by Meagan Hurst
He knew her too well. That was exactly who she intended to speak to if she could manage it. With all of her relationships shifting, she wanted something more stable to grasp. The man who had formed, held, and inspired the Rangers was foremost in her mind as the best person to speak to. She didn’t bother to respond.
“Which one is this?” Nivaradros wanted to know.
Z hesitated. “The only one I know of, and the one I can locate with ease: Baryaris.”
“You have quite the bloodline,” Nivaradros murmured. “I am not sure how it is possible that he is only your great-grandfather, but this is not the time to explain it.” His attention moved to the Mithane. “Is it safe?”
“Mostly,” the Mithane offered the Dragon. “Nothing is safe, but I have seen them interact before. Baryaris was willing to accept Zimliya as she was, no questions asked. He recognized her amulet as genuine, though they hadn’t yet been created when I met him, and he listened to her with the utmost attention. He did not doubt her at all, which I am sure took effort since I was there as well and our arrival caused some alarm.”
A black brow rose. “How did you manage to go with her?”
“It was an accident. I was trying to look forward in time, but there happened to be a slight shift in the waters in an inopportune moment, and we ended up in Arriandie during a council meeting. They accepted it well,” the Mithane added with a hint of a smile. “And Zimliya stepped in to reassure them before things got out of hand. Though I have to say I am still impressed with the way they handled being told that they would surrender Arriandri to my people—a race they had never met—by a child who was supposedly from the future, and yet seemed to be from their past at the same time.”
“I take it you’ve changed your mind and have decided not to come?” Z asked Nivaradros.
“I believe my talents would be of better use here,” Nivaradros confirmed. “The Mithane many need help dealing with the Rangers—as well as any other political fallout—and if you’re going back into the past that far, I would be seen as a threat.”
“You never appeared in your mortal form.”
“And you think having two of me is a good idea?” Nivaradros drawled. “It is safer if I remain. Provided the Mithane can convince me you will be in little danger.”
“Think of Baryaris as an older, male version of Z without any of her hazardous traits,” the Mithane explained with a smile. “Like Zimliya, he was betrayed by Tenia. Unlike Zimliya though, he was not tortured, and he was an adult when it happened. If it can be said Z is anything like any of her relatives, I believe the argument can be made that she takes after her Ranger side. Baryaris was logical, easy to talk to, kind, very accepting of others outside of his people, and he did not seek power.”
The Dragon snorted smoke. “Hopefully you refer to Z’s logical side as the side that appears in battle as opposed to the one she’s displaying now.” He smiled as she punched him, but as her strikes, short of magic or steel, were always going to feel light to the Dragon, it was more of an elbow nudge than anything. “I am teasing,” he pointed out.
“Not in the mood,” she countered.
“He is also fond of her,” the Mithane continued. “I believe he feels their kinship even if he doesn’t know it exists. They work well together, and there was never even a hint of discomfort between them, Nivaradros. In fact, he would cut off someone else’s conversation if she indicated she had something to say. He trusts her; he knows she is loyal to the Rangers. I do not believe her immortality will cause him discomfort. He also knows that she is the de la Nepioa of her time. If she asks him for council, I believe he will offer it.”
“He died just over two years into being the first de la Nepioa. I am not sure I trust the judgment of a mortal who could not keep himself safe for even half a human decade.”
“He was betrayed by the Idiot,” Z inserted. “It is a failing that seems to run in the family.”
“It’s a damn good thing we eliminated that kingdom,” Nivaradros huffed. “Though at this rate I am putting in a vote to finish it off by killing the rest of them. I do not think it was wise to protect them. We still,” he pointed out, “have to deal with them at some point.”
“When I get back, possibly,” Z sighed. “Depending on Midestol, the other kingdoms, the missing soldiers, and everything else that is going on. Tezérac is very low on my current list of concerns.”
