Chapter 9
The only time
Three weeks had slipped by since Adalia stumbled upon Matthias at his secret cabin. Life returned to normal, almost making her time in Oscuro feel unreal. The world settled back into a comfortable routine. Scars, both visible and hidden, were fading, and the mark on her face, a reminder of her strength, was almost gone.
As she walked into town, the splendid sun warmed her skin. Adalia felt whole again for the first time in a while. She passed one of her neighbours, who greeted her cheerfully as they swept the path that led to the front door of their home. “Light guide you!”
“And keep you!” Adalia called back.
The Kingdom of Lucius thrived with beauty, stretching wide to accommodate countless Lightners from diverse cultures. She grinned as a few farmers sang a delightful song as they harvested apples from the orchard. A little girl ran past her, squealing in joy as she raced along the path with a fluffy black dog.
That was her once, a very long time ago. Before her life in Lucius, before her mother fell ill and Adalia’s childhood turned into adulthood overnight. Pushing those memories from her mind as she neared town, Adalia drew her list from her bag to check she had everything written.
She waited at Whisk Sprinkle Emporium, the shop that sold cake supplies and ingredients. Shiloh was to join her shortly. Adalia hadn’t had a day off in what felt like forever, and she was looking forward to spending the time at home baking with her friend. A mundane task to some, but to her, it was the perfect afternoon.
“Sorry I’m late,” a sweet-faced Shiloh spoke as she trotted up to Adalia. “My hair was not behaving this morning.”
“Don’t apologise. I was enjoying the peace.” Adalia offered her friend a smile. “And it looks like your hair finally sorted itself out. You look amazing.”
“Oh stop, my head is already too big. Now tell me, what do we need to get from the store for our baking frenzy?” Shiloh asked as she pulled the door to the shop open and both girls walked through.
Adalia glanced at the list in her hand and read it aloud.
Flour
Vanilla essence
Peaches
Strawberries
Golden syrup
“I’ll get the other ingredients if you can get the strawberries and peaches for me, Loh?” Adalia suggested.
Shiloh nodded at her and headed off towards the fruit section, where large wooden crates laid out every fruit one could ever dream of, ready for the choosing.
Adalia went to the middle of the store, where she found the rest of the ingredients. Her brother loved it when Adalia got into one of her baking moods. Their cold room would be full of pastries and savoury tarts for days…His absolute favourite was her brown sugar peach cake. Adalia always made more than one, because Nikolas would eat an entire cake all on his own.
“Light guide you,” Adalia said to the assistant after the girls paid for their items.
“And keep you!” came the joyful reply.
They set off for Adalia’s house on foot. Both loved to take their time, drinking in the beauty of Lucius by using their legs rather than flying.
As they wandered through the streets of the Kingdom, there wasn’t a sad face to be found. The sun shone with just the right amount of warmth, and a cool breeze gently danced across their skin, softly ruffling the feathers of their wings. Dainty, colourful flowers lined the footpaths and an abundance of butterflies flitted around. The smell of strawberries and citrus filled the air. Birds of every size and colour filled the skies with their songs, and it was music to Adalia’s ears.
She smiled as she walked. It was so good to be back in Lucius and to have a day at home. A lot of her time was spent at the compound, training with the soldiers, patrolling the Veil and mulling through piles of paperwork.
It wasn’t often that she would need to engage in actual fighting. Lightners preferred to escort Thorns back through the Gates, after finding out how they came through in the first place, over simply killing them. Not that it had served her well the last time.
Each time it happened, it was reported back to her or the other generals and majors, which amounted to many, many piles of papers to file. She loved her job, but she also loved spending time at home, away from the compound, baking or helping James–who owned the local forgery, work on new blades.
She didn’t know where her love for blade making came from. Neither her father, once a farmer, now a keen angler, nor her mother, a gentle soul with a love for baking and sewing, had ever wielded a blade.
Adalia knew her love for cooking came from her mother, which she loved with every inch of her soul, but the love for metal work that bloomed within her a few months after she passed from The Grey and came to Lucius were all of her own making.
“So, what are we baking today?” Shiloh asked as she bit down on a red juicy apple she’d purchased from the store. “Sweet or savoury?”
“Sweet. Nik has been begging me for a brown sugar peach cake for forever, so I thought I’d surprise him with one, and I can’t have a sweets baking day without also making strawberry and rose truffles.”
Shiloh melted. “I need both right now.”
