Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy

by Jennifer Collins

  "Do you know what the bite does?"

  Hunter tensed up. "I've heard things."

  "It causes euphoria."

  "So you made her happy by drinking her blood. That's so much better than what I was thinking," Hunter said, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

  Gabe looked at him. He needed to tell him something. He couldn't tell him about the curse, though. He needed to get Syney more into his mindset before she went accusing people. An idea came to him, one that might actually work. "Everything finally caught up to her. Her parents. All of the attacks. The pain from her injuries. She got overwhelmed...and started to hurt herself."

  Hunter rolled his head to look at Gabe. "Bullshit."

  "She took pills. A whole container. And then she got into the tub. If I hadn't come in when I did, she'd be dead. And she was going to do it again."

  Hunter stared at Gabe for a while. "You should have told me."

  "You were part of the problem."

  Hunter closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "What do we do now?"

  "Get her away. She can't be here and be happy, at least not right now."

  "I can't take her out of here right now. Not with the last attack."

  "Ask your commander. I have a feeling he'll budge."

  "Fine. Where do I take her?"

  Gabe smiled. "Colchin. It's exactly what she'll need."

  "That's in neutral territory."

  "It is."

  They stared at each other.

  "You know, if you touch her again, I'll kill you, right?"

  Gabe stood up. "I have no doubt and would expect no less." He started to head out of the room but stopped a foot away from Noelle. She stared at him, looking disappointed. He opened his mouth to say something but received a slap instead.

  "You're an ass," she said, walking past him and over to Hunter.

  He nodded and started to walk backwards out of the room. "Yes, I am."

  Leaf

  Leaf shut the door to his room and shook his head. He had known Hunter his entire life. He was the only person he knew who distrusted Magic Users more than he did. But there was no mistaking the fact that Hunter had just gotten completely pummeled over the virtue of one of them. That was a natural thing for a Protector to do, but not one who had just met his charge less than a year ago. There was much more behind that beating than just protection. He was in love with Syney, and somehow she had gotten into bed with the Vampire—literally. Leaf's first reaction was to call his friend an idiot and even reprimand him, but then he remembered why he was in his room and not the dining hall. He was waiting for Helen.

  "We're both idiots," he said to the empty room.

  And they were. Aside from the fact that their being romantically linked with Magic Users was going to get them killed, both of the women were royals—seated royals. What they were doing was suicide. At least Helen was going to take the vows of high priestess. Syney was much more important politically, and she didn't need to be bogged down with feelings for her Protector. Leaf needed to put a stop to it. But he couldn't—not only because Hunter was a friend but also because he'd be nothing but a hypocrite.

  He looked over at the sound of a knock. He opened the door and got out of the way as Helen quickly scurried in with two trays in her hands.

  "I couldn't get drinks. I wasn't built with enough hands," she said, putting the trays on his small desk on the far side of the room.

  He couldn't help smiling. "You should work on that."

  She laughed and put the hood of her cloak down. "I don't think there's a spell for that, but I can check in the library." She walked over to him and placed her hands lightly on his chest.

  Leaf tucked some of her dark brown hair behind her ear before leaning down and kissing her.

  After a while she finally pulled back. "We should eat before the food gets cold."

  He rolled his eyes. "If you insist."

  "I do. We need to keep our strength up." She blushed. "Not that I'm implying anything."

  They sat down at the desk in the only two chairs in the room and started to eat.

  "Did you see Syney earlier? I think something's wrong, but she keeps telling me she's all right. She's a bad liar," Helen said.

  "Just leave it alone," Leaf said. He knew he had been too abrupt the second the words came out of his mouth, and Helen's look confirmed it. "It's just... she's going through some stuff and things."

  "You don't have to tell me. It's fine."

  "It's not that I don't want to, it's just..." He took a deep breath. This wasn't how he wanted to start off their relationship, with half-truths and omissions. "You need to keep this between us."

  Helen's eyes widened. "It's her and Hunter isn't it?"

  Leaf nodded.

  "Oh, I should have guessed it sooner. They have this thing and... Oh, my goddess!" Helen's hand flew to her mouth.

  "What?" Leaf asked, concerned.

  "I thought it was nothing, just something in a book. But she really is a bad liar." She paused and smiled at Leaf. "A while ago she asked me about amator. She described it just like in the novels. You don't think she...and Hunter.

  "That's a myth."

  "I know...but if it isn't?"

  Leaf shook her off. "It's not our problem."

  Helen smiled at him.

  "What?"

  "I'm just wondering. If they had it, then maybe... I don't know... Maybe we..."

  Leaf took her hand. "Let's just start with dinner."

  She nodded and brushed her hand against his cheek before returning to her food.

  They were deep in conversation about the comedic merits of council meetings when a knock came at the door. Leaf looked at it then back at Helen. "Stay over here, away from the door, OK?" he whispered to her.

  She nodded and moved even farther into the room.

  Leaf walked over to the door and opened it. Hunter looked like hell, and Leaf told him as much.

  "Thanks. I had good form, though. You should have seen me," Hunter said.

