Banished Pt 2

Despite the heat, the King stepped closer and unsheathed a black blade hidden at his side. He swung it at my neck, grazing the top layer of skin.

"Do you know how glass is made?" Vetro said, eyes narrowed. "I've had thousands of years to master Earth and Fire—longer than you've even existed. You really think a little heat is enough to stop me?!"

An oppressive wave of heat surged from his body, clashing with mine. The sheer pressure began eating away at the walls. The palace shook and groaned from the strain.

I struggled to hold my ground, especially after he revealed his weapon. More of the black metal began pouring into the room through cracks in the floor, drawn to his blade. It lengthened and thickened until it transformed into a massive zweihänder. When he let it drop, it cracked through the marble floor under its own weight.

"You're lucky this metal is rare," Vetro muttered smugly. "It took forever to gather enough."

I wished I had a secondary element—something, anything—to even the odds again. He swung the massive sword down on me, and I barely rolled away in time. The impact obliterated the wall behind me, exposing servants in the hallway. Some collapsed from the heat immediately. Others shielded themselves with their powers and fled.

Vetro whipped the sword sideways, and it slashed across my chest. The pain was sharp—too sharp. There had to be poison in that blade.

I tried to escape, taking to the air, hoping to burst through the roof. But as soon as my feet left the ground, he hurled the sword through my shoulder, pinning me to the wall.

I'd been too confident. I should've gotten help.

"Wait!" Tana's voice rang out as she rushed through the hole in the wall. The heat in the room cooled almost instantly as my father stepped back, and I was too weak to maintain my flames. "Crystal's prophecy said all seven Chosen have to be alive for this war to end! What the hell are you doing?!"

She darted past him and tried to pull the sword from my body, but it wouldn't budge. After a few seconds of watching her struggle, Vetro sighed and yanked it out himself. I screamed, blood spilling from my mouth. He tossed the sword over his shoulder like it was weightless.

"What are you doing here, Tana?" Vetro's voice was unusually concerned.

"I heard what you were planning—over the Infaniyan bride?! Really?"

"He slept with her! He—"

"Did he rape her?!" she shouted over him, still healing me. The room went silent.

"Is she a grown woman? Is she capable of making her own decisions? If the answer's yes, then why are you only angry at this boy?"

For a moment, I saw Tana as something more than just a manipulative force. Just… a person.

"She was… special. You saw her. She looks so much like—"

"Angel. I'm aware."

Vetro frowned and added quietly, "Not as much as you. She's not here to replace you."

Tana scoffed, but he caught her wrist and held it. "I mean it. I owe you everything."

"This isn't about me. It's about him—and that woman."

Vetro finally turned to me again. I was still slumped on the floor, weakened but conscious.

"Fine, son. I'll make you a deal."

I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to see his face. Still, I muttered, "What?"

"I'll let you decide how I punish my wife."

The fury that surged up in me almost made me blackout.

"Don't touch her!" Just imagining him laying a single finger on her made me sick. I'd tried to prepare myself for her going back to someone else—but not him. Not this monster. What was he going to do? Let his concubines poison and humiliate her while he visited her once a month and tossed her scraps of affection? No. If the person meant for her can't love her properly, then she should be with me.

He laughed—loud and heartless. "Fine. But neither will you. I'm sending you to Earth. If she really cares about you, I'm sure that'll be punishment enough. And when you return, you'll see just how happy she is being my wife."

"No! She'll never be happy with you!" I roared. "You know why? Because you're a deranged, unlovable piece of shit!"

That's when he stepped forward and punched me so hard I blacked out.

When I came to, I was lying on a stained couch at my brother Markis's house on Earth.

"You really screwed up," Markis said, tuning his guitar. "Dad is pissed."

I blinked groggily. The house smelled like old takeout and cigarettes.

"Why am I here?"

He gestured vaguely. "Isn't it obvious? As your big brother, it's my job to take care of you."

…I would rather be dead.

To live here, Markis carved runes into me that suppressed my growth and helped me blend in. I had to pretend to be human. That meant pretending I was fifteen and attending school with kids at my same physical age. The classes were mind-numbingly easy. The only interesting parts were electives and human history.

The war between our planets had lasted over 8,000 years, Infaniya winning 6 out of 10 times. But humans… they'd waged countless wars amongst themselves. On the same planet. They built enough weapons to wipe themselves out ten times over. But somehow, they still kept moving forward. Fast. Political changes, revolutions, chaos—then resolution. Maybe it was because their lives were so short. Maybe urgency gave them power.

"Hey… Jeremy, right?" a girl said, sliding into the seat beside me in the library. {I can't believe I'm actually talking to him. I'm so nervous.}

I hated that name. But I forced a smile. "What do you want?"

She shrank back a little. I didn't mean to sound so cold, but I wouldn't mind if she left.

"I just… you always do so well on the tests. I thought maybe I could borrow your notes?" {If he says no, I'll just go away.}

"I don't take notes," I replied, flipping another page in my history book. {Okay, technically not a no. Maybe I should keep trying.}

"Th-then maybe we could do the homework together?"

I was only here to avoid Markis and his rotating cast of women and "friends." The library was my sanctuary.

"Fine."

She lit up. "My name's Innoccence, by the way. Just in case you didn't remember."

I chuckled and looked up. "Of course, I know who you are, Innoccence Sinclair. You sit right beside me."

Her cheeks flushed red. {He's so good-looking! I can't look at him anymore. My heart's beating too fast—I might die.}

She cleared her throat and looked at our worksheet. "Alright, let's get started. We were going over the layers of the Earth."

"Yeah. The crust, asthenosphere, solid mantle… the liquid outer core, which generates the Earth's magnetic field… and the solid inner core."

She gasped. "Oh thank God you remember them! Wait—we have to label them on this worksheet, so say all that again, but slower."

I laughed, then repeated it more clearly, pointing to each section. We worked together for about an hour. I helped her find the answers in the textbook and label everything correctly.

As she packed her things, she smiled and said, "Bye, Jeremy. I'll talk to you tomorrow!"

As she turned, I called after her, "Call me Jey!"