The Red Door Page 11

  “You’re an asshole.” The words I really wanted to say stayed trapped inside.

  “Not the eloquent verbiage of a queen.” He dropped his arm, moving away from Wren. “But that’s all you are, Megan. Words. Soon, you’ll be queen, and you’ll say and act as I tell you.”

  “No one can control me.” I glared, daring him to take the next punch.

  In the light of the moons, a smile glistened across his dark face. “That’s where you’re wrong. I have what I need. It’s like a game of chess. I’m moving the players into place. Your weaknesses are right here. One will be under my thumb, and the other locked away in an underground prison cell. You will become queen. And then you’ll take me as the first king of Rushna.”

  “No,” Brek and Carter said at the same time.

  “It’s out of the question.” The thought of being married to a psychopath was unthinkable. The pieces of Jaco’s plan were snapping into place, just as I feared. He didn’t want to fulfill the prophecy. He wanted to set himself up in a position of power. “I don’t date older men, let alone marry them.”

  He staggered towards me, a fool drowning in his own liquor. When he was a foot away, he raised his hand to my cheek, and it felt as if all the blood were draining from my body. How dare he touch me again? I reached up to strike him, but he caught me by the wrist.

  “Refuse, my little feisty one, and that one,” he looked at Carter, “loses a finger.” His grip tightened on my wrist. “And it will continue that way through his fingers, through his toes, his ears, his arms, legs, well… you get the idea.” He nodded at the soldier who held a knife to Carter’s neck. “I’m almost half inclined to have him lose his first finger now. You hurt my feelings by calling me such a nasty name.”

  My heart raced as I looked at Brek and then at Wren. Neither of them were in a position to help. I’d have to be Jaco’s submissive slave to keep my boyfriend intact. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to him. “Please, Jaco.”

  He laughed, his grip loosening. “I need you to beg harder than that. On your knees, girl.”

  Oh, God. Was this guy for real? I fell before him, and in my peripheral vision, Brek stared at me, his mouth hanging open. “Don’t hurt him.” I hung my head. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” And when I get the chance, I split your chest open and rip out your heart.

  He patted me on my head like I was his favorite golden retriever. “That’s my good girl.” His fingers lingered in my hair. “Now stand up and say goodbye to your boyfriend. It’ll be the last time you see him for a while. That is, if you ever see him again.”

  My gut churned as I marched over to him. Carter’s eyes were on mine, but they held fear, not shame or disgust. The man who held the knife didn’t back down when I neared.

  I called over my shoulder, “Jaco, can I have a moment?”

  He must have given the soldier the signal because he lowered the knife and backed away.

  I wrapped my arms around Carter and whispered into his ear, “I’ll do what it takes to get us out of here.” I kissed his neck. “And you won’t be losing any body parts.”

  He growled, “Don’t you give in to that man.”

  Jaco cleared his throat. Our time was up. Carter grabbed my shoulders and pressed his lips against mine.

  “Don’t damage the goods over there.” Jaco’s words slurred between his chuckles. “And she better be a virgin, or I know who to come after.”

  Carter’s body went rigid. I was sure he wanted to tear him limb for limb, too. He drew in a deep breath. “I’ll see you soon.”

  And then, the soldier ripped him away and hauled him into the darkness.

  Jaco left Wren behind in the courtyard and escorted Brek and me into the house. He removed his cloak and hung it on a hook by the door. Without looking at us, he barked out his orders. “Go to your room, Meg. Vena!”

  The woman rushed into the room and rubbed her eyes. She inspected Brek from head to foot, her eyes resting on the cuffs around his wrists. “Yes, sir.”

  “Show the magician to an empty room upstairs, preferably far away from the queen’s.” He took a bottle of liquor from a shelf and disappeared down a hallway.

  Vena lit a candle on the hutch. “Come this way.”

  Brek shrugged and followed her. I rushed after them, falling into step next to the servant girl.

  “There’s a room across from mine that’s empty,” I said. With Jaco’s threats, having Brek nearby would be a comfort.

