TWENTY-EIGHT
Layla awoke with a jolt Sunday, feeling lost and guilty, and she quickly realized why. “We didn’t call home yesterday.”
Quin squeezed then rolled her onto her back, wide awake and holding a steaming mug of creamy coffee. “Bri called them. She told Benz we were sleeping.”
That eased the ache in Layla’s stomach, so she sat against the pillows and accepted the brew. “I want to call this morning.”
“Me, too,” Quin agreed, summoning a cup of black coffee as he sat up beside her. Then their cell appeared in his empty palm. “Bryce went to the D.O.C. this morning. We have new texts.”
Her heart took flight as she cuddled closer. “Have you seen them?”
“Not yet. I was waiting for you to wake up.”
“That’s sweet, but don’t expect me to have the same patience if the roles are ever reversed.”
He laughed while thumbing through the phone. Then they both sighed when a photo of Benzio feeding Lilyana appeared. It was followed by a picture of the triplets sleeping, then one of Arabella licking Kaedan’s dark waves, and the final image had all four kids piled on their grandpa Kemble as he read Benzio’s favorite book.
Layla wiped away tears as they fell, blinking through the blur so she could focus on the beauty, and Quin let her look for over a minute before breaking his silence. “You know, we should probably be sending them photos of us. They’d love to see how we’re doing.”
She cracked a smile as she faced him. “Do you think bedhead captures my true essence?”
His gaze flitted over her as he raised the phone and snapped a photo. “It proves you’re taking time to relax.” He smiled and showed her the screen. “You’re still gorgeous.”
She didn’t look as bad as she feared, so she took the cell and scooted closer, laying her head on his shoulder while fumbling for the capture button. Once she heard a beep, she checked to make sure she’d gotten them both in the picture. Then she blushed when a close-up of her bare breasts filled the screen.
“That one’s mine,” Quin claimed, snatching the phone from her hand.
He shielded it with his body while saving the provocative snapshot, and she couldn’t help but let him, humored by how excited he got over something he saw every day.
Grinning like a teenage boy who’d just paid a visit to the girls’ locker room, he turned forward. Then he pulled her under his arm and held out the phone for a more appropriate photo. He took several, saving a few for himself. Then they picked out a few to send to their family.
After finishing their coffee, Layla took a shower while he fixed breakfast, which he once again served in bed, laying a full tray on the clean blankets as she stepped from the spray.
She used magic to dry before slipping on a skirt, but she stayed topless, jiggling her postpartum boobs on the way to the bed. When she noticed Quin’s stare, she halted, squeezing her flushing breasts while biting her lip.
He laughed as he glanced from her hands to her eyes. “Having fun?”
“Yes,” she confessed, shedding the shame while looking down. “They’re squishier than they used to be.”
He took her by the waist and lifted her onto the mattress with him. “I like how they feel.”
Her face warmed as she came clean. “I like it, too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. They’re softer.”
“Yes, they are.”
“But at the same time, they’re tougher than they used to be. Basically, now that they’re mine again, I’m kind of having a love affair with them.”
“That’s sexy.”
“Not weird?”
“There’s nothing weird about loving your body, Layla. I wish you’d do it more. It’s gone through so much this past year. It’s endured endless abuse and brought three magnificent souls into the world. It’s beautiful, angel, even the changes, especially the changes, and it absolutely deserves your love.”
She curled into him and grabbed a piece of bacon, feeding him half while eating the rest. “We’ll see how much it loves me back after my first day in the Arena. I haven’t exercised in a long time.”
“You exercise every time you fly, but I know what you mean. You can take it slow, you know? You don’t have to do it all in one day.”
“I can’t do it all in one day, but the sooner I do it, the sooner we can go home. I’ll start by getting into shape and working on my stamina. Then I’ll train for the gauntlet. And I want to spend some time in the library. The Crusaders can look faster than I can, but I’m not sure we’re looking for the same thing.”
He thoughtfully chewed while watching her out of the corner of his eye. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll know when I find it.” She wiped her mouth and grabbed her milk, dutifully taking the vitamin next to her plate. “So can we go to the Arena after we call Benz?”
Quin filled his lungs, unready to let her go, but she’d come to Maganthia to work, and the spark in her aura proved nothing would stand in her way. He could either join her or be left behind.
“Yeah,” he answered, his appetite waning as his stomach knotted. “Our passes are upstairs.”
