Children of the Gods - A Chosen Novel (14 page)

“We are going out today, he will be our
escort,” Jaxson responded.

I forgot my fear immediately. “Leaving the
ship?” I tried to keep my voice even but it came out an octave
higher.

“Yes.” Jaxson nodded and took my hand. His
touch sent a jolt through me, spreading a silent, instinctive
message. The hum of his body told me he was as excited about our
outing as I was, though you could not read it in his features.

The air outside smelled sweeter than I
remembered. I sucked in a deep breath and held it as long as I
could before letting it out and drew in another.

“There is enough for you to waste it,” Jaxson
said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I laughed as I let out
my breath.

Looking out at the trees felt like home. I
wanted to touch each one as we started walking through them. I was
so wrapped up in the freedom, it took me a minute to realize we
were walking, not using the pedestal they usually came to town
on.

“I would like our trip to remain discreet,”
Jaxson said, as if he read my mind when I look up at him.

I tried to focus on the color of the sky and
the smell of earth that wafted up after each step, but I could not
shake the feeling that something was wrong. The deeper we moved
into the woods, the stronger the feeling became.

I pushed out everything else and listened for
the sounds of the forest. That is when I realized something really
was wrong. The pressure from Jaxson’s hand was still light and
comfortable, but there was something in the way he held it that
made me look over at him. His hand was the only thing relaxed about
him.

I looked around and realized the forest was
silent. The only sound was the beating of my heart as its pace
quickened, and the shuffle of our feet through the fallen leaves. I
struggled to hear anything else.

If I strained, I thought I could make out
something more; a distant shuffle, an occasional snap of a twig. I
tried to tell myself it was the animals re-emerging in our wake. I
chanced a sideways glance at Jaxson and it was clear he also heard
it.

He raised a finger to his lips, stopping my
questions. The sounds were no longer distant and I could no longer
deny they sounded like the footfalls of more than one person.

I knew better than to let us come into the
woods. They are not safe for the Halorans. There were people from
the city who never accepted our fate. They were biding their time,
waiting for just such an opportunity. Death to them was worth
taking out one of the “Gods.” I was selfish and high on the
freedom. If Jaxson and Griff died, it would be my fault.

Jaxson pulled his hand from mine and I felt
it pressed to my back, shoving me hard. I stumbled forward.

“Run.” Jaxson’s voice came out in a quiet
hiss.

I turned just in time to see Jaxson shoving
his foot onto the back of Duester’s calf. He followed her to her
knees. One arm was pressing his knife tight against her throat and
his other hand had her arm twisted up behind her back. It was so
fast I barely had time to blink while it all happened.

Griff came out of the trees with his large
hands around the necks of two Halorans I had very little
interaction with, Annalyse and Vitoro. They did not struggle at
all. In fact they looked somewhat relieved.

I turned back to face Jaxson and Duester when
I heard her grunt. Jaxson pressed closer to her, placing his lips
next to her ear. His knife still pressed tight enough against her
neck that the skin against the blade curved into it.

“Duester, you are lucky your Kincha has not
given up searching for its missing half. If you were not still
producing that
noxious
odor, you would be dead.” He threw a
glance at the two Griff held.

“If I find any of you near my queen ever
again, even your stench will not be able to save you.” His voice
was deadly calm. It made the hair on my neck and arms stand on
end.

He withdrew his knife from Duester’s neck and
shoved the back of her head, forcing her face into the ground. She
lay there, unmoving, barely breathing, but I got the feeling it was
more than fear and Jaxson’s boot that held her there. I could not
see her eyes, but if I could, I was sure what I saw would frighten
me.

Jaxson looked up at Griff and without a word
Griff nodded and closed his eyes. A moment later he let go of
Annalyse and Vitoro. They both fell to the ground and clutched
their throats.

Jaxson took my hand. He did not try to hide
his tension like before. I could feel it pulsing through his hand
into mine. A few minutes later, five guards appeared. Griff gave
them a meaningful look, but said nothing. The largest of them
nodded and turned his attention to Duester. The other four
collected Annalyse and Vitoro.

Without another word, Jaxson turned and we
resumed our previous path. When we were out of ear shot, he turned
to face me.

“You did not run.” His voice was steady, but
he did not meet my eyes.

“I could not leave you. I did not know what
was out there.”

“What if there had been more of them? You
cannot be so irresponsible. You are the only thing that matters.”
He met my eyes then, and his were fierce with passion and
anger.

I swallowed, and though the intensity of his
eyes told me not to object, I could not restrain myself. “Not to
me. You matter to me.”

He wrapped his arms around me in a crushing
hug. His breath was heavy in my ear. It was not until I felt him
tremble that I realized how frightened he was.

The next half hour was spent in silence. As
we walked, the woods began to feel more familiar. A sick feeling
began to spread over me like a slow tide. These were my woods. I
spent all my free time in these woods trying to avoid the reality
that was life in the City. They were almost more of a home to me
than our little house, which, if I squinted, I could see the
outline rising out of the shadows.

Chapter
17

There were two things that allowed me to
remain sane in the life I found myself in. One was Jaxson’s
kindness. The other was pretending my family was happy and going on
with normal life, like nothing had ever happened. As long as I did
not think about them I could accomplish this.

The door opened and the illusion I relied
upon was destroyed. My mother’s face was pulled tight into a
grimace. Her smile was all teeth, and no warmth. There was no love
there for me.

I could do nothing but stare, my heart
breaking with each passing second. Then her eyes softened. They
were questioning, searching mine for signs that I was still in
there. I took a deep breath and did what I had to.

“Mrs. Cushing!” I reached for her hand and
pulled her into a mock embrace, pressing a cheek to each of
hers.

She still looked uncertain when I let her go.
I brushed past her into the house and turned in a slow circle.
“What a… beautiful house you have here.” I said and smiled only
with my lips.

