Ascent

by Bethany Adams

  It sounded like they had everything under control, but uneasiness still twined through Maddy. “What now?”

  “I’m going to finish watching this show with Fen, and then I’m going to bed,” Anna said. “We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”

  Fen’s eyes widened. “Alone. She’s going to bed alone. I wouldn’t…without you here, it doesn’t seem right to…”

  “Yeah, maybe we should wait until you get that big bed at your new place, too.” Grinning, Anna nudged Fen, who almost bobbled out of the frame with the motion. For someone who’d made his fair share of sexual innuendos, Fen’s current expression was priceless. “That’s the other big news. Fen here told his mom and uncle to buzz off and went out on his own. He rented a nice house on the river.”

  “I didn’t realize you had that kind of ready cash, Fen. Good for you.” As soon as the flush of red filled his cheeks, Maddy realized her mistake. He thought she was commenting on his past. “And I was not calling you a criminal. I had to borrow money from my parents for a down payment, so I think it’s great that you’ve saved that much.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Your dad exchanged a few gemstones I’d harvested and refined for a bit of cash. That’s all.”

  “You went by the shop?” Maddy couldn’t help but wince. “I hope my mom wasn’t rude to Anna.”

  Anna’s breath hissed in. “Yeah, about that.”

  Then Maddy listened in shock as her girlfriend recounted the odd meeting. Her mother knew about the water fae? Damn. If that was true, then Maddy had to wonder what else her mother was aware of.

  Not long after his head hit the pillow, the dream sucked Fen in.

  How many days had it been? His mind was too muddled to grasp anything as solid as dates. Maybe weeks? He needed energy that he didn’t dare get. He tried to lift his hand to rub his dry mouth, but his arm barely moved. His foster mother had whispered something about the flu earlier. She couldn’t know that wasn’t the problem.

  This was his third home in three years, and this had lasted the longest. They were nice here—had even adopted one of their other foster kids. Maybe they’d take Fen, too, if he wasn’t a freak. No way he could ruin this by drinking someone’s blood.

  But. But what if he knocked over his water glass? Someone could get cut picking it up. If he rolled at the right time, he could accidentally get his face in the blood. It only took a drop, just a drop to unlock the other person’s energy. No one would be hurt, and he could finally get out of bed.

  Endless time passed. Fear began to pound beneath his breastbone as the hunger ate at him. Every muscle and tissue in his body ached, and his eyes grew heavy. Was this what dying felt like? Maybe it would be for the best. His mother’s family didn’t want him. His father was dead. He couldn’t make it in this world. Only thing he was good at was school, and he was too sick to go to that.

  You deserve to live, Fen.

  The whisper echoed in his head. Over and over. Whose voice? A man. Familiar. His foster father? He couldn’t open his eyes to see.

  Take what you need. I’ll help you

  A hand brushed against his forehead, smoothing away his hair. Fen groaned at the gentle touch. Then a shock of cold hit his lips, followed by a trickle of water. Ice? He sucked at the slippery piece, pulling it into his mouth along with the finger holding it. Oh, no. Close to his fang. Way too close.

  Live.

  A quick movement, and the tinny taste of blood hit his tongue. Someone cried out, and the hand holding the ice was abruptly gone. But it was too late. Fen followed the unique energy signature in the blood to its owner—his foster mother—and pulled in the power his body needed.

  He was too weak to be subtle, consuming more quickly than he usually did. His foster mother swayed where she stood and then tumbled backward, landing hard on her bottom. Health restored, Fen sat up to help her.

  But the shocked horror on her face told her he’d be packing his bags soon enough.

  Fen jerked upright, his entire body trembling and aching from the force of the dream. Well, that was a new one. He’d had plenty of nightmares about his father’s death but not many about the time he’d fucked up his best chance at a home. He drew his knees up, wrapping his arms around them to stop his shaking. Why now? What had brought that event to mind?

  At least he hadn’t woken Anna this time.

