Authors: Rachael Wade
Hearing Gavin’s voice, I raced back to the ladder and watched him from above, my heart pounding as he entered the house. I wanted to run into his arms, run my fingers into his hair and beg him to come home—to come back to me. He stood near the door, talking to Gabe, and caught me watching; he glanced up and paused when our gazes locked. His sad, dark-chocolate eyes pierced mine. Quickly nodding to Gabe, he slipped something into his hand and met my stare once more before he rushed off. Gabe met me at the top of the ladder and handed me a piece of notepaper.
Knowing the sender, I hurried to read it, but Gabe placed a hand over mine and said, “Samira will be in the village soon, probably to check on Gavin’s progress. Or at least, what she thinks is his mission. Meet us outside in five minutes. Stay close so you’re protected, okay?”
He winked, then hurried back downstairs to meet Josh. The entire household was scrambling, and the buzzing whispers told me everyone was unsure of Samira’s intentions in visiting. Carrying a secret as deadly as our plan of attack for three months was challenging to say the least. According to the Amaranthians, she hadn’t visited the city since before our arrival, which explained why the entire village, it seemed, was on edge.
I scanned the house for any signs of Scarlet—making sure she didn’t spot the note exchange—then tucked myself away to open Gavin’s note:
Windmill. Just before sunset. Sir, aka Gavin.
My pulse quickened and I tried to think of a place to hide the note. The sound of a loud horn declaring the arrival of royalty startled me and I buried it in my pocket, then rushed off to meet Audrey, Gabe, and Josh in the street, where we lined the road with the others, villagers gathering outside of their homes to face the queen.
The horn sounded louder as Samira appeared in the distance, an elegant apparition floating, cloudlike, in her descent from the city’s golden gates and down the steep hill into our village’s valley. Shrouded in darkest red, her gown flowed as she coasted toward us, hovering mere inches off the ground, her macabre flying guards surrounding her. Her feet never contacting the ground, she made her way down the cobblestone street, Dali and Akim trotting alongside her, loyal and threatening as always. Her arms floated gracefully at her side, those dangerous red nails gliding through the air as she moved. Every hair on my neck stood up as she slipped into our presence.
“I trust all is well, my dear children.” She zoned in on Cecile and lifted one long finger; her force pulled Cecile off the ground to meet her in the air. Audrey squirmed and dug her head into Gabe’s arm and he hushed her, gently kissing her forehead. I took Audrey’s hand and huddled in with my friends, keeping my eyes on Samira.
“Are you still wasting your time on useless parlor tricks, my pet?” Samira said. “Your human magic is futile, you fool.” She laughed wickedly, skimming her nails across Cecile’s chin before tossing her to the ground in front of the crowd. Why was she doing this? Wasn’t she supposed to be earning the peoples’ trust again? This sure as hell wasn’t the way to do it.
“I haven’t time for dull amusement today, my children. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” She reached out both arms and stretched her fingers, then balled them into tight fists, thrusting them toward her chest, using her force to lift a handful of Amaranthians from the ground and fling them toward her hulking guards. “Seize them!”
Screams rang out and gasps were heard round the street as she continued to carelessly sway her hands from side to side, randomly plucking people up, sending them soaring toward her guards. One by one, they were bound in chains and linked together to form a line. She spun around and retreated back up the hill toward the golden gates, leaving the other scattered, frightened villagers behind.
“She’s taking them for questioning,” Gabe muttered, a knowing look in his eyes. He rushed our group away from the street as soon as Samira was out of sight. Frantic, I scanned the area for Gavin, catching him as he hurried off to the other end of the street, with
her.
He snuck a discreet glance toward me before he turned the corner, and I caught a glimpse of her arm locked into his as they disappeared.
“Don’t torture yourself, Cam.” Audrey pulled me out of the street, away from the restless villagers and toward our front door. Our little flock, minus Gavin and Scarlet, all piled into the house and gathered around the living area. The group quieted, ready to deliberate on Samira’s visit, and Gabe took center stage while Audrey, Josh and I began passing around blood.
