Vulture (34 page)

39 - Summer Wedding

Kaliel woke to howling winds and branches scraping across the cabin. She slept fitfully, tossing and turning while Krishani seemed peaceful, even relaxed. She woke with her cheek plastered to his bare shoulder, her arm slung over his waist. She pushed herself up as another gust of wind rattled the cabin. Her heart hammered. The storm was getting worse. She stirred, pushing herself onto her elbows. Krishani moved, trying to get comfortable. He turned onto his side. Then his lips were on hers and she was pressed into the sheets as he covered her, lacing an arm around her waist. She melted into him, knowing moments like these were limited and precious. She twined her hands around his neck, fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, kissing him with all the passion she could muster. His mouth parted at the force of her lips and he gasped, pulling back momentarily, running this thumb along her bottom lip before brushing her cheek. He gazed at her with lazy compassion, like nothing could ever go wrong again.

“Good morning.”

She gulped. “Good morning.”

He kissed her again, lingering on her lips. He ran his fingers along her skin, igniting her body with a different kind of burning fire. She loved the warmth, the pressure, the feel of him on top of her. He pulled away too soon and almost leapt off the bed, swinging his arms outwards and behind his back, stretching. He looked happy. She hated that it was all going to be taken away. She kept her lips pressed together and breathed deeply to keep the tears away. He turned to face her, not even bothering to throw on a tunic and smiled. “What do you want to do today?”

She bunched the sheets in her hands, then released them, forcing a smile onto her face. Her stomach answered for her, groaning as another gust of wind hit the cabin, shaking its fragile frame to the core. She shuddered. Krishani turned to the bureau and fished a tunic out of it. It was the black one from Avristar.

She moved, finding her feet and scooting to the edge of the bed. She leaned over and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out one of the dresses Talina had lent her. It was black like the one Aulises had, but it was warmer.

“It’s just a storm. It’ll die down,” Krishani said as he put his robe on over of his clothes. Kaliel dressed and threw the cloak on before he opened the door and blasted both of them with a cold gust of air. She sucked it in. It burned her throat. Krishani clambered down the stairs. She followed. He grabbed her hand and led her to the castle. It was gray outside, a deep gray that spread across the sky like wrinkled sheets. She glanced at the clouds as the wind whipped her face, stinging her cheeks, turning her nose a bright pink. She buried her head in the hood of her cloak as they reached the stairs only to find villagers gathered out front. Women covered in wool blankets had chattering teeth as they rubbed their hands together for warmth. The men looked strong but were well dressed in layers. A lot of them crossed their arms and looked nervous, their heads exposed to the wind.

All of them eyed Krishani as he approached, but none of them said anything as he pulled Kaliel into the hall. She glanced at the villagers and met their angry stares before she crossed the threshold.

It was warm and stuffy inside the hall. Elwen and Talina sat at the table over a platter of bread and the white stuff from the goats. Guards perched on the bench running the length of the table along with some of the servants. Krishani paused, wrapping a protective arm around Kaliel.

“Why is there an angry mob outside?” He asked.

Elwen licked the tips of his fingers and wiped them on his napkin before answering. “Winter is coming. The villagers don’t have enough provisions stored up. They’re out there to beg.”

Krishani glanced at the door. “Why is it cold so soon?”

Elwen shrugged. “Sometimes the land gets colder than usual. This winter will probably be harsh.”

Kaliel thought she was going to be sick. It was never this cold on Avristar; the land was retaliating. The dust was turning against her. She hid her cheek in Krishani’s shoulder, wanting to keep the bad thoughts away.

“You have to do something,” Krishani said, his voice louder.

Elwen stopped eating. He set his napkin down and stood, sauntering towards Krishani. “I must do nothing. This happens every year.”

“What can I do?” Krishani asked, his jaw setting into a hard line.

Elwen shrugged and a mischievous smile crossed his face. “Don’t you have bigger things to worry about?” His brown eyes found Kaliel and she shrunk away. Elwen flicked his gaze to Krishani. “I heard there was going to be a wedding.”

Krishani didn’t flinch. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the door. “I meant to speak with you about that later …”

“Nonsense!” Elwen exclaimed. “Speak about it now. I’d like to know how she feels about you,” he said, his eyes settling on Kaliel.

She opened her mouth to speak but Krishani beat her to it. “She loves me, I love her, and there’s no question other than when you will perform the ceremony.”

Elwen raised his eyebrows. “Summer Solstice.”

Kaliel almost fainted. She didn’t have that much time. She thought of Morgana and the silhouettes on the sandy horizon. They were coming, and she was too scared to warn them.

“Why can’t you do it now?” Kaliel pushed herself out of Krishani’s embrace and stood on her own, lifting her chin towards Elwen. Her eyes dug into his as she tried to hold her ground. If there was one thing she wanted before she died, it was to be married to Krishani. Pux said to make the best of it before they died, before everyone died.

Elwen didn’t back down. “It’s tradition.”

Kaliel glowered at him. “We don’t follow your traditions.”

Elwen laughed. “So you’d be married at Beltane on Avristar. It’s no different. A winter wedding only ends in disaster.”

Kaliel stepped back. She wanted to turn and run but she couldn’t. Her mind and body weren’t in sync with each other anymore. Her mouth dropped open like she was going to fight him again but she was speechless. She felt Krishani’s hand in hers and turned to see his concerned eyes.

“A summer wedding is fine,” he said gently. “I’d wait a thousand years to marry you.”

Elwen cleared his throat. “Or ten thousand.”

