Abyss

by Bethany Adams

  Aris spun away from the window and frowned at the round, empty room. Could he tolerate sleeping here? With so much glass, he didn’t feel trapped, and if he kept the ladder down, he could see the canopy of trees and the gleam of moonlight after dark. But would the place trigger nightmares once the sun set?

  He would have to hope not. The girl had said something bad would happen if he camped near Kezari’s cave, and atop the tower it was too cold. Though he wouldn’t usually give credence to the words of a child he’d never met, there was something uncanny about her. He’d never met Prince Ralan, either, but Aris had heard enough tales about his skill as a seer. If Eri was more powerful than her father, as Selia seemed to believe, then Aris would do well to take her seriously.

  Whether he wanted to or not.

  Selia stared at her reflection in the softly glowing mirror with barely restrained impatience. Why wasn’t her sister answering? Selia’s time was limited. Lyr had asked her to add more nuanced dragon detection to the estate’s existing shield and to expand its range in case any followed Kezari. That would take several marks and a lot of energy, something she was short on as it was. She also wanted to check on Aris, and she needed to have a long talk with Iren about today’s actions.

  All before bed.

  Abruptly, the light from the mirror flared and then settled into her sister’s image. They could have been twins, despite the couple of centuries separating them in age, except that Niasen’s hair was closer to brown than gold. But their dispositions differed greatly. Her sister was more bold and assertive, but she lacked Selia’s patience.

  “Selia!” Niasen called. “I did not expect to hear from you today. I hope all is well.”

  Selia studied her sister’s harried expression with a frown. “I could say the same for you. You look frustrated.”

  “Father chose a poor time to take one of his little trips.” Niasen grimaced. “Erek and Temeth ran off together before Erek could formally dissolve his marriage bond to Bothen, and Bothen is understandably furious. And Erek and Temeth each had three students who have to be reassigned. Nothing that I can’t handle, but the drama is monumental. Odes will be written about this mess, I’ve no doubt.”

  Selia barely heard most of what her sister said. She was stuck on the first part. “Father took another trip? Where?”

  Niasen drew back in surprise. “Earth, of course. I thought you knew.”

  “No,” Selia said through gritted teeth. More hurt to layer on the day’s pain. “He must have decided not to visit me before he traveled through the portal.”

  Regret and sympathy crossed Niasen’s face. Braelyn guarded Moranaia’s only portal to Earth, so her father would have passed through here to take one of his jaunts. On one of his previous trips, he’d conceived and then abandoned a son with a human woman, but neither Niasen or Selia had known. They’d only discovered the truth after Selia had tested Lyr’s newfound daughter, Arlyn. That abandoned child had been Arlyn’s grandfather. No doubt her father had feared Selia’s anger, which still hadn’t cooled after his long deception.

  Even knowing that, his lack of contact hurt.

  “I hope he behaves himself this time,” Selia simply said.

  Niasen’s lips thinned. “He swears he will take more care.”

  “We shall see.”

  “Is everything fine otherwise?” Niasen asked. “You do not tend to connect in the middle of the day.”

  “You aren’t going to believe the news I have to share.” Selia took a deep breath as her sister stared in confusion. “It’s about Aris. He’s…he’s alive.”

  Niasen’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Aris is alive,” Selia repeated. “He just arrived.”

  “That drec,” Niasen said with a snarl. “He abandoned you?”

  Selia hurried to explain before her sister became truly angered. “No. He’d been captured and held against his will.”

  “Sure.”

  “He’s with the dragon who saved him,” Selia said. “She confirmed it.”

  Her sister’s brows shot upward. “A dragon? If you are jesting with me—”

  “No, I’m not,” Selia interrupted. But she hesitated, uncertain of how much to say. “If you’d seen them, you would believe. Aris… He is severely traumatized. I don’t know the entire story, but I’ll tell you what I can when I do. Just…don’t tell Father if he returns without stopping here. He never liked Aris, and I don’t want to deal with him in the midst of everything else.”

