by Jessi Gage
He pressed his forehead to hers, creating a bubble of solitude around them. Speaking softly, just to her, he said, “Never have I wished to know the future more than I do in this moment. Whether I have the strength and cunning to best an immortal. Whether I can save the children. Save my people.” Pain lanced his chest as her hand clasped his tightly. “Whether I will lay eyes on you again.” He cupped her cheek. “You as you are now.” Mortal. With him not just in spirit but in body. She seemed so right to him like this. It felt to him as though Seona had always been destined to give up her body for Danu, so he could have his goddess in every way imaginable. So they could bring an heir into the world and change the fate of wolfkind together.
But an Earthly throne was an insult to a goddess. She deserved so much more than he could ever give her.
Danu’s eyes, tawny and bright, filled with unshed tears. “Your victory means our separation,” she said. Knowing she was right, his heart ached. “I hate this. I’m not ready.” Her fingers threaded through his. Her knuckles blanched white.
He was not ready, either. But Hyrk had moved against them, and he must respond. They did not have the luxury of time. Rulers rarely did.
“I want you here with me always,” he confessed. “But Marann needs you restored to your rightful place.” In fact, the whole world needed her restored. Once, there had been kingdoms spread over the face of the Earth. No more. Only Marann remained. He was convinced they had been honored thus because of all kingdoms, they had always remained true to Danu’s teachings. And they always would. But the world needed life again. Only with Danu in her rightful place would the entire realm bloom the way it was meant to.
“I know.” Her breath fanned over his beard as they breathed the same air. “I only wish we’d had more time.”
“Eternity wouldn’t be enough time.” His lips found her forehead. He kissed her there, letting the touch linger. He had hoped to bed her and plant his seed in her womb while she dwelled in Seona’s body, had even believed this had been his fate all along. He had been so near to doing so last night when his guard had burst in with the news of the children. Now the opportunity was lost. Duty demanded he act swiftly to locate their lost progeny and slay the one who had dared to take them.
During their conference with Duff, Magnus had learned that the cell Danu had been confined to, the one now holding Seona, took its strength from Hyrk’s power. Once Hyrk was defeated, the cell would fail. Seona would be free, and she would possess the power of a goddess.
Since such power would be dangerous in the hands of one not accustomed to it, Duff would immediately transport Seona to Glendall and Danu. “She will have to utter the incantation to restore my power,” Danu had said to Duff. “Can you ensure her cooperation?”
“I vow to you the circle of your power will be completed,” Duff had said, and Danu had nodded with resolve.
And so their course had been set. Hyrk would be defeated, and Danu would be restored to her full power. They would be forever separated, and he would have to woo Seona for the good of his people while Danu looked on from her heavenly throne.
Speaking of Seona, Magnus commanded Riggs to trade seats with Anya so she would be at his side. She wasted no time beginning to question him the moment she was seated, but he silenced her.
“I apologize, Lady Anya.”
That made her snap her mouth shut. She narrowed her eyes, an expression he was well-acquainted with. “For what?” she asked suspiciously.
“I should have sent word to you last night as soon as Assaph and I discovered the true whereabouts of your sister.”
Anya’s eyes went round and worried. “You ken where Seona is? Tell me.” She grasped his arm and tugged.
“Be easy. She is well. Or, I suppose, as well as she can be under the circumstances.” He cut a glance to Riggs, content to find him deep in conversation with Maedoc. While patting Anya’s hand, he quietly explained that during Seona’s fall from Lachlan’s Promontory, she had been holding Hyrk’s gemstone. “Somehow, the stone’s power sent her soul into his dungeon in the low realm.”
Anya’s eyes widened. “Hyrk’s dungeon!” Despite her obvious shock, she kept to whispers, following his lead.
“Yes. Into the body of one whom I have only just learned has been imprisoned there for centuries. And that one is now inside the body of your sister.”
“Not Hyrk, then,” Anya surmised, glancing around him at Danu. “I figured as much when I saw you stealing a moment with Seona—or whomever.” Her brow furrowed.
“Not Hyrk,” he confirmed. “But Danu.”
