Heirs of War (17 page)

***

Zelene sat on the bench, picking at her fingertips. She looked wearily down at them, noticing her purple nail polish was chipping off and huffing a laugh at the thought of having decent-looking nails again. Little things like the idea of nail polish in a medieval place like this were what kept her biting them, wondering what else was different. Her whole world had been turned upside down in the span of two days and now she had found out there was more than one in existence.

She still wasn't sure how that worked. Was she on a different planet? A different plane of existence? No one understood what she was talking about when she asked. Varrick had answered with a gruff, "How in the hell am I supposed to know? I'm a warrior, not an astrophysicist," which served to further her frustration and make her regret turning him onto science fiction television.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She was in the leigheas again, though she was supposed to be locked in her room for her own “safety” or whatever. She wished Kyle would wake up so she could talk to him about all this. More than anything, she wanted him to wake up so she would know he was okay. She glanced up when a young man with dark blond hair hanging just over his eyes entered the room, flowers in hand.

"Is he a friend of yours?" He asked the question in a casual enough manner, but his British accent made him sound more formal.

"Sort of. I guess," she answered and watched him change out the flowers in the room. "Do you work here?"

"
In a manner of speaking,” he answered cryptically. “My name is Cedwen."

"I'm Zelene."

Cedwen quickly dropped his head in a bow. "Forgive me, I did not recognize you, Ainnir Zelene."

Zelene held up a tired hand
. "Don't do that. Please."

"What?" he asked, daring to
look up.

"Don't kiss my ass because of who I supposedly am. Just...treat me like you were before."

Cedwen straightened, a crooked smile on his lips. "As you wish." An awkward beat passed before he steered their conversation back to its origin. "I believe you were telling me about your friend. Why are you so unsure of your status with him?"

She shrugged
. "I don't know. He can be a jerk sometimes. But then other times he does something really amazing."

"Like what?"

"Like save my life," she said, looking at his sleeping form. "I just wish he would wake up. So I could talk to him."

Cedwen
took a step forward. "I know this might sound odd, but perhaps you should try talking to him now. Give him a reason to fight."

Zelene looked up at him appreciatively. "Thank you. I'll try that."

"Then I will give you your privacy," he said and turned to leave.

"Hey,
Cedwen, right?" When he nodded she hesitated, twisting her hands. "Think I might see you around sometime?"

His dark eyes sparkled and he bowed his head
. "I would be honored. It was nice to meet you, Zelene.”

Zelene grinned and watched her new friend leave, but it faded quickly when h
er attention returned to Kyle, not quite sure what she was supposed to do. She sighed and walked to his bedside. Looking at him, so peaceful and innocent, it was hard to remember why she hated him so much. Muttering about what a sympathetic idiot she could be, Zelene sneered at Kyle and poked his arm.

"Wake up, you jerk," she ordered. "If you really think I am gonna sit here and pour my heart out to you so you can wake up and rub it in my face later, you've got another thing coming."

She waited for any kind of response, but there was nothing. His face remained perfectly still, his breathing steady. She sighed again and pulled herself up next to him on the bed.

"You know what's sad? Apparently, you are still my best friend, even after everything you put me through. There's so much going on, and the one person in the world—or any of the worlds I guess—I want to talk to is you." She found herself toying with his hand, lifting each individual digit and letting them drop down one by one before linking her fingers with his. "You would think seeing as how this is a magical world and all, they'd be able to wave some wand or say a chant and make you all better. Varrick told me that's not how the magic works, but they've yet to really explain anything else to me. Oh, except for the fact I have an actual family here. Not my mother. She's dead, which I guess I should be sad about. I guess part of me is...but...well, I never even met her. I don't know any of these people. My f
ather, my brother, my sisters..."

She trailed off, realizing she was rambling. She sat there
and stared at him for a few minutes, overwhelmed with grief at the idea of his never waking up. "You risked your life for me. Might have even lost your life because of me," she added, fighting back tears. "I guess I wanted to tell you I will never forget that. And if you wake up, I promise to never stop thanking you. Just...wake up. Please."

She
wiped at the stray tears that had fallen with her last plea and scowled at the wall as if it was to blame for her show of weakness. "Just so you don't get the wrong impression, though, I still hate you. Only…a little less since you're lying here like this because of me."

"Only a little less?" Kyle whispered hoarsely.

She jerked her head up to see the small smile that had crept into his cheeks. "How long have you been awake?"

"Better question," he asked weakly. "How long have I been out?"

She winced. "Two days. Maybe more, I don't know," she admitted with embarrassment. "I'm having trouble keeping up with the days myself."

