The Knight Page 6

“Yeah, I would worry, too. He should have told me what I was helping guard.”

  “Are you serious right now?” she snapped and splashed water in my face.

  “What? You know what the seekers did,” I said with anger in my voice.

  “Yes, but I am not one of them. I have never had the ancient gift.” It was odd that a child born with purple eyes did not have the ancient gift of the seeker. I wondered if she was lying to me, but her melody never changed as it had before when she certainly had lied. Perhaps, she really did not know. Perhaps, she thought that she was telling the truth—because she didn't understand. As I said goodbye to Emma that night and told Ash that she better keep quiet about Terra when she was around Emma, I realized that things had become way more complicated than I had ever expected. What on earth is a Seeker doing here? I knew a few things for sure—I needed to figure out who killed Lamont and Ara, figure out how to get a crystal, and then, if it became necessary, take Emma back home, because Earth wasn't looking very safe.

  Chapter 11

  THE PRINCE, OR WELL, “Shad,” as he was then called, made an effort to be in Emma’s life. I wasn’t surprised. I was irritated—irritated because helping Emma kept me away from her more than ever, and I was actually starting to become grateful to the prince because Emma wasn’t alone. Grateful—the word gave me a bad taste in my mouth.

  “How are things coming along then?” Prince Glasson asked as we sat at my kitchen table going over my notes. Prince Shadrict’s friend, Keil, who was an ancient Terran warrior, had given me some information, with the promise of more. He confirmed, however, that soulless creatures were being created. I was pretty sure they were being created by the same person who killed Emma’s parents. There couldn't be two soulless Terrans walking about reeking havoc on innocents. Could there be? Shadrict and Keil had found many soulless in the eastern part of the country. Their information was mostly the result of the monitoring they had done of the soulless Terrans they had both discovered and cared for before their untimely deaths. They both had record after record and notes, documenting the measures they went to in order to try to keep them alive. They were trying to figure out a way to help soulless people live, even without having melodies, or to come to understand what it actually was about their melodies that made them unable to live without them—seeing as Earthlings went about their lives just fine without melodies at all. I understood the reasons for their research, especially if such a large number of Terrans had been discovered, stripped of their souls.

  “There are an increasingly high number of soulless in all the Terran colonies, and everywhere else, it appears—across the board.”

  “That isn’t good,” Glasson remarked, typing on his computer.

  “No, it’s not.” I tried not to show in my facial expression the horror that came over me. I knew how bad it really was. It was horrible. My people, all those Terrans, did not deserve such a fate, banished from their home and then stripped of their melodies—as if they were mere animals, being turned soulless in order to be used and then slaughtered. At least my soul was shielded, and Glasson couldn't know the true horror and worry that I held inside of me.

  “So what is the move then?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I am not sure why someone would want an army of soulless. Soulless die after a few months.” It was true; to a Terran, a melody was essential for life. Once stripped of it, we would slowly and very painfully die. Removing a Terran’s soul had only been imposed on the worst of the worst criminals.

  “They’re getting desperate.”

  “Maybe,” I wondered out loud, still thinking it over. Things just didn't add up. What could someone gain from this? I asked myself.

  “Ashlyn told me about the party.” Glasson’s face was as frozen as ice as he spoke. I tried not to feel intimidated by him, but it was no use. As much as I disliked it, the ancient heirs always intimidated me.

  “Yes, she and Emma became fast friends.”

  “Did you speak with her?” he asked, picking up a piece of paper and examining it.

  “Of course.” Wasn’t that the reason Glasson had helped me? Because I would help him with Ashlyn in return?

  “What about?” he asked while playing with the hem of his sleeve.

  Was he nervous? It was a completely new side to him, one I had never seen before.

  “Why do you ask?” My curiosity was getting the better of me.

  “Ashlyn talks too much—says too much,” he added.

