The Light Unleashed

by Kim Stokely

Kyran eyes me with awe. “But you had no weapon.”

  “They brought an Elderstone. I used it.” I point to the milky orb on the ground next to him. “Do you know if they can be recharged?”

  He picks it up. The crystal no longer glows. Instead, it looks like a white marble. Lifeless. “I’ve never seen one look like this. We should ask one of the Elders about it.” He slips the stone into his breeches as Braga tros to us and carefully makes his way down the embankment.

  I help Kyran to his feet, wincing as his arm reaches across my back for support.

  He frowns. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  His eyes narrow. He takes hold of my shoulders and turns me around. “What, in Ruahk’s name, did this?”

  “The same demon that tried to kill you. It doesn’t hurt too bad,” I lie. “Let’s go.”

  Looking down at his shirt, he groans. “I have nothing to bind you with.”

  The adrenaline that had so recently given me energy and strength has evaporated from my body. My muscles tremble in fatigue. “I’ll be fine as soon as we get home.”

  Braga has made his way below us on the embankment, making it easier to mount him. Kyran whispers to Braga before turning to me. “I’m sorry, Alystrine.”

  “For what?”

  “For all of this.”

  “You’re sure Caradoc didn’t set you up?”

  Kyran shakes his head. “He hates Braedon almost as much as I do.”

  I start to swing my leg over Braga’s back but he stops me. “No. Sit sideways.”

  “Why?”

  He mounts the horse so he is sitting behind me. “So I can see your face as we ride.”

  I close my eyes and lean my head against Kyran’s chest. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  He makes a clicking sound and Braga starts up the hill. “I left Uz after the fourth watch.”

  I struggle to remember what I know about military terms. After three in the morning?

  “The sun had only just broken the horizon when I crossed into the unprotected lands. I have no memory after that until you woke me.”

  Must be 6 or 7. “I might still be able to get back into the castle without them knowing I’ve gone.”

  “There will be no hiding the state you are in.” Kyran holds Braga’s reins in one hand while he slips his other arm cautiously around my shoulders as Braga speeds up.

  “Maybe I can work something out with Kennis.” I yawn. “Tell me when we’re getting close.” I stifle another yawn. “I’ll try and contact Quinn. See what’s going on.”

  Kyran shifts me so I rest in the crook of his shoulder. His warmth helps me to relax. He mumbles something, but I can’t distinguish his words.

  I want to open my eyes, but my lids are lead weights. “Is Caradoc going to be okay?”

  “He’ll be fine. It was the passage that sickened him more than the arrow.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I left him with the healer. Malina.”

  “Didn’t trust him in the palace?”

  “I don’t trust your father to treat him civilly.” He kisses the top of my head. “Quiet yourself now. Sleep while you can.”

  I breathe in deeply, trying not to grimace at the sharp twinges across my back. Instead, I concentrate on Kyran’s scent, surprised that underneath the strong odor of sweat and blood, he smells of pine needles and tobacco. I wonder if he smokes a pipe or if the scent is left over from nights spent in taverns like the one we visited. I try and picture what we’ll do in the palace night after night. Will we be like Kennis and Quinn? Holding hands and talking by the fire? Or will we lead separate lives, me reading in a corner while he takes Braga out for long rides?

  The subtle change in Braga’s gait stirs me from my daydream even before Kyran’s voice tickles against my ear. “We’ve crossed over into the protected realm.”

  “That was quick,” I mutter. Quinn? Can you hear me?

  Kyran coaxes Braga into a gentle trot as we make our way through another small stream.

  Quinn?

  Your Majesty? Do you need Kennis? Are you still unwell?

  I smile up at Kyran. “I think we’ve finally gotten lucky.” I may need her to bring her bag to my bedroom in a little while. But I’m okay. I pause before adding, No need to bother her now.

  Yes, Your Majesty.

  “Let’s rest here for a minute. Make a plan.”

  Kyran pulls Braga to a stop.

  “We might be able to keep this fiasco quiet if I can take a passage back. Talk to Kennis before anyone else.”

