by K.N. Lee
Rowe nodded. “I’d be happy to. But, who is going to muster up some supper? Nani and I haven’t eaten in days, and who knows what Liam had to eat while he was cheating death.”
“Death?” Lilae glanced at Liam, who blushed.
“The Mother Tree in the fairy village of Tolrinia gave me her blessing,” Liam explained. “It saved me. So did a very kind mermaid, but that’s a story for another time.”
“You have been blessed, indeed,” Delia smiled. “Lilae can trap forest creatures like none other.”
Liam’s brows furrowed when he looked down at her as she examined her dirty feet.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Lilae said.
“Delia,” Nani said. “I can call forest creatures with my magic. Let Lilae rest. Her poor feet are bleeding. You don’t mind if I heal you, Lilae?”
“That would be nice. Please. Shoes were the last thing on my mind when I escaped the palace.”
“Very well,” Delia said. “Work your magic, Nani.”
Nani grinned. “Gladly.”
Lilae rested on her hands as Nani walked over to her. She watched as the fairy rubbed her hands together and white light came from her palms.
“I take some of the life force from nature to fuel my healing powers,” Nani said, glancing at Lilae under thick lashes when she noticed Lilae staring that the grass that began to shrivel and go limp. “It will regain its vitality within a few hours. Do not worry.”
Lilae nodded, watching as the open wounds began to close.
Such magic was unheard of in Eura. She imagined what good fairies could do for the humans. Destroying The Barrier was looking like a good decision.
Too bad they couldn’t keep out the evil that came along with the good.
When she was finished, Nani tucked her hands into the pockets of her leather pants. “Done.”
Lilae rubbed her feet in wonder. “You’re remarkable. Thank you, Nani.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Splendid,” Rowe said, rubbing his hands. “Now, rabbit would be nice. You think you could find some juicy ones?”
“You know better, Rowe. It’s really all in the cooking, but I’ll summon the fat ones.”
A smile came to Lilae’s face. “I’d be happy with that as well, Nani.”
“Me too,” Liam added. He looked down at his shirt where a hole was ripped in the middle.
“Okay then. I’ll be back.”
Lilae hopped from the boulder. “I’ll join you. My feet are all better. I’ll not let you go alone.”
Nani grinned. “But I’m a god now. I can manage.”
“I’m coming,” Lilae said. She nodded ahead. “Lead the way.”
Nani gave a nod. “Very well.”
She flew into the forest, lighting the way with the glow from her wings. “Come out, little rabbits. But only the fat ones,” Nani sang.
“Is that how it works?”
“No,” Nani said. “I don’t have to say anything. I just summon them with my mind. Like this.” She paused and hovered above the ground.
Lilae watched as, within only a few moments, brown rabbits hopped from the underbrush of the forest.
“See?”
“Wow. That would have come in handy when my family and I were traveling most of my life.”
Nani’s eyes darkened as she looked at Lilae. “Lilae,” she called.
“Yes? What’s wrong?” Lilae searched the surrounding trees for any threat.
“Liam has been betrayed enough by those that we all trusted. I didn’t tell the others yet, but I will not be able to join you on your journey. I am an Ancient now, and the rules are clear; that we cannot intervene. It would disrupt the balance.”
Tears filled Nani’s eyes. “I swear I would rather be a normal fairy again. I love Liam too much to leave his side.”
“I’m sorry, Nani. I don’t want you to go either.”
Nani knelt to the ground and embraced the rabbits as they clamored to get to her. She stroked their fur. “I have to go. But, I won’t be able to go with peace of mind if I thought you would hurt him. He’s been hurt before, and I refuse to let it happen again.”
“What happened?”
“Liam was stabbed by the woman he was supposed to marry. The woman he thought he loved.”
“Oh my,” Lilae said, her heart falling into her stomach. “That’s awful.”
“She betrayed all of us. I want to find her and kill her for hurting my Liam. But that would be against the rules. Blasted rules!”
