Within the next beat of my heart, I fought the invisible hold of energy that was forcing me to stand in front of him and appeared on the other side of the opening.
Alamos was now inches before me, and if I could see his face I was sure that I would see him glaring at me.
On instinct, the knife in my hand was aimed at his chin, and something felt so natural about that. Something inside of me told me he was more than a betrayer of Drake; he was an enemy that I had crossed before. He was one of five, one of the five I had to kill to master my emotion of obsession. One that deserved death.
Drake stepped up on the ledge with me. He wrapped his hand around my hand and the knife. I was sure he was about to stop me from hurting the man he thought was his father figure.
I made no effort to struggle with him as I stared into the inky abyss of who was supposed to be Alamos. One way or another, I would kill this man before me. Of that I was sure—had never been surer about anything. He had to die in order for me to reach my next goal, my next challenge.
Holding my stare, tightening his hand around mine, Drake drove that knife right through Alamos’ chin. I heard the collective gasp from the entire kingdom.
There was a sharp pain in my lower back, a burn. It seized my breath, but that fleeting pain was quickly overshadowed. The ground rumbled violently, then what was Alamos began to break apart and black smoke that reeked of rotten eggs escaped him.
The sky above us began to turn, and as it did a wicked wind picked up and pulled that dark energy up with it, leaving no trace of Alamos whatsoever.
That instant, the largest bolt of lightning I had ever seen struck dead center in the hole I had just climbed out of.
That lightning caused a blast of fire to blossom from the opening. Drake had shielded his energy around the pair of us, so for anyone watching it looked as if we were standing calmly within a raging ball of flames.
As the fire fell back into the hole, the spinning dark sky vanished, the sun broke free, and a soft wind emerged from the hole. That was when solid white ashes that looked like diamonds swirling in the air emerged. The wind carried those ashes far past the crowd below into the distant fields. As they landed, flowers bloomed instantly and the grass became lush and green.
As if nothing had happened, Drake leaned down and retrieved my locket from where it had fallen when Alamos had disintegrated. He placed the locket over my head, winked once at me, then turned to Xavier. “Proof.”
Xavier huffed. “Britain’s life was spared by her, you do realize that? She killed your best confidant over him.”
“She survived,” Drake said boldly.
Britain was pulled down from the ledge and placed next to Xavier.
Drake led me down the steps, then to the ledge of the roof where his people stood in utter silence.
“Your court, the men who speak for you, demanded proof that this woman who was chosen by the Creator Himself to court your future king was worthy…you stood with me…you witnessed this action with me.”
He paused as his eyes seemed to connect with each one of them.
“You have all heard the stories. The ones you whisper to your children at night, of the queen that will come to stand with your king. You have heard the stories that say she will be tested, and upon that test she will not only prevail, but clearly point to the evil that has chained us, that she will set you free.
“She has proven her worth to all of you.” Drake glanced behind him. “To all of them.” His powerful gaze moved to his people. “Our Golden Age is on the horizon.”
Silence remained as he turned his body to face me. Gracefully, he reached to trace my bottom lip, then carefully, as if silently asking for permission, he leaned in and let his warm, lush lips meet mine.
The crowd roared as I lost myself under the spell of his kiss and pulled him closer to me. A burst of excitement and relief from their emotions rolled over me as I held him.
With all the willpower we both possessed, we kept our embrace to a modest stance. He pulled away, letting only his eyes smile before turning and bowing to the crowd with me in his arms.
That moment, he gracefully put my hand on his arm, turned us from the ledge, and led us past Xavier and the other dark men with him on the roof.
He stopped before Draven and bowed. “My apologies for the ignorance of my court.”
Draven glared past him at Xavier. “Before my sister is given to you, a new court is to be established.”
“Agreed,” Drake said boldly. “Shall we discuss this in private?”
Draven held out his arm, telling Drake to lead the way.
Drake removed his jacket and placed it over my shoulders before taking my hand and leading us to the floors below.
That’s when our long walk to the other side of the palace began. That was when my crazy mind started going haywire.
Chapter Twenty-One
~Drake~
I had lived side by side with a demon my entire life. I had faced moments that would make most nightmares look like childhood fairy tales, and yet today I met fear for the first time.
If it weren’t for my newfound ability to see, I would have botched this entire trial. More than likely, Madison and I would both be side by side with our Creator at this juncture in time. Through the ramblings of conversation around me in my office, I managed to make eye contact with Zander on more than one occasion. His mind was complicated, as I always suspected, but I saw his visions. Visions so vile and cold that I gripped the edge of my desk so fiercely that I was sure I still had splinters in my hand.
He knew how my past life in this dimension had ended before. He saw me betrayed then, saw the woman I loved and my son put to death and me diving in to save them, knowing that life without them would be unbearable. He showed me how we were all imprisoned, how that moment played out just as Xavier and Donalt wanted it to then. It gave them the means to weave Willow across my path, the means for them to ensure that Madison crossed Britain’s path time and time again. But they underestimated us. Underestimated just how powerful the love between us was.
