Chapter Twenty-Nine
This day, don your armor and take up your weapons, for the battle is upon us.
As my former fiancé led me through the castle, I felt as if I floated in a dream. Clouds somehow both light as spun sugar and as dense as fog swept me up in the most delicious, effervescent dizziness. Thoughts loosened, desires unmoored, and inhibitions drifted into the ether.
“You drugged me,” I said, and a little laugh bubbled up.
“Just a bit.” He pinched his fingers, all sheepishness and charm.
My sweet prince. I could almost pretend he was Cyrus again and all was well. “I’m going to defeat you,” I told him, beaming a sunny smile and batting my lashes at him.
He snorted and flashed an indulgent smile I’d missed. “I like you like this. Soft and silly.”
“Wrong. You don’t like me at all.” He couldn’t. “Someone who likes me doesn’t drug or threaten me. You’re more Astan than Cyrus.”
“Impossible. I told you, sweetness. We are one and the same, equal parts of each other.”
“Repeating a lie doesn’t make it true.”
“I can’t dip into his memories without permission, and he can’t dip into mine.” He performed a little spin to gently bop my nose without missing a beat, as playful as Cyrus. “We know only what we think together.”
That couldn’t be right, but okay. “If any part of Astan is mixed into any part of you, that means you are no longer one hundred percent grade-A Cyrus Dolion, and that’s who I love.
” My Cyrus was strong and brave, protective and playful.
Integrity lived and breathed in his veins. He didn’t murder, lie, or cajole.
“Now, now. I don’t hate you for being bonded to Domino, do I?” he asked, ever reasonable. “Just give me a chance to prove my affection for you is as genuine as always.”
A sliver of me wanted to say yes, but deep down, I knew that choice would open a door I’d never be able to close. “What was in that champagne, anyway?” I tried to force myself to concentrate on what mattered. I had a plan to execute . . . probably?
“Nothing dangerous. Just a little something to whisk all your troubles away. The same substance Felix used.” How amused he sounded. Smug too. “You enjoyed it then, and you are enjoying it now. Admit it.”
“Enjoying something doesn’t make it enjoyable.” No, that wasn’t what I’d meant to say. Or even the crux of the problem. Focus. “You violated my trust.” Yes. That. And how did he know what Felix had done?
“I helped you, and you didn’t even have to ask. You’re welcome.”
Great. He made it sound as if I was ridiculous to question him. “You’re being deliberately confusing. Stop it.”
“Certainly, but only because you asked so sweetly.” He caught my hand, giving my knuckles a soft kiss, sending warm tingles skimming up my arm. Still holding on, he paused at the threshold of a vast chamber and spread his free arm. “Welcome to paradise, Lady Pink.”
Paradise. A previously unvisited yet not unfamiliar ballroom I’d seen in Briar Rose’s vision. The beauty stole what remained of my wits. A veritable garden of delights for more than my eyes. That floral scent. I breathed deep. Like olfactory champagne, sweet but effervescent.
Colorful blossoms flourished around every statue.
Light tinted with shades of azure and emerald streamed in from the domed ceiling, flowing between vines that created a flowery canopy.
Petals of pink, blue, yellow, and red twirled down, down to line the floor.
I ached to roll among them, covering myself in their perfume.
“The suns shine again,” Cyrus said, clearly pleased. “How could that happen, if I were as evil as you’ve been led to believe?” He didn’t give me a chance to process the question but led me forward. “Look. See.”
The open balcony doors welcomed a warm breeze that rippled through the curtains and vines as we stepped outside.
Gripping the swirling metal railing, I peered out at the world beyond.
Two suns glistened upon the smooth moat below, spotlighting an empire of marble bridges and drowned citadels. Remnants of another city?
Awed, I pulled my gaze to the horizon, where the domed force field glittered. Lovely. Appalling. Memories attempted to break free. This wasn’t the “paradise” he promised. I just couldn’t remember why.
“Say yes to Briar Rose, Arden,” he urged, his voice a caress.
Cyrus twirled me in front of him, wrapped his arms around my waist, and eased us into a slow dance, evoking a yearning I’d too often suppressed.
The stars blazed to life in his eyes, inviting me to stare.
“I’ll give you peace, safety, and security.
More than that, I’ll love and adore you. ”
As I peered up at his sunslit face and drank in his adoring expression, the strength of his embrace provided a welcome respite from the constant barrage of battles I’d faced.
