Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Autumn stood in silence as the firelight flickered off Armienti’s brilliant blue eyes. Shadows played against the angles of his high cheekbones. His expression grew drawn and solemn in the yellow-orange glow.
After she asked about Maeve, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Her mouth grew dry, but curiosity got the best of her.
Armienti cleared his throat, tucking a golden strand of hair behind his blue pointed ear. “Well, where do I begin? I’ll start at the beginning I suppose. Princess Maeve always had a thirst for adventure, and believe me when I tell you, she always got her way.” A small smile crept across his lips. Autumn listened intently.
He continued. “She caught Dante’s eye at a palace function, and it was love at first sight. He was smitten. She could get any guy to fall in love with her without even trying. They were inseparable when he was around, and when he was sent away on missions, they were always in frequent communication—but that was never good enough for her. She always wanted more. But what she desired more than anything was to be part of the mix and to prove she could be one of us. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I should say rather, she wasn’t built that way. She was kind and innocent, unlike the rest of her family who always had their own selfish agenda.”
Autumn twisted her mouth to the side, wringing her fingers together behind her back. She didn’t like where this story was headed.
“So, there was one mission that she really wanted to go on and Dante was desperate to make her happy, although he should’ve said no. Any sane individual would’ve said no. Ronan wasn’t even old enough to go. But he let her come along with us regardless because she always had her way. Everything was fine at first until it wasn’t.”
Autumn’s bottom lip trembled. “What happened to her?”
“Well, on this particular mission, there were to be no slaves and no survivors left behind. The Grand Supreme ordered the entire planet eradicated, just like Earth was supposed to be after he utilized your fellow humans to rebuild according to his plans. For whatever reason he wanted both races dead, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, somehow, she got caught in the crossfire. Dante was the one who issued the order. She was fifteen years old.”
Autumn remained quiet, scarcely able to believe what she’d just heard. Maeve was caught in Dante’s crossfire? But he was young; too young to be put in such a terrible situation, being forced to conquer worlds for some monster. The Grand Supreme. Dante was too young to bear this shame.
Anger, intense fear, and extreme sadness welled deep in her chest. A hole hollowed through her heart.
“Why tell me this here? Why now?” Her eyes blurred, tears streaming down her frozen cheeks. The salt water turned to ice before the droplets hit the ground. “Are you trying to score points with me by making him look bad? Is that your angle to try and win me over?”
“No, I would never do that,” he stuttered, his eyes going wide. “I love you. I thought you should know the truth about who you’re dealing with and the monster that he truly is.”
“You’re no better,” she crossed her arms, eyes thinning to slits. “From here I can see more than one monster.”
“You don’t mean that, do you?”
“I don’t know what I mean anymore,” she looked at her hands before staring into his eyes.
He walked over slowly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before lowering his mouth to hers. He kissed her, caressing his strong arm along the length of her back. He breathed against her throat, lips grazing. He hung his head, the strands of his golden hair tickling her cheek.
She pulled away, stumbling over the heel of her boot. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” she said in little more than a whisper. Her mind continued to race. All she could think of was Dante and how he was too young to bear the burden of Maeve’s death.
“I was hoping I could change your mind, but I see now it’s impossible,” he glanced at his gloves. “What does he have that I don’t?”
“He—”
She began to speak when a vibration knocked them off their feet, clear into the ground. Rubble spilled from the ceiling of the cave. Golden-orange embers from the fire rose then shrank. They fell into each other’s arms, belly to belly, legs tangled. Autumn trembled then came to a shaking stand. She reached down and helped Armienti to his feet as well.
“What was that?” she asked, staring at him. He shrugged, eyes bulging.
They walked to the entrance of the cave. Her heart leapt to the cusp of her throat. In the not so far off distance sat an obsidian ship in the snow with blinking lights, swirling in a kaleidoscope of color through the stormy night.
A wave of panic crashed through her limbs. Dizziness set in. Valdez had come to finish what she started.