~***~
Layla stayed upbeat and motivated as she dressed in an old sports bra and loose tank top. Then she slipped on leggings before wiggling her toes. “Will I run the gauntlet barefoot?”
“Yes.”
“Then I should probably train that way.”
Quin dressed in lightweight shorts and a t-shirt while packing his satchel, and following a quick detour to Diamond’s to use the phone, they gathered their family for a trip to the Arena.
They flew for about five minutes, soaring over jungle terrain fed by mountain springs and disturbed by only a few stone structures and rocky ruins.
“That used to be the capitol,” Quin revealed, pointing out a large, cylindrical building crawling with vines. “Now it’s a butterfly sanctuary.”
Layla’s mouth fell open with a smile. “Really? I want to see.”
“We’ll stop on our way back.”
Dozens of Crusaders flew ahead of them, leading the way to a grassy clearing at the base of a tall cliff covered in moss and dotted with dark caverns. A large, crystal dome capped the plateau above, but Layla’s allies didn’t fly up. They headed for a cave at ground level, flashing their passes at a pair of flustered guards.
The tunnel widened at the entrance. Then it connected with others to form a winding maze through the mountainside. Torches and candles lit the way, casting shadows that added to the confusion of twists and intersections, but Layla did her best to memorize their path.
“When I heard Arena, I pictured a coliseum. Not a cave.”
“It looks like a coliseum on the inside,” Quin assured. “We’re almost there.”
The walkways converged into a long, curved chamber with high ceilings, a few stone benches and numerous staircases. Sections of the wall were recessed, and each gap contained a statue of a mesmerizing magician, their strong and beautiful features illuminated by sunlight pouring through the far wall.
“Are they gods and goddesses?” Layla asked, halting to admire one of the sculptures.
Quin stopped next to her. “Some of them, but most of them were carved when their subjects still lived, so they weren’t deities at the time. Just exceptional magicians.”
“Is one of them Willa?”
“I’m sure. She’s probably in the capitol wing with Ava. We came in through a general admission gate.”
“May we go see her before we leave?”
“I think that’s fair. I’ll have Drexel clear it with the guards.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gestured toward one of the sunlit gaps. “Ready to see the arena?”
She nodded as she followed everyone toward misty light, emerging onto a stone platform that looped around a large field. Three tiers of benches protruded from the outer wall, carved from existing materials, but the low ledge separating the seating from the action was comprised of stalagmites, some of which rose far beyond the others and tapered into stalactites, forming massive columns that spanned all seven levels of the coliseum. Similar to the main floor, the balconies above came equipped with three tiers of benches, all of which faced a vast, round clearing that was covered in moss, surrounded by a moat, and highlighted by sunlight flooding through the clear dome she’d spotted on the cliff’s plateau.
“Wow,” she breathed, but the immense cavern was so empty and still even a whisper echoed.
“It was built from a natural cave system,” Quin revealed, admiring the view with her. “They cleared out a few of the columns, added the dome and seating, and eventually expanded the halls, but the cavern was here before the magicians. When they first found it, the field was a lake. They still fill it for water competitions.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“This is where you’ll run the gauntlet.”
Layla whipped her gaze to his as the Arena took on new characteristics, forcing her to feel more than just wonder and reverence. Suddenly the commanding cavern gave her heart palpitations and a squirming stomach.
“I still don’t know what that entails,” she realized, returning her focus to the field, which stretched well over a hundred yards in all directions.
Quin took her hand and urged her to fly with him to the center of the coliseum. “Once you’re out here, they’ll raise a barrier that will stretch from the moat to the dome and separate you from the balconies. It won’t come down until the time’s up. If you’re alive and standing, you win.”
“What do I have to survive?”
“Whatever the challengers throw at you. The levels pertain to the number of spellcasters, what they’re allowed to cast, and the amount of time you’re required to survive. You’ll be defending yourself against five simultaneous attacks the entire time you’re in there, and you can’t see out, but they can see in. The spells will come out of nowhere.”
“Are they allowed to cast anything they want?”
“At level five? Pretty much. They can attempt to engulf you in flames if they want.”
“But I can use shields, right?”
“Yes, you have no rules, so do whatever you have to do to make it out alive. We’ll work on your shields while we train.”
“And I’ll be able to fly?”
“As high as the dome, yes, but they’re allowed to fly, too. There won’t be any safe zones. It will be a constant barrage of attacks.”
“How long?”
“A minute for every level.”
Layla slowly rotated. “Three-hundred seconds.”