Nivaradros nodded in agreement before he stepped out of her way as the Mithane did the same. Neither of them would stop her, her path had been decided. She was pleased to see how well they were working together, and it made her confident that they could handle working with each other in her absence. The Dragon’s reasoning for staying behind was solid, and Z was relieved he had made his own decision to remain; she hadn’t been sure how to make the attempt to convince him to let her travel alone.
She also didn’t have to worry about either one of them targeting Crilyne. For one thing, both of them knew it was pointless to attack the Shade, but both of them also had accepted that it must be her judgment, her action. They couldn’t shield her from this unless they wanted to risk damaging her hold on her kingdoms and her power in the eyes of the other ruling bodies. The immortal games on her life would continue, but they were right as well; this was a new avenue that many would test if she didn’t play this game to the best of her ability. Even if she played this game well, those close to her would remain targets. But the attempts would be fewer, and she could settle for that.
Approaching the water with care, she eyed the rolling waves with unease. The Dragon called her on her hesitation. “This will be the first time this is my idea,” she informed him. “I am therefore not entirely sure how to proceed.”
“I am glad to see you are thinking this through before jumping in and hoping for the best.”
“You act like I do that all the time!”
“Only ninety-eight percent of it,” Nivaradros remarked. He was watching the waters as though he expected a threat to emerge. Closing the distance between them, Nivaradros reached out to touch her chin. “Be safe,” he requested. “And try to return without acquiring any new injuries.”
“Injuries are never something I seek out, Niv,” she replied with a smile as she kissed his cheek. “Besides, since you’re not coming, I have to return.”
Moving away from him before either of them could be embarrassed by her words, though she doubted Nivaradros would ever be self-conscious over a display of affection, Z reached out with her magic to the waters. Deep within it, lying dormant until someone called, was a power that would lead her to the past she sought to visit and the man she needed to speak with. As the waters began to stir and the portal began to open, Z stepped off the stone that framed the waters. Riding out the magic that encased her, Z’s hope was that the waters would not only bring her to the time she desired, but to the place she intended to land as well.
Chapter 23
A cool cloth on her forehead brought her back. Since she hadn’t intended to sleep, Z sat up with alarm, and grabbed the dagger from the belt of the sitting presence next to her. It was at his throat before he could move, but familiar eyes regarded her without flinching. Cursing herself for a fool, Z tossed the dagger over in her hand so she could hand it back to the man hilt first. Baryaris nodded as he accepted it, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as well.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said in his deep voice. The familiarity of it caused her to smile in return, but she suspected her eyes were shifting colors. “And you’ve gained immortality,” the original de la Nepioa of the Rangers observed, but his tone conveyed nothing but pleasure and amusement. His deep blue eyes danced as she grimaced. “It appears you are less than fond of it.”
The peace the Mithane brought her was multiplied a hundredfold by this man. When she had first met him, the temptation to remain in this time had been almost irresistible. Had the Mithane not been with her, Z suspected she would have stayed. Offering Baryaris a w
ry smile, she inclined her head. “So far it has been a bringer of bad news, or worse,” she admitted.
“Such gifts bring ill news at some point,” was his relaxed reply. He stood and offered her a hand. It was callused, something Tenian nobles didn’t often acquire, but this man had been a warrior, and he had worked hard to take care of those around him. She accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her from the bed she had been laid out upon.
It was a plain room she was in, but she recognized it. The Mithane’s room in Arriandie was this same room, just decorated with Alantaion furniture. Blinking in surprise, she glanced at him. His smile went beyond entertained. “You were found in the depths of Arriandie. Arriandin requested aid, and when it arrived you were recognized. Word was sent through the amulets,” he explained. “And I requested you be brought to my personal chambers since you often awake with violence. I did not wish to have to reassure those who have not met you already that you are not a threat.”
She blushed and cursed herself for doing so. “I am working on that reaction.”