  Niasen peered at her for a moment before finally nodding. “If you believe Aris, I’ll take your word. The dragon, of course, would be tough to fabricate. And you may be assured that I will not tell Father when he contacts me tomorrow to check on estate business. I am still angry at him, myself.”

  “Thank you.”

  They chatted a little longer, Selia offering advice on finding teachers for Niasen’s abandoned students, before her sister had to rush off to solve another problem. Once the connection ended, Selia leaned back against her seat and rubbed her eyes. The discussion could have gone worse. Niasen was fiercely loyal, and Selia had half-feared that she’d storm Braelyn to take Aris to task. One crisis averted, at least.

  Blowing out a long breath, Selia pushed to her feet. Transmuting the stone tower had taken a good half of her reserves, but she had enough left to tackle the estate shielding. Barely. If Arlyn’s magic wasn’t going awry, Selia would have asked for her help, but her student would need to practice attuning her power while pregnant before taking on such delicate work. And Iren didn’t have enough experience, tower adventures notwithstanding.

  Of course, if Aris were well, he could have shared his life energy with her. His rare talent provided one of the few types of power that didn’t require transmuting, and they’d once worked together often when she had need of more magic. Her heart squeezed at the memories. They might never be able to work together like that again.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Selia opened a small chest on her desk and grabbed an energy crystal. Pulling in natural energy and converting it to something she could use took a good bit of her inner reserves, but the crystal held her stored power. She hated to use one, but it seemed prudent. If more dragons arrived or Kezari wasn’t as friendly as she appeared, Selia might need her magic to stop them. She couldn’t afford to drain herself completely.

  Perhaps a thought she should have had before transmuting a tower, but Selia didn’t regret it. She would never regret helping Aris.

  She hurried from her room and down the staircase to the lower floor. She’d just turned the corner to the hall leading to the library when she spotted Ralan striding her way. He must have returned from the building site. Had he spoken to Eri yet? Judging by the crease between his eyebrows, Selia had a feeling he’d either heard or Seen something.

  “Ah, Selia,” he said, coming to a halt at the same time she did. “I am glad you took the most likely path. I wanted to offer my apologies for my daughter’s behavior as well as my own absence this day.”

  Selia smiled. “Eri hardly acted alone. And you can’t be everywhere.”

  “I had intended to be here for this had the strands not shifted,” Ralan muttered. “I should have been paying more heed.”

  “Is the situation that serious?” she asked.

  His lips twisted wryly. “Is it ever otherwise? I can’t say much, but I suggest you speak with Arlyn about Earth. And have Inona find you suitable clothes. A future visit is a high probability.”

  Excitement and fear streamed through her in equal measure. “So the dragon is correct?”

  “More correct than she knows.” Ralan sighed. “You’ll likely go, as will Aris when he is able. Possibly Iren. And that is all I will say.”

  Absently, Selia bid the prince good day as he departed. Her mind was on the news he had delivered. Her, go to Earth? Some of her kind, like her father, traveled there to explore the human world without the humans’ knowledge, but she’d never really considered it. Still,
Arlyn’s descriptions of the Earth realm had piqued Selia’s curiosity. The elves had magic, but they didn’t have moving vehicles, computers, or space stations circling the planet.

  Because of magic, her people had never needed to create the type of physical devices the humans had. Why burn natural resources fueling vehicles when one could step through a transportation portal? Moranaians rarely even rode horses for long distances, though they were more common outside the mountainous regions.

  Lost in thought, Selia slipped out the back door and headed for the training room, the best place to perform detailed magic undisturbed. Was it any wonder they hadn’t created ships capable of sailing the rough eastern ocean until the last decade? Travel had become easy once magical transportation was established, and the population grew too slowly to make expansion to new continents necessary.

  From what she’d heard, Earth was teeming with people. Humans everywhere. Did she have it in her to take this journey? She’d moved around over the centuries to teach, but she’d never been particularly adventurous otherwise. Frowning, she entered the training room and hung up her cloak. No, she hadn’t been adventurous, but the idea held an odd appeal.