  “Really? She barely told me anything I wanted to know. For instance: what your favorite color is, what your favorite thing to drink is, your favorite song—She did tell me that you liked some all-girl band, and I told her that that had to be a lie—because I mean look at you. You probably don’t even listen to your own melody, let alone Earth songs,” I teased.

  “Are you done yet?” he interrupted, rolling his eyes.

  Darn, I really wanted to get more out of him. He was a stone, a rock: emotionless. Glasson stared at me and crossed his arms across his chest.

  “She wouldn't know any of that. I, unlike you, know my boundaries and my place with my charge.”

  Low blow, but I didn't not expect it. But, he did not know that I knew Ash was a seeker. I would keep that to myself for now.

  “All I told her was that Emma doesn’t know who she is, and that she needs to keep it that way. She was also wondering about Prince Shadrict.”

  “I need to speak with him,” Glasson sighed. “As one Heir to another.”

  “Yes, having the second kingdom behind us could be invaluable.”

  “Agreed.” He set the paper down and leaned back in his chair.

  “I see that Prince Shadrict is spending a lot of time with Emma these days.”

  “Not anything above average. They see each other at school; they have a few classes together,” I responded, convincing myself that nothing else could happen.

  “So is that the reason he is walking Emma across the street and fighting the urge to kiss her—to kiss your ancient heir?” I wanted to ignore Glasson; I understood that he knew that I had feelings for Emma, which I wasn't supposed to have—because I was her guardian knight. Still, things seemed different with Emma. I also knew that Shad would stop at nothing to make her his own.

  I shot up from my seat, causing the chair that I was sitting in to slam to the floor. I heard Glasson laugh as he followed me out the front door. Ah, so he could laugh. I logged that away. I stood on the edge of the lawn and watched as Prince Shadrict said his goodbyes and walked down the steps of Emma’s house. Emma shut the door, and I wanted to tune out her melody, which was screaming her feelings for Shad—that she liked him—feelings that were loud and very disturbing to me. I worked hard to keep my dinner down.

  “Shad,” I called his name with a sneer as I left Glasson on my porch and walked over to Prince Shadrict.

  “Ah, knight—it has been a while.” Shad stood tall with a smile on his face, and I could not help but feel the urge that raged inside of me to punch that smile off of his face. If my melody had not been shielded, no doubt, he would not have been standing there in front of me, seeming so confident. I folded my arms across my chest, letting my muscles bulge; it was all I had over him.

  “Stay away from her,” I snapped at him.

  “Truly? Ryker, we just discussed this. You had your time with her, and now it is my time.” Shad stood so calm, like always.

  “She doesn’t like you.” I wished that it was the truth, hoped beyond anything that it was true.

  “I am sure, even though you are becoming soulless, you can still sense her emotions and are well aware that you are wrong.” No doubt even though he didn’t fully understand who Emma was, he could read her soul. Any Terran close enough to her could. I was grateful then that Emma didn't know who she was either, that she didn't know she was a princess of the first kingdom. If she did know that, she would have been broadcasting it loudly within her melody, along with her feelings for the prince.

&nb
sp; “She doesn’t know how she feels. She doesn’t know everything about me,” I said, grateful again that my soul was shielded so that I could hide so much from him. Neither Shad nor Emma knew half of what I was or even half of what Emma was.

  “I think how she feels is extremely clear,” Shad said with a smile.

  “She is my girlfriend. Ask anyone at school; we are together,” I wondered as I spoke if anyone would miss him if he just suddenly went missing.

  “You are betrothed?” Shad asked with a raised brow.

  “‘Girlfriend’ doesn’t mean a betrothal; it is a courtship of sorts, but she loves me; she may have some feelings for you, but the feelings she has for me are much stronger,” I said. telling lies was getting easier and easier. Betrothal? Shad had no idea of the half of it. I smiled at him.

  “I did not know.” He fixed his tie and looked at me as if he didn’t believe me. “What do you want from me, guard?”

