by Meg Anne
She struggled to clear her thoughts, the pulsing in her temples overwhelming her with the pain. Opening her eyes, she winced at the brightness of the room. Her mind was telling her that she had overreacted, telling him to go ahead without her. Her heart told her that she should run after him and throw herself into his arms.
Not even a few hours later and she already felt his absence. Rather, she couldn’t feel him at all. It was the first time since waking up after facing her trial that his essence wasn’t hovering at the edge of her awareness. She felt its lack pressing against her, wanting her to collapse into its void. Even her soul wanted to chase after its Mate and beg his forgiveness for doubting what it knew to be true. Her trial had warned her this test would come, and she had failed.
Helena sighed. She had been foolish listening to Gillian’s story. She had just been so tired from the battle and so heart-sore after days of burials, she wasn't thinking clearly. Not to mention her surprise when Von didn’t immediately shut Gillian down with one of his scathing dismissals. Instead, he had hesitated, his face losing some of its healthy glow, and their bond throbbing with his shame.
Noticing a flash of white, Helena turned to face the trunk she had been using as a side table next to their bedding. The Magnolia.
The ghost of a smile flit across her lips. She remembered Von’s teasing words when presenting her with the gift. She had made a point to ask Alina to pack it with her things, wanting to keep close the physical reminder of the moment she first met her Mate.
With that thought, a piece of her settled back into place. It was an answer to a question. Even when Von thought he was just playing a part, he had cared enough to give her something personal. Simple compared to some of the other courtship gifts, yes, but so much more memorable for its specific meaning to her. A music box or book spelled to tell stories were lovely trinkets, but they were gifts that could be given to anyone, and therefore meaningless. Von had taken the time to give her something she would find special, proving that even before he met her, when he had no reason to, he had cared about her.
Von regretted his decision to bed the other woman, and though it had happened before they made any promises to one another, he had done so after presenting himself to her. Feeling as he did now, that act still ate at him, a small splinter that he couldn’t quite remove. His guilt stemmed from that; it was not a desire to lie to her, but rather his regret that he couldn’t deny Gillian’s claims.
Helena had no doubt of Von’s love for her. She felt it in every look and every phantom caress he sent through their bond. She took a deep breath, finding it a little easier this time as the tightness in her chest had started to ease. She wasn’t pleased with what he had done, but she wouldn’t punish him for it. Much. Especially when the punishment seemed to hurt her just as much as it did him.
The headache continued to pulse but seemed to be fading. She decided to go find Starshine and see if the Talyrian could catch up to Von’s party. They couldn’t have gotten too far, even if they had left immediately.
Holding open the flap of the tent, she let out the soft whistle that had become her call for the Talyrian. She waited, eyes scanning the horizon until the ball of white appeared and streaked through the sky towards her.
“Take me to him,” she requested softly, projecting an image of Von to Starshine as she did so.
Those turquoise eyes seemed to roll, but she lowered until Helena could mount easily. Between one breath and the next, they were in the air and already too far for Helena to see her Circle calling after her.
The sky was dark when they made it back to the camp. The first thing she noticed as Starshine landed was Timmins pacing before the campfire, his hands tugging at his hair.
Kragen was leaning against a tree, sharpening his ax. Darrin and Joquil sat around the fire and stared into its flame. At her appearance, all four stood and faced her.
Timmins had opened his mouth to launch into what was sure to be a tirade, but Helena stopped him with a glance.
Her face was tear-streaked, her aqua eyes blinking furiously as they filled again.
“Helena?” Darrin asked softly, hands outstretched as if to catch her.
She took a trembling step towards them, her whole body shaking.
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“What?” Ronan asked sharply, just reaching the group, Serena close on his heels.
Helena swallowed before turning to him, “Von is gone. I - I can’t feel him anymore. Starshine and I rode for hours, we made it past the border and then circled back to double check, but he’s not out there.”
Her hand was clutching at her chest, trying to ease the ache.
Ronan snapped out orders, but she couldn’t make sense of them. He couldn’t have gotten too far; it had only been a few hours since she had sent him away. She knew he would have continued on their path towards his parents’ home, it was only another two days ride from here, but even still she and Starshine had searched, the circles increasing with each pass.
When they had gotten closer to the border, and she still couldn’t reach him through their bond she had started to worry. As the hours went by and the sun faded from the sky worry had given way to fear. Von was gone, without a trace, or at least too far for her to be able to sense him through their bond. Unless her asking him to leave had done something to their bond.
She was trying to recall if she had felt something in her shift when she had stopped him from coming towards her and telling him she needed time. His face had been frozen in shock, his pain at her words a twin to her own, but that had been it. She would have felt it, wouldn’t she, if she had broken their bond?
“Helena?” Darrin called, shaking her slightly.
She blinked up at him, “Yes?”
“How long has he been gone?”
She shook her head, “I don’t - I don’t know. We had - there was… I told him to leave.” Her face crumpled, and she couldn’t stop the tears as they flowed from her eyes.
“Shh, Mira, we will find him. Tell me what happened.” The order was gentle, his hands soothing as they rubbed up and down her arms.
Helena hiccupped as she tried to control the tears. Around her the others were quiet, waiting for her story.
So she began, haltingly, telling them everything that Gillian had said about Von seeking the girl out and sleeping with her after declaring himself at the ceremony. The men exchanged surprised looks but asked her to continue.
