by D. E. Morris
“Why has Merrik not turned into a dragon?” Mairead asked. “If he is an Elemental as you believe, why has he not shifted as the rest of you have or used fyre?”
“Maybe it is something that he is not able to do,” Kenayde ventured. She swept a cautious glance around the room. “I know the Giver created all twelve Elementals and He does not make mistakes, but if Malevolence has become so twisted and has fallen so far that it has become evil enough that Tasarin and Luella sensed it, perhaps those basic abilities are beyond him.”
Tasarin nodded his support. “That would make a great deal of sense. Shifting and summoning fyre, those are forms of pure magic. If there is no light left in Merrik, he would not have access to them.”
“Did Lilia tell you of the vision Rhiamon gave her?” Mairead asked. Everyone, Connor included, looked to her with question. “She did not even tell you?”
“There was no time,” he allowed. “What was it?”
She opened her mouth to speak, then paused and glanced to the corner of the room where all three dogs had curled up, Lochlainn among them, quiet and listening the entire time. As soon as Mairead caught his eye, he smiled at her in a way that was somber and understanding, and much too old for his too few years. “It's okay. I'm an Elemental now.”
A mixture of horror and sadness broke out across Mairead's face, and she quickly turned to Ashlynn. The older woman gave her a sad smile and nodded confirmation. “There is much we have to catch up on. Tell us of the vision. He's part of this now, too.”
Mairead's mouth curved into a frown, but she did as was requested of her, recalling everything Lilia had told her of what she'd seen of the battle of the twelve original Elementals. Badru confirmed what she had seen, hearing that it had been rumored to have been buried by the church long ago, once message of the Giver was more widely spread. Both the dwarves and the Nagini still believed it as fact, something he learned while he stayed with them for three days, recuperating after he fell somewhere just over the border in the Alybaen woods.
“There was worry that the Elementals themselves would be worshiped as gods,” Badru explained, “Malevolence especially, given his temperament and lust for power.”
Cailin scowled. “If he was powerful enough to overthrow not only Benevolence, but to strip the seasons of all of their powers as well, why was he silent for so long?”
“Rhiamon said he became burdened with power and it...” Mairead shook her head, searching for the right words. “...overwhelmed him, negating itself and putting him into hibernation.”
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”
Killian's quiet mutter of frustration drew all sorts of attention his direction, prompting him to send a look of apology toward Mairead. “Forgive me. Please continue.”
“No,” Jaryn argued, “I'd like your thoughts on this as well, my friend.”
The older man hesitated a moment, finally speaking when Cailin gave his ribs a subtle jab with her elbow. “In all my years, with every sort of magical creature I have come into contact with as a Keeper, never before have I heard of something as preposterous as one's system simply shutting down because they could not handle as much power as they had. I have seen men and beast alike go mad because of it time and again, yes, but to just lay down and sleep it off?” His dark eyes moved from Badru to Tasarin. “Have either of you?” Neither could say that they had.
“Do you have another theory?” asked Ashlynn.
“I believe the Giver stripped him of his power fully and completely in that moment. When Merrik became the new Malevolence, things changed...shifted. He is gaining in power, perhaps power he was never meant to originally have but, because the Giver is never surprised, power he was meant to obtain in order to unite all of us, in order to awaken the others.”
“To finally unite and overthrow Malevolence for once and for all,” suggested Elas.
“As he gains in power,” Killian continued, “he is training his army to come against the rest of the Elementals and those that would fight with them. The elves have already been taken out, and many are turning against dragons and Gaels. Who will his next target be?”
Ashlynn turned to her husband without so much as a thought to who may be watching, reaching for his hand behind her chair. The look of shame that crossed his face, fleeting as it was as he threaded his fingers with hers, was not missed by any that witnessed the exchange. There were few in the room who understood what it all meant, leaving most to wonder and worry if they needed to take any sort of special precautions.
“Perhaps we should all take a bit of a break to think a bit more on this,” she suggested, her muscles tense under her skin. “We'll let Badru and Mairead get their rest for now and meet back up again when Cavalon and Lilia are here.” Before anyone could argue, she rose from her chair and was the first to exit the room, leaving everyone else to watch after her in surprised confusion.
Chapter Thirty
Ashlynn spent a few hours purposefully keeping herself away from everyone. There were enough things running through her head without the voices of everyone else vying for her attention. She wished Wessely would return, desperately missing his company. He was always reliable for solid counsel when she needed it most, and of course, no one could make her feel like things would work out like her father could. Even if it was simply sitting in silence together, his presence alone brought her great comfort.
Should she call for it, an entire company of highly intelligent and educated men and women of standing would assemble and be ready to advise her on whatever political or social trouble she was facing. The Privy Council housed at Altaine was one of the best, something she was rather proud of, but when it came to more personal matters, there were fewer people at her disposal that she felt she could speak to on all matters. Each of her ladies had their strengths, as did her family members and her friends. Jaryn aside, Wessely was one of the rare people she felt she could speak with when it came to just about any subject. Elas as well. It was why both of them were also on her Privy Council.