  "I did actually. There were a few blocks you should have made. Rule number one of fighting—never let your feelings get in the way of your form," Leaf said pointedly.

  Hunter stared at him for a moment. He sniffed the air and narrowed his eyes at Leaf. "I have to take Syney out of the palace for a while."

  "No."

  "She needs it. This place is getting to her. She didn't grow up here. She's not used to the politics."

  "She's been adjusting."

  "And now she's not."

  Leaf sighed. "The queen will have both of our heads if she leaves."

  "Not if she doesn't know. I can get Noelle to cover, tell everyone she's sick. She hasn't been leaving her room much anyway."

  Leaf thought about it. "They won't believe just Noelle."

  Hunter looked past Leaf into the room. "Maybe we could get help from someone else."

  Leaf shook his head. "Not sure I know anyone who could help."

  "Right." Hunter looked back at him. "Sorry. I'm a little desperate." He paused. "Syney's not well, and I don't think I can help her here."

  "I'll do it," Helen said, coming up alongside Leaf.

  Leaf looked down at her and sighed in frustration. Just like a Magic User. They never followed directions well.

  Hunter looked at her. "Thank you."

  "Just help her."

  "I haven't said yes yet," Leaf said.

  Both Helen and Hunter looked at him with desperate eyes.

  He sighed. "You have two weeks. If you're not back, I'm sending someone to drag you back."

  "Yes, sir," Hunter said. "Thank you again."

  Both Leaf and Helen nodded to him as he took off down the hall. Leaf shut the door and stared down at the infuriating girl in front of him.

  "Oh, stop glaring. If I can help, I want to. Besides, Hunter isn't going to tell anyone I was here. He loves her. Didn't you see it in his eyes?" Helen said, walking back to the desk and sitting down.

  "I did.
And I love that you want to help, but we need to be careful."

  "I know," she said, taking his hand.

  He squeezed her hand. There was absolutely nothing he would change about this woman, and he couldn't have been any happier.

  Syney

  It had gotten dark. Syney curled her legs to her chest and looked out across the dark Village. Every breakable object in her room was scattered across the floor in pieces, but she still didn't feel any better. Once she was done smashing things, she wandered out to the balcony and slid to the stone floor. It was cold, but she didn't care. She didn't think she could ever feel as bad as she had when Hunter had barged into the room earlier. Everything she had felt over the past weeks melted away, replaced with a numbing pain in her heart and possibly her soul. Everything she had done with Gabe felt dirty; she felt dirty and selfish. She didn't feel like herself. When had that happened? She closed her eyes and tried to force all of her feelings and thoughts from her body, but it didn't seem to work.

  She heard her door open and then close and then heard some muffled voices, but it didn't matter. She didn't want to talk to anyone, and she wasn't going to move. She was just going to sit out on her balcony and wallow in the disgusting feelings that crept all over her skin. Whoever it was didn't seem to get her mental message, as she felt someone come out and sit down across from her. She ignored the presence for as long as she could before she finally opened her eyes.

  Hunter looked a lot less mad than he had before, but his face and hands were cut and bruised. She had a feeling Gabe had been at the other end of that, but she knew his handsome face would look untouched.

  She stared down at her hands, unsure of what to say to him. "I'm sorry I'm a slut" didn't seem to cut it. He was probably still disgusted with her, so why bother talking to him at all? The thought pulled out her tears again. It was pretty amazing that she still had tears left inside her, but they poured out in buckets. "I'm messed up," she managed to get out between sobs.

  Hunter shook his head and moved to sit next to her. He slowly put his arm around her shoulders. She let go of any tension she had and just laid her head on his chest, still crying. He gently rubbed her arm and even rested his head on top of hers. She knew she didn't deserve any of this, but she took it anyway. After a while the tears finally stopped, and she breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent.

  "We're going to get away for a while," he said. "Noelle packed a bag for you."

  Syney sat up and looked at him. "Are we going to see Rose?"

  He shook his head. "Somewhere outside of the Village."

  Fear bubbled up into the back of her throat. "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "We'll be fine. Better than staying here, I think."

  Syney took a deep breath. "OK. I trust you."

  Hunter stood and held out his hands to help her to her feet. "You officially have a two-week vacation." He led the way into her room.

  The lights were on. The room looked like a disaster zone. "I should clean this up," she said.

  "Don't worry. I got it."

  Syney looked over at Noelle. "You shouldn't have to. I..." She stopped, not knowing what to say.

  Noelle handed Hunter a leather bag and Syney her cloak. "Safe journey."

  "Thank you," Hunter said, gently pushing Syney toward the door.

  Syney walked out, the pounding in her chest hurting more and more. She would have to make amends; she just wasn't sure how. For now she just followed as Hunter led her out of the Village and away from her problems, or at least she thought.

  Cass

  Cass sat down in the library at one of the large wooden tables and stared up at the secured section. There weren't many people in the library at this time of night, which she appreciated. She hated to cry in public, and that's all she had done for the past half-hour. Up there—that was what Raine had died for. She couldn't bring herself to attend the execution earlier, and luckily her mother hadn't insisted. Just the thought of him up on that platform made her silent tears run even faster. Raine shouldn't have died, not for her.