His eyes rounded at this. "Dean did a number on me, then, huh?" He looked around at the unfamiliar settings. "Here's another question: Where on earth am I?"

Zelene laughed sardonically at his question. "Funny you say that because I'm not even sure we're on Earth anymore." She sucked in a deep breath. "The short of it? Other worlds exist, and we are apparently on one where magic
also
exists."

Kyle blinked at her. "I'd blame the craziness on my head injury, but after everything
that happened at the hotel, it sort of makes sense."

"What?" she asked
. "You're just gonna take the whole magic-is-real thing in stride?"

He tried to sit up
, but stopped himself mid-movement, a puzzled look on his face. "I kind of figured out magic exists when my cousin threw me across the hotel room with a flick of his wrist, Zee."

She
hunched over with guilt. "He wasn't your cousin. Varrick said he was basically an enemy assassin of some kind. Like a sleeper. I'm sorry."

"Are you seriously apologizing to me right now? God, I must be dying."

She rolled her eyes and gave his leg a light punch. "You aren't dying, but I should probably go get someone to check you out."

He still stared at the leg she had punched, his brows furrowed. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Zelene jumped up from the bed, a bounce in her step as she entered the hallway and motioned for Bianca. "He's awake. He wants to talk to you."

Bianca stepped into the room, folding her hands in front of her as she looked at her disgruntled patient. "I'm glad you're awake. It was touch and go for a while."

"Really?" he asked, paling slightly.

"Yes," the paion responded assuredly. "If you hadn't woken up within two days, you would have left this world."

He cleared his throat as if he wasn’t sure how to take his brush with death. "Right. Speaking of leaving this world, when can I get back to mine?"

Zelene felt like a ton of bricks had hit her. "What do you mean?"

He shifted his attention back to her, his face cold and unreadable. "Well, I did what Varrick asked me to do. Now I want to go back. See a real doctor. No offense," he said to Bianca.

Zelene
forced a nod of agreement. "Right. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before you left. And tell you thanks." She turned to Bianca. "I'll give you space to work. I need to go find my father anyway. Ya know, the whole saving the world thing is still looming and all."

Bianca gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. "Come back later after I've had time to examine him."

"Yeah, I'm expecting a hero's send off when I leave this place, Zee," Kyle joked from his bed, though the laughter didn't quite reach his eyes, which were still full of worry and panic she didn’t understand. "See you later?"

Zelene answered with a weak nod. "Sure." Leaving, she did her best to bite back the tears threatening to
return. She had taken for granted that he would want to stay with her, which was ridiculous when she thought about it. When they hadn't been fighting for their lives, they had still been at each other's throats. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, feeling more alone than she had ever felt before.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ariana blinked in disbelief. She sat cross-legged in front of Alec, who had been spending the better part of the afternoon explaining things to her. They had discussed his plan—which she thought was a horrible one—two days ago, but Alec said
it wouldn't work until they were moved to their room. So she decided the best use of her time was to insist Alec answer as many of her questions as he could while he regained his strength.

"So," she said, dragging out the word
, trying to wrap her mind around what he had just told her, "basically, you're telling me I'm some sort of magical princess destined to save the world from blah, blah, blah. Well, if
that's
not a cliché storyline, I'm not sure what is."

He shrugged, popping a piece of bread in his mouth. "It's the truth. Which is why your family sent you away so long ago. I suppose they got word of the Cahirans' plans and felt you would be safer in Dhara. I don't pretend to understand their
motives, but I do know that's who you are. You are the prophesized fifth, and most people assume you to be the most powerful of the five as well."

The corner of her mouth lifted as she thought about the idea of being the most powerful person in the worlds. "Cool," she said, clearly impressed. "But all this still doesn't help if I don't know how to use my magic. Just tell me," she pleaded again.

He scoffed at this, same as he had before. "I don't think so, princess. If you manage to figure out how to use your power even with the little I tell you, then what's to stop you from doing something stupid on your own? We follow through with my plan. Once we're on the road to Anscombe, I will tell you everything I know."

Ariana let out a cry of frustration. She stood up and
paced the floor. "You are awfully bossy for a prisoner."

He smirked, watching as she
walked out her anger. "I wasn't always a prisoner," he said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Once upon a time, I wasn't too far off from a prince myself."

She stopped, suddenly intrigued. "Really? Are you, like, related to me or something?"

"No," he said, laughing and standing up to match her height. "My family oversees a small city on the Eastern coast of Estridia. My father planned on passing the mantle of power to me once I came of age, but the fates had other plans for me."

"You were kidnapped by Kellen," she said knowingly.