“That’s a long time when you’re dodging danger.”
“Then I better stop wasting the day and start working on my stamina.”
Quin removed his satchel and tossed it aside, ready to help despite the anguish it caused him. “Let’s do it.”
They solemnly started stretching, but their moods improved when their enthusiastic family joined them.
Brietta wore a tiny pair of shorts and a tank top with no bra, and every move she made dripped with sex appeal, driving Kegan crazy.
“You’re doing that on purpose,” he accused, adjusting his shorts, but she just winked while perching her ass in the air under the guise of touching her toes.
Aradia stayed focused and self-conscious as she followed Layla’s lead, and Banning did his best not to gawk at his girlfriend’s tight attire while helping her stretch.
Tristan jumped on the opportunity to aid Skyla, eager for a distraction from Layla, but Emrys and Weylin blew off cardio and moved to a different section of the arena, summoning supplies for weight training.
While Layla loosened the muscles Quin had worked the previous day, she intently examined her surroundings, committing the coliseum’s layout and proportions to memory. Crusaders stood at every entrance, and Drexel leaned over a section of the third level balcony that extended further than the rest.
Quin noticed Layla’s stare and explained the anomaly. “That’s reserved for the council and special guests. The doorway behind it leads to the capitol wing.”
“I see.” Layla narrowed her eyes on the commander. “Is he just going to loom over us all day?”
“Probably.”
“Well,” Brietta huffed, “the least he can do is be useful.” She came out of a bend and shouted at Drexel. “Play some music!”
Drexel motioned for Bryce to fulfill the request, and soon the cavern echoed with heart-pounding percussion, thrilling melodies, and chilling chants.
“This is much better than high school P.E.,” Layla decided, heading for the outer edge of the arena. Then she looked at Quin just in time to watch his shirt come off. He halted beside her, ready to run, but before taking off, Layla glanced at the nearest Crusader. “Time me.”
The soldier nodded, so Layla filled her lungs. Then she and Quin leapt into a steady run. “What do you think?” she asked. “Four times around will give us a mile?”
“Give or take a few yards.”
She glanced at his long strides. “Did you run in school?”
“A little, but I didn’t compete.”
“I did.”
“I know. Katherine recorded your track meets.”
“That’s right.”
“You were good.”
“It seems unfair now.”
“That’s exactly why I didn’t compete.”
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have. It was just something to do.”
“Did you ever get tired of winning?”
“Honestly? No. I got used to it, but I chalked it up to being a perfectionist in a tiny town. I still enjoyed working up to it and accepting the reward, and I faced plenty of losses in team sports.”
“Then why didn’t you go to nationals?”
“I didn’t want my grades to drop, and I didn’t think Katherine could afford it. She offered to work it out. In hindsight, she was probably talking about the money my dad left us, but I didn’t know that. I thought we were living off her salary, which was barely over minimum wage. Track wasn’t important enough for me to put that kind of stress on her.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. I’ve never regretted it.” She grinned and picked up the pace, waiting until he caught up to continue. “Now, if you’d been on my track team, I’d probably be telling a different story. I never crushed on a guy enough to follow him to nationals, but there were never any guys like you running beside me. You’re like the rabbit to my greyhound.”
She got a glimpse of his dimples, only to lose sight of his face as he broke into a sprint and pulled ahead. “Let’s test that theory.”
She laughed at his game, but then she got serious and pushed harder, attempting to catch up. He stayed a few steps ahead, his strides exceptionally long and graceful. “Are you using magic?”
He glanced back, his brow furrowed. “You’re not?”
“No.” But she struggled with the pace as her breathing deepened.
He looked forward as he slowed, and she finally closed the gap. “Did you stop using magic?”
“Yes. Are you at your max?”
“I doubt it. You?”
“Getting there. Be my bunny.”
What little breath she had left escaped with a laugh, so she took a moment to appease her lungs before launching into a strenuous sprint. Quin left her peripheral vision, and he didn’t immediately reappear like she assumed he would. She couldn’t maintain her peak while looking back, and she was almost to the soldier timing her, so she kept her head down and her focus on breathing. Quin had drawn close enough to touch her with his aura, but she still couldn’t see him.
She passed the blurry soldier checking the time. Then she resisted the urge to topple to the ground in an ungraceful and exhausted heap. Instead, she slowed her jelly legs to a jog while dragging oxygen into her overworked lungs.
Quin quickly caught up. Then he watched her out of the corner of his eye while keeping her pace. “You’re faster than I am.”