  “I want you to hold off. I need more time with her, just a little more. If she comes to you, fine—but until then, give her space. If you confuse her anymore, I don’t know what will happen. She has been through a lot in the last few months. She needs her best friend; she needs me.”

  “I am an honorable person, Ryker. I will wait, but are you ready for what will happen?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that this connection I have with her is undeniable. It isn’t easily broken; it isn’t something that can ever go away. Even if she has a crush on you, I know how she feels about me.”

  “You just met her. I have known her for years. I have watched her throughout her life.” I hoped that me sharing that information did not give away who Emma was. I knew he probably suspected she was from Terra. I just did not want him to know who she was connected to, not yet.

  “That may be true, but”—He paused and watched me for a moment. “We share a song, Ryker.”

  “That isn’t possible. No,” I said, taking a step back from him.

  “If you listened at all with your soul exposed, Ryker. She is—“

  “Shut up.”

  “What?”

  “It means to be quiet. You can’t have a song. The ancients haven’t created one in hundreds of years; it's a fairytale.”

  “Maybe, this is what the lady meant. Maybe, this is how she will heal Terra—with me at her side. Songs are real, Ryker. I told you that after the dungeons.”

  “You by her side? Do you even hear yourself? You don’t even know her.”

  “Our bond lets me know and understand her more than I thought anyone could ever know another.”

  “Shadrict, I am—“

  “Ryker, it is fine. I am not worried. I will take a break from her so that you can get your house in order. I am honorable after all and am not worried that time will lessen our connection. But, I have waited my entire life for her, and I will not stay patient for long.”

  I wanted to groan. He was so annoying. Of course, he would think anyone would be in love with him. All he had to do on Terra was to let his soul sing, and every woman was a goner, but not my Emma. She was not his, no matter if she thought that she was, or that she wanted to be.

  “I appreciate it,” I said, dumbfounded.

  “But do not doubt what the ancients have blessed; it is clear to me.”

  “Did you see all of this?” I knew about the rumors about the second kingdom, knew about the whispers. Their gift along with the first kingdom wasn’t well known, I wondered if they had wanted it that way for all these years.

  “What?” Shadrict said, touching his cufflinks. Oh, gosh; he had cufflinks. I rolled my eyes.

  “If this is true about songs, then you were blessed by the ancients. I know about the powers you would have to have.”

  “All of the ancients’ heirs are blessed, Rykerian. It is no secret.” He paused, looking right into my eyes. “I can tell you, however, that I have known of Emma’s existence for every single day of my life. Our hearts beat the same.” Then he turned and walked away, crushing what felt like the bones inside of my body into oblivion. I walked back to the house and heard Glasson laughing.

  “A song?” He asked in between laughter.

  “You find this funny?” Great, he could laugh, the one time he showed emotion, and he used it to mock me.

  “Oh, Ryker. You know you are not supposed to fall in love with your charge. It seems the ancients are aware of this.” He kept laughing, and my stomach ached.

  “I don’t care what I have to do, Glasson, but in the end, I will keep her away from him.” I would, I had to.

  “But will she want that?”

  As Glasson and I finished discussing the details of our plan, I could not forget those words rolling over and over and over again in my head. But will she want that? If songs were real, who could deny a song?

  Chapter 12

  “SO, WE’RE STILL ON for today, right?” I asked, sliding next to Emma at the lunch table. I had been spending all of my time with Glasson, piecing the puzzle together about who had destroyed Emma's family. I knew from our connection and from the pull that I had for her that she needed me. I had texted her earlier that week, making plans with her for that night. I knew that being with her meant that I needed to fight the pull that grew and intensified each day that her soul was exposed, but she needed me, and I couldn't deny it any longer.

  I watched as Emma looked up at me and nodded. I stared into her beautiful, vibrant, green eyes, hearing her feelings pulsating through her melody. I knew she was unable to control her thoughts.