Adalia laughed at her white-haired friend. “I suppose it has been a while since we did this.”
“Our poor truffle-less taste buds.”
“Well, hopefully everything stays settled and we can exchange extra patrols for extra treats.”
Adalia sighed as they stepped through the front gate of her house. To think that, mere weeks ago, she had feared she would never see this place again. Her eyes coasted lovingly over the large airy windows and brown wooden shutters stretched wide over the light grey stone covering the exterior. The black, slate tiled roof glinted in the sun, and Adalia smiled as she thought of the music it created through the house when it rained.
It was a modest dwelling, but cosy, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Placing her bags on the front stoop, Adalia reached for the handle on the arched wooden front door. Bright, sunshine yellow Nikolas had painted it when they’d moved in. She adored it.
Most of the homes in her district of Lucius were of similar design, all compacted together in neat little rows or built into hillsides. Yet, even though the housing was close in proximity, no one felt cramped. Every house exterior had lanterns that lit up at night, creating an illusion of a cloud of gold dust from afar.
Pushing the front door open, Adalia and Shiloh walked inside and placed the items on the kitchen table.
Shiloh instantly headed for the kettle, filling it with water and placing it on the stovetop to boil. “I’ll make us some tea.”
Adalia nodded and headed to the pantry, retrieving the rest of the ingredients the girls would need. She’d just placed an armful of items on the bench when a high-pitched bell rang through the Kingdom, and everyone everywhere stopped what they were doing to cheer.
A child had chosen Lucius. The King would be pleased.
Adalia couldn’t keep the grin from her face. The bell rang more than once this week already and, every time it did, her heart burst with joy. Another child choosing Lucius meant another life safe from an afterlife of despair.
Shiloh squealed with delight. “Hooray! Feels like a job well done, right Ada?”
Adalia nodded. “There is no way I ever want to hear the bell for Oscuro ring ever again.”
“It was terrible there, wasn’t it?” Shiloh’s violet eyes filled with tears.
“I can’t even describe what it was like, not that I saw a lot being trapped in a cell, but from what I saw, it was a nightmare in a way I can’t describe. It’s not like there was never ending screaming or people being tortured. There was just a constant stench of fear and anxiety that hung in the air. No one smiled with pure joy, instead it was emotionless, grinning and empty gazes.” Adalia recalled a memory of the king touching her thigh when she was serving him wine and shuddered.
No one had ever touched her the way he did. Full of revolting desire.
In all honesty, no man had ever touched her intimately.
There’d been stolen kisses behind hay bales and light pecks on the cheek from men when they’d walked her home from the local dance in her village in her young adult years. But once her mother passed, her focus shifted. Her father needed her, her brother needed her, and she needed them. Love like that wasn’t important anymore, keeping her family from falling apart was.
Shiloh reached for Adalia’s hand and squeezed. “You’re safe now.”
Moving to a cupboard and collecting a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, Adalia nodded her head. “I certainly hope so.”
The girls worked in silence for a moment. Shiloh fixed some tea in little ceramic cups in the shape of yellow tulip blossoms and Adalia measured ingredients into her bowl.
“Shall I put some music on?” Shiloh asked as she placed Adalia’s tea down in front of the recipe book.
Adalia nodded vigorously. “Yes, please do. Something that reminds you of sunshine and picking apples in orchards.”
Shilo erupted in laughter as she walked towards the record player that sat upon the wooden cabinet in the lounge room. She searched through a smaller box containing different cylinders until she found the one she was looking for. After she swapped them over, she turned on the player, and the most delightful sound suddenly filled the room.
The dark-skinned beauty swayed her hips to the tune as she headed back into the kitchen to help Adalia, her angelic voice filling the air. Glancing up from her mixing bowl, Adalia smiled at her friend. Not only was Shiloh a brilliant warrior, she was a brilliant singer. Her voice was like a nightingale, and she often sang for the King when he hosted parties or small private dinners.
Joy poured through the windows of Adalia’s home and into the streets as both girls laughed and sang while they baked.
The song ended and a new one started, its melody reminding Adalia of the sound that lived in her mind all day. Lilac wings tucked in tight at the thought of Matthias singing, his voice raw and mixed with a touch of aching heart. Adalia’s body instantly filled with warmth.
Why was she so drawn to him?
Never in her lifetime had she met a man that made her wings twitch at the mere thought of him. Adalia took in a silent breath and hoped Shiloh hadn’t noticed the way they were behaving.