We were reborn—our son was reborn. We had come full circle and were more than prepared to face this battle once more.
The three sacrifices needed for this trial had already been paid; they were the lives of Preston, Madison, and me. Madison had to release them in order to protect our future. It took everything I had to let her jump, especially since I knew what she would find.
Zander had given my mother a chalice, one that was to give Madison direction on her dive.
Zander himself had to pin me with a glare just to ensure that I didn’t dive in after Madison once again and allow our history to repeat itself. The moments ticked by in agony. I only survived them by holding on to the visions in Zander’s mind. He had an all-knowing point of view at that moment. I could see Madison’s struggle, see her mind working, the vision of Preston, our son, reincarnated as my brother, speaking to her, speaking to life the misery we had all lived through.
I wanted to kill Xavier right then and there in front of my kingdom, but I knew he wasn’t my kill; he belonged to Draven, just as Donalt belonged to Landen. Most would assume my kill, the King of Obsession, was Horace. But I had my suspicions that either the current King of Obsession was Britain or Britain was his first-in-command. Madison had instincts that told her the same. She knew that killing him today would have hurt us, set us back. I wasn’t sure how she knew, but she found the mark she needed. She killed the man who’d been emulating Alamos for weeks.
The real Alamos was locked away deep in this palace, unaware that he’d ever been crossed. Perodine had cast a spell that put him in a deep slumber, one that he would remain in for some time, at least long enough for all of this to settle.
Madison winced, and I reached my hand for her back. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew that the mark on her soul, the one on her back now, had another slash. We were one step closer to taking a heavenly throne.
Madison sighed as my hand me
t her back. Because the pain seemed to vanish almost instantly, I knew we had made the right choice, the right kill today.
When we reached the part of the palace we usually kept to, Draven broke away from our walk. When I looked into him to see what he was doing or thinking, all I saw was Charlie. He was going to her side in whatever dimension she was in.
On instinct, Madison went to follow him, but I held her tight against me. “Do you need us?” I asked him.
“I know you can sense me. You will know if that moment arises. Take care of her for now,” Draven said to me.
Madison looked curiously up at me, wondering why Draven had said that.
“You can sense them?” she asked quietly.
“Have been for some time. It’s just stronger now.”
“I can’t feel Charlie or Willow.”
“I’m sure it will make sense soon enough. We all had to touch the same object before it happened.”
She nodded apprehensively. Her emotion of fear was back. I would dare say all of her emotions were back, and she wasn’t in pain. We had more than one victory this day.
Draven vanished from our sight as Zander came to Madison’s other side until we reached our wing.
I pulled her inside and pushed her against the door.
We were off stage, no longer a king and courting princess, but young lovers that had endured enough emotions that day to last a lifetime.
Our hands were out of control as we rushed to get closer to each other. My heart was thundering; I could not get close enough to her. I was waiting for her to vanish from my arms. All the ifs were haunting me. I ached to feel every part of her against me. I wanted my soul within hers forevermore.
I heard someone clear their throat before they said, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll move.”
I halted my kiss against her neck, then turned to see Aden lying on the couch that centered the room. He looked half-asleep. Madison gently pushed me away as she went to him.
“You okay?” she asked as she helped Aden sit up.
“Just lightheaded.”
“Did Landen not heal you?” I asked. That was the plan Draven had shown me before.
He raised his shirt to show us his chest with unbroken skin. “I’m just wiped out. Need sleep or something.”
“Energy,” Madison said. “Why did you do something that stupid? Why did you not come through that wall?”
“Only stupid thing I did was not realizing it was a trap sooner. I knew if you were out in the open, someone would see you—someone would save you.”
“How did Landen find you so fast?”
I knew the answer to that one but let it be. Aden was a future king, too. He just didn’t know it yet, and Landen barely figured it out in time.
Aden’s green eyes looked up at Madison. “Are you fixed now?” he asked, knowing that Madison had to have seen clearly into either my or Draven’s mind even to know that Landen had helped him.
“On the mend,” she said with a blush as she looked at me. I couldn’t hide my sinful smirk. I was ready to work on mending her a little bit more.
“I don’t remember Landen…I remember mint.”
Madison’s eyes met mine. That was odd. I assumed Landen had healed him. Now I wasn’t sure I knew what the hell happened in that back passage. We couldn’t look into Aden to find the answer because he wasn’t conscious of what happened.
“You need a nap. Food. Did you ever talk to Phoenix? He was here with Drake last night.”
He shook his head no to the last part. I needed to look into whatever she was talking about. If Aden was a fellow king of mine, then we were missing a queen.
“Sure thing, Mom,” Aden said with a smirk. He reached for her locket and opened it. “Looks like you hit the mark…now to figure out the other two.” He let the locket fall and stood up. “Let me know when food comes that we can eat. I’m going to lie down.”
