The lance thrower, p.26
The Nine Births of Carnage (Cross Academy Book 3), page 26
Vy blinked. “You—what?”
He smiled kindly, reached out to brush one of her locks behind her ear. “I want to earn your love. And what better way to claim a woman’s heart than to present her with a gift?”
Vy stared at him in disbelief.
“The only gift fit for a queen is the head of her enemies,” Seduce said, his voice full of confidence. Arrogance. “You said the North is removed from the Great Demon War. I disagree. The Nine are out there stirring up trouble. The high seas brims with untamed Dark energy. I’m going out there to find a way to keep the North safe.” He held her gaze for a moment. “To keep you safe.”
“Seduce,” Vy said but he shook his head.
“My mind is made up. When I get back, I’m going to ask you to marry me.” He grinned. “I’ll get down on one knee like a real lover, present you with a ring and Leviathan’s head.”
Vyanna almost laughed because she knew he was absolutely serious.
“If I’ve done my job correctly, you’ll accept my gift,” Seduce said. “And you’ll marry me out of love. Not duty. Not responsibility.” He winked. “How’s that?”
Vy didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to wrap her mind around all this. He had backed her into a wall, held her captive against his body, and then announced that he would honor her virtue and capture her heart the old-fashioned way.
What was she supposed to say to all that?
Seduce stepped toward her—she would have stepped back again, but she was still pressed against the door, afraid to move at all.
His hand cupped her chin, so she’d look him in the eye. Then he kissed her, making her gasp against his lips. But before she could react and slap him, he pulled away and grinned.
“Surprise,” he teased.
Vy glared at him.
“I deserve at least one goodbye kiss.” He shrugged. “Now, tell me you’ll miss me so I can leave in a good mood.”
“So, you’re really going?” she asked.
He took a long look at her. “Yes, I am.”
“What if you die?” It was certainly possible out there with Dark storms brewing and the Nine doing God knows what.
“If I die, you’ll get what you want. You’ll rule the North alone and you won’t have to marry this sinful miscreant.”
She almost felt bad for all the ways she’d judged him. Almost.
Seduce raised his white eyebrows. “Can you tell me you’ll miss me, Princess?”
Well, she didn’t want to lie. But she also didn’t want to deny him this small request.
Vyanna sighed. “I’ll miss you, Seduce Iceman.”
“Not right away,” he said. “But soon you will. Once you’re honest with yourself and honest about your feelings.”
“You know nothing of my feelings.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but he only laughed.
“No, my dear, you know nothing of your feelings. But you will learn soon enough.”
PART III
25
Kohlannis
The small team of Academy students stood in line, shoulder to shoulder, their chins held high, their faces twisted into stiff smiles. It was so cold, even polite expressions threatened to crack the skin. Kohl wanted to sigh, if only to blow warm air over his chapped lips. The whole ceremony was pointless; the students had graduated into the Beta Division almost two weeks ago, before Lord Izzy had left. But, for some annoying reason, Lieutenant Diaz had insisted on calling them all together for a pinning ceremony today.
“I thought we’d get a pin when we got home,” Dart grumbled beside Kohl.
Kohl glanced sideways, his face blank of emotion. Home was such a strange word. For Kohl, it meant something entirely different from everyone else. He wouldn’t be returning to a smiling mother and a doting father when he got back to the Academy. If he were fortunate, Kohl would scurry off to his quiet dorm and lock the door behind him.
Babel wasn’t home to him. Just the place he lived.
Then again, no place really felt like home. Not even the house he grew up in. The big mansion with empty rooms and dusty walls, haunted by his withering mother.
He shivered at the thought of her pale face and ghostly eyes, such a light shade of blue they almost looked grey. But in her failing health, they might as well have been white and dull. Void of the life that’d left her years ago. When Karmen died.
Kohl bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. Thinking of Karmen was a mistake—always a mistake. Not just because he was his dead kid brother, but because he reminded Kohl so much of KI. The other little brother he’d lost.
