33. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Calista
A staroth was unusually quiet as he picked at his breakfast, same as when he returned to the room last night. He barely spared me a passing glance, choosing to spend his time out on the balcony staring out over the labyrinth. At first, I thought he was upset with me, that maybe he had overheard my conversation with Jessandra. Or maybe she had told him. But when I told him goodnight, he gave me a small smile and wished me sweet dreams.
I watched him through my lashes from across the table as he delicately sliced his sweet wheat, minus the euphoric berries, and thought about my conversation with Jessandra. While I was sewing my wild oats, she was living a life of celibacy. Sex was a constant in my life up until recently. I could stay here and delay the inevitable, but I would become miserable in the process. Taking a page from Jessandra’s book, I removed all the reasons for being here and really looked at Astaroth.
Posture perfect, he filled his chair with an air of majestic mystery. Or maybe it was his long, silky hair and the way it made my fingers itch to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked. Or the way the light and shadows emphasized his strong but angelic bone structure leading down to the sharpest Cupid’s bow I’d ever seen. And when his lips curled, it was mesmerizing, but nowhere near as mesmerizing as his eyes.
Damn it. If Astaroth were on HookUp, I would. Lock. Him. Down.
Why couldn’t this be an easier situation? Have some fun with one another, go home, and enjoy my life. I could do that without all the added stress and live an awesome one. And if it was good—an image of him in the tub smirking popped into my mind—okay, it’d probably be great knowing him, we could do it again. But he didn’t just want to sleep with me.
He wants me.
For forever.
I debated if now was a good time to discuss his proposition when he forcefully speared a chunk of sweat wheat with his fork.
“If you continue to undress me with your eyes, I will be forced to oblige you.” He looked up at me and stuck the fork in his mouth, his lips tightening around the tines as he slowly pulled it out.
“I—” My thighs clenched, along with my fist around the fork, and I cleared my throat. “Will you take me to the tree?”
Astaroth set down his silverware. “I will take you anywhere you’d like.”
With exceptions. I swallowed down the ever-present resentment and stayed in the moment. “Do you have time today?”
“For you, always.” He approached my end of the table and held out his hand. I took it and stood. “Are you ready now?”
No, I absolutely was not ready to make yet another deal with my personal devil. What if it made the situation ten times worse? But what if it made it better? There was only one way to find out.
“Yes.”
He tucked my hand under his arm and led the way to the garden. I felt like a wild creature on a leash whose spirit was damn near broken by its owner. No way out, nowhere to go. Not yet. Playing by his rules could save me in the end.
“The tree is in the garden?”
Astaroth shook his head. “It is beyond. The walls of the castle extend farther on this side.”
Before we stepped under the arched entrance, Astaroth turned back. Jess stood in the middle of the hall. “Where can I find Mergle?”
“He is currently indisposed.”
By the slight tilt of her head, I assumed she heard a hint of pause in his words, too. Astaroth was not one to stumble over them.
“Tell him I would like to speak.”
He inclined his head and turned us back to the garden. I peeked over my shoulder at Jess who stared at Astaroth’s back. She gave me a knowing glance before walking away. She could read me far too well. I needed to work on my poker face for this to work against Astaroth.
“You’re nervous.” His fingers slid over my hand holding his arm.
I startled and loosened my death grip. “A little,” I said, going with a partial truth. “I never know what to expect here.”
Case in point, the string of leaches hanging on the trellis and reaching out to us. The small blooms opened and closed, reminding me of little puckering mouths. They would get no kisses from me.
As we walked, I asked Astaroth one of the many questions I wanted answered. “Why do some of the goblins call you ‘sire,’ and the others call you ‘Your Highness’?”
“Those who call me ‘Your Highness’ are my fae brethren.” He didn’t continue, only glanced down at me.
“And?”
“And those who call me ‘sire,’ I created.”
I slowed to a stop, my hand sliding free from his arm. “Created?”
“Created might not be the correct term per se. Alive. I have kept them alive.”
“They are human.” My brother would have been one of them, trapped in death’s clutches until Astaroth allowed it to end. My feet moved on their own and Astaroth kept my slow pace as I processed his answer.
