Regius (7 page)

"Is it confusing?" He
asked, pulling away from me and giving me a smile when he mutely
gestured we walk. Wanting to be near him after all that time not
being able to, I stepped close to his side and breathed out happily
when he placed an arm around my shoulders, holding me loosely
against him as we walked.

"It isn't, actually. After
everything returned to me I just felt really tired and like a
painful head ache was about to come along. But when I woke up this
morning, it felt like..." I ducked my head shyly down when I caught
him staring. "Like how Altors feel after the trigger."

His finger touched my
cheek, making me feel less timid. "Complete."

I nodded. "And my feelings
for you," My heart beat faster and my chest tightened in a good
way. "I thought it was this intense attraction, but it's more than
that. It grew larger when I could remember you as my friend." I
slipped my hand into his back pocket, returning the slightly
uncomfortable embrace as we wandered aimlessly around the green
hills.

"You seem so at peace." He
sounded a bit surprised.

I laughed. "It's because I
am. I really don't know how to explain it, and believe me when I
say it weirds me out as much as you, but the feeling is just," I
shrugged, "so amazing, I don't want to deny myself." I smiled when
he kissed the side of my head.

"Welcome back, Cali." He
murmured.

* * * *

"So Isa and Iso were
abandoned by their parents at the Coliseum before they ran off to
pledge their loyalty to the Regius?" I asked, tugging the bag
properly over my shoulder when it started to slip. We'd returned to
the crack in the earth to pick up the sleeping bags and mats before
making our way back on foot to the Coliseum.

"Yes. Then Isa turned
Ranger while Ivy was being kept by Xen Reinhardt."

I frowned. "Why did he turn
Ranger?"

Datura's smile was stiff.
"What do you think? Ivy is a beautiful woman and she was a pretty
girl back then. Iso and Isa were both head over heels with her and
unfortunately, they aren't exactly the smartest in the lot and
tossed a coin over her. Isa moved in on Ivy and Iso backed off as
the coin demanded him to."

"Ivy dated Isa
before
Iso?" That must
have been awkward.

"Well, she always had liked
Iso more than Isa, but she didn't know about the coin toss, so she
believed Iso wasn't interested and Isa was being so-"

"Pushy? Obnoxious? Over the
top?" I supplied dully. It couldn't be helped; he'd held a gun to
my head.

Datura shook his head, his
smile turning soft again. "He wasn't always like that. He and I
used to be friends."

"Yet you stabbed
him."

"Because he threatened to
kill you."

I sighed. "Did he know
about me?"

Datura nodded. "I've told
him about you, but I don't think he realized you were you when he
wanted to blow your brains out."

"That's a nice way of
putting it." I said sarcastically.

"Ivy and Iso really hurt
him. They went behind his back. Instead of breaking things off with
Isa and then dating Iso, she cheated on Isa. And Iso did as well
since he never asked his twin if it was alright."

"Don't try and make me feel
bad for the guy." I smirked at Datura. "That's not
fair."

He laughed. "I'm not. I'm
just telling you why he left."

I nodded. "A broken heart."
I did feel bad for Isa and could understand why he'd run. "I don't
think I'll look at Ivy and Iso the same way now."

"Everyone has flaws, Cali."
Datura murmured. "I am not saying you have to like them for it, but
I can assure you that they hate themselves enough on their own." I
guess I didn't need to add to it. It's not like I was in a position
to do so; I wasn't particularly close to them. Their personal lives
shouldn't affect my view on their skills in battle or their status
as Altor soldiers.

I moved on to the next
question I had. "Where is Jan?"

Datura's eyebrows shot up
in surprise. "Nobody told you?" I shook my head, giving him a look
that said, ‘Was there time for an explanation throughout all the
sickness, shooting and calling upon dead guardian
ghosts?’

"Right." He rolled his
eyes. "Like you remember, Pieris took charge of you since Jan was
going to marry Iris. Iris was being taught by Rose Saxton, an
Elder, how to become an Altor trainer in the Coliseum. Jan worked
with the archives and researched. He had skills on the field, but
first and foremost, his job took place in a room filled with books.
There are a lot of facts that went missing throughout the
centuries, and Jan tried to retrieve them so he could enlighten
certain things about the war and the races."

"So it was easier for him
to move into the Coliseum since his office could be there just as
much as on the farm in the meadows." I deduced. "Is he Anemone's
father? Is his lack of presence the reason she's mute?"

Datura nodded. "Yes to all
of that. Some believe he's dead, others think he's still alive
somewhere."

"But you haven't guided him
to peace, right?" He had to be alive then.

"I haven't. But not all
Altors pass through the Valley." He shrugged. "Of course I don't
believe he could die peacefully knowing he was leaving a daughter
and wife behind with the war still ongoing. It was definitely not
his time, and he'd be aware of this." Datura believed Jan to be
alive. "Iris told me that Jan had figured something out in his
research, something so extraordinary it required him to go out in
the field to confirm." He sighed. "Jan never returned."

"Another person lost
in
Immortalis Silva
?" I guessed.

"Which some say is being as
good as dead."

We kept walking and didn't
speak again until the Coliseum came into view. I stopped him before
we would make our way in.

"What about
you?"

Datura tilted his head
curiously. "What about me?"

"You never spoke of your
parents back when we lived in the boarding house and while I'm not
sure why it never occurred to me to ask then, I'm asking now." When
his smile slipped away, I knew I didn't need the warning sent
through a Seer's body to tell me that the story wasn't a happy
one.

