A Gray Area

by Amy Sumida

  Varian's eyes fluttered as he drew away from me slowly. “My lady, you must fight this. The asha have you. You are floating in the blood of the Universe. Drowning in the source of all life.”

  “It doesn't feel like drowning,” I said confidently. “It feels like waking up.”

  “What's wrong with her?” Lily asked.

  “Where Terial took the power to enslave it, Lady Amara has taken it to save it,” Terial said reverently. “I believe that intent has altered it inside her; softened it toward her. The asha have given her freely what Terial tried to wrestle from them.”

  “And what exactly is that?” Malik asked; his hands clenching on my upper arms.

  “Divinity.” Varian bowed his head to me. “We stand in the presence of a goddess.”

  “Fuck you; we stand in the presence of my mvarra,” Malik growled.

  My beautiful bleiten; I knew his heart even better than I had before. It was a miraculous thing; he was a miraculous thing. And he was mine. I knew exactly how to calm him and ease his panic. I leaned forward against his chest—right over that burning crown—and felt his raging heartbeat on the skin of my cheek. Malik released my arms to draw me into an embrace. He sighed and crumpled around me.

  “By my horns, Amara, I've been frantic,” Malik murmured against my throat as his heartbeat slowed. “I can't lose you now.”

  “Whatever I am,” I lifted my head to say, “I am yours, Malik. I always will be.”

  “Amara,” Malik whispered and then kissed me gently. “You scared me. You were gone, and I couldn't find you. Varian chased after you; leaving me no way into Danu. And then I felt this power coming from our link. And another energy; something male.”

  “Cyprian,” I said as I leaned back to look at Malik. “We had to join forces to defeat Terial. It has fused us, but not completely. He was quite honorable; as much of a gentleman as the act permitted.”

  “I see.” Malik glanced at Cyprian. “And I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. I feel the frayed edge of the Fusion; it's indeed unfinished.”

  I nodded. “But you and I are complete. I see it now, Malik. I see the line of our future. This mark isn't bondage; it's strength. A blessing. We will—” I glanced around me at our audience. “No; not yet. This is too soon.”

  “Amara?” Malik was back to scowling.

  “Se esaria”—Cyprian eased up to us—“remember the plan. You cannot keep this power.”

  “The plan,” I murmured as my stare strayed upward. “The Grays.”

  “Yes; the Grays,” Cyprian said eagerly. “The people and the places they came from. You have to give it back, se esaria. Make them whole again.”

  I nodded and slipped free of Malik's embrace. Of course, I had to give them back. This power was not mine, and I knew enough now to be able to release it happily. I didn't even glance at Terial's corpse as I strode up the stairs and out of the cellar.

  “Amara?” Malik followed me upstairs with the others. “Amara!”

  “Leave her be, Bleiten!” Cyprian snapped. “Don't you want your woman back? She must release this power if she's ever to become Amara again.”

  “Wait, my lady!” Varian ran up beside me.

  I had found my way easily out of the stone and wood cabin; my steps creaking over a wide porch and then cracking over fallen leaves and dry soil. I found the army of monsters sitting under a large tree; branches spread protectively over them like a mother's arms. Sunlight dappled their skin, scales, and fur; they were full of life but it wasn't their own. The magic of Danu had seeped into the void of their souls and replenished them. But this was not the energy they were meant to hold. It was not their energy and it gave them no will. Instead, the magic had changed them into forms it desired; creatures of Danu. But that shift hadn't severed their links to their true ashas. I could feel the connection between us. Terial had used this bond to control them, but I would use it to replenish and release them.

  “Don't do it yet.” Varian moved in front of me.

  I cocked my head at him in question. “I want to save them,” I said simply.

  “Yes, but you must release the asha in its proper place, not just to its proper people,” Varian said urgently. “If you release it here, Danu will consume it and these people will remain as they are.”

  My gaze went hazy as I searched for the truth in the swirls of power around me. I nodded when I found it. Varian was right; a realm built only of magic was a greedy thing. It couldn't help itself; it had no boundaries to stop it from growing. I needed to return to each gray areas on Earth to release the auras.

  “You shall accompany us to the Grays, Sir Varian.” I held out my hand to him.

  “Now, hold on,” Malik growled.

  But Varian, the monsters, and I were already gone; twisted away by my mere intent.

  Chapter Forty

  It took many hours to return the monsters to their homes and the auras to their proper places. As the sparkling life-force seeped back into terra firma, foliage, and flesh, monsters became humans once again—the magic of Danu returning to its proper place as well—and the Earth was healed. Russia, China, Portugal, Italy, Spain... on and on it went. I healed the land and the people who lived on it until all that was left was the energy belonging to Washington D.C. Only then did I start to feel like myself again. And only then were Varian and I able to return to Danu to fetch my friends and mvarro. But before we left the final group of weeping, relieved humans, Varian turned to me and took my hand.

