CHAPTER 17
“The stones hold the secrets to the Realms. They hold the memories of the true Queen. If broken, the Realms shall fall into darkness and never return.” - Book of Azure
LIGHTS WENT OUT APPROXIMATELY THIRTY minutes ago.
The room was quiet for only a few seconds before most of the men began to snore. If I wanted to sleep, I doubt I could with ninety-nine men wheezing and snorting in their sleep.
My eyes stay wide, hardly blinking as I stare at the bunk above, waiting for any movements. But there is none. I’m sure I have heard the man known as Death snort as he gasps for air before sucking in an obnoxious snore.
I think he is asleep.
I believe Kaine and Theon are as well, I haven’t heard any movements from them. Now is my chance, with my dagger in hand I quietly arch my body out of my bed and stand. No boots. They will make too much noise, so I tiptoe around the beds, my dagger at my hip as I scan the dormitory.
The men lay in a deep sleep, undisturbed with the sounds coming from their mouths, their arms sprawled outward over the edge.
Some drool as if they are exhausted from just the introduction of the battle games.
I step around their arms, trying not to even slightly touch them.
Most of them are entirely unclothed, their bare skin exposed to the dim light of the torches against the walls, causing me to swiftly avert my eyes, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks.
Even though they cannot see me, I shield my eyes with my hands and scurry around them.
They could at least cover themselves with their damn blankets. I roll my eyes away from them, shaking my head as none of these men have been Koen.
Strong scents of sweat and unwashed bodies fill my nose, making my lungs ache with each inhale and gags desperate to escape my lips. But I cover my mouth and continue creeping past rows upon rows of bunk beds, their metal frames creaking softly under the weight of the men who toss and turn.
That's when I finally notice an arm with the fire markings of the oracles and my heart seizes. It's him. It has to be him.
I carefully walk closer, my toes pressing against the chilly, steel ground as I make my way to him. He is the last bunk, bottom bed right next to the wall. The torch perfectly lights up his body and I know… I found him.
There he lays, his tousled curls cascading around his sharp jawline, framing his face as his eyes remain shut.
His chest rises and falls in a slow, rhythmic motion, as if he is lost in a deep sleep, with one arm casually draped above his head.
I carefully climb over his shirtless body, my knees digging into the bed, and the sight of the claw marks slashed across his sculpted chest startles me.
My eyes trace the healed marks, starting from where his heart is and stretching down to the tip of his pants.
I lean forward, satisfaction coursing through me as I grip the dagger tighter and raise it to his throat. My face is mere inches from his. The blade's cold edge presses gently against his tanned skin, and I prepare to speak. To let his eyes open and see me before his final breath.
Yet, before any words escape my lips, I notice the corners of his mouth curling into a sly grin.
“I’ve been waiting for you, little Spark.” His green eyes open, sparkling with pure amusement. “You have this positioned all wrong.”
My heart sinks, and my nostrils flare with rage.
He has been waiting this whole damn time. He knew I would come.
His hand tenderly touches mine, guiding the dagger with precision to the exact spot on his neck where a swift jab against the spot would end his life in mere seconds.
He swallows hard, his veins bulging visibly in his throat while his unwavering gaze is locked onto mine.
Slowly, he leans forward, allowing the sharp tip of the dagger to graze his skin.
His breath tickles against my lips. “This…” he whispers, “this is the spot in the neck where it's most vulnerable.”
He lifts my elbow up with his other hand, positioning my body where he wants me. “And this… is how you properly hold a dagger.”
My eyes drop to his lips, watching them move into an irritating grin. “I’m not here for a lesson, Koen.” I drop my tone into a deep hiss, making sure I don’t wake the others. “Why did you do it?”
I lean closer, our noses almost grazing as my eyes flicker between his.
“I didn’t.” His jaw ticks. “Why do you think I am in here?”
“To have the first seat at my death, I suppose?” I pause and my jaw clenches as I stare into his emerald eyes, watching the flakes of the golden tones dance against his cornea. “Or the Queen brought you here to do what she couldn't… to kill me.”
He squeezes my hand, and I suck in the wince that wants to escape my lips. The dagger falls, but he catches it right in time for it not to hit the solid floor. Within seconds, he has the dagger directly against my ribs, the tip of it pressing against my suit.