  It was hard to hear her feelings exactly, especially with my soul shielded, but I had learned how to let it out just enough in order to sense her. She was thinking something about reading a letter, about seeing my name, and being confused by it. Confusion radiated strongly from her soul. Confused myself, I shielded my melody entirely once again as Emma responded: “Of course.”

  “Awesome,” I smiled, placing my hand on her shoulder, feeling its warmth.

  “What’s today?” Sam asked, sitting down at our table. I knew that in order to keep up appearances I needed to act like I was friends with the earthlings, but it was tiring. They were the least honorable boys I had ever met. The things they spoke about to each other about the female earthlings were very disturbing. I assumed that if they had melodies, theirs would have been corrupted long ago.

  Sam was soon followed by more football players. I could tell from the way Emma smiled and nodded at my teammates that she wasn’t thrilled to be with them either. But I had a part to play. I was not Rykerian, the guardian knight of the Ancient Heirs of the first kingdom at that moment. I was Ryker Dall, the football-playing earthling. I put an arm around Emma and breathed in the scent of her coconut shampoo. How badly I wanted to pull her into my arms and bury my face in her hair.

  “Oh, Emma has been waiting all week to hang out with yours truly. Sorry about all of my practices getting in the way,” I said, winking at her. As I focused on her eyes, all I saw were emerald pools of confusion.

  She seemed uncomfortable with my touch, which was starting to become a new normal, which I did not like.

  “My parents are out for the night,” I raised my voice for the sake of the football team. Emma nodded, I assumed, not caring in the slightest if my parents were home or not.

  “Dude! Score!” Andrew high-fived me. Kevin and John gave me fist bumps. I smiled and acted like I was proud of the dumb things that I knew my comment had made them think. I didn’t want people to hurt Emma. My main concern always was her protection. If being her boyfriend caused those disturbing boys to stay away from her, then that is what I had to be, at least make it look serious between us. I had already told them and half of the school that we were together. It had been that way since freshman year She was mine, not anyone else's.

  “So what are you guys going to do?” John asked with a smirk.

  Andrew punched his shoulder and said: “Dude!”

  “We are just going to hang at his h
ouse,” Emma said, irritated. I squeezed Emma’s knee, and her green eyes found mine. I unshielded my melody to push my feelings of sorry at her. I quickly shielded it again. I was pretty good at it by then. It was something Lamont trained me for, so I wouldn’t become soulless. She smiled with what I knew was her fake, but warm, smile which meant—“you owe me.”

  “Hey, guys,” I heard Ash say, and I glanced up at her for just a moment, and then I focused back on Emma. I watched Emma as she looked around the cafeteria. Emma, she was so beautiful, so effortlessly beautiful. Her coming into her melody was something extraordinary. I felt a pain of guilt that I was able to witness it, but that her parents would never be able to see her as she grew. Sure, she was in pain and didn’t know how to control it, but her, this way—I was getting to know this amazing part of her. She looked at me, and our eyes met for a moment, and a funny look crossed over her face. I could only stare back until she glanced away. Then I was pulled into a memory.

  “HER MELODY IS SO CAPTIVATING,” I had commented about Emma, as I sat with Lamont one evening, watching the stars.

  “It is, isn't it?” he said reverently.

  “Indeed.”

  “I’m so grateful, so indebted to you, Kerian.” I watched as Lamont looked up at the north star, our home. Prince Lamont had been the one who gave me the nickname Kerian when we had first met, telling me that “Rykerian” was too long. He shortened it. Once I arrived on Earth, I needed to change it to something more earth-like, and Ryker seemed to fit just fine. It didn't feel right to have earthlings call me Kerian.

  “It is my duty and my honor, Lamont; you know this.”

  “I know how hard it must be, so hard being without Analiea.”

  I tried to stop those memories from making me feel the despair that I so longed to be freed from.

  “Everyday, I think of her,” I whispered into the evening air.

  “I know, and I wish I could bring her back from the ancients.”

  “What is done is done, Lamont, and I have come to be at peace with it.”