38
Alarie
Luke left me in a daze from a combination of a full belly, a lack of sleep, and a racing mind. I made my way into my room, and immediately looked at my bed, thinking of crawling back into it and taking a nap. But then something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. That’s when I saw a shadow move on my balcony.
“Nik? What are you doing out there?” I called out.
There was no answer. But I definitely saw something or someone move on my balcony.
“Nik, come on. Don’t jump out and scare me. I’m too tired for this today,” I said, exasperated.
He stepped out of the darkness of my balcony and into my bedroom. He was tall, but not as tall or as bulky as Nik, I could see that now. But his eyes. They were the same eerily clear, piercing blue-gray eyes…
I took an involuntary step back, almost stumbling, stunned.
“Good evening, little star,” he said nonchalantly, continuing to stroll toward me.
Little star. Those two little words confirmed it. I felt like I’d been sucker punched in the gut.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me?” he teased, pretending that his feelings were hurt. He bowed slightly and took my hand and raised it to his mouth, kissing it softly as he looked at me up through his eyebrows. Just like he did the first time I met him.
“I… How? You’re dead.” I whispered in disbelief.
“I’m quite well. But your concern is touching,” he mocked.
“Joffrey, on the other hand… You are quite right about him. He is dead. You see, I was walking around in Joffrey when we first met.”
I had no idea how that was possible and what he could possibly mean by that. Is he suggesting that he can just walk around in other people’s bodies?
“H-h-how?” I stuttered in disbelief. “How are you here?”
“With some difficulty, I must admit. You are better protected than, I think, even you know. You reek of his magic, by the way,” he said, leaning into me and smelling my skin. He crinkled his nose in distaste.
“Whose magic?” I asked.
“Your little Lord of Light. In fact, your magic feels like…” His eyes narrowed like he’d discovered something that displeased him.
“I thought you were with the warrior? I saw you with him at the Golden Court,” the strange man said.
I had not seen anyone who looked like this man at the Golden Court.
“No matter,” the man said, shrugging off my non-response. “It’s good that you like warriors, though. I like him. I really do,” he said.
“Why are you here?” I asked, looking around my room, towards my door.
It didn’t feel like last time. It didn’t feel like he was going to kidnap me. Surely, he would not have taken the time to speak with me first if that was what he intended.
“I’m not here. This is Gabe. I’m riding around in his head, using his body for now,” the man replied.
Well, that explained nothing.
“Don’t worry, little star,” he said, his deep voice trying to sound reassuring. “I’m not bringing you home with me tonight. I’ve already made that mistake once,” he lamented. “When I come for you, and I will, it will be my true face you will finally get to look upon. I have gone through a lot of painstaking details to make sure things go smoothly next time.”
“Why? Why do you want to take me with you?” I should have screamed or tried to run, but his lack of hostility toward me somehow allowed my curiosity to overtake my desire to flee.
“I knew from the moment I met you that there was something about you I wanted. And then, when I did some digging, I heard the most amazing rumors about powerful men who became more powerful after they shared your bed. From that very moment, I knew you were mine,” he said.
Fuck. It was just like Luke and Nik had said. Someone had found out about whatever power it is that I was supposed to have, and they wanted me. The man chuckled at the realization on my face. And that made me angry. Against my better judgment, something irrational inside of me boiled to the surface, and I disregarded any concerns I had for my own safety.
“Everyone wants me for my magic. I don’t have any fucking magic!” I screamed.
He smiled at me like he was amused by my outburst. Like it somehow pleased him.
“That’s simply not a true, little star. You just haven’t been able to use your magic because you need me to show you how,” he said.
He sounded like Nik. But Nik hadn’t had much luck bringing out my supposed magical abilities.
“What makes you so special, then?” I asked, continuing to ignore my instinct for survival.
“I am wholly unique,” he replied matter-of-factly. “My powers, they are of both light and darkness.”
No one’s powers were both light and darkness except… I quit breathing, paralyzed with fear. My muscles grew rigid. No. No, no, no.
“I am the King of Light and Darkness,” he roared with a ferocity that finally managed to break through my cavalier attitude. “And you, little star, will be my queen,” he declared with a smile.
He ran his fingertips along my arm until he reached my hand, ignoring how clearly petrified I was. He leaned into my body.
“I need to be going. But you will see me. Very soon, little star,” he promised, ever so slightly brushing his lips across my cheek. And then King Vandros just walked out of my door.
I stood there, in the middle of my room, for what felt like a very long time. At one point, I swallowed and realized how dry my mouth was. In a daze, I looked at my door, the one the King of Valencia had so casually exited from. I guess he was gone. And I was thirsty.
I trudged to the kitchen, grabbing my glass and pouring some water. I chugged the glass of water and then poured myself another. I chugged it too and then decided that the thirst I had could not be quenched by water. I walked out of my wing and made my way to Rhett’s bar. I moved without thinking, picking out a bottle and pouring three fingers into a rocks glass.
“Al?” Rhett called out to me. “Al, I’m glad I found you. I have to…” he trailed off.
He stared at the glass in my hand. “I’m not one to judge, but it’s a little early for you to be hitting the brown stuff,” he noted. A tinge of concern crept onto his too-perfect face when he noticed I was still in my nightgown and had bare feet.
I looked down blankly at the glass in my hand. And then I chugged it. The scotch burned as it went down my throat, and then its warmth began to spread into my chest. It stirred something inside of me. I poured a second glass and turned to Rhett, who was now right by my side.
“Hey,” he said, tenderly putting his hand on my shoulder. “Al, baby, what’s going on?”
You reek of his magic.
“Where’s Luke, Rhett? I need Luke,” I said.