“I guess I was right.” My hands press into the bed, my strands falling in my view but I push them away, tossing them over one side of my head. “If you are going to do it, do it fast.”
He scuffs, licking his bottom lip as he shakes his head. “You have this all wrong, and you are going to listen to everything I have to say.”
“Or what?”
“Or you are as good as dead here in these games.” His eyes linger on mine before scanning around us on alert. “I was thrown in here with you. I promise.”
“Why!” I hiss, my tone shifting to a high pitch as he cuffs my mouth within seconds.
“Shhhhh.” He leans towards me. “If you wake them and they see you on top of me like… this.”
His eyes trace me, down to my thighs that straddle him. “I mean, I’m not complaining.” He teases, his dimple creasing against his cheek.
I slam my hand against his arm and remove his hand from my lips. “This isn’t funny.”
“No it isn’t, Serene.” His eyes darken. “The Queen is up to something. She wanted me gone from the castle, which is why she most likely had someone follow me and listen to our conversation.”
“But why not just kill us then?”
His voice drops to a whisper. “She knows she cannot kill me. Florian would never marry Skie, but you…” He pauses, his mind racing with the possibilities of why the Queen didn’t kill me.
“You, I cannot understand why. Women don’t compete in the games and if she wanted you dead, she would have done it herself. ”
“Maybe it's all for a show.” I shrug.
“Maybe, but…” his lips form a tight line as he releases the dagger from my side, “she follows the rules and the written ways of the Realms and never strays from them. Her throwing you into the games is breaking the rules forged by the Gods, which means something else has to be going on.”
“Why are you telling me this?” My eyes narrow, watching the fire of the torches create shadows along his face.
“I think she fears you. She can’t control what she cannot see.” He hands me the dagger, placing it gently in my palms as he wraps my fingers around it. “And I want to understand why.”
“The Queen doesn’t fear me.” I roll my eyes.
“That is where you are wrong.” His eyes flicker, scanning my face as he faintly shakes his head.
“I have never seen her panic the way she did the night she took you here. When she came for me, she had fresh, new wounds with the language of the flames. She went to them again, and I believe she did not see the answers she wanted.”
“That doesn’t mean anything, Koen.”
“It means everything.” He lifts his head. “The oracles see all… why can’t they see you?”
“I’m not from Azure,” I hiss, leaning into him. “I told you this.”
“They believe they saw Tilly.” His tone softens. “Which means I can’t have you die in here, because I need to know how you are hiding from them.”
“I’m not doing anything.” My eyebrows narrow as I pull away. “I don’t understand how they can see my sister and not me.”
“I don’t know, Serene, but in a week, they let those who are competing free for a night before the first battle game.
” He pauses, glancing around the dimly lit shadows of the dormitory.
“We'll sneak off to the archives, and I will find what I am searching for. And maybe there is something there that can help you find Tilly.”
“And if we get caught again?” I tilt my head to the side, my midnight-black hair tickling against my cheek.
He shrugs. “We are already in the battle games. That's our punishment. She won’t expect us to try again.”
I tilt my head back, pushing off of him as I sit against his pelvis. “Fine. But we are telling Florian.”
He grunts as his lips rub between his teeth. “And before you tell me no,” I push against his shoulders, “we are doing it my way. Last time, you got us into this and now, you will listen to me.”
“Fine.”
“Koen,” I whisper, my eyes dropping to my fingers that hardly wrap around his broad shoulders. “Why don’t women compete in the games?”
He sucks in a deep breath. “In honor of the last Deskyiara, the fallen Queen and her daughters. The games are created to destroy the curse, which was brought upon us by greedy men who wanted more power. And with that, the Gods demanded that we never shall bring a woman in the games, to forever remember the beauty and strength, but also, the gentleness of the Deskyiara women. The Deskyiara bloodline had magic and powers like no other has ever seen before… the Gods will forever punish us for killing them.”
“Seems like you men really screwed up.”
“I feel us men always do.”
My lips pull together between my teeth. “That you do.”
He lifts his body upwards and my eyes fall to his lips. “One day you’ll forgive me for all of this.”
I lean in to him, feeling the heat of his breath against my lips. “Maybe one day in your dreams.” I press my fingers against his head, thrusting him back down.
A sly smirk blossoms against my lips.
“Goodnight,” I whisper, my body shifting to leave, but he pulls me back into him.