Violet Fire
Chapter 17

I wasn’t sure how long it took for me to calm down, but when I started to wander back into the main camp, no one was stirring. Even the dancers had gone to bed, leaving only dying embers and starlight to guide me through the dark camp. I had formulated a plan while in that field, and I knew who I needed to help me execute it. I stood outside of his tent for a solid five minutes before lighting a witch light and pushing the ten flap aside.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Alaric groaned, shielding his eyes from my light.

“This can’t wait,” something in my tone silenced his complaints.

He sat up and gave me his full attention, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Alaric sat quietly, letting me pace the tent in silence. I almost changed my mind right then and there, but I felt certain about what I needed to do. I sat down on the edge of the chair across from him, my mind made up.

“I have to see Aleia,” it felt good to finally say it out loud.

“Aleia is almost untraceable, and she’s sure to have protection,” Alaric replied, his eyes never leaving mine.

I looked away, shaking my head. “Alaric, I came to you because you were the only one that I thought would support me.”

“I know.”

I leaned forward, returning his gaze intently. “Then why does it sound like you’re trying to convince me not to do this?”

He smiled wryly. “Because I am.”

I threw my hands up, rising to pace once more. Alaric let me brood for a couple of minutes before speaking.

“There is no turning back, Juliet,” he was studying his hands. “We will be considered traitors.”

I stopped, staring at him in shock. “This is more important,” I managed.

Alaric met my eyes once more, nodding. “Luckily for you, I overheard my brother’s spies giving him Aleia’s location,” he stood.

“Your brother?” it was the first time Alaric had mentioned his family to me.

Alaric nodded but didn’t answer. “We need to leave before anyone notices that we are gone.”

“You mean before Damon replaces out that we left.”

Alaric shrugged nonchalantly, but something flitted across his face briefly. “I don’t particularly feel up to fighting a dragon, do you?”

“Good point,” I replied, grabbing my satchel.

Alaric and I snuck through Faerie easily, pausing to glance back at the edge of the valley. He was right, there was no turning back now.

“There’s still time to change your mind,” it was the gentlest I had ever heard Alaric.

“No, there isn’t,” I whispered. “I was just thinking,” I turned so that I could see his face in the growing light. “That no matter what, there will be war.”

“Well then, time to prepare for battle.”

“So, any ideas on how we’re going to get to Aleia before anyone catches up to us?” I was perched on a boulder, chugging water.

Alaric was standing on another boulder, compass in hand. The mid-morning sun was punishing in the rock strewn hills that we were travelling through. There were a couple of scraggly trees casting pitiful shade, but otherwise it was rocks and grass. Alaric came down from his boulder and offered me a hand up.

“Once we get close enough, Aleia’s guards will come to us,” he replied. “Our most pressing problem isn’t behind us.”

“What does that mean?”

“These foothills are giant territory.”

I stared at Alaric for a long moment, hoping that he would start laughing at the joke. He didn’t.

“Exactly how big are giants?”

“About thirteen to twenty spans high,” he replied calmly, taking my elbow gently so that I would start walking. “But they will be keeping away from the sun at this hour.”

I gulped and let myself be led until I was calm enough to walk without prompting. We kept going until we were both famished, stopping under cover of a large pile of boulders. As we ate the little bit of bread and cheese that we had brought with us, the ground beneath us began to tremble. I looked over at Alaric, my heart racing as I saw my fears reflected on his face.

“That isn’t good,” he muttered, tossing the last hunk of his break into his satchel. “Stay here.”

I watched as he climbed the pile of boulders carefully, stashing the last of my own lunch. The ground shook harder, and the sound of deep, booming voices carried to us. Tired of waiting, I climbed up the rocks after Alaric, earning myself a glare.

Apparently thirteen to twenty spans is about the equivalent of ten to fifteen feet. As far as I could tell, both of the giants were on the upper end of that scale, completely dwarfing everything around them. In every movie I’ve seen or book I’ve read, giants are usually stocky and rather dumb. One of the giants was over-weight and the other was a beanpole. They were both men, and from what I could hear from their conversation, they were discussing physics.

“Now, I know that the experiment has actually been done, but I am convinced that everything is made of particles too small to be seen by the naked eye,” the skinny one was saying.

“I see where you’re coming from, but until we actually have some evidence, I’m going to trust what I can see with my own eyes,” the other replied huffily.

The skinny one rolled his eyes. “And exactly how would you propose we gather that evidence?”

I turned to Alaric, sure to keep my voice low. “Why are we scared of them, again?”

“Don’t let them fool you, giants are notoriously aggressive,” he replied, ducking a bit as the giants started to pass by us.

“I don’t care what that old quack says,” the over-weight one was starting to sound angry.

The skinny one stopped, his hands clenching into fists. “That old quack is my grandfather.”

“Oh, no,” Alaric murmured.

He pulled on my arm, pulling me down the rocks as quickly as we could move.

“Maybe they’ll work it out civilly?” I suggested, huffing from exertion.

There was a cry, and the skinny giant sunk a right hook into the other’s face.