  “The master told me to give him a room away from yours.” She stopped on the stairs.

  “Yes, but he’s a guest and my friend.”

  She eyed Brek again. “Then why does he have handcuffs on?”

  “Jaco’s afraid of his magic, but there’s nothing to worry about if he has the cuffs on.” I touched her arm, the rough fabric of her dress so different from the velvet of my own. “I need someone to talk to. It can get kind of lonely as future queen.”

  Her face softened, and a tiny smile parted her lips. “I understand, miss. There’s a boy I love that lives on the other side of Mateel. There’s nothing like being apart.”

  I’d let her believe whatever she wanted to get my way. She showed Brek to his room and then retreated.

  After changing, I crept across the hallway and tapped lightly on his door. A few seconds later, it cracked open, and he let me inside.

  “How am I supposed to do anything with these things on?” He glared at the cuffs and sat down in an armchair. “My lifeblood has been drained out of me.”

  “You’ve only had magic for a month.” I tossed a throw pillow at his face, but he deflected it in time. “How do you miss it already?”

  “You don’t understand.” He hung his head and tapped his bound wrists against his knees. “Before the Green Door, there was little that mattered in my life—Mom, you, and possibly my cross-country scholarship. But now I have magic, and hopefully, someone who can train me to use it. I wish I could give this feeling of empowerment to you.”

  I leaned back into the barrage of pillows that lay against the headboard. It was almost as if we were back in Brek’s room at home, shooting the breeze, but talking about magical abilities wasn’t the norm.

  “Jaco’s not bluffing.” He stood up to lie beside me on the bed. “He’ll take Carter piece-by-piece if you resist.”

  “And then he’ll take you.” I buried a pillow beneath me and faced him. “I’m going to be a good girl and do what he says for now.”

  He sighed and closed his eyes. His hands turned white as he balled them into fists. “When you dropped to your knees to beg for Carter’s life, it wasn’t you.”

  “It was a shade of me.” I brushed a stray hair from his forehead. “I’d do anything for you and Carter.”

  “The guy wants to take you as his wife. You know what that means.” He gripped a pillow in front of him. “I’m not ok with that. He’s a piece of shit.”

  “We’ll get this figured out before it gets to that point.” I took the pillow from him and entwined his fingers with mine. “We have to defeat Athena first. It’s not like that’s an easy task.”

  It wasn’t often I was without words, but being quiet for a minute put my soul at ease. He sank deeper into the pillow and closed his eyes. I maneuvered my hand to slip out of his, but he gripped my fingers tighter.

  He opened his eyes slightly, the deep blue barely visible in the light of the oil lamp. “Stay.”

  Exhausted, I snuggled close to my best friend and rested my head on his shoulder. This slice of time, this spot beside Brek, was the first safety I’d experienced in days, but it was a façade. In the morning, it would be ripped out from under us as my training began, and Jaco’s liquid distraction was a distant memory.

  “Do you think we’ll make it out of the Red Door?” I whispered, staring out the window at the stars in this strange world—no Big Dipper, or Little Dipper, no Pleiades.

  Brek shifted to face me. This time, he lightly brushed a stray hair out of my fac
e. “You’re so important to me. I’ll give my life to make sure you make it home safely.”

  A pounding noise woke me the following morning. A puddle of drool had accumulated under my face on the pillow. I shifted to my left. Brek was still sound asleep.

  Grumbling, I brushed through my hair with my fingers and stumbled to the door. Satchel held a tray of food and a frown on his face.

  “What are you doing here? We’re supposed to start our training at five sharp.” He glanced over my shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’ve moved on to your other boy toy.”

  “No.” I tiptoed over to the chair and slid on my Vans. I wasn’t going to have this conversation here, or anywhere for that matter. Didn’t anyone understand platonic friendships with sleepover rights? “We needed each other last night.”

  I joined Satchel in the hall and closed the door. It worried me to leave Brek, not knowing what Jaco’s plans were for him.

