Regius Page 15

  "Cali!" I stepped over to the cell quickly, smiling at the cheer in Datura's voice. He slipped his arms between the bars, pulling me closer the moment he caught a hold of me. He looked just fine. Maybe a tad frustrated and suffering from cabin fever, but otherwise they were feeding the guys properly and the beds looked comfortable.

  My eyebrows rose when I felt him tuck something into the pocket that wasn't visible to Aram, but Datura made sure I couldn't look too shocked and give him away by guiding my face closer with his other hand, kissing me between the bars. My eyes fluttered closed and my heart skipped a beat as he deepened the lip lock. I'd expected a chaste kiss, but he ignored Aram's annoyed grunt and made sure I felt it all the way down to my bones.

  "I hate that we are apart." He breathed against my mouth, his fingers in my hair tugging me closer and closer, as though he hoped he could make the bars magically disappear and hold me properly against him. Reaching inside the cell, I placed my hand over his heart.

  "Me too." I murmured against his lips. "We'll fix this." I promised.

  "I know." I felt a smile form on his mouth before he reluctantly released me and stepped back.

  "Hey." I detached my eyes off Datura so I could look over at Galax, and nod at his hello. "With Aram's permission, I am allowed to tell you what Solenum and I discovered before she was taken."

  The Elder cleared his throat. "I am permitting it because you claim the information to be of great importance and the only person you are willing to tell it to, is the boy. Now speak and don't take all day." Frowning at his grumpiness, I waited for Galax to start talking, sticking my hands in my pockets and noticing that Datura had slipped a piece of paper in the right one. Glancing to his red gaze, I pursed my lips and tried to remain nonchalant when he winked discretely at my realization.

  "I thought Solenum to be part Civilian rather than Seer, since it is claimed the only Seers still alive are Vervaine and Sage." Galax started, pausing when Aram sighed at the mention of his family. "The blue blood cell never got at an advanced stage in the poison since we didn't let it, thus, we didn't get to see the delirium. And because she became aggressive during the trigger, whatever doubts the color of her eyes gave me were gone." I nodded, actually quite impressed he'd even considered her to be part Seer for a moment before the trigger. "I even thought she didn't carry enough Altor blood in her system to need the trigger to begin with. When she walked on the platform in the Pallium castle, her shine wasn't grey, it was amber. Altors who need the trigger always produce a grey light. But as hers wasn't pure gold and didn't light up the whole room as it had done with Vervaine, I deduced Civilian."

  "What changed your mind?" I asked, leaning against the bars of Datura's cell, smiling when he came to stand closer to me.

  "She told me about her recurring nightmare." I winced and he did too. "The fact that it is recurring is what had my doubts return on her origin, but when she told me the details of the dream and explained that she remembered her father told her mother that she had to believe because he'd seen them coming, I just knew." Galax was animatedly pacing his cell, his blue eyes occasionally looking in my direction. "We sought out my father, Flux, and he then revealed he knew much more than he'd led on."

  "Excuse me?" Aram cut in. Datura and I frowned over at Galax, having assumed that if Flux knew, the Elders must have known as well.

  "Exactly." Galax implored. "Not even the Elders knew. Flux said that the only people who did were him, the Jacoby's, the Esquivel's and the Everhart's. If my father knew, it's only because Aster, Solis' mother, had asked him to help her fall off grid."

  "You know the reason as to why Aster Everhart fell of grid? Acacia, her own sister, knew and kept it from me? The Elders?" Aram growled.

  I'd zeroed in on one specific thing though. "Acacia is Solenum's aunt?!"

  "Everyone." Datura cut in. "Just, let Galax get everything out and then we can ask questions." I nodded frantically at my boyfriend before pinning curious eyes on the Prince.

  "Yes. Acacia and Lupinus are Solenum's family. Her father, Leann Everhart, married Aster Greenwich when she helped him escape Regius trackers. In the end, he didn't need it because he is Seer and can create the barriers to protect himself. But they fell in love, had Solenum and then kept off grid, hoping to live somewhat regular lives, all the while knowing they'd have to run from Sage at any given moment were she to locate them." Galax grabbed some bars, leaning onto them. "Sage knew there were more Seers out there besides herself and Vervaine, but made sure nobody could find out so she could hunt them down and have them killed without the Altors in the way."

