The Relentless Warrior (12 page)

Seraphina sat down next to Angelica in the chairs that were usually occupied by the
Council, except that three of those members were off with Terletov. Silas had been
kidnapped by him, and Talbott and Gabriel were hunting him. Sebastian sat on the other
side of Angelica and I took my seat next to him. Ileana stood in the middle and gave
her prophecy.

Ileana spun around and stared at Sebastian and me. “But when he finds you, there will
be an opportunity to end this.”

Foreboding chills skittered across my skin. I didn’t like the way she said that. As
if, it could end, but not in the way we wanted it to.

I also felt unnerved by her direct involvement of Sebastian and me. Usually her skill
was reserved for the royalty. Avalon, Kiran, Eden and Amory had all benefited from
her future-seeing words, but never before had she reached out into the commoners like
myself.

Seeming to read my mind, she said, “A new era is born in your Kingdom, General. The
royalty rule from their resplendent seats and you are left to fight their battles.”

Avalon made a choked sound of outrage behind her, but she held up a dirty hand and
he slumped back against the side of Amelia’s Throne. Sebastian snickered next to me.

“The Kingdom is left to you two,” she croaked ominously. Sebastian sobered immediately.
“God save you all.”

She whirled around to Avalon and immediately began discussing the Kingdom as a whole
and her concern for her own village. Sebastian and I sat equally stunned, paralyzed
by fear of the future.

“Holy shite, Jericho,” Sebastian eventually whispered.

I grunted something in response. There weren’t any other details to that, no more
instructions or warnings, just… basically we win or lose this battle, so don’t f it
up. Great. Fantastic.
Awesome.

“We should probably meet up with Talbott then,” I suggested, still feeling dazed.

“Yes,” Sebastian agreed. “Tonight, today, right now.”

“She’s obviously lost her mind,” Seraphina hissed at us from across Angelica. “Before
you save anyone or anything, Sebastian, you’re going to have to pull your head out
of your ass.”

Sebastian cocked his head at me and smiled bitterly. “Isn’t she lovely? Is it any
wonder why I broke things off before they got too serious?”

I averted my eyes. This was well on its way to becoming a train wreck.

“Too serious? You broke up with me?” Seraphina shrieked. “Hardly!”

“I’m going to check on….” I didn’t even finish. I just stood up and bolted.

“Jericho,” Angelica called from behind me.

I waited for her and offered her my arm. “They’re nuts.”

“Yes, yes they are.” She smiled up at me. I towered over her petite frame. Her long,
curly hair had turned brilliantly white in recent years and her violet eyes dulled
with time. I wondered how much longer she had left with us, or if the open Magic would
affect her. None of us knew how that would work. The Magic was open again, flowing
freely among us. Yet, marriages were still mostly segregated and there hadn’t been
enough time to put theories to test.

“Do you think they’ll ever be able to be friends?”

She shook her head, “No. They weren’t meant to ever be friends.”

“Oh.” I shot her a dubious look but she didn’t give anything away. She left my side
and joined Avalon as he talked over some strategies with Kiran and Eden.

I glanced at the door, wondering if I could sneak away now and go check on Liv. I
had been avoiding her since the lake. I didn’t know how to explain my insane behavior,
or that I would be leaving her sooner than I thought. She obviously needed time to
cool off after our… intimate moment.

But probably by now she was better.

“You’re not going up there without me,” Ileana announced to the room and even though
I wasn’t looking at her, I had the terrible feeling she was talking to me.

I turned back around and met her steely gaze, confirming my suspicions. “I’m not?”

“I told you, I want to meet the Immortal human.” Her harsh voice was firmly resolved.

I shot a pleading glance to Avalon, but he was absolutely no help. He just waved at
me and nudged Kiran. Oh good, they could both have a good laugh at my expense.
Another
good laugh
.

“Take me,” Ileana demanded. “Now.

“Yes, ma’am,” I smiled at her. Explaining Ileana to Olivia was going to be tricky.
But probably explaining Olivia to Ileana was going to be worse.