He leaned back against the wall, sighing. "No...I ran away first."

"Why? You didn't want to become the ruler of the city?"

"No, I would have loved that. I was chosen for a different vocation. One I had no desire to take up." His eyes, full of guilt and self-loathing, snapped up to hers. "I'm no hero, Ariana. Not in your story or anyone else's. In truth, I'm probably the most selfish person you will ever meet."

"You're helping me,” she offer
ed in a soft voice. “That's not entirely selfish."

H
e dropped his chin to his chest shamefully. "Even in helping you, I have my own selfish motivations."

She took a few steps forward. "What are they? Your motivations, I mean?"

"Well, I certainly don't go offering my own neck to every pretty girl to get dragged down here," he joked. "I don't know. Maybe I'm looking to be redeemed through saving you from this place. Maybe in saving one of the Duillaine Ainnir, I think I can save myself. Who knows?"

She reached out tentatively and put her hand on his arm. "You were trying to help me before Kellen told you who I was. I don't think you're selfish. I think you have a good heart."

He gave her a weak but appreciative smile. "Thank you. I wish that were the case." He stepped away from her touch, walking over to the chains he was usually wearing and flicking at them. They were attached to two metal slabs, connected in such a way they formed an 'X'.

Ariana watched him, seeing how heavy the years in this dungeon weighed on him. She could see now Kellen wasn't the only one torturing him, though. He was doing plenty enough of that on his own, without the aid of her chains.

"You aren't responsible, you know," she said.

He gave her a questioning look, her statement taking him by surprise. "For what?"

She walked over to him, taking the cuff of the chain he was toying with from his hand. "For these. It isn't your fault."

"Tell me, princess. Do you know what I am?" She shook her head, and he continued. "I'm supposed to be stronger than just about anyone you would come across. But more than that. The path I was chosen to take would have led to these wonderful gifts awakening in me. If I had remained to learn how to use those gifts, escaping wouldn't be a question. Instead, they lay dormant, and I remain chained to walls I should be able to pull down with my bare hands."

She touched his arm once more, giving his bicep a gentle squeeze as she stepped closer. "If you hadn't run away, then you might not have ended up here."

"Exactly the point," he said with a derisive grunt.

She was somber as she ducked in front of him to where he was forced to meet her gaze. "Then I would be alone. In this dungeon with no help and no hope of ever getting out."

He gave a disbelieving laugh. "Are you trying to tell me I am destined to help you?"

She paused and twisted her mouth in thought. "I'm not big on the idea of everything happening for a reason or predestination, but I do believe you can find a reason for everything that happens. Maybe the reason is so I will have someone here with me. Because honestly? I think talking to you is just about the only thing keeping me sane right now."

He cocked his head to the side, a look of amazement on his face as he stared at her. "How exactly did our roles get reversed here? Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?"

Ariana waved him off. "Nah, I've never been big on the whole damsel in distress thing. Personally, I think chicks kick ass. I have a t-shirt that says so."

"What is a t-shirt?" he asked with a puzzled tilt of the head. “Does it hold authority in Dhara somehow?”

She opened her mouth to explain and closed it again, deciding against the idea. "Never mind. Point is I'm stronger and more capable than people give me credit for. Been trying to tell my Dad that for years." She turned the cuff over in her hands, playing with the metal chain like she would a slinky. "You know what's kind of stupid? I use to refer to our house as my prison. Like I was Rapunzel or something. And now look at me," she said as she gestured around them. "Now I really am in a prison."

He wrapped his arm around one of the meta
l bars. "I know what you mean. I was eleven when I left, and I thought…." he shifted his starry eyes to the ceiling as he recalled the event to her, "I thought the world would be mine. I was going to choose my own path and not have anyone tell me what to do ever again." His elation at the memory melted into a frown as he sobered. "I was a fool."

"You were a child," she said. She paused, thinking this over. "Wait a minute, I thought you said you were chosen for a job you didn't like when you left."

He nodded. "I was."

Her eyebrows shot up at this. "At eleven? Geez, child labor much?"

He blinked in confusion several times before answering. "I keep forgetting you might not be familiar with some of our customs as they differ from Dhara. Your vocation is chosen for you once you reach the age of eleven, based on any skills or abilities in which you have shown to excel, and when you turn twelve you begin your training. Most of the time this means apprenticing with locals, but...sometimes this might mean being sent away for apprenticeships elsewhere."

"Would you have been sent away?" she asked, mimicking his position by wrapping her arm around the other crossbar.

"Without a doubt," he said heavily as he stared off in thought.

"Was the job really that bad?"