"Nobody knows who my
parents are." When I opened my mouth to suggest something, he
added. "Seers included." He shrugged. "Vervaine has tried. But
because I am the Keeper, I am connected to the Altor souls in the
Valley. When she took my hand in hopes it would give her a vision
of my past, what happened is that she was knocked unconscious due
to being assaulted by visions of every single soul in the Valley at
that time, with the exception of me." He winced uncomfortably.
"When she woke, it became apparent just how much her powers damage
her."

"How?"

"It cost Vervaine her easy
smiles." Datura started walking again. "It was as flagrant a change
as when Anemone went mute when she learned her father was to never
return."

* * * *

Although the change in my
relationship with Datura could be the thing that made this day
intense, I was sorely reminded that the day wasn't over yet when we
arrived at the Coliseum. When we walked through the large arch
opening that led onto the circular training platform there, Iris
held Anemone's hand over by the small pool, her eyes fixed on the
scene before her while her daughter was trying to dip her foot in
the water. Dandelion and Jatrop were sitting over by the kitchen,
as though what was happening was interrupting their quiet
breakfast. Vervaine, Ivy and Iso stood in the center on top of the
sand patch where the soldiers trained for wrestling, next a woman
that I hadn't seen before. Caltha stood opposite of them, looking
tense while Ilex supported him silently with his arms crossed
beside him.

Looking over at Datura, I
saw him slowing in his steps when he noticed that something was
wrong with the picture they all made. I was allowed a small moment
to take in the rest of the place, realizing that the entire
Coliseum was fashioned to support the training of the soldiers,
rather than a luxurious place to live in.

The kitchen's wall must
have gotten destroyed sometime during a raid, but they hadn't
bothered to repair it, simply leaving it as it was and dragging the
dinner table outside, creating a make shift terrace. Beside it was
a room with a large door that had a red medicine bottle painted on
it, telling me that was the infirmary. Throughout the entire open
space were many stone pillars that framed each different type of
training ground: a pool and wrestling sand box, a running track, a
shooting range over on the left, and a boxing ring neighboring it.
In between each living space, nestled in the circular shaped wall
of the Coliseum, was a room that served the soldiers in their jobs:
an armory, a research lab, a conference room and a security base.
Not all living quarters could be in use, since there weren't enough
of us to occupy them.

The color grey was most
dominant due to its stone walls, and clearly Iris wasn't one for
cozy decorating. Everything was very clean and clearly had to be
useful to them as soldiers in one way or another.

Caltha was talking
animatedly at the woman I hadn't met before, and it was obvious
that it was a tense conversation as they all sported looks of doom.
Although I'd never seen her before, I knew she was Galaxi, Pallium
heir and Ivy's cousin. They looked a lot like one another, but
where Ivy had short hair, Galaxi had it very long. She also looked
tougher than Ivy did, like what I'd imagine an heir would look
like.

As Datura and I came
closer, we could hear what it is they were arguing
about.

"How could you have
lost
the Prince?!"
Caltha growled.

"I did not lose him. I just
momentarily misplaced him." She snapped. "He's not a dog I can keep
on a leash, Altor; he is a breathing human being. He has a mind of
his own." She was definitely not as soft spoken as Ivy either. "And
when he is determined to make something happen, believe me, not
even your tall and broad ass could stop that boy. Do I have to
remind you that he is bred to become a king? You don't tell that
type of person what to do. They tell you what you should
do!"

"Everyone just stop being
so defensive." Ilex interrupted. "Let's just say it is nobody's
fault that he's gone and go from there." He suggested. "Datura,
welcome back." Everyone looked in our direction, noticing our
presence. Galaxi seemed particularly interested as she ignored
Caltha further and walked straight up to Datura, looking right
through me.

"Ullus contactus?"
My eyebrows shot up as I heard the foreign
language, but the surprise didn't end there when Datura actually
replied.

"Nullus."
While I didn't understand what he meant, his
words seem to relieve Galaxi.

"English, now." Caltha
growled. "You." He pointed a finger at me. "Get out of here. You're
not privy to any of this."

"He remembers everything."
Datura interjected.

"What?!" I cringed when
Ilex marched up to me and grabbed my collar to shake it for what
felt like unnecessary reasons to me. "How?!" This he directed at
Datura, who looked over at Vervaine, who gulped and look the other
way.

"My brother is missing!"
Galaxi shrieked, her hand over her heart and her eyes wide, the
concern sparking off of her. "Delivering custom cars isn't my job.
I'm not here to hand over the keys and wish you a good day. Flux
asked me to drive it up here so I could inform you of the
situation."

Ilex let go of my collar
so he could rub his temples. "We'll deal with this
later.
" He meant
me.

"Thank you." Galaxi
sneered, starting to pace, and clearly not the happiest person on
the planet right now. "We can't risk delivering the news of the
missing Regius heir through port phones or mail. You know protocol;
this is a code ten, everything needs to be done in person. I can't
go to Iodin City and inform Reed because I'll stand out like a sore
thumb."

Ilex nodded at that.
"Vervaine will go."
Because she looked
like a Regius
. Crossing my arms over my
chest, I felt a frown form on my face as I watched the people
before me hard at work.

"Conium is going through
the desert and the border that separates Altor territory from
Regius. But he has to be careful not to raise suspicion, so I need
your help in spreading the word
to the
right people.
" The Pallium
explained.

"I will go to Reed."
Vervaine obeyed.

"And Iso and I will help
you look everywhere else." Ivy said softly, wrapping an arm around
her cousin's waist and trying to offer her comfort that
way.

"I need Iso to find his
brother." Galaxi dared Iso to protest when it looked like he was
going to. "Juglan isn't answering Flux's summons. It means the
truce has been tainted and he may have turned on us. The only
person Isa may not kill instantly is Iso. And Isa is our best bet
since he's Juglan's first."