Such compassion for a man that she didn’t know overwhelmed her. She wanted to go back to camp and hold him. Every time she had been in pain or near death, Liam had been there for her in her dreams.
Could it have been the same for him? Was their time together in their dreams a form of healing?
“I promise,” Lilae whispered. “I won’t hurt Liam. I wouldn’t dream of it.
Nani nodded. “Do you know how long we’ve heard Liam talk about The Flame? I expected someone more intimidating. I didn’t expect a woman. And neither did he. But I can tell he is attracted to you. I don’t think he even looked at Sona that way.”
Sona? So, that was the name of the woman that betrayed him.
She’d remember that name.
Lilae started collecting fallen branches and sticks for firewood, stacking them into her arms. She was well aware of how Liam looked at her. Within hours, Lilae knew there’d been a shift in her entire world. She was attracted to him as well.
“I expected fairies to be smaller,” Lilae said, trying to change the subject.
“Smaller than this?” Nani stood and twirled in the air.
“Yes,” Lilae said. “I always heard stories that fairies can talk to animals and use magic spells. There are tales that fairies can even make people fall in love.”
Nani brought her face close to Lilae’s.
“Of course, we can,” she said in a soft, serious tone. “We also steal little babies, and turn little red-haired girls into toads.”
Lilae stared in horror at Nani’s little face.
The fairy god went into a fit of giggles.
“Lilae, I was joking. Don’t be so serious.” Her giggles continued into the forest as she carried Lilae’s pile of branches back to camp.
Lilae stood there for a moment, and her shoulders slumped. She smiled to herself long after the glow of Nani’s wings disappeared. She laughed.
Lilae hadn’t laughed in ages. She had been trapped in the Avia’Torenan palace for nearly a year, and not once had she truly laughed. With cold fingertips, Lilae felt her face, tracing the outline of her smile—a foreign thing to her.
Tears trailed down her cheeks.
Jaiza and Risa used to make her laugh.
Anic was the first boy to ever show interest in her, to make her feel pretty, to show her what fun was like.
He used to make her laugh. And like her sisters, he was dead.
They were all dead.
Lhana with her fairytales, Pirin with his advice and training. Everyone she had once cared about was gone, forever.
The guilt returned. It was her fault. Lilae thought she had gotten over it, but how could one forget the death of her entire family? How could she keep her promise not to hurt Liam when all that she knew and loved were lost to her?
Their screams flooded her mind like an explosion. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She had to make up for their deaths. She had to prove that it wasn’t all for nothing.
RETURNING TO CAMP WAS a solemn occasion.
Nani held Liam’s face in her small hands, tears streaming down both of their faces. Rowe stood behind them, his face stoic, his arms folded across his broad chest.
Still, she could see the pain in his eyes as he faced the loss of his dear friend.
An ache filled Lilae’s stomach. She couldn’t look as Nani said her goodbyes to Rowe and Liam. It was too hard. She knew that feeling.
At least, the
y knew Nani would live.
Lilae focused her power on lighting the fire. Flames rose from the palms of her hands, and she watched them lick the sticks and branches piled high. This was what she knew. She could count on this power. If only everything else in life were as certain.
Once the fire was ablaze, she encircled it with stones, glancing back at Nani as Liam hugged her.
Their eyes met, and Lilae froze.
Do not forget your promise.
Lilae nodded, surprised that Nani’s voice invaded her thoughts.
Delia rose from her seat and came to Lilae. “We’ve lost one of the Chosen Class,” she said.
“What does that mean for the rest of us?”
Delis sighed. “Another will take her place. Each race has to have a champion. It’s just unfortunate for us that we will have to find them. Or they will have to find us. Both are a challenge.”
“Elder,” Nani called.
Delia glanced back. “Have you decided?”
Nani nodded.
Lilae followed Delia to Nani, watching Liam turn away from them to step to the edge of their camp. He kept his face from view, and Lilae knew he was taking Nani’s departure hard.