Adalia placed the last brown sugar peach cake into the oven and sighed. “Well, Nikolas is going to be very pleased when he gets home.”
Shiloh grinned and made another tea for Adalia and herself. “Come, we deserve to sit down outside in your courtyard and relax,” she added as she headed out the back door from the kitchen.
The courtyard was fully paved with light brown bricks. A large weeping cherry tree in the far right corner grew tall and grand, its branches full of white blossoms hung low, softly swaying in the breeze.
Adalia followed her friend outside and they both curled up on the large day bed. They sipped their teas and chatted as bees went about their business in the red geraniums lining the wooden fence that wrapped its way around the premises.
Adalia squinted as she looked towards the sun. “I went back through the Veil into Oscuro a few weeks ago.”
Internally, she winced. She was going to keep it a secret, but keeping the interaction with the Prince of Darkness from her best friend was worse than torture itself. Adalia wasn’t certain herself how to navigate the overwhelming thoughts and emotions swirling within her soul, but as she sat with Shiloh, all the angst came pouring out the need to talk about it greater than the need to hide it away.
Shiloh’s eyes flew open, and she nearly choked on her tea as Adalia’s words sunk in. “You did what?”
“I was very careful.” Adalia glanced down at the steaming cup of liquid before her.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“It was fine, I was cautious and look, I’m here, aren’t I?” Adalia looked at her sheepishly.
Shiloh shifted on the daybed, placing her cup down on a small wooden table that cradled a pot of daffodils. “What possessed you to go back into a kingdom that nearly took your life, Ada? Does Nikolas know about this?”
“I haven’t told him, no. But the king knows.”
Adalia turned, so she was facing Shiloh. “I was on patrol, and I heard music coming through the Veil. There was something about the song that drew me in. It was like I was hypnotised. I couldn’t pull away from it.”
“So, you just walked right on into the enemy’s camp and hoped that you would live?” Shiloh looked at her in anguish.
“I know, I know, it was foolish of me, but I had to find out who was creating such beautiful music.” Adalia offered Shiloh a small smile.
“And? Did you find the source?” The question fell from Shiloh’s lips with intent.
Adalia lay back against the daybed, her lilac wings spreading across the fabric surface. “I did.”
“Well? Are you going to tell me, or do I have to pry it out of you?”
Adalia rolled her eyes. “It was the Prince . . . Matthias.”
Shiloh’s eyes became as wide as saucers, and she sat in silence.
“And once I realised it was him, I knew I would be ok. He is the one who let me go, so I figured I would be safe.” Adalia added.
“If Nikolas finds out that you saw that brute again, he would be furious!” Shiloh exclaimed.
“Well, he’s not going to find out, at least not yet, anyway. I will tell him once I know he’s over the entire ordeal. Besides, it was one time,” Adalia said as she sat back up.
Shiloh shifted, and the sun caught the gold tips of her wings, sending little sparkles across the courtyard. “And it will be the only time, right?”
Adalia didn’t answer.
“It will be the only time this happens . . . right Ada?” Shiloh questioned again.
A smile tugged at the corner of Adalias’ mouth as she turned to face her friend. “Yes . . . like I said. It was just one time.”
Thoughts of the dark-haired prince crossed her mind, and she held them captive for a moment. She didn’t need to see him again. But maybe she wanted to? Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts away. There was never a time to dance with the enemy, even if it was just in one’s mind.
“What’s he like?” Shiloh’s question brought Adalia back to reality.
Adalia stood, placing her hands in the pockets of her well-fitting, pale blue trousers, and walked to the cherry tree—admiring its blossoms. “A beast,” she replied humorously.
“What sort of beast? A wicked and ugly one?” Shiloh’s brow raised.
“Definitely a wicked beast,” Adalia answered, “but not an ugly one.” Her voice trailed off.
Shiloh rose to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not getting any ideas, are you?”
Adalia’s head turned slightly in Shiloh’s direction. “Not at all. The man makes my blood boil with his snide remarks and wandering eyes. Not all the treasure in the world could tempt me to pursue him.”
“I hope you mean that. The last thing I need is a best friend who has heart palpitations over the enemy.” Shiloh gathered the cups and headed inside. “I think the cakes are ready.”
Adalia nodded and followed her friend.
A flash of grey and blue came to mind again, and Adalia’s wings twitched. Taking a deep breath, she scolded herself. She needed to stop thinking about him. Or there was going to be trouble.