AllFreeNovel
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“We struck first,” I remind her. “Not today, but years ago when we first came to this planet and asked them to share it. After that, we destroyed everything they were or would ever become. We have to make things right not only for them but for our future as well.”
“Princess Emily.” We all turn to see one of the palace guards walking our way. “Your father sent me to escort you back to the castle. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
The three of us walk in the guard’s direction. He landed his aircraft just on the outskirts of town. After we’re all seated, Iris tells the guard where to go to get Winn.
As we lift off, I see Harold standing in the now empty street watching our departure. His look is a forlorn one, making me wonder if my promise to help rang true for at least one person.
Chapter 3
(Ivy’s Point of View)
Sweat rolls down my brow and into my eyes. I throw the rock in my hands to the side and rub them until the stinging stops.
“Ivy, here. Use this.”
Jack hands me a white handkerchief.
“Where did you get that?” I ask, taking it from him and wiping my forehead.
“Margaret gave it to me earlier when I was wiping my nose on my sleeve.” He chuckles softly. “She said a gentleman should always have two handkerchiefs on his person. One for himself and one for a lady in need.”
“Sometimes I have a hard time believing Margaret is Damon’s mother. They’re nothing alike but similar at the same time. Does that make sense?”
“It does.” Even from only the light of the stars and moon, I can see Jack smile at me. Now that I know who he is, I can’t seem to call him Vamir anymore, and there’s one title I’ll never call him: Father. That honor is only Boris’s, no matter what Jack may have contributed to my creation.
I tuck the handkerchief in a side pocket of my leather jacket before getting back to work.
When the sky cracked earlier, loose rocks rolled down from the top of the mountain, closing off the entrance to the cave where everyone else in our party was making camp. At first, the mound of rocks looked impenetrable, but I couldn’t just stand around and cry. I had to do something.
Jack agreed to help me even though I could tell from the expression on his face that he thought our efforts would be futile.
“We can’t just leave them in there to die,” I told him. “We have to try. From what you’ve told me about the trials, the fate of humanity rests in their hands. If we don’t save them, this whole world will be destroyed and us along with it.” I point to the sky. “It looks like we’re halfway there as it is, but I refuse to give up. If you care about me even a little, you won’t give up either.”
Jack and I work through most of the night until we both practically collapse from exhaustion. When we step away from our handy work, I barely see any progress.
“We need more people. The two of us aren’t going to be enough.” I look back the way we came, remembering how dusty and hot the trip getting to this point was. “It will take us at least two days on foot to get back to the castle.”
“They can survive in the cave until we get back,” Jack tries to reassure me.
“But what if someone is hurt in there?” I point to the blocked cave entrance. “What if they’re dying?”
I fall to the ground in a fit of tears, unable to hold them back any longer.
“I only have two people in this world that love me and they’re both in there,” I wail. “I can’t live without them. I won’t.”
Jack kneels down beside me. “Don’t say that, Ivy. I love you. I always have.”
“I don’t know you,” I say harshly, unable to hide my anger. “You’re a stranger to me. You had your chance to be a real father, but you chickened out and chose to stay locked up in that prison. Boris was there when I took my first steps. He coached me to say my first word. He’s always put me first. You just put yourself first.”
“He wouldn’t have even been your father if it wasn’t for me.”
My tears stop. “What did you say?”
Jack stands. “Nothing. Forget what I said.”
He begins to walk away, but I get to my feet and yank on his arm, forcing him to face me again.
