Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3)

by Raine Thomas

  After cleaning up the meal dishes, Ty and Kyr prepared to leave. Only Ty was aware of the vitamin supplement stored in their packs. He saw no reason to cause Kyr any unnecessary worry.

  “You remember the route I gave ya, right?” Xander asked as Ty and Kyr stepped out of the cottage into the bright sunshine.

  “I do,” Ty assured him, accepting his extended hand in a firm shake. “Thanks for pointin’ us in the right direction for transport.”

  “Sure thing. Valyn will get ya where ya need to go. Just let him know I sent ya.”

  “We will.”

  Ty watched Kyr and Lore hug briefly, then watched as Kyr hugged each of the children. Even though they had been at the cottage for less than a full day, Ivyn and Fyrn both looked like they were losing their best friends.

  “We’ll come back when we can,” Kyr promised, rising from her hug with Fyrn. “In the meantime, no more chasin’ each other in the woods without your parents knowin’ where ya are, okay?”

  The kids gave their assurances, even if they didn’t really understand why. Rose was cradled against Xander’s shoulder. Moisture gleamed on her round cheeks after a recent tantrum. She hadn’t wanted Ty and Kyr to go.

  I’ll be back, Ty thought directly to her. “Be good, Rose,” he said out loud. I’ll miss you, too. But I’ve got to make sure you and your family are safe.

  Despite her tender age, Rose lifted her head and gifted him with a smile. He knew that smile was all he would get from her in terms of a goodbye. He also knew it was the most genuine emotion conveyed by any of them, and she was the only one with true faith that she would see them again.

  That would have to be enough.

  Chapter 10

  Kyr knew Ty was distracted about something, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. During their walk to ValynWrym’s home, he was largely focused on their surroundings and keeping them safe. But any time they stopped and had a break, his thoughts were all over the place. She began to suspect the lack of focus was intentional so she couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering him.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked when they stopped to eat the lunch Lore had thoughtfully prepared for them.

  “Sure,” he said, handing her half a sandwich once they were seated on a log. “How about you?”

  She picked up that he was monitoring her energy levels and relaxed a bit. He was probably worried about her because of how much sleep she had gotten the night before. It had definitely been more than usual.

  “I’m good,” she assured him. “I think I just needed to recuperate from all of the energy we expended.”

  After a moment, he nodded. “Good. You had me worried.”

  Her suspicions confirmed, she reached over and patted his hand. A brief influx of thoughts rushed through her mind, including images of Rose and the word “pregnant.” She pulled her hand away and gave Ty another look. Obviously, if he was thinking about Rose and the baby Lore was carrying, his concerns weren’t entirely centered on her.

  “Do you think we did the right thing?” she asked, hoping to prod him into telling her the rest of what weighed on his mind. “I know you fear that Vycor will somehow get to them.”

  Ty swallowed the last of his sandwich and replied, “I honestly don’t know if it was the right thing to do. If Vycor somehow traces us there…”

  “We’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she said.

  He met her gaze. “Damn right.”

  For now, that had to satisfy both of them. She knew Ty would take responsibility if anything happened to the people they chose to bring into this situation, much as she would. She could only hope that they were being wise to educate others about possible dangers so they might stand a chance of defending themselves. With luck, Vycor would be defeated before anyone else could be harmed.

  After that, Kyr left Ty alone with his thoughts. If he wanted to discuss them with her, he would.

  They reached Valyn’s home, a tiny one-room cottage tucked among a cluster of trees, not long after lunch. Once they found Valyn tinkering with the motorized craft that Xander had told them about, it didn’t take long for Ty to explain the situation. They needed transport to the megai’s governing center, and Xander had informed them that Valyn owned the only land vehicle in the area.

