The Fulfillment Page 5

  Cataleen trailed a finger along Wil’s cheek and smirked. “Since you didn’t listen to me the first time, you will all pay with your lives. I wanted to kill Layla first, but I think I’ll make her watch me kill Wil instead.”

  A guard thrust Wil forward. He stumbled and then righted himself. Though he stood just inches away from Layla, she could do nothing to help him. Her chest tightened. Wil could not die a mere heartbeat away from her. She had to save him. She had to figure out a way to save them all.

  The weapon dug further into her neck. She wanted to scream for Grant or Samson to do something. With their Vanguard strength, they could wipe out everyone in their immediate vicinity. But even if she asked them to, she knew they wouldn’t because the moment they moved, the guard behind her would slit her throat.

  The queen removed a knife from her boot. Layla struggled, but the guard behind her held his weapon steady. Tactics to disengage herself from his hold sped through Layla’s mind, but each one ended with a blade opening her throat and her blood spilling onto the floor while the insane queen laughed.

  Cataleen waved the knife in Wil’s face. “Any last words?”

  Wil swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I love you, Layla, and I’m so very sorry.” Tears filled his eyes, and Layla’s.

  She couldn’t let him die. Desperate, Layla elbowed her captive in his stomach. He wheezed, but the blade stayed in place. Cataleen raised her eyebrow. Contempt poured from her eerie, pale eyes. She nodded toward her guard, and he nicked the knife against Layla’s throat. She cried in surprise and pain as blood seeped from the wound. Grant and Samson growled. Layla wanted to tell them to attack the Outlander and save Wil, but the blade’s position prevented her from talking.

  “Cataleen?” Nash’s unsteady voice reverberated off the walls.

  “Nash?” The queen spun around. “My darling, you aren’t supposed to be awake.”

  With no warning, Nash leapt off the platform and landed on top of the queen. She toppled to the floor with his full weight upon her. When she opened her mouth to let out a scream, he stuffed in a wad of marjoram. One soldier started toward him, but Grant shoved a sword into the man’s stomach.

  Nash held Cataleen’s nose and mouth shut until she swallowed the leaves. The rest of her guards stood still, too shocked even to come to their queen’s defense. Cataleen choked and sputtered until a tremor overtook her.

  Nash rubbed her auburn hair. “Zarina?”

  Layla caught Wil’s gaze, but he shrugged.

  “Nash?” This voice did not sound like the queen’s, though it came from her body.

  Nash smiled and rolled off Cataleen. He offered his hand to help her stand. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Nothing that won’t heal. You did what had to be done.”

  “Can you remove the guards and let my friends go?”

  She blushed under his intense stare. “Of course. Guards, release the prisoners and return to you duties.”

  Layla’s captor tensed behind her. “My queen?”

  “You heard me, Finn.” Though she still sounded regal, Cataleen’s voice lacked the edgy quality Layla had come to associate with her.

  Finn did as his queen commanded and released Layla. The soldiers gaped at one another, their unease clear, but they moved away. Vespa handed Layla another strip of yellow dress. Layla pressed the material against her bleeding neck, grateful for her friend’s help.

  Seizing the opportunity, Wil lunged at Cataleen. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

  “No!” Nash jumped in front of her. He grabbed Wil out of the air and tossed him a few feet away.

  Layla ran toward Nash and shoved him backward. “What in the three kingdoms is wrong with you?”

  Wil picked himself up and rubbed his arm. “What has gotten into you, Nash? We have the opportunity to kill this murderer and rid Etherea of a threat. Why are you defending her?”

  “She’s not what you think.”

  Vespa crossed her arms and glared at each of her brothers. “What is going on? Who is Zarina?”

  Cataleen gestured toward the door. “I’m sorry, but there’s no time to explain. She’ll be back soon. You need to leave now.”

  “Who will come back?” Layla frowned. Nash’s behavior made no sense, and the marked shift in Cataleen perplexed her.

  “There’s no time,” the queen insisted. “Please, go.”

