“Your mother?”
“Quella Jana.”
The name meant nothing to Rayna.
She looked to Channon who shook his head.
“And your father?” she asked.
Kado looked away. “My mother told me little of my birth father. All I know is his name, Nero Geddeont.”
“What?” Rayna swayed. She needed healing, but Kado’s story demanded attention. “That’s…impossible.”
“My mother would not lie to me!” Kado snarled at Rayna.
Lurenia sent a blast of water at Kado, pushing him back.
“Don’t!” Katrine called.
Kado rose on his hands and knees, wiping water from his face.
Rayna understood his familiarity now. She could not understand how it was possible, but he was Nero’s spitting image. Hatred for the man that had killed Thera heated her belly.
“You weren’t just a slave, were you?” Channon said. “Terayan knew you. He wanted to keep you most of all. Why?”
Kado eyed them like a pinned animal. “I make him lots of money.” He laughed, and Rayna heard Nero in the caustic sound. “I’m very good at killing.”
Rayna’s claws extended. This boy—Kado—Nero’s son if he could be believed—had risked his life to save Katrine’s. But despite his heroics, Rayna saw nothing but a threat in him now. Whoever he was, whatever he’d done, he was dangerous.
“Stop!” Katrine threw herself in between Rayna and Kado. “We’re on the same side!”
“Katrine, get away from him!” Channon yelled.
But Kado had already deflated. He came to his feet, arms raised above his head. “I suggest you lock me up now, while you have the chance.”
“I agree,” a strong voice punctured the scene. General Pheros strode towards them, taking hold of Kado’s arms and forcing them behind his back. “I’m taking him to the brig until we can sort this out.”
Katrine reached toward Kado, but Lurenia pulled her back. “You ought to go below, all of you.”
Pheros removed Kado.
Rayna led Channon and Katrine below-deck. As they entered the mess hall-turned-hospital, Maenoren healers separated them.
Someone handed Rayna a tonic. She drank, her mind reeling with pain and confusion. Not even the numbing herbs could distract her from the day’s insanity.
A healer stitched her shoulder.
Rayna focused on the man's quick hands, and the thread reuniting her torn skin.
They had broken into Krymammer. They had saved the remaining Sylrians, Maenorens, and Kellan.
They had all survived.
But they’d brought back more than friends and victory. They’d brought back a mystery, too, in the form of Kado Aronak.
Terayan had been as interested in Kado as he'd been in Rayna—perhaps more so.
Kado was Nero incarnate, but twenty years younger. Rayna prayed that the resemblance would not prove more than skin-deep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rayna leaned over the clipper's side railing. Night had fallen, and the dark waves reflected the stars. She preferred solid ground, but the pitching and yawing did not affect her as badly as some. Her stomach wobbled with mild nausea, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her shoulder and head. She'd hoped once they rescued Kellan, fulfilling her dreams' quest, the migraines would subside.
They had not.
If anything, they'd worsened.
Rayna and her friends had freed Kellan and over a dozen other Sylrians, but they'd also brought aboard Kado Aronak.
He claimed to be Nero’s son, but Rayna could not see how that was possible, despite the resemblance.
Once Roxen had awoken, he'd remembered Quella Jana as a former member of the Southern Densite. She'd been a healer’s apprentice, but Roxen could not recall much else about her. Perhaps Silver would.
The swishing of fabric alerted Rayna to another presence.
Priestess Marielana joined her. She watched the ocean for several moments before speaking.
“I am glad to see you again, Rayna Myana.”
“As I am to see you. Are you well?”
Marielana took a deep breath. “The Amne Vena I used to fight Terayan took its toll. I only wish I'd been able to hold him longer.”
Rayna shook her head. “You saved us. Seperun told me they never would have made it here in time without your help. Winiam and Lurenia exhausted themselves using Amne Vena to speed our healing. But how did you know to go to Maenor? Did you have a vision?” Jealousy pricked Rayna’s heart. She wished her own visions would provide such clear instructions.