She told them how she had sent him on ahead, asking him to give her some time to process what she had heard before she had to speak with him.
“So he could have only been gone for a couple of hours at most, but he wouldn’t have left, Kiri. Not even if you had ordered him to, he would have come to one of us and stayed out of your way until you cooled off, knowing you would come for him.” Serena stated.
Ronan nodded, “Nor would he have left without Karma.” Ronan gestured at the wolf pacing restlessly among the others.
Helena felt foolish, of course Von wouldn’t have left Karma. She should have checked immediately once she realized he wasn’t within range.
“So if he didn’t leave, where is he?” Helena asked, silently adding, and why can’t I feel him anymore?
Ronan and Serena shared a look.
“What?” Helena snapped, looking between them.
“Where’s Gillian?” Serena asked, her violet eyes seeming to glow.
Helena’s back stiffened. “Gillian? I don’t know; I haven’t seen her since this afternoon.”
“I caught her out in the forest, our first night out. There was something about the girl that wasn’t sitting right, so I wanted to keep an eye on her. I saw her keep stealing glances at me, so I made a show of going off with Ronan and then circled back to watch her. Almost immediately she snuck out of camp and hurried through the forest. I came upon her crouching over something, but couldn’t see what it was in the darkness.”
“Why are you just telling us this now?” Kragen dem
anded.
Serena shrugged, “We didn’t have proof of anything, just my feelings. I didn’t want to come between the Kiri and her friend unless I had good reason.”
“Wait a moment,” Joquil's voice interrupted, causing the group to look at him. “Didn’t Gillian have a necklace with a purple stone?”
She saw Darrin’s eyes widen in recognition, “Yes, I don’t think she was ever without it. It was very similar to those gems you found on the Shadows.”
Joquil's face was grim, “I think I know how Von disappeared, Kiri.”
“How?” she asked sharply.
“Gillian had a Kaelpas, as did those Shadows.”
“I thought the knowledge of how to make those died centuries ago,” Timmins whispered in awe.
“What’s a Kaelpas?” Helena asked, her voice strained as she pronounced the unfamiliar word. She could feel her magic, usually a calm pool, bubbling inside of her.
“It’s a very rare, very powerful bit of magic. Completely untraceable unless you carry one of the spelled gems. They work like beacons. Let’s say you and I both have one, Kiri,” Joquil explained, “I would be able to teleport to you, wherever you were because your Kaelpas would guide me to you. I could also travel to a destination I had been to before, even if there was no one with a Kaelpas in the vicinity. It takes powerful magic to create a Kaelpas; it requires mastery in three of the branches: Earth, Air, and Fire.”
“They also take the entire cycle of a moon to charge. The farther you travel or, the more people you try to transport with a single Kaelpas the faster is it extinguished.” Timmins added.
“So what you’re saying is that Gillian brought those things, those Shadows, to us before. It was how they knew where to strike so that we would find the bodies.”
“It certainly supports our theory that their presence was a test of our forces,” Ronan murmured.
“And how Von could vanish without a trace,” Serena concluded.
Helena could no longer hear them, her blood roaring in her ears. Gone. Her Mate was gone. Not just gone, taken.
She flexed her fingers, the rise of magic causing them to tingle. The tingle quickly turned to a burn as her fury continued to feed on her reservoir of strength.
There was no rational thought, just a word on an endless loop in her mind. Taken.
Her magic continued to build, a tidal wave getting ready to crash. She was losing herself to the swell of magic within her.
When she looked back at her Circle, and Von’s most trusted warriors, her eyes were swirling iridescent pools, flashes of lightning in their depths. Thunder filled with the promise of her retribution echoed in the sky.
“Helena?” Darrin asked, eyes wide.
As she leveled her eyes on him, he paled. There was no sign of the woman they knew in those eyes.
“We will find him,” the Kiri said, her voice a harsh harmony of many, her words an edict that would not allow disobedience. “And when we find her, we will repay her hospitality. For every new mark on his skin or scar on his heart, she will pay with her blood.” The last word came out as a snarl. The wind tore through the trees, growing in intensity as she spoke.
“As you command, Kiri,” the Circle said as one.
She knew nothing but endless glittering rage. She had warned them; no one would harm what was hers. She would show them what happens when they disobey. One way or another she would find her Mate. Like calls to like - they would not be able to keep him from her indefinitely. And when she found him, his captors and any that tried to stand in her way would pay.
With their lives.
To be continued…
About Meg Anne
Meg Anne has always had stories running on a loop in her head. They started off as daydreams about how the evil queen (aka Mom) had her slaving away doing chores; and more recently shifted into creating backgrounds about the people stuck beside her during rush hour. The stories have been there; they were just waiting for her to tell them.
Like any true SoCal native, Meg enjoys staying inside curled up with a good book and her cat Henry... or maybe that's just her; sunburns hurt! You can convince Meg to buy just about anything if it's covered in glitter or rhinestones, or make her laugh by sharing your favorite bad joke. She also accepts bribes in the form of baked goods and Mexican food.
If you'd like to connect with Meg or find out about her upcoming books, you can visit her website at www.megannewrites.com or hangout with her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MegAnneWrites (she'd love to hear from you!)
Table of Contents
MOTHER OF SHADOWS
Dedication
Acknowledgement
MOTHER OF SHADOWS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
About Meg Anne