  Kyr tuned into Valyn’s thoughts while he chatted with Ty, and she knew Ty was doing the same. The short, grubby male wasn’t a very pleasant person, which explained to Kyr why he lived alone in this isolated part of the megai. He thought Xander was a gullible fool and his children were all brats. She read lust for Lore in his thoughts, and he spent a lot of time looking at her, too. She thought Ty might actually lose his temper and knock Valyn on his sizeable ass, but she sent him calming thoughts. They would get what they needed from this guy and move on. He wasn’t worth expending any more energy than necessary.

  And the more the day wore on, the less energy she had. The sandwich and fresh fruit she ate for lunch seemed to draw all of the blood from her brain to her stomach for digestion. Since she knew Ty was worried enough about her, she kept her weariness to herself. She figured she was just bored to tears by the conversation with Valyn, who was circling around the question of what was in this for him.

  Kyr felt Ty considering offering Valyn some of the Gift as payment, but she nixed that idea. He’d tell everyone within shouting distance about it, she thought. I think we need to influence him.

  Ty didn’t offer a word of argument.

  By the time evening fell, they were zipping across the megai in Valyn’s modified cruiser. Kyr closed her eyes—she told herself it was to avoid seeing her life flash before her eyes as Valyn narrowly missed colliding with trees—and dozed for a bit. She awoke the moment the cruiser slowed and glanced around to see if Ty had noticed her napping.

  He grinned when she caught his eye. She knew he had noticed, and he had read her thoughts to know she was checking.

  Fighting a blush, she turned her attention to their surroundings. Ty had instructed Valyn to drop them off on the outskirts of the megai’s governing center. He didn’t want to encounter anyone until they were ready. From what Kyr could see, they were on the outside of a tall wall circling their destination. The forest was considerably thinner here, but still afforded them some cover.

  Kyr released her safety harness and climbed off the cruiser as Ty used his abilities to influence Valyn. The Wrym would have no recollection of his time with them. In his mind, he took his cruiser for a test drive to make sure his repairs had been successful.

  Ty joined her when he was done. They watched the cruiser head out, then turned to look towards the governing center.

  I think we should sleep out here tonight, Ty thought. We want to meet with the council, and according to what Xander told us, they won’t convene until the morning.

  She saw no reason to argue. Her brain was too foggy to be of much use right then, anyway. She followed him to a section of forest outside the view of the wall and sank down onto the grass. She told herself to stay awake until Ty was ready for sleep so he didn’t keep worrying about her.

  The next thing she knew, he was shaking her awake.

  Good morning, Sunshine, he thought as she sat up and blinked in the early morning light.

  Morning? What happened to dinner?

  You slept through it.

  Her eyes widened. Ty smiled, confusing her. Why wasn’t he worried?

  He brushed his fingers along her hair and leaned down to kiss her forehead. You just need your rest. And your body isn’t used to processing all of this rich food anymore. You probably went into a food coma.

  Since he seemed humored, she decided not to stress about it. She felt great now. Starving, but rested. He was probably right about her system adjusting to being back on this side of the protections. Between the crisp, unfiltered air, clean water, and delicious food, she really did feel like she could curl up in a soft bed and sleep for a week.

  They ate the last of the fruit, cheese, and bread
that Lore had sent with them and then headed into the Wrym governing center. It fascinated Kyr, who had never been to any of the other megais. It turned out that the wall she had seen the night before was the exterior of an enormous circular building. She compared it to something like a human apartment complex, but on a much larger scale. The walls were made of dark brown stone embedded with golden crystals that glistened in the sun. Inside the circle, curving balconies rose as high as the eye could see, all of them carved from the same sparkling material.

  It made quite the grand first impression, Kyr thought as they walked through the entrance alongside numerous other Wrym. But that was about all she could say about it. The further they walked into the enormous bustling center, the more apparent became the signs of decay and neglect. Where the sun didn’t touch the buildings, Kyr saw cracks and stains in the stone that the glitter couldn’t mask. Piles of garbage spilled out of bins attached to the buildings, causing the air to reek nauseatingly. The small patches of grass she spied along the main cobblestone walkway were either dead or plagued by weeds.

