24. Chapter 23
24
Chapter 23
Dacias
Dacias exited the tunnel leading from Cupidor to the Rugirean city center. His heart swelled at the thought of Julen being home.
Rugiria would treat Julen the way he should be treated. And if anyone doesn’t, I’ll rip them to shreds. He fantasized about getting a little cottage along the southern coast, shifting and traveling by lion to get to and from training each day, then coming home and finding Julen puttering around the home. He knew this was a fantasy. Dacias didn’t even know if Julen would be one for domesticity, but the thought of it was so adorable.
Dacias became addicted to the moments when Julen let go, his shoulders loosened, and the tension around his eyes disappeared. Dacias had made it happen several times before, but he wanted more. He wanted to make Julen happy. Julen deserved to be happy after a lifetime with that awful bastard of a father. I’d give anything to slice that man to bits.
That’s where those eyes came from—no matter how hard Julen tried to mask it, Dacias could see the pain in them. He wanted to fix it, replace the thoughts plaguing the mind behind those shimmering eyes with beautiful memories.
He barely saw two feet before him as he walked up the dirt road to his home. The late hour made the path pitch black. The house came into view, and light shone out from a few windows.
He wondered what Klorin had done with Ferrean that evening. Ferrean didn’t like much except drinking, and after a few drinks, he always wound up in Cupidor with a sex worker or picking fights with a Lapistrean. Dacias knew he’d have to buy Klorin a drink for distracting that pain in the ass.
When he arrived at the house, he strode up the stairs to the front door. Even though the lights were still on, there was a strong possibility his father was asleep, so he stepped lightly.
When he opened the door, he heard a rustling in the main living area. He assumed it was his brothers.
“Is that you, Kl—”
He choked when he saw the four guardians standing by the fireplace. Klorin sat in a chair, their father resting his hand on his shoulder, and Ferrean stood by the guardians, a taunting look stretched across his face.
Fuck.
Klorin began to speak, but his father pressed down on his shoulders, signaling him to stop, and stepped forward to close the space between him and Dacias. “These guardians are from the royal palace, Dax. They claim—”
Before his father finished, a guardian said, “Cadet Validar. It’s come to our attention that you have infiltrated the Secret Services Center and are sharing information with Prince Julen Zephyrus of Lapistra. You are under arrest for espionage.”
Dacias’s breath hitched. His eyes grew wide, and his neck became hot. “Espionage? I’ve done no such thing! How could you think that?”
The same guardian replied, “We must take you to the prison for questioning. A trial will be held. You will have your day in court to defend yourself, but such accusations must be treated seriously.”
Klorin leaped to his feet, hands clenched at his sides. “This is fucking absurd! Ferrean, you bastard!” He turned to the guardians. “He’s making this up. I swear, Dacias would never do this. Ferrean is lying.”
Klorin faced Ferrean. “Your own brother! I could kill you, Ferrean.”
He stepped forward, and two guardians stopped him, pushing him back into the chair. Dacias looked at Ferrean, whose eyes glared back at him with pure hatred. “You did this to yourself, Dacias. After what that bastard did to our mother, you’re a traitor.”
Dacias’s father bellowed, “Enough, Ferrean.” He turned to Dacias, his eyes brimming with tears. “Is it true, Dax?”
“Of course not!”
Ferrean screamed, “You were with him tonight! Admit it!” He turned to the guardians. “Ask if he was with Prince Julen. See if he lies right to your face.”
Dacias froze. Should he lie? Could he tell them he and Julen were romantically involved? They may want Julen here. They could get information from him. Could he ask Julen to do that?
The guardians approached with their cuffs.
“Dacias Validar. You are accused of espionage. We have orders from the royal palace to detain you and bring you to the prison. We implore you to cooperate.”
As the guardian spoke, Dacias looked at Klorin. He hoped he wouldn’t get mixed up in this. Did Ferrean know about Souzie too?
Klorin gave him a look, then used his eyes to lead Dacias to his hands. Klorin began sprouting claws.
Dacias looked back up at Klorin and nodded. Klorin mouthed the word “one.”
Was this the best idea? No. But Dacias knew he couldn’t be arrested. Not tonight. Not when so much was riding on his help tomorrow. He needed to help Julen. This was their one shot before he’d be forced to marry that girl.
“Two.”
Dacias focused on his brother while clearing his mind.
“Three.”
They each shifted at once, an explosion of fur and growls filling the space.