  With a sigh, Fen dropped his forehead to rest on his arm. He tried not to think about the week when he’d let himself get so starved of energy that his body had begun to shut down. He’d been almost nine and completely convinced he could solve any problem. Maybe, he’d reasoned, his father had been wrong about the need for blood to survive. If he didn’t bite anyone, he wouldn’t get caught and sent away.

  Hah. There’d been no one to help him realize the folly of that.

  Take what you need. I’ll help you.

  Fen straightened at the memory of that voice. He’d dismissed it as some kind of hallucination as his foster father had hauled him out of bed, ordered him to pack his handful of belongings, and herded him to the car within half an hour of his foster mother’s cry. He’d mocked the whisper as he sat in a hard, plastic office chair, awaiting reassignment.

  But he’d thought the voice sounded familiar then, and maybe he’d been right. An echo from his other nightmare drifted through his mind. See what you’ve done? Though years had passed, Fen would almost swear they were the same voice, but the tone and content were all wrong. The first had been accusatory, leading Fen to believe he’d killed his father, but the second had offered help and hope.

  Were either of those true, or had it all blurred together in the landscape of his dreams? Even if he skimmed through his memories for more instances, he couldn’t be sure. The mind could be tricky, and he’d fucked himself over too many times to easily trust in anything. Especially when he was this tired. Fen flopped back against the couch cushions and prayed he could fall back to sleep.

  Into an oblivion free of dreams.

  Chapter 18

  No matter how hard she tried, Maddy couldn’t settle into sleep. It was so late at this point that there couldn’t be many more hours until dawn, but she didn’t understand the markings on the water clock well enough to say for sure. Honestly, though, years could have passed since the previous sunset. Gods knew her worry made her feel like they had.

  Anna could soothe her out of this mood; she knew better than anyone how to help Maddy form sense out of confusion. Left to her own devices, Maddy would tumble her thoughts inside her head for hours—maybe even days. While they usually came out as smooth as the stones her father formed into jewelry, the process was a loud, obnoxious mess.

  Now, worries about her mother collided against what she’d learned about the attacks on Anthony, and both ricocheted off the list of pros and cons of mating with Fen and Anna. Added to a handful of “tomorrow, I’ll do more work with a powerful healer,” the whole thing was giving her a massive headache.

  Someone pounded on the door, and Maddy groaned. What now? She hurried over and pulled the door open a crack, only to be greeted by the healer’s fierce scowl. “Would you mind sleeping sometime tonight?”

  “I want to,” Maddy grumbled. “But I can’t get my mind to shut up.”

  Lial leaned a fist against the doorframe. “Right now, I don’t care. If you don’t stop pacing above my room, I’ll put you under. Do you realize how precious rest is for a healer? You may not yet, but you’ll know when you’ve drained yourself to nothing as I so often do. Right now, no one is injured, no one is giving birth, and no one is asking for a potion. So go to sleep.”

  “Tomorrow is my last day here for this trip.” Maddy did her best to match his glower. If such a thing was possible. “Forgive me if I’m a little overwhelmed with all there is to do, and that’s not even counting my concerns back home.”

  “When was it decided that tomorrow is your last day? We had discussed you remaining a large portion of the day after.”

  Maddy tucked her ha
ir behind her ear. “Eri rather strongly suggested I would be going back after two mornings had passed. She told Ralan it wasn’t an actual prophecy, but—”

  “Well enough, young Maddy.” Lial settled his hand against his face in what Maddy could only call a facepalm before crossing his arms. “That child… Let’s just say I do not envy her father. But tell me. Do you wish to follow her suggestion?”

  Maddy considered the question. There was no doubt she was curious about her mother’s revelation, but that could wait. The situation with Anthony and Sparrow, on the other hand… Neither Fen nor Anna had given much detail about the attack on Anthony’s house, and Maddy had been too distracted by the revelation about her mother to go back and ask. That combined with Eri’s recommendation made her worried.

  “Yes,” Maddy finally answered.

  “Fine.” Lial’s arms dropped back to his sides. “Then sleep or go outside. If nothing else, you can run over to the main estate and see if Lyr is awake and working. There’s a high chance of it. If I’m right, he can contact Dria to arrange your journey home. But let me get some rest, or I’ll be no good training you tomorrow.”