I held out my arm and let the ancient Gypsy Queen lean on me for support, although
I doubted she truly needed any help. We left the Throne room and made our way toward
the sick wing. With each step we took, I felt Olivia’s place in the Immortal world
slide more firmly into place.

And my mood lightened and my fears dissipated with that thought.

I should be concerned for Olivia; I should be trying to figure a way out of this for
her. I should be glad that her time with us was temporary. Instead, I proudly led
Ileana up the south staircase and decided it would be good for Liv to meet a half-Immortal.

I decided I liked thinking of Olivia as Immortal- as part of this Kingdom… as part
of my life.

Chapter Ten

Olivia

A knock at the door pulled me out of the last hazy remnants of sleep. Ophelia hadn’t
moved next to me, even while I was wrapped around her. I lifted my head and glared
at the door. Maybe, if I ignored the knock, they would just go away.

Except this room wasn’t exactly private and people came and went as often as they
pleased.

I groaned and rolled over. My hair stuck to my face, and sprung from my head. I could
feel how wild it was from the little bit I’d been asleep. The thing about short hair
was that it was impossible to hide the disarray. I didn’t need a mirror to know it
would be sticking up everywhere in crazy angles, or flattened against my head in other
spots.
Super.

I brushed under my eyes as I stumbled to the door. No doubt, my mascara was smudged.
My mouth felt dry and bitter; even a few hours was enough to give me morning breath.
I rubbed my tongue along the roof of my mouth and groaned.

At least I wasn’t trying to impress anyone here.

Or I could keep telling myself that.

The door swung open before I could reach it and Jericho stuck his head in.
Of course.

“Hey,” he murmured and then chuckled in surprise. “Were you sleeping?”

I grunted in reply.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I have someone I’d like you to meet.” He truly
looked apologetic, but that didn’t stop him from walking in the room and bringing
his guest with him. “Olivia Taylor, this is Ileana of the Gypsies.”

He introduced us with some kind of respectful flare and I had point three seconds
to ready myself. In the half moment I had, I pictured from his tone someone regal
and royal. I expected to be intimidated and inadequate.

And then a tiny, squat woman covered in rags and facial piercings walked in the room.
What in the world?

She looked up at me with shrewd violet eyes that were half hidden behind smudges of
dirt and dark kohl. Her purple bandana attempted to contain the mess of wild gray
hair springing from her head and clashing hideously with her dull plaid shirt that
overlaid an evergreen sweatshirt with a bedazzled Christmas tree on it. She wore black
work pants underneath a long, paisley peasant skirt. Her feet were covered in worn
brown loafers that were scuffed and tattered; one had a hole through the big toe.
Her fingers were gnarled and dirty, her nails chipped and broken. She was the opposite
of intimidating.

I stared at her, wondering why she was here. My brain was still foggy from sleep and
I knew my breath smelled bad, so I wasn’t exactly eager to speak.

Her oddly colored eyes narrowed on me and in a moment I understood Jericho’s reverence.
“The Immortal human,” she declared. “Not exactly what I expected.” She walked around
me while I stayed dumbfounded in the middle of the room. “And you took long enough
to get here.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I couldn’t find words to answer her accusation.
She grabbed hold of my wrist with a surprisingly strong grip and forced my palm in
front of her face. “So much Magic,” she whispered. “You are the first of your kind,
yet you are like the old ones. Not so very many like you, my dear.”

“Ileana?” Jericho asked from near the door. He sounded concerned and his hazel eyes
flashed chocolate brown with distress.

“General, it is time for me to be alone with your Olivia,” Ileana snapped at him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he argued.

She looked up at me and winked. With her back to Jericho, he didn’t see the gesture,
but after only knowing this woman for thirty seconds I could already tell she was
up to something. “I have foreseen our time alone together!” she boomed authoritatively.

Jericho’s eyebrows slammed together and his body stiffened immediately. “Will you
be alright?” he asked me gently. His protective Magic swirled around the room. I felt
it at my feet first and then as it wrapped itself around my body.

“I’m fine,” I answered with false bravado.

