I paused before her, her face still hidden by her cloak. Suddenly, I could see her eyes as if they glowed in the dimness of the forest, along with the small light that she held in her hand. Her eyes were that green-blue; they weretheeyes I had seen within my dreams almost every time I closed my eyes to rest. But what did that mean? It wasn't as if she were my soul-song.
Then who is she?Her face was covered in a black mask; I blinked, unsure if I was still in my right mind.Am I going mad?
“I know you?” I asked.
The maiden moved away, her light flickering, before almost going out.
“Cadian—it is important that you hear me. You must come–”
I could no longer see her, but I knew that she still stood in front of me, and her voice sounded sad, the sound of her words so melodic, and I wanted to listen to her speak for hours. I wanted to stare into her eyes.
Is this real?
“What must I do? I have extracted the souls from the corrupted as the ancient told me to, and I have found my soul.”
“You Cadian are lost, but you will be found. You will find your soul.” She looked behind her as if someone were coming.
“I have found my soul. Can you not hear it?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Stay with her, stay with her; she is the key to restoring your soul, Cadian. Fight the darkness, fight the corruption. You are stronger than you realize in ways you do not even know yet. Find me, come.”
Confused and still wondering about dozens of things, I asked, “What is your name, at least, maiden?”
“I am Leeza.” Her voice echoed around me as the woodland, and Leeza disappeared before my eyes.
I clutched my shirt above my chest.Leeza, her eyes—her eyes were the color I had been searching for. I wanted to tell this Leeza that I was ready to go home and claim my throne, and she could be beside me. Yes, a kingdom for me, the rightful heir to the throne. I should want that. That is, after all, what I told Emma, but it is not what I really wanted. What I desired above all else was to go back to Terra and kill the two men who had ruined my life. Darkness lingered inside of me, and I pondered on the words that Leeza had spoken, not to let the darkness take me. That was more easily said than done. If it had not been for my father and for Tarick, I would have always had a melody, and my life would not have been full of darkness. In order to destroy the darkness forever they needed to be killed.
I cleared my throat and thought again,So what are my plans moving forward to achieve my goals? If Emma is not the one, if the soul inside of me truly is not mine–then what had I done? How could I fix it?
Chapter nineteen
Imeasured the exact amount of liquid to knock Emma out for three hours, even though I was not expecting to use it. But then again, maybe Aiden wasn't all that capable. After Aiden told Emma that her friends were coming, she took off her necklace making her loud melody a beacon sending them right to us.
The door opened as I was pouring, so I didn’t turn. I didn't know if Aiden or Ryker were behind me. They both were skilled at soul-shielding. I acted like I knew it was Aiden behind me. I did have a backup plan, and I was ready to use it if I turned around and saw anyone other than Aiden. I had plans and back up plans that could be written down and span the length of five walls. I was ever calculating—figuring out multiple outcomes. When I realized that Aiden wasn't really a true soulless, things webbed off into different options of their own. That was the thing about being myself. There were so many options—so many ways of choosing or deciding on each thing. So many variables. I had to take into account personality, preference, and so much more. It was rather complicated, but my brain liked the work, and had always liked the distraction. If I focused on my plansand goals, my melody could not muddle them all up again with emotions as it had before.
“Hurry up; we have to go.” I turned around, and instead of seeing Aiden ready to administer the sleeping draught to Emma, Ryker stood there in the doorway. His chest rose and fell at a rapid rate—a knight's blade in his hand. I quickly focused on the plans that fell within that new web and followed the string of associated ideas in order to land upon the outcome I would entertain. I tried my best to look shocked, wondering if it even mattered because the knight's eyes seemed full of fury.
“Where is she?” he snarled. I turned, placing the vial back on the table, taking my time as the strings on the web came into focus for me, and my path seemed clear. I clapped my hands slowly in applause.Finally,I thought. Something was happening. I was patient, but I was also eager to know which plan I would be initiating.
“Bravo, Knight. You got the better of me.” I kept clapping as he came closer to me, his knife at my throat. I knew how to get his anger to rise, and I enjoyed it, probably, too much.
“I am not playing with you; where is she?”
“She is in the back.” Aiden's voice rose to my ears.
I turned to look at the doorway to see Aiden there, his soul unshielded and playing loudly in the room. I was surprised to hear some pity for me within his melody. I wondered why he cared for me at all. Should he not hate me for making his sister into a soulless? I still didn't regret it—but he shouldn't feel anything like pity for me.
“Thank you, Aiden, always soveryhelpful,” I shouted as he left with Ryker.
Keil, Shad's friend, tied me up and moved me from the room. The alarms sounded. The police would be investigating soon if the rescue team couldn't figure out a way to stop them from going off. My facility still had a handful of soulless workers, butas we walked through the hallways, I realized that they were all on the floor, dead. Ryker and his group had slaughtered them. Those soulless had very little time left. They were basically already dead. Still, I looked at their faces as I passed them, and one stood out above the rest,Ten—his face was bloody, his head pulled to the side with his back against the wall. He had kept away from me the entire time I had been at that facility?Good.Good on his part because I would have been rather enraged to see him alive. As we walked past him and moved further down the hall, realization struck me that he had never asked anyone else to end his life. How had he survived so long? It was a good thing that he died, however, even by the knight’s little rescue team’s hand. He had been the one driving the car that ran into Emma’s parents and killed them. I wondered if I should have told the knight that he had finally gotten the revenge he had been craving from me.
Glasson, one of the knights in Emma's little group, shoved me into a cell, locking the door. I heard shouts. Keil came back in, then closed the door behind him, softening the sound of the alarms.
“Turn them off,” he demanded, finally.
“Oh, I would; however, I am a little preoccupied at the moment,” I shrugged. He walked over to me, a small blade in his hand aimed at my throat.
“Call off the police,” he growled, and I felt blood drip down my neck onto my shirt. I didn’t like to get dirty—and if Iwas‘captured,’ I wouldn’t get fresh clothes for a while. What a shame that red spot would be.
