Ruby Morgan Box Set: Books 6-10

by LJ Rivers

  “And your job? What did you do to earn his trust?”

  “I fed him information.” He gave me a sideways glance. “Just enough that it was believable. I was to report about you. What you were doing, any unusual power displays. He wanted every small and big detail. So, I told him what I saw.”

  “Which was?”

  “Apart from your visits to Nimue’s Grove, and your day-to-day business with Morgana, I told him how much the Avalonian people had come to love their new princess, the kindness you showed them, and the strength you carry. He didn’t tell me at first who you truly were, but I figured it out pretty early on. Not many people are able to walk in the shadows. Besides, I did have a reliable source.”

  I exhaled through my nose. “Charlie.”

  “Yeah.” His voice trailed off, and a wistful smile graced his lips. “I was supposed to gather information for Auberon, and at first it seemed like a good idea to get close to someone in your inner circle. It didn’t take long before my objective changed, however.” He chuckled again. “She is remarkable, and I hope you will not blame her, because she stayed loyal to you. She never told me your secrets, Ruby. All she did was talk of you as if you were her flesh and blood, and I simply pieced everything together on my own.”

  “You really like her, huh?”

  “I more than like her,” he admitted.

  I rose, brushing sand from my trousers. “Then won’t you come back with us? With her? What’s left for you here?”

  “I already told you. Besides, you’re not leaving.”

  “But—”

  “No, you’re not.”

  I threw my hands up. “Rowan, I just found out about you, and I want to get to know my brother better, but as I’ve already said, I have to leave and take my friends with me.”

  He shrugged and got to his feet. “You’re making a mistake. All this time that I’ve watched you, I never took you for a coward.”

  “I’m not a—!”

  “If you run from this, you’re condemning the Avalonians to aeons of pain and suffering.” He stepped closer, but I shoved him away from me.

  “You have no idea what I’ve been through. Why is it that the fate of this world, a place I’ve known for mere months, is suddenly mine to bear? It’s not fair, Rowan.”

  “Maybe not.” He grabbed his bow and quiver from the sand. “Yet your shoulders are the only ones strong enough to bear it.”

  I wanted to scream. Instead, tiny tendrils of flame had snaked themselves around my body. I lit up like a torch, glimmers of orange hues dancing on the sand around my feet.

  “Reel it in,” he said. “Or you’ll send a beacon to alert any scouts from pancemiles off.”

  I took a deep breath, then another, and my fire sank back into my core.

  A screech sounded from above, and we both turned our heads to the sky. A giant creature of both fur and scales soared through the air. A dragon? No, even here, there was no such thing. What, then? As it drew closer, I recognised its scorpion tail, its black fur and thick mane. A manticore.

  “What’s that?” I pointed at what looked like a fishnet, its ends wired around the creature’s birdlike feet.

  “Not sure what a manticore is doing this far from Ygrenya, but looks like it got a great catch,” Rowan said. “Perhaps he caught a Serena.”

  Whatever he had caught in that net, it looked huge. The manticore swooped by and quickly disappeared further into the island airspace until it became a black dot in the sky and disappeared from view.

  My shoulders slumped, and I started to walk away, not bearing to continue the fight with Rowan. He caught up with me, and we sauntered away from the beach in collective silence.

  Chapter Two

  As Halwyn’s farm came into view, Kit came running across the field. For a second, I feared he would jump into my arms, and I braced myself for the impact. Luckily, my kitten-turned-lynx chose to greet me and my newfound brother by purring and rubbing against our legs.

  “It’s amazing how much he’s changed since we arrived,” I said. “When I found him, he was no bigger than this.” I held my hands less than a foot apart. “When he found me, I should say.”

  “Have you noticed any changes in yourself?” Rowan asked.

  I wiggled my thumb at my back. “You mean, have I started to grow wings?”

  “Not necessarily, although that is the most obvious difference between you and other Fae. That being said, one could argue the main difference is that you’re not a Fae. You’re more than that.”

