by D. E. Morris
“What's your end game?” he asked, tired of all the talk.
She looked toward the window and hurried to open the shutters before jumping back. “Oh, I think you know all you need to know for now.”
The light that had just been let in was immediately blocked as someone landed on the sill. “Akane, we have to go.”
Jaryn startled at the male voice and whipped around to find the escaped elf hanging through the open window like a monkey on a branch.
The girl, Akane and not Vala as she had been called all year, smiled politely at Jaryn. “You remember Emerion, don't you?” She turned around and greeted the elf with a deep, passionate kiss, framing his face in her hands and weaving her fingers through his long dark hair. “My beloved.”
“Time to go,” he reminded gently, pinching her chin. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up on the sill. In the next instant, both of them jumped out into the nothingness beyond. Jaryn raced across the room, yelling fruitlessly for his guards once more. He nearly launched himself out the window to try to see where the couple had gone and found them on the parapet below. They'd landed as effortlessly as cats jumping from a tree, startling courtiers as they walked by. Even then, they did not pause. Still hand in hand, they ran for the parapet wall and dove off of it into thin air, disappearing over the edge to what could only be certain death. When Jaryn was sure it was over, a great horned animal like a stag with a long flowing tail of colored feathers and wide wings soared up out of the depths with Emerion and Akane nestled safely between its broad shoulders.
“Guards!” Jaryn bellowed again, sprinting across the room. To his surprise, the doors burst open and the two men that had been stationed outside came thundering in, startling their king into stillness. For a brief moment, all he could do was stare at them in shock while they regarded him and looked around the room for threats, their weapons drawn.
“Your Majesty?” questioned the older of the two, a man long in the service of the crown and one of Jaryn's personal guards. “Are you all right?”
His explanation came out in a jumbled rush as he ran past the two men. They were quick to follow, listening to him describe the strange animal he'd seen carry away the elf they had all been searching for, as well as the girl. Upon seeing the three men's urgent movements through the castle, other soldiers were drawn in and quickly given orders, only to disperse in an effort to find the escaped threat. Deep down, Jaryn knew it was a fruitless effort. He saw the wingspan on that stag and knew they were long gone by now. There had been urgency in Emerion's words, a desire to be far away from the castle, if not a need, that made Jaryn worry about what had the potential of coming his way.
Meeting Kenayde in the halls again, he slowed to catch his breath from running and address the concern on her face. “What now?” she asked, eyes moving past him to watch a company of men coming together to delegate orders among themselves. For the second time, Jaryn replayed what had happened in his office, but this time he marveled at every moment. This girl, this Akane had been living with them for months, planning all of this. What other damage had she wrought among those he cared for? Could any of it have been as harmful as what had been done to Ashlynn and himself?
“She has magic the likes of which I have never seen before, Kenayde. All she did was wiggle her fingers and I couldn't even move my legs. There was no incantation, no nothing.”
Kenayde's brow wrinkled, her lips thinning. “But it was weak magic if you broke the spell. That is something.”
Frowning, Jaryn shook his head. “I suppose.”
“I will shift and join in with the search. With everyone else gone, the number of Gaels at your disposal is slim. I can help.”
His frown deepened. “I don't want to put you at risk. We have no idea what is waiting for us out there, now more than ever.”
She grimaced. “Trust me, I am not all that excited about the idea of finding out myself, but this is not a normal, everyday situation. I am here. Let me be of use.”
“If anything happens to you, Ashlynn will kill me.”
A hint of a smile ghosted across Kenayde's face. “Only if she gets to you before Elas does. I will be fine. Let me go tell him what is happening. If I can find him, I will take Niam with me, or Connor and Nyx. I promise not to go alone.”
Jaryn nodded and squeezed her elbow. “Thank you, Kenayde. Be safe.” Unsure of what else to do, he turned and made his way back to his office, the details of what had happened finally sinking in on his journey. His anger and astonishment over Akane's revelation dominated every thought, clouding over the smaller but still important details like the fact that she was Misuzu's sister and that she'd stolen all of their collected sheets of runes. It was impossible not to feel both violated and defeated walking into the one place left in the castle where he felt like everything was still safe. His own bedchambers didn't even feel as sacred anymore. This place was supposed to be his and now, even that had been taken from him.
All of the drawers had been pulled free, their contents dumped on the floor and scattered like thoughtless debris. Only a couple of Nir's old journals had been kept here, the rest were down in the room he often used when he needed to strategize, where there were no windows and no distractions. He'd read them all over so many times that he could almost recall which journal held any given piece of information he needed, but having them close by made him feel smarter and stronger, as though Nir himself was somehow standing nearby and lending his aid. Jaryn's own journals, however, were all throughout this particular office. One of them he found flattened and face down. Crouching, he picked it up to find pages torn and missing, and it broke his heart. He would have to go through everything to see what had been taken, and what was now in the hands of their enemies.
“Jaryn?”