  When she turned to Nash, her features glowed. He smiled back, affection evident on his face. Layla’s frown deepened. She wondered if the Outlanders had the power to brainwash as well as to shape shift.

  Nash took the queen’s hand. “Thank you, Zarina.”

  “Go Nash; you’re free now.” Cataleen blinked back her tears.

  “Keep fighting.” He brushed his lips against her cheek.

  She laughed and gave him a playful push. “Go.”

  Nash led the way to the door, which lay open and free of guards. On his way by, Wil grabbed Layla’s hand and squeezed it before running to catch up with Mia. He bent down to whisper something in her ear then placed feather-light fingers on her stomach. She covered his hand with her own.

  Layla winced. She stared at them until their images blurred. Unable to stand another moment of their affinity, she stalked by them. Vespa reached for her, but Layla kept going. Talking to Vespa meant facing her feelings, and right now, Layla chose to focus on the mission instead. She needed to find out more about Cataleen and this Zarina.

  When she reached Nash, Layla tapped him. He jerked away as if she’d burned him. His tortured green eyes swept over her face, and then he turned away. She wrinkled her brow, confused by his odd behavior.

  “I know.” He kept his back to her.

  She grimaced at the lifelessness in his tone. “You know what?”

  “I know about you and Wil.”

  “Me and Wil? I don’t understand.” But as she said the words, the truth dawned on her. Cataleen must have told him about that night in the tent, while electing not to mention that Wil had made love to Mia, not Layla.

  He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “So you remember now?”

  “Nash, no. It’s not at all what you think.”

  “Don’t. Please. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “But—”

  “Nash!” Cataleen’s scream halted them all.

  Layla turned around to find the queen in the middle of a convulsion. Nash’s face fell.

  “We have to go. Now.” Nash increased his pace. He spread his arms to encompass as many of them as he could, hurrying them. As he glanced back, his expression grew more somber. The group ran, but just as they arrived at the exit, the doors slammed closed.

  Samson punched the wood. “Did she do that? How can she even do that?”

  “Grant, Samson, and Layla, work together to break down the door. That wood is solid but still no match for three Vanguards.” Nash stepped back toward Cataleen. “I’ll deal with her.”

  “No.” Layla grabbed his arm and pulled with all her might, but he didn’t budge. As a Vanguard prince, even a Halfling one, he possessed more Vanguard strength than she did.

  “What are you thinking, Nash? We came all this way to save you, and you’re just going back? She could capture you again, and then what?”

  He reached up and used one finger to trace the outline of her jaw. The agony and heartache on his face rendered her speechless. “There’s nothing for me in Etherea or Vanguard anymore.”

  She set her hand over his and squeezed. Her eyes bore into his. He had to see the truth. He had to understand. “Nash—”

  An ear-piercing roar filled the room. Cataleen raced toward them, her face a mask of rage. Nash crouched.

  “I’ll hold her off. You break down the door and run.”

  “But—”

  “Run, or she will kill you.”

  Layla crouched down beside him. “I’m done running. I ran one too many times when I should have stayed. I came to rescue you, and I’m bringing
you home.”

  He growled. “I don’t want you to stay. I want you to go.”

  “No.”

  When the queen arrived, Layla grabbed her, threaded an arm around her neck, and squeezed. Cataleen’s hands flailed. Layla rolled her eyes at the pathetic gasping noises.

  Nash freed the thrashing queen. “You can’t kill her, Layla.”

  “I can, and I will.”

  “I forbid it. There are things you don’t know.”

  “I know she wants us all dead. That’s good enough for me.”

  Cataleen clung to Nash for a moment before whirling around and pulling a knife from beneath her dress. The queen proved clever and cunning, just as Volton Holt warned. She raised the weapon, but Nash captured her arm in midair.

  Nash unwound the blade from Cataleen’s fingers. “Stop it. Both of you.”

  Before he could speak another word, Layla lifted Cataleen into the air and flung her across the room. She crashed into the glass windows and slid to the floor.

  “First Ones! You’re so impulsive sometimes.” Nash started toward the queen.

