Luminous, page 26
He took my hand, my skin luminous against his, and shook it. “I accept.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
We rode out at daybreak. I hadn’t slept at all, but something told me it didn’t matter, that things would end today, one way or another. The air was oddly still, the forest silent, without so much as a winter hare padding across the snow.
We hadn’t even been riding an hour when my mare reared out of nowhere, sending me tumbling into the snow. I was fortunate it was a soft, if cold, landing.
The Hollow Ones are here.
It was Jean’s voice, speaking to all of us. This hadn’t been the plan. We were supposed to lure the Lusiri in, not be attacked by them. All I could see in the pale morning light was snow and trees, trees as black as...
Cover yourself, she told me. I spotted one of the Lusiri in the corner of my vision, watching me. I didn’t know where the second one was. Slowly, I pulled my cloak around my body, trying not to call attention to myself. My horse was long gone. The others had clustered together in a circle around me, but Evran was struggling to calm his horse, its pricked ears and tail a sure sign it was ready to bolt. Jean was pressed close to him. Darius and Cyril were more experienced riders, but their horses’ ears were flicking back and forth, listening.
I turned my head enough to take in the Lusiri. It was bigger than I remembered, probably because I’d never been able to see it all at once in the tapestry. Now, in the morning light, it was far more monstrous than I’d realized: the great square head, the flared nostrils and shiny black eyes, the hooves as large as dinner plates that pawed at the snow.
“What do we do?” I whispered to Darius.
Silently, he reached down for me with one arm. I stared up at him, remembering the bargain I’d made with him last night. Evran would never understand what I’d done. But I wouldn’t regret my decision, so long as the people I loved were safe. I took Darius’s hand and let him pull me up behind him onto his horse. By the time I’d wrapped my arms around his waist and peeked over his shoulder, the second Lusiri was there, even larger than the first.
“Can we defeat them here?” I breathed.
He turned his head toward me. “Not without some advantage on our part. Right now, they have it.”
“So what do we do?”
“Run!”
At Darius’s shout, all the horses took off away from the Lusiri. I gripped Darius’s waist tighter, feeling the muscles working beneath his clothes as he spurred his stallion forward. It was the largest horse, but it was also carrying the most weight, and though it churned through the snow with impressive strength, I knew immediately we wouldn’t be able to outrun the Lusiri. One glance over my shoulder confirmed it.
Jean had fallen behind. The Lusiri were so close it was only a matter of seconds before they reached her.
“Jean!” Evran screamed, just as she was pulled backward off her horse.
One of the Lusiri went after her mare, while the other approached Jean. She lay curled in the snow, her arms over her head, as if that would somehow save her. Evran had turned around and was galloping back toward her.
“We have to help them!” I screamed at Darius.
“It’s too late!”
Horrified, I let go of his waist and tumbled off the horse, tucking into a ball and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop.
“Liora!”
Darius was already riding back to me. I pushed to my feet and sprinted toward Evran and Jean, light and heat building inside of me as I ran past Cyril.
“What are you doing?” he shouted after me.
“Saving them!”
“But you can’t kill the Lusiri! What about Mina?”
I ignored him and ran to where Evran and Jean were. One of the Lusiri was finishing off Jean’s horse, while the other seemed to hesitate when it saw Evran standing over Jean, as if it remembered him from the tapestry.
“Get away!” he roared at it, waving his arms. I didn’t understand why he wasn’t using his magic, but perhaps the diamond comb I’d given Jean was working. The Lusiri didn’t move any closer.
I stepped in front of Evran, and the monster reared, shrieking. There was no question it remembered me. I poured light into my hands, stretching them out in front of me, preparing to strike. But as I faced the one closest to me, the other bolted for us, knocking Evran to the ground. Jean screamed as I whirled, trying to decide which Lusiri to go for first.
Jean was sobbing behind me. “Please don’t be dead,” she cried.
I didn’t have to summon the heat. It only hurt for a moment; then I couldn’t feel anything except a building roar, as if I was going to explode. I could hear the Lusiri screeching, see them trying to flee through the white haze surrounding me. The feeling that had engulfed me in the tapestry, that I would burn anything that dared hurt Evran, was so overwhelming I was sure I was coming apart at the seams.
“Stop!”
I was knocked to the ground by a sudden blow, snow piling onto me as I tried to get back up.
“Cyril, take the second harness!”
I looked up to see Darius holding both Lusiri in place with his outstretched hands, his neck straining as though he had some kind of tenuous hold on them. Darius had said they were “alike” in some way; perhaps that gave him the ability to control them momentarily. As Cyril slipped the harnesses on the creatures, they immediately dropped their heads in submission.
“What are you doing?” I cried. “We need to destroy them.”
Darius lowered his arms finally, and the Lusiri sank to their knees. “And destroy you in the process? No, I’ll finish them off at the palace.”
I crawled to Evran through the snow. My skin still radiated light, but my heat had faded by the time I touched his cheek. He was breathing shallowly, as if the Lusiri had stolen the air from his lungs.
Jean crouched next to me, tears freezing halfway down her cheeks. Cold recognition broke through my own terror and sorrow for a moment. Jean didn’t just have a crush on Evran; she was in love with him.
