The man’s eyes locked on hers. For the first time, his arrow wavered. “What’s your name?”
“Meaghan,” she responded.
“And you?” he inclined his head toward Nick.
“Nick. I’m her Guardian.”
The man lowered his bow halfway, though his arrow remained readied within it. “Prove it.”
“How do I prove,” she began but stopped when she realized. Her power. “You know I’m an Empath?” she asked the man.
“I’ve heard the Queen is. She’s the only one. Do you mean to tell me you can sense what I feel?”
She nodded. “You’re afraid. Terrified, in fact, that Aldin might have been hurt or killed. And you feel guilty. I’m guessing you were watching him when he wandered away?”
The man eased his arrow from the bow. She continued. “You’re also grateful he’s all right, though you’re angry that strangers have him. Your love for him is strong and so is your desire to protect him, so I believe you’re his father. Am I correct?”
“You are.”
“Shall I continue?”
“That won’t be necessary.” He slid the arrow into a woven basket strapped to his back. Reclaiming his other arrow from the tree, he stowed it before swinging the bow over his shoulder. Then he turned his attention toward Nick. “We agree I can take the boy?”
“He’s yours.”
The man walked over to the blanket. Kneeling beside Aldin, he laid a hand on the boy’s back, giving him a slight shake. Slow and still groggy, Aldin rolled over and opened his eyes. When he saw his father, he sprang to his feet, launching into his father’s arms.
“Dat,” he squealed, “you found me.”
“You shouldn’t have wandered off,” the man lectured, though the firmness of his tone became muffled in the boy’s sweater as he pressed his face into it. “You scared me,” he whispered. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m okay, Dat.” Aldin pushed away from his father so he could look up at him. “Meaghan saved me. She ran out and yelled at the monsters and when they tried to freeze her, she didn’t freeze. They were mad.” He giggled. “I had to hurt them though.” His brow wrinkled and he shifted his eyes away from his father’s. “I know you said I shouldn’t make my words come true. I didn’t mean to, honest. But the monsters scared me.”
The man kissed him on the forehead. “It’s all right, Aldin. You did the right thing.” He hugged his son again before standing, lifting the boy into his arms as he did so. He faced Nick and Meaghan. “Thank you,” he said.
Nick nodded in acknowledgement and the man turned to go. He reached the edge of the clearing, hesitated, and then stopped, turning back around. He drew his eyes to Meaghan.
“You’re not safe here. If the Mardróch communicated with their kind, more will come. They’ll hunt for him, but they’ll find you.”
“We’ll keep moving,” Nick responded.
The man’s eyes flicked to Nick and then back to Meaghan and she understood. He wanted her to gauge his emotions. He wanted her to read his underlying intent for what he was about to say. “You can’t travel during the day. Not here. I’m sure your Guardian knows this?”
“He does.”
“Then you’ll come with me. Let my family keep you safe for the day and then you can continue your travels tonight, under darkness.”
“That isn’t necessary,” Nick spoke again, his voice stiff with his distrust.
The man’s eyes turned to Nick’s face again and held there. Meaghan felt the same distrust emanating from him. Although she sensed the emotion had deep roots, seeded and nurtured long ago, his invitation had been open and honest. He would not harm them. Nick did not have the luxury of knowing the man’s intent and Meaghan did not get the opportunity to tell him.
“You’d risk your Queen’s well-being to continue an old war?” the man asked Nick. “Or are you afraid I aim to start a new one?”
“The thought did cross my mind,” Nick said, squaring his shoulders. “You have no obligation to protect her and enough to gain by harming her.”
Meaghan pursed her lips, surprised by Nick’s accusation. She expected to sense insult coming from the man in front of them, but he simply smiled, his eyes alight with genuine humor.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “I have everything to lose if she’s harmed. I am Faillen.”
“Faillen,” Nick echoed, “as in the first son of Cadell, the leader of the Paecis and ruler of Zeiihbu?”
