Regius (32 page)

"Don't believe it." While
all he wanted to do was drown in the emotions, he couldn’t let
Galax give up hope. "It can’t be true, not until I've seen their
souls in the Valley of Death."

"Not all Altors pass
through that realm, Datura." Pieris reminded. Datura ignored the
man's words. Calycanthus could not have died peacefully. The only
way an Altor didn't need guidance to peace was when they died
without rage inside of them.

"Solis."
The Prince's broken voice reached his
ears.

"It's a lie." Squaring his
shoulders, the Keeper fixed his ruby gaze upon the Elder, daring
the wise Altor to continue to tell them otherwise. "Galax, it's a
lie." Looking back at the Prince, he tried to smother the
destruction he felt rush through him.
"Est
recubo!"
The Keeper shouted in Pallium,
hoping a pained scream may penetrate whatever numb shell had
settled over Galax's entire being.

When the Prince looked back
at him with an empty stare, Datura realized that whatever he wished
to have Galax understand, wouldn't pierce through. Although their
losses were each as great as the other, the Keeper had forgotten
one key thing concerning Galax and Solenum. She was his light. And
when a Regius lost his light...

"I will prove to you that
she is not dead, okay?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot
offer you much time to process the news I've handed to you. I wish
I could have protected you both from such heartache. If I had been
able to stop it, you know I would have." Yes, Pieris would have if
he was telling the truth, but never would the Keeper believe the
Elder's words. Not until he'd seen Cali's soul for himself. "A lot
is going to change. I will need both you and Galax in order to make
this happen." The Elder continued, moving over to Galax to help the
numb man back onto his feet. "You have time to rest until everyone
has returned to the Coliseum."

They weren't going to be
freed from the cells anytime soon. Pieris wanted them watched day
and night to make sure neither he nor Galax could slip away and try
to escape to Regius territory. Even if they weren't in the cells,
all three Elders were present and slipping away was not going to be
an option.

Soon Flux, Conium and
Galaxi would be here as well and although Datura didn't know the
exact details as to what change Pieris was talking about, he knew
was big. Having all authority figures on both Altor and Pallium
sides gather in the same area was not only rare, but was a
vulnerability neither party allowed the Regius to take advantage
of.

"Lovelace."

Datura lifted his gaze off
the ground and looked at the smoky figure of a ghost that had more
courage than others to approach now. He wanted to get angry at them
for trying to communicate with him, but before he could express his
feelings on the matter, the ghost reached out with a hand and the
pained expression on her delicate featured face is what had him
halt .

"We are here for
you."

The ghosts were a strange
phenomenon that not even he, as their Keeper, truly understood.
They were both gentle and violent, blinded with rage yet
understanding in other situations. As though their Altor nature was
continuously battling against their more selfish, cruel and dark
side. Their
Regius
side.

Although he didn't smile,
he did feel a bit of sadness fade as he heard the ghosts singing
softly, telling him again that they were here for him right
now.

"If they are dead, help me
find them."
He asked in the death
tongue.

* * * *

And the ghosts did help
him. The Keeper would never forgive me for my trickery.

Letting the vision linger
on a while longer, I soaked in the beauty that the ghosts and the
Keeper created when communicating with one another. Would I enter
the Valley of Death when the time came for me to die? Was my soul
that of an Altor, or was it Regius? Or did I not categorize in
either and did my soul belong to the Seers? Where did a Seer go
once dead?

Shaking off the remnants of
the Keeper and the Prince's pain, I focused on the matter at
hand.

* * * *

"Maya? What is on your
mind? It must be important as you haven't heard a word I've said."
Blinking out of her pointless stare aimed at the dinner table, she
lifted her eyes to those of Xania. There
was
something on her mind. The Seer.
The whispered message only Maya had heard. 'Prepare
yourself.'

"I am sorry, sire." Maya
breathed, dabbing at her mouth with the napkin as she offered the
Steward an apologetic smile. "I didn't sleep all that well." This
was true. Although she didn't want to tell him about her musings,
neither would she lie. But if she could avoid informing him of the
situation, then she didn't mind doing so. She'd learned to tell the
truth only when someone asked the right question.

Xania chuckled softly,
getting up so he could walk over and grasp her chin. Tilting her
face up to his, he offered an amused stare.

"Are you still upset I
chose Moraine over you last night?" Her eyebrows knitted, the
jealously she felt not completely hidden as she pulled her chin
free from his hold so she could pretend to concentrate on her lunch
instead. It was such a strange situation. Xania used the harem in
all ways it shouldn't be used, yet the women were upset when they
weren't chosen.

"Of course not." Sometimes
she did outright lie. "The sleeping areas in the common room just
aren't as comfortable as your bed, Steward." Before she could
realize her mistake, Xania slapped her across the face, her eyes
confused for a split second as she looked up in surprise. Maya knew
she surely must look pathetic holding onto her face as she was,
sitting on the chair and staring at him in utter
silence.

Xania's expression was
contorted in anger, his hand still raised beside his head with his
shoulders tense as he seemed to try and calm himself, most likely
holding in his anger so he wouldn't slap her across the face once
more. While it was rare Xania laid a hand on her, it wasn't
something she was unfamiliar with either.

"I-" Clearing her throat
quickly, she tried to find her voice. "My apologies, sire. I don't
know what came over me."

As far as she could
remember, Xania only showed his violent side when she got the title
wrong. He couldn't control the army, trackers and assassins as
strongly as he could the harem. It was most likely why he was so
hard on the women, to compensate for the lack of authority among
the rest of the Regius.