  "Do you know if I'm Sage's?" I asked softly, carefully.

  "You're not." Galax smiled as he said this. I was breathless. Datura was too. Aram was beyond surprised as well. It had never been a certainty, but to hear that I wasn't, it was a relief. "Kalmia Esquivel is your father, as you know, but after his time among the Regius, he left and ran into Linn Everhart, whom he then married."

  My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Solenum is my cousin?!"

  "She reacted quite similarly to you." Galax snickered, clearly amused with my shock.

  "While this allows Calycanthus to achieve peace of mind," Aram cut in. "I do not see how this is particularly important for other people."

  "Kalmia and Sage did have a child. It's just not Cali." Galax murmured. "We don't know her name, but we do know she can see as Vervaine can."

  "I have a sister?!" I shrieked, grasping Datura's hand when he put it in reach.

  "I'm sorry." Galax said softly. "I don't know her name or any details at all. Flux was only given the general overview so he knew what it was he was protecting."

  "Why would he keep this?" Aram demanded.

  "Because Linn and Leann were Seers who could have visions and Aster and Kalmia trusted them to guide them in the right direction. They told your soldiers that falling off grid would be best to keep this all under wraps, and so they made sure it stayed that way. The only time Flux was allowed to reveal the secret, was if either Solenum or Calycanthus would ask him of their origin." He detached his gaze off Aram and then looked over at me. "The Everhart's and Esquivel's only way to communicate with one another was through Flux. When your mother died because the curse of the Seer consumed her, the protection barrier she'd constructed around you and Kalmia broke. Your father was forced to run from Sage always. Flux said Kalmia tried to make it work, until he just couldn't anymore and he deemed his lifestyle far too dangerous for a child of barely one."

  I licked my lips, gulping. "So, he gave me to Ilex and ran until Sage caught him."

  "Yes."

  "I have a sister." I breathed. "And Solenum is my cousin."

  * * * *

  Nervous like I had never been before, I tugged the car door open, watching over my shoulder to make sure neither of the Jansen's or Caltha had followed me outside of the Coliseum and to the small parking space where the soldiers kept their vehicles. The idea of this car being mine was quite honestly the last thing on my mind. I was grateful Lupinus had taught me the basics, hopefully making my first car drive easier. He'd prepared me and Solenum. With the full facts on our blood lines; he must have known there was a large possibility she and I would need the trigger. But, even that wasn't the most important thought. The thought that monopolized my mind was the message on the piece of paper Datura had given me.

  If he and Galax were right, the moment I activated the dashboard in the vehicle it would ask me if I wanted to accept the current location of my locator. And once it had completed its connection, the screen would reveal to me where Solenum was.

  Sitting down, I started the engine and then opened the dashboard over on the passenger's side, watching the small, yet elaborate computer, unfold. As it turned on, I buckled up and closed the door: the excitement, fear and nerves multiplying in strength.

  What was I doing? I'd be breaking a lot of laws; I'd be on the run. How could Datura believe I could even do this?! I was untrained and without any
experience. Would I be of any help to Solenum?

  I jumped in surprise as the computer suddenly spoke.

  "Do you accept the current location of your locator to be your primary base?"

  Looking over my shoulder carefully because it felt like I was doing something bad, which I knew I was, I then locked my jaw and just pressed the accept button. This was Solenum. I had to do something. Galax was by far the more likely hero; he'd have a chance at surviving. Unfortunately, he was stuck in the cells and the next best thing to help Sol out of her conundrum was in the cells as well. Which left me. Her best friend. An untrained soldier that had bizarre powers connected back to the Seers. Completely and utterly uncontrolled.

  I stared as a map popped up on the screen and dragged itself upwards out of the Meadows of Serenium and out of Altor and Pallium districts entirely. My lips parted in shock as it glided straight into Regius territory and my eyes widened as I stared at the red dot glowing on the map in the high north of the Wastelands of Xenon. It was past Iodin City, further up than the Sunken Cities, surrounded by Immortalis Silva.