Madison looked at me as if to question if Aden were one of them. I nodded to confirm and watched her face fill with remorse. She feared her friends were going to go through the same hell we’d been through, and I couldn’t promise her that wouldn’t happen.
I helped Aden up and offered him a glance full of gratitude. “You may want to send somebody after those men I took down—wouldn’t want them stinking up the place.”
I nodded. “Will do.”
~ Madison ~
As Aden walked away, I felt myself blush. I still hadn’t processed that Preston was that baby. I hadn’t processed that that was me or even Drake in the cavern. To me, it was just a sad mystery that I had unraveled.
“I’m going to take a shower. I have no idea what I was swimming in before.”
Drake glanced over me with a smoldering smile as our last shower flashed through his mind. He shook his head as if he were arguing with himself. “I’m going to get you something to eat.”
He held my hand until I had walked so far away that I had to let go.
The shower I took was hot and endless. I felt myself coming back around. I felt my fears surfacing, my grief emerging, I felt shock lingering. They were not as powerful as the other emotions I was feeling, but I could feel them again—and because I could, I cried. I cried angry tears. I didn’t want to be a part of this twisted fate, for anyone I cared about to be a part of it.
I could have died today. Aden could have. I still wasn’t clear on what Draven and Charlie were doing, but I knew that all of this was going to get harder long before it ever became easy.
I planned to eat and go straight to bed, so I pulled on my black yoga pants and night shirt that could double as a short dress before I made my way to the kitchen.
As soon as I opened my door, I smelled the rich aroma of rosemary and other herbs roasting on what would surely be one of the best chickens I had ever eaten.
In the kitchen, I found Drake leaning by the counter.
Zander and Preston were sitting at the bar, laughing and talking as if it had been nothing more than an ordinary night.
“Hey,” I said to announce my arrival. Almost too naturally, I moved to Drake’s side to help him with the plates he was preparing.
He pulled my chin up and carefully let his fingers caress my cheek where the tears had fallen when I was in the shower. “It’s almost over,” he said quietly to me before he let his lips brush against mine.
I heard a giggle from Preston and a chair scooting back.
Blushing, I pulled away from Drake to see Zander reaching for a tray that had two plates on it. “I’m taking Aden his food, little man, then you and I need to get settled in for the night,” Zander said to Preston.
Once he left, Preston looked up from under the wayward curls that were getting darker every day.
I leaned over the counter so I was eye-to-eye with him. “Little man, were you playing in dark caves today?”
He smiled. “Not all of me, just some.”
“How did you know?”
“I saw it. I felt it,” he said as he reached for his lips.
“Do you see bad things like that a lot?” I asked as I searched his mind, which seemed to reflect nothing less than bliss.
“No, I only see the good things that come from the bad things that try to hurt us.”
“I don’t want you to be scared,” I whispered.
He looked up at Drake, then let his eyes move between the two of us a few times. “I’m not anymore.”
I felt my stomach fall, my heart thunder. It was insane how connected I felt to this little boy, to Drake.
Zander walked back in at that moment. He stopped short as he saw how the three of us were looking at each other.
Preston broke his gaze with me first, turning to see Zander, then looking at Drake. He carefully signed something to Drake with a pleading expression.
“Oh, come on. Not this again,” Zander complained.
“Learn it, and it won’t bother you,” Drake taunted him.
“I know enough. I know that one word was ‘sleepover,’ and I
hope Drake’s answer is no. Little man, I need your help tonight. Remember, we are going to watch over Aden as he gets better. You’re my right hand man. You wouldn’t leave me to guard this wing all by myself, would you?”
Drake had already answered Preston, and he didn’t like the reply. It looked as if Preston had moved on to some kind of bargaining.
Zander was doing his best to follow along. “Look, buddy,” he said to Preston, “Madison and Drake are super tired, and they are just now getting settled into this palace. It’s better for them to be alone.”
“He can stay with us,” I said. I would sleep better knowing he was safe.
Drake signed something else to Preston, and he must have liked it. He smiled and said, “Deal,” as he hopped down from his stool and ran from the room.
“What did you just do?” Zander asked Drake.
“You have to compromise with him. Half the time when he asks you for something, he doesn’t want that—he wants the compromise you are sure to offer.”
“Which was?”
“He wants Madison and me to take him to a waterfall tomorrow.”
“Waterfall?”
“That’s what he said,” Drake said as he winked at me and pulled me closer.
Preston ran back into the kitchen with a small backpack in hand. He wrestled around inside of it and pulled out a DVD, then smiled and handed it to Drake.
I caught a glimpse of the title and knew that soon Drake would know exactly what Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory looked like, which led me to question how close of an eye Preston was keeping on his big brother.
Preston hugged Drake and me, then waved as he left with Zander.
Drake managed to lower the lights with a glance and ignite the candles on the table.
“Dinner,” he said quietly to me as he took our plates to the table.
“How did you have time to cook all of this?”
“Mom started it earlier today,” he said with a slight smile.