Page 30 of A Legacy of Stars (The Lost God Legacies)

30

TEDDY

T he cave mouth stretched before Teddy, dark and wide, like the mouth of a great beast waiting to swallow him whole.

He was finally going to retrieve his piece of the memory challenge. All he had to do was walk in and watch whatever horrible memory was waiting for him.

“I think you should wait until I’m finished so I can go with you,” he said.

Stella shook her head. “We’re losing daylight. We don’t know how long the memory will be, or how long it will take you to pull yourself out of it. We already lost too much time in the river and the recovery and this morning.” She blushed and looked away.

Funny that she felt suddenly shy when she’d been so wild and uninhibited earlier. But everything was different in the light of day, staring down the second challenge. Their momentary escape was over, and now it was time to face their futures.

She looked down at her feet, her hands subconsciously running over her vest to check that her blades were still there.

“I hate that you’ll be alone, but I know you can do it,” Teddy said.

Stella smiled, but her eyes were full of apprehension.

Teddy knew that look—knew the way she was picking up a memory over and over, like pressing on a bruise to see if it still hurt. He’d tried to deliver her from the worst of it, but it was written in the tension in her body—the crease between her brows as they silently walked through the forest, the way her hands came to her short swords every time a creature scampered through the underbrush.

He didn’t like that she was going to continue on alone to her cave, or that she was about to watch what was probably a very difficult memory when she was still traumatized.

Teddy took her face in her hands, and she startled, her wide eyes meeting his. “I will see you by nightfall and we will both be safely out of our memories and ready to hike back to the crossroads and ride home tomorrow.”

She smiled weakly.

Teddy wanted to kiss her, but that seemed a comfort reserved for more intense moments. They were just getting each other through this tournament. It was just an impulse of this bond. Nothing more.

“Be safe. Don’t let the magic hold you too long,” she said. “Memory is tricky when you don’t wield it regularly. Be careful of going in too deep. I don’t know how the challenge works, but there could be trapdoors to other memories. Try not to wander.”

He forced a smirk. “It’s just a memory. How bad could it be?”

Stella’s lips formed a tight line. “Don’t take too long, Your Grace. I don’t want to have to come back and save you…again.”

He rolled his eyes at the jab. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

She turned and disappeared into the trees. Teddy waited for the sound of her footsteps to retreat before he faced the cave again.

A strong pulse of magic seemed to beat from somewhere inside. He knew from the stories how it worked for the witches of the Gauntlet. All magic required an exchange. He just needed to step into the dark, cut his hand, and spill his blood onto the medicinal plants inside. Then the memory would come into his mind.

At least, that was how it was supposed to work.

He snapped his fingers, sending a surge of fire magic into his palm. He walked forward into the cave.

As he moved away from the entrance, the darkness became greedier, eating up his torchlight until he could only see as far as his next step. That was how he would find what he needed. One faithful step at a time.

Finally, when he’d wandered far enough that he worried his descent would never end, the toe of his boot nudged a dense bunch of greenery. He tried to flare his torch brighter, but the dark just closed in tighter.

Teddy sighed. He placed the memory stone on his open flaming palm, drew his dagger, and sliced the blade across his skin just below the stone. Making a fist around the memory stone, the flame snuffed out, and he allowed his blood to drip onto the greenery below.

Witch’s blood held magic that would help sustain the medicinal plants that were foraged by healers in the two kingdoms. It seemed gruesome, but it was part of the complex magical ecosystem that kept the realm balanced.

He stood there for a few moments, wondering how he would know that it was enough.

Teddy blinked and suddenly the cave was blindingly bright.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. He knew this room. It was the first-floor sitting room in Castle Savero, which led to the main dining room.

Teddy’s heart pounded. He glanced around the space and his gaze fell on a familiar face—his father’s cousin, traitor to the kingdom, who had briefly usurped the throne twenty-five years ago: Vincent Savero.