  In the heart of this flailing metropolis were a number of smaller buildings, all of them different in appearance and none of them very inspiring. Kyr found herself walking closer to Ty’s side as they passed buildings in even more disrepair than the outer one. People stood on both sides of the walkway, holding items up and begging passersby to buy or trade with them. Kyr was appalled to see that many of the sellers were children no older than Ivyn.

  What happened here? she wondered, gripping Ty’s hand. She was extremely grateful for his size. People had only to look up at his stony expression to back away.

  I don’t know. I haven’t heard about any of this.

  She sensed that he was as disturbed by what he saw as she was. No Alametrian should be living in these conditions. She had always believed that the Vawn council helped all of the megais maintain healthy living standards for all Alametrians. Of course, she thought, those teachings had come from her mother…hardly a reliable source.

  When they rounded a bend on the walkway, Kyr realized that not every part of the governing center was in poor shape. Ahead of them rose a building that rivaled the Vawn palace in terms of its opulence. Although it wasn’t made of precious illuvite like the palace, the deep rosy glow of the exterior told Kyr it was constructed of reyanite, another rare and durable mineral. It had even been built in the general shape of a castle, complete with two turrets and an enormous stained glass window above the main doors. This, she realized, was where the council resided.

  Anger rose within her, bright and hot. A slab of that reyanite could feed most of the people begging on this walkway.

  How is the palace unaware of this disparity? Ty mused darkly.

  She shook her head. I think we both know that they’re only too aware of it. But that’s going to change.

  Yes, it will.

  His easy agreement soothed the sharpest edge of her temper. She realized her grip had grown fierce on his hand, so she eased it up. A smile lifted the sides of her mouth as she thought about ruling together with Ty. She vowed that they would make a difference.

  He expressed silent agreement as they approached the steps leading up to the large, wooden doors of the council building. Considering how much activity there was around the area, Kyr was surprised to see no one else entering or leaving this building. Her curiosity was appeased when two guards armed with poleaxes swept over from the sides of the stairs and blocked the way.

  “State your business,” one of them barked.

  Kyr couldn’t make out the guard’s features because they were hidden beneath his full-face helm. The armor he and his companion wore was black and covered in spikes. Rose-colored paint portrayed the Wrym crest on the chest plate. Whether by accident or design, it looked like dried blood. The Wrym walking past the building gave them a wide berth.

  Both of the guards radiated thoughts of superiority and suspicion. The good news was that neither of them was under Vycor’s influence. The bad news was that they were both under orders to only allow approved visitors to pass.

  “Tavin and KayaWrym to see Councilor Halda,” Ty said. They had decided to approach the female councilor because they remembered her being the most gracious. “She’s expecting us.”

  Kyr knew he was influencing the guards. She was beginning to suspect that they wouldn’t achieve their goal any other way. The downside of that was it left a form of footprint for Vycor to follow if his Mynders tracked them there.

  “Follow me,” the guard replied, turning and striding up the steps.

  They followed him up to the large doors and waited for him to use his poleax handle to pound twice on the hard wood. A small opening at the guard’s eye level slid sideways. A single brown eye peered out at them and received the guard’s authoritative nod. The opening slammed back closed. Moments later, the sound of multiple locks disengaging reached their ears.

  Kyr exchanged a look with Ty. This was more security than even the Vawn’s main gate used.

  The door finally swung open. A tall, thin male in dark green robes stood in the opening. Kyr recognized his eye from the slot. He lifted his narrow chin and looked down his long, thin nose at her before eventually looking at Ty. When he met Ty’s cool gaze, some of his arrogance waned.

  “What is your business here?” he asked.

  “Tavin and KayaWrym to see Councilor Halda,” Ty repeated.

  The thin male’s expression didn’t change. Kyr realized at the same time as Ty that he was under Vycor’s influence. That meant if the male’s suspicions were aroused, Vycor would know in an instant. Kyr’s heart dropped into her stomach as she realized their plans were on the cusp of completely unraveling.

  “I have no record of—” the male began.

