“You can’t be serious.”
Sophronia didn’t look like she was kidding. I knew she had made up her mind and there would be no changing it. Delia squeezed my hand again as she pulled me to the waiting portal.
“And what about the years of torment Riona endured in the name of keeping them alive? They had the Gorum kill your parents, Delia. They killed my parents, and hundreds more.”
She had to see that they were war criminals. We couldn’t reward them for all they’d done. The alchemist and Delia exchanged a look; I was outnumbered. In a moment I knew I would regret, I broke away from the princess and strode towards the Sideon.
“This crazy, beautiful, compassionate woman wishes to spare you the punishment you have earned under the rules of war. Show me why we shouldn’t lock you away in your world and let you rot.”
A bony hand thrust out from beneath the cloak, it wrapped around my neck and lifted me from the ground. Delia screamed for them to let me go. The hood fell back, exposing an oversized head. I fought against the hand threatening to crush my windpipe. No one had ever lived after seeing the face of a Sideon. Large black eyes were accentuated by the sunken silver cheeks. Faded golden symbols traced the bony portions of the face and head. I was struggling to breathe; the edges of my vision grew fuzzy and dark.
“This is not the way to prove you’re worthy of redemption.” I’d never heard Delia sound so commanding.
The Sideon loosened its grip ever-so-slightly, but still held me above ground. I could breathe, but just barely. Pictures flashed through my mind as I fought to maintain consciousness. Everything Delia described was emptied into my thoughts, but it was followed by much more. Their time in Riona had been torture. I saw them avoiding us at all costs, letting us live alone in the woods to keep themselves from harming anyone else. They tried to keep the Gorum on a leash; they’d only enlisted their help to intimidate the residents of Riona. Suddenly, the treaty made sense. The Sideon weren’t violent creatures; they weren’t interested in killing or enslaving us. It was desperation that drove them to invade Riona.
“Unhand him, now.” Delia sounded far away.
I fell to the ground, desperately sucking air into my lungs. I felt arms wrap around me as Delia propped me up against her. I didn’t want to move, there was something comforting about her arms around me. I opened my eyes to find her staring down at me. She ran a hand along my cheek and smiled with relief.
“Don’t scare me like that, you moron.”
I laughed and sat up. “I get it now. I saw it all.”
“So, you’ll help?” Delia asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
Before I could answer, Sophronia interrupted us. “No, neither of you will help them. I’m going to do this. You need to save Riona.”
I looked to the Sideon. “Will you follow us? Will you help us rid our world of the Gorum in exchange for Sophronia helping you to rebuild your world?”
They surged forward in what could have been a joyful movement had they not been so creepy. I tried my best to see them as I had in the visions of their past, but it was nearly impossible to reconcile those beautiful creatures with the beings I now saw. I took Delia by the hand again and turned to walk through the portal.
This time, we both had a very different experience from our previous travels. We stepped into the pulsing light, our fingers intertwined. Color flashed around us as we passed through a corridor of lightning. My amulet grew hot against my chest. Images flooded my mind again—Tilda in chains behind bars, Lady Carmella of Garneton ordering the execution of my men, and finally, the lifeless body of Delia. We burst through the other end of the portal to find ourselves standing on the edge of the reconstructed archway. I didn’t have time to explain what I’d seen. Pulling Delia down the stairs, we found our welcoming party waiting at the edge of the dried up pond.
“We have to go. Everyone, now.” I forced myself to keep my voice low.
“What’s going on Taeren? Did you destroy the Sideon?” Lonzo asked.
“Where’s Alice?” Orin strained to see past us.
“She’s coming, Orin. She’s got a crazy plan, I’m not sure you’ll like it.” Delia told Orin with a proud smile.
“We don’t have time for this. Everyone, in the tower.” I pulled the princess after me.
“About that, sir. The tower is gone. It’s been demolished.” Rafe reported.
If the tower was gone, we had nowhere to take cover as I shared what I’d seen in my vision. Before I could explain, Sophronia led the Sideon through the portal. Our men shrank back in fear, releasing shouts of anger and confusion.
“Alice, what are you doing?” Orin demanded.
“Wait, they’re not what they seem. We’re going to help them,” Delia called out in an attempt to calm the outburst.
I nodded to my men. They instantly quieted their battle cry; I could only hope we hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention to ourselves.
“Quickly Taeren, you must close the portal to Earth.” The alchemist practically shoved me toward the arch.
I had no idea what I was doing, but I took the steps back up to the archway two at a time. When I reached the top, I threw a nervous glance over my shoulder. I pulled the necklace over my head and held my amulet aloft. In my mind I saw the tear between worlds healing itself. The people of New York City would be left with some strange bodies to clean up and a significant amount of damage, but they wouldn’t be plagued by earthquakes again. The world around me snapped back into focus. The only evidence that remained was the shimmering veil that was suspended like a bubble within the arch.