Anya dragged in a sharp breath.
Danu patiently watched their exchange. At Magnus’s revelation, she graced Anya with a reassuring smile.
Anya gaped. It was the first time Magnus had ever seen the little human speechless.
“It is an honor to meet you, Anya, Lifemate of Riggs, slayer of Bantus,” Danu said.
Anya blinked. She smoothed her hands over the silk of her gown in her lap, apparently gathering herself from the shock. “You—” She cleared her throat. “You are a goddess?”
“I am,” Danu said. “But we must keep this a secret. In this form, I am defenseless against Hyrk. Do not fear. We have every intention of repairing this unexpected circumstance.” As she said it, Magnus heard the sadness in her voice.
He took her hand and squeezed it.
Anya assessed Danu for a long moment then said, “Well, I suppose we’ll have time to discuss all this when the men ride out.”
“I look forward to it,” Danu said, sounding as if she meant it.
The feast went on around them. Magnus fed Danu from his dagger, but he took no food for himself. His stomach was in no state to receive so much as a morsel, let alone a meal.
After a scant hour or celebration, Cathal gave the order for the cavalry to mount up. Magnus would ride at the front along with his Knights of the Crescent Moon.
With leaden feet, he escorted Seona to the bailey. Ladies embraced their sons and grandsons. Older men clapped their younger relatives on the backs. Magnus faced Danu for what was likely the last time. When he returned from Larna, she would have already been restored to where she belonged.
His throat felt thick. He did not know if he could speak. Never had a parting felt this significant. This final. Not even when he’d whispered his goodbyes to his parents on their deathbeds. A piece of his very soul would go with Danu, and he would never again be a whole man.
“Whatever happens,” Danu said, bravely saving him from speaking first, “I will be with you, here.” She placed her hand over his breastplate.
He wrapped both her small hands in his. What were her real hands like? What did she look like as a goddess? Did the statue in the temple do her justice? She must miss her heavenly body.
“I know you will,” he said. He’d often wondered if the goddess had abandoned them, but he knew now that the lack of blessings had not been because she did not care. An evil demigod had tricked her and taken her from them. It was time to set their world to rights. He laid a hand over her heart, loving the warmth of her skin through the gown. “I go to fight for you, my goddess. I fight for what is right, and I will defeat your enemy. I will not fail you.”
“I believe in you.” A tear fell from each of her eyes.
He kissed the salty trails they left on her cheeks. He could say no more. If he tried, he would shed tears himself, and that would not be acceptable. Clearing his throat, he backed away from his beloved.
His horse waited for him. Mounting up, he mouthed the words, “I love you,” to his lady, and he cantered out of the bailey to lead his men to war.
Chapter 21
Travis was confused. He had been dragged away from the fortress, but somehow, he was back. He was looking into the great hall from the outside, as if crouched in one of the windows set high in the stone walls. Beneath him, the children were huddled in the room made from screens. They clutched cups of hot water and wiggled their toes in front of
a freshly-stoked fire.
Alexander and his lackeys stood on a platform built from stacks of rubble overlaid with a broken tabletop. “We have more right to a voice in our future than any other Maranner, yet we have none. We are expected to keep the law, but we have no say in the laws being made. Here—” He made a sweeping gesture as if indicating the whole of Larna. “There are no laws save the ones we choose to make. There is no waiting to breed until a lad comes of age. Many of you are more than ready to begin sowing your seed, and our survival depends on you doing exactly that.”
Some of the other lads nodded. Murmurs of agreement were like poison in Travis’s ear. How could they accept Alexander’s ideas so easily? Was it so simple to turn their backs on their mothers and fathers, on their instructors and the council members, on their kingdom and the laws that held it up?
“Where are the women you told us about, Xander?” Ruben spoke up. The older boy stood with his back to a screen, making room for the younger ones to be closest to the fire.
“Not far,” Alexander said.
“Boar-shit,” Craiden said. He stood near Ruben with his arms folded. “You said you’ve seen them. Show them to us or give us that stone so we can go back to Marann. At least we have plenty of food there.”
