It was Lilly who answered her from behind. “He is only replacing myself and Medo. He needs at least one woman with you to follow you when we cannot. That is why he picked Vanessa. She is young, but she is very deadly. She is often misjudged for her innocence, and can play the role well. No one ever sees her, until she makes her strike.”
Tatyanna looked at the striking young woman and thought she looked more like a teenager, but she had already learned people tended to be older than they looked here. The woman gracefully walked over to where she stood. She had long black hair, with purple highlights running through it. Tatyanna wondered if she was someone important with that particular marking.
Vanessa walked over to her, and bowed her head at her in respect. Tatyanna returned the gesture, and motioned to her hair. “Are you someone important?” she asked.
Vanessa smiled, and her white teeth stood out against her tan complexion. “No, I just like to change my hair color. I get bored with it and I’m always changing it up.” She looked over Tatyanna’s blue bangs. “I haven’t tried blue yet. That might be the next color I try.”
Tatyanna felt jealous, and she said as much to the younger woman, “I am so jealous you can change your hair coloring. I have tried for years to change mine, but nothing ever works.” The two women grinned at each other, and Tatyanna knew she just made a friend.
Dimitri and Althea walked up to them, and Dimitri greeted Vanessa warmly. Althea sniffed suspiciously at Vanessa’s feet and let out a low growl. “Althea!” Dimitri snapped at the wolf, but the wolf didn’t acknowledge him. She only had eyes for the other woman.
Vanessa cocked her head to the right, her eyes narrowing on the animal, her stance turning rigid. The two were in a staring contest, and Tatyanna held her breath, remembering the first time Althea met her. She hoped the other woman knew what she was doing, because she’d hate to see something bad happen to her.
Althea lowered herself to the ground, as if submitting herself to the other woman, and then stood back up licking the hand that Vanessa held out to her before trotting away. Tatyanna looked amazed. “Can you communicate with animals?”
“A few of them.”
“Ah, so you are like Dimitri?” she asked, amazed at the gift.
Dimitri snickered. “Nah, Kitty is a little bit different from me,” he said while Vanessa smiled secretly. Tatyanna’s eyes bounced between the two, wondering what she was missing.
“You’ll see. I only use my gift when I need to.” Vanessa grew quiet when she saw two men walking toward them.
Marek approached with a young man appearing to be a few years older than Vanessa, with spiked, sandy brown hair. Vanessa looked down and away from the other man, causing Tatyanna to narrow her eyes at the action. Marek clasped his hand on the young man’s shoulder and introduced him to the group. “This is Alex, he will be accompanying us as my protégé.”
Alex politely bowed to her and Terran, extending a greeting to Vanessa, causing her to turn a bright red. Tatyanna thought the two complimented each other very well, like salt and pepper. Marek noticed the blush and the cocky smile on Alex’s face, and rolled his eyes. He didn’t realize something was going on between the two, or else he would have picked someone else. As he watched Alex walk away to pack an assortment of weapons, he realized that wasn’t true. Alex and Vanessa were the best, quickly rising through the ranks; he knew he wanted them by his side.
“Protégé?” Tatyanna asked Marek, watching the younger man kneel down and start strapping long knives to his legs and muscular arms, as well as a long sword to his back before throwing a cloak over himself to hide the multitude of weapons. “I thought Gavin was your protégé.”
“No, he is my cousin on my father’s side. This camp has been in the family for generations, and he will one day lead the newest generation of fighters. It needs to stay in the family. Alex will make a good leader one day, and Gavin could learn from his experiences. Come now, Galena is making food for us to take with us, and then we must gather everyone and leave.”
Neither one moved. “Will you miss it?” she asked, facing him.
He wore a thoughtful expression and took his time answering her. “I will miss the people the most before I will miss this place. I was born here. I am ready to leave, and see to the next part of our journey,” he said, giving her a quick glance that caused her to go weak in the knees, before walking away.
Tatyanna walked in the opposite direction, toward the lake. She needed to say her goodbye as well. The walk was a familiar one, and she found herself standing in the water in no time, waiting for the Lady of the Lake to appear. She found herself waiting for several minutes, but no one appeared.
The Lake Woman spoke, causing Tatyanna to turn back. “You will see me again, young Queen. This is not a goodbye for us.”
“How is that possible?” Tatyanna asked.
“I move with the waters; I am not stationary. Where you go, I will be nearby. Look for a body of water if you wish to speak with me again.”
Tatyanna turned to leave again, when the woman stopped her a second time. “Before you go, a gift,” she said, holding out to her the same blue staff Grandfather had given her, that Marek had used against her the day she unleashed her anger on him. She reached out and grasped it in her hands, welcoming the sensation that flooded inside her. She swung it gently, getting reacquainted with it. “How did Marek end up with this staff?” she asked the woman of the Lake.
The woman smiled, and Tatyanna feared she wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of the woman when she said, “I feared he would need it when I saw how full of anger you were. You had discarded it to the side, forgotten, I knew you wouldn’t miss it, and he would care for it, knowing what it was and who it belonged to. Hold on to it, and it will keep you centered,” the woman said before drifting back down into the water below.