“No. I’m afraid it was rather an absence of visions that led me to realize you were in danger.” Marielana placed her hand against Rayna’s forehead, as if checking for fever. “How have you been feeling these past several weeks, Rayna?”
“I er—” She broke off. It seemed Marielana already suspected that Rayna had lost touch with her abilities. Would she chastise her? After all, Marielana had been the one to explain to Rayna how special their gift was.
“It’s all right, Rayna. Whatever has happened to you, I promise it is not your fault.”
“I’ve been having headaches,” Rayna admitted. “Terrible headaches, and my dreams have been fractured. Before, I could control them—somewhat. I could communicate with the founders. But for a while now, all I’ve seen are images without context, obscured by fog. My eyes have been flashing silver light, too. They never used to do that.”
Marielana nodded. “It is as I feared.”
“You know what’s wrong?”
“Yes. Terayan found a way to influence your abilities. The silver light in your eyes is your own magic trying to fight his influence, but he broke through. He did the same to me, but I purified myself. I must do the same for you, as soon as we step foot on Fenearen soil. Until then, it is imperative you do not dwell on whatever you dream.”
Rayna sighed in relief. The pain in her head eased, as if the knowledge that it would soon be gone soothed the ache. “How was Terayan able to do this? Why?”
“I’m not entirely sure how he accomplished it. According to every rule of magic I know, it should be impossible for a Covenant mage to affect an Awakened Twice-Blessed seer in such a way.”
“A Covenant mage?” Rayna recognized Marielana’s strange words. She remembered a conversation with Rhael regarding the Cult of Demetrian.
“A Covenant mage is a magic-user whose power derives from a familial sacrifice made to the god, Razorn,” Marielana explained. “Rhael was one such creature. Terayan is another. But given that their power lies in Blood and Demonic magic, they ought not be able to affect your dreams.”
Rhael’s powers had lost their potency against Rayna following her experience at the Eye of Heaven. Lumae had said it was because her magic protected her from his dark arts.
But Terayan had harmed Rayna with magic following her ordeal on the mountain. He'd used a verbal spell. “Is it possible he's utilizing Word Magic?” she asked.
“I’m impressed by your knowledge, Rayna. As Word Magic is a human corruption of free Divine energy using Heitich runes, you are not immune to its effects. But, I know of no spell to manipulate our dreams. Even if there were such a spell, it would require immense magical energy. Terayan is powerful, but he does not have the reserves that a mage like Rhael had—with his centuries of compounded blood magic.” Marielana shook her head. “He must have another source of power—Divine power—but I don’t see how.”
Rayna’s head spun, trying to keep up with this new way of thinking and speaking. “And why,” she repeated. “Why confuse my dreams so much. Everything was muddled, except for—” she stopped. The only person she had been permitted—apparently by Terayan—to clearly glimpse was Kellan.
“Kellan Kemar?”
“How did you guess that?”
Marielana sighed. “I believe it was a trap, meant to draw you to the Republic. But it troubles me that it was a trap so easily escaped. Terayan expended mass
ive magical energy manipulating you. Terayan wanted you to attempt to rescue Kellan, I assume so he could finally capture and kill you. Yet, you escaped.”
“It wasn’t easy. Perhaps he did not count on your interference.”
“Maybe not. Either way, you'll soon be returned to your full powers. Then we will have more answers.”
It seemed a quick deflection. Perhaps Marielana held deeper suspicions, but did not want to worry Rayna. Whatever the reason, Rayna was grateful the conversation seemed to have reached its conclusion. She liked Marielana, but still felt out of place around her.
“I should go check on the others,” Rayna said. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
Marielana bowed her head. “Yes. I think I’ll spend a little more time with the sea. I find it so restorative. You should rest, too. The purification ritual we'll perform in Fenear will be intense.”
Rayna left, slipping below-deck to the cabin she shared with Mina and the other Fenearens.