“Is she okay?” Jean asked, pulling Evran closer.
She?
I gasped when the round turquoise pendant slipped free from Evran’s collar. “Why does Evran have Helen’s pendant?” I asked, but before the words were out, I realized what I’d somehow failed to see before.
Helen had disguised herself as Evran. That was why he hadn’t seen the void in the forest, why he hadn’t used his shadow magic. That was why he had spent so much of these past days with Jean, instead of me. And that was why he hadn’t known what to say when I told him the truth about Darius.
But if Helen was here, where was Evran?
When Darius reached down for me and pulled me up, I was too tired to stop him. “Why didn’t you let me kill them?” I sobbed. I was weak and exhausted from facing the Lusiri, and now I didn’t even know if Evran was safe.
“You would have ended up like me. I couldn’t let that happen.”
I turned away to see Evran—Helen, I reminded myself—sitting up with Jean’s help. Pulling free of Darius’s grasp, I stumbled over to my friends and dropped to my knees. “Are you all right?” I asked Helen.
She looked past me to the Lusiri. “They’re still alive.”
“Darius is going to kill them at the palace,” I assured her. “Don’t worry.”
But she didn’t look at me. She turned to Jean instead. “This wasn’t the plan.”
She shook her head, fresh tears in her eyes. “We tried.”
Bewildered, I rose to my feet, cold now that my heat was draining out of me. What plan? I asked Jean desperately.
Before she could respond, Darius was beside me again. “We should get back to the palace now. You need rest.”
Helen and Jean exchanged a look. “What did you do?” Helen asked me, her face on the edge of caving in.
“I didn’t know.” I backed away from them, horror spreading over me. Not only had I foiled some plan I didn’t understand, but I had also promised to remain close to Darius, forever. And Evran had no idea about any of it.
Darius reached for me, tucking me under his arm as if I belonged there. “Cyril, take us to the orchard. Then return for the rest. Mina is free as soon as you finish.”
Cyril’s eyes darted to mine. Whatever Evran, Jean, and Helen had planned, they hadn’t told him either. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Cyril, closing my eyes as Darius pulled his black fur coat around both of us.
I knew we were in the jeweled orchard at the palace when I felt the late-autumn sun on my exposed skin.
Darius released me slowly. “Are you all right?” He peered into my face, his eyes searching mine. “You used an immense amount of power back there. I was afraid I was too late.”
I stepped back, keeping my gaze downcast. “I’m fine.”
“If you’re worried about the Lusiri, don’t be. I’ll take care of them today. You have my word.”
“And Mina?”
Darius glanced at Cyril, who stood a little way off. “He may take her home as soon as he’s finished.”
I nodded and leaned against the nearest tree, where fat jeweled lemons hung from the branches. “What about Evran and Jean?”
“I assume you’ll want to say goodbye?”
“No.” Helen had already risked her life trying to stop Darius. For all I knew, I’d foiled her plan to take the throne. The very least I could do was give Jean and Helen the opportunity to escape. “He and Jean are free to go, if they want.”
“So you noticed it, too, then? Perhaps it’s better this way. You won’t have to worry if you’ve made the wrong choice.”
“You’re right,” I said, though inside, my heart was breaking. “I’ll stay here until you get back.”
I somehow held back the tears until he was gone. He was right, I didn’t have to worry that I’d made the wrong choice.
I already knew that I had.
* * *
I waited for what felt like hours, until a guard came for me at last. “I’m to take you to your room, Miss Duval.” He extended a hand to help me up from where I sat in the shade of an apple tree.
I climbed shakily to my feet without his help, though I was exhausted down to my bones. “I was supposed to wait for Lord Darius.”
“He told me to tell you he’s been detained. There’s a hot bath and clean clothing waiting for you in your room. He’ll come by as soon as he’s able.”
I followed him through the winding corridors, and then up so many flights of stairs I knew we had to be climbing the spire. When we reached the top, the guard ushered me into a massive chamber. On the far wall, a glass sunburst window looked out over Corone. I walked toward it, marveling at seeing the world from so high.
The door closed behind me, and I whirled just as the key turned in the lock.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Whatever Evran had done, Darius would have discovered it by now. I had sacrificed everything for nothing. Darius had the Lusiri and me. I just prayed that whatever had happened, Mina and Evran were safe.
Numb, I bathed and changed into the clothing Darius had left for me, a black gown with an empire waist and a floor-skimming hem. Once, I had dreamed of being able to dress however I wanted. I had wished to be somewhere I didn’t have to hide my magic, to be surrounded by people who understood me.
Now, in this twisted, broken version of the freedom I’d craved, I wanted nothing more than to be back in my own clothing, in my own home, with my family. I braided my hair in a crown on top of my head to pass the time, and when the sun sank below the horizon and Darius hadn’t come for me, I climbed onto the large feather mattress and slept.
I startled awake at the sound of the door opening. Darius stood in the doorway, still wearing the clothing he’d worn on our journey. He looked exhausted, his clothing disheveled and his face as close to haggard as I’d seen it.
I sat up, unsure of what to say. How much did he know? How much did he think I knew?