He jerked his head up, his brown curls flopping. He gave her a look that was both embarrassed and remorseful, as if he had offended her. "No," he said hastily. "It is one that must be done, and is a great honor to hold."

She pushed herself off the bar, holding the top of the post with her hand. "Then why run? I mean, if it's such an honor or whatever."

He turned around, pressing his back against the beam. "It's complicated."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of
footsteps coming down the hallway, and two familiar voices arguing. Kellen rounded the corner, accompanied by two guards, her eyes ablaze with anger. She had her daughter by the arm and flung her in front of them, giving Ariana and Alec a sneer.

"Domrick,
" Kellen barked out, causing one of the guards to step up in answer. "Take Alec to his new room. Explain to him the conditions of my gift."

Domrick, a man clad in
armor from head to foot, clapped his hands together once and bowed. "Yes, Lady Kellen." He motioned for Alec to follow him, but Alec remained rooted in place.

"I thought you w
ere keen on keeping us together," Alec challenged.

Kellen returned his stare. "I am. She will be joining you soon. Whether or not she joins you in one piece will depend upon how quickly you get out of my sight. Now leave us."

Alec withered at her threat. He gave Ariana a conflicted and pained look before following the guard out of the dungeon. The look he threw her before rounding the corner was full of the apologies Ariana understood perfectly, and she gave him a stiff nod in return. Either she was already suffering from a version of Stockholm syndrome, or Alec was someone she could truly count on. The idea gave her more hope than she dared to show in front of Kellen.

"What do you want?"

Kellen's mouth twisted up in a mock smile. "Now it's just us girls, I thought we might talk. What do you know about your sisters? And the others?"

Ariana stared at her with a blank expression. "I'm an only child."

"No," Kellen growled impatiently, "you are Ariana, daughter of Nandalia and Arland. You have a twin sister, Zelene, as well as an older sister named Isauria."

"And Nolan," Sheridan chimed in, still rubbing her arm sourly. "He's the oldest."

Her mother waved her hand dismissively. "You also have two cousins, Rhaya and Terrena. Together, you make up the prophesized five of the Duillaine Ainnir. You are the most powerful of anyone in your bloodline."

Ariana shrugged in a way she hoped to be nonchalant in an attempt to feign ignorance as if Alec hadn't just explained all this to her. She didn't think it would hurt to hear the story from a different source, either. "First I've heard about any of them."

"I told you," Sheridan said softly, almost as if she was trying not to be heard, "they were kept apart."

Kellen stormed over to her daughter. "Then why can't you see them?" s
he demanded angrily. "Try again. Now."

Sheridan cowered under her mother's
icy stare and lowered herself to the floor. She folded her legs, resting her hands on each knee palm up. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath in.

"What do you see?" Kellen demanded, hardly giving the girl time to do anything. "Why did my men fail?"

Sheridan’s thin blonde brows pulled down further, her mouth scrunching up in concentration before she let out an exasperated breath. "There's...nothing. It's like something is blocking me. Maybe they're still in Dhara."

"No,
" Kellen shouted, her voice reverberating through the dungeon. "The Cynewards would have taken them back to Anscombe the moment they realized they were in danger. Keep trying."

"It isn't working," Sheridan pressed as she pulled herself up onto her knees. "If you send me back to Dhara, I can try to find them again."

Kellen grabbed a fistful of Sheridan's hair and pulled her across the floor to Ariana. The girl cried out, kicking her feet behind her as she tried to find traction. Her hands were grabbing her mother's wrist so as to shift some of her weight onto them.

"Stop,
" Ariana ordered. She threw herself at them, pushing Kellen off the sobbing girl and wrapping her arms around her protectively. She hugged her tight, listening as Sheridan murmured her apologies for failing to do what Kellen had asked. "It's okay, Sheridan. What does she want you to do?"

Sheridan's tear-
soaked gaze rose to her mother for permission to explain. "She wants me to touch you, to try to use your power to help me see them."

"See them how? You mean, like in a vision?" Ariana asked as she pulled away to get a better look at the girl.

Sheridan bit her lip and nodded, her chin quivering. "But it hasn't been working. I've been trying all day. I really have, but there's nothing there."

Ariana gave her arm a comforting squeeze, speaking in soothing tones as best she could. "We'll figure this out, okay? How do you usually do it?"

"Why are you trying to help me?" Sheridan asked with a sniffle.

Ariana turned a steely glare to Kellen. "Because no one deserves to be treated the way she treats you. I don't care what lame excuses she gives you. I refuse to sit back and let her hurt you. I was always taught that bullies suck." She turned a gentler face back to Sheridan. "Now tell me what you need to do."