  Layla grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “Impulsiveness is a Vanguard trait. Why won’t you kill her?”

  He ignored her question and yelled back over his shoulder. “Samson and Grant, get that door open. I can only hold her off for so long.” He pursed his lips. “Layla, help your brothers. If you don’t, we’ll all die.” She opened her mouth to argue. “You know I’m right. You know I am.”

  “You’re only right because you won’t let me kill her.” Layla huffed but joined her brothers. In three kicks, the door flew off its hinges. She watched as everyone else raced into the hallway. With her family and friends safe, she walked back to Nash. Across the room, Cataleen had managed to pull herself up onto her knees.

  “Come on. Let’s leave this place.” Layla tugged on Nash’s arm.

  “Leaving the castle’s not enough to get all of you out of the Outlands safely. I have to hold her off.”

  “Stop being so stubborn. We risked our lives to save yours. Now come on.”

  Wil rushed up to them, his eyes frantic. “When I discovered the two of you weren’t with us, I thought the worst. Come on; we have to move now.”

  “I’m staying.” Nash waved his hand to ward off the protests. “Get her out of here, Wil.”

  “Come with us, brother.”

  “I have to keep the queen from tracking you down. Only I can do that.”

  Wil touched Nash’s shoulder. “There’s something you should know. The Outlander queen has withheld the full Prophecy from everyone, but we found the complete one today. It…it’s you. You and Layla are the ones to fulfill it.”

  Nash’s green eyes clouded. He flicked his gaze toward Layla, dropped his head, and took a deep breath before looking up again. “That can’t be.”

  “The full Prophecy mentions a Halfling and one with unusual fortitude. So, you see, you can’t stay here. You have a Prophecy to fulfill.”

  Nash ran a hand through his already tangled hair. “I am a true believer, Wil. You’ve always know that about me. If I really am meant to fulfill the Prophecy, then you must trust me to survive and fulfill it. If you don’t trust me, trust the First Ones. We are all set on a path they determined long ago, and we will end up where we are meant to go.”

  Layla puffed out an angry breath. “You can’t believe that. We are in charge of our own destinies. We make our own paths.”

  Nash barked a hollow laugh. “You of all people should know that’s not true.” He turned to Wil. “Trust me. Go now, before Cataleen regains the wits Layla knocked out of her.”

  Wil sighed and nodded. He took Layla’s hand to lead her toward the doorway, but she shook him off and whirled around. Her blood pounded inside her head so hard it hurt. Frustration mingled with anger as she shoved Wil against a nearby wall. “You’re just going to let Nash stay here? After we came all this way to save him?”

  Wil furrowed his brow. “There are some things even your strength and my Alterations cannot control.”

  “Are you a true believer now too?”

  “Nash is. And I trust my brother. If he’s chosen to stay, he has his reasons.”

  “You can’t just leave him here to die.” Layla pressed a finger into Wil’s chest before spinning around to face Nash. “You can’t stay here. Everything you believe is a lie. Come back home with us, and we’ll show you the truth.”

  Nash kept an eye on Cataleen, who stood now, though she held her head in her hands. “I’m staying. I know what I’m doing. I can’t explain it all to you right now, but you need to trust me as Wil does.”

  The queen charged toward them. Nash called for Grant and Samson. Layla’s brothers rushed into the room. Nash shoved her toward them.

  “Get her out of here. Now!”

  Layla touched Nash’s arm. “No. Don’t do this.”

  Samson and Grant wrapped her up. Using their combined strength, they dragged her into the hallway.

  She kicked and flailed against them. “Nash! The First Ones have done nothing but screw up our lives from the moment we were born.”

  Nash shook his head. “You don’t really believe that, Layla.”

  Her brothers pulled her through the ornate doorframe, and Nash disappeared from sight.

  Wil

  Wil gripped Nash’s arm. “Are you sure about staying? What if she kills you?”

  “She won’t kill me.”

  Cataleen slowed to a walk, her expression like that of a cat toying with its prey. “Oh, Na-ash.”