“You have more stamina.”
“Not for long.”
She threw him an anxious glance. “Does that upset you?”
He’d never been one to put his masculinity above her success, but he’d never been tested like this before. “It will help you survive the gauntlet,” he replied, “so, no, it doesn’t upset me, but it scares me that I can’t keep up with you.”
“You’re keeping up just fine, and I’m about to fall on my face. Let’s walk for a bit.” She slowed and took his hand, using his arm to hold herself up as her lungs recovered. “Yeah, I have a lot of work to do before I’ll be ready.”
He pulled her knuckles into a kiss then held them to his racing heart, which was probably beating so fast because it mimicked hers. “We’ll get you there,” he assured, but his eyes glistened with moisture as he turned his heated gaze on the watching commander.
Once her chest had cooled, Layla jogged the remaining mile. Then she used Weylin’s makeshift gym for strength training.
With her back braced on a stone wedge softened by a layer of magic, she raised an eyebrow at Quin, who added weight to her leg presses. “I’m starting to doubt your claim that flying is exercise. My legs used to be strong.”
“Flying is more cardio than strength. It takes the place of walking and keeps us fit without having to try too hard. You’ll get your strength back soon. It doesn’t take as much for us as it does the hexless. If we adhered to intense, daily workouts, we’d look ridiculous.”
“So what do you think? Two weeks to whip me into shape, and another two weeks to work on my magic?”
“You don’t have to do this in a month. We’ll take as long as you need. Let us know when you’re ready for the next step. We’re on your schedule.”
Layla didn’t argue, because Quin didn’t want to hear it, but his assertion wasn’t exactly accurate. According to the Crusaders, disaster could strike within a few months, and they still had no idea how to stop it. Supposedly the answers lay within the Buried Library, specifically the Dark Vault, and time was ticking as Layla fought to gain access to them.
She ran another mile after working out. Then she took a break for a picnic lunch before running again. Her muscles felt the burn, and everyone except her and Quin had quit for the day, so she switched gears and worked on her shields for about half an hour.
When she decided she’d had enough, Drexel approved by saying it was a good start. Then he had a pair of city guards escort them to the capitol wing, where around a dozen deities stood in stone.
Ava’s statue was the biggest and centrally located, as if the large chamber had been built around her. Draped in robes and jewelry, she stared down at her admirers with big, beautiful eyes framed by waist-length, straight hair, her lips unsmiling, and she held out her right hand, offering her palm, which was marked by a circle with a line running through it. Quin explained the mark symbolized womanhood, encompassing fertility, intuition and fairness, and that she shared it with young women in the age of creation.
Several gods and goddesses stood between Ava and Willa, who’s sculpture was smaller and conveyed a completely different mood. Rather than robes, she wore armor, as if facing a battle, and she held one hand over her heart as the other clutched the hilt of a sheathed dagger. Layla stared at her for several seconds, wondering what the goddess of mercy might expect an earth angel to do at her statue. Pray? Worship? Kiss her feet? Or maybe she was simply there to remind and inspire. Whatever the case, Layla was too tired to give or take, so following a thoughtful scan, she turned and walked away.
By the time she dragged her ass through the caves to the exit of the Arena, Layla’s body was trying to talk her out of a trip to the library. “What time is it?”
“After three,” Quin answered, securing his satchel to his waistband. “Why?”
“Do you think we’ll be able to get into the library after dinner? Or is that too late?”
“You asked for unlimited access,” Drexel noted. “They’ll have guards and librarians there around the clock.”
“Then I’m going back to the cottage for a break.” She halted and looked up, squinting at the sun while spinning in a circle. “What is that humming sound?”
Everyone within earshot turned their gazes toward the sky. Then several of them shook their heads as Drexel responded. “What humming sound?”
“You don’t hear it?”
“No.”
Layla looked to Quin. “Do you hear it?”
He shook his head no. “Maybe your ears are ringing from the music.”
“No. This isn’t in my head. I thought I heard it when we got here, but I didn’t hear it inside. It’s something in the atmosphere.” She searched faces for recognition, but she found nothing more than confusion and skepticism. “There’s a humming sound,” she asserted. “I hear it.”
“Maybe it’s the wind bouncing off the city dome,” Bryce reasoned. “We’re not far from the border.”
“Maybe,” Layla mumbled, unconvinced, but she had no way to prove she was sane, so she took Quin’s hand and prepared to take flight. “Let’s go. I want to stop and see the butterflies.”
