Disclaimer: Libba Bray may have declared herself my Crazy Aunt Libba on Twitter in the fall of 2012, but that doesn't mean I own any of her characters.
I am awakened by a small shift beside me and the sound of rustling fabric. I reach beside me to find Kartik, but he is gone. "Kartik?" I whisper into the darkness, my heartbeat quickening slightly.
"Right here." My eyes adjust and he is at the foot of the bed donning his clothes.
"What are you doing? Come back to bed."
"The horses need tending. Besides, the sun will be up soon." I pout, but he resumes clothing himself, coming over to kiss me once. "Go back to sleep and you shall see me come the morning." He slips into his shoes and he is gone.
I make to join Henry on the other bed, but a chord of curiosity is struck within me. I neglect my shoes, slipping out of the room silently in my bare feet.
I follow Kartik down the halls of Spence at a distance, for he is trained to be on the lookout for spies. He exits the front doors and I follow him onto the lawn. Instead of heading toward the stables, however, he heads toward the East Wing and the door to the realms. He takes one long glance behind him, mercifully not noticing me before disappearing into the hallway.
I glide nimbly across the wet grass and enter the realms just after him. Where could he be going?
Just as I think I have lost him, I see Kartik heading toward an east-bound path. I know what is down that path, the only reason he could possibly be heading that direction.
The Poppy Warriors.
What business could he possibly have with them? I am tempted to follow him further, but find I cannot. I am far too shocked that he would betray my trust. I take a seat on the grass, plucking it numbly as I wait for his return.
Some time later, he appears again, strolling back up the path he left down. When he sees me, he stops, frozen. I stare at him, letting the hurt show plainly on my face.
"Gemma, what are you doing here?" He offers me a hand up, but I ignore it, standing on my own.
"Where were you?" I ask, feigning cold innocence.
"Gemma, I...I was simply…" I turn away from him with a scoff, heading for the door. He grabs my arm, spinning me to face him. "Gemma, wait-"
"No." I shake him off. "What have I done to make you believe that you cannot tell me the truth? That you must lie to me?"
"You haven't done anything wrong."
"And yet you still do not trust me."
"That is not true, not at all." He reaches out, but I pull away. I meet his gaze, unwavering.
"Kartik, I cannot tell you how desperately I want you to be a part of my life, and Henry's. But if I cannot trust you, then-" Kartik grabs my hands in desperation, his eyes pleading.
"No Gemma, please do not shut me out, I-"
"Kartik, I must think of Henry first. Of what is best for him." I carefully remove my hands from his. "Unless you are prepared to tell me the truth, the whole and honest truth and nothing but the truth, I am afraid there is nothing left to say."
I wait for him to respond. Please, say something, anything. Don't make me do this. But he simply stands there, his arms hanging limp at his sides, defeated.
"That's what I thought." Again, I turn to leave, and this time he does not stop me. My jaw clenches as I fight to remain strong and quell the tears until I am alone. I am almost to the door and I cannot fathom the disappointment I feel. All those years of waiting and hoping and mourning, the joy at his miraculous return, all for nothing.
"Wait," he calls. I stop. "I will tell you everything. You will not like it, but I will tell you." I turn and he guides me over to a rock, where I sit, waiting. He paces before me, his head bowed in concentration.
"I lied to you before."
"We already came to that conclusion," I mutter under my breath. He stops to glare at me for a moment. "Sorry."
"As I was saying, I lied to you. About how I escaped from the tree." I wait for him to continue. "The tree was becoming too much for me. It was sucking the life from me and, though I was not fully conscious, I knew that I was dying and that the tree would demand a sacrifice soon. I did not want that and fought against it, but I was growing weaker and weaker. One day, the Poppy Warriors appeared and offered me a way out. I knew they would demand repayment, but I accepted anyhow.
"When I was back in my human body, I was extremely malnourished and weak, so they took me back to their cathedral until I was healthy." His steps falter for a moment. "I saw terrible things while I was there. It was one thing to see it as the tree, but once my human emotions were once again intact, it was nearly too much to bear."
He raises a shaking hand to his face and I so want to comfort him, but instead fold my hands in my lap. "Every night, their screams reverberated off the ceiling. And there was nothing I can do." His broken voice is barely a whisper. "One night, I had enough. I broke free of my bindings. I used whatever I could find as a weapon and I killed the first Poppy Warriors in sight. Of course, the rest came after me, but I was trained for combat and immediately overtook them.
"Then Boaz held them back and sized me up. He said he admired my strength and my skill. He offered me a place among his ranks." He barks a bitter laugh. "Of course, I refused. But he persisted, and ultimately asked me to be their leader." He stands up straight, meeting my eye with confidence. "And I accepted."
I feel that his words should impact me more, but instead they run straight through me, leaving me dazed and confused. He comes close, taking my hands as the information sinks in.
"Say something. Anything." he begs quietly.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I take a deep breath. "How long were you planning to keep this from me?"
He stiffens visibly. "As long as possible, I had hoped. But I knew you are more clever than I."
"And your men? What do they believe?"