The shock of his sudden transformation sent the guardians hurtling back, but they caught their bearings and began to shift. Two wolves, a hyena, and a jaguar, stood before them.
The hyena lunged at Dacias, but he swiped the hyena’s throat and threw him to the ground.
Klorin released a growl and pounced on the wolves. The jaguar stood frozen in fear. His eyes darted between Dacias, with fresh blood on his claws, and Klorin, making quick work of the two wolves.
Ferrean began to shift into an anaconda, but his father grabbed him. “Stop!”
Dacias knew he could take these guardians in moments flat, but he didn’t want to kill Rugirean soldiers. He was hoping he hadn’t mortally injured the hyena. He didn’t need murder on his list of charges as well.
He released a mighty roar that shook the ground and lunged at a wolf, his jaw clutching its neck, and tossed it off his brother. Klorin spared no time pouncing on the other wolf and slicing at its chest, causing him to yelp in pain.
Dacias roared again and darted out of the house, Klorin following closely behind. The mighty roar of the jaguar echoed, and Dacias glanced behind to see it and one injured wolf hot on their trails.
When they reached the city center, they were met with startled cries as they darted around people milling about the streets. Dacias heard a piercing howl. He knew the wolf was signaling to other guardians nearby.
Klorin and Dacias reached the tunnel to Cupidor, only to be met by a tiger and a rhinoceros.
They darted right and raced along the border where Rugiria met the Cupidorean forest. Border guardians began shifting at the sight of them. Dacias and Klorin had blood on them, and half a dozen animals barreled after them.
Speed was on Dacias and Klorin’s side, and they wove between the border guardians. Klorin began outpacing Dacias, leading them to a break in the foliage along the border.
Klorin crossed the forest threshold first, instantly shifting back to human form. Dacias followed. He had never crossed the border between Rugiria and Cupidor while in lion form. It hit him like a punch to the gut. His lion features peeled back, and his bones cracked in rapid succession.
He landed in human form and panted.
Klorin screamed, “LET’S MOVE! ”
Dacias leaped to his feet, and they sprinted through the forest. He heard the echoes of bodies slamming into the ground from behind them. The guardians breached the border. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to them. They needed to hide.
Dacias thought about the glen. “This way!”
He ran down a steep path and could hear Klorin’s feet pounding the ground behind him. The path grew steeper, and, for a moment, Dacias thought he might fall, but he heard a human grunt behind him, followed by Klorin and a guardian pummeling into Dacias.
The three rolled down the steep path before landing with a hard thud on the ground. Dacias shook off the pain and crawled over to the guardian, who lunged at Dacias, whipping out a blade and slicing Dacias’s cheek.
Dacias hissed in pain as he reeled back, but Klorin tackled the guardian, held his wrists to the ground, and headbutted the guardian three times.
He turned to look at Dacias. The sounds of the guardians calling to each other echoed above them. Dacias pointed in the direction of the glen and led the way.
Together, they ran through the brush. Dacias had journeyed to the glen several times, but always from Cupidor’s city center and never at night. He prayed to the Mother Planet that his memory wouldn’t fail him.
It didn’t. The glen appeared, and Dacias dove into the water. Klorin followed. Dacias swam the entirety of the glen, fully submerged, sensing Klorin beside him all the while.
Dacias could feel the fall, the water rushing, and the sounds filling his ears. He reached out and found Klorin’s arm. He tugged him in the direction of the rock shelter.
They passed the fall and breached the surface, gasping for air as they waded through the water to the shelter floor.
Once they reached the mossy rock, the brothers collapsed. Dacias rolled onto his back, gasping for air. His heart pounded. He heard Klorin groan and felt for him in the darkness.
“Fuck. What happened?” Dacias asked.
“I headbutted one of those assholes, and I’m still spinning,” Klorin replied.
Dacias took another breath, trying to steady his voice. “No. At the house. What happened?”
He heard Klorin’s low grumble. “Ferrean must have had it planned all along. The minute you left, the guardians showed up. I tried to reason with them, but he had already filled their heads with some bullshit that you were smuggling secrets to Julen. Bastard.”
Dacias fell flat on his back again. His chest heaved as his body regulated itself. “What now?” he asked.
“Sleep?”
Dacias shook his head. “You might be concussed.”
Klorin groaned. “Mindel?”
Dacias thought for a moment as he stared into the darkness. “Not a bad idea.”
He heard Klorin release a sigh. “What a fine mess we’re in, huh?”
Dacias’s sardonic laugh echoed in the rock shelter. You can say that again.