It was difficult to care that he was the host of Astan, the worst of humanity.
He just . . . he looked and felt and smelled like my Cyrus.
I leaned closer . . .
On the inside of me, a little voice whispered, Anchor.
“Say yes to Briar Rose,” Cyrus repeated, dancing me back into the ballroom.
“Becoming her host will eradicate your bond to Domino, making it a problem for us no more. Experience her power. Grow your gardens. Rule the worlds at my side.” He released me and stepped back to extend a hand in my direction. “Be mine.”
Anchor.
I stilled and sobered, the effects of the drug fading fast. In that moment, I knew I could reach for Cyrus or Domino, but not both.
I smiled, a little sad. “You can’t give me peace, safety, or security. You aren’t Cyrus.” No need to change my argument. And no need to elaborate. My mindset hadn’t changed.
I reached for Domino, and strength poured through me.
Cyrus dropped his arm and calmly stated, “If you refuse, you’ll be a liability to me. I don’t think you need to be told again what happens to liabilities.”
“Oooh. A threat.” I clicked my tongue to the roof of my mouth. “It’s not a lure. It’s not even original.”
“We’re past threats. I simply tell you the truth.
That is what you prefer, yes? I cannot allow you to run around, wreaking havoc on my plans.
With or without you, I will continue to build my army and take what rightfully belongs to me.
” Resentment dripped from his words. “One way or another, I will claim Soal’s library.
I will take the power of his pen, and I will rewrite my story. ”
“Why do you need his pen?” This was the first I’d heard of it. “Why can’t you edit your own?”
He breezed past the questions, sweeping me back into his arms and twirling me over the dance floor.
In the background, leaves rustled in the breeze, creating a soft, romantic song.
“Look into my eyes. See my sincerity. Hear my certainty. You will enjoy being empress. A goddess.” His eyelids hooded.
“Mostly, you’ll enjoy being mine. I’ll make sure of it. ”
“Under your rule, everyone else will suffer.” Eventually, I would too.
A liar lied. A killer killed. A thief stole.
No exceptions. “See my sincerity. Hear my certainty. I will never be yours unless you reject Astan.” I clutched the lapels of his jacket and held him close, letting him feel my softness. “Reject Astan,” I repeated.
“Reject Domino,” he snapped, and guilt seared me. Deep breath in. Out. “Do you truly believe Soal is the better leader?”
“I judge a tree by its fruit. Your people are maddened, his aren’t. So yes.” I plowed my fingers into Cyrus’s silken hair and peered into his eyes, hoping to reach his heart. “Please, sugar. Time is running out.” At the first opportunity, I intended to bolt. “Reject the god or lose me.”
His irritation intensified. He looked over my shoulder and nodded. “I’ll give you one last chance to make the right decision.”
A whisper rolled through my head. With me comes more than power.
You’ll be loved and adored by all. And the abilities you’ll have.
Never again will you be helpless. My power will flow through your veins, becoming our power.
We’ll use it to save both worlds. Seeds and soil will be ours to nurture and command.
Briar Rose, here to deliver the final blow. More persuasive than Cyrus and Astan, seducing with my wildest dreams.
To resist, I had to scrape fragments of strength from the bottom of a barrel. If I did it, if I said yes, it meant helping the very beings who were responsible for twenty years of misery for me.
I pressed my fists into my temples. “Enough.”
But she wasn’t done. At least this way, you’ll have influence over Cyrus. You can steer his decisions the direction you prefer. All you must do is say yes to me . . .
A logic more tempting than any threat. It battered at my resolve. Because she wasn’t wrong. I could influence him for good. Keep tabs on him. Weaken Astan’s influence. Help people. So why not do it? Wasn’t the future more important than the present?
Ugh. Here I was, doing exactly what Cyrus must have done: rationalizing. Flirting with monsters and their agenda. Briar Rose played on my emotions, nothing more, eliciting a lethal mix of hopelessness and helplessness. An expert manipulation tactic.
Anger bubbled up, and I intoned, “No. I reject Briar Rose. I reject Astan. I reject . . . you.”
He pinched my chin between his fingers and lowered his other hand to my injury, squeezing the freshly patched gash. “Is this really the end you want for us?”
Sharp, searing pain rocketed through me. “Hurting me isn’t helping your cause,” I grated through panting breaths.
