The archway opened into a large courtyard with a long wooden table. The table was filled with every kind of food I could imagine. My mouth watered at the smell alone.
Nymphs skipped in circles around the table, singing in a language I had never heard before, as rose petals floated on the cool night breeze. Dagan laughed, calling the Nymphs away from their dancing so we could dine.
He directed me to sit nearest to him, opposite of Naidia. Fenn took the seat on the other side of me, inhaling the wondrous scents of the food in front of us. Zane and Lexi sat at the other end of the table, distracted by one of the Nymphs fussing over Zane and his hood. In the end, he lost the argument and relinquished his hood, running his hands through his dark hair to arrange it better.
He looked down the table at me and then quickly looked away, striking up a conversation with Lexi. I rolled my eyes.
“You can come closer,” Dagan said to my grandparents. They stayed back, watching us all dine.
Darian laughed. “Although we appreciate the gesture, we are far too large to come any closer. We can discuss here. Later, my queen and I will hunt.”
“Ah, yes, the discussion.” Dagan looked directly at me. “So what exactly do you propose?” He bit into a hunk of crusty bread, chewing vigorously.
I set my fork down and scooted forward. “Kaede will be taking his army to Pyre Island tomorrow to strike Zordon’s Lyceum. He believes that if we take down his headquarters, we will have a better chance against his army.”
Dagan leaned forward. “What’s in it for me?”
I was prepared for this question. “You said you were close friends with Lev?” He nodded, leaning forward onto his elbows. “Well, I think I may know what happened to him.”
Every head in the room snapped in my direction.
“Go on,” Dagan encouraged, reaching for his goblet full of red wine.
“I believe he is being held captive in the Pyre Lyceum, and with your help in bringing it down, we should be able to rescue your friend.”
He took a bite from his chicken leg, pondering the thought. “That does appeal to me.” He paused to swallow then added, “And what do you think will come from all of this?”
This question, I wasn’t prepared for. No one really ever asked me what I thought. If I was being honest, I would say none of this would help me stop Zordon, but I couldn’t risk being honest right now. Not when we needed him to join and I was the only thing standing in the way of that happening.
“I think it will help against the smaller attacks happening to the villages outside of our Islands. We need all the manpower we can get if we are going to have a hope against Zordon’s army.”
“We have to fight with her,” Naidia said to Dagan, her hand on his arm.
Was that how she used her persuading magic?
“You really think so, my sweet?” he asked, lazily leaning towards her with a smile.
She gave him the quick kiss he was searching for and then said, “I think we should do the right thing. We should have helped before when the Draconta were in trouble. We could have helped the Orient when they retaliated against Zordon. I won’t stand by again. This time we must show our support and choose a side.”
“I thought we chose our side by letting the Draconta stay here,” he said, his head dipped in her direction.
The tension in the air was almost tangible. Everything rested on this moment. Proving myself as a reliable leader and savior rested on getting him to agree.
She leveled her eyes on him, squeezing his arm. For a brief moment, they communicated with only their eyes. The way true lovers communicated.
He sighed heavily. “Fine,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “We will join Kaede. Send word that we will be ready come morning.” He lethargically rubbed her arm.
I looked up to the heavens, and then back at him, pressing my palm to my heart. “You don’t know the gratitude we feel at having you agree to join us. You are doing your people and our realm a great service by joining us,” I said.
“I will let Kaede know right away,” Lexi said before disappearing inside of a portal.
Dagan let out another long exhale, and then sat forward. “Now, can we have some merriment tonight before blood is spilled?” he asked Naidia as he twirled a knife on his plate.
“Ladies,” she called to the Nymphs, her giggle resuming once more. They stopped dancing and drifted over to Naidia, leaning just enough to show their attention. “Summon everyone to the Lagoon. Tonight, we dance.”
Dagan jumped up, dropping his knife, and called into the night with a loud cheer.
I jumped back, startled, which caused Naidia to laugh.
Chapter 9
The Forbidden Kiss
DINNER ENDED, AND AFTER DISCOVERING what the proper attire was to see the sacred waters of Nymph’s Lagoon, we were all directed to our rooms to be dressed.
Butterflies danced in my belly as the Nymphs in my room pranced around me, dressing me in next to nothing. I couldn’t keep my mind off of the fight to come. Was the crystal ball still there? My negotiation with Dagan depended on that. And what if we didn’t succeed. What if something awful happened.
The girls pushed me towards a mirror, still fussing over the final details. They had braided my hair across the front like a headband, tucking it behind my ear, and then frizzed the rest before wrapping it into a messy bun. Flowers were placed in the bun.
Scraps of pastel-colored tulle that barely reached my knees were tied on a belt around my waist. A small corset made of leather and lace adorned my top. They wrapped silver bands around my arms and ran a chain around my exposed stomach that held jewels. More dark red stain was applied to my lips.
