Candescent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) (6 page)

W
hen we arrived at the continent Alfur, it was well past midnight. The lights from the village lit up our path and the thick woods behind us. There was a cool atmosphere bordered by lush green and pastel flowers. The many wildflowers and vines that covered the ground were so thick that the dirt couldn’t be seen. The hidden cove behind the woody brush housed what was a small village. In the more discreet place near the woods was what could be considered a mansion. This building was known as the International House of Allies and Foreign Affairs. It was very formal, similar to that of a courthouse and was constructed of marble and limestone, now well weathered.

We walked up the steps of the building. As we entered, a servant suggested we go to our rooms for the night. Pete held fast to my arm demanding I stay with him. I wasn’t for this idea, but I was too tired to break away. He settled in, tossed his things aside and watched me unpack once we reached our room. I could feel the heat of his stare on my shoulder.

“Can you do me a favor darling?”

I stood up straight, hearing his voice. He hardly ever called me
darling
.

“Can you make me something to eat?”

I nodded my head calmly, slipping away with frightened suspicion.

The cook was absent when I entered the kitchen so I decided to cook. This gave me the whole kitchen to myself, allowing me to clear my head. I prepared a dish simply of milk and some rice I found. I couldn’t figure why Pete had wanted something so late. I stared at the thick substance of bubbling goo. Coming to a boil it seemed to have a mind of its own as it appeared to be gasping for air through holes in its surface. I watched it half-asleep, wondering if it was done. I moved it off the stove, dumped it into a bowl and lugged it up the stairs. I was glad to have met Pete’s approval when he accepted it and placed the dish aside. At least he made room for me beside him. His left arm enfolded my tired mass of a body.

“Thank you.” I rolled my eyes up to him sleepily. “I know how hard this has been for you. I know how hard it must have been to be away from me for so long.”

I wanted to give him an amused smile, but being tired I gave him a small smile. To my response, he gathered me up in his arms, aiming to prey upon my neck but I distracted him by folding my arms over his many layers of capes in an embrace and that was enough for him.

Pete was gone when I woke, which usually meant I overslept. If there weren’t heavy blue curtains covering the windows from the ceiling to the floor, the room would have been just as dark. Smells too lavish to be breakfast or even lunch had found their way into my chamber. I dressed into one of my warmer dresses for this formal event, feeling a slight chill. I recalled how the lush green outside was accompanied by the ever-growing colors of orange, brown, black, and several shades of blue. I spent a great deal getting ready until I dramatically walked down the staircase, surprised there was no one at the end to greet me, not even a servant.

I walked into the dining room seeing no one was there but the busy servants buzzing around the long table, laying out gold utensils and plates of food. One of the most expensive foods was in the center of the table. It was some sort of roasted animal, probably rare, cut precisely, but above all, the most important thing was in its mouth. It was a piece of fruit, the largest and most expensive, its color ranging from purple to black. Black was the most expensive as its darker color expressed its sweetness, ripeness, and above all, its addictive toxins. It was the plumeberry.

“Everyone is outside.” I turned my head to see who had spoken.

“When will dinner begin?”

“Shortly. You should go to Pete, he’s expecting you.”

“If he wants me he’ll come for me himself.”

“Can I be of any assistance to you?”

“No Raven.”

“Beautiful feast isn’t it?” Pete chimed.

          Several Allies behind him commented. We all took our seats, in total ten Allies, counting Pete, Raven and his family, and I as one unit to represent our land, including our great City. There were four Allies from different parts of Alfur alone, with the other five coming from scattered areas of Catastrophe.

              I looked up from my plate to the diversified immortals. Tonight would be pure hospitality, a time to get to know each other and the various parts of our world. I smiled noting that each immortal was more different from the one sitting beside them, excluding how Raven and his family, Pete, and I were dressed.

“How does the weather suit you here Queen Chenille-,”

              I put up a hand to stop our ally from speaking. “Please just call me Chenille. There is no need for formal titles tonight.”

“All right Chenille. How is the weather? Not too cold I hope.”

              I looked down, tugging at one of my long heavy sleeves. “No,” I said shyly, “not at all.”

“Not
yet
.” I looked at Pete. “These parts get colder.”

              Our ally from the eastern part of Alfur, I could tell by her clothes, spoke up. “How was your travel at sea?” Her voice was thick with an eastern accent.

“It was rough,” Raven spoke up for me, seeing I wasn’t sure what to say.

              She blinked her eyes, lined in distinctive black makeup. “Did you find Averous all right?”

              I recalled Averous was the name of the village.

“Just fine,” I said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Rasha.”

“Why don’t we go around the table and introduce ourselves?” Raven suggested.

              Pete started. “I am Pete Silver of the continent Inesious, your King. Beside me is my Queen, Chenille, beside her is my brother Fitzray. Beside him is Raven.”

              Raven introduced himself and his family. The ally beside him spoke. “My name is Tallia. My daughter Tassie is beside me and her husband Olend.”

“We come from the continent Leria,” Tassie said.

              Beside them were Saven and Malli from Lerion.

              Rasha now spoke. “From Alfur are Rallen, Nella, Maven, and I.” She smiled. That concluded introductions. Everyone started eating and I gazed at them quietly. It was hard to remember all of their names along with their continent.

“How is it back home?” Pete asked. He directed his question toward Rasha.

“It’s getting colder,” she replied.