Tatyanna was pleased with the staff and getting it back, she whispered her thanks to the woman, hoping she heard her.
She walked back to the camp, surprised to see everyone waiting for her. She didn’t like how they all just stood there, staring at her, so she just shrugged it off and asked, “Are we going, or are you all just going to stand there all day looking at me?” She received grins from all her friends and she walked to join them. She heard a noise and saw Cale had decided to appear. She wanted to know where he had been hiding but didn’t want to ask, afraid she would give away that she knew the truth about him. She had to force herself to give him a friendly smile in acknowledgement.
They immediately took up a diamond-shaped form around her. Cale dragged behind her, refusing to look at or say anything to anyone, Terran and Emmett walked on either side of her, Alex and Vanessa made up the opposite points of the diamond, and Marek, Dimitri, and Althea were in the front.
The procession walked through the village and Tatyanna waved goodbye to everyone she saw, as if she were in a parade. All that was missing was the tossing of candy to the children. They walked in the opposite direction from when they first arrived at the camp, and Tatyanna had no idea where they were going.
As she turned around, she could barely see the buildings in the village and she felt a sense of sadness overcome her. “Don’t worry, Tatyanna. They will be okay,” Terran said, feeling her emotions.
“How can you say that? How do you know they will be safe?”
“There are protection runes all around that makes the village invisible to everyone, unless you know where to go. No one can find them unless they leave and then they will be sitting ducks. Most people leave this camp alone, because fighters from all over come here to learn the art of war, and many of the people we will fight, once trained here under Marek, or his father.”
“That is barbaric!” she exclaimed. “How can they train people only for them to turn out to be their enemies?”
Emmett answered her next. “No one knows how a person will turn during war. Larik has killed off families and forced the survivors to follow him, or risk death. It is hard to sa
y what a person will do if they are threatened to die. Most choose Larik to live, or at least, live longer, then if they chose to die.” Tatyanna shuddered at the thought.
“This is war, Tatyanna. This isn’t a place where everything is la de da. You have been protected since you have been here and shielded from the truth, but starting here on out, you will no longer be shielded, and you will learn what life has really been like for these people. It may sicken you, and that’s okay. Just deal with it, and move on.”
Tatyanna thought back to her time as a nurse. She would treat it just like that. She knew the world wasn’t perfect, but she had seen her fair share of death and gore. She just had to separate her mind from it all and look at the bigger picture. She just wished she wouldn’t lose any of her friends around her, but knew it could happen with a flick of a wrist. Especially knowing Cale was a traitor, Tatyanna wondered what his next move would be.
She tried to talk to him earlier, but since she turned him down and chose Marek he refused to speak or acknowledge her. She had barely seen him and wondered what he had been up to during that time. She hoped they figured out his endgame before his next move.
Tatyanna looked up when she realized they had suddenly stopped. She pulled out of her thoughts when she saw several creatures blocking their path. She had no idea what the creatures were, or how to describe them other than being as tall as a giant, with two eyes, a nose, and no mouth. They were gray, like the fog, and only wore pants over their lean bodies.
‘Do not be afraid. We are not here to hurt you, but to give you a message,’ she heard in her head. She turned around to look at her friends. They could hear the voice.
“Who are you?” she asked, with a slight tremor in her voice.
‘We are many,’ the creatures responded, while she could hear several voices in her head all at once. ‘We are one,’ she heard a single voice.
‘We know who you are, and what you are doing. We are here to aid you on your quest,’ the creature said, at the same time as several of his friends.
“Aid us how?” she asked again.
‘You have many questions for us, we understand that, but it is not for you to ask us questions. Behind us, there are two paths you can take, but only one path is the right one for you. One way will lead to the Princess of Air, and one will lead you to the Fire Lord’s weakness. You can go down either path, but there are surprises waiting down both.’
Tatyanna glanced at her friends, confused. “Can we talk about which way we can go?”
The creature nodded his head. ‘Know this, young Queen, for once you decide, there is no turning back. The way to the Fire Lord’s weakness is not a sure thing. You will have to find the clues and piece them together to figure out who it is that you seek, and where to look next.’
“Great,” she mumbled under her breath. “Another puzzle, as if I don’t have an endless supply of pieces already.” The creatures heard her, and chuckled, but they did not say anything else, waiting for her to decide.
“Well?” she asked, looking at her friends, and wishing they didn’t have to make this decision. “Does anyone know where they want to go?”
Cale was the one to speak up first. “I volunteer myself to look for the Fire Lord’s weakness. Like they said, it is not a sure thing, but finding the other princess is.”
“Thank you,” Tatyanna said, but her mind was reeling. This couldn’t be good, if Cale wasn’t to go, but his choice was already made, and it could not be changed. Cale separated himself from the group and stood away from them, as the others contemplated who should join him. She noticed Emmett had a faraway look in his face, and she knew she wasn’t going to like his decision.
“I will go with Cale.”
Marek’s eyes flashed at this statement and so did Dimitri’s. Tatyanna knew from their silent responses they knew something she didn’t, and she could only imagine what it would be.
