Vanessa 1976
Do what I know is right? That was a loaded request. Derek wanted my help, but he needed to explain what help he needed from me and why. That was enough to set off alarm bells in my head. Of course, I don't expect him to expose all the government secrets to me, but he should know enough about my family to know we don't do things halfway. He'd tried appealing to my sense of loyalty to my nation, which was stupid because I have none. So, why go down a path he had to know I wouldn't fall for?
"Why me? Why can't I just hand you the stone and go home?" It would be easier, after all. "Or why don't you just take it from me?"
"I already told you the stone likes you. If we try to take it by force... well, it will stop working." Something was unsettling about how relaxed he was. Did nothing phase this elf? "As for why you, well, I'm afraid I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"National security, I'm afraid." Really? That's how he wanted to play this?
"National security?" I hoped he wasn't full of himself enough to be shocked that I scoffed at him. "Does that excuse ever actually work for you people?"
"More than you think." Was this elf testing me? Why did he keep pushing buttons he knew wouldn't work with me? "I see what he liked about you."
"I sincerely doubt you knew anything about him or me." So what was the point of pretending I didn't know he was talking about Romulus?
"Funny, I could say the same to you." Picking up a twig, Derek twirled it in his fingers, still seeming unphased by any of my irritation. "Though Romulus thought he knew you. At least, he hoped he did."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I didn't like the way he smiled. Like the secrets he had on me could do more than hurt me.
"Did he ever tell you what his job actually was with us?" The trees try to move, their ranches reaching out to me, and their whispers keep fluttering in my thoughts. They tell me to run, but I can't bring myself to leave. "I bet you he never did."
"We never spoke about his work." That was a lie. Romulus had shared things with me. Secret things that could destroy careers in the courts and change the power struggle of entire races, but that had always been in the moments we'd been alone. The one thing Romulus never revealed was what his job was. Just that he worked for the secret police, and I'd been the one to figure that out after a few weeks of knowing him.
"You see, I know you're lying, but I also know he never told you his rank or job description, and I know why." Then, with a mirthless chuckle, Derek got up, stretching his legs. "You would have thrown him to the wind in a second if you'd known. And no one would've blamed you. Especially not Romulus."
Now he was fishing, and he knew he had me. It isn't my mind telling me not to hear this. It was my heart. Screaming that the last thing I wanted was to have information that would shatter how I saw Romulus. Reminding me, it could all be a lie to trick me into helping them. If it was that simple, I'd tell him to stop, but I can't. My heart might not want to know, but every other part of me needs to understand.
"Are you going to tell me?" Then, getting on my feet, I stare at Derek, trying to look as confident as he does. "Or are you just taunting me because you know you can just put me in prison?"
"Now, now, Lady Valkyrae. There's no need to be rude." He shakes a finger at me like he's scolding a naughty child. "I've been nothing but civil with you. I would expect better from a royal."
"Civil? You threatened to throw me in prison for treason." Where were his people? If we're alone, I can risk running.
"I did, and I will if I find you guilty of treason, my lady. However, that doesn't mean I haven't treated you respectfully and politely." Damn, I can't argue that fact. He has been nothing but gentlemanly, except for his condescending tranquility. "However, I believe that Romulus got you involved in something against your will, and I'm allowing you to clear your name."
"So I'm guilty without a trial?" What was he doing? Something about his eyes makes me feel uncomfortable. It's hard to read him, but I get the urge to run whenever he looks at me.
"We're not modern humans, Valkyrae." He comes closer, holding his hand out to me, but I refuse to take it. "Only they believe in innocence until proven guilty. We are more realistic about things. You're guilty until you can prove your innocence. It makes more sense, doesn't it?"
"Not when you don't know what you're guilty of." Now we're circling each other, making my skin shiver, even though it's not cold. Like he was made of stone like his powers. "You ask for my help, but you refuse to tell me why. You say Romulus kept secrets from me that would make me reject him, but you only tease me with them. So, why should I listen to you at all?"