Craiden could be a jerk, but Travis was glad to hear him challenge Alexander.
“That stone is dangerous,” Ruben said. “We shouldn’t be using it. Magnus had it locked in the temple for a reason.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alexander spat. “It’s not dangerous. My sire used it countless times without harm.” He pulled the stone from his pocket and waved it around, as if to demonstrate how safe it was to handle.
“Yeah, and look where it got him,” Craiden said.
All eyes turned to Alexander, whose face twisted with rage. “There is one reason and one reason only my sire is dead. Magnus.” He growled the name, making the hairs on Travis’s neck stand on end. “If you want to see where loyalty to that Danu-whipped coward gets you, you have only to look outside. At the trail left in the snow when the wild beasts dragged my little brother away.”
A soft growl issued from Travis’s throat, and it sounded strangely animalistic. What Alexander had just said disturbed him, but not as much as the fact he was here, high up in the shadows of the hall, when he had been beaten and supposedly dragged away.
That confusion from earlier returned. What was happening to him? Why did he feel warm and protected and yet his vision insisted he was in a cold, dark place, eavesdropping on his brother? Why did it feel like gentle hands were washing his face with a damp rag and smoothing his hair off his brow?
“Ask yourselves this,” Alexander went on. “Would you rather wait for a slim chance at breeding with Anya’s get—if it happens to be a girl? Or would you rather have free access to this?” He held the gemstone aloft, and red light spiraled from it, coalescing into a flat oval, like one of the mirrors the ladies used to apply their cosmetics. The eerie light made Alexander’s eyes glow crimson.
While Travis watched, skin crawling at the casual use of dark magic, an image took shape on the mirror-like surface. A lean, hooded figure stood by a tree. Snow covered the ground. In the distance, a small doe nosed at the snow, looking for roots to nibble. The figure silently raised a bow and let an arrow fly. It struck the doe in the neck. The animal took flight, arrow protruding, and the figure gave chase. The wind of the figure’s speed caused the hood to fall away. Flowing flame-colored hair whipped out and streaked the air in the figure’s wake. It was a young woman, fleet enough of foot to catch up to the wounded doe and slit its neck with a dagger.
The hall fell silent.
Alexander spoke into the silence. “She’s out there. And there are more where she comes from. But before we can bring them here, we must make this place habitable, and we must arm ourselves well. Because once we have women here, word will spread. We must be strong enough to protect what’s ours.”
Travis heard himself growl again. The vision of the hall shifted. He had the sensation he was on four legs, turning from the scene below and dashing on silent feet down a crumbling set of stone stairs exposed to the elements. The vision faded, and he was in the dark.
No. Not the dark. Warm light pressed at his eyelids. The soft touch he’d felt before came again. “You saw it, didn’t you?” said a kind voice.
He blinked his eyes open. His face and body ached, but he was warm. He seemed to be in a cavern of sorts, judging by the low, rocky ceiling. The scent of fresh hay and the comfort of thick blankets surrounded him. Beside him was a young woman with elfin features and white-blond hair. Her lips were the color of spring roses, and they covered teeth that held more bulk than that of human women like Anya and Seona. This young woman was wolfkind.
He blinked a few more times, certain he was dead and seeing a vision of an angel.
“Braeden’s at the fortress,” she said, wringing a cloth over a bowl of steaming water that smelled of garlic and astringent. She wore a loose-fitting tunic and doeskin leggings. “He let us see through his eyes, so we know what the enemy is planning.”
Travis frowned, and it hurt his jaw. The things the girl said made no sense. No one could see through the eyes of another. Something hot tricked over his lip.
“Oh, there it goes again.” She dabbed a dry cloth at his upper lip. “I just got your nose to stop bleeding, and now I’ve upset you, and it’s going again. I’m sorry. What’s your name? Mine’s Nenna.”
He licked his swollen lips, tasting traces of blood. “Travis,” he answered. “Am I dead?” If he was, that would explain the magic of seeing through the eyes of another. Maybe angels could do that. “Are you an angel?”