“Maybe not,” Alaric had already reached the bottom, but I had a few feet to go. “Jump, Juliet!”

“What?” I cried, panicking.

“I’ll catch you,” he assured me, opening his arms.

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” I breathed, then I let go.

I expected to knock Alaric down or something, but he held firm and sent me gently on the ground.

“Now let’s get out of here before we get squashed,” I said.

“Agreed,” Alaric grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.

There was huge crash behind us, and I glanced around to see our look-out post smashed into pebbles.

“What will happen if they see us?” I asked between breaths.

“I doubt they would do us intentional harm, but angry giants are unpredictable,” Alaric replied.

We stopped at the top of a hill to catch our breath. When we looked behind us we could see that we were no longer in the path of the brawling giants.

“Well, that escalated quickly,” I huffed, watching the giants beat the crap out of each other.

Alaric chuckled, passing a hand down his face. “I have learned that it is never wise to insult a giant’s family.”

I looked over at him curiously. “When did you learn that?”

Alaric grinned, his bright blue eyes twinkling as they met mine. “Perhaps I will tell you some time,” he turned to scan the skies. “Right now we should keep moving.”

We walked for the rest of the day, passing through more grassy fields dotted with trees. When Alaric offered to take the first watch of the night, I didn’t argue. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally, wondering for the umpteenth time if I was really going to go through with this. What do you say to the fairest of them all? I need to get away from this crazy story-book-gone-wrong.

When I woke up, I realized that Alaric had never woken me up to take a watch, and that he was sitting in the same place as when I had fallen asleep. Alaric was troubled as we moved forward. He hardly spoke for a couple of hours, and he kept fidgeting. Around midday Alaric pulled me to a stop. We were in a copse of trees, standing only a few feet from the bridge that went over a rushing river.

“Juliet, there’s something that you need to know,” all of Alaric’s usual charm and teasing was gone.

He met my eyes for the first time that morning and I couldn’t help but wonder where I had seen such bright blue eyes before. A memory from before Loridian flashed in my mind: a pair of bright blue eyes all I could see from under a hoodie. I opened my mouth to speak, but never got the chance.

“Alaric, what took you so long?” out of the trees strolled Hoodie Number One, his green eyes sending unpleasant chills up my spine.

“You’re with them?” my voice was tight.

“You didn’t tell her? Alaric, what a poor way to treat our guest,” he continued, eyeing me like a predator.

I looked over his shoulder to see a centaur and two men in the trees behind him, all armed.

“Well, Kieran, I was just about to when you rudely interrupted,” Alaric drawled, forcing a smile.

Kieran smiled, but his eyes remained cold. “Well then, no need for standing around, let’s get a move on.”

Alaric nodded, putting one hand on my waist and the other on my elbow. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

“No turning back.”

After we crossed the river and crested the hill, a camp not unlike Faerie stretched before us. Except this camp was easily twice the size, the air nearly vibrating in anticipation. As we started into the camp, Kieran grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Alaric. He paraded me through the tents like a prized hunting trophy while the camp stared. I thought that the staring in Loridian was bad, but this was worse. Instead of watching me with fear, they watched me with excitement and worst of all, bloodlust.

Kieran kept a vice-like grip on my arm and Alaric avoided my eyes as we entered Aleia’s tent. I stared straight ahead, my head held high as we rounded the last corner. I may have been a captive, but I would keep my dignity. Aleia glanced up as we came closer, but her eyes quickly flicked down to the papers scattered on the table before her.

“You may go, Kieran,” her voice was quiet, but it carried easily through the room.

“But, Your Majesty –,” all it took was a glance to cut him off.

He let go of my arm and bowed stiffly, but before he could stalk off, two of Aleia’s men entered, dragging a struggling Damon between them. Aleia looked up fully from her papers, her expression as smooth as glass. She cut a cool look over at me.

“This one certainly is devoted,” she murmured before turning back to her men. “Keep him from interrupting us.”

One of the men grinned before jamming his elbow into Damon’s abdomen, causing him to double over as the breath rushed out of him.

“That isn’t necessary,” I growled, feeling small sparks flick off of my fingertips.

A trace of a smile graced her near perfect lips. “Calm yourself, Juliet. No harm will come to him.”

“As long as I cooperate, right?” The sarcasm practically dripped from my words.

“I have no intentions of using your loved ones as leverage,” Aleia replied calmly, still with that ghost of a smile. “However,” here her eyes flicked over to Damon. “If he injures any of my own, I will not restrain them.”

Damon nodded once in understanding, his wary eyes meeting her gaze before coming to rest on me. I matched his stare for only a moment, afraid to look for much longer than that. Alaric remained stoic beside me, ignoring the glance I stole at him.

Aleia had come around her table and leaned casually on the side closest to us. “I did not bring you here to hurt you.”

“Why am I here, then?” I fought hard to keep all but the smallest trace of acid out of my voice. It isn’t as if you were trying to come here on your own, drawled a sarcastic voice in the back of my mind.

Aleia had sobered, her face unreadable once more. “I brought you here to ask for your help.”

Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. At all. My surprise quickly gave way to indignation. “Help you wage war against my friends? I don’t think so.”

Aleia shook her head once, snorting softly in derision. “Friends? Do you have any idea why I am engaging in battle with Loridian?”

“Because you have some sick grudge against Claire,” I snapped. My head whipped around as I turned on Alaric. “Is that why you’re with her? Even after living with them you hold a grudge too?”

“Alaric is with me for the same reason that the rest of my own are,” Aleia answered, bringing my head back around. “Those same people that you call friend wouldn’t hesitate to kill you right now if they could.”

“Claire and Eoin would never let that happen!” Damon tried to take a step forward, but was yanked back roughly.

“Please, don’t interrupt us,” Aleia’s calm held a dangerous edge to it.

“He’s right, though,” I replied, my chin coming up defiantly. “Claire and Eoin protect those with magic.”

Aleia scoffed, “Claire and Eoin have protected a select few, while letting the vast majority be expelled under threat of death.”

I shook my head, taking a small step back. “That can’t be true, they wouldn’t let that happen.”

Aleia became very serious, coming up so that she was no longer lounging against her table. “Claire and Eoin are ruled by their fear of the people, and the people are ruled by their fear of magic.”

“They’re afraid of magic because of you!” I practically screamed, feeling tears of anger and frustration threatening to overflow.

“When my husband died,” Aleia had to take a deep breath to keep from letting her calm slip. “I had a simple choice to make: fear or be feared. I chose the path that I thought was best.”

It was my turn to scoff. “So I’m supposed to believe that you’ve changed your ways, just like that?”

Her eyes refocused on me, showing none of the anger or indignation that I was expecting. “No, I don’t expect you to believe that,” she paused again, changing her mind about what she said next. “At least when I was queen, killing wasn’t a public sport.”

Damon and I each caught the other’s eye, and I knew that we had the same thought. As much as it pained me to admit, Aleia was right about that. When he spoke, Damon’s voice was low and intense.

“And declaring war on them somehow makes that right?”

Aleia came to stand in front of Damon, her eyes bright and just as intense. “They were the ones who declared war, this is simply answering their call.” She stepped away again before he could respond, her long hair flicking behind her as she moved. Her eyes turned back to me, and I suddenly found myself caught in her gaze. “Tell me Juliet, is it right for people to be hunted because they are different? Is it right to seek to kill an entire race because of fear?”

I shook my head slowly, trapped in a sea of purple and silver. “Fear can’t drive out fear,” I replied softly, wondering in the back of my mind why those words seemed so familiar. “Hate can’t drive out hate,” I continued absent mindedly.

Aleia cocked her head to one side, smiling slightly. “Your parents told me about the man who said that. He fought for his people by not fighting,” her smile faded, and for the first time I saw a trace of sadness in her eyes. “How foolish.” Her face became unreadable once more, but there was steel in her posture. “I will fight for my people, to the death if need be.”

She seemed to be waiting for me to respond, but I was at a loss for words. I glanced around the room quickly and noticed that all eyes had fallen on me. After a silence that stretched on, Aleia spoke again.

“Your parents taught me much about your country,” she said quietly. “I do not think it is a venture to say that I would be a hero in your history books.” I looked back at her, surprised by the lack of vanity in her words. She met my gaze dead on, seeming to search my very soul. “I will say nothing more,” she finally murmured, then louder. “The choice is yours, Juliet.” She paused once more. “Although I do suggest you choose quickly, my troops are already marching out.”

She signaled her men and they released Damon, who staggered a little, his hands still behind his back. I watched as they made their way to the exit, going back and forth in my head.

“Wait,” I said softly, just as Aleia was about to leave. One eye brow came up delicately as she turned. “What happened to my parents?”

Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes softened a fraction. “I brought your parents here to learn from them, I promise that I did them no harm. What happened after they left, I cannot say. But,” and here she paused. “I could help you replace them,” she was gone before I could respond.

I sat still for a long moment, consumed by my thoughts. My eyes flicked to Damon, breaking me out of my head.

“You shouldn’t have come after me,” I said automatically.

Damon half-smiled. “Did you expect anything less?”

“No,” I sighed, checking him over.

Aleia’s men had bound his hands behind him, so I bent to pull the knife out of his boot and slit his bonds in one fluid motion. He stretched quickly, rubbing at the faint red lines now circling his wrists. He took the knife from me gently, his eyes never leaving my face. I didn’t meet his eyes, I just kept wringing my hands as I got lost in my thoughts once more. Damon reached out and gently pulled my face up so that I had to look at him.

“Are you all right?”

“What am I going to do?” I asked, deliberately avoiding his question.

Damon shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck absently. “Only you can answer that.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. My mind went back to all of my parents’ notes, everything that I had read. None of it had prepared me for meeting Aleia. Or had it? Everything that I had learned, everything that I had seen had led me to this moment, this decision. I knew what I had to do.

I opened my eyes, meeting Damon’s gaze fully. “Come on, we have a battle to stop.”