Ancient Guardians The Legacy of the Key Page 31

  She was nauseated, as she watched him help Reece on his horse. She felt as if she would faint as she witnessed the man she loved lead his horse past her window, and away from the house. She gazed out the window, outraged as she took in the sight of Levi’s arms wrapped around the girl.

  *****

  Simone woke in a state of panic. These dreams will be the death of me! She ran to her sink to splash cold water on her face. She gasped for air, and tried to calm herself. “Rachael!” She demanded, “Where are you? I need you this instant!”

  “My deepest apologies, Simone. I did not know you were awake. Allow me to get you some tea. Was it another nightmare, my lady?”

  Simone glared at the young maiden. “Rachael, you forget yourself! It is none of your business why I am awake. Why are you not already attending my needs anyway? I will have you replaced this instant if you fail me one more time. I will be ready for my day clothes after this cup of tea, so have them ready. Now get out of my sight!”

  “Simone?”

  “What child? You are bothering me.”

  “Simone, it is still three hours until daybreak. Are you certain you would prefer to begin your day already? If not, I can arrange for some tea so that you may return to a decent slumber.”

  Simone exhaled in defeat.

  This was Simone’s life now, tortured and haunted by the past. Living with the constant nightmares of why her life was ruined. This nightmare haunted her most, and she was frightened each time it returned to her. She thought she had completely removed this day from her heart and her mind. The dream served as a reminder for the reasons she went to such great lengths to remove Reece from Pemdas.

  It was after watching Levi ride away with Reece, and learning that he had taken her to Casititor, that she arranged to leave the next morning on a vacation. However, it was not the vacation that Lillian, Catherine, and the others believed she was taking. Once Catherine and Lillian were distracted, she searched out an old friend, Michael Visor. She needed help coming up with a plan to remove Reece from Pemdas. Michael was perfect; he despised Levi as much as Simone hated Reece.

  Ironically, when she met with Michael, she discovered that he had already made plans of his own to remove the woman. It seemed that Michael and a few others weren’t as pleased to have this wretched girl from Earth among them, either. Her only concern about the plan was that it required a Guardian horse to cross the barrier. She knew very well that a Guardian horse would never allow any of them on its back; not with the malice intended with their actions. Their senses were far too keen to accomplish the mission.

  When she expressed this concern to Michael, he laughed in response. Then he showed her how he was able to manipulate his horse into doing whatever he commanded, be it good or bad. It was perfect; they had their way out of Pemdas, and now they could easily cross into Ciatris. Her plans to remove Reece were well underway, and Simone was prepared for success. She was still baffled about where it all went wrong.

  She calmed herself, and looked toward the concerned young girl. “Just make the tea, Rachael; I’ll be out in a moment.”

  Simone stared at herself in the bathroom mirror as the maiden swiftly left the room. She was disgusted by her reflection in the mirror. She would not, however, allow herself to believe she was falling apart. The Oxley family had since forgiven her duplicity, but it was not coming without a price. There was not one person who treated her with the respect she deserved. Fortunately, they all believed the story she gave them as she feigned innocence, and her punishment was not as severe as Michael Visor’s would be.

  Michael, poor man. Luckily, Levi spared his life after their encounter at Castle Ruin, but that was the kind of man Levi was. Her heart wrenched with pain, recalling how much she loved him. And now he despised her. She tried with everything in her power to block the memory of the day he returned from being imprisoned on Earth. As irate as he was toward her, it did not compare to when sought her out that afternoon to reprimand her for threatening his beloved Reece. She had never witnessed the man so hostile with his words. She believed she would die of heartbreak then and there. Levi was intimidating to be sure; however, she never gave much credence to the superiority of the man, until he confronted her the night before he returned to earth to bring Reece to the council meeting. Once again, he assured her that she would never have his forgiveness, and if the decisions of her fate were left up to him…

  She shuttered at the horrid memory, and walked into the next room for her tea. She promptly dismissed her maiden, and attempted to unwind her frazzled nerves. She sat on her settee and began to sip her tea. This entire situation had gotten out of hand. She could no longer live among any of these people. Her constant, torturous dreams reminded her of the scorn she had to endure from everyone on a daily basis. She was not only haunted with these horrors in her dreams, but they followed her while she was awake as well. She could not escape any of it, no matter how hard she tried.

