Caben
The Crusher grinds to a halt. I’m propelled forward, and my head smacks the low-hanging ceiling of the front compartment.
“Damn, you fool!” I palm my throbbing forehead, eyeing the driver of the Crusher—the machines I now call by their Otherworlder name.
“Sorry, My Liege,” he says, backing against his seat, farther away from the glowing ribbons circling my fingers.
Ignoring him, I study the luminous white—like the surface of the moon—crawling beneath my skin, and marvel at the power. My power. Had I possessed it that day the Cavan Army forced me from my home, they never could have done so easily. But then, I never would have obtained this power. Ironic.
“Just drive,” I tell him. I take a seat on the front bench, away from the foul stench emanating from the back compartment—our diversion tactic that will gain me entry into my palace, where I’m now considered the enemy. Something of mine is being kept there, and I’m taking it back.
The glow beneath my skin illuminates brighter, reminding me of her skin. I curl my fingers into a tight ball.
The battle up ahead is only part of my plan, one that I know Kaliope will fall for. I need the reserves away from the palace. My molars clamp down hard at the thought of her—a mix of something like fire and nausea invading my stomach.
At one time, I felt things for the black-haired beauty. I chuckle to myself. Well, at least my groin did. Just thinking of her body makes me ache, and I have to adjust myself. But that was when I was weak, when I only thought and felt with that weakness. As much as I hated my father for thinking me too feeble to rule, he was right. I was pathetic.
Bale freed me. Released the part of me that I kept buried, locked away deep down, and I no longer fear anything. I think of everything that once made me shudder or quake with dread and laugh. It’s so simple.
Without fear, there is only freedom.
Power.
And if I free Bale completely, releasing her essence from within me and making her corporeal by reuniting the crystalline shards with the goddess relic, she’ll bestow me with even more power. I don’t care what the dark goddess does or where she goes once I restore Empress Iana’s relic. I don’t give a damn what happens to the maggoty Otherworlders or their realm.
I just want her out of my mind. And I want the power.
Then I’ll set my sights on Perinya, my kingdom, and on gaining what belongs to me.
A throaty cackle fills my head, deep and sultry.
“Quiet, woman.” I roll my eyes. We’ve come to a compromise, the goddess and I, that she may remain within my being, but she’s to keep silent. I got tired of her constant lectures and angry rants about her sisters. She doesn’t speak too much…for the most part. But the sooner I get her out of my head, the better.
Having a woman fill your thoughts is a weakness in itself. A sudden flash of a smiling, laughing Kal blurs my vision, and I shake my head.
There’s only one way to rid my thoughts of that woman.
Kill her.
“Burrow, leach,” I command the driver. “We’re coming up on the battle. Go underground.”
“Yes, My Liege.”
Tonight, I invade. Find a way into the capital of Perinya and into my home. And then take back what’s mine. The goddess can have what she wants. I’m only interested in claiming my belongings.
No one will ever take anything away from me again.
Stay away, Kal…
I shake my head harder, trying to quiet the pesky thoughts that always spring up when I think of her. Something left over from before—a residual feeling, an effect she has on me.
It won’t be there much longer. My downturned lips are forced into a smile as Bale laughs.
? 2 ?
Kaliope
“KAIDE! BEHIND YOU—” I thrust my sword forward, and the blade is swallowed by the belly of the Otherworlder before me. He drops to his knees, his crooked sneer falling from his face. I plant one foot against his stomach and yank my sword free. Then I sprint to where Kaide is now facing off against two Otherworlders.