  Selia settled on a cushion in the center of the room and placed the energy crystal in her lap. There was a lot to consider, but she would have to do it later. She wanted to complete the shielding quickly so she could check on Aris and get his thoughts on Ralan’s words. They would have to think very carefully about what to do with Iren.

  But first, work.

  By dinner, Selia wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep, preferably wrapped around Aris, but she’d long ago learned that wants often went unrealized in reality’s domain. Instead, she sat at the table with the others as they discussed the day’s events over the evening meal. She’d come to enjoy spending time with her new friends each day, but today was different. Today, she felt alone.

  Lyr sat at the head of the table, Meli at his right and Arlyn at his left with Kai next to her. Ralan and then Cora were beside Meli. That left Selia on her own at Kai’s left. The only other person at the table without a mate was Lynia, who’d settled beside Selia instead of her usual place at the other end from Lyr.

  Selia hadn’t given much thought to all the couples until Aris had refused to attend the meal, too concerned about another breakdown. Now she felt the lack most acutely. What would it be like to share a secret glance with him over some point of discussion? To have his hand brush hers and linger? She could lean into him as she told an amusing tale or simply smile into his eyes, secure in the knowledge of his love.

  If he hadn’t gone on that expedition, everything would be different. Selia curled her hands in her lap and stared down at the food on her plate, her appetite stifled by the turn of her thoughts. Aris never would have been tortured if she hadn’t insisted he go. He acted concerned that he would hurt her, but she’d caused the most harm of all. How could he not be angry at her for that?

  “Are you unwell, Selia?” Lynia asked softly. “It has been a difficult day.”

  “I am not certain what to think of it all,” Selia admitted.

  Cora leaned forward, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “It wasn’t helped by our children.”

  Selia chuckled at the reminder. She’d ended up making Iren eat dinner in his room and do two marks’ extra studying, though she really wanted to let his actions pass. Judging by Eri’s absence, she’d been given a similar punishment.

  “Indeed not.”

  “I like the changes,” Kai said, surprising her. “I didn’t go up, but I’ve long thought it would be nice to have a ladder to the top. I did see the crystal walls, though. I hope you don’t transmute them back.”

  Meli nodded. “Oh, yes. It reminds me of Alfheim.”

  Selia lifted a piece of bread and took a half-hearted bite. She was glad that Meli found comfort in the tower, but the knot in Selia’s stomach hadn’t disappeared. “I am happy to hear it.”

  “There are no interior rooms besides the one at the top, so the new walls won’t interfere with anyone’s privacy,” Lyr said. “I imagine we will keep it.”

  An awkward silence descended as they all avoided broaching the most serious topic. Finally, Prince Ralan cast a serious look around the table. “I know you are all wondering, and the answer is no. I do not know all that is to come. At least not as well as I would like. There are quite a few future threads, all with different outcomes.”

  “At least your Sight has returned now that your brother is dead,” Cora said.

  Ralan shrugged. “Sometimes there are too many options for it to be useful. But you know I will help as I can.”

  “Delbin and Inona left two marks ago,” Lyr said. “I’m not certain what, if anything, they’ll be able to find. They are going to check with Cora’s half-Sidhe friend, Maddy, and then see if they can track down Fen or Vek. With Fen’s earth magic, he might have already detected the same thing Kezari has.”

  Selia shifted in her seat. “But what then? Finding a problem won’t negate the law forbidding Kezari from going through.”

  “It is my hope that if we gather enough evidence, the dragons’ queen will reconsider her refusal,” Lyr answered. “Provided I can find a suitable way to communicate with her. It hasn’t been attempted in some time.”

  Ralan leaned forward. “My father can. You may be the liaison between Moranaia, Earth, and those fae we speak with through the Veil, but our ruler is ultimately in charge of negotiations with the dragons. The king has the only communication mirror to them, so far as I am aware.”

  “I will contact him as soon as possible,” Lyr said.