“I was young when my power began to make itself known. I wanted a playmate, someone who looked like me. That was the first time the shadow appeared. Curious, I walked through it and stumbled into your world. As I learned how to use it, I would bring them here to run the labyrinth with me and play.”
“Please tell me you didn’t know what would happen to them.”
“I didn’t know.”
I let out a breath of relief.
“Some became lost in the labyrinth, and I thought they went back home. Others grew tired and laid down for naps. I would tell them I would return only to find them gone or goblins in their place. When I finally realized what was happening, I tested it. Tried to prevent it from occurring.”
I thought about a young Astaroth holding my brother hostage. He was too old to be a playmate for Kaiden. Just as I was about to voice that, another thought shoved its way to the forefront of my mind. One I hadn’t thought of until now. “How did you change my brother back if you can’t do it for any of the others?”
“I didn’t,” he admitted. “By that time, my power had grown enough, humans could be in the realm for a while before changing. I altered his appearance with my magic.”
I spun on him. “I didn’t lose!”
“I never said you did.” He kept walking. “I said you cheated.”
“But I didn’t! You did!”
Astaroth faced me and took a step forward. “Regardless, you made a deal with me, and now you are here. I thought we were past this?”
The tip of my finger stabbed his chest. “Kaiden didn’t have anything to do with this, did he? You did this on purpose.”
He cupped my neck and pulled me against me. My stomach twisted into nervous knots as his thumb stroked my jaw, and his lips came closer to mine.
“That’s why any of us do anything.”
“Don’t spit philosophical fae bullshit at me, buddy.” He had a way of breaking his own spells over me. Irritated, I pushed away from him. “Tell me the truth.”
“We’re here.”
Confused, I looked around him. Walls similar to the labyrinth, but several feet shorter, surrounded us. Beyond it lay a dense forest of vines and other plants. They writhed and slithered with excitement as I stepped forward. It looked nothing like the peaceful vision I’d had while looking in Astaroth’s eyes.
“This can’t be it,” I mumbled. The stone flared to life. Warmth spread over my chest, the epicenter scalding me through my shirt. “Ouch!”
In the blink of an eye, Astaroth stood in front of me, his arms spread slightly out and back creating a barrier between me and the garden that had rushed out to greet us. “You can never enter this place alone. Do you understand?” he said over his shoulder.
I peeked under his arm and inched backward. The plants had mouths. The deeper I looked, the more I saw gaping open with sharklike teeth, smacking their little traps open and shut while they writhed at our feet like cobras. And were they… hissing?
“How do we get past them?”
“They require an offering.” Astaroth pulled a dagger from his boot.
All the little hairs rose on my neck and down my arms. “Like a sacrifice? Because I’m not down for that. Can’t you warp speed us inside? Why do we even walk around here when you can do that thing you do?”
The slow curl of his lip when he faced me made my knees twitch. He raised the knife up, and I almost fell over myself backing away. Little mouths stretched wide behind him. With a swift movement I barely caught, he sliced his finger open. Blood rushed to the surface and began a steady drip. Astaroth held out his hand as if coaxing a tiny animal toward him. Those weird carnivorous blooms wiggled over like playful puppies and popped up at knee level. He dropped a single bead of blood into their awaiting mouths before turning to me.
“Your turn.” He pinched the knife blade and extended the handle to me.
I stared at it and then him, wondering if this was a trick and if I had what it took to defend myself if need be. With a shaky hand, I took it and jerked it away from him.
“This is the price to go to the tree. Everyone pays it.”
Seemed a bit high maintenance to me. “And if I don’t?”
Astaroth faced the thicket of plants. They bent and swayed with a fluidity that only currents of water could produce. “They will suck you dry.”
Just like the realm. The entire labyrinth was a savage garden, and the inhabitants were as bloodthirsty as the animated vegetation.
It’s only a bit of blood, I told myself and readied the knife with a shaky hand. The vampiric plants grew frenzied when I pressed the blade down and built the courage to slice. Would they attack me and try to suck me dry anyway?