  She was treated as a disease; everyone strayed away from her, and treated her as if she were contagious. How did this happen? Until last night, she held on to hope that everyone would move forward and forget what she had done. It was not an easy process, but she was managing. More than once she considered leaving and trying to find a life somewhere else. The only thing that stopped her was the hope that when the men returned from Earth, Reece would not be among them. Reece would have been traded to the Ciatron, and it would be over.

  Simone understood everyone’s anger toward her, but in time, that would all mend. Everyone would forget, move on with their lives, and everything would be the way it was before she came. She knew she could charm her way back into all of their good graces soon enough.

  All of this actually seemed like it could work itself out, until word came from Earth that the Council of Worlds had agreed to allow Navarre to bring Reece back into Pemdas, where she would remain…indefinitely.

  She could not imagine that the Emperor would allow someone from Earth to take permanent residence in their world. She knew that once her father returned, they would prepare for their journey home, and away from the Emperor and his family. For the first time in her life, Simone was never so happy to leave the grand palace.

  Hopefully, during her time away, the nightmares would cease. More importantly, with any luck, Levi would lose interest in Reece, just as he did Isabelle; and she would have her opportunity to prove to him that she was a better person after all of this.

  But it was last night that she was proven wrong.

  After Harrison arrived, and Levi and Reece were not with him; the fury within her ignited once again. She could not imagine why the two would not have ridden directly to the house together with Harrison.

  The sun had disappeared, and Simone seemed to be the only one concerned by their absence. Lady Allestaine’s mood was electrified; Simone had never seen her so excited. Simone wanted nothing more than to return to her room, but everyone was ordered to await their arrival.

  Simone was miserable, or so she thought she was. Finally, an hour after the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Levi and Reece walked into the room.

  Simone’s eyes narrowed as they openly held hands in front of everyone in the room. She looked at Lady Allestaine, waiting for the disdainful response that was sure to follow; yet, found the opposite. The lady held her hand over her heart while she brought the other one to rest in the bend of Navarre’s arm. Navarre smiled enthusiastically toward the two as they entered the room, and Simone did not fail to notice Elizabeth wipe a stray tear from her cheek. Something was different. Why wasn’t anyone upset that these two were off alone, until dark, together. Why was Harrison smiling so mischievously at them both? What was going on?

  It was when Levi proudly announced that Reece accepted his offer of marriage that Simone nearly collapsed. She searched for air, but her lungs would not take it in. Her eyes burned with rage, and she was doing everything in her power to remain seated. Oh, how she hated this girl, with every fiber of her being. Sh
e could no longer live in this land, not with any of these people. As far as she was concerned, Navarre corrupted this land by allowing such an abomination to take place. Why would Levi disregard everything that was revered and sacred to the Pemdai by doing this?

  She sat in shock as the room exploded into cheers, and as Lady Allestaine rushed to give both Reece and Levi her blessings. Reece smiled brilliantly as Levi stared at her adoringly. Simone’s heart kept a rapid pace as fury and rage radiated from her. She remained quiet; no one noticed that she did not congratulate the two, nor did they seem to care.

  She spent the rest of the evening trying to find an excuse to dismiss herself from the crowd. She couldn’t leave too soon and risk appearing to be envious of Reece; she wouldn’t give that girl the satisfaction. Reece could never know how much Simone loved Levi. She turned her attention to the captivating man, who was in conversation with the men. She noted that, although Levi smiled radiantly, his attention was focused on Reece, and not the men surrounding him. Has he even noticed I am in the room?

  As she watched him gazing at the girl, she began to feel hatred for him as well. He was as ignorant as Reece. Pemdas was no longer a place she was proud to call her home. She would not live in a land where her future Empress would be a nonsensical, naïve girl from Earth. She had to find a way to leave, and soon. Michael’s horse led her through the vortex once, and he would do it again.

  She continued to sip her tea, recalling these horrid events from the previous night. It was supposed to have relaxed her; however, it did quite the opposite. She was wide awake, and fully aware of why this nightmare resurfaced. What else would she expect after hearing about Levi’s engagement the previous night? She had to leave, and it had to be now.