This was the night of the invasion and Teddy was inside Xander’s mind, but this was like no memory he had experienced before. He could sense the wild spinning of his father’s thoughts.

This wasn’t right. Memory magic had all the senses—a fully embodied experience—as well as emotions, but it didn’t have thoughts.

Except now it did.

Teddy squeezed his eyes closed as if that would wrench him from this nightmarish magic, but when he blinked his eyes open, he knew there was no choice but to play it through. He surrendered to the storm.

Cecilia stopped moving immediately and dropped her blade.

“Smart girl,” Vincent said.

Xander turned wildly, summoning his storm magic. It was hard to use this deep in the castle. He could blow out the windows in the room, but trying to funnel a storm through a small opening was not very effective. He wanted to stand and fight, but doing so now would get his closest friends killed. It would probably get him killed as well.

“No shame in admitting when you’re outmatched, cousin.”

Xander felt crushed under impotent fury, but he dropped his blade and held his hands up. Guards charged him and Cece, snapping Unsummoner bracelets on their wrists.

He narrowed his eyes at Vincent, trying to remember the young cousin he’d grown up with. He looked nothing like his old self. The years had carved away any kindness and left him with sharp features and the dark eyes for which he was known. Xander was sure they hadn’t always looked like that. He would have noticed.

The moment Xander’s magic severed, he wanted to slump in defeat. He forced himself to hold his head high.

“Those are spelled,” Vincent said. “You won’t be able to get them off without magic. Ancient magic. You may have sneaked those witches away, but not before they did me a few favors. Not your basic everyday Unsummoner bracelet. You’re quick, taking so many of my men out before they could subdue you. Honestly, you all nearly foiled my well-laid plans when you had the wedding so soon. I almost couldn’t get my men here in time.”

Vincent grinned as he looked at the three of them. “I thought a couple of fake princesses would add enough chaos to the mix, but I must admit, you weathered it much better than I expected. There were so many moving pieces and I nearly missed my timing.” He brushed his hands down his fine tunic. “I see the gears turning. You’re wondering about the eyes. Unfortunately, Cato’s power is not what it once was. It wore off sooner than expected this time, since the lovely Lady Reznik temporarily stole his memory of how to use it. So she noticed when I was mesmerizing her with my charm at brunch. ”

Both Xander and Rainer bristled at that, but Cece laughed.

Oh, gods. Please, Cece, don’t be yourself right now. Don’t be brave. Be sweet and timid. Just this once , Xander silently begged.

“That’s funny?” Vincent asked, a slight grin on his face.

“Yes. It’s just that all of you Saveros think you’re so different, but you equally overestimate your ability to charm women.”

Vincent tipped his head back and laughed. “You are certainly spirited. I’ll give you that. I love a feisty woman.” He walked toward her, and Cece paled. “I understand you’re still available,” Vincent taunted, looking from Rainer to Cece.

“I’m engaged,” Cece said.

“Until the deal is sealed, I consider you still available. It’s McKay’s fault for not securing you when he had the chance.” Vincent reached out a hand and stroked her cheek.

To Cece’s credit, she didn’t shrink away.

Beside Xander, Rainer thrashed against the guards. Xander met his eye and shook his head as if to say, “ Don’t give him the satisfaction .”

Vincent looked at Rainer as he let his fingers trail down Cece’s neck, over her exposed shoulder, and then along the neckline of her dress, letting his finger skim right under the edge of the lace. Cece’s heart raced loud enough for Xander to hear from where he stood, but she didn’t move.

“So soft,” Vincent whispered.

Rainer stilled, his brow creased with helpless worry as he watched.

Cece met Xander’s eyes over Vincent’s shoulder and gave the slightest shake of her head.

“I’ll make this simple. Why is it that the trickster hasn’t been able to get into any of your heads? Or the king of Olney’s?”

Xander shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“If you’re a good king, that’s a lie. But if you’re a good friend and lover, it isn’t. As I understand, you spent quite a bit of time protecting Guardian McKay for your dear Cece. Is that true?”

