The two men glared at each other, and Tatyanna felt like she was missing a very important piece of the puzzle, especially after hearing the name Marek again. It was obvious to her no one was going to share with her who he was, and what role he played in her life. She was about to speak when she noticed Dimitri walking toward them, with Althea by his side. She didn't even see him leave. He met Emmett's gaze and nodded slightly, and then pulled a bedroll from his pack and set it down on the ground.
“It's late; we should get some rest before we move on.”
“We're sleeping here tonight?” she asked warily.
“Until we have proper protection for you, this is the safest place; we will regroup in the morning.”
The men grabbed what they needed from the packs Dimitri had put together, as Emmett gathered wood to make a fire. She wasn't ready to go to sleep, and she didn't feel comfortable sleeping on the ground near Cale. She didn't think he would try something, but she didn't completely trust him either. So far, everything he had done was for his own agenda. Tatyanna looked down at the bedroll at her feet and decided against rest.
Tatyanna stared at the trees surrounding her. She stopped when she saw a light coming from the opposite side of the clearing. She thought she had imagined it, but saw it again as she was about to turn away. She glanced at Dimitri and Emmett, trying to build a fire. Cale was the farthest away from them, but close enough to still feel the heat once the fire was built.
Tatyanna continued to look at the area where she saw the light, debating if she could check it out or not. She still didn't completely understand what was going on, but she knew her life was in danger, and didn't know if this was a trap or not. She was about to walk away when she felt a warm wet nuzzle poking at her hand. Althea was by her side. She felt comforted by the wolf. Althea was almost reassuring her that it was okay to seek out the light.
Tatyanna turned to Emmett and Dimitri, and told them she was going to walk around. Dimitri and Emmett shared a long look and before they could object she said, “I'm going to take Althea with me.” She saw both men lower their shoulders. They were worried she might get lost, or even find her way out of the clearing, where who knew what dangers awaited them. Taking Althea with her helped to convince everyone that she would be safe.
Tatyanna didn't want to walk straight to the area she was interested in, and instead took a roundabout way around the clearing. She felt like running, and had to hold herself back into a leisurely stroll. The men's eyes were on her. Eventually, they surmised she was probably as restless as they were, and went back to making the fire. As soon as she knew they were no longer looking, she made her way to her target. Before Tatyanna knew it, she was walking outside of the clearing, and deeper into the woods. Suddenly, she saw a hand sticking out of a tree stretched out toward her. She looked down at Althea, and the wolf nodded her head at Tatyanna. She reached out to the hand, and felt herself being pulled up into the trees and onto a sturdy branch.
She glanced up, trying to get a good look at the person who had helped her into the tree. She wasn't able to see his face, because he had a hood covering it. “Who are you?” she asked. Instead of answering her, the stranger started to climb further up into the tree, occasionally stopping to see if she was following him. Tatyanna was able to follow, but not nearly as gracefully.
She stumbled through the tree branches for several minutes. They were traveling across several trees, back to where Emmett, Cale, and Dimitri had set up their camp. The mysterious stranger stopped just out of sight. Tatyanna could almost make out what Dimitri and Emmett were discussing.
“Who are you?” she asked the stranger, eyeing the forest green hood he was wearing that blended into their surroundings. A muscled arm, with tattoos of vines curling toward his upper body, reached out from under his cloak and pulled off the hood. A young man around her age, with shaggy chocolate brown hair and emerald green eyes, crouched in front of her. She saw the same vine tattoos on his arms creeping up to the sides of his face. When he saw her staring at his arms, he pulled his cloak tighter in around him.
“Who I am isn't important,” he murmured.
“I beg to differ.”
“How can you say that when you don't know who I am?” he asked.
Tatyanna was silent for a moment thinking over his question. She was pretty sure she knew who he was, thinking back to Emmett's previous conversation about how he had talked with the earth heir. She was pretty sure her mysterious stranger was the missing prince.
“I beg to differ, Prince Terran,” she said matter-of-factly.
Chapter Sixteen
Sharing Magic
Terran turned to face her, and she was able to make out his tattoos much more clearly. They weren’t vines, but branches. The longer she watched, the more she realized they were taking on a life of their own, moving subtly on his skin. Before she looked away, she saw the amused glint in his eye, as if he knew what she was thinking and pulled the hood back over his head.
“Why are you hiding yourself from me?” she asked puzzled.
“You were distracted by my markings. Figured if we were going to have a heart to heart then it would be easier without you imagining things.”
“Wait, what?” she asked, not quite sure what he was saying.
Terran moved away slightly, leaning against a branch opposite of her. ‘I heard your thoughts about my tattoos moving. Your thoughts were distracting, and so I took that distraction away.’
Tatyanna’s jaw dropped. “You can talk to me in my mind.”
Terran nodded in agreement. “And you can talk to me that way, too.” He studied her for a moment. “You've already talked to someone telepathically, haven't you?” He glanced down at Dimitri and Emmett, still in a heated conversation. “It wouldn't have been Cale, because you don't trust him.” His eyes went back and forth between Emmett and Dimitri, and then finally settled on Emmett.