  “I don’t get it,” Maddy began, but her annoyance faded as she finally calmed down enough to notice the exhaustion beneath Lial’s bluster. “This floor is pretty thick. How could I be disturbing you?”

  “As your teacher, I am shielding you, and your energy is flaring.” Lial pinched the bridge of his nose. “It isn’t as pronounced when you’re out of the tower, but right now, it feels like darts of your energy are falling from the ceiling. Very sharp, very piercing darts.”

  “I’m sorry,” Maddy said. “Sometimes, I really do struggle to clear my head. And I don’t think the time change between worlds has helped.”

  Lial pushed away from the doorframe. “It was not an idle suggestion to see if Lyr is awake. He seemed more pensive than usual at dinner, which is a sure sign he’ll be up working to fix whatever is bothering him. And I must beg forgiveness for my poor humor. Before you arrived, I worked with the healer of Oria on spine regeneration techniques and helped stop a woman from going into early labor. And while you were walking in the garden, I repaired a broken leg. I’d hoped to regenerate some of my energy before your lessons tomorrow.”

  After hearing all that he’d done, guilt clawed at her for her own grumpiness. “I’ll walk over to the estate, then. I’m not going to get stopped by a guard, am I? Are there any places I should avoid?”

  “The edge of the cliff.” If not for the glint of humor in Lial’s eyes, she might have thought he was mocking her. “Recall that it borders the path, quite closely in a few spots. I would rather not have to heal you on top of everything else today.”

  Hah. Maddy didn’t particularly want to disturb his sleep again, either. “Noted. But what about guards?”

  “They are aware that you are allowed entry here.” His lips twitched. “You are unlikely to be shot by an arrow.”

  Maddy laughed. “Good to know.”

  She followed the healer down the stairs, pausing in his room to bid him goodnight, and grimaced at the sight of his tangled bedding. No wonder he’d finally lost his temper. As quietly as she could, Maddy took the spiral staircase to the lower floor. Earlier, Lial had shown her some of the herbs he used to concoct potions and salves, making it easier to identify some of the homey, savory scents that filled the air of the workroom. He’d also explained the purpose of the weird stone platform on the back wall—an operating table. Well, sort of. The stone was easy to sterilize with magic, and there were little runnels on the side that allowed blood to flow down to a basin until it could be disposed of.

  Creepy but effective.

  Maddy grabbed her cloak off the hook by the door and bundled up. Fortunately, she hadn’t bothered to undress after dinner, so she was out in the cold night in a matter of moments. That seemed…less fortunate when the icy rain began to pelt down halfway to her destination. By the time she reached the front doors of the estate, she was soaked through, even with the enchantments Cora had told her were imbued in the cloak.

  Despite that, Maddy stared at the doors for a good minute before reaching out to open one of them. She hadn’t seen a single person along the faintly lit path, and no guards were stationed at the front, unless they were hidden. Shouldn’t an important lord’s manor have protections? She couldn’t shake the feeling that she would be detained at any moment.

  When she finally slipped inside, warmth wrapped around her—along with a brush of magic that pulled the water from her clothes and body. Well, that was handy. When she smoothed the cloak back from her head, she found that even her hair had been treated kindly, no straggling bits of frizz daring to stand against the force of that magic.

  If she had the ability, she would coat her entire house with that kind of power.

  To the left, a pair of guards stood beside the stone portal, and another warrior protected the archway beside the massive tree trunk. It was the latter who came forward to assist her, his expression impassive. “May I help you, honored guest?”

  “She is coming to speak with me,” a voice announced from the other side of the room.

  The guard inclined his head as Maddy turned to face the Myern of Braelyn, who waited with a slight smile beside the base of the stairs that spiraled to the upper floor. She swallowed against her sudden nerves. The man’s emerald eyes were kind, and the handful of times he’d spoken to her at dinner, he had been nothing but courteous. But he also possessed an aura of leashed power and authority that made her edgy. She was a stranger here, and if she stepped out of line, he could order her punishment with the flick of his regal hand.