“The same,” Faillen confirmed. “So you will come,” he decreed and, without waiting for further argument, turned and entered the forest.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THEY FOLLOWED Faillen in silence, their nerves raw, and their senses tuned to the slightest sign of an attack. Once they left the cover of the forest, the field offered no protection and no change in scenery. Miles of grass stretched out before them, green disappearing into the blue of a cloudless horizon. The sun welcomed them from its journey mid-way across the sky, but it failed to provide additional warmth against the crisp wind whipping from the north. Though they remained unprotected, vulnerable in the bright daylight, their one comfort was that the Mardróch had nowhere to stage a sneak attack. Unless they had the ability to turn themselves into field mice, the hunters were as exposed as their prey.
They walked for half an hour before Faillen stopped. Aldin lifted his head from his father’s shoulder and stretched out his arms, reaching his hands into the air in greeting.
“Mata,” he cried.
A woman ran out of nowhere to scoop him into her arms. She buried him in a hug, her long red hair covering the boy’s head before she raised him to smother his face with kisses. Tears streamed freely from her bright green eyes. Joy spread a broad smile across her plump, red lips. “You fool,” she said to him, though her words did not carry chastisement. “You fool,” she said again, pulling him in for another hug. He giggled, reached up to touch her face and traced a finger down her cheek, connecting freckles.
She lifted her head to look at her husband, love shining on her face, and then turned her attention to the newcomers, her happiness dissolving into surprise.
“Outsiders,” she said, her voice hushed. “Faillen.” She spoke no more, but the accusation hung in the air, along with a worry that Meaghan did not need her power to see. The risk of exposure Faillen had brought with him had broken a rule, an understanding between them that turned the woman’s body rigid and her face stiff.
Instead of responding to her, Faillen took Meaghan’s hand in his. “You are welcome here,” he said, then turned to Nick and did the same.
As it had with Neiszhe’s village, solid matter materialized where only air had been. But here, there was no village. The protection spell hid three huts, no bigger than four hundred square feet each. Their thatched roofs and rough mud stucco spoke of the care taken with their construction.
The woman clutched her son tighter in her arms. Her worry turned to panic, the strength of it almost overwhelming Meaghan’s senses. Meaghan stepped forward. The woman stepped back. Meaghan offered a friendly smile, hoping the gesture would ease the woman’s mind. The woman did not return it. Instead, her eyes beseeched Faillen for an explanation.
“Our secrets are safe with them,” he told her. The statement had the same effect on her as Meaghan’s smile. The woman pursed her lips and anger mixed with her worry. Faillen turned to look at Meaghan. She sensed he felt trapped. He needed to offer his wife the truth, but he did not know how much information Meaghan would allow him to share. She nodded, answering his unspoken question and relief washed over him. He addressed his wife. “She is the Queen, my love.”
The woman’s eyes grew wide. Awe overtook all other emotions. “Are you certain it’s her?”
“I’m certain,” he responded. “The man is her Guardian. They need a safe place to stay until they can resume their travels tonight.”
“Yes, of course,” the woman whispered, turning to look at Meaghan. She tu
cked one foot behind the other, attempting a curtsy, but found it awkward with the boy in her arms.
Meaghan held back a grin, knowing the woman would not see humor in the situation. She nodded and the woman pulled up to her full height again.
“We’re still outside the protection,” she told them and pointed to the ground. Meaghan saw a line shimmering through the grass, like glass glinting in the sun. It bordered the houses and twenty additional feet of field on three sides. On the fourth side, it bordered a garden full of vegetables. “The spell ends at the line. If you stay within the boundary, you’ll be hidden. Come, join us.” She stepped across the line and they followed her. Approaching one of the huts, she opened the door, and entered.
Although small, the single room inside served well as a main living area for the family. One side of the room functioned as a kitchen. Pots and pans hung from the walls next to a cupboard and hutch. A basic wood table, built waist high, held the makings of bread. Flour dusted the surface and in the middle of the fine white powder, a lump of dough showed the finger indentation evidence of a worried woman who kneaded to keep her hands busy.