  Kyran dismounts then lifts his arms to me. He catches me as I slide down, gently lowering me to the ground. I shift my weight to the foot that doesn’t hurt.

  We stand facing each other, no more than a few inches apart. “I guess you’re feeling okay,” I joke, trying to sound relieved instead of nervous, “if you can hold me without any pain.”

  Before I can step away, his hand gently cups the back of my head. He presses my lips to his and, this time, I can’t help but respond. His other hand slips around my waist, urging my body even closer to his, enveloping me in his warmth. His strength. Maybe it’s my exhaustion, but my muscles turn to water the longer we kiss. I am floating. This moment of bliss doesn’t last long before everything from the night before creeps into my mind. Black Guards and the demon. Caradoc and his claims about Tegan.

  Tegan.

  I try to pull away but Kyran’s arms hold me tight. His kisses grow deeper. I want to lose myself in this moment, forget about everything. But I can’t. Stop.

  Kyran doesn’t let me go, but lowers his head so his cheek rests against mine. “Promise me.”

  “What?” My voice is a choked whisper.

  “Swear you will never risk yourself for me again.” His stubble rubs against my skin. “If you had only taken a passage from the tavern, you would have remained unharmed.”

  I stiffen. “And what do you think those Mystics would have done if I just up and disappeared?”

  He pulls back to stare at me. “Caradoc would have made up some story. It is his greatest gift.” His expression is fierce. “Promise me, Alystrine. To heed my warnings. To do what I say.”

  I don’t answer.

  “You could have been killed.” He tightens his grip. “None of it would have happened if you had left when I told you to.”

  “You can’t know that. The demon found me in one of the passages. Maybe it was waiting for me all along, I don’t know. Neither do you.”

  His eyes aren’t burning red, but there’s fire behind them. “Then you must not take a passage back.”

  “If I don’t, we’ll never get into the palace unseen.” I try and pull away to no avail. “We’re in the protected lands now. I should be fine.”

  “I will not risk it.”

  His macho attitude is starting to get on my nerves. “It’s my risk, not yours.”

  “I swore to protect you. I already failed that oath last night. I will not chance losing you to another creature in the passages.” He tugs me closer. “We will ride back together.”

  I want to ignore him and take the passage anyway, but he won’t let go. I know I can’t take us both back, I’m still too weak. “Fine.”

  I can’t stand his intense scrutiny. Instead, I focus on a large brown leaf struggling to free itself from the frost on the ground.

  Kyran lets out a growl of frustration. “I know you’re thinking to leave as soon as I let you go.”

  I glare up at him. “Stop reading my mind.”

  “Then stop behaving like a child.”

  His response takes the air from my lungs. I sputter as if I’ve been splashed with cold water.

  He softens his voice. “A child seeks to hide its mistakes. You are queen, Alystrine.”

  “I know that.” I try and temper my reply. “I was hoping to protect you. Geran’s never going to let this go. He’ll hold this over you for the rest of your life.”

  “I am not afrai
d of your father. I have faced far worse in my lifetime.” He cups my cheek with one hand while still holding me firm with the other. “Even if you somehow could get back undetected, if Kennis could somehow mend your wounds. I would still tell Geran all that happened last night.”

  I’m disarmed by the return of his roguish smile. “Why?”

  “Because for my whole life I have had nothing but my word to barter with. I will not have your father add liar to the list of things he hates about me.”

  The thought of trying to explain everything to Geran, Kennis, and the rest of my family seems overwhelming. “I’m so tired. Do you think they’d let us get some sleep first?”

  He hugs me then rests his chin on the top of my head. The gesture is so familiar. Josh often held me this way. “We have another hour until we reach the castle. Longer, if we don’t ride Braga hard.”

  I’m practically asleep on my feet. “Let’s let him take it easy.”

  “Come, my queen.” He lifts me up onto the horse. It takes only a minute before Braga’s gentle steps lull me into a stupor. All the aching pain in my body seems to melt away as I rest within Kyran’s arms.

  Alystrine! Where are you?