Walking along one of the balustrades, she paused to look out over the castle grounds with a thoughtful sigh. Though no one walked directly behind or beside her, she knew there were eyes on her, carefully trained men and women prepared to move at the slightest indication of a threat. One of them, she also knew, had taken to following her more often now that she no longer had her Elemental ties. Turning her head only slightly, it looked as though Ashlynn was taking a moment to gaze down at the ivy that wrapped itself around the carved stone before her. “Do you know where my brother-in-law is?” When she spoke, her voice was quiet, though she knew the person for whom her question was intended would certainly hear it.
He was good at hiding in plain sight, blending in behind ornamental bushes and statues, staying so silent that no one knew he was there. Even as Killian stepped out from behind an alder bush, he made no sound. “He and the princess were in their chambers, last I knew. Shall I send someone to inquire?”
She waved a few fingers in a dismissive manner. “No, I can trouble myself to walk there, surely.” There was no immediate move to go, however, only a return of her attention to the view before her. After the silence stretched on for several breaths, she asked, “Do you think we will survive this, Killian?” This time when she posed the question, she turned more fully so as to be able to see his face as he looked down at her from the few stairs she had taken down to the balustrade landing. “Do you think our motley mix of kings and queens and vagabonds stands a chance against Merrik and his army of...whatever it is they are or are turning into?”
Unblinking, he held her gaze with conviction. “I think you have to have faith, Your Majesty.”
Her smile for him was thin and unconvincing. “That is always something I need more of, especially in times like this.”
“Some men find it easier to have faith in times of trouble, some in times of jubilation.”
“And you? Your trust that everything will always work out f
or the best must be strong all the time, your piety so great.”
She was teasing him and glad he knew it, the amusement evident in his eyes and the fraction of a smirk upon his lips. “Hardly. If I thought those were your true feelings toward me, I might question a great many things both about you and myself. You are far more observant than that and I am not that perfect.”
Ashlynn climbed the stairs to make her way inside, Killian walking beside her. “Neither am I. We are, all of us, rather far from it, though I admit that it makes me feel better to know that you sometimes struggle, too.”
“Far more often and with more than you know.”
His statement was quiet and honest, tinged with sadness. Ashlynn glanced at him. Had it been anyone else she would have taken the cryptic response as an invitation to needle away for something deeper, but she had to be careful when it came to Killian. He must have sensed her hesitation in the moment as well; as soon as they were inside the castle, he gave her a quick bow before falling back to trail her at a respectful distance, even pausing should someone or something catch his attention, but never letting her out of his sight.
When she arrived at Elas and Kenayde's chambers, both of them were surprised to see her. Ashlynn's anxious demeanor softened as soon as she saw Allorah curled up with Elas on one of the couches, playing with a straw doll, and scooped her up without invitation. The little girl couldn't have cared less what was going on, but she clung to her toy, violet eyes wide as she took in every texture and color in her tiny grasp.
“She's fitting right in, isn't she?”
“For the most part,” Elas agreed. “It helps that there are other small children around, but there have been some pretty significant meltdowns.”
“She has no idea what has happened,” said Kenayde. She swept silvery blonde hair from the baby's face. “Poor thing. Her whole life has been turned upside down. She went from living one place with her father and siblings one minute to living somewhere entirely new with complete strangers the next. I would say she has done extremely well, considering.”
Ashlynn wiggled the doll against Allorah's stomach, making her giggle. “Well, I'm glad it's working out.”
They were all content to watch the baby for a few minutes, but before too long, Kenayde tilted her head and asked her sister, “Are you all right?”
“I am,” she promised, lifting her head with a smile that was a bit more genuine than the one she'd given Killian. “I'm just in need of some brotherly counsel.”
Understanding filled Kenayde's expression as she nodded. “Say no more.” There had been many times over the past few years that Ashlynn had sought Elas out for his advice. It was a strong bond that had formed between them and one Kenayde was warmed by each time she saw it in action. “Allorah and I will go check on Lochlainn for you.” She took the little girl into her arms and left the two alone with the promise to return if she overheard anything important happening.
“Motherhood looks good on her,” Ashlynn commented once the door was shut. The quiet statement brought a tender grin to her brother-in-law's face and he bobbed his head in agreement.
“Yes, it does. For whatever reason, the Giver has decided not to let us have a child of our own, and not for lack of trying...” Ashlynn flinched and looked down, making Elas chuckle. “I'm sorry, with the multitude of uncomfortable conversations we've had, I didn't think a little joke like that would make you squirm.”
“It isn't that. There's...” She blew a thin stream of air between her lips and shook her head. “That's a conversation for another time. Soon – very soon – but not right now.”
His brows twitched together in confusion. “All right...all I was saying was that I'm grateful for the way things have turned out since we haven't been able to have a baby on our own.” Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he scrutinized her anguished expression. “What's going on?”