Like with Karmen, Kohl had watched KI walk away. Had watched in silence as he drifted beyond his reach. But, unlike with Karmen, KI was still alive. He could still be rescued. Could still come back.
Back home, Kohl thought somberly, though he had no idea what home was for the kid.
It didn’t matter. They could iron out the finer details once he was safe again. For now, the bigger problem was finding KI, then they could tackle the problem of rescuing him, then they could try to find a home.
If only it were that easy, Kohl thought, trying not to roll his eyes or grit his teeth or ball his hands into fists. All angry gestures. Kohl had no idea what to do with himself as he stood in front of Diaz who was explaining the significance of the pins Vyanna had made for them. He would normally cram his hands into his pockets, fold his strong arms over his chest, or lean against the wall in broody silence. But he couldn’t do any of that with the lieutenant right there. Especially not in the middle of a pinning ceremony.
He settled with a tight scowl, hoping the fur of his hood would cover most of his angry expression. Besides, he grunted, earning a queer look from Dart, its not like they aren’t used to my anger by now.
While his classmates had certainly loosened up and learned to accept him over the last few months, Kohl wouldn’t fool himself into thinking anyone other than Fox was his genuine friend. The rest are a long way from friendship, Kohl slid his eyes down the line of students, but that’s exactly the way I want things to be.
He didn’t need friends. Friends complicated things. Friends were difficult to shake when you needed space.
Friends made you weak.
Look at what happened with Kressa, his scowl darkened. Now Fox never leaves me alone, and KI’s been a weakness since I first met him. It was hard not to care about the kid. Now that he did, the pain of losing him threatened to send Kohl spiraling into the darkness that seemed to follow him everywhere he went these days.
I never should’ve let him in. And he wasn’t sure he had the strength to lock him out. It was too late.
Lieutenant Diaz stepped up to Kohl, holding a grey-blue cross in his hand. It hung on a string of twine, sparkling as the light from the overhead windows bounced off of it. Kohl’s eyes were immediately drawn to it, trying to understand the strange flow of energy he felt coming from the little pendant.
“What is that?” he asked, his raspy voice filling the icy chambers. They were in a small room of the palace, though it looked just the same as any other in Kohl’s opinion. This room was apparently used for smaller, more private ceremonies. Things that didn’t require much of an audience. Lieutenant Diaz had gone out of his way to thank Princess Vyanna for allowing the team to use the room for their duties today, he’d even made the students applaud when she stood and accepted his thanks.
Kohl didn’t care. Vyanna had gone from an aloof Academy student to a fake-smiling princess. He was glad she wouldn’t be returning to Babel with them when the time came. Though, he couldn’t stop his eyes from shifting toward her as Lieutenant Diaz answered his question.
“The Heiress made these. They’re your Beta Division pins.”
Kohl squinted, dragging his eyes from the white-haired teen. “It’s a necklace not a pin.”
Diaz shrugged. “The terminology isn’t very important. Each class gets one; they design it themselves so not all the pins look like actual pins.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to this design.” He frowned at the cross, the lines in his face growing deeper when he realized the pendant was made of ice. It’ll be cold.
The rest of the students were gaping at Kohl, at his audacity to wrinkle his nose at the cross design. It wasn’t the cross itself that made him angry, it was that … Well, yeah, the cross shape made him angry.
He hadn’t had much fun since joining the Academy. Hadn’t had the peace he thought he would find. Had barely managed to survive some of the encounters he’d experienced—all because of the Cross.
I was better off cursed, he told himself. He had been alone and stuck with his crazy mother before joining the training program, but at least he wasn’t cold and stiff all the time. Now, he was miserable. Every day. Having friends and being surrounded by such fun-loving Christians hadn’t changed a thing. They’d all made every part of his life worse if you asked him.
Lieutenant Diaz really didn’t care what Kohl thought of the design. He raised a single dark eyebrow and then shoved the necklace into the boy’s chest, forcing him to reflexively reach up and grab it.