He had no idea how long he'd been sitting on the floor, but Cailin's inquisitive voice brought him out of his sad reverie. With his back against the wall and a circle of papers and books of notes surrounding him, he looked up to see her entering the office at a slow gait. Her limp was more pronounced than usual, making it obvious that she'd been doing much more running around than she was supposed to have been.
When she found Jaryn in his spot behind his desk, her brows came together in compassion. Brown eyes took in everything he had surrounded himself with before resting on the weary face of her friend with a reluctant frown. “We've had the entire castle grounds searched as well as the town. There's no sign of Vala, the elf, or the creature.”
“Akane and Emerion,” Jaryn corrected after clearing his throat. “I didn't think there would be.”
“May I?”
He swept a hand over his mess as an invitation, then leaned forward to offer his arm in assistance so she could lower herself down to the floor before him. She did her best to hide a wince as she folded her legs and it only served in reawakening Jaryn's anger. He tossed down the journal he'd been holding and leaned back against the wall with enough force that his spine hit too sharply, sending tingles of pain up the back of his neck. “You won't find the masked intruder either. I'd wager the kingdom that it was Emerion causing a distraction so that Akane could get in here.”
“Wouldn't someone have noticed someone who wasn't you trying to get into your office, especially one of Ashlynn's girls?”
“Not if she looked like me.” He gave Cailin a wry smile. “She's Misuzu's half-sister through Hideo which also makes her half Bakeneko and she is working with Merrik. All of the runes she stole are likely now in his hands.”
“She stole the runes?!”
“Along with several different pages out of my journals.”
Cailin dragged her hands down the sides of her face before covering her mouth to stifle her groan. In all the years Jaryn had known her, throughout all they had experienced together, he knew it took a great deal to bring about that look of helplessness she wore. When she looked at him, skin still pulled down, he couldn't help but chuckle. “At least we still have our looks.”
“What d
o we do now?” she asked, dropping her hands and ignoring his attempt at lightening the moment.
He inhaled deeply before blowing the air out in a thin, concentrated stream. It was the question he'd been asking himself the entire time he'd been sitting there alone, the question he'd been asking the Giver and being met with absolute silence in return. It was in times like these that he would immediately rally, gather Ashlynn, Killian, and Wessely and start talking out their options, and none of them were there. It made him question exactly how strong he was on his own and for a little while, before Cailin interrupted him, the enemy used his doubt to make him feel weak. It was the still small voice inside of Jaryn that reminded him that it was not good for man to be alone, and that they were created to be in relationship with one another for a reason. The fact that he had people he relied upon so heavily was not a weakness, but a strength many others did not possess.
“I don't know,” he answered at length. “Once Akane and Emerion return to Merrik, wherever he is, he will have the upper hand with all of the pages we have collected, as well as my years of research and notes on the Elementals and the Keepers.” He glanced at her wrist as though he could see her mark beneath the leather bracers she wore. “That tattoo will not stand for much as a form of secret communication for long if Merrik chooses to broadcast its meaning.”
“That's something we'll have to consider moving forward. Right now, we need to find those two. Once Killian is back, I'm sure he'll have some sort of an idea about that creature,” Cailin encouraged. “He's much more learned than anyone I know.”
“They should be back by now.” Shifting his position to curl one leg under himself, Jaryn looked at the mess around him. “I'm half tempted to send you up there to see if something's gone wrong or if they're just taking their sweet time.”
“Just say the word and I'm gone.”
“If it didn't leave the men so rudderless, I would.”
An urgent trumpeting came from outside, lifting both of their faces toward the window from which Akane and Emerion had escaped. Jaryn was quick to jump to his feet and helped Cailin to hers before they both rushed to see whose voice was in the air preceding their arrival. Cailin barely looked before she was leaving the office, but it took Jaryn a moment of watching Kenayde as she circled the bailey in her draconic form to realize that she was not alone. Someone was on her back, a man whose face was obscured until she circled around once more for a landing. As the man slid to the ground, Jaryn finally realized why Cailin's exit had been so quick. Kenayde had brought Wessely home. Turning from the window, his first instinct was to be glad of his father-in-law's return, but as he made his way through the castle to greet the older man, the realization set in that Wessely had departed weeks ago with more than two dozen men in his company. None of them were with him now.
He caught up to Cailin on the stairs down to the main floor and they walked on together as they approached the great hall and the grand foyer. Wessely and Kenayde came bustling in before either of them could even set foot outside, both of them breathless and with worry wrinkling their brows. “People are gathering along the coast by Faerston,” Wessely reported with no preamble. He kept his eyes trained on Jaryn's face, as did Kenayde, as though Cailin were not even there at the younger man's shoulder. “Early this morning,” Wessely continued in a calm, precise tone, “masked figures invaded the small village beside it before infiltrating the castle itself. No one was hurt initially, only held where they were upon threat of injury so as to not disturb the gathering group on the shore.”
“They wore the same headdresses as the ones found here and in Braemar,” Kenayde injected.