Some of the guards and servants soundlessly crossed the floor between them as Kaliel moved to the table. She sat and grabbed a piece of bread, stuffing it into her mouth before she said anything she’d regret. She listened to Krishani as he continued berating Elwen about not helping the villagers. She tuned out as their conversation turned into chatter. Krishani was good at wearing him down. By the end of it Elwen was yelling at guards to find extra blankets and cloaks and to use everything, even the tapestries if they had to. He’d loan everything.

Krishani appeared and sat beside her, taking a piece of bread and a cup of the white liquid. She hesitantly reached for a mug as well but didn’t like the taste.

“Elwen says we can have the wedding on Glys Witthrall,” Krishani said between mouthfuls.

“Oh?”

He smiled. “It’s an island off the northern coast.”

Kaliel couldn’t think about Summer Solstice because there wouldn’t be one. “That sounds nice.” It sounded more than nice; it sounded like the one thing she’d always wanted and could never have. She took a big gulp of milk and some of it spilled down her chin. She grimaced and swallowed hard, grabbing a cloth, trying to be dainty about dabbing her chin. Krishani didn’t react to her clumsiness. He was too busy finishing off his breakfast and scrunching his hands into a cloth napkin. He pushed up from the table and placed a kiss on her temple.

“I’m going to help the villagers. Stay here where it’s warm okay?”

She nodded and watched him leave as a cold gust of wind broke through the heat inside the hall. She sighed, took another sip of milk, and smoothed out her dress. This was the Krishani she remembered—the one who stayed in the kitchen for hours before a feast, the one showing off at the waterfall, the one practicing hard with Istar. He was the boy she remembered. The dust hadn’t turned him against her, not yet at least.

Fear festered deep in her bones. She shuddered at the thought of him hating her, hating her forever.

• • •

Elwen sat at the head of the table after Krishani left the hall. After shouting orders to the servants and having it out with Krishani, he seemed tired. Kaliel stole a glance at him, her fists knotted in her lap, her heart leaden with guilt. Elwen cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger and glared at her.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” he drawled.

She nodded, staring at the edge of the table, tracing patterns of grains in the wood. Her eyes followed the line into a knot, circling and twisting until it tapered off in the center. “Thank you.”

Elwen chuckled and she looked at him, a mangled expression on her face. He stopped and leaned forward, putting both hands on the table. “This is ridiculous. Don’t you know what he is?”

Kaliel gulped. She’d only spoken to Elwen directly a couple of times; he usually stayed shut up in the castle away from the villagers and didn’t seem interested in her.

“I know who he is.” She tried to make her voice firm and confident but lost the battle as a squeak escaped her throat. She hiccupped and cringed.

Elwen laughed louder. “And yet you marry death.”

Nausea crept into her gut. She gripped the table hard, her knuckles turning whiter. She wouldn’t tell him the truth, and he wouldn’t help her. She knew it by the look on his face, the set of his shoulders. He thought her love for Krishani was a joke.

“I’m marrying Krishani,” she forced out.

Elwen let out an exasperated breath. “And how long will it last? He has ten thousand years until his successor comes.” He glared at her body, looking her up and down like she was disgusting. “You won’t live that long. I don’t care what you are.”

Kaliel stayed perfectly still. She controlled her breath and every miniscule movement she made. She did it because this would make her show weaknesses to Elwen. She didn’t want to do that. Ten thousand years was something Krishani hadn’t told her, and for a moment she felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Elwen stood and shook his head. “You can’t save him. He will follow death until he dies. The Vultures will always exist. He’ll never rid the land of their kind.”

He walked out of her peripheral vision, and she craned her neck to see him. There were more things she wasn’t aware of tumbling out of his mouth. “Vultures?”

Elwen’s eyes widened. “He hasn’t told you about them? Funny, since he was becoming one when he came to me.”

Kaliel needed time to digest his statement. Krishani had lied to her. He’d changed; something was different about him all along. It wasn’t her imagination. She closed her eyes for a moment to gather herself and opened them again. “What are Vultures?”

Elwen smirked. “Darkness. The embodiment of darkness.” He sat next to her but backwards, his face so close to hers she could taste the wine on his lips. She hated him being this close. “They come when someone dies. They come to devour the soul so it can never be reborn again.”

Kaliel trembled. Fear poured into every part of her like she was drowning in the ocean, being tossed and carried by the current. She kept her hands pressed against the table; her stomach was doing somersaults. “And what does the Ferryman do?”

“He sends the souls to the Great Hall. He keeps them away from the Vultures.”

“But you said he was becoming one when he found you,” she said, monotone.

“That’s because you died,” Elwen whispered.

And it was too much—too much to hear, too much to take. She knew it when she was sprawled out on the beach, watching Krishani kill Osvanir. She knew she was the reason he’d become a monster and she didn’t want to hear it anymore. She went to run but stopped in her tracks on the carpet. She turned slowly her mouth open in awe.

Elwen looked amused.

“He never intended to kill the Horsemen, did he?”

Elwen beamed and she felt like slapping the smile off his face. “He left so he wouldn’t become a Vulture.” He reached her before she could leave and grabbed her by the upper arm, his hazel eyes boring into hers. “And you’re stupid to think he could be with you. He’ll leave, and you’ll be alone, married or not.”

Kaliel ripped herself out of his grasp, leaving red marks on her skin as she tore out of the hall. A buzzing sound permeated her ears as she faltered in the cold. The wind went right through her like a thousand spears as she rounded the castle and found the watchtower. She didn’t know where Krishani was. He was probably braving the cold somewhere in the village, trying to help the villagers before the storm hit them head on.

And yet all she could think about was the Valtanyana, the destruction they would bring, the lives they would claim, and the Vultures that would come to feast on their souls.

Krishani would have to fight them, too.

And it was too late to stop any of it from happening.

* * *