  “A warning for you, my lady,” Varian said softly. “My queen must be told of this; of her son's death and your part in it.”

  “She'll send you after me?”

  “Not in the way you're implying,” Varian said. “And I'd refuse such a mission if she did. No; I'm warning you that she will want you with her more than ever now. She'll see you as a replacement for her heir; especially since you hold his asha now.”

  “I hold his asha?” I blinked and searched myself.

  Yes; there it was. A glimmering light inside me that was separate from the energy I still had to give back to the Earth. This energy was alien; effervescent and powerful. Pure magic. It was Terial; the life-force of the Danutian Prince of the East. And I couldn't give it back. There was no one to give it to.

  “You are truly one of us now,” Varian whispered. “And there can be no denying that you are a princess, Your Highness.”

  “Holding his energy does not make me Danutian Royalty,” I protested.

  “In our culture, it does,” he said firmly. “Danutians acknowledge power. A person is far more than their outer appearance. Your asha holds your magic, and its magic that differentiates Danutian Royalty from common sidhe. You hold royal magic now and so you are royal.”

  “Magic,” I murmured.

  “Yes; you may have some reactions to Terial's magic,” Varian added. “If you flounder, Your Highness, do not hesitate to call on me. I will come to you and help you without telling my queen if you wish it.”

  “You would lie to her for me?”

  “I... my honor is being stretched in two directions. My queen deserves my respect and loyalty, but you have saved us from the follies of her son. You've taken him into yourself to do so and abandoning you to his magic would be both irresponsible and cruel. I cannot be either to you. I refuse to be. You have my gratitude for what you've done, Princess Amara. And you also have my loyalty.”

  “You cannot serve two mistresses, Sir Varian,” I said gently. “Especially not two who are opposed to each other.”

  “I'm hoping that you will not be in opposition for long. I want to show you Danu, Princess Amara. I want you to see all of our realm and what it could become to you. Then perhaps you will come to Court willingly.”

  “I can't leave Earth.” I shook my head. “Or Malik.”

  “The Queen rules the East,” Varian said simply. “She doesn't want you to rule nor does she need you to be there constantly. Coming to Danu does not mean abandoning your lover or your
land.”

  I regarded him solemnly. I didn't know what to say.

  “You don't have to decide now,” Varian said quickly. “I merely wanted to warn you of what may be coming and prepare you for the magic inside you. Here; take this.” He removed a leather cord from his neck and tied it around mine. “This is a lodestone; it draws people together. My queen uses it to call me home, but now you may use it to call me to you. Simply hold it in your hands and say my name. I will come.”

  I looked down at the pendant. An oval of indigo stone with sparkling glints in its heart dangled from the cord. As if I a piece of the night sky laid upon my chest.

  “Won't the Queen be upset that you gave this to me?”

  “She can give me another.” He shook his head. “And I believe she would prefer that I have a way to find you.”

  “All right. Thank you, Varian.”

  Varian nodded and shifted me into an embrace. “Shall we return you to your people?”

  “Okay,” I whispered; suddenly breathless.

  “One more thing, Your Highness,” Varian's voice had gone deep and rough. “The Bleiten wasn't the only one who feared for you. I was afraid for the first time in two thousand years.”

  Before I could reply, Varian twisted us back to Danu.

  Chapter Forty-One

  “If you ever take my mvarra away from me like that again, I will kill you,” Malik said calmly to Varian after we appeared.

  “I appreciate the warning,” Varian replied. “But I was not the one to take her; she took me.”

  Malik's jaw hardened as he stared down at the knight. A flutter of annoyance came through his mark and he glanced at me.

  I nodded.

  Malik narrowed his stare suspiciously at Varian.

  “I could not have twisted all of those people at once had I wanted to,” Varian pointed out calmly. “The Goddess did it.”

  “And I'm not her anymore,” I said. “I've returned nearly all of the energy, and I'm feeling much better. Now, we can go home and heal the final Gray.”

  Malik's shoulders sagged with relief, and he nodded. I looked at Varian and then at the others.

  “Sir Varian, if you can't manage a mass twisting, how did you get everyone here?” I asked.

  “One at a time, Your Highness,” Varian said with a grin. “The men were not pleased.”

  Picturing Varian embracing Malik made me chuckle. “No; I imagine they wouldn't have been.”

  “But you should still be able to twist on your own, even after giving up all that asha,” Varian went on.

  “What?” I gaped at him.

  “You have Prince Terial's magic, remember?”

  “But I don't know how to use it.” I frowned as I tried to recall how I had moved all of the creatures back to their proper places, but it seemed as if all I had done was will it to happen and it had.

  “Imagine the place where you want to be.” Varian took my wrists and lifted my hands as he turned us slowly. “Feel for the power in the air; try to sense the weave of reality around you.”