Xander wasn’t sure how to answer. He felt like he was struggling in an undertow, and every wrong answer was going to sweep him into deeper water. He’d been strategically outmaneuvered for months. He wouldn’t suddenly be able to come out on top, but he was the king. He had to do something.

Just holding Vincent’s attention might be enough. The longer they distracted Vincent and his men, the more time the staff had to escape. He crossed his fingers that they were smart enough to flee and had somewhere to go. Hopefully, Evan was intercepting people. He prayed their friends made it to safety.

Vincent nodded, and two guards dragged Rainer forward. They stripped him of his fine tunic and undershirt so that he stood shirtless before they bent him over the mahogany table. They bound his wrists to either side, immobilizing him.

Cece faltered, taking a step toward him. His gaze was locked on hers, and he shook his head. Tears welled in her eyes, but she smiled half-heartedly as he sent something through their connection. “ I love you ,” he mouthed.

Cece gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her palms to keep herself from crying. The frustration on her face mirrored Xander’s own. He hated feeling helpless.

Vincent pulled off his fancy tunic and rolled up the sleeves of his undershirt, revealing scarred forearms. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You can tell me why the trickster can’t get into your heads.” He picked up a switch. “For every minute it takes you to tell me, I’m going to give Rainer a lash. If you tell me now, he won’t get any. Look at that perfect skin, Lady Reznik. You’ve done such a good job keeping him in one piece all these years. Are you willing to throw that all away now? As I understand, lashings are very hard to heal, even for talented healers, because of the way the skin splits. They almost always leave scars.”

Reality set in. They’d faced cruelty before, but never such sharp violence. Cato’s psychological warfare had been brutal but always with a goal in mind, and he hadn’t relished physical pain in conjunction with it. His violence was a means to an end. Vincent seemed to bask in their fear, his eyes lit with excitement at the prospect of inflicting pain.

“We’ll start in one minute. If you tell me before, then I won’t whip him at all.”

Cece glanced helplessly from Rainer to Xander. Rainer met Xander’s gaze and gave the slightest shake of his head. He wanted the king to know he could take it.

Beside Xander, Cece was standing tall, but he could tell by the look in her eye and the way her heart pounded that she was crumbling.

“Let Lady Reznik go. She doesn’t know anything. She only recently recovered from her ordeal,” Xander said.

Rainer looked relieved by the plea. Xander didn’t understand why he was doing it. Cece wouldn’t leave, but he just wanted her out of the center of Vincent’s attention. She did not deserve to be the object of any more cruelty.

Vincent just laughed. He smiled at Cece as he brought the switch down on Rainer’s back. The sound reverberated through the room like a crack of thunder.

Rainer gritted his teeth against the pain, immediately meeting Cece’s gaze. She closed her eyes and tears streamed down her face. Rainer’s face went calm and serene with her. Xander was struck by the juxtaposition of the horror of the violence combined with their beautiful way of silently communicating.

Xander didn’t know how much Cece could take. She already looked like she was about to crack.

“Lady Reznik, perhaps I’m asking the wrong people. Perhaps you know. Why can’t the trickster get into your friends’ minds?” Vincent said.

“I don’t know,” Cece gritted out.

Vincent slammed the cane down again. Xander and Cece flinched.

The same game went on for far too long as Vincent taunted and tortured them. The more frustrated he got with their defiance, the more brutally and faster he hit Rainer. No matter how many times they said they didn’t know, he didn’t believe them.

Vincent whipped Rainer three times in quick succession and Cece yanked herself free of the guard who’d been holding her back, running to Rainer. He squeezed her hand, and she kissed his knuckles. Her cheeks were flushed and damp with sweat.

Xander couldn’t imagine the agony of both watching and feeling the pain of the person she loved most. If it had been her on the table, Xander would have cracked instantly. But all three of them had managed to keep this secret this long, and none of them were going to break now .