The sanctuary was everything Layla hoped it would be and more. The round building that once stood as the capitol headquarters of ancient Maganthia had been reclaimed by nature. Huge trees uprooted the stone floor, their thick trunks winding around pillars and snaking through windows like pythons, and exotic species of butterflies and moths speckled every leaf, branch, trunk and flowering vine.
When Layla entered through a gap narrowed by greenery, thousands of the winged creatures took flight, creating a colorful wave that produced enough wind to flutter her hair, but then they settled and landed, letting her get a closer look. Several alighted on her shoulders, arms and hands, some bigger than her palm, and she had to step carefully to give those on the ground time to flit out of the way. Coming across a cracked bench only partially covered in moss, she took a seat. Then she let the world’s troubles melt away as she soaked up the serene moment.
“I could live here,” she told Quin, who sat on the ground, ignoring the butterflies while watching her. “But then I wouldn’t get anything done. My babies and I would just play with the butterflies all day.”
“Sounds lovely.”
“It is lovely, with or without me. As long as beauty like this exists, the world is worth saving.” And she was the woman who was supposed to save it, so she didn’t stay at the sanctuary for long before offering the butterflies a bittersweet farewell.
As soon as she entered the cottage, she retreated to the downstairs washroom to strip. Then she filled the tub by the grotto and eased into steaming water. “I’m going to hate myself tomorrow.”
Keeping his shorts on, Quin climbed in beside her, letting her use his arm as a headrest as she closed her eyes. Her aura slowed as she dozed off, but he stayed alert, employing magic to maintain the warmth of the water while smoking a joint.
A selfish part of him ached to close his eyes and sink into the water with her, to stop time with an angel in his arms. And an even bigger part of him brainstormed ways to get her out of running the gauntlet, the things he could say and do, the people he could kill. And yet another part of him yearned to watch her unwrap her full potential, prove the naysayers wrong, and clear a path for survival. But he’d failed to act on any of the conflicting urges making him a mess of a man. He bit his tongue every time he wanted to beg her to back out; he gritted his teeth every time someone attempted to pull her strings; and though he’d tried to be supportive, he hadn’t found the will to properly encourage her. Even now, he schemed on ways to talk her out of a trip to the library, but he rejected the ideas as quickly as they came to mind, terrified she’d leave him behind if he stood in her way. He’d never seen anyone push themselves like she was, and he sensed she was holding back for his sake, so it would only get worse. Nothing would stop her, least of all him.
She awoke with a startled splash, but she was quick to calm down and accept the glass of water he summoned. “How long was I out?”
“About an hour.”
Her lights warmed his skin as she cuddled his side and rubbed her cheek on his chest, and suddenly it was all worth it. His worries, fears and failures; the turmoil, anxiety and insecurity; the distances travelled, the battles fought and the tears shed, it was all for moments like this. With one touch, a short and solitary exchange of innocent intimacy, she reminded him why a hard life was worth living.
Taking the water glass from her hand, he sent it away and wrapped her in a hug, prolonging the dose of magical morphine. “How do you feel?”
“Wrinkly.”
He laughed while examining her fingers. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. It was a good nap. It will help me get through a visit to the library.”
“You know the Buried Library is huge, right?”
“I assumed.”
“We’re talking millions of manuscripts, love. You’ll only see a tiny portion of it on your first visit.”
“Well, I have to start somewhere. Discovering where the library is located and how it’s organized is a pretty vital step.”
“I suppose it is. Do you have any requests for dinner?”
“Something easy. Let’s save the fancy meals for days we have time to enjoy them.”
“When might that be?”
“Depends on how things go at the Arena. If I feel like I’m making good progress, I’ll take a day off.”
“Will you let me take you out?”
She wiggled up his chest and smiled. “Maybe I’ll take you out.”
“Oh, yeah?” he laughed. “Where will you take me?”
“Well… I don’t know. Do you have a favorite restaurant?”
“I do, and if we go, I’ll be making the plans.”
“Not fair.”
“Maybe, but I think you’ll indulge me.”
She giggled through a shake of her head. Then she tucked her face in his neck and straddled his lap. “Why do you have shorts on?”
“You know why.”
He tensed as she vanished the garment and rubbed against his arousal. “We’ll keep it short and sweet,” she suggested, steaming up his neck.
His hand was already on her thigh, lifting and pulling her closer. “If this is the way we end every work out, I’ll be whipped into shape in no time.”