Gabe loosened his collar and rolled up his sleeves, rubbed his hand across his forehead as he began addressing the group. I sat down and began to bite my nails, a nasty habit I’d recently picked up. I eventually snuck out the door with Audrey, unable to listen any more. Whatever Samira was doing to those poor people, we were responsible. Responsible for barging into this city, for making promises to Samira we weren’t even sure we could keep.
Audrey and I headed to Cecile’s and I sat watching Cecile, listening while she cast spell after spell to try and soothe my nerves, while Audrey tended to the gashes on her great-aunt’s knees from Samira’s ruthless treatment. Feeling like a roast being seasoned, it occurred to me in that moment that I was completely and utterly burned out. I no longer recognized myself in this dreadful place, and it was all starting to feel like a never-ending nightmare.
I’d give anything to go home.
As if reading my mind, Audrey murmured, “Even earth will be a little brighter when that woman is destroyed.” She continued to dab the washcloth to Cecile’s knees.
“My dear girl, the time is growing near,” Cecile whispered, flipping through the same text Vivienne entrusted to me. I bit my nails and scribbled in my journal, pondering when the supposed water would come. When it did come, would we even recognize it when we saw it? I slammed my journal shut and rested my head on the table, anxious for the sunset.
9
SECRETS
The Amaranthian sun became a bright, cardinal-red ball of fire that pushed through the sky’s gray canvas each morning and at the end of every night, sinking into and rising from the ground, similar to the rise and fall of earth’s sun. Throughout the day, its surreal red glow penetrated the hazy gloom, muted like the gray that engulfed it. Still, the sunset wasn’t nearly as spectacular as earth’s. It was alien and frightening, making everything feel as desolate as a desert. The redeeming quality was the vast greenery that spread throughout the outskirts of the city, bringing vibrancy to the otherwise eerie landscape.
I rushed toward the windmill as I eyed the strange red sun, peering behind me every so often to make sure I wasn’t being followed. All it would take was one witness for word to spread to Scarlet of our meeting.
“Gavin?” I whispered as I stepped inside and secured the wooden door behind me, pulling my cloak’s hood down to peer around. He appeared from the corner, a basket in his hand, and rushed to meet me. He took my hand in his but kept his distance. I gently tugged at the tips of his fingers; the touch of his skin sent a warm current through my body. He exhaled when he saw my expression, looking rugged and in need of a shave, but I thought he wore his exhaustion well.
“Camille …” His eyes danced with excitement and he gestured to the basket, pulling at his collar as he spoke, a nervous smile creeping across his lips. “I’ve brought you some dinner. It’s so good to see you. I’m glad you came.”
My eyes narrowed and I faltered, allowed myself to plop down on a stack of hay. “
It’s
good to see me?”
He kneeled down and leaned toward me. “What’s wrong? I didn’t think you’d want to see me.…”
“Of course I do, I miss you so much.” I let my shoulders slump. “It just hurts.”
“I know.” He held my hand tight, rubbed his thumb across my knuckles. “But she won’t get away with this for much longer, baby. Even with the new spell she has, the second the resistance gets here, her threats will be no good.”
That damn new spell.
How did she figure out how to conjure at the last minute? Could she conjure other spells we didn’t know about? Gavin guessed that she stole some things from Cecile’s place, but it seemed unlikely to me that she was able to steal from right under Cecile’s nose.
“And then what?” I said. “Has she told you? Is she going to let us stroll on by and continue with our attack? She could rat us out the second before the resistance arrives.”
“What good will that do, though? Samira will be bombarded and help will come anyway. And after Samira killed Andrew for bringing you here last time, it’s pretty clear Samira’s not very fond of snitches. Scarlet isn’t opposed to the attack, could care less about what happens with this war. She has her spell to protect her regardless. All she cares about is getting what she wants. She won’t stand in our way as long as she gets to have it.”