Mina snoozed in one of the hammocks. Katrine lay in another. Channon, Roxen, and the Trues were nowhere to be found—likely still finishing dinner.
Rayna was too restless to sleep. Coming back into the ship’s corridors, she met Kellan.
“Red.” He smiled, but hunger had sharpened his once-charming grin to a hollow rictus. “Come with me.”
“How are you feeling?” Rayna followed him to a store room.
“Terrible,” he said. “But, better, thanks to you.” He flicked on an oil lamp and pulled the door shut behind them. The room was little bigger than a closet. “I need to tell you something, and you aren’t going to like it.”
“What is it?” The sudden urgency in his voice unnerved Rayna.
“First, you should know that Terayan allowed Laera to escape. It was all part of some plan to lure you to Halmstead.”
Rayna nodded. “It wasn’t the only way he did,” she said thinking of the conversation she’d had with Marielana. “But I’m glad he did. At least Laera is safe.”
“I’m glad she is, too. And I’m glad that even if Terayan wanted you to come, we still escaped. But, there’s something else you need to know.”
“All right.”
Kellan chewed his lip. “Promise you’ll hear me out.”
At her reluctant nod, he continued.
“After Lonian and I were captured, Terayan had Garrison bring us to the throne room. Terayan taunted us, and showed us our people in chains.” Kellan clenched his fist. “That’s how I knew he let Laera go, but he said something else. I don’t know what it means, or if he was telling the truth, but I think you need to know.”
“Kellan, whatever it is, tell me.”
“It’s about Channon.”
Rayna hadn't expected that. “What does Terayan know about Channon? They’ve barely met.”
“Terayan said Channon had fooled me, and was playing his role well.”
“What does that mean?”
Kellan shrugged. “I don’t know. It seemed meant for his own satisfaction—like something I wasn’t supposed to understand. But, he implied Channon wasn’t who I thought he was—who you thought he was.”
“That’s insane. Who else would he be?”
“Someone else, someone dangerous.”
“Dangerous to whom?” Rayna laughed—a thin, nervous sound.
“To you.” Kellan’s expression was grave. “I thought about it over and over for weeks. Maybe he meant to imply that whoever you brought back from Hell wasn’t really Channon. That he was changed, or that there was something inside him that wasn’t there before.”
“Kellan. Do you hear yourself? Of course Channon is the same person. I’ve known him all my life. Don’t you think I’d notice if the person I brought back wasn’t him?”
“Maybe not.”
“What?”
“Hear me out.” Kellan ran his hands through his tangled black hair. “Has Channon seemed different since his return?”
Rayna gaped. “Of course he’s changed. Anyone would after what he experienced.” Channon was haunted, still healing, and—Rayna had to admit—much more violent. But he was still Channon.
“Right. It’s…”
“What?”
“A convenient explanation,” Kellan said. “You wanted Channon back more than anything. When he came back, if he behaved differently, you could explain it as trauma.”
“I can’t believe you.”
“Rayna, I’m asking you to be careful, in case there’s any truth to this—”
“There isn’t!”
“But what if there is? If there’s the slightest chance that something could be wrong, you should be prepared.”
“You think Channon could lie for this long without my noticing? He helped me save you, for Wolnor’s sake!”
“There could be something within him,” Kellan pressed. “Something he doesn’t even know about. I’m asking you to be careful.”
“No. You’re asking me to distance myself from him.” Rayna shook her head. “Do you remember the last time we argued, Kellan?”
“In Vanuuk, before you left.”
“You wanted me to be careful of Channon then, too. Is it possible this has nothing to do with some throwaway comment from Terayan?”
Kellan narrowed his eyes. “I stand by what I said that day, but this is different.”
“Is it? First, in Vanuuk, you accuse Channon of being abusive—”
“I didn’t say—”
Rayna continued over him. “Now he’s what? A spy? Possessed? A demon? I thought you weren't superstitious, Kellan.”