I turned around to a devastating sight. I’d not noticed the state of my world when we first arrived, I was too busy rushing to warn everyone about the vision I’d received. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect in Riona, but the world had definitely disintegrated. We were surrounded by dead trees, trampled underbrush and the rotting remains of Rionian wildlife. It wasn’t the breathtaking landscape I remembered. My eyes turned to the sky, it was dark and devoid of color. It was impossible to tell the time of day. A quick head count reassured me that everyone made it through the portal without incident. I gestured for everyone to close ranks around me.
“Listen, I saw something while we walked through the portal. Something is terribly wrong here. I think Tilda has been locked away.”
“Who would do such a thing?” Delia demanded.
“Lady Carmella of Garneton. I only got bits and pieces, but it looks like there was another Outlier revolt, and this time, they must have had help from those who support Lady Carmella.”
“Ugh, I never liked her.”
“So, what do we do now?” Lonzo prompted.
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’d expected to return to Riona and have a coronation for Delia. I’d expected to return to a world rejoicing at the triumphant mission my men and I had executed. Not only had we accomplished our goal of returning with the princess, we’d also destroyed some Gorum and found a way to rid our world of the Sideon. Not to mention that we’d found Orin and Sophronia. Instead, we were going to have to face a different kind of invasion, one orchestrated by our own people.
“We need to stick to the plan. We have to get rid of the Gorum and send the Sideon home. We can’t help our people if we still have the invaders who started it all wandering around.”
Delia was right, we had to take care of the biggest problem first. My only fear was that we may be too late to save the Chancellor. If we had any hope of saving her, we would have to act quickly.
“Do you need our help getting the Sideon back home?” I asked the alchemist.
Her eyes darted to Orin. “No, my husband and I can manage. I doubt anyone will give us trouble if we’re accompanied by a band of Sideon.”
Orin stepped forward to join his wife. “I hope you know what we’re doing.”
“Trust me, you’re going to love it,” Sophronia replied as she took his hand.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with you, Taeren,” Orin said as he offered me his hand.
I shook it and pulled him into a hug. “Be safe, we will see each other again.”
“I have no doubt about that.”
“We’ll gather the Gorum on our way. The Sideon believe they can get them to retreat. If you see any left behind, kill them,” Sophronia whispered to me as she passed.
I watched them leave knowing we were making the right decision, even if it seemed wrong to help the creatures who had done so much to destroy us. I knew I would need to explain to my men, but we had bigger things to worry about. I led our crew toward the trees. I was surprised to see that small amounts of color began to reemerge the longer Delia and the Bloodstone were back. It was reassuring, but could prove dangerous if we left a trail of rejuvenated wildlife behind us as we picked our way across the land.
“Listen, our objective is to get to the Western Wood without raising the suspicions of the Outliers. We need the element of surprise if we’re going to find out who’s still on our side.”
“How will we know who’s on our side?” Philo asked.
I shrugged. I had no idea if anyone would be on our side. We’d been gone for so long, there was no telling when things devolved. If Riona kept falling apart, people probably got desperate.
“Our Knights will be on our side, they would never revolt against Chancellor Tilda,” Lonzo insisted.
I hoped he was right. “Let’s get going. There’s no telling how much time we have.”
A hand slipped into mine. “What else did you see, Taeren?”
The whisper in my ear sent shivers down my spine. Holding her hand felt so natural. I couldn’t help but selfishly hope that when all was said and done, we could be together. The image of her dead body resurfaced in a hot white flash. There was more at stake than I cared to admit.
“I saw my men, they were killed in front of me. And...you.”
“Me?” She pulled me to a stop, the others continuing on without missing a beat.
I hung my head. “Yes, I saw your body. You were dead. I can’t let that happen.”
She grabbed my face and lifted my chin until our eyes met. Delia looked at me intensely. “That isn’t going to happen.”
Her lips pressed against mine softly. I’d been aching for a moment like this from the day I kissed her in the alley. I deepened the kiss; I couldn’t get enough of her. I wondered if the others were watching us, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Her hands ran up my chest, resting on my shoulders, I gripped her waist. I pulled her closer and tangled my hands in her hair. As I brought our kiss to a close, I could think of nothing but how badly I wanted to stay suspended in that moment forever.
“Sir Taeren, Commander of the Royal Guard, Knight of Riona, baker’s son, when this is all over, I want you to do that more often. Now, stop worrying and lead our men so we can take Riona back from that foul woman.”
“Delia, Princess of Riona, I will do everything in my power to grant that wish if you’ll have me.”
Delia took my hand again and dragged me toward our friends. I was ready to face whatever came next. Memories resurfaced of the headstrong princess who insisted on fighting alongside me against the Gorum, even after watching them murder her parents. I knew that no matter what we faced, we could handle it. Lady Carmella was the least intimidating trial we’d faced together.