I wasn’t fine. I was confused. But I didn’t think this homeless person meant to harm
me. Plus, I knew he would be waiting right outside the door.

Jericho nodded and left the room, but his Magic stayed with me. I marveled for a moment
at how attuned to other people’s Magic I was becoming. At first the energy that swirled
around this castle felt like static electricity in the air. The longer I stayed though,
the more defined and individual it became and now identifying a person’s Magic was
almost second nature to me.

I also realized I’d started to recognize the electrical force as “Magic.” This either
meant that I was adapting to my surroundings or losing my mind completely.

Maybe a little of both.

But neither felt alright to me. I needed to stay rooted in reality, stay tied to my
real life, the real world. This was a foray into the impossible, just a quick, temporary
trip down the rabbit hole. Someday soon I would wake up and remember this time fondly
as that crazy dream I once had.

That kind of thinking was the only way I could keep my mind from shattering into little
lunatic-sized pieces.

Once Jericho was gone, Ileana looked up at me and said, “I didn’t really foresee us
together, but he was bothering me. Was he bothering you?”

I smiled a little at her question. “He’s always bothering me,” I admitted.

“Such is the way with young love, I think,” she said quietly in her thick obviously-Romanian
accent.

“Oh, no,” I stammered quickly. “We’re not in love.” I cleared my throat. Could this
get any more awkward? “We don’t even like each other.”

Ileana’s lips twitched and finally broke into a broken-toothed smile. “But I am the
Gypsy Queen, child. I see everything!”

She danced away from me and over to my sister. Ophelia laid still, like usual, even
while the
Gypsy Queen
got right down in her face. I cringed for O’s sake as the dirty woman pressed her
face into my sisters. O’s hair fluttered from the old woman’s breath on her face and
I had to close my eyes to shut out the scene in front of me before I reacted violently.

I steadied out my breathing and tried to think about less offensive things than snatching
her by the collar and forcefully removing her from the room. When I opened them again,
her filthy fingers were tracing a line down the curve of Ophelia’s jaw.

“You the Immortal human,” she crooned softly. “Your sister the human Immortal. And
your brother the hunter.”

How could she possibly know about Orion?
 

I stilled, utterly froze.

“Your parents are very romantic, I think, to give you all such powerful names. And
yet in Olivia’s story her brother has died and she falls in love with Sebastian.”
Ileana was thoughtful as she recounted
The Twelfth Night.

This was not a new story to me, since my father had been regaling us with Greek mythology
and Shakespeare since we were in the womb. He was a high school English teacher and
my mother indulged him when it was time to name us. She indulged him always. He was
forever getting his eccentric way. And now each of us had a story that belonged with
our names.

“There is a Sebastian just down the hall,” she whispered conspiratorially. “Wouldn’t
that be a fun way to start your story?”

“Er,” I cleared my throat. “Not if my brother dies.”

“Good choice.” She turned around and plopped down almost right on top of Ophelia.
I stuttered a step forward, unable to repress my protective instincts.

“What is the difference between an Immortal human and a human Immortal?” I asked on
an edgy whisper. I began to understand Jericho’s respect for this woman. She didn’t
seem like much, but there was clearly a powerful air of Magic about her. Her words
were frightening though. And my head was spinning as I tried to keep up. Instinct
flared to life in my blood, but I couldn’t differentiate between fear of her and shocked
awe.

Her violet eyes brightened at my question and her body stilled attentively. “You are
the first Immortal in years to ask me the right question. Usually, it’s all noise
in my ears and buzzing around my head. But I am right about you. Smart. Intuitive.
Perceptive.
Immortal
.”

A tingle covered me from head to toe. I did not like how final that word sounded on
her dry lips. “Temporarily Immortal,” I whispered.

Here violet eyes softened and her expression became maternal. “Did you know that I
also resented this life…. this calling? I was not changed, but born this way. Still,
I hold both parts of both worlds. My father Immortal, my mother Gypsy royalty. In
a different time, when a different evil ruled this world, their marriage was forbidden.
They paid the price for my life with their own. And then I was left to live an eternal
existence without them. I have seen centuries go by, yet I remain. The price of Magic
is steep, and not one that we are allowed to pay easily. Yet, I ask you child, is
it worth it?”