“I was part of a small group that was able to sneak our way out of the castle,” Wessely said, “but not before I overheard talk of similar happenings taking place in both Ibays and Caedia as well, all of them in small, lesser kingdoms that are poorly defended and on the coast, all of them facing out to the ocean toward the middle of the three countries.”
Cailin exhaled softly. “As if looking toward Mirasean.” All three of the others looked at her, and Wessely nodded, his lips drawn together into a tight line. “But why?” she asked. “There's nothing there anymore? After a couple of years, the ocean reclaimed what little was left of the island after the explosion.”
“I'll send men to Faerston right away,” said Jaryn. “We'll find out one way or another.”
Wessely lifted his hands in protest. “It will serve you no purpose but in getting your men killed. All of my retinue were slain when they fought against these masked warriors as we escaped. There were small outbreaks of men and women that tried to go against these people and they were cut down almost immediately. They have weapons that can pierce armor as though it were no thicker than flesh. Whatever the groups on the shores are doing or are about to do, it would appear that they need to be undisturbed, and dispatched these warriors specifically to see to their peace.”
Cailin lifted her face to Jaryn with raised brows. “What if we came at them from the sea? Niam and I could lead a charge of Gaels, and Connor could fly in with Nyx-” Wessely's hand gripped her arm so tightly that her words were cut off, her gaze dropping to his fingers in surprise.
“That would be suicide,” he whispered harshly.
“We have to do something,” she argued.
Jaryn eyed Kenayde. “I want you and Cai to go up to Horse Head. Get the others. Those...whoever they are...they're only gathered at the shore, correct?” Wessely nodded, letting go of Cailin. “Good. Then these two should be safe together. Bring everyone home.”
“Will you tell Elas what is happening?”
“Of course.” Jaryn glanced around. “Your father and I are going to see the two of you off first. We're going to make a show of being as calm as possible. The last thing we need to do right now is to send everyone into a panic over a situation in which we know very little.”
Cailin worried her bottom lip. “Niam needs to know. Jaryn, I know he hates his father, but all that's left of his family is in Faerston.”
“Which is precisely why I will tell him nothing.” Jaryn placed a hand on the small of her back and moved to lead her outside, but she wouldn't budge, angry confusion on her face. “If he hears anything about this, he will fly down there to try to save them and only end up getting himself killed, if not other innocent people. You have to trust me on this, Cai. Let's go.”
Once more, Wessely held up a hand. “May we have a moment?”
Jaryn sucked in a breath, wanting to deny the request, but gave a curt nod. “So long as it is a quick one. Kenayde and I will be outside.”
The pair waited, standing silently as Jaryn and Kenayde turned to go back out into the bailey. All around them, guards walked by on their normal rounds while lords and ladies moved about as though they hadn't a care in the world. Cailin looked down. She and Ashlynn had made up and she didn't want to risk damaging the friendship again somehow, but she was struggling with wanting to simply touch Wessely. She was no stranger to having to keep her conversations with him casual when they were out in the open like this but it felt different this time for some reason. Though they hadn't been separated for more than a few weeks, it felt like a great deal longer. They hadn't parted on the best of terms and it had been eating away at her insides the whole time, making their public reunion all the more awkward and painful.
“I need you.”
His words were quiet and laden with raw emotion that made his usually soft, smooth voice sound oddly rough. Cailin looked up, certain she hadn't heard him correctly. He looked at her, vulnerable and stripped of every defense, as though she had the power to either destroy him or give him life. She'd never seen him appear so open before, even when they were alone. His forehead was creased and his brows were drawn together, eyes wide with fear and honesty. It was subtle, but beneath his beard, she could just see the corners of his lips turned down as though he'd already assumed that she would reject him now once and for all. It was this, above everything else, t
hat propelled her forward to wrap her arms around him.
Despite knowing where they were and that absolutely anyone could see them, Wessely held Cailin as tightly as he could manage against him. She turned her head against his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent while her fingers dug into the hair at the back of his head. “I'm here,” she whispered, feeling the desperation in his embrace. “I'm right here.” It felt like the ground was trembling beneath their feet as Wessely breathed her name, his arms beginning to loosen, but she refused to let him go.
The shaking she felt gained intensity, and people around them began to cry out in confusion. Wessely and Cailin finally separated, looking around. “What's happening?”
“An earthquake?” Wessely guessed.
A jolt to the ground nearly knocked several people off of their feet. The entire castle began to shake and sway as men and women went scrambling, screaming in fear. Portraits fell from the walls and vases fell from tables, shattering on the stone floor. Hand in hand, Wessely and Cailin hurried outside to find Jaryn and Kenayde. Second by second, the shaking grew more powerful. No one knew whether to run for the castle or to run from it. Standing together in the middle of the bailey, as far from any structure as possible, Jaryn, Kenayde, Wessely, and Cailin were helpless to watch. High turrets swayed like branches in a breeze before giving way all together and toppling over, sending massive chunks of stone tumbling over the sides of the castle.
“What do we do?” Kenayde asked, clinging to her father. “Elas and Allorah are inside!”
“A lot of people are inside,” Jaryn corrected.