Cyrus was the last one to speak up. “I will go with them. You already have a healer, and my help might be needed,” he said, also separating himself from the group. They heard the creature’s voice in their head again, and knew the decision was complete.
‘You have your three, and three they must be.’ The creatures stepped away to show there was a fork in the road. ‘Go down the path to the right, and pray you find the answers you seek.’
Tatyanna wanted to cry out and demand Emmett stay, but she knew she couldn’t. Emmett gave her a swift hug and kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear, “You have Marek now. You don’t need me.”
“I will always need you,” she cried, meaning every word. “Be safe, and we will see each other again.”
Emmett didn’t meet her eyes or respond, and she wondered if she would ever see him again.
‘“It’s good that you said your goodbyes, because one will not be joining you again,’ the creatures said.
Tatyanna realized what the men were keeping from her. “NO!” she screamed, running to stop Emmett, but the creatures side stepped her and blocked her from the path. “NO! NO! NO!” she screamed over and over again, running to the creatures, but she felt Marek’s strong arms around her waist, and she collapsed on the ground beating her fisted hands against the dirt, her tears mingling with blood from her injured hands. “No,” she said one last time before collapsing on the ground. She looked up at the creatures with her tear-stained face, “Why?” she asked them. “Why?”
‘Because, it has been fated. What is done is done. It was meant to be. You need to focus on your task now. Seraphina has led a difficult life, and she won’t trust you. Learn all you can about her, before you lose her for good too.’ With their parting remarks, the creatures moved so their path was open for them to take.
There weren’t any words to say. Down they went, all with thoughts of tomorrow, and what they might find.
Epilogue
Far behind them on a hill, stood Grandfather, watching the procession of two groups as they made their way on the rightful path. Grandfather glanced as a beast of a man appeared beside him, noticing the gleam of the blood contrasting against his black skin, standing out like a beacon.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She pissed off Larik, and he declared her a free for all. His men can do anything to her, but kill her. She was attacked, and two men tried to rape her. She killed one man before breaking down, and I took care of the other for her.”
Grandfather did not respond.
“I needed to step in and save her. Every time she kills to survive, she is killing a piece of herself.”
“She doesn’t need you to save her. She needs to save herself, and help is coming,” Grandfather said, watching Tatyanna and her party start down the path to find Seraphina.
The End
Sneak Peek into Book Two of Light & Darkness
Seraphina
Prologue
She was surrounded in darkness and huddled in the corner waiting for the men to walk past her. They had been tracking her for days, and she had been lucky in being just one step ahead of them each time, but she was starting to get tired. She had barely eaten for days, she was tired and sore, and she desperately wanted a bath. She stopped smelling the stench on her skin days ago. She knew why the men were following her. She told Larik she wouldn’t side with him, so he sent out a bounty. She was no longer under his protection, not like she ever thought she was, she was more of a puppet to him. But before, she was untouchable. She was now having to fend for herself, eat scraps of meat thrown out to the animals, and she quickly learned how to defend herself when she had been attacked multiple times. Prince Larik made it possible for men to do anything they pleased to her, except kill her.
She could defend herself with magic if she wanted to, but she vowed to stop using her magic a long time ago. It is because of her and her gift of air that got her in this mess in the first place; to use it would only cause her more trouble. She was sure of it. So unless Larik forced her hand, she refused to acknowledge her gift.
S
he huddled deeper into the corner, pulling her cloak closer into her body, sitting in the dark shivering. The nights were getting longer and colder, and she didn’t know how much fight she had left in her. Her hair was a ratty mess, and her feet were covered in blood because she lost her shoes a few days ago. She closed her eyes, hoping the men had already walked past her hiding spot. She couldn’t hear them. The only thing she could hear were the sounds of water nearby. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip…scurry, scurry. Her eyes shot open wide. There was a rat nearby, she was sure of it. She flinched once when she felt it run across her feet, and she swallowed her scream. She couldn’t make a sound no matter what. She couldn’t. But when the animal ran by her again, she made a sound. She didn’t mean to. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that no one heard her, but she knew she was wrong when she heard the unmistakable sounds of footprints running toward her.
“Look, there she is!” a man shouted, running toward her direction. She threw the cloak over her body to help camouflage herself into her surroundings, but she was abruptly pulled from her hiding space, and was being shaken like a ragdoll.
“I knew you were close by. It was only a matter of time before we caught you.”
“And now, we are going to have some fun,” the other man said.
Seraphina kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want to know what her attackers looked like. It made it easier to defend herself if she didn’t put a face to the voice. She laid there on the ground, allowing the men to run their hands over her body. She bit on her lip to keep from crying out or getting sick at the mere thought of what they were about to do to her.
She waited until she could feel the warm breath on her cheek and knew that it was time to strike. She reached down with her arm and felt the smooth hard knife the man kept at his waist. She jerked it out of the leather holder and stabbed the man in his stomach, feeling the warm blood running down her hands. She heard the man scream as he tried to grab the knife, but she instantly pulled it back out. The second man turned to her, wrapping his thick hands around her neck, and she started to gasp for breath.
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