  Satchel leaned against the far wall, still holding the breakfast items. His usual smirk was planted across his face. He raised an eyebrow. “You needed each other?”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter.” I stormed past him, but he fell into step beside me. “Do you even know what it’s like to have a friend, or do you double-cross all of them?”

  He whistled. “Hitting where it hurts this morning, are we?”

  I stopped at the top of the stairs. “You were supposed to be my friend. But then you take me to him.” I pointed to the room below. “He’s as sadistic as Athena. Did you know he threatened to cut up Carter, or of his plans to marry me?”

  The platter shook slightly. Juice spilled over the lip of the glass. “No, I’m not around enough to hear any real plans. I thought it was simple—train you, overthrow the queen, bring peace back to Rushna.”

  “Nothing’s ever that easy.” I grabbed a pastry off the tray, took a bite, and barreled down the stairs, ready for my training.

  The larger room on the first floor was empty. He led me to French doors in the back of the building that opened to a courtyard. Esme, dressed from head-to-toe in battle gear, sharpened a blade on a rock.

  “It’s about time the two of you made it down here. I was beginning to think I’d have to summon an elf or a goblin to battle.” She looked badass with her long hair tied in a braid like a whip. Her tight leather outfit clung to the contours of her body.

  “Get back to the room, Esme,” Satchel barked. He unsheathed a long sword he carried at his hip. “You’ll only be in the way.”

  “Don’t speak to her like that.” I swiped the sword from his hand and brought it straight down on a wooden bench. My whole body vibrated from the impact.

  He chuckled, but Esme stood there with one hand on her hip and the other gripping her blade. Her lips were pursed.

  “If I beat you, can I stay?” She arched an eyebrow at her fiancé. “I’ve been patiently waiting for our queen as long as you have.”

  I yanked at the sword to remove it from the wood. It was buried too deep. I felt like Arthur as I tried to excavate the blade. Exhausted, I turned to Esme, “You don’t have to ask his permission to stay. Apparently, I’m the future ruler and you have my blessing.”

  Without looking at Satchel, she clapped her hands and rushed over to hug me. After she released me, she gripped the sword in the bench and removed it like a knife from butter.

  She must have seen my jaw hanging open.

  “Brother Mic… uh, I mean my dad, trained me on the sword when I was young.” She faced Satchel, who pouted like a little boy watching the two of us. “Maybe I could help instead of be the hindrance you always see me as?”

  He crossed the courtyard and took the second sword from her. “You know I don’t see you as a hindrance. It’s just that this is serious business. Jaco says she has to be trained in a month’s time, and no offense, but it’s not exactly women’s work.” He backed up and sliced the sword through the air. “You could teach her to bake a mean apple pie.”

  “Now, that’s offensive to me. Are you for real?” I clamped my hand over my mouth, not realizing I’d been shouting. “The ruler of this land is, and always has been, a woman, but you treat Esme like she’s a lesser citizen. She’s one of the most patient and kind people I know, waiting around for you to come home all the time.”

  “I want to learn. I’m a bit rusty on my skills.” Esme sat on the bench. “I’ll watch and be quiet. Maybe at some point, you’ll give me a turn. We all have to fight this battle to win.”

  He seemed to give in to her, because he turned to me and examined my grip on the sword. “The first thing you need to learn is how to hold it.”

  “You mean you don’t hold it like a broom?” I smirked at him, still ticked off with the way he treated his fiancée. I’d show him how difficult I could be.

  “No, you’ve got to treat it like an extension of yourself.” He clasped his sword in one hand, beneath the guard, his left foot forward, and the pommel hovering over his stomach.

  I’d held a sword before, when Brek dragged me to a cosplay party at one of his friend’s houses, but it was more of a toy than an extension of my being. I gripped the sword, mimicking Satchel. “Like this?”

  “Exactly, now step forward with your left foot.” He examined my posture. “Right, now plant that foot firmly into the ground. You don’t want to lose your balance in the middle of a battle.”