  Quinn’s voice reverberates in my brain as Kyran struggles to keep me from falling from the horse. “It was only a dream.” He kisses my forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

  “They know I’m gone.” I’m fine. Don’t worry.

  Where are you? Kennis and your father are frantic.

  We’re on our way back now. “How much longer?”

  Kyran directs my gaze with his head. I can see the city walls of Uz. The palace, my palace, sits atop a hill only a mile or so away.

  Who is with you? Where are you?

  I’m with Kyran. We’ll explain soon. “Better speed up. I think Geran and Kennis are on the war path.”

  He narrows his eyes as if trying to understand the cliché, but spurs Braga to a gallop. I wish there was a way to skirt the city, but the same wall encloses both the town and the palace. Fortunately the city gates are up and Kyran’s face is familiar enough that the guards don’t stop him. We follow the cobblestone path up to the inner gate.

  “I wish I still had my cape,” I mutter. “Kennis is going to freak when she sees my back.”

  Kyran looks down at me. “I thought you’d be more concerned about Geran.”

  “Neither of them is going to be happy. Let’s play this down a bit. Try and tell the whole thing slowly. Maybe then it won’t seem so bad.”

  He laughs. “I doubt we can fool them.”

  The palace gates are thrown open as we approach. My entire family—Kennis, Geran, Devnet, and Maris, as well as Quinn, Simon, and my ladies-in-waiting all stand in the courtyard.

  Kyran leans down. “Do not let them rile you. No matter what your father says to me. No matter how Kennis addresses you like a child, remember, you are the queen.”

  I try to swallow, but my mouth is too dry. Geran is already quaking and he hasn’t even seen the extent of my injuries yet.

  “Don’t worry,” I whisper up to Kyran. “I won’t let him kill you.”

  He snorts. “For that, I am grateful.”

  “What, in the name of Ruahk, did you think you were doing?” Geran storms forward. “To leave the grounds without a word to anyone?” He points an accusing finger at Kyran. “It was you, Mystic. Wasn’t it? Whatever—”

  “I can explain.” Kyran jumps down from Braga.

  “Good God.” Kennis pushes her way between them. Her hand instinctively pulls at Kyran’s bloodied shirt to expose the wound. “What happened?” When she sees the burnt flesh, her brows furrow. Her face whitens. “It’s not yours,” she croaks as she turns to look up at me.

  Kyran stops her. “It is my blood. Alystrine healed me.”

  A chorus of “Whats?” echo through the courtyard.

  “Please,” I call from my perch on top of Braga. I take Kyran’s advice and remember that although Geran and Kennis are my parents, I am the queen. “I’m tired. I’m filthy. I want a bath.” I reach out to Kyran to help me down. He stands behind me, blocking my back from view. I look to my ladies-in-waiting. “Go to my rooms and instruct Tamra to prepare a tub for me.”

  They run off toward the entrance.

  Geran’s cheek are red. “Alystrine, we must know where you have been.” His face mirrors the myriad of emotions coursing through him—anger, confusion, worry. “What has happened?”

  “I’ll tell you everything. But right now, I just want to get clean.” My legs wobble with exhaustion. I lean against Kyran to balance myself.

  Kennis whips off her cape. “You look frozen. Put this on.”

  Kyran takes the blue wool and slips it around me, once again managing to maneuver things so no one sees my wounds. May I carry you?

  No. Just let me keep leaning on you.

  Kyran places his arm around my shoulders. “I will see the queen safely to her rooms.”

  My father lets out a barking laugh. “As you so obviously kept her safe last night?”

  Do not take his bait. Kyran squeezes my arm. We will wait to tell them all what happened.

  We both ignore my father’s taunt, walking instead into the palace together.

  My ankle finally gives out as I try to step onto the stairs. Kyran catches me before I collapse.

  Kennis breaks out from the entourage behind us. “What’s wrong?”

  I’ve clenched my jaw so tight from the pain, I can’t answer her. Kyran’s brow furrows as he carries me up the staircase. Is it the wounds on your back?

  No. My ankle. I turn my face into Kyran’s chest so the others won’t see my tears.