  "Solenum..." My breathing picked up in speed as I leaned to my side, squeezing myself between the two front seats to dig up a paper and pen in the pocket behind the passenger seat. Sitting back up properly, eyes wide, I scribbled the location on the piece of paper. If she was the one who put my car together, that meant the locator had to be with her still. Which meant she'd turned it on after she'd gotten kidnapped. That meant she'd tried to contact us in some way just like Galax had figured.

  With the red dot glowing on the screen, his guess was now a fact. Solenum was still alive and had gotten the chance to divulge the location of the Regius base and ultimately hers as well by turning the locator on. Of course there was also a chance the Regius were tricking us in some manner. While I would keep that in mind, I was not going to let this pass by.

  I stared out the front window, holding onto the piece of paper tightly. I wasn’t surprised it was placed in Immortalis Silva, that had been a given. None could get through Immortalis Silva’s labyrinth without getting lost, not unless you knew where you were going. Darting my eyes down, I reached over and hovered my fingertip over the red dot that showed me where my locator was.

  Should I warn the others? The Elders? The Altors in general? The Palliums? Yes. I should tell them that I was nearly ninety percent certain to have located the Regius base. But then what? Warn the Palliums, wait for everyone to assemble? That could take days. Did Solenum have days? Datura and Galax seemed to believe she didn't.

  Inhaling and exhaling shakily, I left the computer on, not wanting to risk turning it off; even though I had the location scribbled out on paper and could enter it into the GPS. Determined and mind made up, I let my eyes take in what had become my home in these many weeks. There was a chance I would die. Coming out of this alive was very unlikely. But I'd rather die trying to help her than sit here and wait for news that would tell me she was dead.

  Settling my weapons on the passenger seat, I grasped the steering wheel and drove down the first hill and away from the Coliseum.

  Nobody would stop me. Aram was in the cells, having no idea the Jansen's had permitted me to go out for a drive and Caltha was assured I wouldn't leave this place unless Datura did. The only person who'd have doubted my motives for wanting to test my car while having been battered with a lot of revelations considering my origin and Solenum's whereabouts, was Ilex. Which is why I was leaving before he returned with Vervaine.

  * * * *

  Chapter 14

  Solenum Everhart

  "How deep is that?" I asked carefully, staring at the black pit of nothingness down below.

  "Doesn't say. Which probably means very deep." Robinia answered.

  Sighing, I took a step back and then scanned the ropes again. "Simple, right? I need to jump from one rope to the other, repeating that until I make it to the other side." I could do that.

  "Yes. With limited time." He added. "The ropes come out of knobs like the one you cut earlier. Swinging from one rope to another just seems too easy. When you started cutting off the rope earlier I wanted to tell you that you could have simply pressed the button on the side of that knob, which would have effectively detached it without having to violently hack into it with a pocket knife." He paused, because he liked to piss me off. "But you're Altor. You guys are stubborn and don't like to be interrupted."

  "Kowalski..." I warned.

  "See, stubborn. Anyway, check out those small green flicks of light that pop on and off on those knobs. That means they are activated, which the knob in the fire alley wasn't. It was red and locked." He sighed very heavily. "I believe you only get a small amount of time to swing yourself from one rope to the next before the knob lets go of the rope, effectively-"

  "Effectively dropping me into oblivion." I finished. "Is there any way I can just not believe you and make that become the truth of things?"

  "I'm afraid not."

  "There's no way to test this one without something other than myself, is there?"

  "Good luck, my friend." He offered.

  Calycanthus better be suffering the same as I was. I didn't really mean that. I didn't want him to get hurt, but this was just royally unfair. Less than five months ago I'd still been in Lithium Village, worrying about the tournament and whining about clothes that didn't fit me. Everything had changed when Acacia was murdered. I'd known it would, I'd felt it coming, that something was going to happen. But this? All of this? I would have never guessed.

  Moving over to the railing, I reached out and pulled the first rope towards me.