Astaroth’s steady hand covered mine on the hilt, easing the pressure. “You will cut to the bone like that. I can make it quick and near painless.”
He didn’t have to ask. His unspoken question was loud and clear. Did I trust him? I licked my parched lips, hating the answer perched on the tip of my tongue. Squeezing my eyes shut, I nodded.
I startled when a slight sting pricked my fingertip. Blood oozed over my flayed skin, collecting under my nail before dripping off. My lip twitched into a hesitant smile. “That wasn’t so bad.”
Astaroth guided me forward by my wrist. I stayed a foot back and bent at the waist so I wouldn’t have to get closer than I had to.
“They will not harm you.”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
A tiny mouth raised up to catch a bead of blood rolling off my finger. Before it could hit its mouth, a bloom the size of a grapefruit barged in and knocked it to the ground. Its hinge-like mouth opened revealing larger teeth, and it smacked its leathery lips coated in my blood.
“Hey, that wasn’t yours!”
It pulled back, bloom drooping in shame. Astaroth’s brow furrowed as he watched it. The others came forward and received their offering. I grew braver and stepped closer to them, watching in wonder as these little things sprung up around me, patiently waiting their turn. When they finished, the vines retracted and coiled around the tall grasses and plants, pulling them open to reveal a path. Only, one of the vines remained. The bully.
It crept forward and cowered at my feet. I reached out, but Astaroth caught my hand and studied the prone vine.
“They won’t harm me. You said so yourself.”
Once he released me, I gently patted the bloom. The bloodsuckle nuzzled my palm, forcing me to pet its soft, crisp head. Even its lips pulled up into what resembled a happy smile. I returned one and knelt in front of it.
“You need to be nice.” With a gentleness I didn’t expect, it looped around me and rested on my shoulder before kissing my cheek. I laughed. “That will only work this time.”
It slithered back with the rest of the plants, happy and content.
I dusted my jeans off and looked at Astaroth who stared at me like I was the alien. I guess I was here in his world.
“Shall we?” he held out his hand.
His long, thin fingers beckoned to twine with my shorter, stubby ones. Accepting would be my first gesture toward a truce and embracing our future together—short or long term—until I could leave. I had to do this.
I placed my hand in his, excited about seeing the tree in person. “We shall.”
The smile that came over his face as he gently held my hand and guided me through the partition stirred something in my gut I didn’t want to feel. I ignored it and watched as the vines accompanied us, weaving through the overgrowth and keeping pace with our steps. They shot past us toward the end to create another opening for us to exit. When we stepped through, it was like entering another realm.
Bright green grass spread over the ground with vibrant clusters of wildflowers littering the landscape, and in the center stood the tree in all its massive glory. The tapestry didn’t do it justice. It was the strangest blend of specimens, as if three or four different species of trees had combined into one.
I released his hand and walked toward the tree in awe, completely mesmerized by it. My eyes kept bouncing to different details making it difficult to see the whole tree for what it was. I could stare at it for hours before my brain finally settled and allowed my eyes to relax, kind of like those hidden image portraits.
The blades of grass tickled my hands as I went. I rubbed one between my fingers, remembering summer days of lying on my back in the sun and doing the same thing. Only there was no sunlight here, no warm rays beaming down on you and making you cozy yet full of life. What would this tree look like on a sunny day, branches stretched to greet the heavens? I imagined the leaves would shimmer and the fronds and string-like leaves would billow in the light breeze. Then my brain switched gears as I turned my face up to the twilight sky. Could I survive here without that much-needed source of sustenance?
I turned slightly to peek at Astaroth and his grayish pallor, wondering if, over time, I would come to look like him. He hadn’t budged from the spot where I left him, yet judging by the distance in his stare and the teeniest of wistful smiles, he was somewhere else again. Somewhere he cherished and longed to be. But with whom? People only smiled that way when thinking of another. Places only did that when they were shared with someone, just like songs that became the soundtrack to our lives. Music. Man, I missed music. It was too quiet here.