  Scents of herbs and spices filled the crisp air of Crochan Island. Across the field grey smoke rose from the chimney on the small cottage, which only appeared as such, courtesy of strategically positioned magical plants around the fence.

  “Sometimes it feels as if my magic is stronger here than on Earth. That might just be my mind playing tricks on me. Growing up, I never knew about the Sorceress part of me. I was always a Fae. Half Fae, even.”

  “Right, your Don Hekal da,” Rowan mused.

  “That’s another thing we have in common, you and I.”

  “How’s that?”

  I took Rowan’s hand. “Our mothers kept our father’s identity from us.”

  He stopped and looked down. “Sunya used to do that. Hold my hand, that is.”

  I released my grip. “I hate that you have to carry the horrific memories of her fate in your heart. Would you rather I didn’t hold your hand?”

  “No, I like it.” Rowan grabbed my hand again. “It’s like weaving a strong bond between our essences. As to my memories of Sunya, I try to cling to the good ones. She would always tell me about the Fae and how they—you—think all life is sacred and worthy of being saved. At first, when Bellion killed her family and stole Sunya away from me, I wanted revenge. I wanted to kill him.”

  I could see the fire from his magical core, literally burning behind his irises.

  “Sunya’s words soothed my hunger for revenge. I used to lie awake at night and repeat them in my mind, and maybe I spoke them aloud, too, I don’t know. But it helped. All life is sacred.”

  “Maybe you’re half Fae, as well?” I teased. “I’m glad you quelled your thirst to go after him, though. You probably wouldn’t be here if you had.”

  “At the time, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to pierce his heart with my arrow.” He shrugged. “My aim is true and fast, but his soldiers would have killed me in the end. If I could have watched his essence leave him, however, it would have been worth it.”

  “At least Bellion is dead now,” I said.

  “I only wish I could thank whoever killed him.”

  “Then you’re in luck, as it was none other than Wadyan of Crochan.”

  Rowan’s fiery eyes widened. “The Goblin? Are you speaking the truth, Ruby?”

  “In fact, he killed Bellion as the Satyr was trying to kill me.”

  “My ears could fall off now,” he said. “They cannot possibly hear anything more astonishing than that ever again. That little Goblin saved my sister and killed that son of the Nethers at the same time?”

  I couldn’t keep my lips from parting into a wide, foolish grin. “Yup.”

  My brother tried to speak several times, each time only managing a yelp or a choked laugh. Kit looked up at him, purring like a lawnmower.

  “See? Even Kit knows Bellion got what he deserved.”

  “I have no words. I only wish I could tell Sunya.”

  I looked up at the dark sky, not really sure why. “Maybe she knows?”

  Rowan followed my gaze. “You think her essence is up there?”

  “Maybe. Or down here.” I patted his chest. “You still carry her within, don’t you?”

  “I do. And now I have Carolina in there, as well. She brings me the same kind of joy and warmth in here,” he pointed at his chest, “as Sunya did. I almost feel like I’m unfaithful to Sunya when I’m with her, but I believe Sunya would have wanted me to be happy. Carolina does that.”

  Crap! They wer
e going to hurt so bad, both of them.

  He squeezed my hand. “I like holding her hand, too. It feels different from holding yours, but the same, if that makes sense.”

  “It does. The love you and Charlie share is a different kind than the one a sister would feel for her brother.”

  “Would feel?”

  I smiled. Something in his eyes reminded me of Brendan; there was a playful spark in them. Daring me but at the same time mocking me, just like my boyfriend would from time to time.

  “I have known about our common ancestry for what, less than a day? In time, I’m sure I would learn to love you like a brother.”

  He bumped my shoulder with his. “Of course, but that’s not what I meant.”

  I knew. Or rather, I feared I knew what he had reacted to. “It’s the ‘in time’ part, right?”

  “There you are,” Wadyan called before Rowan could reply. “Right on time for a morning meal.” The Goblin rounded the corner of the cottage and backed into the door, carrying a load of logs.

  Kit made the final fifty yards at a blistering pace. Wadyan almost tripped as the furry bolt of lightning slipped between him and the door frame. A few strides later, Rowan and I reached the door, and because it appeared so small, we bent forward to get inside.