In the center of the back wall, a fire blazed in a large brick fireplace. A hook for hanging pots and a bread oven door indicated the fireplace served several purposes. The other side of the room held a dining table and chairs, and Meaghan realized the area acted as a multi-use family center. A boy who looked to be around twelve or thirteen sat in one of the chairs, studying them. His eyes mirrored his mother’s and his short hair had the strawberry-blonde blend of both his mother and father’s hair colors.
“Caide,” his mother addressed him. “Please put water on for tea.”
The boy nodded and jumped from his seat. He had already grown almost to his father’s height, though his lanky frame had yet to take on the older man’s muscular form. He poured water from a bucket into a kettle and hung it from the hook. Pushing the arm for the hook, he swung it over the fire and then moved to the hutch to gather mugs.
“I know you must be tired,” the woman addressed Meaghan and Nick, “but it’s been a long time since we’ve had company. I hope you’ll sit with us for a while.”
“We can spare an hour,” Nick said, “but then we’ll need to sleep before we travel.”
Faillen’s wife smiled in gratitude and extended a hand to him. “I’m Iria, but people call me Ree. Our eldest son is Caide, as I’m sure you heard. And I trust you’ve already learned Faillen and Aldin’s names?”
“We have,” Nick responded, shaking her hand. “I’m Nick.”
“It’s a pleasure,” she said, releasing his hand and then cast a smile in Meaghan’s direction. “And of course, I know your name, Queen Meaghan. It’s rumored the name belonged to one of the first Queens of these lands. I don’t think it’s been used since then, but it suits you.”
“Thank you,” Meaghan replied, grimacing at the sound of her formal title. “But please just call me Meaghan. I’d rather not use formalities.”
“All right,” Ree agreed, and then gestured toward the chairs at the table. “Please sit. I made a fresh pie yesterday, and I suspect we need to talk about a few things.”
“I have questions,” Nick confirmed. “If you’re comfortable answering them.”
“We’ll hide nothing from you,” she responded. Moving to the cupboard, she opened it and took out a pie, setting it on the high table. Dark red berries poked through the latticework crust and Meaghan felt her mouth water at the sight of them.
“As soon as the boys have had their pie,” Faillen added. “They’ll go out to play after.”
Nick nodded in agreement, and as soon as the kettle heated, they sat at the table, enjoying their tea and pie. Caide and Aldin devoured theirs within minutes and excused themselves to play.
“Stay within the boundaries,” Faillen reminded them, and then put a hand on Aldin’s shoulder, halting him before he could dart out the door. Faillen dropped his voice, a stern tone indicating his sincerity. “Aldin, have you learned your lesson from today?”
Aldin bounced his head in a pronounced nod, his eyes wide.
“Speak the words, son.”
“I won’t leave the boundary without your permission.”
“You were lucky today. Remember that. You won’t get lucky twice.”
Aldin nodded again and Faillen removed his hand. Free, the boy followed his brother out the door, slamming it behind him.
“The children won’t hear us now,” Faillen said as he turned back to the table. Though his pie remained half-eaten on his plate, he pushed it aside. For a moment, silence filled the room as the mood shifted. No one touched their mugs or forks while they waited for the serious conversation to start. Finally, Faillen addressed Nick. “Tell us what happened today.”
Nick detailed Aldin’s rescue, leaving nothing out. When he finished, Ree’s soft cries had subsided. She wiped tears from her cheeks as Faillen sat stone still beside her. He drew his eyes to Nick’s. Any distrust he had harbored before had been erased.
“Thank you,” he said. “Though I expressed my appreciation before, I admit I hadn’t truly considered what you’d done for my boy. Since we moved here, he’s been a handful. There isn’t much space for him. If you hadn’t come along,” his voice trailed off as he dropped his gaze to the table. He flattened his hands on top of it and Ree took one of them into her own, intertwining their fingers.
“We owe you so much,” she said. “I don’t know how we can repay you.”