Tatyanna leaned toward him to see who he was looking at. “It was Emmett. He was feeling a rush of emotions, and I felt him getting out of control. I had the urge to calm him down, and learned later he could hear me in his mind. We found out, from Luka, this trait is rare. He thought it was a trait for the royal line, but we think differently.”
“I've heard of that theory before, but the royals aren't above anyone else. There have been others in history who shared just as powerful gifts, but they kept them a secret.”
“Why?” she asked curiously.
“Didn't you receive a history lesson from Luka?”
Tatyanna lips curved to the right, and she moved around on her tree branch restlessly. “Kinda.”
His eyes narrowed. “Kinda?” he repeated.
She let out a long sigh. “I may have been impatient and demanded he answer my questions. He wasn't able to finish his lesson. He was summoned away.”
Terran let out a soft laugh. When he did so, she could feel all of the trees surrounding them tremble softly alongside him. “You were always an impatient child. I am not surprised you still have that trait.”
“You knew me as a child?” she asked surprised.
Terran shrugged one shoulder. “Not officially. But I knew who you were. I kept tabs on you over the years.”
“How? Why?”
Terran leaned gracefully against his branch, balancing himself perfectly. “Why are you here?” he asked her instead. She narrowed her eyes, displeased that he avoided her questions. She opened her mouth to say something, but Terran just arched his eyebrow and shook his head. “This isn't a social call. I won't reveal anything until you answer my question, and then maybe I will answer yours.”
Tatyanna didn't like his response, and she decided she didn't like him. Pompous ass, she thought. When she saw Terran grin, she knew that he heard her. “We can sit here all night for all I care, but eventually, your friends will come looking for you. If I missed my mark, it looked like you weren't completely thrilled to be here. So again, I ask you, why are you here? Why come here at all, when you could
have lived a normal, happy life?”
Tatyanna snorted. “'A normal happy life?'” she scoffed. “You’ve apparently kept poor tabs on me over the years, if you think my life was happy, or normal. I spent my entire life feeling like I didn't belong. At school, I felt like a leper, and I might as well have lived in a leper community, considering the fact my so-called parents rarely knew I existed.” She let out the words in a rush, and couldn't believe that she said that to Terran, a virtual stranger. They were words she had kept within herself, never expressing just how bad things were. Tatyanna had been in denial for years. Now that she knew who she was, she didn't want to go back to a life that wasn't hers. She wanted the chance to find out who she could be, and make a difference. The life she once knew, no longer existed for her.
Terran stared at her, unblinking. “So, what does all that mean? You are only here, because your old life sucks? You think you can help us, just by your being here?”
“What the hell? What right do you have giving me a third degree? I'm here, aren't I? I want to help, that's more than you've ever done. From what I can see, you stay hidden in the trees, instead of trying to fix things. You have no right to question me,” she said with authority in her voice.
Terran smiled. “That tone won't work with me. We are equals. I am not one of your underlings.”
“Fine, whatever,” she said, staring off in the distance, not really seeing anything. She was fuming inside. How dare he question her choices? But, the more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder herself why she was really here. She had been given bits and pieces of what was going on in her world, and she knew everything was messed up, but just how bad was it? Would it be a war zone once she got outside the safety of the clearing? She shifted her gaze to Terran, and all of a sudden, she could understand where his questions were coming from. He lived in a war zone, and he was afraid. He wasn't hiding because he was a coward. He was hiding to save his own life. As much as she wished she, alone, could change the world, Tatyanna would need all the help she could get, and that included Terran.
“I'm here because I want to know who I am. I've always felt like I didn't belong and then weird things started happening to me. It set me even farther apart from my peers.” She stopped and tilted her head upwards trying to gather her thoughts. “But for the first time, I feel like I finally belong somewhere. I have answers to all—some of my questions,” she corrected herself, laughing softly. “You haven't said it, but I think I know what you are thinking. I don't know what I'm walking into. I know there is a war going on, but I don't truly understand what that means. But the one thing I do know is I belong here. I am meant to be here. I will do anything in my power to make things right again, no matter the cost.”
“'No matter the cost.'” Terran met her eyes, and asked her a question that caused her heart to skip a beat. “Even if that means death?”
Tatyanna bit her lower lip, lost in thought. If she wanted to be completely honest with herself, she didn't want to die, whether it was now, or later. She didn't want to think about death. But if things were as bad as she was starting to believe, death would be a wake-up call for her. It was better if she accepted the possible inevitability. “Yes, even if it means I might die. I have to try.”
Terran continued to stare into her eyes, and she thought she could feel him probing her thoughts, as if he doubted the sincerity of her words. She would probably never know what he saw, or didn't see, but he accepted her words with a nod of his head. He laid down gracefully on a tree branch. The two of them sat in silence for what seemed forever, and Tatyanna looked down at her friends.
Whatever was going on between Emmett and Dimitri had passed. Cale had moved his things away from the fire and was leaning against a tree. Dimitri and Emmett had positioned themselves on either side of what she assumed would be her bed. Tatyanna looked around wondering where Althea was. She heard a soft bark and she glanced down. Althea was standing under the tree. She met Althea's eyes, and the wolf happily pranced back to Dimitri. Tatyanna watched as Dimitri put his hand on Althea's head and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he glanced up in her direction. She didn't think he could see her, but he knew where she was. He gave her a two-finger wave, and laid down onto his blankets.