“Don’t, it may very well save your life one day. Besides you should never have to alter yourself for others. Not like that.” Baryaris’s expression was kind and encouraging. “But you did not come here to speak with me of your immortality. You did come to speak with me though, and I am glad. I have missed you these few months.”
She knew her features were as open as his. This man, somehow, had always made her feel almost human. While she had never mentioned their blood relationship, she assumed Baryaris knew who she was. If he did, he had never recorded their relationship in any of his brief mentions of her appearances. In the records of the world, she had just been termed as a visitor from the future, a Ranger, and a woman whom he considered an ally. He did refer to her twice as Z, but prior to her existence everyone had presumed the reference was used as a way to obscure his visitor as opposed to it being an actual name. It had taken her first trip into the past to reveal the true meaning.
“I have,” she confirmed. “But what I seek to discuss with you is dark and troubles me, Baryaris. I do not wish to burden you…”
“And yet, as we are both de la Nepioas, we often are left to carry the problems of our people, and in your case, other races as well. Speak freely here, Z. I will not be troubled or scarred by your words.”
She knew her eyes shifted colors in disbelief. “And if I told you I came to discuss the fact that the entire Ranger council—save myself—had been assassinated?”
Baryaris froze. “How did that happen?” he asked in a hushed tone. “With everything you have been willing to reveal about our people I would have thought that would be…difficult to accomplish.”
Yeah, so had she. Sighing, she began to explain in a low voice what had happened. She wasn’t surprised when Baryaris stood and began to pace. His face seemed to age ten years as she spoke, and as her throat tightened toward the end of her story, Baryaris returned to his seat, gesturing for her to take the other. As she finished speaking, she sank into chair as exhaustion pulled at her. Putting her face in her hands—he was mortal and as human as she was—she closed her eyes.
“That is…quite the story,” the first de la Nepioa murmured as he watched her, she could feel his gaze and didn’t need to confirm it.
When the silence continued, Z raised her eyes to meet his. “I warned you,” she reminded him.
“Yes, but it does not trouble me for the reasons you suspect. I am…disheartened to learn of your Shade’s betrayal, but I can almost follow his motives. The loss of seven council members is likewise hard to grasp, but you had a Shade as an ally, Zimliya. He is either trying to protect you in a deluded immortal way, or he is jealous and he is trying to reset the power between you.”
“I am aware of that. But I cannot decide how to handle him”
“Perhaps it is easier for me because I see it from the outside and it has no effect on my timeline,” Baryaris continued. “It is a loss, a very, very large loss, but that is not the worst of it, I fear?”
“A couple of the immortals whom I trust—extensively—have given me a lot to think about with regard to my immortality and my changing positions of power.” She leaned back in the chair and shook her head. “I…don’t know if I can do that.”
“They have very little right to pressure you, unless you are downplaying your relationships to them,” Baryaris told her. “But I understand why you came.” He leaned back in his chair while putting his hands on the armrests. “Let’s start at the beginning, Z. Since you were last here, what has happened?”
Now she was worried. There were things she would have to edit and erase from her stories; things Baryaris could not know. Inwardly cursing herself, she began to speak once more, starting not when she had last seen him, but instead of starting where he had asked, she began with her disappearance from the world following Tenia’s destruction. Baryaris’s hands tightened on his armrests at the news of Tenia’s destruction, but he held his tongue and continued to listen without a hint of his thoughts on his features.
She spoke of Midestol’s attacks. Spoke, with unease and caution, of her relationship to him. Midestol and the Idiot hadn’t had children back when Baryaris had been alive, so he wouldn’t know the connection. The Idiot, in fact, wouldn’t start his relationship with Baryaris’s daughter until after Baryaris’s death. Which would happen all too soon. Closing her eyes for a second, she continued to speak about what had occurred next—the bargain with the magic used to awaken the Shades almost killing her. She left out Nivaradros other than to mention she had received aid from an immortal, and when she reached the part of her transformation, she edited most of the details once more.