Rainer’s back was a sliced-up, bloody mess. The pain must have been staggering. The air smelled like copper. The table, the floor, and Vincent’s clothes were speckled with blood and sweat.

Cece met Xander’s eyes. He saw her waver. Her hand was poised over her heart as tears poured down her cheeks. It wasn’t Vincent’s torture that had her sobbing. It was that Rainer was hurting but still sending reassurance through their bond. Xander knew what it was to protect Cece at his own expense. He’d done it for months while Cato tortured him. He saw it now in the way she cried harder a moment after the strikes, her palm pressed to her heart. Xander had never respected Rainer more.

“I can do this all night—until he’s fucking dead. One of you is going to crack,” Vincent snarled, preparing to strike again.

Cece curled over Rainer’s body protectively, and Vincent drew up at the last second.

“No,” she snapped. “We don’t know. I made Cato forget how to use his magic. Maybe it has to do with that, but none of us know why he can’t do it.”

Vincent laughed. “You are very tricky, Lady Reznik. The problem is that I’m a liar, and I know a liar when I see one. This is the last piece of information I need to fulfill my deal with the trickster. I’ll have it now, and I’ll enter this era with myself as a king with no debts left to pay.”

“He is barely conscious,” Cece said.

“Are you offering to take his place?” Vincent challenged.

Rainer looked up at her sharply, but Cece said nothing.

“I am,” Xander said.

Vincent blew out a breath. “Oh, cousin, come on! We’ve seen this little drama play out before. Plus, I need you able to move around freely and charm these people. You are part of my succession plan. I need the goodwill you’ve harnessed with the common folk and aristocracy. I also need you to smooth things over with your new in-laws, so we’ll eventually need your new wife as well. You’re lucky, you know. You have a longer-term purpose than your two friends. Unfortunately for them, they were caught with you. Once I have what I need, and I’ve closed off my deal with Cato, they have no purpose. I do hate waste,” Vincent threatened .

He turned back to Cece. The feral look on his face made Xander’s stomach plummet.

“Very well. If none of you want to talk, perhaps I haven’t tried the right strategy yet,” he said.

Vincent grabbed Cece, pulling her back flush to his front. He held her securely around the waist. He didn’t need to say anything for Xander to recognize the look in his eye.

“ There are much worse things than death ,” Cato had told Xander years before.

Once again, Cato was right.

Ever since Cato had reappeared like a living nightmare the day before, dread had prickled Xander’s skin. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, reminding him that a reckoning was coming. Now that Vincent held Cece against his body, Xander knew what it was.

Two guards untied Rainer from the table and dragged him to a chair. He winced as his back hit the wood, slumping over, unconscious. He quickly regained consciousness as they tied his wrists to the chair—as if he needed restraints. The man looked half-dead.

“If the two of you won’t talk, there’s only one of you left to hurt,” Vincent said. “Now, while I assume she’s the one pulling the strings in all of this, I know that the two of you must also know why it is that Cato can’t influence Marcos.”

Xander looked warily at Cece, but she looked resigned.

Somehow, that was no comfort. Xander knew she could take the pain, but he wasn’t sure he could.

“No takers? Good! I was getting bored with this. I have something else in mind for the lovely Lady Reznik.”

Vincent put a hand around her throat, caressing her bodice with the other.

Xander’s stomach dropped. He went rigid. The guards tightened their grip on his arms. Rainer rolled in and out of consciousness beside him, in too much pain to connect the dots. If Cato was the brilliant psychological strategist, Vincent was the ruthless, brutal tyrant. He had Cato’s flair for manipulation and, thanks to his time undercover in their court, a deep understanding of the dynamics that played out between the three of them .

Cece was doing a good job of hiding her fear, but her heartbeat raced, and if Xander could hear it from ten feet away, Vincent could most certainly feel it at the pulse point in her neck.

He didn’t seem satisfied with their reaction. His hand tightened on her throat.