  Esme found a large stick beside the tree in the courtyard. She wrapped her fingers around it and then planted her foot in front of her. She planned on learning how to fight, with or without a sword.

  “I’d like to spar against Esme.” I dropped the tip of my weapon to the ground.

  “See?” He held up his arms in frustration and glared at his fiancée. “I knew you’d be a distraction. She has a glorious ideal in her head of female empowerment.”

  Esme threw her stick to the side.

  “My ideas are actually more practical.” I marched over to her and gave her my sword. “If I end up fighting Athena, I don’t want to be thrown off by the weight and height difference between the two of you. Esme’s size is more realistic.” It made sense in my head, anyway.

  Jaco interrupted our pre-foray lessons as he burst through one of the gates in the courtyard. “I need all of you in the battle room immediately.”

  15

  Sunlight streamed through the window arches, illuminating a map on the wooden dining table. Maree, Krashid, and two of the men who’d made the trek across Mateel with us studied markers on the tattered material.

  “They’ve crossed into the Bone Valley.” One of the men pointed to a spot near a red marker, the first red I’d seen since leaving Athena’s stronghold and shedding my forbidden-color clothing.

  Krashid massaged his beard. “It’s called the Bone Valley for a reason. The creatures that lurk in the deepest part of the woods will drive them back. Our soldiers never venture that way.”

  “Yes.” Jaco joined them at the table. He moved the red piece past the forested area and to a section that appeared to be a canyon. “My concern is that they do make it through the forest. Kettles Canyon will be difficult to cross, but not impossible. Beyond that, it’s only flatlands to our stronghold.”

  “Who’s they?” I leaned over the map as if I were an active participant in the conversation. If we were under attack, as queen, I should know.

  “It’s a battalion of Athena’s militia.” Brek startled me as he stood from a chair in the corner, his handcuffs gone. I hadn’t seen him there when I entered the room. “At least five hundred soldiers under direct orders to bring you back to Athena. Word has gotten out that you might be the person to fulfill the prophecy.”

  “Fantastic.” I leaned over the map, well aware that Krashid eyed my unladylike position. To piss him off, I hoisted myself up on the table. “Let’s get this straight—Athena, the woman with an entire military, is scared of me?”

  “That’s correct.” Jaco stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest. He reminded me of an ov
ergrown peacock, and every bone in my body wanted to prune all of his feathers. The question was for Brek, not for him.

  Brek crossed the room and rested against the table beside me. He moved a green marker to the western side of the Kettles Canyon. “If we can cut them off at the canyon, we’ll have the advantage as they try to cross.”

  “And where did you learn military strategy?” There were army bases near Worthington, but Brek never aspired to join. Once he got the scholarship, it was the collegiate life for him.

  “Halo.” He shot me a crooked grin. Of course, it had to do with a video game.

  I hopped down from the table and imagined the red marker as hundreds of soldiers storming the white walls of the insurgent stronghold. “Jaco, what does my military look like? We’ll need every able-bodied person, correct?”

  “Right now, I’ve mustered three hundred, but two hundred more are scattered around the outskirts of Rushna.” He pointed to five dots that were a ways from our current location. “We’ll need archers to take down the swarm and swordsman to clean up the stragglers.”

  “You make it sound like a cleanup on aisle nine,” I mumbled, promptly receiving one of Brek’s elbows to my ribcage.

  “Athena won’t dare leave her walled city. Without the boosting serum to her pheromones, her followers will diminish.” Jaco strutted around the table in pure peacock fashion. “This is merely a defensive campaign with the ultimate goal of showing a small portion of our strength to the enemy.”

  “And my coming out party?” I arched an eyebrow. “Your plan’s no big secret to Athena, since she’s sending troops after me, but when I’m leading the troops on the front line, it will be kind of obvious.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Maree said. I’d almost forgotten that she was there with all the testosterone in the room. “I’ve not been your biggest supporter, but if you are to be our queen, we can’t have you killed or captured. It might take us decades to find another who meets the description of the prophecy.”