“It’s not necessary,” Nick said. “And frankly, Meaghan is the only one who deserves your gratitude, though I do regret my actions. I didn’t think either of them would live.”
Meaghan sensed a touch of anger from Ree toward Nick, but Faillen did not hold the same emotion.
“You shouldn’t regret what you did,” he told Nick. “Though I’m grateful you didn’t succeed in your attempt, you were right to try to protect your Queen. I would’ve acted the same way in your position. Much hinges on her survival, but what you couldn’t have known is much hinges on Aldin’s survival too.”
“I know that now,” Nick said. “He’s a Spellmaster?”
“Yes,” Faillen confirmed.
“He’s young to have developed his power. It usually doesn’t show up until age ten or so. And in his case, I thought,” Nick hesitated, and Meaghan realized he was not certain how to finish his sentence without offending their hosts.
“He shouldn’t have a power,” Faillen finished for him. “Or if he did, it should be weak. We’ve fostered that fable with the southerners,” he admitted. “But some of us have stronger powers. We just don’t covet them the way you do. They get in the way, so we avoid using them.”
“Do you have powers?” Nick asked him.
“No.” Faillen stood to retrieve the kettle and returned to the table with it. He refilled each of their mugs before sitting back down. “Ree and I don’t, but Ree’s mother had the power to become invisible. Her grandmother came from across the border, as others have done throughout the centuries. We suspect they’ve polluted our gene pool, if you’ll forgive the expression.”
Nick chuckled. “I think that’s an acceptable way of putting it. When did Aldin start using his power?”
“Two months ago. He wanted a toy on a shelf in the sleeping hut and he couldn’t reach it. He recited a rhyme and it floated into his hands. Last month, he was playing with a frog and it exploded. We grew concerned and made him promise he wouldn’t use his power again. He kept his promise until today.”
Meaghan picked up her mug, blowing steam from it before taking a sip. Something felt wrong to her and she could not quite place it, so she studied Faillen over the rim of her mug while she sorted her thoughts. The emotions she sensed seemed buried, so it took her a moment to recognize them as guilt and embarrassment, and to understand they did not come from Faillen, but from his wife. Meaghan diverted her attention to Ree.
“You seem ashamed of Aldin’s power,” she said.
&
nbsp; Ree gripped her own mug as her eyes widened. “I forgot,” she said. “You can tell what I feel.”
“Yes,” Meaghan said. “Why are you ashamed of it?”
“I love Aldin,” Ree said, nearly pleading. “I love him no matter what he does.”
“No one doubts that,” Faillen said. He circled his arm around her waist and drew her close, kissing her on the temple before addressing Meaghan’s question. “You have to understand that things are different for us in Zeiihbu. As I said, these powers aren’t coveted. They’re considered a disability best kept hidden, but Aldin’s isn’t so easy to hide.” He paused. Lifting his mug to his lips, he took a gulp from it. “My words must appall you.”
“They don’t,” Nick said. “I’ve been raised to understand your culture is different and to respect it. I can understand your position given that, but the Spellmaster power shouldn’t be taken lightly or prevented from maturing. It’s rare, maybe the rarest power alive today, and once Aldin gains full control over it, he’ll be able to do a tremendous amount of good.”
“I know.” Faillen lowered his mug and his eyes to the table. “I understand its value. But to us, it’s a curse. The Mardróch hunt our family. As a result, we’re forced to live here, in fear and near captivity, instead of living in our homeland. Even Zeiihbu suffers because of the power. Garon has stationed Mardróch guards everywhere. They loot and kill as they see fit, holding our citizens captive to their evils and whims. They’re slowly destroying us and our way of life.”
“I’m sure that was part of Garon’s plan well before Aldin was born,” Nick said. “Garon has never liked Zeiihbu.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Faillen conceded, though Meaghan sensed doubt and deceit in him. The deceit was minor, so she did not press an explanation for it.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Faillen continued. “I understand the need for the Spellmaster power, but I fear my country will suffer until the power fully develops. I don’t want that for my people.”
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