“And right now she has it. Have you touched her?” I leveled my eyes with his. I’d blotted out all possibility of this, didn’t dare allow myself to wonder, but I had to know before I kissed him. “Because that’s all I care about. I know you wouldn’t have done something like this unless you absolutely had to, but …”
He inhaled and dropped down to sit with me, still holding my hand. “She kissed me.” He released my hand then hung his head, silence surrounding us. A single tear trickled down my cheek but I couldn’t blink, couldn’t move. I just sat there on the hay, arms at my sides, staring forward. This was to be expected, but the truth, the sharp kick to the gut, still stung.
“I stopped her, Camille. I haven’t touched her, why would I even want to? After all we’ve been through, I thought you’d have faith in me.”
“I do, but …” I breathed, my voice strained, the image of her lips on his making me flinch. “How many times?”
“She’s … persistent. But I
swear
to you. On my life. Nothing happened.” He reached up and cupped my face in his hand, rubbed the tear away with his thumb, placed his other hand on my knee. “Camille, I’m yours. You’re who I want. That will never change.”
I rolled my eyes to his, whispered, “I know.”
Hesitantly, he inched his mouth toward mine, his breath catching as the distance closed between us. He ran his thumb across my bottom lip before he kissed me, exhaled when I surrendered to him. “God, I missed you.” His fingers moved through my hair to the back of my neck, gently tilting my head back as he parted my lips with his, his tongue finding mine. I gripped his shoulders tight, then clasped my arms around his neck, allowing him to pull me onto his lap. I wanted this humble, gorgeous man. I couldn’t take it anymore. His quiet charismatic demeanor was irresistible, and being separated from him was unbearable.
Coming up for air, his usual reflex kicked in when I worked to unbutton his shirt. He laughed, heaving me forward and tossing me to the floor with a thump, landing on his back next to me.
Confused, I let out an exasperated chuckle. “What was that for?”
“Just wanted to see your smile.” He refastened his buttons and tilted his head to stare at me. “I’ve missed that as much as I’ve missed your lips.”
I nudged him with my shoulder, my grin widening.
“How are Gabe and Audrey?” he said. He lifted one arm back to prop it under his head, instantly relaxing, as if the past week had never happened. “It’s still taking some getting used to, not being able to mind-speak with Gabe anymore now that he’s human.”
I let out a sigh of relief—Scarlet, Samira, and the whole world of Amaranth had faded away into a distant chasm—yet also a sigh of frustration at his impenetrable self-control. How could he be so unfazed by me? His skin brushing mine was enough to knock the wind out of me, but he could just turn the switch off, apparently. It was beyond maddening.
“They seem to be hanging in there,” I said. “Audrey’s her typical feisty self, and Gabe can’t get enough of her, as usual.”
“You miss home. I can tell.”
“Don’t you?”
“I do, yeah. But I feel close to my parents here. It’s hard to explain.” He turned his head to stare at the ceiling, drifting off into thought, his poker face taking over.
“I can’t wait until this is all over.” I exhaled, turned to lean on my side to face him. “What if Scarlet loses patience with you, if you keep rejecting her like that …”
“She’s not stupid. She knows I can’t just fall in love with her. That’s not what she wants, anyway. She just wants to spite you, and have me around as a plaything. I’ve been telling her to be patient. She’s never seen me in love before and she resents it. The question is how long she’ll wait around until she calls my bluff. That fact that she doesn’t have much at stake with this war is unsettling. ”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“We just have to keep being careful. This is the best time for me to meet you: just before the sun goes down, or around dawn. She’s busy cooking and cleaning then.”
The thought of Scarlet lifting a pretty finger made me laugh. As it ebbed, he said, “But I can’t stay long.” He sat up and reached for the basket, pulling out a loaf of bread, some cheese, and sliced meat. “Can you meet me again tomorrow night?”
I took the meal from him and picked at a piece of the bread.
Not if you keep torturing me like this.
“I don’t see why not. Any word on the villagers Samira took?”