A shadow fell over us. “Greetings
, Frayre family and friends. We need to speak of the dark mountains.”

We all spun around. Quarn stood there, dressed in the same finery as the royal guards. But maybe
decorated with a few more medals and decals. Quarn was a very special and revered man on First World. He had a rare gift – he was a guardian – and his skills were unsurpassed.

“I would like to head across the mountains straight after this dance.”

Quarn said the word ‘dance’ in the same tone as I would say ‘bikini wax’. It was clear that he didn’t want to be at the ball, but since the castle security was under his control right then, he would never leave during the event.

“Yes, we
’re ready to go as soon as you are,” Lallielle said to her old friend. “Jos will transport everyone across.”

“I guess that means we have to go to this dance
,” Fury said with a sigh, but I could see gleams of hidden excitement in her eyes.

I doubted this was something she’d had a chance to do before
. Her planet, Crais, was burning hot, and she had mostly lived underground in the rocks. That harsh life was mainly about survival. Dances fell pretty low on their list of priorities.

Talina took her hand. “Come on, let’s go find some dresses
. Lalli has outfitted our rooms upstairs with like a million choices.”

They moved closer to me and Lucy.

“You two stay safe.” Talina hugged us.

“And remember to get us if you need help. We’re a team
,” Fury added.

She didn’t hug
; that wasn’t her style. But I knew she had my back. She was big on the half-Walker girl-power.

“We’ll be back before you know it. And you have to be careful in the mountains
,” Lucy said, her eyes glazing over a bit. “I can’t see it. Somehow it’s staying just out of sight, but there’s something really bad under there.”

“And on that uplifting note, we’re off.” Talina winked at me. “I keep hoping Lucy is just being overdramatic.”

We all laughed, and I waved as my friends moved away to take those curving stairs up to the next level where they had a room. Not many people had been able to stay in the castle for this ceremony. Mostly they were set up in the castle grounds. An exception had been made for us.

“Look after my girl
,” Josian said to Brace. “And get back here soon.”

Josian was still acting strange, his tone gruffer than usual.

“I don’t need anyone to look after me, Dad. I’m kick-ass all on my own.”

He usually laughed at my false arrogance
. I had nothing on most Walkers. But this time he just smiled before pulling me in for a hard yet brief hug.

“I love you
,” he said simply as he pulled away.

M
y mother’s arms replaced his, and then they were gone.

It was the same every time I moved to another planet. Worry, concern and finally resignation from my parents. There was nothing they could do to stop this
: it was my quest. This time felt a little worse, though, and it was something to do with Josian. I didn’t have time right now, but I would figure it out when I got back.

“Is Josian alright?” Lucy asked. She must have noticed it as well.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Something’s bothering him, but he didn’t seem ready to share it.”

“He’s worried
,” Brace said, his warm hand finding mine.

I felt myself relax.

“The countdown is on, and we aren’t getting any closer to stopping the Seventine. He knows that if we don’t succeed you’ll be facing them in the final battle.” His voice hardened. “It’s something that has us all a little concerned.”

I sucked in a breath and exchanged a glance with Lucy. Imagine if they knew about the vision.

“Alright, let’s head to Artwon. I want to check out this jungle. For some reasons Mags says I’ll love it there.” Colton stretched to his full height. He was about an inch shorter than Brace, which was still giant.

“Has she been many places?
” I asked.

“She’s been everywhere
,” he replied.

Lucy opened her mouth.

I shook my head. “No, Lucy.”

Her lips started doing that pouting thing she’d perfected. “Come on, he left that so wide open.”

Colton narrowed his eyes at her, but I was pretty sure the Walkers had missed the angle Lucy had taken on those words.

We moved out of the main entrance to a small unused alcove. Brace opened a doorway back to the white meeting room at the Angelisian house. It was still a mess from my collision with it earlier, although the window was
now covered with a temporary board.

We split up to grab our bags. I don’t know why we bothered
. We seemed to lose the packs as soon as we got to the planet, and we could open a doorway if things ever got serious. But it was a silly comfort to know you had spare clothes and food.

I was dressed in dark tight fitted jeans
. They were a light, stretchy material, and I had them tucked into sturdy, flat black boots. I had on a trim shirt, and a jacket was in my bag. I figured a jungle was going to be hot, but who knew on these planets? It could be anything.

My hair hung loose down my
back so I quickly braided it. Time to go.

“You look stunning.”

My eyes found him immediately. He was leaning against the wall, his intensity drowning every sense I possessed. I couldn’t stop myself from crossing to him.

“I love you
,” I said, staring up at him.

The liquid chocolate of his eyes softened as he drew me into his arms. His lips came down gently
. I fell greedily into the kiss. I needed every single one of these. As always, the heat between us had the kiss deepening, the need exploding and –

“You have to stop or we won’t be making it to the jungle
,” Brace groaned against my mouth. “Which is fine by me.”

I laughed
, pulling back gently. “You have to stop with this screw-the-world-let’s-run-away business. I’m starting to consider it.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

As he stepped away I noticed his clothes for the first time. He was dressed in his usual army-style cargo pants, dark gray, and a fitted white shirt. The white was the perfect frame for his olive skin tone and dark features. No wonder I couldn’t stop kissing this man. He was just far too delicious and perfect, and I was turning into one of those sappy girls.