The arrows…those caused her to pause. Baryaris was unsettled as well. Sighing, she stood and pulled off her shirt, revealing the scars for his inspection. Someday, perhaps, this would become less routine and would feel awkward, but until it was, she saw no reason to change.
“May I?” Baryaris inquired as he rose and approached. At her nod, he brushed a finger over the injury on her shoulder. “Foreign magic, foreign weapon.”
“You travel,” Z breathed in astonishment.
“Once,” he admitted. “That is not information to be shared.”
“It won’t be,” she promised—reminding him she was not from his time. She glanced out the east window and noticed the time of day. Two hours before dusk. She didn’t need sleep, but she found comfort in it. For a few hours she could pretend to be mortal again.
“I am surprised it healed this well. I would have suspected another magically adorned scar.”
“I had help. Ancient entity help,” she said, uncertain how much more to reveal.
“And you didn’t use your healing talents?” Baryaris pressed as he returned to his seat. He crossed his legs and looked at ease with the information she had just thrown at him. She froze, and he sighed. “Z—Zimliya,” he corrected as she jumped. “Would you prefer I used another title than the name you have never offered me? Granddaughter? Or should I say great-granddaughter if I am guessing correctly?” He smiled as she stopped all motion, breathing included. “Your amulet tells me much about you. I didn’t mean to pry, but there was something about you that was recognizable.”
Inhaling to calm herself, she glanced at him sidelong and shook her head. She had guessed he knew who she was, but she had expected both of them would refrain from admitting it out loud. “Please don’t spread the news…” she began.
“If you promise to inform me what you have been editing this whole time regarding our blood relationship, I will promise to keep this information hidden.” Baryaris’s blue eyes danced. “Unless you have a better proposal to offer?”
“Like I am going to attempt to bargain with you,” she muttered. “Alright, you win.” She began to speak anew—no longer hiding who she was. It gave her a small amount of pleasure to see Baryaris’s eyes widen in surprise when she revealed the full extent of her family tree.
“So my former
king marries my daughter…how ironic.” Baryaris glanced at her and measured her in a look. “And you are the result of his son and Midestol’s daughter. Which is why my former king treated you so atrociously. A wise man, however, would have overlooked the bloodline due to who you are. An ambitious man would overlook your bloodline due to the talents you carry. Language, healing, seer, weapons, portals, and elemental control—you have other magical talents as well, but those are the ones I will focus on. You use only two readily: your language skills and your ability with weapons.”
She sighed. “I did not come here to be interrogated,” she began.
“I am not interrogating you, Zimliya,” Baryaris chided. “Do not turn this into something it is not.”
Licking her lips, she regarded him with unease as she waited for his next move. He smiled as he kept his eyes on her. Like her, he knew immortals, even if he had had so many less to deal with; he was willing to wait. For once, she wasn’t.
“No,” she agreed at last. “You are not. So, tell me then what this is about.”
“You.”
Baryaris got up from his chair. Raising her chin as he drew level with her, she held his blue eyes with hers. “You are still not telling me everything, Zimliya. I want to know what else you feel you cannot tell me. Do you, like me, have the ability to read minds? Did you inherit my vision when it comes to the world? If you did, do you restrict those abilities or turn them off like you have almost every other skill you were gifted with? Why do limit yourself?” he whispered.
She surrendered. “Because it is too much for one being, Baryaris. You only have some of my skills. You have no idea how many lives I may have compromised in my short lifespan.”
“How many have you saved?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t use my skills because I don’t wish to. If I am going to win a battle or a war, I want to minimize outside aid.”
“Your enemies use magic, if they have it,” the man pointed out. “And had they your talents at their disposal, they wouldn’t hesitate to use them. In fact, Midestol makes a point of torturing those he captures until he can either steal their magic or they have been so broken that they surrender it to him. You have been gifted your power, Zimliya. Use it. Restraint is honorable, but you take it to an extreme.”