“He’s… Well, Al, that’s what I was coming to tell you. He got an urgent message from the Silver Court. His mother is sick. He had to go home,” Rhett said.
“Oh,” I said, unable to truly register what Rhett said.
If Luke’s mom was sick, that meant fading, and if she was fading, that meant she was dying. And I just couldn’t process that right now. I took a large swig of the scotch in my hand.
“Can you tell me what’s going on with you now? Please, Al, you’re scaring me,” he pleaded.
“Whatever protections you have around here have been breached, Rhett,” I said flatly.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“Because King Vandros just left my bedroom.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Al? King Vandros was here? Are you okay?” he asked, his hand going to the dagger on his belt. He looked around the room like he expected the King to step out from behind the curtains.
“I’m…okay. He’s gone now. But he wasn’t here. His body wasn’t, I mean. But he was here talking to me,” I said.
I went to take another sip of my scotch, and Rhett grabbed my hand.
“Al, you’re not making any sense. Slow down on the scotch and tell me what happened,” he begged.
“He was on my balcony, waiting for me. He had the same eyes as the man who tried to kidnap me earlier this year, Rhett. It was the craziest thing. But it was a completely different man. Obviously, it was a different man, because Nik cut the other man’s head off. And he said he was coming back for me, and he would be in his own body when he did.”
“And then what happened?” he asked.
“He just left.”
“He shouldn’t be able to travel in or out of here,” Rhett said, getting angry.
“I don’t think he did, Rhett. It was the damnedest thing. He just walked right out of my door.”
Rhett let me take another sip of my drink now. He went behind the bar and poured himself a glass, and then, for good measure, refilled mine.
* * * *
“Come on, princess, you’re coming home with me.”
It was hours later. I was still sitting in Rhett’s parlor in my nightgown. I’d quit chugging scotch at some point. Someone had brought food and lain it in front of me. It was still there, untouched. I knew I was in shock. The King of Alancia had tried to kidnap me. He was going to try again. Because he wanted me to be his queen? Nothing made sense to me.
I looked up at Nik. He was in his full Prince of Darkness mode. His thick brows were furrowed in anger, his dark eyes brimmed with fury, and, of course, he was surrounded by shadows of darkness despite the fact that it was just approaching dusk and some light still remained in the sky.
“What are you talking about, Nik?” I managed to say in my stupor.
“You are coming to live with me at the M, where I can keep you safe,” he said through gritted teeth, his nostrils flared. “Clearly, it is not safe here.”
Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong about that. Since I’d been at the High Court, I’d been attacked by Cole and Stefan and, apparently, King Vandros, twice. But that didn’t mean I was going to move my entire life and run away. I knew how obstinate Nik could be, however.
“No. I’m not, Nik.” I sighed.
“He shouldn’t have been able to get to you here. We made sure of it,” he said, ignoring my comment entirely and plopping down right next to me on the lounge.
“You smell like scotch, by the way,” he noted.
“If you don’t like it, then don’t sit so close to me,” I snipped. I looked for my scotch glass. Maybe I should have some more.
“Wait, what are you talking about? He…he said that I was more protected than I know. How have I been being protected?” I asked.
“People. Shields. I am the only one who is permitted to travel in and out of House Rein,” Nik explained.
So everyone knew I was at risk except for me? I guess they had tried to tell me. I just didn’t believe them. Because I didn’t think I had any magic.
“He didn’t get in by any magical ability, I don’t think, Nik. He walked right out my door. That’s probably how he got in, too,” I noted.
“I know. The description of the man you provided… He has been working as a messenger at the High Court for months. So his presence did not raise any of the defenses,” he said, starting to sound angry again.
I imagined it was pretty difficult to defend against a man who could apparently look like anyone at any point and time. The only thing that might possibly give him away was his eyes, which were unique. I mentioned this to Nik. Nik looked like he wasn’t listening.
“You feel…different today,” he said, and to my surprise, he ran his thumb softly along my jawline. “Your magic feels different,” he said vaguely, letting his hand drop away.
My magic that I showed no real signs of had a feel, and that feel had changed?
“He said something like that, too,” I almost whispered, remembering his words.
“What exactly did he say?” Nik asked sternly.
“He said that, well, it was something about me reeking like Luke’s magic.”
Nik eyed me analytically.
“You had sex with Luke again, didn’t you?” he said like he already knew the answer.
I stared at him, making it clear that I was not denying it.
“Look, you don’t need to grab anything. We’ll just send for it or buy you new things if you need,” Nik said, going back to his original point. Rising from the couch, he held his hand out for mine.
“Let’s go, princess,” he said, but his use of the nickname didn’t feel mocking. It almost felt endearing. Maybe I was just getting used to it. But it reminded me of one more thing that King Vandros had said, one of the most unbelievable bits of all.
“He said he was going to make me his queen,” I whispered quietly in disbelief.
Nik clenched the hand he still held in a fist, like he was ready to turn around and bury it into the wall behind him. Instead, he held it tightly at his side. The inky shadows of darkness grew to the height of his waist, wrapping around his hand as if restraining him. My comment had clearly made him quite angry.
I went back to staring at my empty scotch glass. If I did have some kind of magical ability, I wished it was one that would allow me to float a bottle over from the bar and fill my glass.
“I have all the scotch you need back at the M,” Nik said through clenched teeth, apparently managing his anger enough to finally speak again.
“Nik,” I said, exasperated, tearing my eyes from my empty glass. “You are not listening to me. I am not going to go live at the M.”
We locked eyes. I still felt numb but determined on this point. I didn’t break contact with his eyes until he lowered his outstretched hand. A bottle of scotch popped into existence next to my empty glass.