  Nash grimaced. “I do need your help though. Someone named Zarina is trapped inside that body. She doesn’t want to do what Cataleen forces her to do. She’s good, and I need to free her. Help me do that.”

  “Is that why you wouldn’t let me kill her?”

  Nash nodded. “If you had killed Cataleen, you would have killed Zarina. I couldn’t allow you to do that.” He followed the queen’s progress, his speech speeding up as she came closer. “Zarina thinks the Voltons might understand what’s going on.”

  “The Voltons won’t break their neutrality. We’ve already tried to get them to tell us about the Outlanders.”

  “Wil, you have to try again. This whole situation—Cataleen and Zarina and whatever they are together—I believe it affects all three kingdoms.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but I know I’m right.” He placed a hand on Wil’s shoulder. “Promise me you’ll try to find a way to free Zarina. If you help me, I’ll come back home once it’s done.”

  Wil swallowed down his sorrow. “I promise.”

  Nash smiled. “Thank you.” He glanced away, his eyes watery. “Take good care of Layla.”

  Wil longed to explain to his brother how much he’d botched things with Layla, but Cataleen’s imminent arrival left him little time. “I will.” He cocked his head to the side. “How do you plan to hold Cataleen off until we talk to the Voltons about Zarina?”

  “By giving her what she wants.”

  “Which is?”

  “I’m going to marry her.”

  Before Wil could protest, Nash ran toward Cataleen and wrapped her up in his arms. She let out a strange squeal—half anger, half pleasure.

  “Run, Wil.”

  With one final glance at his brother, Wil fled.

  Chapter Five

  Wil

  Wil burst through the castle doors, leapt onto his horse, and rode toward the rendezvous point by a circuitous route in case Cataleen sent her guards to pursue him. Though Nash promised to distract the queen, Wil had seen her lunacy, and he didn’t trust her to let them go.

  Nash . Wil gripped the reins. Leaving his brother in the clutches of that crazed queen felt wrong, yet he knew Nash well enough to know he’d never have come despite Wil’s pleading. He’d always been a stubborn one. Nash had been the one who had explored all the places he’d been forbidden to go, disregarded the rules when it suited him, and fought
their mother’s every attempt to teach him propriety. Wil shook his head and grinned in spite of himself. Same ole Nash. Somehow, he’d always found a way back home, so Wil had no choice but to trust in his brother’s ability to do it again.

  The absurd notion of Nash’s impending marriage to Cataleen—or Zarina, or whoever she was—reminded Wil of his own predicament. Mia carried his baby, but Layla carried his heart. He sighed. The right thing to do would be to marry Mia. The right thing to do…same ole Wil. While Nash had gallivanted off to adventure, Wil had remained at home and made the responsible choices.

  For once in his life, he longed to be irresponsible, to throw caution to the wind and follow his heart. But a child—his child—depended on him. Though Mia had deceived and betrayed him, taking that which could never be returned, he had fathered the baby growing inside her. He had a responsibility to his child and an obligation to the people of his kingdom. He needed to be an example they would follow.

  As Wil came upon the campsite, he noticed Layla’s hands tied around a tree trunk with huge ropes meant for subduing Vanguards. Samson lorded over her, his sword drawn. Wil slid off his horse and rushed to her.

  Fury built inside him. “What in the three kingdoms do you think you’re doing?”

  Samson shrugged. “I couldn’t get her to stay in place. She kept screaming that she had to save Nash. Every time I released her, she took off toward the castle. What else could I do?” He smirked.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Layla’s purple eyes flashed with anger.

  “Actually, I am.”

  Wil fumbled with her ties, releasing her. She jumped up and shoved Samson. He fell backward with a laugh. Wil reached out a hand to help Samson back up but snatched it back when Layla darted off toward the castle. Samson landed with a thud for the second time.

  “Thanks, Wil.” Samson chuckled. “Don’t mind me. I’ll just help myself up.”

  His words faded as Wil raced to keep up with Layla. “What are you doing?” He wheezed.

  “We have to save Nash.”

  “He doesn’t want to be saved.”