“Decided what?” Lilae sighed as she watched Liam sit down on the ground. If only she could hold Liam, comfort him.
“Just like any Ancient, the choice for an heir is Nani's.”
“I choose my sister, Keyata.”
Liam looked back. “We met back in Tolrinia.” He wiped his face and straightened his shoulders. “Do you think she is ready?”
Nani nodded. “Keyata is stronger than anyone might think. I know she won’t let the fairies down.”
Liam folded his arms across his chest. “I guess there is some comfort in that. Wilem and Jorge have someone to look after them.”
“Who are they?”
Liam looked at Lilae. He looked tired, drained.
“Wilem is a Legacy like Rowe. The last of his clan, they are more powerful than most Tryans because they have power passed down from generations of ancestors. And,” Liam added, his eyes lighting up. “He controls the last dragon.”
“COME ON WILEM,” Queen Alania said softly, her jeweled bracelets sliding down her pale white arm as she knelt before her youngest son.
The royal family of Raeden stood at the landing of the palace’s grand staircase, preparing to leave for the gladiator matches.
Wilem shook his head and folded his arms across his chest in defiance. “No!”
She reached for him, her smile breaking down his defenses. “Come on, sweetheart. You know that you are too young to go to the Festival of Lights. Now, be a good boy and give mama a hug.”
Wilem looked around at his older brother, Torian as he snickered.
“Come now, Wilem. Listen to mum and go find one of your friends to play with,” Daveed, the next in line for the throne, said.
Wilem glared at him. Why couldn’t he be older, like Daveed, and do whatever he wanted?
They were about to leave for the gladiator tournament at the Festival of Lights, and Wilem was too young to go. Wilem knew his mother didn’t want him to see such barbarity and blood. But, he was tired of being treated like a child.
“Oh, the little baby has to stay home and play with his toys.” Torian teased.
“That’s enough,” Daveed said. He looked at their mother. “Father is waiting. We must go before we are late.”
Queen Alania nodded. Dressed in ivory and gold, she walked over to her youngest son. A golden circlet rested upon her wavy brown hair as she knelt to him.
“Be good, Wilem. I will sing you a song when we return.”
“No,” Wilem hissed. “I want to go!”
She shook her head. “Maybe next year.” She reached out for Wilem with an arm covered in gold bracelets, and he shrugged away. Queen Alania sighed and watched him with disappointment furrowing her blonde eyebrows.
“I love you, Wilem.”
Torian mocked Wilem behind their mother’s back, pretending to cry like a baby.
“I hate you. All of you!”
Wilem awoke with tears streaming down his face. “Mama! Mama!” he sobbed. It was the same dream every night since the palace had been ambushed and his entire family had been killed.
That was nearly a year ago, and the pain that filled his gut was unbearable. It poisoned him, reminding him of how ungrateful and spoiled he’d once been.
“I love you, Mama,” he whispered into the darkness.
There was no reply. The silence that haunted him turned his stomach sour.
“Please come back,” Wilem pleaded through tears. “I promise to be good.”
That had been the last time he had seen her beautiful face. She had looked so sad at hearing him say those hateful words. The Shadow Elves had come just hours after, and while Wilem played with Jorge in the cellars, his entire family had been massacred. He couldn’t stand the guilt.
Wilem missed them dearly. Even Torian.
He sat up in his tiny room in one of the fairy tree houses shook. A shrill creaking sound broke out and the entire room tilted until Wilem rolled off the bed.
Wilem crashed to the bamboo floor with a thud as another loud explosion came from outside. Screams followed, and he scrambled to his feet. He fell over once again as the room tilted to the other side.
Wilem crawled to the door in the floor and opened it. He strained to make out anything below. He shoved his feet into his boots, prepared to take off running into the jungle.
Fog filled the Tolrinian fairy compound. As he stepped down onto the ladder go his room built into the tree of his room, the screams grew. He hopped down the last few steps and turned to see chaos.