“In fact, I think I’ll do it right here. Let you both watch. How many men can say they’ve fucked a goddess?” Vincent taunted. “And I’ll have proof. Maybe I’ll let my men each take a turn after me.”

Vincent’s guards grinned at each other and chuckled as if he’d told a hilarious joke. Every story Xander had been told about the trail of violence Vincent left in villages along Argaria’s borders rushed into his head at once.

“Maybe if she’s as good as you all seem to think, I’ll keep her,” Vincent chuckled. “Would you enjoy that, goddess—having my men and your men watch me take the spoils of this war?”

She refused to cower. “The only thing I will enjoy is watching you bleed out from my blade.”

Vincent stepped back and backhanded her.

Xander tried to stand, but two guards forced him into a chair.

Cece quickly stood up straight and lifted her chin in defiance as Vincent admired the blotchy red mark rising on her cheek. He brushed his fingers tenderly over it.

Xander was desperate for a way out. He looked at the dagger on the hip of the guard to his left. He could probably get it and take the man down, but Cece would be on her own and there were six other guards in the room. Two beside Rainer, two beside Vincent. There were probably men outside the sitting room doors as well.

No matter how badly Xander wanted to help her, if he acted rashly now, they’d all suffer for it. He’d get one chance, and he’d have to make it count. “Stop this. You should keep her for yourself—as a queen,” Xander said. “She’s a goddess. No one would cross you. If you shame her in front of your guards, she can never be that.”

Vincent laughed. “She was never going to be my queen, cousin. I saw the game you three played in your library. She doesn’t fuck like a queen. She fucks like a whore, and that’s what she’ll be to me. She will be treated to every deviant, twisted thing I can’t do to a wife. What a lucky girl you are, Lady Reznik. I have so many creative ideas for you. So many dark, destructive things for you to try.”

Cece paled, her panicked gaze shifting from Rainer to Xander.

“You smell so sweet.” Vincent’s nose grazed up the column of her neck, and she shuddered as his tongue darted out to lick up the same line.

Rainer mumbled something between breathless grunts of pain.

“Trying to give me pointers, McKay?” Vincent chuckled. “I think I know what she likes after that day in the library.”

Her knees buckled, but Vincent held her firm. He sank his teeth into the place where her neck and shoulder met, and she flinched. The guards holding Xander in his seat tightened their grip on him. All he could do was watch as Cece tried to squirm from the pain.

“The only way out is through,” Vincent whispered. “My patience is wearing thin. If you tell me now, I won’t hurt you, Cecilia.”

A hysterical giggle bubbled from her lips.

Vincent went rigid. “Why the fuck is she laughing?”

“Because you already hurt her. She feels what Rainer feels,” Xander said.

Vincent was quiet, considering this. Then, with deadly precision, he cut through the strap of her gown and the front folded down to her waist, revealing her lacy mauve bustier.

Vincent clicked his tongue. “Would you look at that? It’s like she was expecting me.”

Several guards laughed.

Cece tried to squirm away, but Vincent pressed his blade to her throat again. “Move again, and I’ll have my men break the bones in your fiancé’s fingers one by one. Hold still.”

His hand brushed over the lace.

Xander watched as Cece’s eyes glazed, like she was trying to send herself somewhere far away. She tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling.

“Please stop,” she whispered.

“I’ll stop when you tell me what I want to know,” Vincent said, his gaze meeting Xander’s once again.

There was no winning now. Xander knew enough about interrogations to know the pain would not end if she or Xander told Vincent what he wanted to know. Interrogations ended in death or escape, and Xander had no escape route for them. If Cece gave up what she knew, she’d no longer be valuable.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “None of us do. Only Marcos knows for sure. We compartmentalized knowledge for this very reason. I would have told you when you were brutalizing Rainer if I knew.”