"For the most part, that I am a lovesick fool, which I suppose I am," he adds for good measure. My heart warms at hearing that. "This could be a good thing, Gemma," he says. "I am in a position of influence. If I desire the Poppy Warriors to join your cause and receive a share of the magic, they must answer to me." He tips my chin up with a light finger. "You are Lady Hope. And I have an immense amount of faith in you. Now I need you to have faith in me."
It takes me a moment of silent deliberation, but my choice is easy. I relax, giving him a small smile and a nod. His wave of relief comes in the form of a sigh and him falling to his knees, letting his head rest in my lap. My fingers lose themselves in his hair, sweeping the curls away from his eyes.
"Promise me no more secrets," I say. "If we are to be a family now, we must be able to place our full trust in one another." He sits up, taking my hands and lacing our fingers together.
"A family. I quite like the sound of that." I stand, pulling him up, not loosening our fingers.
"Come, let's go back to bed."
I find myself awake quite early, Kartik's dark arms wrapped snugly around me. I cannot help but notice the contrast of his skin against mine. It is so beautiful, the dark against the light, his crisply tanned tone bringing out the freckles dotting mine. I cannot fathom why our relationship is so frowned upon. Our destinies are intertwined.
I curl deeper into his embrace and Kartik stretches lightly, waking slowly. "Morning already?" His morning voice bubbles a smile to my lips and gooseflesh down my arms. My heart flutters like a hummingbird's wings in my chest.
"It is too early." Kartik kisses my shoulder lazily, refusing to open his eyes.
"I should be up soon. My chores-"
"Oh, let your chores be for a moment." I turn over, facing him. "Besides, wouldn't you rather be here than in that stuffy, run down old stable?"
His nose scrunches and I find it quite cute. "Well, the horses do have rather nice legs." I push him playfully and he laughs, opening his eyes ever so slightly. "I love you," he murmurs, his voice half muffled by his pillow.
I bite my lip to contain the grin that threatens to steal across my face. "And I love you." We lay there for a moment, overwhelmed with love, simply taking in the morning. Every few minutes, Kartik emits a small sigh that is so full of contentment I could positively die. If every morning for the rest of my life resembled this one, I would not have a complaint in the world. I am surprised when I finally speak. "We should let a house."
"Pardon?" He brushes his fingers up and down my arm. He can be quite distracting.
"We should let a house," I repeat. "In Kent. It will be close to my family, but just far enough away to give us space. And we can all stay there, you and Henry and me. And we can build a treehouse in the backyard for Henry to play in and there will be plenty of space for you to play cricket and we can catch fireflies in the summer."
Kartik laughs, sinking deeper into the sheets. "It sounds lovely. But where will we live until we find this house?" That is a good question. And one I had not yet considered.
"Well we certainly cannot stay with my family," I rule out. "They would let Henry stay, but I am sure my grandmother would force you into the stables again before you even set foot in the parlor."
"It isn't as bad as it sounds, I promise-"
I sit up. "No. I refuse to let them treat you like their property. You are not a dog. And if you may not sleep in the house, neither shall I."
"I have a better idea." Kartik coaxes me back into his chest. "I still have connections in the city that I made through the Rakshana. Perhaps I could find someone who can find us a small flat for a while, just until we find a place that is all our own, hmm?"
I close my eyes and breathe him in. "That sounds perfect."
His arms wrap around me a bit possessively. "No one shall be sleeping with the horses if I have anything to say about it." We both settle into the quiet again, the birds chirping outside and Henry's deep breathing the only sounds.
"Promise me I will never have to wake up without you," I whisper.
"And why is that?" I cannot quite answer him for the dull aching in my chest. "Gemma, is something wrong?"
"No, no," I reassure him. "Everything is...wonderful. It is simply too much to wake up without you right here within reach. So many mornings, I woke from dreams of you, expecting to see you climbing through my window or laying beside me. But you were never there. And I never want to go back to that place. I have you back now and I will be damned if I lose you again."
If the way I clutch at his chest hurts, I cannot tell. He draws me closer, holding me close within his grasp. "I promise, Gem. Every morning, I will be here. You will never have to face a lonely morning again."
I remember the first morning after Henry was born. He was crying and I joined him. He was such a vivid reminder of Kartik's loss that I could not bear it. I sat in my bed, holding him to my chest and rocking back and forth, sobbing brokenly until Henry fell back to sleep in my arms and the housekeeper knocked on my door to bring me breakfast in bed.
"We have something very special, don't we?" I ask. Kartik kisses my forehead, stroking my hair so that his fingers linger at the nape of my neck.
"We certainly do, Gem."
Hey guys! Whoops, I have this tendency to post a chapter and then skip out for a while. Life has been crazy, working three or four jobs and trying to be an adult. I'm also writing a YA novel of my own, so that occupies a lot of my mental capacity. But these two still make me SICK so I can't leave them alone for too long. If you keep favoriting/following/reviewing, I'll keep getting email notifications to remind me not to leave you guys hanging again! Thanks for all the support for this, I was terrified to post my first actual long-winded fanfiction but everyone has been so sweet and you're all as excited as I am and that makes it so much fun. Keep your eyes peeled for more fun soon!
xoxo Lady Hope