"You don't distract easily, do you?" Narrowing his eyes, Derek stops in front of me. So close, his breath touches my face. "You remind me of a volcano."
"I sincerely doubt that." But, as afraid as I am, I can't let him see it. "You're assuming I have that sort of temper."
"You think I'm testing your anger levels, Valkyrae?" His voice drops, and I'm not sure if it's to be seducing or threatening. "No, I'm checking to see if Romulus was right. Or if he was blowing hot air up my ass."
"What?"
"Romulus was a member of The Hands of God. Do you know what that means, Valkyrae?" With one long slender finger, Derek traces the side of my face, making me flinch and step away.
No, it couldn't be.
The Hands of God were an urban legend everyone spoke about with a laugh or a roll of their eyes. Nameless, faceless, and so good at their secrecy, their own mothers didn't know who they really were. At least, that's what the legends said about them. They served no court official or office, only the king could give them a command they'd follow, and the list of what they did was as long as it was fantastical. Assassination, espionage, terrorism, cover-ups, and something that scares me to death, finding potential royalty.
"You're lying." It had to be a lie. Romulus couldn't be something that wasn't real. There was no proof that they existed and... and... if he was, then had he been with me because he loved me like he said, or for a professional reason? "The hands of God aren't real. They're a myth."
"What's the matter, my lady? Are you afraid that Romulus wasn't fucking you because he wanted you?" That was what I was afraid of, making me feel sick. "Or he was in your life because you were nothing more than a job?"
"Stop it!" I take several more paces back, needing to be far away from Derek, or whatever his name was. "Get away from me!"
"I told you... If you knew why he was with you, you would've gotten rid of him on day one." Derek doesn't come closer this time, but he's got an almost cruel grin on his lips that forces me to inhale like I'm having an asthma attack. "Didn't you think it was strange that he never introduced you to his family? Or that he only told you he was from Italy, never which part?"
"Stop!" I raise my voice, wrapping my arms around my chest. I don't want to hear any more of it.
He said he loved me. Romulus told me he wanted to share his life with me while we could. Had all that been a lie? Why? Because I was a mark that he needed to seduce? My heart screams at me, telling me it tried to warn me not to know. Maybe some of me already had, but it couldn't be true.
"If it makes you feel any better, his job wasn't to kill you or use you to get to your father. As liberal as your family is, the king isn't interested in you like that. He actually likes your father's defiance." Derek sticks his hands in his pocket and casually walks away from the trees. The cruel seduction he'd tried before vanished back to his tranquil demeanor. "Romulus's job... was you."
"Take your rock and leave me alone." Pulling it out of my purse, I held it out for him. I don't want any part of this. I don't care about my civic duty or anything else. I just want to go home.
"Now, now, don't be that way." Derek shakes his head, walking around, so I have to back up into the trees. "It's nothing like that. Romulus was supposed to train you. Valkyrae, you're meant to become one of us."
"I said shut up!" The mere sound of his voice is driving me crazy. Why won't he leave me alone?
"One day, Romulus comes to me and tells me that he's seen the worst soldier he's ever had the horror of seeing. Pathetic fighter, insubordinate, useless at everything except shooting. On top of that, she walked around camp like a delicate princess. Couldn't end the day without a hot bath and dancing with the trees." He says all that with his eyes fixed on me and a smile that isn't unkind for once. "Then he tells me that he believed this worthless soldier was a perfect candidate. As you can imagine, I was skeptical."
Romulus had said all those things about me? They were all true, but the way Derek put it was like Romulus thought nothing good of me. Maybe I had only been his target, but what did Derek mean by the candidate? What was Romulus trying to recruit me for? The secret police?
"I don't want to hear it."
"I know, but if I'm going to train you. Then you need to know the truth about your lover. Or it'll take a hundred years before you're worth anything to me."
"Train me for what?" I feel the branches touching me, trying to give me their strength.
"Romulus made one fatal error when it came to you, Valkyrae. He fell in love with his student. That's something the Hand of God can't do, but he couldn't help himself. Something about you... made him forget himself, and he couldn't help but taste you."