Astaroth snapped out of his daydream to catch me watching him. The hunger he didn’t try to hide nearly took my breath away. It promised of passionate secluded trysts against the labyrinth walls as he whispered in my ear, tangled up in bed while eating Ziggy’s newest pizza recipe, and reading to one another before plucking the book from my hand and devouring my mouth, sharing the tub—
Suddenly, he was right in front of me, lifting my chin. “Do that again, and I will gladly fulfill your wishes right here.”
“I—” I licked my lips after his thumb brushed against them.
He grabbed my hand and led me to the tree. My legs didn’t want to work right after his statement, and it left me trailing slightly behind. I needed the distance, albeit a small gap, to get myself together.
We reached the roots first. I was surprised by how far they stretched out from the trunk. Given enough time, I bet the knobby lengths would extend to the outskirts of the garden, then the city, eventually traveling to the edges of the realm. The tree would be so large it would take up the entire castle grounds. How far did the sky go here? Could the tree ever touch the top?
Several feet away from the base, Astaroth stopped. Dark rocks that resembled my pendant stuck up from the dirt and littered the grass around it. “Tell me your thoughts.”
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, yet I have in a million different ways. It’s hard to focus on the entire tree at once.”
“Each part will grow on you, until one day every piece fits. Then you will come to love it for what it truly is.”
Were we still talking about the tree? “And what is that?”
He met my stare. “Whatever you make of it.”
I took a deep breath and shoved all the courage I possessed behind my words. “I accept your proposal.”
Astaroth smiled and backed me against the tree. The smooth bark was sharp at the tips, scratching my skin as I tried to find a grip on something. His warm breath danced across my lips as he spoke. “You didn’t have a choice.”
His lips crashed onto mine, stealing my next breath. Tentative at first, his tongue teased and tested me before demanding more. He tasted like fresh air with a hint of the syrup from breakfast, mystery, adventure, and dark starry nights. All the things that spoke to my soul. All the things I denied myself while living in fear of him. I could have them now, but at a cost I wasn’t willing to pay.
I tried to jerk my head to the side to break the kiss, but he refused and held my face steady as he delved deeper. He dragged me with him, and as I sunk, I knew given the chance, I wouldn’t need an oath to make me stay. I’d do it of my own accord.
Astaroth’s mouth slowed when one hand slid down my throat to my chest. A groan rattled inside me threatening to unleash. My back arched before I realized what he was doing. My eyes ripped open the second he touched the stone and electricity shot through my body. What sounded like a choir in a cave echoed in my head. It was hauntingly beautiful. Like a fast movie montage, I was zipped from one corner of the labyrinth to the next as if being chased by the song. A moment later, I was back against the tree nose to nose with Astaroth.
I gasped. “Tell me you saw that.”
“I did.”
“What does it mean?”
Astaroth pushed off the tree and turned his back to me. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe Mergle knows.”
He tensed at the sound of his name. Lines etched his forehead when he spun around. “Maybe.”
“Is everything okay? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
“All is well. He is completing some tasks.” Astaroth pulled his gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. “Come here, I want you to pick a branch.”
Conversation dismissed, I joined him. “For what?”
“To make you a weapon,” he said, grabbing a low hanging branch. “I will not leave you without protection.”
“Does this mean I can have some freedom?”
Astaroth pulled the knife from his boot and turned to me. “Some.”
“Awesome,” I said and grabbed a branch. “I’ll have my trusty stick to beat off attackers.”
He laughed, took it from me, and sawed at the branch. “It will be more than that.”
When the branch snapped from the tree, he held it out to me. I frowned and took it. “How—”
The wood heated in my palm and began to take shape. Burnt bark curled back from the tip to reveal a gleaming blade engraved with bloodsuckles down the center to the handle where they wrapped around the hilt.
Astaroth frowned. I followed his gaze to the garden where the vines wiggled around as they waited for us. “They like me.”
“That’s what concerns me,” he said under his breath.
I took one last look at the tree, sending it a silent “thank you” and promising I’d come back soon to lie in the tall grass and piece it together. When we reached the garden, I stopped and faced Astaroth.
“I have one condition.”
He looked down at me already knowing what I would say. “Name it.”
“I want to see my brother.”
Astaroth inclined his head. “After the ceremony.”