“So much,” she replied in a tight voice, “but what I came to talk to you about specifically?” Rising, she paced to the tall windows and peered out the grated glass without truly seeing what was on the other side. Anxious energy made her fingers twitch toward her nails, but instead, she sought for the plain metal band she wore among her many other rings and felt its smooth surface, twisting it over and over. “Today is a bad day. I'm having a hard time accepting what has happened with Jaryn. We have talked about it, sometimes for hours on end. At times I feel like we have talked about it too much. We come to terms with it, but then he starts to feel guilty again, or I have this anger that keeps bubbling up inside of me, and everything spills over and we are back to where we started.” She folded one arm across her stomach and touched the fingers of her other hand to her lips. “There have been days where we wake up together and everything is as it should be, and before the morning is even over, neither of us can look at the other because of the way we feel about the entire situation. He is waiting for me to absolve him of his guilt and I cannot do that. I am waiting for him to make it all go away, and he can no more do that than I can tell him that I can forget any of this happened and we can just move on from here.”
Elas watched her with sympathy. “I'm sorry, Ashlynn. I didn't realize it was still so unresolved in that respect.”
“That's good, in a way. We didn't want anyone to know anything was wrong, even family. Especially family. If we could fool you, we could fool anyone.” She looked back across the room at him. “I don't want everyone to know because I don't think I could take all the questions or the looks. I don't want to put Jaryn through that, but I feel like I have to share the fact that there is another shifter running around.”
“Why?” Elas challenged. “Everyone wore the rings without question when you said to never take them off. They don't need to know your personal business.”
She was touched by the protective tone in his voice but gave a soft sigh. “Because they are in danger of being fooled as well. The rings are a good start, yes, but they certainly aren't fool proof. And without a good reason behind it, at some point, someone is going to simply forget to put it on or just not bother all together because it isn't that pretty, really, and will be deemed an impostor. Or maybe the shifter will catch on to the rings even though we don't talk about them or flaunt them. I just...they need to know. I dread the conversations I will have to have.”
Getting up, Elas crossed his arms and joined her at the window. “I wish I knew what to say or how to help, but in this situation, I'm as much in the dark as you are.”
“It's okay,” she muttered, leaning her head back against the stone windowsill. “I just needed to be able to get it all out and I knew I could do that with you.”
“You know I'm always good for that. Jaryn's like a brother to me but you and I were closer first.”
She couldn't help but chuckle. “If you want to call tossing barbs at one another in a musty half submerged sewer tunnel a good place to bond, sure, I'll go with that.”
“Those were formative days.”
“Aye, that they were,” she giggled. With nostalgia in her smile, she said, “Strange to look back and think those were the simpler days, too.”
“Simpler may be stretching it a bit.”
She didn't reply, only smirked her agreement.
Though the moment had taken some of the seriousness out of the room, Ashlynn couldn't escape the thoughts that kept swirling through her head, the very same ones that would plague her when she couldn't sleep at night or when she woke up far too early: how could he not know it wasn't her? Could he have been drugged like she had been, like Kenayde had been? Why couldn't she just forgive him when she knew it wasn't his fault? But there was one question that always came, one final question that twisted everything inside her and filled her eyes with tears just as it did now. Elas, seeing this sudden change in her, lowered his brows. “Ashlynn?”
“What if a child comes from this?” Even as Elas began to pull her into an embrace, she whispered her final fear: “What if that was the goal?”
&nb
sp; In all the years that she had known Elas, that he had been a part of her family, she couldn't recall a time that he had ever really held her like this. There had been small, quick hugs now and then, but nothing of true offered comfort like this moment. “I don't want to cry about this anymore,” she whimpered, feeling his cheek against her forehead, realizing he had purposely held her against his human side. “I've given this person, this enemy, too many of my tears.”
“Then don't cry.” Elas rubbed his hand up her back, his other arm squeezing her tight. “Even if a child was conceived, which would be highly unlikely from a single coupling, it doesn't matter. Lochlainn is still heir to the throne.”
“That is what makes him a target if there is a child.”
“But in giving him your Elemental abilities, you have preserved the Earth element with him as well, which means he has the best possible protection against anyone that would try to harm him. Plus, he has you and Jaryn, all of us here at the castle, those crazy dogs...I mean, no one is going to get to that kid. You know that we would never let that happen.”
“I'm so scared, Elas. I have never been more afraid in my entire life, and it isn't even for myself.”
“I know.”
The door opened and Kenayde came in without Allorah. Seeing her sister and her husband by the window, the urgent expression she wore switched quickly to concern as she made her way over to them. “Lynnie?” Ashlynn said nothing, only held out an arm to include her little sister in the group hug.
“I love both of you very much,” Elas told them, his low voice a growl. It made Kenayde giggle, even as she lifted herself up on tip toes to kiss his cheek.
“Goodness, Ashlynn, what did you do to him? I have to twist his arm to get him to say that to just me.”
“Almost had a breakdown,” the elder sister replied, extracting herself so she could stand upright.