I barely recognized myself in the mirror, trying to remember what I looked like before. I felt like a whimsical fairy. No, I felt like a beautiful woman.
A knock sounded at the door. One of the girls ran over and peeked around the edge of the door. She giggled. I heard Zane’s voice on the other side asking for me. The girl turned back and looked at me, waiting for my answer.
I left the mirror and told them to excuse us while I shut the door behind me, leaving me alone in the hallway with Zane. He stood back, looking me over.
“Wow,” was all he said.
I hugged myself and felt my cheeks deepen in color. “They thought it would look nice,” I said awkwardly.
“More than nice,” he said, hunger clear in his voice.
I tried to push away the surge of butterflies in my stomach. “What’s up?” I said flatly, chewing on my lip.
He grinned, but it wasn’t a happy grin. More like a sly grin. The kind that always brought trouble.
“Well?” I asked, rushing him.
He rested his hand against the doorframe above me. I backed up a step, bumping into the door. I was closed in by him, all too aware of his scent and his smile, and the way my stomach jolted with anticipation.
“Fenn asked me to tell you that he would meet you at the Lagoon,” he said, watching me.
“What?” I asked, shaking my head.
He shrugged a little. “He already left with Dagan and Naidia. I think they were discussing something about tomorrow.”
My head flinched back. “And he didn’t tell me?”
“You know how he can be,” Zane noted, clearly enjoying the moment.
I glared at him. “We are well past that stage, Zane.”
He perked one judging brow up at me. “Are you?”
I huffed. “Are we going?” I asked, storming past him. I could feel his gaze following my steps and spun around to shoot him another dirty look. “Do you have to make it so obvious?”
“What?” he asked innocently as he sauntered over to me. The way his body moved when he walked pulled at something in me that shouldn??
?t have been pulled. At least not by him.
I blamed it on the island air.
“Stop staring at me with that look in your eyes,” I said, keeping my eyes on the floor. I sensed his nearness like a moth senses a flame. I turned away from him.
“I think you are just imagining that, Rory.” His deep voice rolled the words through his lips.
I had to stop this if I was going to keep myself under control. I had to push him away, get him to let go of this unrealistic fantasy…for the both of us. I turned, getting into his face. “Just like I am imagining that you are unaffected by this island?”
This time it was his face that grew red. His brows slowly caved into angled aggression.
“Tell me the truth or I swear I will never talk to you again,” I threatened.
“Don’t be childish.”
“Don’t be an ass!”
He grabbed me by the arms so suddenly that I had to catch my breath as his lips neared mine. “You don’t want to know,” he said in a low voice, his warm breath smelling sweet.
I wasn’t about to back down. “Try me.”
He let me go, turning away. His shoulders were slouched, his chest heaving up and down quicker than before. I had touched a nerve.
“Like Alexis, I too have been here before,” he said after a quiet pause.
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to keep him from telling me what had happened. I don’t even think I breathed.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the ground, the memories seeming to form in front of him. “I met someone while I was here. Before you. Before I saw my father for who he was. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and even more. She made me feel. Or at least, I thought she did.”
He bitterly turned back to face me. “I knew before I came about Nymphs and what they were capable of, but I thought she was different. I thought what we had was different. It wasn’t until Zhax came looking for me a year later that I was found in the Lagoon. I had been made a slave.” His words ended harshly, his face taut with bitter rage. “After that, I made sure that I would never be affected by another Nymph.”
My heart clenched in pain. “How did you do that?” I asked, barely breathing.
His face grew tired and grim. He looked up at me, the light having left his eyes completely. “I killed one. I killed her.”
“Zane, I—” I reached out for him, but he pulled away.
“You didn’t know. You didn’t realize that you aren’t the only girl I have ever had real feelings for. You didn’t realize that I could be such a cold-blooded murderer. So different from your saint fiancé.” His eyes were on mine, searching desperately for an answer. Pleading for me to say otherwise.
My breath hitched in my throat as a strange, twisting feeling tightened around my heart. I couldn’t sort my feelings. All I knew was that I wanted to be what he needed. I wanted to erase the pain from his eyes and his heart. I wanted to make up for my childish assumptions.
But I couldn’t do that, because to do that meant to betray Fenn, and he didn’t deserve that. Not from us.
I opened a portal to the forest and jumped in, my heart thundering against my chest. I was afraid of what I knew was about to happen. I had to maintain distance between us.
But he appeared by my side a second later. We stood ankle-deep in a refreshing stream, the quiet, enchanting sounds of the forest circling around us. My breath hitched in my throat, my heart fluttering out of control.
“I can’t help it. I can’t fight it any longer. I don’t want to,” he admitted behind me. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around, planting his soft, warm lips against mine.
I tried with all my might to shove him off, but he anchored me with his arms, softening his kiss just enough to send sparks down my skin.