  “Ally?” My mother comes up beside us. “What is it?”

  “What have you done to her?” Geran’s voice echoes up the stone staircase.

  “I have done nothing directly,” Kyran answers as we reach the top. “But my error in judgment led to her injuries.”

  The guards swing open the doors to my quarters. I manage to find my breath again to order, “Kennis may come into my bedroom. The rest of you wait outside.”

  Tamra has already placed a large wooden tub by the fireplace. Kyran lowers me to my bed. “She’s hurt her foot.”

  My mother shuts the door behind her before marching over to me. “Which one?”

  “My right.”

  “I’m trying hard not to be angry.” She kneels down and begins untying my boot. “But one of you had better start explaining what happened.”

  “We’d rather tell it only once. It’s a long—” I can’t help but cry out as sharp knives shoot up my leg. My hand clenches into a fist.

  Kyran sits by my side and loosens my fingers from their death grip on the bed cover. “Hold onto me.”

  Kennis looks up as she loosens the last of the laces. “This is probably going to hurt a lot.”

  Kyran turns my head so I nuzzle into his chest again. “Go ahead and scream, if you must.”

  I must.

  White shards of light pulse through my vision. My stomach sickens with the sudden rush of agony as my mother pulls off the boot.

  “The boot’s kept the swelling down.”

  I shriek again as she tries to turn my ankle.

  “It’s broken.” Her skirts rustle as she stands to answer a knock on the door. I peek out from Kyran’s embrace to see Tamra and several other servants enter with buckets. Once they’ve emptied their water and left, Kennis turns back to us. “Anything else I need to see before I send someone to fetch my medical bag?”

  Kyran pulls the cape from my shoulders. “Yes.”

  She hurries to sit on my other side. “What did this?”

  “A demon.” Kyran answers before I can.

  My mother jerks her hand away.

  “She hasn’t told me everything that happened, but it appears to have found her in one of the passages.”

  “The others should be told. I don’t know enough about demon wounds.” I feel her weight lift off the bed. “They
could have some kind of poison.”

  “They’re not bleeding now?” I managed to mumble. “Are they?”

  “No.” Kyran pats my shoulder lightly.

  “Then I want to bathe first.”

  My mother’s gaze holds the same look of worry, disapproval, and anger I’d seen in Geran’s. “Leave us, Kyran. I’ll see to her from here.”

  He kisses my forehead. “I’ll tell your father what I know.”

  “You sure you don’t want to wait for me?”

  “You deserve rest.” A haunted look flashes behind his eyes. “After all that has happened.”

  “You didn’t force me to go. It wasn’t your fault.”

  He sets his mouth in a hard line but says nothing more before leaving. Voices rise in the other room as soon as the door closes.

  My mother dips her fingers into the bath water. “It’s warm enough. You ready?”

  My ankle has swollen up so it looks as if I’ve shoved a baseball in it. Only the siren call of being clean makes me push myself up from the bed. My skin is mottled with angry purple and red bruises. My upper arm is blistered from the fire. I let out a long, slow sigh. “In the future, I think I’ll look back on last night and think it was a good thing.” Tears trickle down my cheeks. “But not right now.”

  My mother slips her arm under my mine. With her help, I hop over to the tub. It’s not a graceful process, but I manage to plop myself into the water. Fortunately, it isn’t filled too high so I only slop a little over the edges.

  Tamra enters after knocking. She carries a bar of soap and two more pails of water. “I can take over Lady Ken─” The buckets clunk to the floor as she stares open mouthed at my back.

  I crane my neck, trying to see. “Is it that bad?”

  The young woman regains her composure. “I’m sure Lady Kennis can help you.” She kneels by the side of the wooden tub. “For now, let me wash off this dirt.”

  After getting the grit from my hair, Tamra starts on my arms. I feel like a pot being scoured after dinner as she presses harder on my skin.

  “This is the toughest mud I have ever seen.” The young woman runs her teeth over her bottom lip. “And that is saying something after the baths I had to give my brother when he was a babe.”

  I offer up my other arm for scrubbing. “It isn’t mud. It’s blood.”