Wilem watched the fog thicken over the colony. He heard the commotion all around and felt his pulse start to race.
He stood frozen.
Not again. This cannot be happening again.
Wilem shook as memories of his family’s murder flooded over him. His eyes darted to the fairies as they flew past him, nearly knocking him to the dirt with their speed. The stars in the sky seemed to have vanished, and the fog was so thick that soon he felt as if he was alone.
“No,”
Shadow Elves ran through the village. His eyes narrowed at their blood-red armor. They were different from the elves that had swarmed his kingdom. This particular group reminded Wilem of the elves that had searched his palace, seeking out the royal family.
He backed away from the chaos, desperate for a place to hide. Where were the hidden tunnels of his palace when he needed them?
“Wilem!”
As if in a daze, Wilem swayed with the wind and watched a fairy fly past his face.
His eyes followed her. Her glittering wings caught his attention. When an arrow shot through her little body, her shrill scream gave him a start. The splash of her warm blood onto his face ripped Wilem from his daze.
Wilem’s mouth fell open as he wiped the blood out of his eyes with trembling fingers.
“Help me, Wilem!”
Jorge?
Wilem turned around to see a Shadow Elf dragging his best friend through the dirt by his hair.
Jorge reached out for Wilem as the elf covered his screams with a gray hand.
Without a second thought, Wilem ran after Jorge like the wind. His legs were young, but they were fast.
The day Liam had found him in the palace cellar and rescued him, Wilem had taken a dagger to defend himself. He reached inside his boot as he ran and clutched that same dagger’s hilt into his little palm.
The dagger’s blade glowed green with Wilem’s Tryan power of Enchantment. Heat radiated from the sharp blade and cut through the fog.
Wilem was the last of his family. The last of the Alden clan. The power of his ancestors had passed down to him the day his line was wiped out.
Such power intoxicated him.
As he jumped into the air, his feet sprung from the ground with such ferocity that he nearly flew into the Shadow Elf.
Wilem was fearless at that moment, driven by the need to protect his friend. The Shadow Elf glanced over his shoulder at the final moment.
Wilem landed on his back, stabbing him in the side of his neck. The three of them crashed to the dirt, almost at the end of the colony, where the dark forest met the beauty of the silver gates of Tolrinia.
Together, Wilem and Jorge came to their feet.
They stared at the body as the sounds of terror surrounded them. The fairies that had shown such love and generosity to them were being killed.
Wilem wasn’t prepared for this new life of fear. He’d seen too much death already. From the amount of blood and carnage that surrounded them, it looked as though he and Jorge were in for much more.
VARS TOOK HOLD OF JORGE, effortlessly flinging him into the air.
“We must hurry to meet the other survivors. Come, Prince Wilem.” Ved reached for Wilem’s hand.
Wilem was all too eager to grab hold. Ved flew him high into the black sky.
From that height, Wilem strained to see through the thick fog. All he could see was smoke and shadows. He watched the fire that ate away at the fairy compound. Out of the mists came a Shadow Elf, riding what looked like a small black dragon that closely resembled a flying lizard.
A wyvern, Wilem thought as his eyes widened.
Ved looked down to see the threat and cursed under his breath. Wilem’s heart started to pound again. What could the fairy do against one of those Shadow Elves, especially since he was carrying Wilem in his arms?
Ved surprised Wilem. He clutched Wilem tightly with one arm and drew his sword.
Wilem shrieked when Ved took off toward the Shadow Elf with such speed that the wind pounded at Wilem’s face. He wanted to squeeze his eyes closed, but his intense desire to see what Ved planned to do kept them open.
Wilem looked on curiously. The Shadow Elf didn’t have a glowing dagger like the ones he’d seen many times before. He held onto the reins of the wyvern with one hand and reached onto his belt to grab a small, round sphere.
Ved slowed down, intrigued by the object the elf held out before him.
The Shadow Elf grinned at him, leaving Wilem unsettled. Then, he released the sphere, and a bright light was released from within.