For a split second, I kissed him back. Between the music, the air, and the tension that had built between us, it was unavoidable. I wanted to explore. I wanted to know if there really was anything there. But mostly, I wanted him to know he wasn’t the horrible monster he thought he was. He was capable of loving and of being loved.
His hand twisted in my hair as he deepened the kiss, his other hand clenching in a knot at the hollow of my back. A light rain started in as I wrapped my hands around his neck, savoring his lips.
But then Fenn’s face surfaced in my mind, overriding my senses.
What was I doing?
I pulled back, gasping for air. Water trickled down the contours of his face as our chests heaved in and out. I allowed my fingers to follow the trail.
I squeezed my eyes shut, the taste of him and rain mixing as I licked my lips. “We can never do that again.” My words were an incomprehensible mumble. I could barely talk I was so upset, so torn. “I have to tell Fenn that I betrayed him. I am horrible.”
When I opened my eyes again, his face was pale. “Aurora,” he called after me as I turned and walked away. “Aurora, I’m sorry!” he shouted, running after me. He grabbed my arm again, droplets of water gliding down my arm onto his hand.
“This can’t happen!” I shouted frantically as tears slid down my face along with the rain. “Do you want me to hurt you? Do you want to hurt me? Because that is what’s happening. If we pursue this, it will ruin any chance of a friendship between us, and it will ruin Fenn. Can’t you see that? You can’t use me to make yourself feel better. You have to feel it, Zane. You have to see what I see in you on your own.”
When my eyes finally lifted to his, he immediately lowered his gaze, his dripping wet hair clinging to his face. “I can’t help it, Aurora. I’m drawn to you. And I know you feel something in return. We don’t have to be mated for me to feel you.” His eyes pleaded for me to agree.
Another hot sting of guilt coursed through me. I paused, searching for the right words as my arms flapped uselessly at my sides. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel that kiss. But I also knew I would be fueling an untamable flame by telling him the truth.
I bit my lip until it hurt, using the pain to rein in my emotions. When I was confident my voice was steady enough, I said, “I can’t do this, Zane. Fenn is my soul mate.” I started to turn.
“But what if he wasn’t?” he shouted desperately.
I stopped him, smiling sadly. “He is. A kiss can’t change that.”
He angrily turned away from me and then turned back with rage boiling in his eyes. “Damn it, Aurora. Don’t you see? Don’t you get it?”
“Apparently not,” I said carefully, trying with all my might to keep it together.
“I am in love with you! I have been for a long time. Fenn knows. He dared me to try something with you because he thought I would fail anyhow. That’s really why I came to your door.”
I felt my face stiffen. Fenn asked for this?
“Well…he was right, Zane…even if you both went about it the wrong way. My feelings remain the same. I am in love with Fenn.”
He looked as if I had just slapped him. “So that’s it? You’re going to let everyone tell you how to live your life and not make one single decision for yourself. I would never have let Fenn try it with you if you were mine.”
My heart twisted. I wanted so badly to make this better for him, to take his hurt away, but how could I? I knew that I would always love Fenn, regardless of the strange tension between Zane and me.
I had to be honest with myself.
“As much as it pisses me off to know that Fenn put you up to this, I would still be lying if I said I didn’t love him, Zane. No one is telling me what to do right now. We kissed, and I allowed it. I know what I am feeling. I’m making this decision for myself. I can’t be what you need. I wish I could return the light I see in your eyes, but I can’t. My heart was given long before this realm even existed for me.”
Both of our chests were heav
ing in and out now, the moment completely shattered. I reached out to him, caressing his face to curb the pain in his eyes.
He leaned into my hand for only a moment. “I have to go,” he said, and then disappeared behind a portal.
“I don’t want you to,” I said some time after he was already gone.
Chapter 10
Nymph’s Lagoon
I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I stood there in the rain, but eventually the shivering from the chill against my skin brought me out of myself. I hopped onto the bank, still staring at the spot where it had all happened.
I didn’t know what to think or feel. Guilt first and foremost for allowing Zane to kiss me when I had known what he was going to do, but I also felt betrayed. Fenn had set it all up, like some twisted test.
And I had failed.
I turned away and followed the sound of music and the distant fiery lights deep inside the woodland forest. I took my time, considering what I was going to say to Fenn and letting what happened with Zane really sink in.
Zane was in love with me.
I couldn’t return those feelings.
And now he was gone.
I wondered if I should have stopped him, but I knew it was probably for the best. I couldn’t lead him on, and I couldn’t expect him to stay for my own benefit.
Why did love have to suck so badly?
A rush of tunneled wind sounded over the trees, bringing my attention to the sky. Using my dragon sight, I saw my grandparents scanning the forest floor below, hunting. I had half a mind to shift and meet up with them. The rush of wind beneath my wings would not only be exhilarating but also soothing to my mind. It might even help me sort through the mess I had unintentionally created.