  Selia took a long drink of her wine, a wasted effort since it wasn’t the type to easily intoxicate. “I hope Lial will be able to find someone to help Aris. I don’t think either of us should travel to Earth until then.”

  “Lial will succeed, likely by tomorrow.” Ralan smiled. “But I would have guessed that without my Sight. Mind-healers are accustomed to traveling quickly.”

  The conversation drifted to other topics, as did Selia’s thoughts. Would this day never end? She still needed to speak to Aris about their possible trip to Earth and what to do about Iren. Would it be better to try tonight or to wait until the healer arrived? Maybe there would never be a good time. There was a chasm between them that their love once filled.

  Selia had no clue if that hole could ever be healed.

  Chapter 9

  Delbin skidded to a stop at the door to The Magic Touch, Inona close behind. He sighed with relief at the sight of the Open sign hanging at a tilt against the glass. The Veil had been unexpectedly turbulent, or so Inona had said, and he believed it. He hadn’t experienced the strain of trying to grasp the strands and pull them through, but the journey had taken longer than usual, and he’d been sick to his stomach by the end. Then he’d had to charge his phone with a bit of magic before they could call for a ride into town.

  “Looks like we made it,” Inona said.

  His insides clenched at the strain in her voice. On their last trip to Earth, Inona’s throat had been slit in a confrontation with Kien, and only Cora’s quick healing had saved her. Inona was cleared by the healers to resume duty, but Delbin still worried. She’d been remote and contained since her near-death. Understandably, of course, but he couldn’t help but fear that she blamed him in some way. Maybe this return trip reminded her of the trauma—and her anger at him.

  “Well?” Inona’s head cocked, a question in her eyes, before she shrugged and opened the door. “No need to stand here staring at the entrance.”

  Delbin shoved his concerns to the back of his mind and followed her inside. They passed several racks of clothes on their way to a long counter in the back, where the red-haired, half-Sidhe Maddy perched on a stool.

  “Inona! Delbin!” With abroad smile, she jumped down and rushed around the counter. Delbin halted beside a display of shirts, just in time for Maddy to launch herself at him for a hug. Surprisingly, she did t
he same for Inona, although they hadn’t had much time to get to know one another during the previous trip.

  “What are you two doing here?” Maddy asked as she pulled away. “Please tell me this is a friendly visit and not some other disaster?”

  Delbin grimaced. “I wouldn’t call it a disaster, but I’m afraid we are here for more than just a visit. I don’t suppose you know where Fen is?”

  “His Uncle Vek’s house, I think,” Maddy said, her nose wrinkling. “He just bought it.”

  Delbin’s brow quirked. Vek had a house? He’d only arrived a couple of weeks before, hadn’t he? “He must’ve used magic to get a sale through that fast.”

  “Probably. An Unseelie like him wouldn’t have any qualms.”

  He almost reminded her of how Fen had been willing to sacrifice himself to save her from Kien, but she’d scowled enough at his name that Delbin decided not to. Whatever was going on between them was none of his business. Unless, of course, either of the Unseelie males hurt Maddy or Jase, the other full-time employee here.

  “They haven’t caused you trouble, have they?” Delbin asked. “Or bothered Jase?”

  Maddy waved her hand. “No, nothing like that. But I’m Seelie. I don’t trust how nice they’ve been.”

  “They’ve given us plenty of cause to doubt their intentions,” Inona interjected. “Especially Fen, since he worked with Kien for a time, but we may need their aid. Have you noticed anything odd in the last couple of weeks?”

  “Odd how?”

  “Wait,” Delbin said as a hint of unfamiliar magic drifted across his senses. A chill went through him. He peered around the room and out the front windows, but he didn’t see an obvious source. “How long until you close?”

  Maddy tugged her phone out of her back pocket. “Fifteen minutes. Would you mind doing a quick check of the floor to make sure the displays look okay? Doesn’t have to be perfect. I’ll start closing out the register, at least as much as I can while we’re still open.”