Nick plucked a nut from the bush. Snapping it in two, he upended the halves so that several pea-sized filberts emptied into her hand. She tossed them into her mouth, relishing more in their tender flavor than she had anything else before.
“They taste like hazelnuts,” she said.
“They do,” he agreed. “That’s an impressive power you have.”
She blushed and reached for another nut, plucking a leaf with it. “You said these were edible, too?”
“They are, but that’s more emergency knowledge than anything else. They make jicab root taste like candy.”
She dropped the leaf to the ground, shuddering, and he laughed.
They ate until they were full and then moved again. As they came within a mile of the village, Nick quickened his pace, but Meaghan lagged behind, her anxiety growing with each step.
“Are you okay?” he asked after he stopped to let her catch up.
“Yes, it’s just,” she shrugged. “I’m nervous about this.”
“You’ll be fine,” he told her. “We’ll figure out a way to keep your power from overwhelming you.”
“I know,” she said, and touched a hand to her stomach, feeling queasy. “It’s not that though. I’m afraid to meet your mother. She’s my mother-in-law now. What if she doesn’t like me?”
He grinned. “Considering everything else you’ve had to face this week, you’re worried about that?” She glared at him, and he dropped his grin. “Sorry,” he said and wrapped his arms around her. “First of all, we don’t have in-laws here. Wedding me means you’re her daughter as much as I’m her son.”
“That’s splitting hairs.”
“Perhaps,” Nick said. “But even if that weren’t true, she won’t know we’re wed when you meet her. She’ll only know you as her Queen.”
“I’ll know,” Meaghan murmured, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “And I want her to like me for me, not because she sees me as her Queen. I don’t want her to feel like she has to be polite to my face while she secretly hates me behind my back.”
“Then you definitely have nothing to worry about,” Nick said. “My mother doesn’t do polite for the sake of polite. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll tell you to your face, royalty or not. If she’s upset with you for any reason, you’ll know.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m certain. She’s as direct as one of Faillen’s arrows. In fact, she once told off your father, despite the fact he could have thrown her in jail for it.”
“Why did she do that?”
“Because he deserved it. He showed up drunk after spending all night at a poker game. It was soon after you were born. You’d been crying nonstop and your mom was exhausted. Your dad strolled through the door of the royal suite, right into my mother’s waiting wrath. She badgered him into a corner with an onslaught of well-chosen words and didn’t relent for an hour. I can guarantee you she didn’t gloss over what she thought of him that day.”
Meaghan laughed. “Is that true?”
“Cal claims it is. Of course, he was one of the people at the poker game, so he would know. I understand your dad never did it again.”
“I bet he didn’t.”
Nick rested his chin on top of her head. “Don’t worry about my mom, Meg. You’ll be fine.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat slow and steady in his chest. It calmed her more than his words did. “What’s your mother like?”
“Stubborn, proud, boisterous, and bossy.” He smiled. “It’s why we call her May instead of Mai.”
“Being bossy is?”
“Yes. Vivian was always the calmer of the two of them, even when they were children. Mom was more of the leader and the protector, though it came across as pushy, which Viv hated. Mom tells me she used her older sister status as an excuse to keep Viv in line.”
“I thought they were twins.”
“She’s older by forty-three minutes. It’s enough for Mom to believe it matters.”
Meaghan laughed and Nick continued his story. “As the older sister, Mom would make Viv ask permission to do everything. Viv did it to keep the peace, but she found her own way of resisting. She narrowed her eyes, planted her hands on her hips, and said ‘May I’ when asking permission. Then she used the same posture and tone, calling my mother May instead of Mai during conversations. It annoyed my mother so much she eventually stopped being so controlling of Viv, but the name stuck and Mom grew to like it. Everyone calls her that now.”
Meaghan laughed again, and then pulled back from Nick to wipe a tear from her eye. “That sounds like Mom. Vivian,” she corrected. “She always knew how to get her way. She was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.”
“My mom is too. And like Vivian, she’s also fiercely loyal and loving. She’ll do anything to help, whether you’re family or a complete stranger. And she’s as free with wisdom or a hug. She’s well-loved and respected in the village, and she’s pretty much the best person to have around in a crisis.”
“Like you,” Meaghan said.
“I like to think I got some of her best qualities,” Nick agreed. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. They walked further and when they crested a hill, he turned to her and took her hand. “You are welcome here,” he said to her. The trees in front of her disappeared and in their place, a village materialized, surrounded by open fields. As Nick had stated, it was larger than Neiszhe’s village. Four times larger at least, but before panic had time to settle over her, a movement in the field distracted her. A boy ran toward them, his brown hair streaked back from his face by his speed, his cheeks flushed with exertion. He kicked up dirt as he skidded to a stop in front of them.
“Nick,” he cried through gasps. “May sent me. She said she could sense you close by and I had to get you.” He stopped talking. Bending over to press his hands to his knees, he worked to catch his breath.
“What’s wrong, Alcent?” Nick asked. “Is my mother all right?”
Alcent nodded and looked up, seeming to notice Meaghan for the first time. His tawny eyes grew wide. “Is she—?