  “Kaya…is that you?”

  Kyr struggled not to look shocked as Halda, a female old enough to be Kyr’s grandmother, popped up at the thin male’s shoulder. She wore a beautiful green gown and was bedecked with expensive-looking jewelry, including a tiara in her upswept hair. Her blue-green eyes were alight with pleasure.

  “I’m so glad you made it,” she said, reaching for Kyr’s hands in a familiar gesture.

  It was a struggle for Ty not to step between them out of instinct, Kyr could tell. But they both maintained their roles. She gave Halda a big smile.

  “Thanks for seein’ us on such short notice,” she said, careful to maintain her Wrym accent.

  “Of course.” Halda returned the smile and glanced at the thin male. “Thank you for greeting my guests, P’oq. We’ll visit in my chambers before the next session begins.”

  “As you wish, Councilor,” P’oq said with a deep bow. If he was curious about Kyr and Ty, his expression gave no indication of it.

  Kyr released Halda’s hands and took one of Ty’s as they stepped into the council building. The entrance was expansive, stretching up several stories. A wide staircase led up from both sides of the foyer to the second level. Halda headed to the staircase on the right, so Kyr and Ty followed her. The only sound was of their footsteps on the hard reyanite floor.

  What the hell was that? Ty wondered.

  I have no idea. Can you get a read on her?

  No. Her thoughts are all over the place. On the plus side, that means she isn’t under Vycor’s influence.

  Kyr’s grip tightened as Halda led them down a hallway on the second level to a set of double doors. Before the older female reached the doors, they opened with a flourish, propelled by two female Wrym dressed in green gowns and head cloths. Neither of the females looked up as Kyr and Ty trailed into the room behind Halda.

  “Bring tea and cakes,” Halda instructed to no one in particular as she walked over to a settee and sat down. Looking at Kyr and Ty, she flicked a hand at the adjoining loveseat. “Please sit.”

  They obliged, settling on the loveseat as the doors to the chambers closed. Kyr was wondering where to begin the conversation when Halda leaned forward and pinned her with an int
ent look.

  “All right,” the councilor said. “Now tell me what the hell is going on around here.”

  Chapter 11

  “Uh.”

  That was as much as Kyr managed in the face of Halda’s burning scrutiny. She tried again to get a read on the councilor’s thoughts and was stymied when she couldn’t.

  “There,” Halda said, her dark red eyebrows drawing together. “I know a mental touch when I feel it. You two are no Wrym, and I want to know what’s going on.”

  Do you think we can trust her? Kyr asked Ty.

  I think we’re going to have to.

  Although she agreed, Kyr was still wary. “Our apologies for any intrusions, Councilor.”

  “I’m not asking for apologies,” Halda said testily, all pretense of cordiality vanishing. “I’m looking for answers. I overheard you introduce yourself to P’oq, who has been acting as strangely as my fellow council members. Since you got past the main guards without an appointment, I knew there was more to you than meets the eye. I’m correct, aren’t I?”

  “Yes,” Kyr admitted, deciding they had little to lose now. “You’re correct. We’re not Wrym, we’re Danes.”

  Halda didn’t even blink over that news. “And why are unannounced Mynders in my megai?”

  Before Kyr could reply, there was a rap at the doors. Both doors opened after Halda called out to the Wrym to enter. The two females wheeled in a cart topped with a large teapot and a towering tray of cakes and mini sandwiches. Kyr’s stomach all but danced in anticipation even though they’d just eaten breakfast. Her cheeks burned when Ty gave her a curious look. She was just as puzzled as he was over her surge of hunger.

  It took a few minutes for the Wrym to pour and serve the tea and set the food offerings on the table between the seats. Once Halda had approved their efforts and dismissed the females, her gaze turned pointedly back to Kyr.

  “We’re here on behalf of the palace,” Kyr lied. “Rumors have been circulating from all of the megais about unusual behavior among some of the citizens, and we’re working on figuring out what’s causing it.”