Her words confirmed all of my fears. Not only was I trapped in an endless existence,
but this Kingdom was
volatile
. Evil tyrants, mad scientists, people capable of things that shouldn’t exist outside
of fiction? I didn’t want any part of this.

“No,” I answered her.

She tsked a disappointed sound, “Not yet, Livie. You should have said,
not yet
.”

My mouth dropped at the sound of my nickname- a nickname that only my family used.
She stood up and walked over to me. I was short compared to everyone but her. I stood
above her small frame. And even while she was rounder than me, my bones seemed much
larger, my frame a looming giant compared to the petite-ness of hers.

Unwanted tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. “Is it reversible?”

She reached out a gentle hand to my forearm, “You are more powerful than he could
have ever hoped for. But it will be to his own downfall, not yours. You will survive
in the wake of his changes, while he may not.”

“Jericho?” I whispered in confusion.

Her expression changed in an instant. Gone was the sweet grandmother figure that spoke
in riddles and in her place was a haunting witch that ate small children for lunch.
The shadows under her odd-colored eyes darkened, her fingernails dug into my skin
and her teeth seemed to elongate in front of me. “The man who started this all. The
man that would drink your blood and burn your sister to ash. The man that will hunt
the hunter.”

“Terletov.” I guessed and she nodded. “Is he after my brother?”

“Not yet.” Ileana loosened her painful grip. “He doesn’t know what he’s done yet.”
She let go of

me and walked to the door.

“And my brother?” I squeaked out desperately.

“Do not take the way of tragedies and the hunter will be fine,” she answered cryptically.
I winced in confusion and she smiled. “Olivia and Sebastian’s love story was already
written.”

“
The Twelfth Night
was a comedy,” I pointed out.

“Not for Olivia’s dead brother.” And then she was gone.

I couldn’t really argue with that anyway.

I spun around and looked down at O. She was the same- always the same. And possibly
I could be losing my mind staying here with her. I had never been more frustrated,
more helpless. I couldn’t do anything for her. I couldn’t force her to get better
and I couldn’t make her wake up.

On top of everything, Ileana talked about Rion like he could be in trouble.

I didn’t belong in this world! Yet, they seemed determined to keep me here.

Not yet, she’d said. Is it worth it?
Not yet
. What did that even mean?

“You alright?” Jericho’s voice was soft and gentle behind me. I hadn’t even heard
him come in.

“No.” I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t face him now.

“What did she say?”

I ran my hands through my still-messy hair, hoping to smooth it down. Jericho’s presence
was more calming than I wanted to admit. But with his Magic’s reassuring grip on my
own electrical aura and his calm, steady, even-keeled energy filling the room, I started
to relax. Maybe this wasn’t as impossible as I’d made it in my head.

I didn’t even know that lady. She was a nut job as far as I was concerned. Jericho
had never said anything about his kind being able to tell the future. And even if
she could, how reliable was fortune-telling anyway? There were probably a thousand
different ways the rest of my day could go, all dependent on each one of my millions
of decisions.

It was silly to believe in something that wasn’t real, or at least hadn’t been real
up until ten minutes ago.

I turned around and allowed myself to meet Jericho’s probing gaze. “She said not to
fall in love with Sebastian.”

Jericho barked out an amused laugh and shook his head. “Like that will happen,” he
smirked at me. I lifted a casual shoulder but didn’t respond. He was right about Sebastian
so there wasn’t anything left to say. Except he didn’t take it that way. “Wait, will
it happen? You’re not… Sebastian’s not… You guys have barely spent any time together.
How could you possibly have feelings for him? He’s not even your type! Trust me, he’s
way too full of himself. And his last girlfriend is a complete basket-case over their
breakup. He’s not looking for anything serious. He just wants to… Listen, he’s a good
enough guy. I mean, he’s one of my good friends, but he’s not… He’s not ready to settle
down or anything. He has commitment issues.”