Her face turned hard again and the questions
were gone. I thought I might die if I looked at her for one more
second. I was spared as I heard Lizanne’s steady limp coming up the
hall.

“Please, do have a seat.” Mother gestured
toward the chairs she had set out. The house was decorated almost
as it always was for my birthday, but with a few subtle
differences. She had placed black coverings on the chairs that
previously were blue. My favorite color. Now that I looked around,
there was not a speck of blue in the house.

Lizanne sat carefully in a chair as far from
either Jaxson or myself as she could get. She watched me
constantly, even when her head was turned away.

“Thank you for giving Lizanne a pass,” my
mother said when no one spoke.

“It is the least I can do,” Jaxson said. “Is
there anything you need?”

Mother shook her head and looked at her hands
in her lap. I could see her lip quiver, and I tried not to tear
up.

“What does it feel like to be inside her?”
Lizanne asked, suddenly. My mother’s eyes went wide and she turned
on Lizanne.

“You will show respect to our guests,
Lizanne. They are royalty and we are humbled to have them in our
home.” She looked back at us as she spoke the last sentence in what
felt like an attempt at apology without actually doing so.

“It is a fair question,” I said, looking
Lizanne in the eye.

Jaxson seemed to tense waiting for my
response.

“I understand your concern and I want you to
know she is well cared for.”

Lizanne looked for a moment like she believed
me, but then I saw doubt spring up in her eyes. I wanted to reach
out and touch her, but she was too far away and it would only make
things worse if she thought she saw me, instead of the Gods she
hated, in my eyes.

A knock at the door broke me free from her
penetrating stare.

“Are you expecting someone?” Griff asked,
standing in the tiny living room, looking and sounding very much
like the guard he was. Jaxson was also on his feet, blocking me
from the door.

“No.” Mother looked bewildered. “Everyone
should be at Niko Polantano’s celebration.”

It was the one name I had hoped not to hear.
If I could not forget my families anguish, at least I could pretend
his did not exist. His name brought so many emotions to the
surface, I had not realized I still felt.

“He is nineteen today, and free of your
reach. That is the only reason for celebration today,” Lizanne
hissed at us. There was defiance and sadness in her eyes.

The knock came again.

Griff followed my mother to the door and
stood nearly pressed against her. I could not see who it was
because Jaxson was guarding me.

“Niko.” Mother’s voice was the sound of
heartbreak. He pushed past her and Griff. The moment he saw me, he
froze. There must be a special Hell reserved for people who have
done something as bad as I. It was the only way to explain the
punishment I was continually forced to endure.

Mother squeezed his shoulder and led him to a
chair. “You should be at your celebration, Niko. This is not Reka
anymore.”

He looked me directly in the eye before
answering. “We were born on the same day, one year apart. We have
shared every birthday celebration for the past seventeen years.
When you told me you would not be attending my celebration because
you were celebrating with her, here, I knew there was nothing that
could make me miss celebrating her eighteenth here also.”

“She knows you are here.” I reached for his
face and realized mid-stretch. I dropped my hand to his and held it
for just a second, then pulled away. Anaya who had been silent up
until this point felt remorseful. Her feelings only angered me.

I could not sit and watch the torment I was
causing them all. I would not last much longer. I was fighting the
tears every second as it was.

“I believe we should let them get to their
celebration. I have had all the excitement I can handle for one
day,” I said to Jaxson who was still standing, looking as
uncomfortable as everyone else.

Before he could respond, Lizanne stood up.
“We have not had any cake.”

I looked at the floor and nodded, hoping no
one could see the tears welling in my eyes. She sounded like she
had finally just accepted that I was gone, like she was attending
my funeral rather than my birthday.

“Cake would be nice,” I responded.

Jaxson sat back down and took my hand. He
gave it a light squeeze, but it no longer gave me the comfort it
had in the past. I let mine hang limp in his. I could feel his eyes
on me. I did not care if he saw my tears. I could not look at him
and see his concern, not with the way I was feeling. I was unsure I
would ever be able to look at him again.

Chapter
18

It was still light out when we stepped out
into the yard. All the colors and smells from the morning now
seemed bitter and brown. It was like someone had sucked all that
was good or special out of the world while we were inside.

The walk back was silent. Jaxson said
nothing, but out of the corner of my eye I could see him
continually glance over at me. I just stared ahead and occasionally
quickened my pace. It was not that I wanted to get back to the
ship, and certainly not back to our room where I would be alone
with him. I had hoped when we returned he would have
responsibilities to take care of.

“Are you ready for dinner? You must be
hungry, you barely ate,” Jaxson asked as we approached the
ship.

I wanted to be petulant and refuse but I knew
he would just bring it to me and I would rather eat in the dining
room than alone with him. I nodded.

As we weaved our way through the hallways, I
was grateful for Griff’s continued presence. Jaxson had to sense
something was wrong and I needed time to get my emotions in check.
If he confronted me right now, I would assuredly do something to
reveal myself. I needed to keep my head for my family’s sake,
though I am not entirely sure I would feel bad if it slipped that
it was not his beloved Anaya that was making him so happy these
last few months.

Walking through the dining room, I almost did
not notice the extra interest being paid to us. I had forgotten
about the incident with Duester. Gossip must have spread through
the entire ship by now.

“What will you have, my lady?” Katy
asked.

“Whatever is being served tonight will be
fine, Katy.”

She bowed, averting her eyes. She was polite
as always, but seemed distant this evening.

“For you, Sir?”

“I will have the same. Thank you, Katy.”
Jaxson’s voice sounded sympathetic, but I refused to look and find
out why. She curtsied and disappeared without another word. I would
have to remember to speak with her in the morning, make sure
everything was alright.