“He can talk to Althea?” she asked more to herself than to Terran, forgetting he was there.
“Of course. He has a bond with Althea, but he can pretty much communicate with any animal.”
“I knew he could communicate with them, but I didn't realize it meant he could actually hear their thoughts and vice versa. That is so cool!”
Terran only smiled in response. “You will soon find out there are ups and downs about being magical. Your first lesson in magic is that the people who aren't magical are very resentful toward those of us who have it.”
“How is it possible not everyone has magic?
Terran shook his head at her and chuckled. “I am not surprised at all. I might as well give you the run down. This is one lesson you need to learn before you actually start on your journey.
“As you know, our bloodlines come from the Fae. Rumor has it there are still full bloods floating around.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “Before Grandfather created the new land, we lived amongst the humans, and our bloodlines became mixed. Even after the new land, there have been many instances where humans have been able to find us and have decided to stay.”
“How is that even possible?” Tatyanna felt like a broken record, but the words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them.
Terran smiled. “Ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle?”
“Yeah,” she said measurably, not making the connection. Terran slowly started to smile, as he saw the light dawn in her eyes. They widened completely, “Are you serious? All those stories of lost pilots, and they wind up here?” she asked.
“They do, but that isn't the only way they can find their way here. We have portals all over so we can still transport to your world. Sometimes, people stumble across them, and again, they are given the option to stay, or to return home. But, over time, the humans who live in our world resent the fact they don't have magic. It's not like we try to flaunt our powers, but when you are born with magic, it is a part of who you are. It’s like breathing. You can't stop. It’s ingrained in you.”
Terran glanced over his shoulder to where Cale was sitting down against a tree with his arms crossed over him. “Take your friend, Cale, for instance. He is human born, and found his way into our land. At first, he was fascinated with our world, but some of his decisions of late are questionable, and he dreams of having magic. The only way a human can have magic is if someone who has magic shares it with him. And even then, it isn't so easy. It has to be a particular strong individual, who has the magic to spare. When you share magic, you are essentially giving up part of it to someone else. Most of our kind won't do that, because they aren't very powerful, or their magic isn't considered of great use to human born. An elder or a ruler who willingly shares magic is extremely powerful, and when we choose to share it with a human, the human will become addicted to it, like a drug.” Terran continued to stare at Cale, and Tatyanna let the words sink in.
“I pulled the magic out of him,” she said, not as a question but as an understanding of everything Terran just told her. He turned around to face her and nodded his head. “That day, in the emergency room, I felt like he was trying to take my life force from me, I was growing weak, until I broke the connection.”
“I don't think he meant to steal your magic. He was trying to get you to realize the power you had within you, but, like I said, our magic feels like a drug for humans. When they experience it once, they feel like they have to feed into the sensation, or else they will go mad. That day, the magic within him could sense just how powerful you are, and he wanted that for himself. Regardless of his original intentions, he wanted what was yours, and if you hadn't let go when you did, you would have died.”
“Died?” she asked
in disbelief. “Just from losing my power?”
“Yes. You even said, if felt like he was taking your life force. Remember, magic is imbedded in you. It is who you are. If your magic is taken from you, so is your life, and you cease to exist, the person who takes your power will steal everything from you.”
“Wow.” Shock played on Tatyanna’s features. “How often is that done?”
“Almost never, but it is something our kind have tried in the past. The only person to successfully take someone's magic is Grandfather, and he gave it to someone else. If anyone else tries it, we will most likely kill the person, and they will go mad.”
“Mad, why?”
“Our magic is given to us at birth. It is a gift, our right, our heritage. But we are only given what matches what is already in our soul for who we are to become. You are a natural born healer, and the magic to command water is a way to reinforce that, and who you are. You may want to learn how to make potions and medicine, like the other healers who are trained to heal not by magic alone. You should learn to use your magic, but you also need to learn how to control it. Magic, for us, is still like a drug. The more you use it, the more it will pull at your soul, but in smaller quantities than it does a human.”
Tatyanna contemplated his words. She wasn't sure if she truly understood any of it. It was true the day in the Emergency Room she did feel more powerful the more people she touched, and it was a heady feeling. She could see how some people might lose control, but, still, to lose your mind? It didn’t seem right, if magic was a gift. There were so many things she wanted to ask Terran, but she didn't even know where to start. Tatyanna felt a yawn starting and tried to stifle it, without Terran noticing, but she wasn't so subtle.
“You're tired. Go on down and join your friends. We will talk again,” he said, dismissing her.
“Why don't you join us?”
Terran was silent for a moment, and looked her squarely in the eye. ‘Because I don't trust your friends. I will be more help to you hidden than in the open.’ He then broke the connection, and waved to a nearby branch that wrapped itself around her waist and lowered her. Once her feet touch the ground, she looked up and saw Terran had climbed higher in the tree. Tatyanna had nothing left to do, except rejoin her friends.
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