She smiled, and her pale cheeks bloomed with color like the sky under a red sunset. “No, silly. You’re very much alive, and I’m no angel.” Her laugh was musical. Travis wanted to capture the sound in a jar and listen to it over and over again.
“You’re too beautiful to be real,” he blurted.
Her blush deepened. His tongue felt like it was tied in a knot.
“Well, I am real. But I can imagine my existence comes as a shock to you. My people have taken great pains to remain hidden here in the caves.” Her eyes went distant, and her voice darkened. “Outsiders are cruel. All of them. But not you. I could sense it. That’s why Vera let me bring you here.”
Caves? Her people? Outsiders? His head hurt trying to make sense of it all. “Where is here?”
“Our home,” Nenna said, simply. “This is my room.”
He took in his surroundings more fully. The cavern had rough walls, but the floor was smooth with packed dirt. A small fire provided adequate heat. The smoke drifted through a wide crack in the stone. A rough-hewn cabinet with carved doors held a stone basin and a wooden pitcher. Besides the pallet, it was the only furniture in the space.
“It’s nice,” he said. And he meant it. He felt warm and safe, even though his body ached and his stomach growled.
Nenna beamed. She looked like she wanted to say more, but a shrill whistle sounded from a dark opening across the cavern. “Oh. That’ll be Vera. She went hunting. Do you think you can rise, or shall I bring the food to you?”
Travis’s curiosity overpowered his pain. He rolled to his hands and knees, testing his body. He had broken ribs that were very sore when he breathed, but someone had bound them for him. His face felt hot and puffy. The skin was tight with healing. “I can get up,” he said, hoping it was true.
He got to his feet slowly, and Nenna rushed to his side. She slung one of his arms around her shoulders and performed the duties of a crutch. A very pretty crutch. She was taller than him and appeared to be around twenty. Not quite a woman, but no longer a girl. Not that he had any experience judging the ages of young females.
By the goddess. He was with a female! A young one! The realization struck him like a blast of joyous sunshine after a long storm. A female had her arm around his waist, was helping him hobble on bruised legs thro
ugh Larnian caves.
“Who are you?” He shook his head. “I mean, who are your people? Are you Larnians?”
They entered a dark tunnel. It was short, and at the end was another glowing cavern. In this cavern, a larger fire flickered in a fireplace built with mortared stone. A chimney of black shale rose to the high ceiling. This cavern had many carved pieces of furniture, including a low bench that Nenna directed him toward.
A slender woman with fire-colored hair nodded at them as she hung a cloak on a rack of antlers from a large elk. He recognized her from the hall—from the mirror-like surface that had come from the gemstone. “We’re the Remnant,” the woman said, answering his question. Her face was not as open and friendly as Nenna’s.
“We saw you in Braeden’s communication,” Nenna said. “Those boys used magic to watch you hunt. You found us a doe. Yum!” She bounced on her toes, jostling Travis and making him wince. “Oh, sorry. This is Vera. Vera, I learned his name. Our new friend is Travis.”
Vera eyed him but said nothing. She passed into a tunnel and disappeared.
Nenna lowered Travis to the padded bench. “I’ll go help her bring in the meat.” She dashed into the tunnel on light feet, and Travis stared after her. As she disappeared into the darkness, he saw her pulling her arms into her tunic, as if to remove it. Blinking, he tried to make sense of everything.
The Remnant. What did that mean? Was he in the caves Alexander had mentioned—the caves where monsters lived? He didn’t see any monsters. Only pretty women.
Heavens! Magnus needed to know about this! There really were women in Larna! Wolfkind women!
But how would he get to Magnus? Where was he? Still in Larna, for certain, since he’d been brought here by Nenna. She didn’t seem strong enough to carry him far. His cheeks warmed at the thought of being in her arms, even if he’d been unconscious at the time.
A rustling in the tunnel made him look up. It sounded like growling, and like paws scrabbling over stone. The sounds grew louder, and made him tense. They were wolf sounds. Magnus kept tame wolves for tracking and hunting, but wild wolves were very dangerous. Especially Larnian wolves.