“I told you I don’t know what Channon is! I’m just repeating what I heard.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Well you need to.”
“No.” Rayna crossed her arms. “I need for you to be honest with me—with yourself.”
“Honest? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the real reason you're driving a wedge between Channon and me.”
“Real reason? I’m trying to tell you why.”
Rayna answered with silence.
Kellan exhaled through gritted his teeth. “Is that what you think this is? Jealousy?”
Rayna looked away. This was not the reunion with Kellan she would have hoped for, but perhaps she should have expected it. “Isn’t it?”
To her surprise, Kellan laughed. “I’m not in love with you,” he sneered.
Rayna stepped back, surprised at the malice in his voice.
“Are you really that self-centered?”
His words hit Rayna like a slap to the face. “You’ve done nothing but flirt with me since the night we met. I’ve tried to tell you—”
He barked another hateful laugh. “I flirt with everyone, Rayna. Sure. I like you. I’m attracted to you. I admit it freely.” He stepped toward Rayna, backing her against the wall. “Given the opportunity, I’d bed you in a heartbeat.”
She pushed him away. “How dare you speak to me like this!”
“Sorry to offend your Fenearen sensibilities, but you’ve left me with no choice. Let me explain my motivations so there’s no confusion: I want you enough that it annoys me to see you fawn over another man, but that’s it. It annoys me. I don’t want what you want, or what Channon appears to want.”
“And what’s that?” Rayna growled.
“Some grand, lifelong love affair. Frankly, the entire idea makes me ill. So when I tell you I’m worried about you, that the man you’re obsessed with might, just might, be something other than what he appears, understand I’m not attempting to steal you away from him.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m trying to be your friend, because believe it or not, I’m perfectly happy being just that.”
Rayna swallowed. Obviously, she'd misjudged Kellan’s motivations. But still, she refused to entertain his suspicions about Channon. Terayan had to have been lying. There could be no other explanation—could there?
“I’m happy being your friend, too.” At least, Rayna
thought, most of the time.
Kellan sighed. “I didn’t mean to be so…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I owe you my life. This is a pretty poor way of saying thank you.”
“You owe me nothing. I’m alive because of you. I'll never forget that.”
“Helping you was one of the few good things I’ve ever done. I don’t want it to be for nothing. I know you love Channon. I wouldn’t dream of trying to ruin that for you. I think you deserve to know what Terayan said, even if it isn't true.”
Rayna squeezed Kellan's shoulder. It felt far too bony. “You need to rest—get your strength up.”
He covered her hands with his. “I won’t tell anyone else about Channon. It’s your secret now.”
“Thank you.”
Rayna sighed, releasing the tension between her shoulders. Channon was different, and in a way, he was playing a role.
But so was she.
Since his return from the Mouth of Hell, Channon had become ruthless—Swann’s execution exemplified that. He carried something within him that hadn't been there before.
Rayna knew, because she carried it, too: the weight of trauma.
Sometimes, she had to pretend to be all right when she wasn’t. Sometimes, she had to play the role of the person that she once was, hoping that one day she’d be able to stop pretending. She recognized the same struggles in Channon, even if he handled them differently. Only once had that weight lifted in Rayna's heart.
When they had kissed, Rayna had experienced a moment of perfect bliss. They were both broken, but the solution was not to distance herself from Channon's imperfections. The only way forward was together.
“Rayna? Can you hear me?”
Rayna shook her head. “Sorry, my mind wandered off.”
A brief smile flashed across his face, before it re-settled in serious lines. “Rayna, there’s something else I need to tell you.”
“About Channon?”
Kellan shook his head. “It’s about Kado Aronak.”
Kado leaned against the ship wall. Captivity, at least, was familiar.
As usual, the brig was positioned where one could feel the worst of the ship’s pitch and yaw. But for Kado, who had spent most of his life at sea, this was no discomfort. If anything the ship’s swaying calmed him, like a mother rocking a child.
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