While she’d come to
appreciate the attention he paid to her over the years, almost
needing it today as he was her only source of communication, she
could not view him as her king. The mark had skipped him and gone
to Xen for a reason and she couldn't ignore it.

Maya flinched as he reached
out, only this time he didn't hurt her, instead his fingers
threaded into her hair softly.

"Don't let it happen
again."

"It won't, sire." Her voice
sounded frightened to her own ears, yet she lifted her chin when he
moved down. When a situation like this occurred, Maya always knew
what would happen after he’d forgiven her. While she could count
the number of times she’d let the title slip on one hand, Xania
Reinhardt had a temper and was relatively insecure. The fact that
he did not have the royal mark bothered him so much, it sometimes
kept him from being able to sleep. Maya knew this because she’d
spent many nights with him, playing her part and reassuring him
that one day he’d become as respected and valued as his brother and
that the people in Zinc would recognize him as their king. Then to
let him hear what he wanted, she told him she already considered
him to be hers.

When Xania took her after
moments of anger or lack of confidence, whether she was in the mood
or not, she knew better than fight him. Strangely enough, for a
selfish man, he was generally a generous lover, paying attention to
her needs. It is why she knew that when he wanted her after a
fight, it was to be considered punishment as he took without giving
back, pleasuring only himself.

Goosebumps erupted over her
skin as his warm hands grabbed her hips, pulling her off the chair
and settling her on the edge of the table. He did not waste time,
his right hand sliding down her leg to bunch up her dress around
her waist, his left hand pushing her legs apart so he could settle
between them.

Her jaw still trembled and
her cheek still stung, but ignoring both, she carefully wrapped her
arms around his neck, bowing her head down as she allowed him to do
what he needed. As he guided her legs around his waist, she inhaled
sharply, preparing herself for the intrusion that would soon
come.

It didn't happen though.
Instead, they were interrupted by a loud knock coming from the
large ballroom doors. Frozen in his arms, Maya looked curiously at
the entrance and then at Xania. He seemed as surprised as she was
and where she thought he would send whoever had knocked away, she
frowned in wonder as instead he patted her thigh and stepped back.
Gesturing for her to righten her attire and put on her veil, he
gave her a couple of seconds before announcing they may
enter.

She couldn't help but
grimace as Rhamnus entered, but soon the feeling of disgust she
felt for the tracker was drowned out by the curiosity of him
dragging the Seer in after him.

"She tried to run
away."

Pushing Mallow forward, the
tracker had used enough force to send the girl falling down onto
the platform right at Xania's feet. She seemed to be out of breath,
her body trembling and her hair a sweaty disaster. Her eyes,
although the gold still as unnatural as ever, Maya could read a
determination in them that had her take a cautious step
back.

Xania was about to push
Mallow into a kneeling position, but before his foot could connect
with her shoulder, she spat on the ground and Maya gasped as
beneath the platform was Xen Reindhardt’s portrait.

Rhamnus instantly reacted,
grabbing the Seer's shoulders and pulling her back so her face
would be revealed to Xania. Maya couldn't help but wince as she
knew Mallow's cheek would see worse than her own had a few minutes
ago. Words could not describe how terribly insulted the Steward
was. Bowing down her head, the last thing she saw was Xania's hand
clenching into a fist.

"Vos es Malum!"

Maya felt a shiver run
through her at the sound of that language. The Altors and Palliums
had no idea what effect the Pallium language had on the Regius.
They denied the Creatures of Origin to be real, a lie created to
ease their own minds. The land's magical and nearly godlike beasts
frowned upon the species that were the Regius. It was something the
Blue Bloods nervously laughed at, trying to hide the fact that not
receiving a blessing from the Creatures made them
uneasy.

The Seer was smart to speak
in that tongue as Xania paused in his movements because of it.
Rhamnus loosened his hold on the girl, allowing her to shrug him
off and get onto her feet, golden eyes glaring at the
Steward.

"I will make the other
Regius see that you are not what they need." Mallow's words were
icily haunting. "I may be Seer and part of me is Altor, but
remember who my mother was. You could not control her, and you
shall not control me." She declared.

Although Maya's opinion was
of no interest to anyone in this room at the moment, she could see
the strength in the girl's face, the way she believed her own
words. It affected Maya.

Xania was unfazed. "Well,
aren't you cute. I believe you may be more damaged than I thought.
First you help me and now you fight me?"

"This is no joke." The Seer
clipped out. "You may access my power only if you show me the same
respect you granted Sage."

Xania circled Maya slowly,
his eyes still fixed on the Seer when his hand shot out, fingers
grasping the front part of her dress. Maya let out a noise of
surprise when she found her back plastered against his chest. It
was the cold steel of a blade pressing against her neck that had
her freeze, heart beating violently in her chest.

"Sire!" She didn't turn her
head to see his face and possibly read the expression to make sense
out of the situation. His other arm came around her waist, trapping
her so she couldn’t move her arms. She was Regius, thus stronger
than a regular female. But stronger than Xania? Very far from. He
was a pure blood, straight from the royal line.

"Prove you are Regius."
Xania's voice was right beside Maya's ear, and her heart nearly
stopped beating at his words. Would her life truly depend on
Mallow? Did Xania care so little to use her to make the Seer bow
down to him? Chances of Mallow caring what happened to Maya were
slim. They'd never met, never been close, never truly talked. More
importantly, unless one could read minds, to the world Maya seemed
to be Xania's most trustworthy servant.