  I closed my eyes and felt for it. It was strange to reach for something without using my second sight. But the magic rose inside me; a trembling wave of it. It washed over my mind, and I felt it suddenly; the Tapestry of the Universe. The Weave of the Worlds. I could feel each thread and the places they created when combined together. There was Earth. If I focused, the pattern became clearer, and I could see precise places on Earth. I drew closer and closer until Washington D.C. burst into life inside my mind. Then I saw the Gray. I found myself twisting toward it and drawing Varian with me.

  We appeared on the sidewalk in the center of D.C.'s Gray Area. I stepped away from Varian and made an amazed sound. I had done it! I twisted us from Danu to Earth. I could hardly believe that I was capable of such things.

  “Can I go to other worlds?” I asked eagerly.

  “Once you've seen a place, you can return to it,” Varian said. “But if you've never been there before, you won't be able to find the weave. You wouldn't even know where to look.”

  “Amazing,” I whispered.

  Then I remembered the Gray. I released the rest of the stolen energy inside me and color started seeping back into the world. I rejoiced as the Earth was healed, but my heart still hurt for all of those people I hadn't saved. If only Terial had taken them sooner, I might have been able to return them to human. But then again, Terial had used some of the energy already. Perhaps I wouldn't have had enough to save all of the people and the planet. What a horrible choice that would have been to make.

  I thought back to those moments of divinity and the faint memory of branching paths tickled my mind. I couldn't see the future anymore, but I had a feeling that things had played out as they had been meant to. Life is never perfect—sometimes it's downright horrendous—but there is a pattern to the weave; a purpose. I couldn't remember all I'd seen as a goddess, and I had a feeling that was as it should be as well. But what I did remember brought me peace. The world was as it should be, and I had helped to make it so.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  “To FEAR!” President Matthew Colton saluted us with his glass of champagne; his dark eyes bright with pride. “And to its first successful mission.”

  The Secretary of Homeland Security Miranda Holmes and Under Secretary Alex Connolly lifted their glasses to us as well. We were at a special luncheon being held in our honor at the White House. Although we'd lost hundreds of Americans, we'd saved thousands of people all over the world as well as the world itself. Without our intervention, Danu would have filled our land and our people; altering them both.

  Speaking of Danu, President Colton had requested Sir Varian's presence, but the Danutians preferred to go back to the way things had been for thousands of years; with no contact between us and them. Of course, that wasn't going to happen; not completely. I had Varian's lodestone, and I knew I'd be using it soon. Terial's magic was already churning inside me and making me very nervous.

  My neck warmed as if Malik's hand had slid over the back of it, and I turned to smile at him. His chair was close to mine—our legs touching—and his arm was draped across the top of my chair. But his hand wasn't on my neck; that was the mark letting me know how much I was cherished. It had advanced from sharing basic emotions through temperature, pain, and pleasure to giving me more detailed sensations as well as a deeper insight. Malik smiled wickedly and the mark reacted to his thoughts; the feeling of his hand changing into that of his lips. I inhaled sharply as I felt the wet heat of his tongue licking me.

  “Stop that, you naughty devil,” I whispered to him.

  “I'm merely exploring the possibilities.”

  “We can explore them later. When we're not at lunch with the President.” I smiled innocently at the Commander in Chief and sipped my champagne.

  “I have to get some benefit out of this arrangement,” Malik's voice dropped into irritation.

  “Cyprian told me that he wasn't sure the Fusion could be undone,” I reminded Malik. “I knew the risks, and I believed them to be worth it.”

  “I know.” Malik's hand slid from my chair to my shoulder and pulled me against his side to press a kiss to my forehead. “And I agree that you made the right decision. I just don't trust that faulin.”

  “Mal, if Cyprian doesn't find a way to undo this, he'll never be able to fuse with another faulin,” I whispered. “He risked far more than I did.”

  “Unless he doesn't want to fuse with another faulin.” Malik's velvet amethyst stare settled on mine. “Faulin are devious; this could all be a part of his plan to steal you from me.”

  “Cyprian can't steal me from you.” I took his hand and squeezed it. “You gave me your mark. That definitely can't be undone.”

  Malik nodded but still looked worried.

  “What is it?”

  “One woman with the mating bonds of two men. It's unheard of,” he said softly. “We're already feeling the side effects.”

  “And they're rath
er good, aren't they?”

  “So far,” he said grimly. “This is uncharted territory, Mvarra. There's no way to know what this will do to us.”

  “But there's no sense in worrying about it either,” I said firmly. “We can't change it. We can only hope that Cyprian will find a way to break our fusion.”

  “If he's even trying,” Malik muttered.

  “And now, for an announcement,” President Colton declared. “Our very own Spectra will be going on her first solo mission. A diplomatic one.”

  My head shot up and my stare focused on Colton. “What?”