“Put it on. The Ice Heiress made it herself for her former classmates. You’re going to wear it.” The tone in his voice left no room for argument.
Kohl put the necklace on without a word, ignoring the silent threat in Diaz’s eyes. He had dealt with the lieutenant before; he knew which fights to pick and choose. This wasn’t one he could win.
“Former classmate?” Dart asked as Diaz passed him a necklace too.
The lieutenant nodded. “Since she was officially crowned as the next in line for the throne, Vyanna is needed here in the North.”
All eyes flicked to the elegant young lady standing across the room. Kohl pretended to be interested in what she was saying about the responsibility of an heir. What he really wanted to know was why she had imbued the necklaces.
“As you know, I won’t be returning with everyone to Babel,” Vy said in her pleasant, diplomatic tone. “Consider these necklaces a small part of me that will always be with you.”
What? Kohl had to cough to cover the grunt that tumbled from his lips. He thought the necklaces would be special. Thought they would serve some sort of purpose, offer some sort of help to her former classmates. Instead, they were just pretty pendants imbued with Vy’s SE. Frozen cross-shaped blocks of ice that would always be cold against his skin, sending shivers through his chest until he graduated into the Alpha Division.
Great. He sighed as Lieutenant Diaz asked Second Lieutenant Raven to say a prayer and dismiss them. As soon as the prayer was over, Fox and Dart cornered Kohl. It took everything he had not to shove them aside and march back to his icy room.
All he wanted was some peace and quiet…
“Pretty, right?” Fox asked, holding up the pendant.
Dart licked his. “Tastes like saltwater.”
“Why on earth—” Kohl shook his head. “You know what, never mind.”
“Help me put mine on?” Fox asked.
He shoved his own necklace into the pocket of his heavy coat and then bit his mittens to tug them off. His fingers immediately felt numb, shocked stiff by the sudden slap of cold. Kohl tied the twine into a knot with shaking fingers, surprised to find himself staring at the slender column of Fox’s neck.
She stood right in front of him, more than a foot shorter than him, with her hair all swept to the side and her furry hood tugged down so he could feel the warmth of her brown skin up close. His fingers brushed her collar, thumb gently trailing the outline of a scar he’d never seen before.
He swallowed. Hard.
Fox Fire was a pretty girl, any idiot with one working eye could see that from a mile off. But Kohl had forced himself to put that thought out of his mind when he’d noticed the way she looked at KI. How she never seemed to notice anyone else whenever he walked into the room. And then Kressa had walked into his life, and he didn’t have to force any thoughts of Fox away. They stopped coming.
Kressa had weaseled her way into his heart, bed, and his mind too. But now Kressa was gone. And so was KI.
Kohl exhaled very slowly. Not the time, he told himself, tucking his hands into his pockets.
Fox Fire turned around, smiling like she’d just received a string of pearls. “How does it look?”
Kohl shrugged, anger making his jaw tic. “It’s a stupid necklace. It looks like any other.”
“Help me with mine?” Dart asked.
“God, no.” Kohl turned to walk away.
“Where are you going?” Fox called.
“Away!” he barked, then he stormed into the hall and broke into a sweaty run before anyone could stop him.
He knew he looked silly running through the Ice Fortress, but he’d rather look crazy to the dumb Snowmen who wouldn’t remember him in an hour, than embarrass himself in front of his friends who would never let him hear the end of it.
Kohl ran until he couldn’t breathe, taking random turns, bounding down hallways, and tripping down a flight of stairs before he shouldered open a random door and found himself suddenly … warm.
There was grass beneath his winter boots, the smell of fruit in the air, and the sounds of birds chirping filling his ears. The sky above was an expanse of clear blue, allowing plenty of cold air to flow into the room and chill him to his core, but the familiar frigid ache never reached him. Instead, Kohl felt a balmy warmth roll over him, making him sweat.
He shrugged out of his heavy coat and his snowpants and his chunky fur boots. In just his underwear and a tunic, he walked the floating bridge with his head titled back, staring up at the cloudless sky.