“There really isn’t much going on in the western parts of Alfur,” Rallen spoke up. “Everything has finally quieted down.”

              I looked at Rasha and back to Rallen. Rallen was only a couple of years older, but it was plain to see that they were similar, similar in a way Fitzray and I were, how they appeared to complement each other just by how they spoke to one another.

              I watched as they talked, as if a reunion was going on between them. Rasha’s eyes softened and she focused more on her gold as Rallen complimented her.

“How is Rain doing?”

“She is well. She is reading and writing now.”

“And the boys?”

“They are doing fine too.”

              As they advanced in conversation, I felt a nudge from Pete, now realizing everyone had taken on their own conversation and it appeared that I was eavesdropping.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” I heard Rallen say.

“Yes, you have.”

              I turned to Pete who elbowed me again. “Do you want a piece of this?” I noticed he had cut up the plumeberry. A large fleshy slab of it was on his fork, which hovered over my plate. When I started to shake my head, he put it on my plate anyway, insisting I try it. He watched me hesitantly cut a piece and put it to my mouth.

“Go on,” he said.

              At first, it was sweet as I expected, but it left a horrible aftertaste. I recalled when I experienced such potency, like opening up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and catching a whiff of its fumes that were so strong you could have tasted it. He turned away satisfied. I looked back to Rasha and Rallen who spoke even softer now. I caught a glance from Fitzray, like how Rallen was giving Rasha, and my hand flew to his so fast, the Allies who caught sight of this blinked in response.

“They are a couple, a married couple, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” he replied, “you didn’t know?”

              I nearly glared at him. How would I know?

“Do they rule separate parts of Alfur?”

“No one person can rule a continent alone, nor can a couple. This being said, in order to rule, Rallen and Rasha must rule separate parts of Alfur.”

“But what about us?”

              Fitzray lowered his voice and leaned over to me. “We are royal blood. These Allies around us are not. They are elected in by their people just as a president is for a democracy, only they rule over their area of cities and towns.”

“But we rule all of Catastrophe.”

“Yes, with the royalty Pete and I have, and now you, as long as we are the dominant species, we rule Catastrophe.”

I turned back to Rasha and Rallen.

“They are separated from each other and so are their children so they can rule?”

“That is what they want.”

I could hear Pete beside me boasting. Raven had turned to his wife and tended to her, so now Pete was mocking him.

“I was able to kill my wife and she came back,” he was saying.

I turned away, my breathing coming on heavier. Pete stopped his chatter, hearing my breathing and silent thoughts of anxiety.

“What’s the matter darling?”

He put a hand to my face and pulled it away as soon as it touched my skin. Fitzray put down his fork and backed himself away from the table.

“You’re flushed. Do you feel ok?” Pete asked me.

Fitzray stood up not waiting for an answer and carefully pulled me to my feet saying, “I’m taking her outside.” He quickly led me out, wasting no time. By the time we reached the back French doors, I was breathing so heavy, more out of panic.

“You’re all right now,” he told me. One hand was to my waist, the other pressed me back to lean against his chest.

“Is it how Pete was talking about you?”

I shook my head.

“Are you all right Chenille?”

I rolled my eyes back to glance toward Pete and pulled myself away. I didn’t reply. I managed to pull myself to the edge of the large heated pool and fell to my knees, almost falling into the water.

“You’re sick aren’t you?” I gave no answer. “It’s from the plumeberry.”

I looked back at him, watched as Fitzray took a fistful of his brother’s shirt and pulled him aside.

“Damn it Pete you made her eat that stuff? No wonder she’s sick!”

Pete looked away from his brother’s glare. “What were you trying to do, get her to lose her mind? Do you forget it’s called Vampress Poison? It only gives
us
that feeling, but it makes a vampress sick to her stomach.” He growled, letting his brother go.

As Fitzray started to walk toward me, Pete stopped him. “Go back inside Fitz, I’ll stay with her. This is my fault.”

“No, I don’t trust you.”

“I’ll make her better.” His voice was firm.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know the first thing about medicine.”

I put my hand to the surface of warm water. I wanted to fall in, for the water to block out their growls and shouts. I didn’t turn to them, even though I wanted to stop them. Eventually there was quiet and I rested my head in my hands. Fitzray pulled me up, mumbling to himself, keeping his grip soft.

I kept my mind on his right hand that rested on my forearm. His rings were missing. He’d always worn his father’s wedding ring, which was all that was left of him and another ring I had previously noticed at dinner. I didn’t have time to really study it, but I knew it must have had some significance.

When we entered the house, there was a great deal of commotion going on and Pete was raving, yelling about something. Rasha met up with us as we reached the steps and paused.

“What did you do?”

“Rasha, I need to get Chenille up to my room. I’ll deal later.”

“Can I help you Prince-,”

“No.”

Prince. He was a prince. I half-smiled to myself for I had never considered his title before. He set me down onto the bed and sat before me, fumbling with some powders. My eyes caught a glimpse of a metallic shine from the candlelight, reflecting off his left hand. Why had he switched his rings to his other hand? I focused on his new ring. It was no more than a silver band. I grabbed his working hand to look at the ring and he hastily snatched it away.

“What is that?” I eyed his hand again.

“Drink this. I’ll be back.” He handed me a vile filled with liquid and powder, completely ignoring my question.

I waited for his return which seemed like a while, a while considering he was in such a rush to leave. He didn’t return. After several minutes, Pete’s figure filled the doorway.