“Your sister was already gone when the guards came to release her,” he said, still standing in the open doorway. “This was her room. I assume she’s back with your father, though no one can tell me how she escaped.”
Darius walked to the fireplace and started a fire, his back toward me. Shadows danced on the walls as the flames roared to life. He rose and closed the door before turning back to me. “I don’t know how much of this you were involved in,” he said as he approached me. “I don’t know how I can trust you after this.”
I wanted to hide under the blankets, but instead I patted my hair smooth. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have had to make a deal with you, would I?”
Over his shoulder, one of the shadows from the fire grew larger, stretching and morphing into human form. It took all my willpower not to leap from the bed and run to Evran.
Darius tracked my gaze and began to turn, but I cleared my throat loudly and walked over to a settee. Luckily, Darius followed. By the time he sat down next to me, the shadow had already subsided. I dragged my eyes up to Darius’s face reluctantly. “Where are Jean and Evran?”
“The last time I saw them they were heading south on horseback.”
“Cyril didn’t take them home?”
“They wanted to go to Belasava. I gave them enough money for passage and supplies. I know that must be difficult for you to hear.”
I tried to look suitably devastated, but I was glad Jean and Helen were safe, and together. I didn’t know if Helen had ever even wanted the throne, but if they were moving on, then perhaps this was the best outcome in the end. “I just want them to be happy.”
“I know. The Lusiri are taken care of. Your family is together again. Your lover is gone. I’ve fulfilled my side of the bargain.”
He was making it clear that just because my friends had tried to thwart his plans, I wasn’t going to be allowed out of our agreement. My eyes pricked with tears, my stomach souring as the full weight of what I’d sacrificed settled on me. I hadn’t thought this through. I hadn’t thought about anything beyond ensuring the safety of Evran and my family and friends.
He rose and bowed stiffly. It was clear my emotions unnerved him. “I’ll let you get some rest, Liora.”
Before he reached the door, I managed to find my voice. “Can I ask you something?”
He turned. “Yes.”
“Will I be locked in the dungeon from now on?”
He frowned. “You’re not a prisoner, Liora. This will be your room. If it’s not suitable, we can find you another one.”
Not a prisoner by name, perhaps, but I was trapped, nevertheless. “Thank you, my lord.”
He took a step closer to me, landing so close to the spot where Evran was hidden I didn’t dare breathe. “It’s just Darius from now on.”
“Then good night, Darius.”
The moment he closed the door behind him, not locking it this time, I sprang from the bed and ran to Evran. He materialized as I reached him, his arms so solid and comforting I immediately burst into tears.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he kissed the top of my head. “Why are you here with him?”
Evran’s clothes were filthy, his face scruffy with stubble. He had been hiding in the shadows for days, and meanwhile, I was dressed in a gown given to me by our mutual enemy. “I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “I didn’t know what was happening out there, in Tezhia. Everything was confusing. I thought you had fallen in love with Jean—”
“What?”
I looked up, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Helen and Jean really did fall in love. I only realized it was Helen today, when I’d already made that horrible bargain.” I broke down again, Evran’s arms the only thing keeping me up. I told him everything I thought I’d told him yesterday, about Darius’s powers and where they’d come from. “I was so afraid I’d hurt you,” I said. “And you had grown distant from me, closer to Jean and Cyril. I thought that meant you’d be all right without me. I thought the only way I could keep you safe was by agreeing to work for Darius.” Another sob racked my body. “And now you and I can never be together.”
“Oh, Liora,” he breathed, finally understanding. He sat down on the bed, scrubbing his hands through his hair. “I told Helen not to do anything stupid. I knew she might have a hard time pretending to be in love with you, but I never thought...”
“Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?” I lowered myself onto the bed next to him, wishing I could go back to sleep and wake up to find this had all been a bad dream. “You said you trusted me.”
He closed his eyes and pulled me to him, just as I’d hoped he would when I told him the truth. Poor Helen must have had no idea how to respond. “I hated doing it, Liora, you must know that.”
I cried harder at his kindness. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Not as sorry as I am.” He held me for a long time, making gentle noises to calm me. Finally, when I’d run out of tears, he spoke again. “Jean wanted you to know the plan, but I thought it was best to keep it between the three of us. I would have kept it just between Helen and me, but I knew Jean would figure it out.”
“But why not tell me?”
“I was still worried about Darius. If he had found out what we’d done, he would have killed all of us.”
I lowered my gaze, hurt that he hadn’t trusted me. But a part of me couldn’t blame him. I had allowed my fear—of losing Evran, of Darius, of myself—to cloud my judgment more than once. Maybe I couldn’t be trusted.
When I looked up, Evran’s jaw was clenched in frustration. “I should have told you. I thought if I could free Mina and my mother, Darius wouldn’t have anything left to threaten us with, and we could destroy the Lusiri and the tapestry. Cyril brought me to the palace the night before you left The White Fox. I hid in the shadows and stole the guard’s keys. It was easy enough to get Mina free. Cyril transported her to a safe house so fast Darius never knew he’d left. By the time the guards noticed in the morning, they had no way of contacting Darius.”