  “Please, My Queen.” Halwyn gestured at the table, where Brendan, Charlie, Jen, and Taryn were already seated. The empty chair at the end was draped with a crimson coloured cloth. “It’s not much of a throne, but I hope—”

  “Stop it,” I said, trying to convey a humorous tone in my voice. I was about to say something clever about having abdicated my royal position again, but caught myself. The loyal cropkeeper had only wanted to show his respect, so I walked over and sat on the chair. “It’s just as much a throne as the one in Avalen. Also, what is that mouth-watering smell?”

  “I’ve only had time to make a simple soup, I’m afraid, but it’ll light a fire in your belly, honest word.”

  “Sounds divine.”

  Rowan sat next to Charlie, who greeted him with a peck on the cheek. Jen smiled at me and wiggled her eyebrows.

  “So, what’s the plan, Your Highness?” Wadyan asked as he ladled a hefty portion of soup into the bowl in front of me. “I assume you don’t want to wait too long before we attack?”

  “Right now, my only plan is to attack this delicious soup from all flanks.”

  That brought me a round of chuckles and laughter, but I suspected the young Goblin wouldn’t be satisfied. I turned to Halwyn on my right. “How is my grandfather? I’m thinking about paying him a visit.”

  Before I go home.

  “Oh, he’s doing fine, all things considered. When you so graciously convinced the queen—the former queen—that he should spend his final years in my service, he seemed to gain new strength. He mourns the loss of his wife, of course, a feeling I know far too much about. Yet he has already proven to be of use.”

  “He was a farmer back on Earth,” I said, “so maybe he knows a thing or two about modern ways of doing things.”

  “Not sure about his ploughing idea, though,” Wadyan interjected.

  “Now, now, son. Don’t discard it before we’ve given it a go.” Halwyn’s voice cracked at the end of the sentence. He sat back and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “I still can’t believe I’m able to wiggle my finger at my son again. Not a single awr goes by without me thanking Morgana—and you, My Queen—for bringing him back to me.”

  “It won’t matter unless we overthrow the usurper,” Taryn muttered from the other side of the table. “I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty, but I wonder too. What is your plan for taking back the throne? Your throne.”

  I pushed the bowl of soup further in on the table and leaned forward on my elbows, my eyes drilling holes in the wooden structure. Thoughts smashed against the insides of my head like the balls in the lottery machine on the telly. I remembered how I used to watch it with Mum and Dad on Friday nights. I think Dad won fifty pounds once, but I’m sure he spent more on tickets through the years. The odds of me managing to grasp one of those bouncing thoughts and shape it into a coherent plan were about the same as my small family in Chester winning the big prize.

  “I have no such plan,” I muttered. “Auberon’s army outnumbered Morgana’s five to one, and she actually had one.” I raised my head and motioned with one hand at the motley crew around the table. “No disrespect, but we’re not exactly a match for him.”

  “So, now what?” Jen said sharply. “We’re just going to sit here eating soup until we grow old?” She glanced at Halwyn. “No offence.”

  I shook my head. “No, we can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous. I mean, Halwyn and Wadyan should be safe, I reckon. Auberon needs cropkeepers.”

  Halwyn dropped his spoon. It clanked on the edge of his bowl, chipping part of it, before falling on the wooden floor. “I have no intention of working for that—!”

  “If you don’t, he’ll kill you,” I said. “He doesn’t want to erase the Avalonians from the face of the realm. Auberon might turn out to be a just and fair king. Keep within his lines and rules, and I’m sure you’ll live a long and prosperous life.”

  Did I really believe that? Part of me wanted to. The part that had seen some inklings of good in my father. He wasn’t evil. Not by nature.

  I had to believe that.

  But I also had to save my friends.

  “Could you show us the way back to Rhina’s Deep, Halwyn?”

  “What?” Charlie blurted out.

  “We have to get you out of here, Char. Don’t you see? As soon as Auberon finds out I’m still in Gwyn Fanon, he will use my weakness to get to me.”