How can it be so warm in here? he wondered.
Berry bushes sat on his right while rows of fresh vegetables lined the walkway on his left. He could see clusters of fruit trees on the outer edges of the room, with baskets of fresh apples, peaches, and figs sitting in the shade. It was the only room in the entire Fortress that Kohl actually liked, and the most beautiful part of the room was the crystal-clear pond that rested in the center.
He ran across the bridge and knelt in the grass, staring at the rainbow of fish swimming inside. Frogs hopped from lily pads, little birds swooped down to catch buzzing flies in their beaks. Beside him, a turtle crawled from the grass and sank into the cool water.
Kohl stared with his mouth open. The Hunger sector in Babel had a lake, hidden in the small, wooded area the city officials had given them for hunting. When he was younger, Kohl would take Karmen swimming in the lake. He remembered teaching him the backstroke and then laughing when he sank like a rock and cried about getting water in his nose.
Unbidden tears burned the backs of Kohl’s eyes as he peered into the waters. His reflection came into view, a mere shadow of the boy from his memories, the one that’d taught his brother to swim. His hair was still blonde, his jaw was still square, but there was no joy on his face, no sense of happiness in his tightly drawn features.
Somewhere, in the dark parts of Kohl’s mind, a voice whispered that there would never be happiness. Never be any joy.
He didn’t have the strength to argue against it.
26
Vyanna
By the time her friends let her go, Vy was tired and almost cranky. She felt honored Lieutenant Diaz had agreed to use her imbued pendants as the pin for her class. It had been a shot in the dark on her part, something she’d done on a whim just to practice her hand at imbuement. But when her superior had complimented her skills and said he would be happy to use the little crosses, she nearly jumped for joy.
Apparently, imbuing objects wasn’t easy. Diaz had told her the craft was difficult enough to be considered a blessing, since skilled Masters were so hard to come by. Strange, Vy rolled her shoulders as she walked toward her chambers, Snowmen learned imbuement when they were children. Imbued pendants, buttons, hairpins, and charms were common in the North. The Heiress had thought nothing of her gift until she’d received such praise from the infamously rigid Lieutenant Diaz.
A smile worked its way onto Vy’s lips. Finally, someone had acknowledged all her hard work around here. Seduce had considered her a child, her grandfather saw more value in her hand in marriage than her skills as a leader, and her classmates had always looked at her like she wasn’t part of their team. Wasn’t in the same group as them.
For a fraction of a second, Vy wondered if that was how Kohlannis had always felt.
Secluded. Ostracized. Alone.
No, she shook her head, thinking of how he’d left right after the pinning ceremony. Their loneliness was completely different. Kohl had been pushed away and had learned to accept the rejection. To crave the solitude. But Vyanna had been right there, the top of her class, surrounded by admirers. Yet, she had never felt so alone in her life.
Vyanna stood outside her bedroom, her hand hovering over the doorknob. With her classmates busy training with Lieutenant Diaz, her cousins off visiting the king, and Seduce on his own adventure, there was nothing left for her to do. No business to take care of.
She sighed. The last thing Vy wanted was to lock herself in her bedroom and brood for the rest of the day.
Without a word, the princess turned on her heel and marched down the hall in the opposite direction. She had no clear plans on where she wanted to go, no idea on what she wanted to do with her free time. But she found herself taking deliberate turns, following a path that took her to the bowels of the castle, right toward one of her favorite places. But instead of feeling a sense of calm or joyful anticipation when she neared her destination, a strange wave of fear hit Vyanna like a storm.
Outside the iced double doors, she could hear someone crying.
Not the muted gasps of a person in tears, but the deep bellowing sobs of someone with a shattered heart. Vy stared at the doors, wide-eyed and wondering what on earth she should do.
Privacy was the first thought in her mind. Give whoever it is some time alone. But, for some reason, her body ignored her mental command and she pushed the doors open.