“You think you know hurt? I assure you, you don’t. None of you do. But everyone will learn, if Soal wins. How do you think I won over your precious fiancé? By proving the depths of Soal’s evil.” He squeezed harder. “I’ll do anything, even destroy those closest to me, to oversee his defeat.”
I waited, desperate for Cyrus to push to the fore and take over, not daring to breathe. But seconds passed . . .
His fingers clamped tighter.
Air hitched in my throat. “No.”
Briar Rose huffed with indignation, her presence lifting from me in a rush.
Cyrus must have sensed it. “Very well,” he stated, easing the pressure. Disgust and irritation glowing in his eyes, he shoved me from him. “You’ll live only until I rid myself of this irksome desire for you.”
I stumbled, tripping and falling when the hem of my dress caught beneath my sandal. Pain reverberated in my wound, and a fresh wave of dizziness filled my head.
The clack of high heels hit my ears. Agony exploded through my body as Lolli walked over me, stabbing my hand with a shoe.
Cyrus smiled without humor and stiffly offered his arm as she approached. “Ready to decimate Soal, sweetness?”
“Beyond,” she replied with an airy little laugh. She was decked out in a gown as sheer, gauzy, and pink as mine. “I was born for this.”
A statement Cyrus had made, as well.
“Let’s get this done, then. Pour yourself into her. Glowers are advancing on the gate, and your first order of business is catching them.” A cold laugh. “They’ll fuel us for centuries.”
Interesting choice of words.
The pair forgot all about me, as if I weren’t any kind of concern. But then, I wasn’t a concern. I could only watch, powerless, as they drew together, peering deep into each other’s eyes.
Lolli clutched at his shirt and gritted out, “Briar Rose is afraid you won’t want her in my body.”
He cupped her cheeks as he’d so often done to mine.
“She is my sweetness. I want her, whichever body she inhabits.” He traced his fingertips over her face, so tender, and I imagined he mesmerized her with those starry eyes.
“It’s time. You are our opening act in the new war. We’ve waited long enough.”
Lolli smiled, pausing to savor the moment. “Yes, Briar Rose, I accept. I am yours, always.”
A moment passed, but nothing happened. Not outwardly.
From somewhere in the castle, a crash sounded. Vibrations shook the floor, lights flickered, and dread licked up my spine.
Something big had just toppled.
The pair weren’t surprised or upset by whatever had happened.
The opposite, in fact. He grinned, and she twittered.
Their delight amplified as a cold wind swept through the room, carrying whispers so loud they were a scream.
A horde of shadows swooped in next, glommed onto Lolli, and absorbed into her skin.
Appalled, I scrambled backward.
An invisible force lifted her off the floor, and she screamed without making a sound. Her head fell back, her arms spread, and her body arched. Vines coiled from the ends of her fingertips, around each of her limbs, and budded with flowers.
Cyrus’s admission reverberated in my head, rallying a new strength I hadn’t known I possessed. My teammates were currently headed for a trap. Maybe they’d read their books and knew it. Maybe they hadn’t and didn’t. Either way, I must warn them. I’d overstayed my welcome in this palace.
I couldn’t help Cyrus, Victors, or Soal here, as I’d already proven. If I didn’t act now, I might not have another chance. I scanned the room, weighing my options. Armed guards at the door. But the balcony remained unguarded . . . and a moat waited beneath.
It was dangerous. I’d get hurt. But allow fear to stop me? No. Never again. I wasn’t hopeless, and I wasn’t helpless.
Unnoticed, I clambered to my feet. Before the ritual or whatever finished, I should be gone.
Ready. . .
Set . . . I braced.
Go! I sprinted for the balcony. Faster, faster, ignoring every pang of pain.
A shout of denial behind me. “Arden!” Fast, pounding footsteps drowned mine.
I pumped my arms with more force, passed the entryway, and clutched a fistful of both curtains. Up the ledge. Leap!
As I fell, I spun myself, still clutching the cloth. Cyrus stopped at the rail. Fury glinted in his eyes.
The material jerked taut, swinging me into the side of the castle. Stone met bone, and I was certain the bones lost and cracked.
I hung there a moment, fighting to regain my bearings.
Cyrus began to pull me up as the fabric tore. I scrambled to grab protrusions in the wall and released the curtains. As I scaled down, my fragmented thoughts aligned with a single purpose: Succeed or die trying.