  “Weakness … thanks.”

  My shoulders slumped. “Come on, Char. You know what I mean. My love for you—all three of you—is my father’s strongest weapon against me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Charlie said. “I get your point, but you can’t use us as an excuse. We’re capable of making our own decisions. And I, for one, say we fight.”

  Jen drew in a breath, but I spoke before she could agree with Charlie. “I can’t. And I won’t. I might pay my grandfather a visit after we’ve eaten, and then we go to the portal.”

  Charlie slapped her hands on the table so hard the soup bowls rattled and spilt steaming hot vegetable broth all over. “Well, I’m not going back. If you won’t fight him, I will.”

  “Sorry, Red,” Jen said, “but I’m with Brainy on this one. Besides, I can’t leave Erica and Jack behind.”

  I sat back. “You’re driving me insane, you know that?”

  She tilted her head and made a mocking grimace. “What else is new?”

  “What awr is it?” I asked.

  Halwyn turned and looked at his hourglass collection. “Seventh coming up soon, My Queen.”

  “I think I need some air.” I stood from my chair. Everyone reacted quickly and rose, too, even Char and Jen. “Seriously?”

  “Like it or not,” Brendan said, “the rule is that when the queen stands, nobody sits.”

  “So, if you’re following rules, maybe you could start obeying my orders?” I walked towards the door and blew him a kiss.

  “Hang on, Ru,” Jen said. “We’ll join you.” She motioned with her head at Charlie, who smiled and grabbed a throw from a nearby bench.

  “Mind if I borrow this, Halwyn?”

  He shrugged.

  “Thanks. It’s time for the Angels to have a talk.”

  Chapter Three

  I stepped outside into the morning fog with Jen and Charlie at my heels. The three of us wandered away from the cottage in silence until we found a small clearing. The forest was quiet, and the brisk air soothed my skin.

  Charlie unfolded Halwyn’s throw, and we sat down on it, stretching our legs and falling into our old routine. It was almost as if we were back on campus, hanging out the way we used to. Back when our biggest problem was MagX Harvesters. Granted, those hadn’t been the easiest of times either, bu
t we’d had time to just be.

  “Do you guys remember us doing this under the white willow tree?” Jen grinned, and I smiled at the shared memory. “Char with a book, Ru with her polystyrene cup of green tea—”

  “And you with your bare toes dangling in my face.” Charlie stuck her tongue out.

  “Sure. Speaking of which, whatever happened to that brick of a book you always carried around, Char?”

  “I still have it.” She showed us her palms. “Well, not here, obviously. It’s in my room back in Craydon Court. I’ve read it so many times the cover has come undone, and I didn’t want to damage it further, so it’s stayed in my desk drawer for a while. I guess that’s quite a long while now.” She slid her fingers through her dark tresses, which had grown below her waistline in the time we had been here. “I guess I won’t be needing it anymore. I’m living a real-life adventure, and apart from the fact that my wand can’t help me perform actual magic, there is plenty of magic here.” She patted the side pocket Berlomis had made on her trousers, the perfect size for her wand. I hadn’t seen her use it for a long time, and I hoped she wouldn’t have to any time soon.

  I patted her thigh. “While we’re talking magic, my brother tells me he likes you. In fact, his words were ‘I more than like her’.” I mimicked his voice with little success.

  She giggled. “He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I mean, sure, he’s a looker, and have you seen those abs?”

  “Droolworthy,” Jen agreed, all but slobbering like a dog. Or a wolf.

  “Guys, that’s my brother you’re talking about.”

  Charlie wiggled her eyebrows. “Well, he’s more than just his looks, and I swear I had no idea he was your brother. I only knew about his past, and that I could trust him. He’s maybe a little rough around the edges, but he is incredibly bright. Besides that, he’s the first person I’ve met who actually listens to all my ramblings about history and science—not counting the dusty old lorekeepers, that is. Rowan likes that I’m a nerd, although he has no idea what that word means, and he is genuinely interested in what I have to say.”