  Simone looked around her room, and realized Rachael was nowhere to be found. Quietly, she packed everything she would need to leave for Armedias. It was a world just as unique and beautiful as Pemdas, and she could easily find a home there. She knew that with her looks, charm, and close affiliation to the Pemdai royal family, the rulers of that world would welcome her with open arms.

  Excitement flooded through her. She would not wait another moment. She would not spend one more day in this land, hearing of the future Mrs. Levi Oxley. As she hastily made her way from the Palace, she found her way down to where Michael’s horse was stabled. Her heart startled when a man approached her.

  “Michael?” Simone whispered, “What are you doing here? How can you ride?”

  Michael whispered quietly back, “I believe I should ask the same of you, Simone. What brings you down to my horse’s stable before sunrise? Are you planning to run away?” He laughed.

  “I must leave this place at once. Have you heard of Levi’s engagement?”

  Michael brushed his hand over Simone’s cheek, “I take it that you are not the lucky bride to be? Is your heart broken, along with every other girl in Pemdas?”

  Simone batted his hand away from her cheek, “Michael, do not be absurd. You know I cannot stand Levi, it is why we worked together to destroy him.” She then brought her hand to his rugged face. “Oh, Michael, you know I have always loved you. Levi is too proud, I detest his presence. Come away with me, you can no longer live here either. Everyone despises us both. I cannot imagine what my father will plan to do with you, if you remain.”

  Instantly persuaded by Simone’s charms, Michael grabbed her into a tight embrace. “Simone, if we leave, we must leave now. But I don’t leave to run away; I will return, with vengeance. You see, I met a few new friends, while I was amongst the Ciatron. There are other’s that want nothing more than to put Navarre in his place.” He chuckled darkly.

  Simone’s eyebrow shot up as she played with a button on his shirt. “These new friends, Michael, who are they?”

  “Michael brought his lips to Simone’s. He withdrew and smiled, “In time, lovely Simone. Now, let us go before the stable men are out with their morning duties.”

  Simone giggled with excitement; Michael was proving to be more of a man than she truly thought him capable. Maybe there was hope to remove Reece from Pemdas after all.

  Acknowledgements.

  Without going into a 500 page novel regarding how much I love, admire, and appreciate my sister, best friend, and other half, Amanda…I will leave it at this; she knows exactly how I feel about her. If I didn’t have her constant support, help, and most of all…approval; this book would only have remained between me and her. I will always be grateful to her for the great effort and dedication she gave this book while bringing it through its final edits. Thanks for helping bring Frankenstein to life, Honey! I sure do love you!

  I am forever indebted to my Aunt Trena, who test read every version of this novel. If it wasn’t for her getting lost in the enchanting world of Pemdas with me, and having as much passion and desire as I have for this fictional family, I would have never gotten past the many obstacles I faced as a first-time writer; nor would I have had the desire to keep the story alive by writing more books in this series.

  I could never say thank you enough to my mom, whose love for her children in unmatched. Without her constant support of my creative abilities ever since I was a child, I probably would never have believed myself capable of writing a fictional novel. Thank you for being my fresh set of eyes for this book, when I couldn’t see straight anymore.

  Thanks to my dad, for his love of Sci-Fi books and movies. If I didn’t grow up in a house that had an episode of Star Trek playing in the background every day, I may not have had the imagination to play in the world of fantasy.

  And most importantly, thank you to my husband, Jason, and our three children. They have sacrificed countless hours of their time with me as they stepped aside to let me write; and instead of being upset about it, they’ve shared the same passion and excitement for the characters as I have.

  I must acknowledge my oldest son, Caleb for asking his teacher is he could do a book report on his mom’s novel. I am so proud of him; he did it, and received an A!

  And of course, many thanks to the band Evanescence. Every song on every one of their albums inspired my desire to write this book. Their music helped move me past dozens of writers block situations, and helped provide my inspiration to write.

  Lastly, thank you to all of my fans who supported me before the book was even published!

  For up to date info on the next books coming out in the Ancient Guardians series, visit www.slmorganauthor.com