“Yes,” Nick interrupted. “What did my mother say?”
“She said,” he panted, tried again. “She said she needs your help with a patient. Right away. She said to go to her house.”
Meaghan barely had time to look at Nick before he grabbed her hand and took off running toward the village.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THEY SPED down wide roads paved in stone, through alleys lined in gravel, and past colorful, multi-story houses. They blended together, one into another, until they were no more than a streak of color and movement. People stepped out of houses and shops. Some watched them with obvious stares, their curiosity piqued as she and Nick ran past. Others waved and called out to Nick in recognition. And one elderly man on his front porch whistled, hollering at them to slow down before they knocked someone over.
Nick ignored them all, dragging her along a route he knew by memory until they reached a two-story house that looked almost identical to the one Vivian and James had built on Earth, except that a small guest cottage stood to the right of the house instead of a garage.
Nick did not bother to knock on the front door. He opened it and charged in, threading his way through a living room overstuffed with furniture and knickknacks to a door opposite the entrance. Meaghan did not have to wonder how he knew where to find his mother. She could hear the shouting as well as he could.
He pushed open the door, stepped into a kitchen also similar to the one on Earth, and then came to an abrupt stop. Meaghan squeezed into the room behind him, pausing when she saw the source of the noise.
Nick’s mother stood on one side of a kitchen island. A man stood on the other, brandishing a knife in his hand. His mouth moved constantly, spewing unintelligible words. His eyes shown bright and wild, and each time May took a step toward him, he screamed, slashing the knife through the air in warning.
The man’s shrill cries commanded Meaghan’s attention for a moment, but soon her eyes locked on May and froze. Although Nick had warned Meaghan about the identical appearance between Vivian and her sister, seeing May standing in a near copy of the room Vivian had cherished stole Meaghan’s breath. If May’s hair had been long like Vivian’s instead of cropped short at her ears, or if the kitchen had housed the gleaming white appliances Vivian had found so comforting instead of the more rustic tools May owned, Meaghan would not have been able to separate the past from the present. She checked her impulse to run to the woman, and then fought the equally strong impulse to cry, faking calm by folding her hands together in front of her.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked his mother.
“I don’t know,” May responded. “His name’s Abbott. He’s a Guardian assigned to a village a few days’ walk from here. The village was attacked last week. Someone found him unconscious in the field this morning and brought him to me, but I can’t find anything wrong with him.” Abbott screamed again and May sighed. “That’s getting old,” she told her patient, then spoke to Nick again. “When he woke up, he ran from me and came in here. He’s been screaming and babbling ever since.”
“How long has he been doing this?”
“Two hours now. I can’t get close enough to sedate him.”
“I could try sneaking around if you think you could distract him.”
The man turned his knife toward Nick, slashing again as he argued in his senseless language.
“Or not,” Nick said. “We could let him keep going like this. He’ll get tired eventually and pass out.”
May shook her head. “That could take days. I have better things to do with my time than babysit him. Any other ideas?”
“Did anyone else live through the attack?”
“About half of the village survived,” May responded. “A quarter of those are still recovering from injuries. Are you thinking he was driven mad by the violence?”
“He wouldn’t be the first,” Nick reasoned. “Give me the needle. I’ll take my chances against his knife.”
May slipped a syringe from her pocket and handed it to him. Nick picked up a cookie sheet from the counter, weighing it in his hands before extending it out like a shield. He inched forward and Abbott’s protests filled the room once more.
Meaghan released her hold on Nick’s power. A rush of emotions from the surrounding village assaulted her, but she gritted her teeth, and held her gaze steady on Abbott. Although the other emotions remained, they became no more than background noise when Abbott’s eyes met hers. His emotions surged forward, strong and commanding, and she curled her fingers into her palms, standing her ground against them. It only took her a moment to realize what they meant.
“Wait,” she said.
Nick kept the cookie sheet in front of him, but followed her request and stopped walking.
“He’s not insane,” she told him.
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s terrified. I can feel it, but the emotion isn’t natural. It feels forced.”
“You mean like it’s induced?” May asked.
“Maybe. Though it seems to surge when he looks at you.”
“He could be hallucinating,” May said.
Meaghan focused more of her power on Abbott. Although his fear seemed to overwhelm him, something else surfaced through the chaos. She took a step forward, stopping when Nick took hold of her arm.
“That’s enough,” he said. “I don’t want you near him. And stop using your power. There are too many people within sensing distance.”
“I’m fine. The other emotions aren’t as strong as long as I focus on him.”
“You’re not fine. You’re white and you’re sweating.”
Meaghan raised a hand to her forehead. As soon as her fingers met her brow, beads of sweat rolled over them. She rubbed the moisture between her fingertips, surprised by it, but shook her head.
“I’m okay.”
Nick’s grip tightened. “Turn off your power before you get hurt.”