Vincent clicked his tongue. “Perhaps you all truly don’t know. Only one way to know for sure.” He stood straighter. “Enough games, Xander. Be a king for once in your pathetic life. Be a leader and make the right choice. Tell me now, or I’m going to take her to the other room and find out what all the fuss is about. I’ll fuck the information right out of her, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll let my men take turns until the truth comes out. There won’t be anything left of her.”

Rainer shook his head violently. He mumbled her name, but he was barely conscious.

Two kingdoms balanced on the edge of a knife.

Xander clenched his jaw so tightly he worried his teeth might shatter.

It was Cece or his kingdom. He could give Vincent the answer he craved and maybe that would be enough to protect Cece. Or he could keep his mouth shut and let this nightmare play out.

Xander hated being king. It was a thankless job that he could never do right because it was impossible to know what was right for so many people when he was just one man.

But he loved his home, and he knew that Vincent would destroy it.

Cece met his gaze, a faint, resigned smile on her lips, like she knew before he did what he would do. But he did not want this. He did not want to have to choose between seeing a person he loved hurt and the safety of his kingdom. There was no real greater good.

There was only the man he was now who had learned that being king was about surrendering selfish desires for the safety of his people. It felt wrong to choose anyone other than Cece, but he forced himself to stay still.

It should have felt like a triumph. Like he was finally evolving from Storm Prince to Storm King, but the victory felt hollow.

Cece nodded at Xander. It was barely perceptible. “Don’t,” she said, her voice low enough that only he would hear. “Don’t take this on. You’re doing the right thing.”

“Very well,” Vincent huffed. “Get her ready for me, Grant.”

He shoved Cece into the arms of his guard, who dragged her kicking and screaming into the connecting dining room.

“Last chance to save her,” Vincent said, his dark eyes roaming from Xander to Rainer.

Rainer surged in his chair and it tipped to its side, landing him in a heap on the floor.

Vincent laughed and sauntered into the dining room, leaving the door open a crack—so they could hear, Xander realized.

A new terror gripped him as a scuffle echoed from the adjoining room. It all went briefly silent. And then the screaming started.

Teddy wanted to run toward the doorway—to do something, anything. His own emotions were tangled up in the memory. It was no ordinary memory magic. It was tossed with thoughts and emotions. He felt his father’s panic and grief, his bone-deep fear and love for Cecilia.

It’s just a memory. Not real. Teddy called to mind the cave. The dank smell, the oppressive darkness, the cool air.

He closed his eyes, and when he blinked them open, he was standing back in the cave.

The memory stone was still warm in his hand and glowing subtly.

It was worse than he’d ever imagined. Teddy’s father had drilled the lesson into him: You must always be king first . But Teddy had always thought that was driven by some projected desire to keep the throne. He had not fully believed until seeing that memory that his father did not want the seat, and yet he’d allowed the woman he loved so deeply to be hurt so he could keep it. Xander had kept the secret and sacrificed his love.

Teddy thought his father had never had to choose—that he’d sulked over choosing a wife after losing the love of his life—but he did not know how his father had chosen to be king at her peril. How Cecilia had looked at him with pride and fear when he did it. Teddy hadn’t known the way that look broke his father more than anything else had.

He’d expected to see the night that Isla left, but he knew all at once why Endros had chosen this memory. The god of war was trying to rattle Teddy off the throne. He’d seen Teddy in that interrogation and had him pegged immediately. The god knew fear and how to amplify it. Endros knew how to mark an opponent’s weakness the way all great warriors did.

Teddy’s chest seized, fear and grief pouring in, the bond growing taut. The horror hit him, knocking the air from his lungs.

He took off running toward the cave mouth in blind darkness. The need to get to Stella as soon as possible pressed in on him from all sides as he stumbled from the mouth of the cave into dusky light. He tore through the forest in the direction of her cave, his memory stone still burning in his bloody palm.

He’d thought their trip couldn’t get worse than Stella making her first kills. But if Teddy had seen this memory, Stella was probably seeing the same one from a different, more horrifying point of view: her mother’s.