  What made her the most uncomfortable was the thought that he had really brought back the Daemons. She remembered him passing what she thought was a book to the Vampire the night she had healed Syney. But that could have been anything, right? There was no way Raine was...was... What? Evil? Anyone who wanted the Daemons back was evil. She wiped some tears from her face. Her fingers were itching to do some magic, but she wasn't sure she wanted to—not because she was scared of being caught, but because it was magic that had killed her best friend.

  "No, it wasn't."

  Cass nearly jumped out of her skin as the Vampire appeared out of nowhere across from her.

  "Sorry. I always like to make an entrance," he said with a smirk. "And no, Raine didn't die because of magic."

  Cass kept her mouth shut and looked away from him. Maybe if she ignored him, he would go away.

  "No, I won't."

  Cass looked at him, her eyes widening. "I didn't say anything."

  He rolled his eyes. "You were thinking it."

  "So you read thoughts or something?"

  "The education system in the Village is surely lacking these days. Yes, Vampires can do that," he said, as if talking to a five-year-old.

  Cass scowled at him. "What do you want?"

  "I want you to stop wallowing and get back into that room."

  "No."

  "No to the wallowing or the room?"

  "Both."

  His smile fell from his face, and he leaned forward, grabbing her hands. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. Raine did not die because you were doing magic. He died because he knew how important your doing magic was. And because he cared about you."

  Tears welled in her eyes. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

  He sat back. "No."

  She looked back up at the windowed room. "I'm not doing it anymore." She looked back at him. "I'm done." She got up and started out of the library.

  "What a waste of potential," he yelled after her.

  Cass rolled her eyes. She couldn't let him get to her. That's what Vampires did. They got under your skin and made you do things you weren't supposed to do—like magic. Well, she wasn't going to give in. She was stronger than that. She held her head high as she walked back to her room.

  Hunter

  The trip to Colchin would take at least a day on horseback. Hunter pushed Syney as far as she could go before he finally stopped at a rock face just inside Magic User territory. There was a small cave where he built a fire and set up camp. He offered Syney some dried meats he had packed for the journey, but she shook her head and leaned against the rock wall.

  "At least have some water," he said, handing her a canteen.

  She took it but didn't drink.

  She hadn't spoken since they had left her room; she only sighed and stared absently. It bothered him to admit that Gabe had been right. This was the way Syney had been acting lately, and he hadn't done anything to help her. He had thought it was all about him and Fern. He didn't think anything else was bothering her. He was the selfish one.

  "Tell me what it feels like," he said.

  She looked over to him and shrugged. "Just a throbbing in my side. It was one of the knife wounds. I guess it went a little too deep."

  "Not that." He took a breath. "The other stuff."

  She bit her bottom lip and looked away. "I don't know... It's just darkness. Like there's this black cloud that keeps following me around. Like it's just impossible to be happy anymore." She took a jagged breath and looked back at him. "That doesn't excuse anything, though."

  He shook his head. "It doesn't. I need you talk to me from now on."

  Syney sighed.

  "No, I mean it, Syney. You have to trust me with everything. I can't help you if you don't."

  She finally nodded after a few moments of silence. "OK."

  "Now get some sleep. We should arrive in Colchin by dinnertime tomorrow."

&nbs
p; Syney took the blankets he offered and lay on the ground. "What's so special about this place that we're going out of Magic User territory?"

  "It's a place of legend, I guess you can say. It's a sanctuary. All races are allowed, but no violence is tolerated."

  "All races?"

  "You'll be fine. The town is run by Psyches. They settled it hundreds of years ago and spelled the land. If anyone tries any act of violence whatsoever, it comes back at them. They are inflicted in the exact way they inflicted the other person."

  "So if I punch you, I get punched?"

  "Why would you punch me?"

  Syney rolled her eyes. "Figuratively speaking."

  "Yes."

  "So what's a Psycho?"

  "A Psyche. They're a race of people that live in neutral territory."

  "I thought there were only five races in the Realm."

  "There were only five races in the Treaty of Allegiance. The Psyches have always been neutral. They don't care to align themselves with anyone but are open to all races for friendship."

  Syney sighed. "I thought you said this place gets less complicated."

  "Never said that."

  Syney sat up. "Yes, you did."

  Hunter put a small smile on his face. He had missed this. The annoying girl who got under his skin. He missed her. "Maybe."

  Hunter thought she was going to smile or maybe laugh, but instead she shook her head and lay back down. Her breathing finally evened out after a while, and he looked out into the night. He stayed awake the entire night, thinking. He started to second-guess his decision to take her out to Colchin, not because of the town but because of himself. Gabe had been right, for the second time, which annoyed the crap out of Hunter. He was part of the problem. He should have stepped down as her Protector when he had offered it to her the night of the ball. It had nearly killed him when he found Syney and Gabe, but she had been dealing with seeing him with Fern for months. Maybe someone else should have taken her on this journey, but there was no turning back now. Once the sun rose, he woke Syney and they set off.