  No doubt even her death.

  “At least that is what Lial indicated,” Lord Lyr said, his right eyebrow quirking ever-so-slightly upward. “Have you decided to return to the healer’s tower?”

  “Ah, no.” Maddy’s fingers tightened around the fabric of her cloak. Damn, she hated being so uncertain. “I mean, no, my lord. I did come to speak with you.”

  He smiled. “Come, then. And please, call me Lyr. Save the formalities for taunting Ralan.”

  That comment drew a surprised laugh from her, and she found herself relaxing as she followed Lyr down a gently curving and exquisitely designed hallway. The wood paneling alone was carved with so much detail that she could have been walking through a museum display, and instead of boring sconces, globes of light hung from tree branches. Or…no. Not real branches. She squinted, almost reaching up to touch one of the fixtures. It had been carved from the same piece of wood as the paneling.

  “Your home is lovely,” Maddy said, proceeding through the door Lyr held open for her.

  This room appeared to be a large, oval office. Between the tall windows along the sides, bookshelves stretched to the ceiling, and the far end of the room held a desk on a slight dais backed by an arc of broad windows. The view had to be amazing during the day.

  “Thank you,” Lyr said, gesturing toward a grouping of chairs in the center, nestled beneath a handful of skylights. “Although I confess I cannot claim responsibility for it. Neither I nor my father changed the estate a great deal from our ancestors’ designs.”

  With that reminder of the age of the place, Maddy sat gingerly on one of the seats. What would it be like to take charge of properties that were thousands of years old? It couldn’t be easy. “This is the original house? How do you maintain it?”

  Lyr took the chair across from hers. “Lots and lots of magic, though most of that is done through latent spells that are renewed every few decades. As to the first question, only a few parts are the original structure. The early Moranaians warred with the dragons not long after arrival, so a fair bit of the place was burned. But I imagine ancient wars aren’t what’s disturbing you?”

  “How much did Lial tell you?” Maddy asked. “Assuming he contacted you telepathically, of course. As far as I know, you aren’t a seer like Prince Ralan.”

  The Myern visibly shuddered. “
May the nine Gods of Arneen forfend, I am not. My understanding from Lial is that a certain headstrong little girl made a pointed suggestion regarding your plans. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  In the warmth of the room, Maddy released the tie on her cloak and let it fall across the back of the chair. Although Lyr eyed her Earth clothes with curiosity, he didn’t say anything. Hopefully, it wasn’t considered rude to remove outerwear without asking, but she was already sweating lightly with nerves. No need to be sweltering on top of it.

  “She made a point of telling Ralan that she wasn’t delivering a prophecy.” Maddy swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat. “In fact, you could take her words as casually spoken. But the entire encounter was eerie. It was late enough not to be a natural random encounter with a child so young, unless you have vastly different ideas about bed times.”

  Lyr smiled wryly. “Yes and no. As you can see, we sleep far less as adults, mostly depending on how much magical energy we have expended. But since children are still growing, they rest much as human young do.”

  “Then lurking on the path at the far end of the garden hours after dinner definitely wasn’t typical.” Maddy began to relax a little at the sympathy on the Myern’s face. Perhaps he, too, had been taken unaware by the child before. “Mentioning to her father that she wanted to chat with me before I left in two mornings’ time didn’t seem like an accident, either.”

  “Ralan is a seer. If he didn’t refute her words, there could be a reason.”

  Maddy nodded. “I thought so, too. Lial urged me to speak to you about arranging passage back. But I don’t think it’s urgent. He mostly wanted to get rid of me so he could sleep.”

  “And he did so none too politely, I imagine,” Lyr said.

  “You’ve got that right,” Maddy replied dryly. “His grumpiness is an art form.”

  Lyr’s lips twitched. “Indeed.”

  “So would you rather I come back tomorrow to contact Dria? I think I’m calm enough to sleep a little, and you must be wanting rest at some point. There’s not much left of the night.”