“Not yet. I can help.” She turned her gaze to Nick, pleading with him to believe her and he nodded. His hold slackened and she started moving toward Abbott again. She only managed a few steps before another emotion surged from her left, stronger than the ones in the village and it broke her concentration. Anger, she realized, and flicked her eyes toward the redheaded woman who had moved to block her path. The heat in May’s green eyes matched the emotion Meaghan sensed.
“Nick told you not to take another step,” she said.
“Abbott understands I’m safe,” Meaghan assured her. “He’s fighting his fear.”
“There’s no way you could possibly—”
“Trust her,” Nick interrupted. “Meaghan knows what she’s doing. Do you have something that could help Abbott based on what she described?”
May blew out a hot breath and Meaghan felt certain she would continue arguing, but she only nodded. “He might be under the influence of a serum. I’ve heard Garon had one created to magnify a person’s fears, but I didn’t think the rumors were true.”
The room grew quiet and Meaghan realized Abbott had stopped babbling. She glanced at him again. His eyes locked on hers. Relief now fought with his fear.
“You’re right,” Meaghan said. “He’s calm because you figured it out.”
May pursed her lips. Her hands came to her hips, but she conceded once more. “He may have been trying to explain all along. It’s possible the serum also masks speech.”
“Can you do anything for him?” Nick asked.
May cocked her head to the side, studying her patient, and then returned her focus to her son. “I think so. I have a few potions that should work.”
“Get them,” Nick said and set the cookie sheet down on the counter. After his mother left the room, he faced Meaghan. “I don’t want you getting any closer,” he told her. “If Abbott knows we’re safe, I’ll approach. I need to sedate him.”
“All right,” Meaghan agreed and addressed Abbott. “Will you allow him to help you?”
Abbott nodded and Nick inched around the island, his movements cautious, though Abbot’s gaze never left Meaghan’s face.
Not even when Nick slipped the needle into his arm.
§
MEAGHAN SAT on the couch in the living room, waiting as Nick and his mother worked. She felt ill and she preferred not to show how much her efforts in the kitchen had exhausted her. She needed May to see her strength, not her weakness, as much for their relationship as for the other reason that had occurred to her when the woman had confronted her in the kitchen. May was an Elder. Although Meaghan felt certain May’s role as a mother came first, she could not disregard the fear that if the Elder saw Meaghan as unable to control her power, the choice to remove Nick as Guardian would be as much for his protection as hers. So Meaghan watched them work and willed her shaking muscles to relax.
Nick pinned Abbott’s shoulders to the floor. May held down his feet. Although the patient remained unconscious, his body thrashed in response to the potions warring for possession of his blood. When his arms jerked out, Nick used his knees to hold the man’s shoulders, and then moved his hands to the man’s arms, locking them at his sides. Every few minutes, May immobilized his feet in a similar manner and relieved Nick of his awkward position by taking Abbott’s hands.
When Abbott’s breath grew labored, they both let go. Nick lifted the patient’s upper body while May listened to his heart, feeding him more potions or laying her hands on his chest and closing her eyes to heal him. No words passed between Nick and his mother. They had choreographed this dance many years before.
It took well over an hour before Abbott’s body stopped flailing and his breathing normalized. After checking his vital signs once more, May stood.
“Take him to the guest room,” she instructed Nick. He disappeared up the stairs with the patient and May turned to face Meaghan. A frown dug shadows into her cheeks
and Meaghan swallowed the sudden urge to shrink back into the couch.
“You were foolish,” May said. Her tone took on the heat her eyes had earlier. “You shouldn’t have approached Abbott. You couldn’t be certain of what he was seeing or that he understood what you were saying. With his babbling—”
“I could feel his trust,” Meaghan protested. “I can tell enough about basic emotions to guess—”
“You can tell about emotions on Earth,” May stressed the last word with distaste and Meaghan bit the inside of her cheek. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know anything about this world. Garon’s potion could have masked Abbott’s emotions in the same way it distorted his speech. It could have been a trick to trap you.” She placed her hands firmly on her hips. “I’m amazed you and Nick are still alive. With your foolish Earth tendencies, I’m surprised you didn’t get him—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Nick’s voice commanded from the top of the stairs. May dropped her arms and he descended the steps. “I take it Cal told you what happened.”
May’s lower lip trembled, but she raised her chin, facing him. “This doesn’t have anything to do with—”
“It obviously does. And it seems you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”
“If you mean I shouldn’t speak to royalty that way, you’re mistaken. I know who her parents were. I loved them as much as I could love any family member.”
“I’m aware,” he said, his tone turning hard. “And you know that isn’t what I meant. You’ve forgotten Meaghan is no more from Earth than you are. Even if she was, creatures from Ærenden are to blame. I realize you wish to see it differently, but I can’t allow you to take it out on her.”
A tear escaped May’s control. She wiped it away, but failed to catch the others that had begun coursing down her cheeks. Nick continued without wavering. “You’ve also forgotten I was there when Viv and James died. I watched it happen and we,” he stressed the word to ensure May could not ignore what he said, “did everything we could. Vivian made her choice long ago. We couldn’t stop it, so if you want to blame someone, blame her. Or blame me if you must. But don’t ever blame Meaghan for this.”
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