Kira threw herself on the bed, bumping her arm on a small wooden box someone had left on her pillow. A thin red ribbon held it shut with a bow. The necklace-a painful reminder of what their life could have been-what it would never be. She didn’t want to open it. She knew the pain it would cause as she saw her reflection in what she imagined to be his loving eyes. The same one’s he’d just seen Serena through.
Kira swept the box off the pillow, sending it crashing onto the stone floor. She didn’t look to see the damage she’d done to the box or if the contents were scattered among its broken pieces. She simply buried her head in the pillow and let every ounce of energy she had left force out the last of her tears in gut wrenching sobs. Her heart twisted in her chest and her gut felt as if someone had buried their fist in it.
“Kira,” Ussay’s said in her soft and tender voice.
“Leave me. . alone,” Kira said between sobs.
Kira felt Ussay’s hand touch her shoulder as she crawled up on the bed beside her. “Where did you get the box?”
Her question took Kira by surprise. The shakiness in her voice caused Kira to remove the pillow and look at Ussay’s face-she was trembling.
“Why?” Kira asked.
“There is. .” Ussay glanced over the side of the bed. “There is blood.”
“What?” Kira sat up on the bed and looked down at the scattered remnants of what she’d assumed was a gift from Octavion. There, lying amid the pieces of the broken box was a heart shaped, tiger’s eye pendent hooked to a broken silver chain. The blood Ussay saw smeared all over the box’s white satin lining came from two canine teeth of a tiger.
Toran.
Every image, every memory of Shandira and what she had done to her, flooded Kira’s mind. She saw her face, felt her evil spirit and even heard the sadistic tone of her voice. Kira edged her way off the other side of the bed and backed into the far corner of the room. She slid to the floor, drew her knees up. Not again. Not now.
The memories of her abuse at Shandira’s hand swirled and morphed until she saw the image of Arela twirling in her ruffles, her hair flowing out around her head as the breeze she created lifted it in the air.
Kira sprang to her feet and ran to Arela’s room, but it was empty. She heard laughter coming from the garden, and when she looked out Arela’s window, she saw her playing ball with Nestor while Mara sat holding Ethan.
Ussay stood in the doorway with a confused look on her face. “What is wrong? Who did this?”
“You need to leave. You can’t be around me, it’s too dangerous.” Kira walked past her and went back to her room.
“Kira, please. If you are in danger, we must tell someone. Perhaps Octavion could come back and. .”
“NO!” Kira spun around and grabbed Ussay by the arms. “You can’t tell anyone. She put that in here for a reason, Ussay. She wants me dead and won’t stop ‘til she gets her way. If that means killing everyone in the castle, she will do it.”
Ussay’s face turned white and her eyes widened with fear. “She?”
Kira released her. “Shandira was in this room.” She hadn’t noticed until then that Ussay held something in her hand. “What is that?”
Ussay slowly brought it up between them-a piece of parchment. “She left a note, but its meaning is unclear to me.”
Kira snatched it from her and tried to decipher the letters and symbols. After a few seconds, it all made sense.
Where once it was mighty, now fallen it lays.
A fierce little young one stumbles and plays.
Your feet, they betrayed you where flowers bloom.
Blonde curls and ribbons will meet her doom.
Take heed to tell no one, her future is mine.
Her sweet disposition, I’ll sour in time.
Alone you must venture, beyond the main gate
Or all those who love you will regret their fate.
Make haste when shadows are made long by the sun,
Melt into the darkness, when night time has won.
Kira had to read it twice to take it all in. Shandira had been there. The whole time Kira played with the cubs, her falling in the water and perhaps even before when she’d been with Ussay and Cade, Shandira lurked in the shadows. What confused Kira even more was that she hadn’t felt Shandira arrive. That meant she knew where they would be and waited for them. Did she overhear their conversation in the garden? Did she stand only a few feet away? Or did her strong talent in reading other’s thoughts let her eavesdrop?
Kira’s fear quickly faded away, to be replaced with anger. This time, she wouldn’t let Shandira call the shots. She went to the other side of the bed and knelt to examine the objects, being very careful not to touch the pendent. She didn’t want Shandira in her head-at least not yet. Ussay sat on the window seat, still wearing a terrified look on her face.
Kira stood and went to sit next to her. “You need to go, Ussay.”
She slowly turned her head and focused on Kira’s eyes. “What will you do?”
Kira shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I can’t ask you to be a part of this. I won’t have you choosing between keeping my secrets and being loyal to Octavion-not this time.”
Ussay looked at her hands and picked at her bandage. “She will take your life. You know that.”
“Yeah, but maybe I can injure her in the process. If I have the element of surprise and it’s on my terms, maybe I can keep her from hurting anyone else.” Kira put her hand on Ussay’s. “I don’t belong here and I don’t want to go back to my world. There’s nothing for me there, either.”
Tears filled Ussay’s eyes. “We must tell someone. You cannot do this alone.”
Kira held the piece of paper so Ussay could see the words written there. “Do you see what this says? Blonde curls and ribbons will meet her doom. Take heed to tell no one, her future is mine. Her sweet disposition, I’ll sour in time.” Kira crushed the paper and threw it on the floor with the box. “She’s talking about Arela. Do you really want Arela looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, hiding and afraid Shandira will magically appear in her room in the middle of the night and take her away?”
“No,” Ussay whispered.
“Then I have no choice.”
After a moment of silence, Ussay stood and faced Kira. She straightened her back, raised her chin and wiped away her tears. “Tell me what to do. I want to help.”
“You realize you would be deceiving Octavion. You of all people should know what he is capable of when he is angry.”
“And how angry do you think he will be when he finds out I knew what you were about to do and let you do it alone? I will do what I can to help you prepare, even go with you if you would permit it. But when he asks, I will be truthful. Will that do?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I have an idea,” Ussay said. “Octavion mentioned once that you preferred a bow, is that true?”
Kira looked at her curiously. “Yeah, why?”
“Octavion’s lair is filled with different concoctions, some are extremely poisonous. If we coat the tips of your arrows with one of those, it would merely have to graze her flesh to have an effect. It may not kill her, but it would weaken her enough so you would have the advantage. It would even the odds.”
“Ussay, you’re a genius.”
Chapter Thirty Five
Kira slid from the bench to the floor and picked the heart pendent up with the cuff of her sleeve, slipping it into her pocket. She’d use it to call Shandira once she was ready.