  "Don't test its stability." He suggested. I shook my head in amusement for him believing me to be an idiot before proceeding.

  "Where is Mallow?" I wondered, not quite ready to start jumping yet.

  "She never comes to see me." Was she the certain someone he tried to ask to dinner? "She rarely leaves her conservatory. If Sage knew that sometimes she did..." Robinia sighed. "Mallow is strange, you know. Sometimes she says things I don't understand. If I weren't unsure about my own sanity, I'd question hers." He laughed softly, surprising me with the sweet sound. "But even if I wasn't partly crazy, I believe I'd still love her. She is the only one in this castle that knows what kindness truly is."

  "She's Seer, Robinia, and she uses her curse. She's not exactly stable." I hoped that would make him feel less bad about her rejecting him. Having met Mallow, even if for a few hours, I was pretty certain she'd declined his offers because she wasn't aware of how Kowalski felt for her.

  "I wish she would think of me." He murmured. "Think of me so she could see through her gift I'm not a bad guy." He wasn't a bad guy.

  "Maybe when all three of us get out of here, the time will be right and she'll accept your dinner proposals."

  "You want us to come with you?" He asked, surprised.

  "I know it'll be hard. She's highly guarded by Sage and Xania knows you are valuable to him so I would assume it would be difficult for you to just walk out of here. But I'm in a dungeon and neither of you are giving up on me. So if my situation is more dreary than both of yours combined, why shouldn't I believe it to be possible for you, Mallow and me to get out of here together, alive?" Breathing out as I climbed up onto the railing, balancing myself rather clumsily on the narrow edge, I held onto the rope. "She does trust you, Robinia. Why else would she tell me to trust you if she didn't herself?" The utter darkness screamed at me from below, beckoning me to just stop this battle for survival.

  "Your courage and determination to remain alive in a place such as the dungeon is inspiring, Solenum. Maybe I will allow myself to start dreaming."

  I smiled at his words before focusing on what lay ahead. "Here goes nothing." I threw myself off the edge, swinging along with the rope towards the next one.

  "Jump!" Robinia shouted.

  I felt the rope give in, the knob releasing its hold. Letting go, I jumped to the next rope, my previous swing and my own weight had giv
en me enough speed so I could make it. Grabbing a hold of it, I flung my feet forward, hoping this would help give me some more speed as I aimed for the third rope. Never looking down, I made it onto the third one, seeing I only had two more to go.

  I could do this. I was doing it. Swinging to the one before last, I caught it and then didn't waste any time in flinging myself to the very last rope, the balcony so close.

  When I grasped it though, I didn't have time to swing myself forward, the knob gave away instantly. Robinia screamed in fear through the speakers, his voice echoing loudly through the cave, the fright making its way into my heart as I realized I was about to die. Gasping, I quickly moved my hands so I could create a loop in the rope, launching it upwards. It caught around the balcony's railing, and I gritted my teeth tightly as I knew my own weight would be insane on my hands once I stopped falling. And indeed it was. I winced as the pain radiated through my palms, the loop had done the trick, but my fingers had slid downwards the moment my weight had settled, my skin burning on the rough texture of rope.

  "Gratias ago cos Creatura of Satus."

  He was thanking the Creatures of Origin. As I dangled in the air, I realized how I missed them, their beauty and innocence. Shaking my head, I climbed up, whimpering as the rope dug into my wounded palms. It wasn’t long before I managed to get myself over the railing and I instantly flipped around, lying flat on my back as I stared at the ceiling, my breathing unsteady as my heart tried to pound its way out of my chest.

  "There was a net before." Robinia said breathlessly, sounding as upset as I felt. "The Altors had a net hanging below the ropes so that if someone fell during training, they'd be caught instead of dying by dropping down into the unfamiliar." I wasn't surprised the Regius had taken it away.

  "Show me your palms." He asked gently. Not saying a word, I lifted my hands towards the large double door behind me, knowing the camera would be right above it. "We need to get that cleaned up before it gets infected." Sighing, I let my hands fall back down onto my stomach.